#maybe you can edit them to harmonize

[dreadark]

(attempting to have coherent thoughts while looping mizisua cure) (failing) so unlike ivan and till who basically have their own solo sections, until the very end which doesn't exist in the actual round 6 mizi and sua trade lines more often, more like a proper duet which makes sense, since the ivantill dynamic is unrequited and mizisua isn't

however... mizisua somehow ends up harmonizing less?

the second-last verse

Until these falling stars Are buried in the blur of time On your icy lips Read my soul Yes, my soul

in the ivantill version, you can hear till singing alone at first, but then ivan comes into harmonize with him after the first two lines (italicized) it feels like... ivan's shown up just to catch till as he falters, almost?

but in the mizisua version, mizi sings this entire verse alone* it's only in the last and final verse where they harmonize ...and even there

Sick of these nights to come To be engulfed in silence In your gaze where I'm seen Consume me Yes, me, oh oh

ivan only sings the very last Yes, me, oh oh alone but sua drops off even earlier than till does there, so mizi has to sing the Consume me alone too...

what does all this mean... uhhh let me get back to you when my brain is working again but one thing I'm reminded of is: my clematis there, mizi has to sing the final verse alone since sua left her, but ivan and till trade lines presumably as the song was meant to be sung

no matter the nature of their dynamic, I suppose ivan and till did have a bit more time together here than mizi and sua...

*if you listen really closely, you can hear something very faint behind the On your icy lips line specifically (at about 3:20 in the video) and only that line. I don't think it's a harmony exactly, but I'm... also not confident enough in my hearing ability to actually what it is

for now I will just point out sua's thumb on mizi's lip here

[unproduciblesmackdown]

oh yeah also have to shout out the young queer theatre-enjoyer (as doer or audience) with christian parent experience of "at least i can be in the choir & be one of like 2-4 tenors & enjoy singing harmonies & most of practice is just chilling b/c it's 95% playing the melody 50x for the twenty sopranos who still don't have it down" while also not having to deal with sitting in the midst of the pews or whatever

[basketonthedoorstepofthefbi]

"in the eye of the beholder" - spencer reid x gn!reader

you explain to spencer why you find him annoying (affectionately)

wc: 846

cw: a wee blurb! pre-established relationship, 2 doofuses in love, toothachingly sweet fluff

“You’re so pretty,” you sigh, walking through the park near your apartment building with Spencer. He’s holding your hand, swiping his thumb across the back of your palm. 

“Why do you sound annoyed when you say that?” Spencer asks with a confused chuckle lining his voice. 

“Because, it’s annoying,” your tone conveys pure seriousness, as if you were speaking about a pet peeve - bad drivers, people who chew with their mouth open, when someone leaves one second left on the microwave timer.

Spencer stops in the middle of the walking path. The trail serpentines through the middle of the park. It’s early spring in D.C, which means all the beautiful flowered trees are in bloom. Lovely pinks and greens adorn the backdrop for Spencer’s irritatingly perfect Adonis face. “You’re actually serious?” he asks. 

You drop his hand, taking a step back so he can look at you properly. “You tell me, Mr. FBI Profiler,” you counter, shifting your weight to one hip and crossing your arms over your chest. 

Spencer laughs, which causes your façade to crack, and the slightest, uncontrollable uptick of your mouth gives you away. 

“I’m gonna go with sixty percent serious, forty percent joking,” Spencer estimates, his stupidly beautiful brown eyes narrowing at you studiously. 

“It’s more like seventy-thirty,” you deadpan with your lips pursed. Spencer grabs your forearms and unlocks them from your chest, his gigantic hands sliding down to tug you by the wrists. You’re pouting as he tugs you just off the walking trail, so you’re not in anyone’s way, and then his hands find your waist. 

“Is pretty such a bad thing?” Spencer asks, his lips pursing pensively in the corner of his mouth.

“It was definitely a compliment,” you assure him, noticing the insecurity wash over his face. You see it in the way his nose twitches ever so slightly, the faint furrowing of his brow, how he breaks one hand from you to touch his hair. “You’re pretty like a sunrise, like first editions and hot coffee and Victorian wallpaper.” 

Spencer’s blushing. 

“But,” you cup his diamond-sharp jaw with your hands, fingers tracing the angles delicately. “You carry yourself with the confidence of a much uglier man.” 

Spencer laughs again, as apparently this whole business is very amusing to him, but you’re definitely being serious. “That’s a little superficial, isn’t it?” 

You shrug your shoulders. “Maybe,” you admit. “I guess I just mean that I wish you were more confident in yourself.” 

“Have you looked in the mirror of your own psyche, lately?” Spencer asks with his know-it-all smirk. You pinch his cheeks and he squeals, then tickles your hips. 

You’re wriggling away from him, and laughing, no doubt earning attention from other park goers. He grabs at your stomach and your waist evilly and you are hopping out of the way like a cartoon leapfrog. Your laugh harmonizes with his until you’re both out of breath, calling a silent truce. 

Spencer scoops your hand into his and soon you’re both back on the walking path. “We weren’t talking about me,” you deflect, looking up at him in a sideways glance. “You’re always saying how lucky you are to have me, how someone like you doesn’t deserve happiness. But, Spence, you’re so pretty it’s not even funny, and you’re so wickedly brilliant, and I just want you to see yourself how I see you,” you ramble and gush a little bit, but your boyfriend is only grinning in response.  

His warm, milk-chocolate eyes are soft and boyish and you want to kiss every single one of his eyelashes. “I guess it’s something I could work on,” he admits maybe a little stubbornly. You shake your head and lift your joined hands, kissing the back of his palm. “You know the proverb that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’?” He asks.

“Mhm,” you hum, and Spencer unclasps his hand from yours, only to wrap that same arm around your shoulder and tug you into his chest. Your steps move in time with his despite the shift in position. 

“Well, I wish I had your eyes,” Spencer concludes. Your visage softens at this, looking up at him with a pouty lip. He kisses your forehead. “You see so much beauty in everything, angel. I see so many gruesome things every week at my job, but then I spend five minutes with you, and I’m reminded how beautiful the world can actually be.” 

Maybe you’re being too sensitive, but your eyes well up when he says this. “You’re getting all poignant just because I called you pretty?” You recap in the form of a question, and Spencer’s lips fall into that flat-line smile. You crane your neck up to kiss him, a chaste yet lingering peck. 

“You didn’t just call me pretty,” Spencer reminds you. 

“Yeah, I did, I just expanded on it a little more than the average person.” 

“I wish I could see the world through your eyes,” he muses, his lips still right next to yours.

“You can borrow my eyes anytime, Spence.”

[mothlady-garden]

So hear me out (this is all a big maybe): Plant-Song as a way to communicate, that manifests in their bodies

A Chladni figure these are created when a vibrating surface (usually a metal plate) is covered with sand and excited by different frequencies. The sand accumulates at the nodal points where there is no movement.

Now for comparison the Plant pattern we see in the Anime Opening:

And now as a comparison, the Plant markings in the manga, which display kinda similar characteristics, further reinforce this connection: (Manga spoiler)

If we analyze the pattern, in Stampede it could correspond to a higher frequency or a complex superposition of different vibrations. However, it is difficult to determine an exact frequency or a specific tone based solely on the pattern. Such shapes typically arise at certain harmonics, and if they are symmetrical, regular shapes, they usually correspond to sounds like sine tones. The shape could indicate a sound between 500 Hz and 2 kHz, which would fall into the range of high-pitched tones (e.g., violin or flute).

There is also a scene in TriMax Vol 5, Chapter 03: Loss where Knives says to Vash who is currently opend his gate for the first time "... resonate with me" what would also fit into this theory

In the *Trigun Stampede* soundtrack, there is a song titled "Plant Song on Erhu" that would fit well within these frequencies.

In general, Plants can communicate through primitive sounds accessible to us, but they only do so in moments of extreme emotion, such as in Trigun Vol. 2 Ch. 9.

Additionally, communication through vibrations and frequencies would be far more efficient than the human linguistic. Let’s assume that the singing of their sisters falls below 20 Hz, into the infrasound range. In this case, they could communicate over thousands of kilometers without humans perceiving it.

The audible spectrum for humans covers less than 1% of all possible frequencies.

My theory is that the Plants use the dimension available to them as a kind of resonating body, and a shadow of their song is reflected into the lower dimensions through these intertwined vibrations. On top of that, other beings (especially those who have been enhanced) may possess the ability to sense the aura and emotions of the twins.

This would also explain why Vash can "feel" his twin. The terror WW repeatedly experiences could be linked to the idea that the experiments have improved him enough to partially perceive these frequencies, and/or that his instincts as Homo erectus are awakening, urging him to flee from the "predator" before it’s too late.

Additionally, the *Song of Humanity* mentioned in the manga would thematically fit very well with this idea.

Edit: This could also explain why Vash and Legato can communicate throu some kind of "telepathy". Maybe the blue mother fucker can also recieve/send out something similar to Plant-Song

They are angel-like beings that communicate through song, shaping their bodies with their tunes. I find that a very beautiful concept.

I know the theory has MANY holes, but I still thought it was worth writing about. Sorry when this theory is old.😅

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

[kittyball23]

Intrusion (a Trolls fanfic)

Summary: Poppy and Branch are out, seeking peace, quiet, and each other. Though, with four not-so-discreet snoopers around, that may not be so much of a possibility

A/N: Welcome to the next oneshot collection I've planned for TBT, "Brodacious!" (Also found on AO3, Wattpad, and Fanfiction.net under the same name) Can't wait to write for the Main 7, but of course, going to kick things off with a little Broppy ;) Think of this first one as a new edition (haha) of my oneshot from Trolls 3.0 "Setting the Mood" (ch 11) Rated G!

_________________________________________

Being a queen was a lot of work.

Branch knew this about Poppy, even before she had officially placed the crown on her head and received the title. Seeing King Peppy run Pop village, and then Poppy succeeding him, he could tell that the duties eventually took their toll on the two Trolls.

But, in turn, that’s what made quiet moments more appreciated. The times where she’d have a break to share alongside Branch for just the two of them to do as they pleased were always cherished, even if it was something simple like staying in his bunker, cuddled on the couch,eating cupcakes and other sweets while whispering silly but sweet things to one another. Or whether it was something a little more planned, like the picnic date he’d taken her out for that evening.

Twilight had fallen, and the sky was painted a beautiful gradient shade of orange and purple. Stars began to dot the sky, and the glow bugs began to flutter out, adding beauty to the scene around them. Though to Branch, nothing was more beautiful than the sight of the pretty pink-haired Troll that he was proud to call his girlfriend, even if she had a little bit of frosting stuck to her cheek from the cupcake she was eating. But it was not to worry. That’s why she had him. He was her partner, the metaphorical king to her queen, and the cupcake-frosting-wiper to her cupcake-frosting-mess.

He chuckled, scooting a little closer and setting his own cupcake down on the picnic blanket so that he could reach up and dab at her cheek with a napkin. She giggled in spite of herself and not being more cautious to not make such a mess eating, and then looked up gratefully into his deep, blue eyes. Branch felt himself entranced by her fuchsia gaze as well, and his hand lingered on her cheek, using his thumb to caress the skin where her cute freckles were. The moment was so perfect – why, it even sounded like there was sweet music going off in his head just from looking at her so.

But… maybe it wasn’t just in his head. Poppy blinked, coming out of her trance, and perked an ear. Branch did too, glancing around but not seeing anyone around just yet. Then he heard the voices a little more clearly – four very distinct and recognizable voices - and some rustling in the nearby bushes as an indicator of where it was coming from.

“Oh, oh-oh-oh, yeaheahah, come on, come on

Oh, oh-oh-oh, Sha-la-lala-la, la-lala, mmm-hmmm…”

Not making a whole lot of effort to hide themselves much, Branch and Poppy could see the heads of John Dory, Clay, and Floyd peeking out from behind the bushes, harmonizing a melody, while Bruce took on the main vocals.

“There, you see her,

Sitting there across the way,

She don’t got a lot to say, but there’s something about her...

And you don’t know why but you’re dying to try

You wanna, kiss the girl…”

Branch rolled his eyes as his other brothers added their own voices.

“Yeah, you want her,

Look at her you know you do,

It’s possible she wants you to,

But there’s one way to ask her

One way to ask her

One way to ask her…

Boy, you better do it soon,

No time would be better,

And it don't take a word, not a single word,

Go on, and kiss the girl, kiss the girl…”

Poppy giggled a little at their antics, but then grimaced a little upon seeing the rather annoyed look on Branch’s face. She knew that Branch definitely didn’t like this. She gently patted his hand. “Hey,” she said softly, “we can move somewhere else, you know.”

Branch glanced at her a bit deadpanned, but then a slight smirk tugged the corner of his lip. “Actually, I’d rather take the advice.”

And before Poppy could question what was going on, she was promptly tugged towards his face, his lips enveloping hers. Poppy sighed gratefully and returned the kiss as an eruption of wolf-whistles and jeering came from the other side of the bush.

“Woo-hoo! Way to go Branch the Heartthrob 2.0!” Bruce called out.

“Cool as ice but with all the spice!” John Dory riffed.

Clay in the meantime elbowed his brothers and gestured out wildly towards the pair. “See? SEE? Serious Boy Clay still has a couple of old tricks up his sleeve!”

“Way to go, Bromeo!” Floyd shouted to Branch encouragingly, clapping his hands.

But Poppy and Branch remained deaf to the brothers, their only focus being on the passion that they ignited between each other.

__________________________________________

A/N: I don't know about you, but when I watched 2023 Little Mermaid earlier this year, my brain kept distracting me by saying "Yo, Sebastian is just Spruce with a Jamaican accent" lmaooo

(also this version of Kiss the Girl is from Descendants 2, it's my fav version :3)

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

I found a transcript of the Jan 98 Q interview but it won’t let me post a link

https:// groups.google .com/g/rec.music.beatles/c/7clhNbsz3jE/m/stFmXJnzJSMJ

Maybe see if you can view it by removing the space between google and .com. If not I can screenshot and send you pictures

Oh wow, amazing!! thank you so much! this is an old usenet post from December 1997 and the user named Alison Fiddler kindly typed it up 27 years ago :)

I'll post the full transcript (and a bit reformated for legibility) below the cut for everyone.

Paul McCartney Interview for Q Magazine, January 1998 edition

Q. When you first wrote a song with John Lennon, did you realise you would play one of the biggest parts in rock 'n' roll?

(Michael McConnell, Crawley, West Sussex)

Q. If John Lennon could come back for a day, how would you spend it with him?

A. Obviously not. But even with all the so-called "historical" events that followed, you're just too inside it all, too busy doing it to realise anything's "historical". You just get on with it. I'm not a great ponderer. Some people would say that's a mistake but it's just the way I am. It's quite cool not to always get the overall picture because it leaves something to be found out. The musicologists get paid to discover the differences between me and John. I'm only just beginning to see it now, based probably on their analysis. So John is often one note, I'm often more melodic. (McCartney is thinking especially of Ian McDonald's book Revolution in the Head, where he describes the ace partnership in contrasts: Lennon's method is "harmonic, dissonant", McCartney's that of the "natural melodist".) It might sound amazing but we never spotted that when we were writing. We just did our thing. But it is kind of apparent when you bother to analyse it.

(Mark Wilson, Deeside, Flintshire)

A. In bed.

Q. Were you ever envious that Brian Epstein didn't fancy you?

(Nick Gibson, London)

Q. What were the last records you bought?

A. No, I didn't mind. We just used to go to these clubs at night and wonder why there were so many men. It was OK. Brian was very cool about his side to things. I think the nearest any of us got to it was the John-going-to-Spain thing (it inspired the movie, The Hours And The Times) and I'm not sure what the strength of all that was. I think it was power play on John's part. But Brian kept his private life aside. He kept it out of our faces (pause, possibly for effect). He kept it out of mine, anyway.

(Chris Timms, Harrogate)

A. The Prodigy's The Fat Of The Land, Radiohead's OK Computer and Chopin's Nocturnes.

Q. How do you feel about all the animosity between you and Oasis right now?

(Christina Vellano, Syracuse, New York, USA)

A. There is none as far as I'm concerned. What happened was I'd said, Good group, good singer, good songwriters. But people asked me about it so much that one time I decided to take it further and say that they don't mean anything to me. I am not related to Oasis. I wish them good luck and everything. But my kids mean something to me, John Lennon means something to me, but Oasis ....

Q. Who would you pick to play with in your dream six-piece band?

(Alan Thatcher, Essex)

A. Dream? So we're into fantasy, aren't we? Ringo, John, George, that's three. Me. Jimi Hendrix. That makes lots of guitarists, so Little Richard on keyboards.

Q. With Wings, did you feel pressurised to live up to The Beatles?

(Andrew Williams, Neath)

A. Yes, it was a case of "follow that!". Impossible to do. Looking back on it, it's a lot better than I thought, though some of it is just not PLAYED as well as The Beatles. My son (James, co-worker on McCartney's last pop album, Flaming Pie) plays a lot of Wings, so I'm re-listening, and there's good shit that I'd forgotten about. A lot of the lyrics were off the wall, drug stimulated. Things like "Soily - the cat in the satin trousers says its oily". What was I on? I think the answer is stimulants.

Q. Do you still support the legislation of cannabis?

(Grahame Woods, Northwood, Middlesex)

A. I would make a distinction between legalising and decriminalising. I'm in favour of the latter. The problem is that jails are stuffed full of kids doing what a lot of people do. Why stuff the jails with young kids? Plus it's one of the best places to score. I remember when I got busted in Japan, nobody made the slightest effort to rehabilitate me (laughs). Just stuck me in a box for nine days. Obviously you come out and you are fairly resentful.

Q. Do you roll a wicked joint?

(Steve Kline, Bury)

A. I have nothing to say in answer to that question, m'lud. I wasn't even at the venue.

Q. The critics have been harsh on your solo work. Did this ever

discourageyou?

(Robert Hemauer, Madison, Wisconsin, USA)

A. Yeah, sure, but you don't let it kill you. It's a difficult one, because it's never cool for someone to tell you you're shit. Many people through history were damned by the critics of their own time - Cezanne, Van Gogh, Stravinsky, all great painters! Ha ha!

Q. We'd like to see your paintings but can't get to the exhibition in

Germany (McCartney unveils his work for the first time in Siegen, Germany, next year). Any thoughts about putting your paintings on "tour", or publishing a book of them?

(Kathy Goodman, San Diego, CA, USA)

Q. You've done so many things - classical, films, music, art, drugs - is there anything left you might have a go at?

A. A difficult one. If you're a so-called celebrity - like Bowie, Anthony Quinn, Tony Curtis - and you exhibit any art, inevitably, people are not going to think of you as a real painter. Gallery owners come up to me and offer to give me exhibitions. I say, You haven't seen my pictures, and they say, It doesn't matter. Well, it does to me. Otherwise, it's just trading on the name. However, this guy from Germany came over, looked at all my paintings, seems to like them. He's telling me what they're all about.

(Tim Bowler, Swansea)

A. The thing is how reluctant I've often been to have a go. I think we were brought up pretty repressed. Brought up to be seen and not heard, to stay in your place, particularly a working class thing. And I think - I hope - with The Beatles, we got rid of a lot of that. With the painting, for instance, it was Willem de Kooning who liberated me. I used to go to his studio, took in one of my paintings, said, Hey Bill, I hope you don't mind but can you tell me what it is? (Affects American drawl) "Oh, looks "like a couch." Well it looked like a purple mountain to me. And he says, "Well, whatever." Here's one of the greats, his works go for one million, and it was great to see how little bullshit he was bringing to it all. It's really important to explode these myths that surround the arts, music, painting. It's Wizard of Oz time - so many myths, and it's often just a little man behind the screen. The paraphernalia that surrounds them gets in the way. Often you meet leaders in their field and they have none of that. I remember asking a great painter - Peter Blake, maybe - for some advice once, and he said "Just paint a lot". Similar to my approach to music.

Q. How do you know when a song's finished?

(Joyce Slavik, Palatine, Illinois)

A. It's full up. You've answered all of your questions. Normally, I start following a thread: "Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice ... " The thread might come out of nowhere, and I follow it and complete it, like crossword puzzle. When the crossword is full up, the song is finished.

Q. What's more embarrassing: writing Hi Hi Hi or Say Say Say?

(Tien Vu, Costa Mesa, California)

A. (Weighs up pros and cons). Say Say Say.

Q. Why did you give such extensive interviews for an authorised biography (Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now) instead of writing an autobiography?

(Deena Hochberg, Southampton, Pennsylvania)

Q. I'd like to know if Sir Paul sings in the shower, and if so, what does he sing?

A. I don't think I'm a writer. I've never been moved to do it. You have to have a pretty big fire in the belly to do something as big as that. I fancy music more. I'm happier writing in songs rather than in prose, or poetry. Though I wrote something that was never published about the time I got busted in Japan - for my kids. Because I knew one day they'd say, "Hey dad, what was it like, nine days in a Tokyo jail?". So I had a mate of mind, who did all our printing, knock up a few copies, one for each of the kids.

(Jennifer Nash, Bursville, Minnesota)

Q. As a kid you used to play pranks at school by throwing balloons filled with something "worse than water". If you had one of those balloons right now who would you like to hit with it?

A. It's normally the bath. I prefer a good bath. And the answer's Firestarter - "I'm a firestarter, de-de-de-de-dera."

(Brett Yuskiewicz, Leipzig, Germany)

A. Jonathan King. He's a prat from way back.

Q. Which football team did/does each Beatle support?

(WC Chan, Maryland, USA)

A. None of us were big footie types. We weren't very sporty, unlike other groups who were always having knock-arounds. My dad was an Everton fan, which I was most of my life. But then Liverpool started playing well, and Everton didn't, so I took the unprecedented move of supporting them both. It's not allowed, I know, but there you go.

Q. For years, you've claimed it's you in the Walrus costume in the Magical Mystery Tour film. But watching the footage shows that for it to be you, you and John would have had to exchange all your clothes. Are you winding us up, or have you not watched the film in 30 years?

(Dorothy Northcutt, Tucker, Georgia)

Q. What is the quality of each of the other Beatles that you like(d) the best about?

A. The big one. Very good question. I tell you what it was. In the stills we had taken, I was the one with the Walrus head on – in the film it's different. So John then immortalised it in Glass Onion, "I've got news for you all, the walrus was Paul". Obviously at the time you don't care, it's just a Walrus head. You don't realise years later people like our friend from Georgia will analyse it.

(S. Breggles, Richmond)

A. All of them – musical talent. All of them – honesty. Ringo – funny, and kind-hearted. George – straightforward and open. John – witty with a soft centre, or maybe hard with a soft centre.

Q. Do the copulating beetles on the sleeve of Ram (1970) stand for F**k The Beatles?

(Luc Van de Wiele, Wemmel, Belgium)

A. It happened to be a picture Linda had taken. We couldn't resist it just because of the way it looked. She'd caught these two beetles f**king, and then the significance hit us. We saw that pun, yeah, thought why not?

Q. Was there ever a third Lennon song for Anthology 3?

(Jake Lennington, Rush City, MN, USA)

A. There was, but George didn't like it. The Beatles being a democracy, we didn't do it.

Q. I have a Beatles t-shirt which I bought from The Grapes (celebrated Liverpool pub). I was told the band are pictured in their favourite seats - adjacent to the Ladies where you would often catch a glimpse of the girls changing for an evening at The Cavern. True?

(Alan Tomkins, Goring, West Sussex)

A. I hope so. It SOUNDS true. Had there been an opportunity to spot the girls changing, I'm sure we would have sat there.

Q. If you hadn't been a musician, what do you think you would have been?

(Tony Carter, Manchester)

A. The only thing I could have probably qualified for was teaching. So I might have been an English teacher.

Q. Does it do your head in - stuff like the handwritten lyrics to Getting Better selling for $249,000 at Sothebys?

(Peggy Robinson, Trinant, Gwent)

A. It's the price of fame - literally. You scribble them on the back of an envelope, and it gets to be famous. People want it, so it becomes a desirable object. Like Mozart's bog paper, which is another highly desirable object, apparently. More valuable obviously if it's been used.

Q. What is the inscription on the ID bracelet you wear?

(Rachel Hyland, West Harford, Connecticut)

A. It says Paul - for when I forget who I am.

Q. How does it feel to have a star named after you (the christening courtesy of American astronomy fans)?

(John Sales, Barry, Glamorgan)

A. Really cool. The good thing is that as you get on, your fans get on too. And some of them are pretty swotty. Like the people who started Apple, they were just Beatles fans, hence the name. You don't sit around looking at the sky, trying to find it, but it's like getting a very nice birthday present. I'm not religious, I don't believe in any one system - I sort fo think the universe is basically benevolent and we f**k it up - but I am spiritual. I saw Stephen Hawking on TV the other night, and he was saying that we are made of the same stuff as the stars. Which is great. We are all stardust, luv.

Q. What do you want written on your gravestone?

(Tom Mangold, Exeter)

A. Here lies Gracie Fields. Anything to keep people away.

[honeybewrites]

Writerly Questionnaire

Thank you @paeliae-occasionally for the tag, @harmonic-melodii for the tag, @the-golden-comet for the tag, @sableglass for the tag, @the-letterbox-archives for the tag,

@ominous-feychild for the tag and @willtheweaver for the tag!! Also thanks to @davycoquette for creating the game!!

About You

When did you start writing?

Hmm, that shouldn't be a hard question and yet here we are. Honestly, I don't know. I have a really shitty memory, especially when it comes to my childhood. I think I might have been around ten when I first started?

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

No, I definitely like writing the same stuff I read. Fantasy and sci-fi is my jam! Throw in some massive world building, some angst and whump and you've got me hooked.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

I definitely haven't been compared to anyone. I would like to emulate Brandon Sanderson in the sense of his massive world building and phenomenal magic systems.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

I don't really have a set space. I often write on the living room couch because it's the most comfortable. I do have a desk that I will occasionally write at, but it's pretty uncomfortable after a short while, and I mostly use it for other work instead.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

The car or the bathroom. I know it's sounds super strange, but driving without any music, or better yet riding with it, often gets my brain thinking. And wether I'm showering or just washing my face, a lot of my best ideas come to me in the bathroom.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

I really don't know, but I doubt it. Like I said, my memory is shitty. We had moved about five or six times by the time I graduated high school. It was all in the same city at least, but different parts of it. As for people, I was a hermit. I didn't have any friends or hardly ever talk to people my age.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Does whump count? On a more serious note, I haven't done what I call a deep edit in years. I think, just off the top of my head, trauma and abuse are pretty reoccurring, along with internal emotional issues like trust.

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

That's a tough one! I love my babies! I think my current favorite would be 703. She's been around the longest and honestly, she'd helped me through some bad times and I'm not sure I would be here without her.

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

As much as I love her, 703 and I would not get along. She's a little too trigger happy and I'm a little too non confrontational. I think Rage and I would hit it off pretty well though. Maybe Fres too if I could break through their barriers.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

I have said this before and I'll say it again, Master Gerd. That man is a straight up bastard and I would gladly choke the life out of him if ever given the chance. He just makes me so angry.

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

It's pretty different for each one. Sometimes they start with a name, other times they don't. It is pretty consistent that I just start writing them into the story before coming up with all the details. If the character sticks around and starts to have a more predominant role, that's generally when I'll go into detail about their backstory and they get their own file in my doc. But this isn't always the case. Sometimes, I just already know all this information from the start and I can write it all down. 703 was like that. Sometimes things come up along the way slowly. But for the most part, I just start writing and everything else works out fine.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

Trauma!! Gotta have the dark backstory haha! Most of my OCs have very unhappy and traumatic childhoods/young adult lives 😈. Protectiveness also comes up quite a lot along with being physically strong. I mean, most of my OCs are in a "cult" of some kind that generally goes around fighting things... okay maybe cult is a theme too now that I'm thinking about it. I've got the Mors (bad cult) Oraniz (morally gray cult) Ryuk's pack (wholesome cult) and mafia like organizations in Rune Storm (also bad/morally gray cults)... yeah I think that might be a theme.

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

Animation style. I've always wanted, especially when I was younger and life hadn't taught me anything yet, to have my work turned into an animated series. Even now, that little dream, that I realize is very unlikely, stays the same. I think you can do a lot more with animation than you can live action, and it's always how I've imagined my OCs. Albeit it is a little more "realistic" animation, like Dreamworks, Disney, those kinds of things.

Your Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

If I don't write down my OCs and world, I'm pretty sure I'll go mad. I love sharing my writing, but I write for myself first and foremost. And writing has gotten me through a lot of really hard times in my life. It's something I can always turn to and it helps me express and process things. I can't imagine my life without it. It's just a part of me.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

Honestly, just saying you enjoyed it is more than enough. I never thought I'd have anyone that would be interested in my writing enough to leave comments on it. Every time I get one on anything I post, it always makes me smile.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

I think I’d like to be seen as just a really good world builder and nice writer in general. I don’t really have any expectations 😂

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Um world building maybe? I’m not really sure I’ve got any greatest strengths deal when it comes to writing. I don’t think I’m horrible, but I’m certainly not great or anything.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Uh, no. This is the only place I’ve ever talked about my writing. Don’t exactly have any irl to discuss it with or anything I trust to read it. That would get me in a less than ideal situation pretty fast.

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

I think it could use a lot of work if I ever want to publish it. I definitely enjoy doing it, but I don’t think it’s all that great.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Yes. Honestly, I never thought anyone would be interested in my writing anyway. Plus, if I’m the last human, I need some form of entertainment haha

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

I’d like to say it’s pretty much for my enjoyment, but I’m sure there’s some influence of what other people might like too. I’m a chronic people pleaser unfortunately

Tagging @yourpenpaldee @fractured-shield @anaisbebe @aalinaaaaaa @nczaversnick

@kaylinalexanderbooks @wyked-ao3 @diabolical-blue and anyone else who wants to hop on!! Seriously, everyone should do this tag game, it's super fun and insightful!

[parsnippety]

Brainstorming-

Mkay I have several ideas for alien/human posts so I'm putting them here before I forget. If this gets popular maybe I'll actually write some lol

Songs/singing : sounds being very powerful w/ other species; the most severe (?) sounds you'll find are soft clicks/rumbling and most languages developed through touch / what we'd call sign language. So these species are mesmerized by human singing cause they either can't do it / don't have enough control over the pitch of their voice or they "hear" by feeling vibrations and process tones differently.

This has endless possibilities- a human singing softly while working and causing some extreme reaction in the mechanics of the ship or their crewmates, humans taking over ships by accessing the intercom system, humans knowing the first thing to do if they're kidnapped is to yell at a really low pitch then a really high one cause chances are one of them will do something, videos of humans harmonizing becoming really popular (and being banned in several galaxies), two humans realizing they both know a song with a harmony and proceeding to sing it (causing everyone on the ship to stop what they're doing and just listen in awe), sign language becoming the main form of communication and ships having soundproof rooms so humans can talk to each other / themselves...

Species variation : most species didn't figure out efficient space travel for millions of years. Pair that with gene editing (to get rid of "imperfections"- usually this portion of the species' history is their "dark age"), and each individual looks pretty much identical. Most species have some sort of fetishized/slur word for individuals with any kind of abnormality, cause they're really really rare at this point. Think crocodiles; maybe some color variations but they've stayed more or less the same for millions of years. But humans? No two look the same- except maybe identical twins, but they could have different haircuts (don't even get me started on body modifications- other species do it, sure, but humans are already so different that it makes them a nightmare to teach about.) And in space the beauty standards are all over the place so if you want tattooed stripes you can get them- but wait, aren't there already some humans with stripes? And pointed ears? Dyed hair?

There's also the constant battle between human willpower and circumstance. When other species carefully figure out how to turn and move around an obstacle, humans are literally slingshotting themselves off of it. But for every death-defying feat, there are God knows how many feat-defying deaths. One human got an adrenaline rush and lifted an entire gnarflax. Another fainted 'cause they stood up too fast. Most species have clearly defined limits, so there's no pressure to push past them.

And mimicry : As if humans' vocal range isn't enough (what's that clicking? Sounds like a xhrhghfnl from my home planet- nope, it's John. Machinery malfunctioning? Alarms? Nope. F***ing John.), they can also make disguises and act. See, most species can manipulate the holograms or whatever but there's no way they'd be able to do convincing impressions in real time. Just going for it? Completely irrational.

One time, a human even convinced an entire rhusngi fleet that she was a rhusngi inspector "in disguise". (Honestly that line should've given it away but it walked and moved with the same mannerisms- the same- I don't even know. We were completely- what's that human expression?- shook.)

Not knowing what someone's going/been through unless they tell you is a completely novel concept. Imagine a human acting all violent when you take over their ship so you put 'em in the brig somehow, only to pull up the camera feed later and see them sobbing or completely frozen in a fetal position, or even worse- hurting themselves somehow. But the second you go down there, they're spitting curses at you and showing zero signs of weakness.

If anyone wants to write about these pls go right ahead. Sorry if they've already been done/overused (if they have, please lmk so I can go read them).

[st-highwind]

Ramble, Bahamut Knight edition!

In my own little ffiv offshoot/au/whatever you wanna call it, I have different ideas for Kain. Ofc.

I politely and respectfully (against my will) dislike the Holy Dragoon getup. This idea initially stemmed from my dislike of the armor alone. However, the more I thought about it and as I actually played (and again, respectfully disliked) The After Years, the more the idea/concept developed.

Kain becoming a Holy Dragoon, to me, takes away from his whole spiel of “I didn’t kill off the dark parts of me, I just accepted them as part of me”. The gist of becoming a “Holy” anything is that the dark is completely purged, removed, eradicated— Kain explicitly does not “kill” his Dark Side, rather he absorbs it. The dark is there, but honed and harmonized. Of course, I don’t want this alteration or Bahamut’s involvement to detract from Kluya’s spirit recognizing Kain’s strength. I feel that that detail fiercely emphasized the bond Cecil and Kain share, for Cecil’s dead father to share power he’d once granted to his son to what I can only assume is another son figure for him. I do feel Kluya’s spirit’s involvement is a testimony to their brotherhood and devotion to one another.

I want to connect Kain to Bahamut, first and foremost. As the dragon god of the eidolons, Bahamut’s gotta know something or another about dragoons or, if we’re feeling pretentious, Mr. Highwind himself. Kain fights Lunar Bahamut during his Lunar Trial, and I want to build on that. A lot. Bahamut likely would’ve also known about the slaughter of dragoons and wyverns in the ffii storyline.

In my mind’s eye, I picture Kain defeating Dark Kain during his trial, Lunar Bahamut appearing and, upon its defeat, its scales flake off and the real Bahamut emerges like something of an odd cocoon. Hatching out of an egg, maybe. For symbolism.

(Alternatively, it would be neat for Bahamut to hatch out of an egg and parallel the last wyvern in ffii that baby Kain bonded with…but I digress)

Anyways, the real Bahamut appears in Kain’s trial. Ideally, Kain will have done a bit better in accepting the darker facets of his persona within my au given Thrush’s presence and therefore doesn’t feel the need to fuck off to Mt. Ordeals for ten years. Instead, Bahamut would appear at the end of Kain’s trial and, with Kluya’s lunarian spirit shrouding the room in some sort of magical aura, Bahamut commends Kain for his strength, resilience, and willpower. He offers to boost his strength and bestow upon him the capacity for black magic.

Kain, knowing the regality of the lunar dragon, kneels and accepts. Bahamut then inhales and unleashes a plume of flame onto the dragoon, enveloping him in a biblical cleansing flame. Once Bahamut’s breath flickers out, Kain stands in a brand new suit of armor with a new weapon fitting nicely in his hand.

“Now,” Bahamut begins, his draconic voice emanating from every corner of the room. “I declare you the Lance of Bahamut.”

Kain, as a Bahamut Knight, now possesses the ability to use black magic. He may not bolster tier 3 attack spells, and as a matter of fact, he might utilize black magic in the same way that Cecil uses white. They may lack the most useful spells that Rosa and Rydia harbor, but they make great backups and can still wail out physical damage. Kain, now with Abel’s Trident, finds that his Jump ability has been replaced with Dive Bomb, a skill that when used, adds a selected elemental charge to Kain’s jump while also increasing the damage output. He withstands magic attacks a bit better and is still a deadly quick fighter.

The development of Kain into a Bahamut Knight rather than the Holy Dragoon makes more sense in my mind as it truly does encapsulate the acceptance and control of his inner darks. It is the honing of the very facets of his persona and channeled into carving a path to his future and fully restoring his honor and dignity.

Idk. Thoughts?

[andromedaexists]

WUPDATE: Incorrect Eyes

𝚆𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟹𝚛𝚍 || 𝙴𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎

I already tagged all the Desecrate people this week so I'll do an Incorrect Eyes update this week!

BIG NEWS!!!! INCORRECT EYES WAS PUBLISHED!!! AND YOU CAN READ IT FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!!!

Okay, now let's talk some more about that! I was updating y'all pretty regularly earlier this year as I worked on IE and then I kinda... stopped.

Well, I was able to get it to the editor I was really hoping for (thank you @whatsuptyler ily beepaw)! Tyler did an amazing job really finding all my inconsistencies and making sure the narrative worked!

I also had a big change on the art end! I originally wanted to have Mx. Morggo doing the chapter art for IE, but they fell through (literally just never responded to an email after telling me they were interested in the project but that's okay! Life is weird!). Then I kinda waffled on where to go next and ended up having WerewolfPresident on IG do it and it turned out great!! I love the illustrations and the chapter header that I got, they're everything!!

I am also waiting on some illustrations to come in from my tattoo artist, I would like to use these as like those vellum art pages that you can put into books. I don't know if I'll actually get these art pieces but that just seems to be the vibe for IE lol

I say that because I am still waiting on the cover art for IE. I am really upset about this just because I have not heard from the artist since June, when I had stated that the book is being published in July back when I first got into contact with her in December. It has been nearly a year and I don't have the art. I am really hoping to receive it still, and I won't make the paperback editions of IE available until I have the cover illustration.

That's all the updates I really have on the art end of things, but I do have one more update in general: Incorrect Eyes qualifies for the Bram Stoker Awards in the Long Fiction category this year!! If you know an HWA member or are an HWA member yourself (like I am now!!), then I would greatly appreciate your consideration of my psychological religious horror story for the awards cycle this year!

Now that that's done, let's get to the good part (the snippies!):

Be Not Afraid. My life changed when I heard those three words. It wasn’t an immediate change. No, it was a slow, crawling thing. I was raised a good Catholic kid, after all. Those three words were ones that I grew up with, ones that I am well acquainted with. Sundays were always full of stories about the messengers of God, tales as great as They were that sung their praises. But, of course, any time the Angels were mentioned, the greeting wasn’t far behind. Be Not Afraid was a melody that hung in the background of my life over the soft harmonies of the church’s organs, soothing me into complacency.

maybe one more for yous:

I can remember what the Father told me to believe in church all those years ago. Remember how he guided me in prayer after I asked about this description and why is was so scary. He told me that the chants of the Angels were something to be heard, that They could lift a soul and bring it closer to God. But when I read the words on the page I return to the question the small child I used to be asked. Why is it so scary? I can’t hear their chants, my ears are filled with Their screaming and wailing. Their shouts beg for atonement and forgiveness. Images pop unbidden into my mind: Angels as we knew them growing up, human-like and innocent. But now They have tears of viscous blood streaming down Their faces as They grovel before His throne, screaming and begging for His warmth. Seraphim and Cherubim just behind Them, blocking the pathetic Angels in, forcing Them to submit to His holy gaze. Their screams harmonize in the worst ways, ringing through my mind and spilling through my ears. The mind-numbing pain They cause is only worsened as my eyes are drawn further down the page. Woe is me for I am ruined [must be silent] because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. Unclean, unclean, unclean. The word repeats in my mind, tearing through the chorus of terror put forward by the Angels. I am unclean, just like he was. I live among people with unclean Eyes, just as he with lips. He—I—we are RUINED. My mind conjured the image of the next paragraph. Of the Seraphim flying towards me—Isaiah—us holding a glowing coal by means of a pair of tongs. From the altar is comes. As it lays the burning stone in my eyes, it speaks: Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed and your sin is atoned for. Then I scream.

and then the final thing I'll share, the first chapter header:

TAGLIST

@winterandwords @crypticcodexcreations @inkspellangel @smol-feralgremlin

@joswriting @love-whatit-loves @annetillney @bebewrites

Please fill out this form to be added or ask to be removed!

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Ep 1, Part 2

Hello! When we left off in my Build Up Recap adventure, we had just finished the first part of episode 1. In this post, we'll get through more of episode 1, and we'll learn why this man is making this face!

Let's do it!

A reminder on the color coding: blue is soul, orange is allround, green is unique, and purple is power.

We just saw Seongjeong the leaping lizard do his amazing intro.

Then of course it’s time for everyone to talk about who looks like who, as seems to happen at the beginning of every variety show like this, and as usual I don’t see most of them.

They say that Choi Suhwan looks like Onestar, and for this one, I guess maybe. (You may remember Onestar from his time as a vocal trainer on various Produce seasons.)

No one talks about how Hyukjin looks like Lee Yedam from Boys Planet/Onepact. (Or is it just me?) 

Yedam, left, and Hyukjin, right.

Everyone says that Bitsaeon from M.O.N.T. looks exactly like Code Kunst. He doesn’t really, except that both of them have ears that stick out. Everyone seems to be talking about that, so he introduces himself as someone who wants to be as famous as Code Kunst. 

Just then (at least in the edit), V36 starts to play -- it’s Rose Blossom by H1-Key, as performed by Bitsaeon. (I’d have to assume that the song played first, then he introduced himself by name afterward…?) 

Seunghun from CIX starts dancing along as his new friend Hwanhee tries to place the song.

Everyone seems to like the performance, including me! He sounds great, and Sunghun from CIX interviews that their voices would harmonize well. Jay says, “aju nice!” when it’s done -- I wonder if he recognized it as Bitseon, since they probably know each other.  

Bitseon gets 21 votes, and says he’ll prove himself to those who didn’t pick him. 

Seongjeong the leaping musical actor says to his neighbor Joohee that there are a lot of idols here. That leads into a montage of performances from idol singers, all of whom are wondering, will anyone like my voice? (At least, the caption says they are.)  

Seokhwa from WEi, V37

Hwanhee from Up10tion, V38  (Tomboy)

Geonu from Just B, V10

Donghun from ACE, V20 (Miracles in December)

Donghun interviews that he’s here as a main vocal, and he’s expecting to see many other main vocalists. 

Every time I see Donghun in this episode, between his loosened tie and ill-fitting blazer and tired demeanor, all I can see is a beat cop in a police procedural who's ready to interrogate a subject.

Is it just me?

So, in honor of that, I'm going to call him "Detective Donghun" to remember him. As with all my nicknames, they're done to help us remember who is who and they're laced with love.

Kim Seoyhung says that he can’t sing stylish trendy songs, like the way idols sing. Yoon Inhwan interviews that all the idols sound the same, which is I think is unfair. Hwanhee, in particular, doesn’t sound like the others at all. Inhwan is mostly worried that their voices wouldn’t mix well, and I could say something like “I wonder if anyone’s voice would mix with yours, after you drank that gallon of milk before you sang?” But that would be mean. I try not to be mean, you guys. 

All the idol main vocalists get relatively low scores.

Hwanhee gets 14, Seokhwa gets 15, Donghun gets 18, and Geonu gets 11. I wonder if Hwanhee’s low vote tally is as much to do with his sort of sharp vocal color? I love the way it comes through in Up10tion songs but I could imagine people worrying about his harmonizing. Or maybe they didn’t think he showed enough in his teaser, since he sang a pop song and had backup vocals. 

Meanwhile, Seunghun from CIX is super nervous. 

It seems like he and Hwanhee have struck up a bit of a friendship. Hwanhee asks him if he often gets nervous, and Seunghun is like, I really, really do. Even at the pre-tape meeting, he was shaking. Hwanhee is like, there’s nothing to be nervous about -- you already recorded your teaser, so you can relax, right? (“Plus, we don’t have to dance!” -- Hwanhee, probably) But Seunghun is just a bag of anxiety wearing a brown jacket. 

When the voice says V1 will play, he reacts so strongly that it must be obvious that he is V1. As I said in my intro posts, I don’t think he was super successful in this performance, so I can understand why he’d be nervous. Like, you know you screwed up, and now everyone else is going to know, too. Aww, poor guy. When the song finishes playing, everyone applauds, but few had voted for him -- only 7. At the reveal of this low number, a bunch of the guys cover their mouth in shock.

Park Jeup, he of the powerful pussy bow, said he didn’t understand the low result -- in his opinion, this is a voice that would match with anyone’s. But Hong Seongjun from BDC, he of the white jacket with the mandarin collar, said it was “lacking.” Jay interviews that he didn’t vote for it or even really listen because it was in the ballad style, which wouldn’t match with his style.

Seunghun says, “I haven’t shown 20% of my voice. I will be the vocalist that could match anyone’s voice.” Everyone applauds. Fighting! Taehwan from Vanner says to Bitseon, “It’s a voice that could match with anything,” and Bitseon agrees. That’s sweet. 

Kindly hyung Hwanhee reaches out to touch Seunghun’s shoulder. “Do you feel better now that it’s over?” Seunghun says, “I feel better, but it’s a bummer.” He says he knew that the competition would be tough, but he’s still ashamed of the result. I think he might be fighting back tears. Oh no! Poor guy. I think we’ve all been there -- it’s too late to fix it so you just have to ride it out.

After that, we jump straight to V07.

If you’re just reading the recaps and didn’t necessarily listen to all the teasers, be sure to check this one out. Just try to picture someone who’d be singing it. 

The guys all react the moment it begins to play. 

Inhwan likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure. 

Seunghun likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure. 

Ma Jaekyung (former Romeo) says, “oh, what a nice voice.” Bitsaeon (M.O.N.T.) says, “Wow, this is truly unique.” The vote tally immediately begins to climb. Basically, everyone loves it, even Dahee. Kim Seongjeong, our leaping lizard, says that this person has a monster talent.  Jay says, “He was the one I wanted to work with the most out of all 40 people.” Sunyoul from Up10tion is like, just tell us who it is already!! 

Park Jeup (former IMFACT), with his puissant pussy bow, leans over the red-suited Hyukjin (100%/Fave1) to point out Neon, wearing green. They think it’s him singing. 

Side note: Google translate swears up and down that Park Jeup’s name is “Taxidermy”. Taxidermy is apparently 박제술, andJeup’s name is  박제업. So the first two syllables are the same. That’s unfortunate! 

So, who could it be? Who could be the owner of this interesting voice that won 27 votes, taking over first place…? They expected someone with that voice to be kind of old, but it’s youthful, soft-voiced (when speaking) Kang Hayoon. 

LTR: Lim Jun-hyuk, Woong, Sunyoul (in pink), Kang Hayoon in beige and light blue

He introduces himself with an anacrotic poem with the syllables of his name. “I’ll appeal strongly/ dear god, for me to debut/ please allow me.” Everyone says, “cyooo!” 

Up next is V33, sung by Neon (the one wearing green). It’s Rush Hour. Did he get permission from Jay to sing this? And did he get permission to do what he does next, which is get out of his chair and say things like “make some fucking noise!” making it really clear that he’s the one singing...? It seems at least against the spirit of the rules, if not actually against the letter, but no one is stopping him, so he’s just going to do that.  

A bunch of them get up to dance, including Woong and Sunyoul, both of whom seem ready to have fun here. I enjoy a joiner. 

Choi Haram, in his houndstooth gray and white blazer thing, interviews, “I’m a big introvert, He looked so cool. I was jealous.” I’ll call him introverted Haram. 

Neon introduces himself as an R&B/Soul singer-songwriter. He says he ran around to give them all energy. The running around thing was maybe a mistake, because a few of them say, “oh no, I was too busy dancing to vote!” He only gets 13 votes.  Donghun from ACE would have voted for him, and I think Seokhwa would have too. Neon interviews, “Considering those who forgot to vote out of surprise, I guess I did ok.” 

We find out that Woong from AB6IX has forgotten to vote more than once -- including during Pixar character Jo Hwanji’s audition with Swing My Baby. We see a bit of Woong’s pre-show taping interview, where he is wearing a denim jacket on top of another denim jacket on top of a hoodie. Do they not heat these studios at all or what?

He says, “It’s really hard to be the son of MNET. Right now, I’m the son of Rhymer from Brand New Music.” (AB6IX is under Brand New Music, and Rhymer is the founder.)  “But I’m open to anything. I love you, boss MNET!” 

So, how did Woong do with his singing? Let’s find out! 

He’s V11. The on screen caption says “Unique and captivating voice,” and as you know if you read my episode 0 guides, I like his singing, though I’m not quite sure how trained he is. It just sounds good. Bitsaeon points out that V11 (Woong) does well with the rhythm, and that’s true, he definitely does. As Woong dances along to his own singing, everyone is voting for him. Lee Gwangseok says, “That was outstanding.” And getting a bit of Woong’s personality along with the voice definitely makes the performance… well… sing.

Even though everyone seemed to enjoy the performance, Woong only gets 14 votes, but he stays cheerful. Woong says, “the result is different form the response. I’m still happy with the result. I’ll seize my chance and become the son of MNET. Fighting!” 

Woong center, in blue. In the foreground you can see the back of Hyukin’s head, Park Jeup’s head, and Kim Minseo’s head. In the suit to the left of Hyukjin, that’s Yoon Inhwan, then I think that’s Jo Hwanji the Pixar character, and Lim Junhyeok in white. Behind Woong is Sunyoul from Up10tion in Pink, Kang Hayoon in the cravat, Wumuti in the hat, and Lee Gwangseok/Kwangseok in the leather jacket. 

Fighting! Also here is a picture of Inseok from KNK for my readers who love him. Also, why does Yeo One clap that way? That’s a weird way to clap. LTR: Yeo One, Inseok, and Ma Jaekyoung from Romeo.

Most of the guys laugh and clap for Woong’s enthusiasm, but Hong Seungjun is a bit more serious. 

His group, BDC, was also from Brand New Music, but basically disbanded in August of 2023. BDC even went on Peak Time to try to stir up some interest first, but the group was eliminated in the first round. Basically, Seungjun has had a tough road and it makes sense that he might be a little, I don’t know... maybe "bitter" is too harsh a word, but I think you know what I mean. Like, he’s been through it. And it must be extra galling that AB6IX is doing comparatively well, being from the same agency and all that. 

Seungjun voiceovers, “I thought it was odd. They’re still performing and doing pretty well. I’m wondering, what are they doing here? Especially Yeo One-sunbaenim from Pentagon.”

As if in response, Yeo One interviews, “I’ve been in this filed for a long time. I got 10 seconds, max 20 seconds in each song. I always had the third to sing for 10 years that can never be quenched. I’m here because I want to sing. I’m here to sing. I want people to watch me singing. That’s all I want.”

Then V40 plays -- it’s Yeo One. People seem to be enjoying it, and the vote tally creeps up. They like his expressiveness, which I can understand. Bitsaeon from MONT says, “I want to listen to that before I go to bed.” Personally, I put on a Jenny Nicholson video. Is that weird? Probably. Anyway, Yeo One gets 22 votes, which is pretty good. “I’m happy that people listened to me singing,” he interviews. Ok, Yeo One, we get it, sweetie. 

Little Kang Hayoon is still in first place, and Seunghun from CIX is in last. Dahee asks Hayoon if he thinks he’ll stay in first place, and Hayoon is like, “Didn’t even cross my mind.” 

But now it’s time for… V19. Will Hayoon be deposed? A rough, sweet, textured voice fills the studio. Everyone interviews things like “How can anyone even sing that well?” “It was such a deep voice. I was so surprised by it.” The vote tally is over the top -- it’s 32, leaving Hayoon in the dust. “It kind of poked my heart,” Hayoon says, of falling to second place. And whose voice is it? It’s Lee Gwangseok, the guy in the leather jacket. 

It seems unfair to everyone that such a tall, good looking guy (his normal job is to be a model!) with no training at all can just sing like that.Well, that’s how it be, sometimes, I guess! Sunyoul from Up10tion interviews, “The world is messed up!” and laughs. 

“I never majored in singing or learned it before,” Gwangseok says. I just was hoping I’d get more than 5 votes. I’m grateful they liked my voice. As someone who dreamed of becoming a singer, I’m glad.” 

No one wants to follow that, but Jeup feels like it’s going to be him. We hear from a few of the contestants, including Hwanhee from Up10tion, that the “guy in red” (Hyukjin) and “the guy in the ribbon” (Jeup) are ones to watch. Sunyoul says that Jeup is a “monstrous vocalist”, that he’s so good that it’s like he’s cheating.

We get to hear some of V34, ie, Jeup. It is some serious technique on display. Everyone seems to respect what they heard, saying that it deserves a standing ovation and stuff like that. But the vote tally doesn’t quite reflect that. He gets only 28 votes, putting him in second place. Some of them find if very strange, including Jay and Hwang Inhyuk. 

Geonu from Just B and Sunyoul from Up10tion both interview that they’re hesitant to team up with someone so good. “Because he’s so good, I want to work with him,” Sunyoul says, laughing, “but at the same time, because he’s so good, I don’t want to work with him.”

And that’s all we see of the Voice Check! Again, if you want to hear what I think of all 40 performances, be sure to check out my “episode zero” write ups for each grouping of voices. 

Unique  Power Allround Soul

Here’s the ranking, with the number of votes received, a brief phrase to hopefully help you remember them (what they were wearing, what they sang, their group, etc) and what category they were in (Unique, Power, Soul, Allround.) If their name is in italics, we didn’t see much of them so far, not even as reaction shots or interviews. Some of my notes to jog your memory may refer to my other write ups. 

1. Lee Gwangseok               32        leather jacket                     U 2. Park Jeup                        28         pussy bow                          P 3. Kang Hayoon         27         cravat cutie                        U 4. Lim Sanghyun         25         purple cardigan                 S Kim Seongjeong         25         leaping lizard                     S      Taewoo                     25         black shirt                          U     Jung Soomin         25         Chicago                              S 8. Sunyoul                     24         Up10tion                            U 9. Kwon Euibin         24         beige cardigan                  U 10. Jay Chang                     23         Boys Planet                      S 11. Jeong Inseong         22          from KNK                          A        Hwang Inhyuk         22         light red sweater             A        Yeo One                     22         Pentagon                           A 14. Hong Sungwon           21         Desperado                       U    Bitsaeon                     21          M.O.N.T                             A 16. Kim Seohyung         18          light blue shirt                   U       Donghun                     18          A.C.E. (Detective)            S      Jo Hwan-ji                       18         uniform/Pixar                    P 19. Ji Yeon-woo           17         suspenders                       A 20. Seokhwa                     15          WEi                                  S 21. Choi Haram         14          introverted Haram     P      Jeon Woong         14          AB6IX                              U      Lee Hwanhee         14         Boys Planet/UP10tion       U 24. Jeong Yunseo         13         red and black leather        A Wumuti                     13         Boys Planet                      U      Park Joohee         13           white jacket                     S      Yoon Inhwan         13           drank all that milk           P       Hong Seongjun         13           white jacket / BDC         A       Neon                     13          green sweater                  U       Kim Minseo         13          Rolling in the Deep         P 31. Taehwan                     12          Vanner                       A                       Ma Jaekyung         12           Romeo                           S              33. Lee Minwook         11           Newkidd/ vest lover        S Geonu                     11           Just B /pink hair              A Choi Suhwan         11            Energetic                       A 36. Hyukjin                     10           red suit                         P 37. Bain                       9            orange-red hair            S 38. Seunghun                       7            anxious from CIX         A Lim Junhyuk           7            former Day 6                P 40. Jang Intae                       5            Missing You                 A

I can’t understand how on earth Kim Minseo was rated so low. I also think that Lee Minwook and Bain were much lower than they should have been. The fact that Yoon Inhwan ranked as high as he did is surprising to me -- for me, it was one of the worst performances of the teasers. I guess the guys and I have different taste in singers. 

After the reveal of the rankings, we hear from a few of the guys about how they felt. We hear from Lim Junhyuk and Seunghun about how they feel about being ranked so low, but we don't hear from Intae, despite him coming in last. Ah, MNET. I didn't even have time to miss you.

Dahee announces the next mission: The “Prefour” mission. Bain says, in English, “What’s that?” (He’s sitting next to Jay and using it as an opportunity to practice his English.) It’s where they make groups of four and perform one of these songs.

And you’re sitting there saying to yourself “TOMBOY AGAIN?!” but no, it’s a different Tomboy.

The songs are:

Breath by Park Hyo Shin

Something Like That by Park Hwayobi

Beautiful by Crush 

Delcalcomanie by Mamamoo

다시 사랑한다 말할까 (Shall I Love You Again?) by Kim Dong Ryul

Ditto by New Jeans

Don't Go, Don't Go by Brown Eyes

If You by Big Bang

Tomboy by Hyukoh, a huge hit from 2017

Every Moment of You by Sung Sikyung

It’s is a good reminder that for Koreans living in Korea, kpop is just part of their musical sphere of influence, along with ballads, trot, and other genres. Often enough on Korean top 40s you’ll see very popular ballads, mixed in with the kpop. I think some Western listeners also like some ballads, but I think most of us aren't as interested in them, so we can easily forget how important they are in Korea.

To be clear, I differentiate between a song that is slow and an actual k-ballad. I just don't like 99% of k-ballads. The arrangements are usually straightforward and they’re played on vibraphones with cheesy percussion. Also, the style of singing is just not my favorite. and are always delivered in the most overwrought singing style ever, with way too much vibrato. It can border on operettic but a lot more nasal. I am not saying, for example, that the singing in the original of “Shall I Love You Again?” linked above is bad. I just saying that it’s really not to my taste. But meanwhile, if you watch the clip, the audience is so into it. They’re like, in tears. So who am I to say that it's bad?  This is a genre of music that just isn't for me. I will have to do my best going through this show.

Anyway, everyone’s a bit intimidated by the songs, many of which seme to be well respected classics. Detective Donghun from A.C.E. wonders out loud who would be able to sing Ditto because it has so much English in it. That must be a real issue for idols these days. Ditto is at least 50%, maybe 60%, English.

Speaking of English, my love Bain is speaking it still. When the guys find out that they get to pick the songs they want to do based on the ranking they got in the first round,  Bain says, in English: “I wanna go home!”.

Dahee explains that though the song is a group challenge, they’ll be evaluated individually. A “top tier” contestant will be chosen from each group and will get a benefit. The lower ranked trainees are spurred to promise to try even harder. 

We see a super brief clip of the guys running in all directions to choose the song they want -- I’m assuming we’ll see more of this later -- before we jump to… some time later.

And we'll pick up there in the next post, when we'll actually cover some of the performances! Thanks for your patience and I'll see you soon.

XOXO BPR Noona

[neechees]

On your take about the the white woman collage. Definitely tru you can tell they’re all made by ww, but I also think it’s indicative of how rarely women of color get to take on those roles, how rarely they get aestheticized misery from their own bad decisions. There’s rarely enough agency presented in ennui of women of color for them to take on those Amy Dunn roles. And ultimately it’s all part of the same misogynistic characterization of either denying a character the agency to respond with blunt numbness or presenting the idea that that blunt numbness in itself and, not the choice to react that way. I hope that made sense.

I think a lot of it is also woc not taking on roles at all because of course the lack of roles made for them, and even when they exist, theyre not given as much dimensionality as White Women. White women love the "unhinged" female, (white) characters because White women both historically and in contemporary times are seen as the height & standard for femininity, which also means they're seen as pure, delicate, sweet, forgiving, sensitive, and so on. The unginhed, crying White woman I think is a combination of white women & them always being seen as the victim of their situation, in addition to the "unhinged" part (which might be represented by anger, violence, so on) also trying to break the mold or Visage of the perpetually sweet white woman. White woman love this kind of thing because of how often white women are seen as the former. And I also think this is why there's so many cases of it with White Women, & why WW love it so much, because woc are already seen as more scary, angry, hysterical, vengeful, violent, and so on. I think some ppl think it's "more revolutionary" with White women because that's how they see woc already, in a one dimensional lens & demonized.

But I don't really see to many of these representations really trying to say anything about race (except maybe something like Midsommar, or even I think Amy Dunne, but a lot of White Women misunderstand those characters), & it's usually kinda framed or feels like a "White women's experiences are universal/the default" kind of way. You're so right about aesthetisized misery and I think that can actually be dangerous, and it's how we get scenes like Beth Harmon very conveniently "sexily" dancing half naked & smoking a cigarette for the audience to show her depression, or people making "female rage" edits showing cis White women screaming with a Mitsky song playing over it. I do wish we'd see more woc in roles where they get to be multidimensional & with a full set of emotions that theyre allowed to feel, and yet not hyperdemonized for it.

It really reminds me of this great video essay about it, that below

[goldennika]

Initial Thoughts on TOMORROW X TOGETHER's The Name Chapter: Freefall

Ok so i just listened to TNC: Freefall in full and damn, okay. Really solid album, sonically. And i say sonically bc i haven't read up on the lyrics just yet (i don't think the eng trans are out yet ☹️)

Am loving how they're showcasing more of their vocals (txt lower register enthusiasts, we are being fed at last 😭) and the whole band/session feels of the music really emphasizes that.

can we take a minute to talk about beomkai's vocals?? bc i really think this might be their era 🥹 and seeing as all of the boys have at least 2 credits to their name in this album, it really feels like this is their sound, and their personal music preferences came through too

i'm on the fence about DILT's inclusion in the album though. we all know it was not a planned track at all but it was a really good opportunity for them to collaborate and have a fun summer track out before headlining lolla 2023.

that said, it just doesn't seem to fit in (at least sonically) in this album. i don't know if moving it higher up in the tracklist would have been better since i haven't read the lyrics yet but sonically, it might have worked more since the more powerful/complex sounding tracks are in the first half, imo

but overall, this album is full of surprises, and very good ones at that!! I'm sure i'll love it even more when i listen to it again but yeah, from the first listen alone, i would recommend this album!!!

Track first impressions under the cut! very raw reactions ahead haha

Track 1: Growing Pain

oh damn gritty TXT ???

LOWER REGISTER LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOO

legitimately gave me goosebumps

EXCUSE ME THE OOH's IN THE CHORUS???? DELICIOUS

H U E N I N G K A I

that's it. that's the thought.

the guitar is so good ugh

ROCK BAND TXT LET'S GOOOOOOO

this will absolutely kill when performed live 😵‍💫

Track 2: Chasing That Feeling

HERE FOR THE SYNTHS(??)

giving TCHFTG and Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (i love The Weeknd btw)

Yeonjun's voice is so soothing??????

wait is the nod to the TCHFTG instrumentals intentional??????

maybe this is just me but their choreo (based on the MV) looks like it goes so hard but this song feels relatively chill/easy listening (esp compared to their last few title tracks bc sugar rush ride was a doozy to take in) so it seems a bit... off? idk idk

looking forward to a stage/practice vid to come out to appreciate their performance more!

Track 3: Back for More (TXT Ver)

already reacted to this before and ugh so good

HUENINGKAI POPPED OFF IN HIS VERSE UGH

Yeonjun's is also so good

love their adlibs so much 🥹

super interesting to place this track right after Chasing That Feeling 🤔

dance break instrumental and adlibs have my whole heart actually

like i can see them dancing in my head even if i'm just listening

Track 4: Dreamer

oh shit i love the bass already??????

FIRST LINE IN AND I'M IN LOVE ALREADY???

kinda scared to check the lyrics ngl

oh this song is delicious

i can already see all the tiktok edits happening (not necessarily a bad thing for them imo)

ooh shit "let me break it down for you" jdfh;kdjsfb;nsfkja

I LVOE THIS TRACK?????????

WAIT IS TAHT ALL SOOBIN IN THE CHORUS??????????

or is taehyun there too?

the "let me break it down for you" is going to haunt me in my dreams thanks

Track 5: Deep Down

strong start. nice

WTF IS THIS DIRECTION THEY'RE TAKING I LOVE IT????? 😳

yooo the minimal instrumentals in the start was so good

oh it got clubby in the chorus

OH HELL BEOMGYU IN THE CHORUS SHOULD HAVE COME WITH A WARNING (deep down i need you more)

this feels so different from the usual TXT but it works??

okayyyy the trumpet sounding stuff in the outro was a nice touch

Track 6: Happily Ever After

pretty sure i'll cry if i read up the lyrics of this one haha 🥲

oh this track is so smooothhhh in the pre-chorus

oohhh the la la la's are growing on me

it's like happy fools but more refined?????

LOVE the blending/harmonization 😩

GIVE ME ALL THE LAYERED VOCALS @ BIG HIT

SOOBIN I LOVE YOU (outro ver) 🥹😭

Track 7: Skipping Stones

the cymbals? hi-hats? at the start oh god *chef's kiss*

feels like a band session up in here!!!

HUENINGKAI LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO

oh damn beomgyu???

taehyun with the high notes mhmmm

band txt is the future i can see it all so clearly now

LOVE the way they start off each line durign the verses. scratches my brain sooooo good when they give the little oomph then blend it down ugh (sorry idk musical terms)

kinda obsessed with this music already wtf

the female vocals too!!

HUENINGKAI EXTENDED NOTE LET'S FUCKING GOOOO

HE MADE IT SOUND SO EASY?????????????

mhmmm soobin's falsetto

wow

just wow

FUCK ME WITH THOSE OHs AT THE END OF THE SONG GODDAMN

Track 8: Blue Spring

i know we were joking around about band txt but what if it's not a joke anymore bc we've had track after track of band/session sounds and i am not okay anymore

i'm never gonna be normal about this song sorry not sorry

POP OFF HUENINGKAI GODDAMN

what if i cry.....

hmmm the rest of the instrumentals kicking in. so good.

and then they strip it down??? to let the vocals shine????

so so good

COME THROUGH WITH THE DRUMS

soobin's verse with yeonjun's adlibs is what dreams are made of actually

god yeonjun and hueningkai are gonna make me cry

NO FUCKIGN WAY THEY ADDED MORE OF TAEHYUN'S ADLIBS????

STOP THE FUCKING CAR THEY'RE HARMONIZING INT EH CHORUS TOO??????????????

TYUNNING ADLIBS IN THE OUTRO????????????????

MY JAW IS DROPPED AND I CANNOT BREATHEEEEEEEEE

Track 9: Do It Like That

ok yeah ngl the mood shifted dramatically after all the band txt sounds lol

DILT is a cute song but i don't think it makes sense in this album

or at least not in this placement???

i may reconsider if this was a TXT ver lol

or maybe they were thinking about our mental health when they decided to keep it in the album

i would probs be a sobbing mess if tnc: freefall rly just ended with the studio ver of blue spring 🥹

Track 10: Chasing That Feeling (English Ver)

including this here bc why not it's on the tracklist anyway haha

tbh i wasn't feeling this track much from the teasers

but hearing the song in full changed my mind

the build up is good

why does yeonjun's voice sound so good in this genre like how is it soooo good

time's a thief that won't stop stealing -- well damn did i feel that

taehyun our belting star 🥺

[sonsband]

As Catiny’s main vocalist - who do you think has the spiciest vocals in kpop right meow?

How spicey do you mean?

(also if you like discussions of music I sometimes do those on my side blog changdyke and would love to talk about vocalists or music with people! okay shameless plug done)

Well, the spiciest vocals come from Changmin, who is a level 2 spicey boy at MOST. I mean, the 240105 Music Bank high note for "Down"? I don't know how half the boy groups didn't immediately vaporize as soon as he did That. I know it was probably just that he didn't hit the note at first, but he made it sound so good with that dissonance resolving into whistle register? (I would say something about Nissan Stadium Forever Love but until that's back up on YouTube I refuse to contemplate it so I don't burst into tears) But I'm a hater and don't like him so don't put him on the list.

EXID's Solji might not be active right meow, but she just did that musical so she counts!

Of course BTOB, Eunkwang and Minhyuk especially, I mean, "Boom" era was everything to me.

All of A.C.E, obviously, the world is a little brighter for their comeback. I can't wait for Donghun to absolutely devastate me again, but friendly reminder for your daily required viewing of their It's Live performance of "Goblin".

WayV's Xiaojun, I know Mujin Service is pitch corrected but the sheer emotion in "Ashes" is too much. He doesn't need to do as much as he does at all times, but thank god for it.

Does Forestella count as kpop? Because they've got the spice and the spicey vocals. All of them, but Woorim's wife was right to lock him down after that performance of "Bad Romance".

I might be ride or die for Seonghwa Main Vocal When, but back in like February 2021 I said San from Ateez strained a lot and he said "why would you say such a thing? btw hi lesbians" and just immediately went fuckin insane. I'm bummed it happened after they stopped actively promoting it but I will never shut up about how when he gets a mic for "Turbulence" he saves the whole song with that modulation to keep it from being a diminished fifth. I know he's a great dancer but he's vocal line for a reason. Watch "Breathe" btw.

SPEAKING OF "BREATHE"!!!! [edit: I got too excited to jump into IU that I forgot to finish this, sorry, I know it's a Lee Hi song] Lee Hi is that good good alto and the fact she had that voice at debut? We Love Altos.

IU!!!!! GIRL!!!!!!! No list of spiciest vocals would be complete without IU. "Love Poem" should be a UNESCO World Heritage piece of culture. I love her and I can't believe you're keeping her hostage and away from us, Addy.

Fun fact: DK is actually short for "DyKe rights" (editor's note: this is not true) and my sister will let me blast "Hot" in her car specifically so we can vocalize along with his chest voice there. He's got such a good ear.

The Boyz genuinely has some power vocals. Why do you think his name is SANGyeon? That video of him singing in a parking lot plays behind my eyes while I try to fall asleep.

Shownu simply does not get the credit he deserves as a vocalist. His voice is more subtle, so maybe not particularly spicey, but he's my husband and I will not let him go unappreciated on this list. What's the opposite of spicey? That's how I feel about I.M, except he's actually got interesting vocals, he's technically weaker but I think that makes him more interesting vocally. Plus he's the King of Vocal Fry (complimentary).

Another vocal fry master -- Taehyun from TXT. I feel so much about that kid. Most of it good.

For the hags, all of 2pm! (I'm not taking antipsychotics right now so I'm allowed to be delusional and they're active in my heart.) "Make It" was THE song of 2021, no notes at all. And "ADTOY" had no right to be that good. Also we love grown men being grown up spicey.

Woodz, don't talk to me about enlistment if I don't acknowledge it then it isn't happening. The live versions of "Chaser" and "Trigger" and "Accident" and and and and? I think his harmonizing gets overshadowed sometimes by his vocal power, especially since he has to harmonize with his backing track rather than another singer, but bro... bro... Also he was the closest to a Changmin "Mirotic" note, I will ignore any arguments to the contrary.

Red Velvet's Seulgi has really good vocals when she's given the chance to flex them, I really wish we could hear more from her. Underappreciated, tbh.

Highlight's Dongwoon, do we need to talk about that performance of "Fiction" again? Because I will talk about that performance of "Fiction" again. And I choose to believe his scene in "Good Luck" is part of the most watched section because of that little C# Major moment. Yeah his only other band mate Yeoseob is good but I gotta give the crown to Dongwoon. Also his outfits from last May's concerts were so spicey.

I'm so excited for Chungha's comeback. I know she's not really appreciated for her vocals since she's definitely a pop vocalist, but "Play"! I'm not even mad when she uses playback on music shows, she's in chest voice enough.

I can't believe I'm about to put a manlet on this list but Hui's got the spice. He's got the vocals. He deserves. That's all.

And how about Doyeon from Weki Meki. Siyeon from Dreamcatcher (omg that "Overdose" cover). Ailee, obviously. BB Girls Yujeong. Sistar just as a whole but especially Hyolyn, "Layin Low" changed me as a person and I swear it wasn't just the Nicole Kirkland choreo.

Okay I've just powered through so many Vocalists that my brain's been turned to mush. Tell me what else you think!

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

4. "I'm not just doing *any* police work -- I've got *THE DOORGUNNER MEGAMIX* here! An era-defining work. Let's do four reál."

BIRD'S NEST ROY - He purses his lips. "Four reál is offensively low... but just this once. For the *musique concrète* cop."

3. "Thanks for the discount, man. Here's the money for the boombox."

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "And here you are. Quality sound reproduction on the go. It'll play anything. Wherever. Turn *any* tape into a conversation of sounds and shapes."

TAPE PLAYER "HARMON WOWSHI W02"

This is the reel-to-reel boombox of everyone's youth. A little banged-up, a little chipped, and honestly, not that loud either. Looks cool, though. Excels at being carried on the shoulder, allowing you to play audio tape items and blast music into the face of unsuspecting strangers.

Let's play the tape.

THE GREAT DOORGUNNER MEGAMIX - The porta-reel is just what you needed -- the reels attach to the apparatus with a satisfying click. The tape is routed behind the magnetic reader.

Play the tape.

Don't play the tape. [Put porta-reel away.]

THE GREAT DOORGUNNER MEGAMIX - You push 'Commencer' and the tape starts spinning. Violent static and machine sounds fill the air....

"...this isn't Revachol," a man's voice says. "This is a fucking village, I can almost see the elephants." Another loud screech. Some kind of machinery.

KIM KITSURAGI - "The harbour." The lieutenant takes out his notebook. "That's the sound of a Kvalsund crane."

THE GREAT DOORGUNNER MEGAMIX - More static. "When this shit is done I'm gonna tear that place up, Soldier of the Apocalypse style -- kill shit, dogs and chickens too..."

"Gonna rent a room, Korty, a real nice one..." This part is unintelligible. "I don't give a shit, I'm fucking done. I'm done mentally."

"I'll fucking do them all in, rape that disco cunt on the counter. You know, the dancer whore upstairs. Do it Co Hoi-style."

"Never did get that taste out of my mouth..." A click -- then silence. The rest of the tape is empty.

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant presses the button marked 'Arrêter' on your porta-reel; the tape stops spinning.

"What was that at the very end? Silence?"

"What do you think?"

"Who's this *Korty*?"

"What's Co Hoi?"

"Okay then. What now?" (Remove the tape.)

KIM KITSURAGI - "End of recording."

2. "What do you think?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "It seemed authentic enough. Probably recorded off their shortwave, then *edited* to seem more incriminating. He sounded like he was on patrol around the harbour walls."

"I agree. He also sounded inebriated."

"But he *did* say he's going to do it. You can't edit words into someone's mouth."

"I think he sounded all right. Just letting off some steam."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Still..." The lieutenant looks at the tape. You are familiar with this look now -- it's his *look of suspicion*.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - There's more going on here than we know.

3. "Who's this *Korty*?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Korty could be short for Kortenaer. One of the other mercenaries, the one he was talking to -- probably the mountain at the harbour gates. Mr. *Right To Work*."

4. "What's Co Hoi?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "A village on the Samaran isola, in South Safre. Graad committed war crimes there -- the kind of thing he talks about."

"You think he was there?

KIM KITSURAGI - "Who knows? Maybe the tattoos would have an answer. We would need to know the story of this man's service."

5. "Okay then. What now?" (Remove the tape.)

KIM KITSURAGI - "I think we've got a few more questions for Klaasje, don't you?" He looks around. "This seems to contradict her testimony. At least to some degree."

THE GREAT DOORGUNNER MEGAMIX - As you take out the tape, the boombox tunes itself back to the cheery radio again, spewing out beats like it's a Friday night.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - The contrast feels chilly -- inappropriate even.

Ok, now let's play the *other* tape.

"SMALLEST CHURCH IN SAINT-SAËNS" - The porta-reel is just what you needed -- the reels attach to the apparatus with a satisfying click. The tape is routed behind the magnetic reader.

Press play on tape.

Not now. [Put the tape away.]

"SMALLEST CHURCH IN SAINT-SAËNS" - You press the large button marked *Commencer* and the tape starts spinning. There's a small delay before the song starts playing...

Press your ear against the speaker.

Keep the porta-reel at the harmless distance and wait.

"SMALLEST CHURCH IN SAINT-SAËNS" - It sounds like someone's moving in the room, getting comfortable. Then the organ starts playing a simple melancholic tune, echoing in the hallway. A lone singing voice joins in...

Telling you about the tiniest church in Saint-Saëns, surrounded by even tinier yard. You almost feel the seaside mist on your skin. It's *mega* sad.

INLAND EMPIRE - Within seconds you know -- this is the one. The *real shit* you've been looking for. The one you trashed your room to. This one tells it like it is. This is your tune.

"SMALLEST CHURCH IN SAINT-SAËNS"- A click -- then silence, for a bit. Then the tape stops spinning.

Could I sing this for karaoke? I think I could sing this.

No, I couldn't! It's too sad, I might cry and trash the room again.

Scratch that, I'm already crying. And I look dumb. And old.

INLAND EMPIRE - Crying is good, it gives your performance authenticity. Besides, you already know the lyrics since you've listened to it, like, a million times!

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - Yup. They're all here. All three verses.

INLAND EMPIRE - *And* the B-side of the tape contains the instrumental version. It's like the world itself is telling you to do it. Only one obstacle stands on your way...

What?

Nothing can stop me now.

INLAND EMPIRE - Garte. You have to convince Garte to let you sing karaoke in the Whirling. After you've won him over, you can *express* yourself. Let the pain out. Make everyone understand.

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant looks at you as you remove the tape from the boombox. He doesn't say anything.

Keeping the boombox equipped plays an upbeat tune, tinnily over the radio.

[changterhune]

FRONTIERS CHAT

On Monday Sept. 4 I did a livechat on Bandcamp during the FRONTIERS listening party. I’ve edited it for coherence. I hope it sheds some light on the music and me the music maker.

I will talk a little bit about what FRONTIERS is about. I'll split it into the meaning, then the music, then the recording unless it's still just me. Okay, so about the music itself. What I wanted to do was gather newer music I've been working on. My last 2 releases were of older - but still balls out awesome! - tracks. Since Jan '23 I've been working on both my recording and composing skills. Both have improved I believe.

I guess FRONTIERS is about 2 things: expanding your horizons and letting yourself groove. By that I mean allow yourself to explore and learn, educate and illuminate yourself. FRONTIERS for me encapsulates one of the few resolutions I've made at New Year's Eve and kept. And that was to get out of my own way. So that I could explore the frontiers.

With SUBTLE DISTINCTIONS I created something a bit lighter and peppier than my usual stuff. I hope. I think that's what the EP is about to be honest. HOPE. It's something I've not had a lot of lately. But over the course of this year things improved immensely and it seems like maybe there's some sunlight up ahead. What the songs on FRONTIERS have in common is they're all pretty upbeat, brighter in sound. I've been working on more space in my recordings and FRONTIERS is the newest and best example of that.

My tracks have always had a lot going on tho I came to realize they were sometimes muddy and unclear. I actually discovered that driving back from my sister-in-law's funeral in February. I was playing tracks for my wife on the drive back and half of them sounded muddy with a lot of the highs lost.

Of course a 2018 Subaru Forester isn't a great listening environment but it still sounded blech. When I got home I listened on my studio monitors and read up online and came to realize that I needed to up my recording game. So I did and I'm happy to say that not only I think they sound better but my beta listeners all agree they do. "Modal Auxiliary" is a great example of a lot of soundscaping and sound bed taking up space while the actual melodic/harmonic/ percussive stuff is up front. It was fun to craft it to mix the more ambient soundscape parts with the melodic ones. I reeeeeaaaaallly love how the last half of the song is pretty much just audio sludge.

SOMETIMES I do wonder if my outros are too long but that's what my beta listeners are for. They'll tell me if it is too long. And you can blame Autechre for that. After decades of their long, deconstructed endings it's one of my favorite things to do. Oh man that ambience at the end always gets me. "So CRT what's up with your titles?" Great question! OUTPATIENT is sort of about my time in an outpatient program. hence the name. Now that was a fun one, too, because the main synth parts are almost all Arturia plugins. The Buchla Music Easel is especially wild. 

This and INSECURITY can best be summed up as inspired by Meat Beat Manifesto. I got sick of A/B comparing my songs to MBM songs. I thought I was doing everything right but they still sounded weak. So I went to the woodshed so to speak (the real one is full of spiders), studied and I think this track and INSECURITY both slap about 60% as much as an MBM track. Okay 50% but still I just want to make big bangers sometimes ya know? Boom bapp beats, dub delays, noisey shit! What's funny to me is how all it takes is a little extra time and a little tweaking and then BOOM the track just opens up! Long ago a friend said it's all about panning & EQing which I came to find is 2 out of 3. I'd say the 3rd part of that is gain staging. It's more technical than I want to get into now but it's made all teh difference in my mind. About 1/2 way through OUTPATIENT there's a big long ambient part that I sometimes wondered was too long. Now I think it works as a break between the two parts. A… frontier if you will.  After 6 minutes in the track is basically a long slow fadeout lol I love how it all combines into this weird, glitchy thing where all the loops go in and out then come together. The noise gets big and brash then slowly washes out. The last 2 minutes are a nice bit of ambience themselves. I even thought about breaking it into 2 tracks but they don't work either alone or as a shorter track. You need to hear the whole damn thing to get the entire idea. Imagine being only shown one square foot of the Sistine Chapel at a time? Okay my work isn't on the par of Michelangelo but you get what I mean.

Now INSECURITY was actually never supposed to be on an album. It's a track I started then used as my guineau pig for teaching myself about recording. And in the end it ended up sounding pretty dope. When I sequenced this ep I was surprised how well it worked with the other tracks. And that beat is straight up MBM. Boom boom bapp! Well kinda.  I have become obsessed with one section of this song at about 4:15. This break came out so smooth. Last for almost a minute. Almost as funky as Funky Drummer! And the buildup after works nice too I think. I will say I'm considering 2 followups to FRONTIERS. One will be a remix and the other will be an ep exploring what separates frontiers... Well I hope I've enjoyed learning a bit more about FRONTIERS and my methods. Or madness. 

- CRT