#melodie has her own tv show too probably. i dont know

[mrmosseater]

melodie and mad mew mew are literally the same person

[malfoysstilinski]

girl in the mirror | DRACO MALFOY

MASTERLIST

PAIRING: Draco Malfoy x Muggle!Reader

WORD COUNT: 2.1k 

SUMMARY: in which draco and y/n are soulmates and can hear each others’ music, and you’ve been blasting sad songs all week, worrying draco. 

WARNINGS: one mean joke about americans sozzles 

A/N: based on the tiktoks where soulmates can hear each others’ music. i dont think ive seen an imagine like that on here so i thought i’d write one :)) also set in 2010s 

In the Wizarding world, on your thirteenth birthday, you are officially bound to your soulmate. This means different things for different wizards and witches, depending on what they valued. For example, when Blaise Zabini turned thirteen, he was able to see his soulmate in mirrors-- fitting considering how self-obsessed he was. 

Draco, however, heard music. You must be obsessed with it, he realised. He found out he was right pretty quickly, waking up to the sound of your playlists muffled in his ears and falling asleep to them too. 

It was always Muggle music too. You must be a half-blood, or even… Merlin forbid, a Muggle-born. Realising that his soulmate wasn’t going to be a pure-blood like his parents had planned, Draco kept the news to himself and worked on his vocabulary. He tried his best to bite his tongue around Granger, ignoring his friends when they made fun of their ‘dirty’ blood.

He didn’t want to hurt you when he got to meet you. 

It took Draco longer than it should have to realise you definitely didn’t go to Hogwarts. How could you when he’d be sat in assemblies, the room so silent you could hear a pin drop, and all he’d hear is the thumping of your music in his ears as if he was underwater?

“She’s probably an American,” Pansy pretends to gag, the others laughing with her. 

“Could be a Beauxbaton,” Blaise suggests. 

Draco doesn’t like to make assumptions, but he thinks you are definitely a Muggle. It’s rare, but not unheard of in the Wizarding world, especially nowadays. For the Malfoys, though, it would be an outrage. 

You play your music the most when he’s eating dinner in the Great Hall or when he’s getting ready for bed. 

At first, he hated it. He hated your music, he hated how his head was rarely ever quiet, and he hated that he didn’t know who you were in order to beg you to take your headphones out for once. 

However, Draco learnt to love your music. Songs and bands he’d never heard of before quickly became his favourites and eventually, he found himself humming your Muggle tunes in the common room or quietly singing along in his dorm when the other boys were out doing whatever. 

He learned to love having your music in his head, especially as the years rolled on and his life became harder and harder. It made him feel like he was never alone, your muffled melodies making a home in his head and pushing out all of his anxiety and depression. 

Draco wanted to dance with you to them. He liked to lay in bed at night and listen to your songs and imagine that you’re lying next to him. He bets you have a nice singing voice. Maybe you can even play an instrument or two. Maybe you could teach him how to play the guitar, and maybe he could show you how to play his favourite pieces on the piano. 

Your music is never too upbeat, but today Draco feels like he hasn’t heard a single song that wasn’t about being sad. As he trudged from class to class, Draco couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong with you. It had been going on for the past few days, and the music stopped altogether on one of the days. 

He went to bed with an empty head for the first time in a few years, staring at his ceiling. He plugged his iPod in and went to the Muggle section, playing a few of your favourite songs. It wasn’t the same. 

“What’s up with you?” Blaise demands as Draco doesn’t touch his meal for the second time that day. 

Draco glances to his friend and looks away, shaking his head. “Mind your own business, Zabini,” he mutters weakly. 

Blaise’s soulmate, a Slytherin in the year below, joins them at sitting on the table and Blaise immediately forgets all about Draco, the two of them giggling as they hug each other. Draco thought he could throw up right there and then, shaking his head in disgust. 

Green was Draco’s colour and Merlin was he jealous. 

Why did you have to be a stupid Muggle?

Draco immediately feels bad for even thinking it. He wants to hug you and kiss the top of your head and mutter apology after apology. The soft feeling makes him feel weak. You did things to him that nobody else did, and he doesn’t even know who you were. The fact that you were most likely going through a rough time right now made it ten times worse. 

“What’s wrong with Draco?” He hears Zabini’s girl whisper. 

“Why don’t you ask me yourself?” Draco snaps, lip curling in disgust. “Instead of talking behind my back like a coward!”

“Draco,” Blaise growls. “I don’t know what’s up with you, mate, but you need to calm down.”

“It’s your soulmate, isn’t it?” Pansy quirks an eyebrow from opposite them. “Are they playing that rubbish song you hate on repeat again?”

“No,” Draco hisses in defence of you. “I like that song, thank you.”

Pansy holds her hands up. “Okay, whatever. Sorry, Malfoy. What has got your knickers in a twist, then?”

He hesitates. He doesn’t like talking about you to anybody else but he’s really worried and he thinks maybe one of them might be able to help. 

“She’s…” Draco’s eyes drift to burn holes in the table in front of him. “She’s been listening to sad songs.”

Goyle snorts, making Draco’s head snap to him in fury. 

“Sorry, Malfoy, sorry… But that does sound ridiculous, mate,” Goyle admits. “She’s probably just into that… genre?”

“No, you don’t understand,” Draco huffs and shakes his head. “You don’t know her like I do. Something’s wrong with her, I can tell.”

“Well, why don’t you visit her?” Blaise asks, grabbing a grape and popping into his mouth. 

“What?” Draco spits. “Is that a joke, Zabini? I don’t find it funny--”

“I’m not joking,” Blaise frowns. “Merlin’s sake, Malfoy. Do you not pay attention in Charms?”

“Of course I do,” Draco hesitates, lying. “But what are you talking about, anyway?”

…

Draco feels ridiculous as he stands in front of the mirror in the bathrooms later that night. It’s silent since it’s the middle of the night, but Draco knows you’re awake because of the glum music playing faintly in his ears. 

He wants to visit you like Blaise told him to do, and as he stands in front of the mirror and casts his incantations, he can’t help but wonder if this is a setup. He doesn’t give his hopes up, doesn’t hold his breath that when he opens his eyes you’ll be on the other side of the mirror. 

But he wants you to be. He wants you to be there so badly. 

Draco does sort of believe it so he put on his black turtleneck and black suit and combed his hair like usual, replacing the uniform and robes he’d been wearing all day. He doesn’t want you to see him and be disappointed. 

He knows he won’t be disappointed no matter what you look like or what you are. 

Draco takes a deep breath as he lowers his wand and closes his eyes. When he counts down and opens his eyes, he’s stunned into silence by the sight in front of him. His heart skips a beat and he nearly chokes on his own spit. 

Staring back at him in the mirror is not his own pale reflection but what looks like a bedroom. The mirror glows orange from the lighting and he can see that it’s decorated with posters and records and other Muggle things. Draco doesn’t even process that you’re a confirmed Muggle at this point, he doesn’t care enough about that. 

On a single bed in the middle of the room, sat up in the very centre with headphones in and a laptop in front of her, is a girl his age. She’s got beautiful y/s/c skin and y/c/h locks that have been thrown up into a messy bun, her y/c/e trained on the screen in front of her as she watches what he assumes is a film or a tv show. 

She’s wearing a school uniform, not quite as posh as Hogwarts’, and it’s slightly crumpled from sitting in her bed with it on. Her polished black shoes are nowhere to be seen, rips in the bottom of her tights no doubt from wearing them thin five days a week. 

Draco can’t believe he’s looking at you right now. He reaches his hand out, eyes widening when his fingers seem to slip past the glass and he’s sucked into another world-- your world. He wasn’t expecting it to happen, a small yelp leaving his lips as he tumbles straight out of the mirror hanging on your wall and onto your carpet. 

You both scream as you make eye contact and you’ve thrown your laptop about in a panic. There’s no music in his ears now that he stands in front of you. Draco breathes heavily, unsure what to say. 

“Um, hello?” He offers. 

“What the hell?” You yell. “What are you doing in my bedroom? Who are you? My laptop!”

You ignore him as you dive off of the bed and pick it up. The screen is smashed making you glare at him harder. 

“I’m sorry!” Draco practically squeaks. “I- I have Galleons--”

“Who are you?” You cut him off roughly. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Draco keeps repeating, hoping you will calm down. “I-I’m Draco Malfoy.”

“Draco Malfoy?” You repeat with a mocking laugh. “Is that a joke?”

“No,” he replies, voice pitched higher than usual with offence. “What’s your name?”

Normally you wouldn’t tell a stranger your name, but this situation is anything but normal. You stare at the boy for a few seconds, wondering why he feels familiar. There’s something about him that has you relaxing under his gaze, which is weird because he literally just appeared out of nowhere. 

“Y/N Y/L/N,” you reply sceptically. 

Draco smiles, “beautiful name.”

“Are you like a nonce or something?”

“Nonce?” Draco crinkles his nose in confusion. 

You narrow your brows at him. “You’re literally British-- how do you not know what that means?”

“I’m not… I don’t really come from your kind of England,” Draco doesn’t know how to explain there is an entire world she’s been hidden from-- this is the first Muggle he’s ever had a conversation with. 

“Are you Welsh?” 

“Do I sound Welsh to you?” Draco cocks his head to the side, already amused. 

“Sometimes I can’t tell the difference, not gonna lie,” you reply. “But no. I’m sure you’re English. You sound like you’re a private school kid or something.”

“I guess I am,” Draco replies quietly, looking around your bedroom and taking in all of the colours that it has. 

You seem to snap out of whatever daze you were in. “Hey! You distracted me. Now tell me what the hell you’re doing in my bedroom before I call the police.”

Draco’s tongue darts out to wet his lips as he contemplates his next words. He hesitates and sits down on your bed next to you. You can smell his cologne-- it smells much more expensive than the Lynx sprays the boys at college seem to be obsessed with. 

“Do you ever hear music in your ears?” He asks, watching your eyes widen in conformation. “You do. That’s… that’s me. My music. I hear your music too. You listen to it all the time. Um… normally a lot of bands and stuff.”

There’s a long silence. “Do you have me on Spotify?”

“What’s Spotify?” Draco’s nose crinkles. 

“You probably just see what I listen to on Spotify!” You claim, standing up as you become weary of the boy on your bed. 

Draco still doesn’t quite understand your Muggle terminology, but he gets the gist of what you’re trying to imply. 

“That doesn’t explain the music you hear in your head from me,” Draco tries. “Or how I just came out of your mirror.”

You look overwhelmed. “What are you?” You whisper. 

“We, Y/N, are soulmates.”

...

yuh

PART TWO HERE

[dropoutparty]

ngc ramblings part 3- chapter 5

here we are at part 3!!! sorry this one took so long, i originally was gonna make this post include entropy and extus (along with finally talking about face in depth) but it was so fuckin long that im splitting it into 2 different posts! the next part isnt done yet but im like almost halfway done so it shouldnt be too much longer until its out! also before we get into this one:

tw for: death, animal death, and suicide. pls take care of urself and don't read this if those things are triggering for u <3

ok lets get on with the post

at the start of entropy zach doesnt waste any time getting right to the point. this place is bigger than the other planets so far, and zach says the music this time around is a melody that “started out normal but then got distorted” played by a violin sounding instrument. even tho i do sometimes forget that this is supposed to be a creepypasta im not surprised that he said it made him feel depressed and unnerved lmao. anyways, this planet has all new level types in it!! no reused ones!! ok now this is epic. the bosses this time around are megalon, battra, and mechagodzilla, but itll be a good while before we get to those guys because this chapter is long as hell holy shit?? buckle up babez <33 now, before i get into the meat of things as usual im gonna talk abt the planet name! entropy basically means “a lack of order/predictability or a gradual decline into disorder” and that's very accurate to this part of the story. at this point, red is pissed off and is getting desperate, which means from here on out things are going to be getting more intense and more unstable. this world is the turning point in the overall story, basically.

now with that out of the way, zach first goes to the worlds quiz level as usual! this time something was different. usually, in the quiz levels there would be goofy ass music playin in the bg (specifically the GH1D0RA cheat music, if you wanna like listen to it ig?) but from here on out its been replaced by the music from the games password screen, which zach called creepy earlier on in the pasta. im gonna glaze over the quiz again this time, but when we get to the next planet ill talk about all of the quizzes in depth all at once. basically all you need to know for now abt what happens here is face asks “do you like mothra?” and when zach picks no (after going on a tangent abt how mothra sucks lmao,, bro i swear im good at the game my controllers just messed up /s), face enters bastard mode and goes “TOO BAD!” and boom now zach cant play as anyone but mothra. zach is pissed for now but little does he know this is just going to become an even more epic gamer bc of this,, youll never get better at something if you never try and all that.

after that, zach moves on to the first level type- the forest. immediately zach gets an eerie feeling from this level bc he has some kinda fear involving forests at night (i can think of a reason why but ill have to talk abt that later just to be sure). hes also not feelin great about being forced to play as mothra, so the pressure of it all is def starting to get to him by now. the music in the forest is woodwinds followed by slow, rhythmic drums and chiming bells. must have been some ominous woodwinds and bells bc it made him feel like he was intruding somewhere he shouldnt be (oh rlly?? u dont say,, everything up until now has been fine /s). getting into the level itself, eventually zach comes across some weird deer-like monsters just vibing and scares them away when he gets close. later in the level he finds more of these weird deer along with a sloth-like creature on some of the trees and some raptor dudes killing some of the deer. zach shoots one of the raptors but thats about it. nothing really happened in this level but zach noted that he didnt feel like he was playing a video game, but instead it felt more like he was exploring a forest in another dimension. thats interesting for reasons ill ~get to later~ (yall must be so tired of hearing that by now omg,, i know im tired of saying it at least. i was gonna wait until after replay to talk about things but i severely underestimated how long this whole project would be, so i might make a post for the “more on that later” stuff before i get into replay. let me know what u think i should do).

anyways, the next thing zach checks out is the first tv screen level so far. these levels just play an animation with some music in the background, and theres a different animation per level. this time around the animation is of a kid with a beaver(?) head licking a lollipop and the music is the GH1D0RA music that the quiz levels used to use. the only thing of note here is that zach says he had a shirt that looked just like that when he was a kid. after that, were off to some of the weirdest fuckin levels in this whole thing imo- the hourglass levels. these levels have an entirely brown color palette, with grandfather clocks standing in the background (the level appears to be in like a hallway or something) and various time measuring things floating in the air. the music is the same as the board (ig cosby just didnt feel like thinking of what theme this place would have lol). after a little bit zach was rlly happy to see actual enemies from the normal game show up! these are basically like aircraft, tanks, etc. thats not the main attraction here tho, bc this level has its own unique mechanic! this mechanic is the colored hourglass items you can pick up. there are three of them, a blue one that slows time down and makes enemies from the past appear, a red one that speeds up time and makes enemies from the future appear, and a green one that made the time flow normally and spawned enemies from the normal game. zach found the blue one first, which caused a bunch of prehistoric enemies based on real animals to show up. after that he found a green one and fought normal enemies again, and then he found a red hourglass. the future enemies here look like aliens to me, and zach says that one enemy reminds him of something he saw in a book once. eventually, a special future creature showed up and zach was suddenly in a boss battle! or a mini boss battle? that description is probably more accurate. this guy doesnt have a face, and he can only attack by shooting a beam from his face, it sure does look cool! after zach beat it tho, he was off to the next level type, which is basically a toxic waste dump.

zach called it grungy and inhospitable, with the music being a synth ambient loop that made him feel dizzy while he listened to it. this is important because this is the first instance of the game making zach feel something *physically*, not just psychologically. all of the enemies here are mutated to some degree, with him first seeing green mummies with bird skulls coming out from vats of toxic slutch and a brownish cow skeleton monster with spider legs. later zach comes across a deer from the woods, drinking some toxic slutch (delinchous). zach got close to it to try making it stopped but suddenly some enemies came out of nowhere and scared it into running right off a ledge and into the slutch. rip :pensive:. after that zach found more mutated enemies (i.e some things with tentacles and some other deformed thing with human teeth) before he finally gets to the end of the level, where theres another miniboss waiting for him!! this ones a toxic sludge monster with a whale skull who attacks with a mouth projectile and by charging into you. the monster sank into the slutch and thats all for this level babeyy!

the next level is another forest, but this time its winter! its still at night, but this time zach doesnt feel off put, which he mostly attributes to the music. he describes it as a gentle, calm song that almost sounded romantic. the entire first segment of this level had no enemies in it, but dw this level is interesting i swear. the next segment starts out just as empty as the last one, but this time its silent. that is, until the music from “unforgiving cold” starts playing. yaa you remember that place!! i think i said it was less interesting than i remembered but its interesting again now bc it was foreshadowing these levels!! anyways soon after the music started up, zach started to come across tons of frozen bodies of the deer from earlier. some were mutilated, some werent, but they were all frozen and covered in snow. eventually zach does come across something living though, a sloth creature from earlier! its just vibing when suddenly the winter versions of the raptors from earlier rush in and fuckin obliterate the sloth thing. those things just blindly try killing everything in sight, and even start fighting themselves before zach finally gets to the last part of the level.

now this is where shit starts to get crayzay. this part opens up to a big empty field with a full moon and the nice music from earlier back. despite the nice music tho, zach immediately starts feeling dread and eventually he finds a lake. the lake comes down from the sky and starts to crack like an egg, a humanoid figure curled up in the fetus position dropping into the lake below and the moon halves disintegrated. this spawned the moon beast, the hardest challenge zachs had to deal with so far. after he finally defeats it, the screen goes to black and the name “melissa” is on screen, written in red. after that, the screen then says kys. the word kill then fills up the screen, layering over itself until it forms a picture of reds face. its now that we finally get to hear abt the whole melissa thing (which makes it sound like shes been mentioned in the pasta before this but thats not what i mean lmao). to summarize, zach had a middle school gf named melissa (also bro middle school?? wadda hell) who often went into “episodes” where she would stare off, expressionless, before trembling and putting her face in her hands. she and zach hung out in a field at night a lot but one night she just stared at the moon the whole time before running into traffic and dying.

NOW its finally later!!! were not done with entropy yet, but this is the end of part one of entropy so i wanna just take a little break to talk about things so far. this planet is FULL of symbolism and foreshadowing. to start off, i think a lot of the questions face asks at the beginning foreshadow things that happen. some examples are “is time slipping though your fingers?” which could allude to the time levels, “do you have any regrets?” which i think obviously foreshadows the whole melissa thing, “is it safe to go out at night?” and “do you find it hard to sleep at night?” both follow the same kinda theme, which i think relates to how the melissa incident happened at night, specifically out at night. i dont think the forest levels have anything too important in them, other than to introduce the presence of an innocent, harmless creature that doesnt deserve what happens to it later (aka the deer things) which might symbolize melissa. more evidence for this symbolizing melissa comes from the encounter with the deer in the toxic dump and the winter forest, where in the former zach tries to stop it from hurting itself but is too late, being forced to watch it die, and in the latter the same innocent thing from earlier is found dead close to where the real incident took place. the two big themes to keep in mind here are death and time, more specifically the past. most of the enemies here are either made from bones or kill other enemies, there's a dedicated time level referencing things that zach remembers seeing at one point (aka that one alien zach recognized), the beaver head had the same shirt as child zach did, it all connects to zachs past and the death of melissa. as for the moon beast, its the most obvious reference for reasons ive already explained. i dont really know what the moon cracking open and dropping a curled up human into the lake could mean other than some other thing melissa related, but i *do* think that the fact that the moon beast is the most difficult thing zach has faced so far is symbolic of the fact that the trauma from this event has followed him throughout his entire life, and its something he struggles with daily. it could even be the reason why he said no when face asked if he could sleep easily at night. the moon beast also has some black fur around its neck, which i think is meant to represent a tire track, referencing and/or mocking the way melissa died.

its so cool how this entire part of the story builds up to and foreshadows the bomb it drops at the end of the part, giving people something to look back on. a lot of ppl say that as soon as the melissa stuff gets introduced the story goes down in quality, and i do somewhat agree with that sentiment, especially if they want the story to actually be scary, but i think the direction the story goes from this point on is so unique and cool. it does follow the whole “theres a ghost in the game” troupe (even tho it was probably seen as a spin on that originally) but it doesnt do the same cliches as so many other gaming creepypastas do and it really takes the concept and makes it its own. i just think its neat,,,

anyways im done gushing abt this story, lets get on with part 2 of extus!! basically zach has a fuckin panic attack and, after taking a few minutes to calm himself down when its over, he decides that he has to finish the game now because if he doesnt its just going to haunt him for the rest of his life. zach has now realized that the game is “alive” and can somehow see his thoughts and memories, so understandably hes pretty freaked out by it at this point. when he keeps playing, the first thing he does is check out another tv screen level. this time, the animation is of a fish dude just kinda standing there with his mouth flapping open and closed and the music is the neptune board music from the original game. the only reason i can think of for why this is here is maybe the game is mocking zach for the panic attack he just had (bc when u have a panic attack you feel like you can barely breathe, if ur lucky enough to have never had one before and u dont know) but thats abt it. its probably just a random goofy thing cosby threw in there.

anyways, the next actual level is the first labyrinth level. this time around, its a gold labyrinth specifically. the music in these levels is a slow, ominous drum beat with female vocals occasionally coming in and (basically from here on out) the monster zach plays as is now half the size it used to be. i think this shows how zachs feeling at this point, like this whole thing isnt just being a big strong monster and beating up enemies any more, he feels small and scared and helpless in the face of something potentially dangerous that he doesnt understand maybe his confusion about the game is the reason *why* theres so many labyrinth levels here in the first place. anyways im getting ahead of myself. personally, i think the aesthetic of the gold labyrinth is very similar to the green temples back on trance. while trance had a more circular and soft theme to it's architecture and sculpture, entropys is much more square or rectangle oriented. despite this, i think that the golden mazes at least are another religious kind of building, and the architecture is just different because theyre two different cultures who just happen to worship the same spiritual figure (aka melissa. did i say that earlier? i think i did,, if i didnt well the religions worship melissa, not knowing she's a dead human or anything. probably).

moving on, zach notes how the gold labyrinth would probably have been impossible to navigate as any of the other monsters, so turns out face being an asshole was a blessing in disguise after all huh? anyways this place is full of weird gold monsters, lava/fire traps, and stone faces (both in more of an easter island head style and in the regular feminine headshot weve seen so far). zach comes across two feminine heads, one that is more adult looking and pure gold, and another one that looks much younger and whos eyes have red irises and blue scleras. this statue apparently looks a lot like melissa did on the night she died, so zach leaves it pretty quickly. i *think* this is the first time we see the color blue associated with melissa? if it isnt sorry abt that, its been a couple days since i worked on ngcr so ive forgotten some of the smaller or more subtle things by now. GOD i keep getting side tracked ANYWAYS eventually zach finds a non-gold enemy and sees it get picked up by like an arcade crane claw. hes curious so he follows the claw, only to see the monster be put in a big gold cauldron and walk out the side of it as a gold monster.

gonna be honest, no idea what the hell this could mean. like? theres been no themes of corruption or good things becoming evil so far so this just kinda. exists,, yea idk lol. im not part of like any discord servers or anything so all this theorizing and analysis has just been me, maybe getting some small ideas from like random youtube comments or something, so if something ive said so far has been unanimously disagreed with somewhere i dont know about it. thats also why this isnt really a definitive or comprehensive analysis (even tho im trying to be as comprehensive as i can).

anyways zach finds the exit soon after and hes on to the next level type (there's so fucking many of them ik dont worry weve almost gotten to all of them now), the indigo cliffs. the background of these levels is similar to the blue mountains from trance, but now the moon and clouds from the toxic dump background is also here (and colored indigo to match). the music here is just a deep rumbling noise. the first “enemies” he sees here are just a bunch of multicolored little guys coming out of a hole in the ground and jumping off a cliff. were continuing the death theme yall!! anyways zach continues, flying over some more weird creatures (tho some of them just look like dinosaurs lol) before he sees a bunch more of the multicolored guys out and about but this time theyre getting grabbed by birds!! wadda heel!!! zach comments on how the multicolored dudes seem eager to die and thinks maybe the moon has something to do with it (like melissa dude wat!!!! that's crazy /s). at the end of the level there were some more multicolored dudes just walking into a creatures mouth so zach attacked the thing and killed it and the levels over yay!

now its time for the bosses babeyy!!! first zach fights battra (basically an evil moth kaiju), the music is varans theme. battra starts off in his larvae form, where he basically just fought by running into you and shooting stuff at you. while fighting this form, zach noticed that the game buffed mothra because his gamer skillz were too cringe lmaoo. he beats the larvae form and battra goes into his second form, where hes basically a stronger clone of mothra (misogyny). zach fights battra and has fun doing it (for once,, good for him) and he wins yay! next hes fighting megalon (a big beetle/bug kaiju), whos music was gigans theme. im tired when im writing this so ill just give you zachs description of how he fought: “strong, persistent, but dumb”. after this, zach checks out the last tv screen of entropy. this time, it shows a big buff guy with a sack over his head hit a womans head with a sledgehammer while shes tied to a table or something. the music for it was the password theme. i think this is probably here because red is getting angrier? like this guy is still here after i triggered his ptsd?? what the hell!!!

anyways before we get to the last boss we have one last level type to get through- the shadow labyrinth. at this point, zach starts to feel drained because no shit sherlock you just had a panic attack and youve been playing this game for fuckin several hours at this point of course youre fuckin drained. anyways zach enters the shadow labyrinth, which is a black recolor of the gold labyrinth. the music is “evil ambience” similar to unforgiving colds music but distinctly different apparently. there werent any enemies so zach just kinda wandered for a while until the lights turned off, darkening the whole screen and (secretly) spawning tons of spooky enemies thatll chase and hit mothra in the dark. eventually the lights came back on and zach started scrambling to the exit. when the lights turned back off, zach was able to find one of the melissa looking statues and stood next to it. it warded off the monsters while the lights were off, so zach was safe. i think this shows 2 things: 1) its a little more validation for my “religion in this world worships melissa” theory and 2) it foreshadows the way melissa wants to protect zach at the end of the game. zach beat the shadow labyrinth a lot faster than the gold one so were done with all the stages now!! now theres only the last boss and red and were done with entropy!

the last boss is mechagodzilla, but when zach starts the level, normal godzilla is there instead!! its whatever tho bc soon the disguise is gone and its just pretty much the normal mechagodzilla fight (but now hes got a gay beam). at about half health tho, mechagodzillas sprite breaks into pieces like gezoras did way back on earth and reforms into not-mechagodzilla. even tho it looks uncanny (and the usage of the face statue on the front is probably there to further mock zach bc melissa) zach beats it p easily and now its time for the chase. ba dum ba dum thats the sound of a chase.

as usual tho, before i get to the red chase its time to talk about entropy as a planet!! i think the best way to describe the layout is “a big forest with a toxic waste dump in it takes up half the planet while the other half is a large religious temple/labyrinth with a dangerous underbelly”. there doesnt seem to be any intelligent life there now (its all dead by now probably) but there was at some point at least because imean the huge labyrinth is there dude!!! i dont have much to say for this section tbh bc i feel like i've already said everything i wanted to, so its time for the chase ig!!

basically the chase with red here takes place in a labyrinth level bc of course it does. this labyrinth, however, seems to be made of some kind of organic matter. is it flesh? organs? nondescript viscera? idk but it's pulsating and bloody. also this time red has wings too!! anyways, basically zach avoids red throughout the maze, red breaks through one of the walls with his big alien tongue, and zach gets to the end of the maze. nothing crazy happens at the end of this chapter (i think it was crazy enough as is) so thats the end of that and now its time for the penultimate planet- extus.

[viktorfm]

(MAXENCE DANET-FAUVEL, NONBINARY) - Have you seen VIKTOR SAMUELS? VIKTOR is in HIS/THEIR SENIOR year. The VISUAL ARTS MAJOR is 24 years old & is a CAPRICORN. People say HE/THEY are OBSERVANT, INGENIOUS, RETICENT and DEPENDENT. Rumors say they’re a member of KINCAID. I heard from the gossip blog that THEY'RE HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH THEIR THERAPIST. (JAMES. 21. EST. THEY/THEM.)

dont. look at me. i know. anyways if it wasnt obvs i abandoned cupid (n darrow) in order 2 bring the two ocs tht he ws inspired by n ws a combination of bt. theyre better as different ppl methinks.

DEATH, HEAVY GRIEF, OVERDOSE / DRUG ADDICTION, HOSPITALIZATION, HYPERSEXUALITY, RELIGION MENTIONS TW

aesthetic.

old tvs and their static, worn tapes, horror movie screams, spilled ink, a sculptor’s hands, clay-stained, chicken scratch handwriting, messy notes, messy hair, scoffs and eye-rolls, bruised knuckles, sore throats, funeral homes and a crying preacher, shattered ceramics, knife fights, high ledges, vertically-striped pants, red lights, the moon shrouded in clouds, cigarette butts, graveyards and half-empty wine bottles, sitting there for hours and talking to nothing, about nothing, a god complex, gold rings adorning both hands, barbwire baseball bats, having never played baseball in your life, deep eyebags and broken mirrors, a permanent chip on one’s shoulder, yearning, longing, wishing.

basics.

full name: viktor phillip samuels

nickname(s): icky vicky :/

b.o.d. - january 2nd, 1996

label(s): the black hole, the crepehanger, the impious, the opaque, the tempest, etc.

height: 6′1″

hometown: preaker, vermont

sexuality: pansexual uwu

pinterest

stats

favorite song: disorder, joy division / it’s getting faster, moving faster / now it’s getting out of hand / on the tenth floor, down the back stairs / it’s a no man’s land / lights are flashing, cars are crashing / getting frequent now / i’ve got the spirit, lose the feeling / let it out somehow

background.

born to mama and papa (preacher) samuels in preaker, vermont - fifteen minutes after his twin sister, tatiana samuels. years later, rosa samuels joined the gang.

was an awkward, quiet kid growing up, he didn’t interact well with others and preferred being left alone to dig up worms and draw on the walls of their childhood home. the only exception was his twin, really.

as he got older he grew out of this, but instead became like … sort of an asshole? maybe to compensate for years of childhood awkwardness. he’s the sort of person who will bite the hand that feeds him & developed into a full time nuisance by middle school, unlike tatiana who was much more subtle about her conniving manners.

always has been a fan of ‘darker’ materials. grim & creepy morbid shit. probably the biggest tim burton fan, ever since he was a kid … not a good look for a preacher’s son, but he never really felt ‘in’ with the rest of his family to begin with. classic black sheep syndrome.

drew disturbing pictures as a kid that probably prompted one or two or five phone calls home to assure everything was fine.

just really had a knack for art at a young age, from drawing to painting to playing with clay. it’s always been his thing and probably is the only thing he’s good at.

being twins with tatiana was hard. they were near opposite besides both being quite mean-spirited. tatiana handled being in public better, left a better image behind - but viktor had talent, more than she did. they loved each other deeply - y’know, those unbreakable twin bonds as cliche as it sounds - but found each other as competition for their parents’ attention. a rivalry for affection.

in high school is when viktor really started to act out. it started extreme, like losing his virginity in their church and vandalism around the neighborhoods. faked being possessed in the middle of sunday service & almost had an exorcism performed on him.

his only redeemable trait was like … just his sheer talent in the arts. was in a 3d art ap course and specialized in sculptures. he could pretty much create anything he wanted with enough dedication.

because he was the problem child, the one who deserved to be disciplined for all his antics, tatiana could sneak away and get away with whatever she wanted much easier. on the bright-side, for her, i guess.

not a very motivated person - wasn’t planning on going to college, much less going to yates but his parents literally wrote & sent his college application for him because they weren’t going to house a deadbeat but had too much heart to kick him out onto the streets. cool!

he’s actually pretty smart but he just doesn’t apply himself. has a minor in english because he didn’t care for an extra course-load, but he’s good at writing & analyzing literature. is going to use it to write and illustrate his own series of children books with a style similar to tim burton’s. not for the kids, but because he likes to leave a trail of terror in whatever he does.

has been experimenting with himself since high school but college is where he really had started to crack down on himself. was out as pansexual & nonbinary by his sophomore year of college just … not to his parents, who don’t really need to know.

if you asked him if he believed in twins having a psychic connection with each other - he’d tell you he wouldn’t know. it felt believable at times, but sometimes he had no idea what was going on inside of tatiana’as head. on the other hand - viktor had always felt oddly transparent to her, like she knew all of his moves before he did. the only person who could predict him accurately.

( tw death, grief, overdose / hospitalization beyond this point )

when tatiana disappeared, viktor knew something was up. it was a twist in his gut, pure instinct that something wasn’t right. and it wasn’t right - and when she was proclaimed missing, they couldn’t find her.

and when tatiana died - viktor knew. it felt wrong, something cut so severely in him he could pinpoint her death to the second. he didn’t know how, or why, but he knew it. knew it before anybody else had.

afterwards he went on a sort of bender. he’d begun to struggle with a mild drug addiction late senior year of high school / early college, but he was managing it up until this point.

his mental health had also sunk to an all-time low, when it’d never been great to begin with. (manic & depressive episodes. once fixated on a sculpting project for six months and then knocked it off the table and destroyed it as soon as he finished it for no apparent reason.)

tatiana’s body wasn’t found immediately, and when it was … viktor went off the rails. ended up overdosing & being hospitalized. spent six months in & out of psychiatric care after that.

came back to yates to finish his senior year because … for the reasons above, he hadn’t been able to complete it. just wants to get his credits and get out of here.

is still dealing with a lot of trauma & grief - causes him to spiral and be unpredictable in regards of his mental health. he stopped taking his medication, so. :/ some days are alright, other days are pretty bad.

personality & facts.

the human embodiment of a gremlin that was fed after midnight. a goblin, if you will. one of those cats with a narrow head and really big ears … that’s them!

a big horror & halloween enthusiast. loves the old campy horror movies & probably has an abundance of masks from different movies. dresses like a grimy millennial beetlejuice more than they should because they just … love those black & white vertical-striped pants.

can appreciate the ~urban legends~ at yates and likes to feed into the fear that surrounds them. is probably the cause of a few ‘anomalies’ and ‘paranormal sightings’ because they’re just … a jerk.

fashion alternates between e-boy (they would be tiktok famous if they were 17 & didn’t think that a majorly minor based app was weird.), millennial beetlejuice, and goth in a crop top & sweatpants. big fan of crop tops and a big fan of sweatpants.

they can be really fucking mean? petty, aggressive, a major instigator. will literally spit in your face for little to no reason, you could just look at them the wrong way. the kind of person who will stick their gum into someone else’s hair. other than that? they’re like … sort of okay. they’re not always mean, just a dick about 90% of the time lmao

like okay yeah they’ll call someone a stinky bitch for no reason except they feel like it and believes it. it’s fine, they’re fine, we’re fine.

despite the fact that they’re probably getting into a fight whenever, considers themself to be a lover and not a fighter but that’a primarily because they fuck a lot. uses it as a coping mechanism, like they’re this big fancy carnival show that’s like ‘come one, come all! fuck the dead girl’s twin brother!’ and it’s … a lot. might have a problem with hypsersexuality but they’re not fully aware of it.

the preacher’s whore son, basically :)

pansexual & nonbinary, switches between he & they pronouns often and without a pattern, but they have such a fragile grip on their identity that you could call them ‘dog-faced bitch’ and they’d turn around like. sup.

vastly impulsive … like i said, they destroy their own creations for the fun of it. spends all their money on useless shit, will cheat on someone because they feel like it & likes the thrill, screams into the night sky frequently like a cat in heat.

will also spend months creating useless shit for no reason too. spent six of them sculpting a hollowed out tree the size of them & then took a sledgehammer to it.

they’re very super dramatic. would play the organ at church when nobody was looking after them and service was about to start. would just churn out these super haunting, creepy melodies like they were phantom of the opera. would do the same exact thing at home on their keyboard with the pipe organ setting whenever they got grounded until their parents took it away hbdsjfngkh

will absolutely not talk about their ‘time away’ because it’s not anyone’s business, not even their own younger sister. still refuses to talk about tatiana’s death, or their mental health, or their addiction (fallen back into it but it hasn’t gotten severe … yet :/), or anything involving their own emotions.

will just change the topic abruptly, no warning. asks about the jonas brothers instead and they fucking hate the jonas brothers.

that being said they’re absolutely not over tatiana’s death & it’s to the point of obsession over it. like there’s some kind of secret that needs to be uncovered, even though there just. isn’t. tatiana was their rock and they were pretty much dependent on her. kept them grounded. could control them when nobody else could, got into their head easier than others. it’s sort of like rosa lost two siblings that day because viktor hasn’t been the same since.

emotionally unavailable while also crying twice a day. cries during their brawls but still wins. is stony-faced when they tell you they cheated on you with your much hotter best friend.

will tell you straight up what they want from you, no bullshit & no beating around the bush. just blunt. if they want to fuck, nothing else, then that’s it. if they feel deviation or developing feelings then they’ll ghost in less than a second. is awful like that but feels no shame.

but also emotional as shit and it’s confusing. will cry on a whim and then flip you off if you try to console them or ask them what’s up. will bite you.

they go to therapy but they just fuck around and wastes their therapists’ time … also is fucking their therapist, but that’s neither here nor there. so they’re not really getting the help they need.

likes to be intimidating but not … with their body or anything because they’re a twig but uses their love & knowledge of horror and creepy shit to their advantage. has an abundance of fake blood. has channeled the energy of jack nicholson and used it on tatiana’s boyfriends before (also is a big fan of sfx makeup & has dabbled in it)

probably chases kids around with a chainsaw without the chain on halloween every year.

generally never doing good, both mental health wise & morally. would probably steal candy from a baby for funsies.

i don’t know if there’s a good to them somewhere deep down, but they don’t see any issues with themself either. nothing really breaks through to them anymore because the only person who ever made them stop and think about their actions was tatiana, and well, y’know. :/

an introverted reclusive type who doesn’t like most people or going out, but does so anyway if it means a quick high & a cheap thrill.

pretty observant and likes to analyze people even though they’re often like … partially wrong. judgmental because they like to make people feel bad, not because they’re a righteous mighty person. because they’re not. so like, a hypocrite!

wanted connections.

religious trauma? oh worm ;; three cheers fr <3 guilt <3 anyways uh. just people tht viktor hs known thru the church in some way even tho hes a fkn. freak now. maybe even family friends. 

the horror of our love :/ ;; hmm. any romance tht cld b toxic i think this cld fit. just rly a bad fit. viktor doesnt rly know hw to love so nothing rly lasts bt. maybe they try n try n nothing works bt they keep trying. cld also just be anything unrequited.

little fkn gremlins ;; theyre all evil n mean. bt theyre all friends. <3 

you are nothing ;; uuh. enemy plots. spicy enemies. rly bad enemies. rivals. they r brutal towards each other bcos nothing viktor does is ever soft.

fuck u dont pity me ;; uh. people who try to get close to viktor n he just. bites at them. he’s like no. bc he assumes ppl who r kind in response 2 his vileness r. theres smth wrong w them. n it might hv to do with pity. n he hates pity.

ugh. locals x ;; ppl who also grew up around preaker, vermont. the samuels r <3 well known folks n the uh. hm. the murder is an ongoing case. so they cld know abt it <3

dont tell anybody x ;; this is for soft plots. i dont know much about soft plots but. 

maybe i am part of the problem ;; the problem is chlamydiagate. this is a hook-ups connection. fwbs n one night stands. ppl viktor hs brutally ghosted. he doesnt acknowledge their existence outside of these events, perhaps. 

dont u just wna go apeshit ;; this is where viktor becomes a bad influence.

bt uh. anything. pelase

[angrylizardjacket]

ask your destiny to dance [17] {Roger Taylor}

[masterpost]

It takes Roger exactly two weeks to realise he doesn’t know Ash nearly as well as he thought he did. There’s a lot to glean about a person from their room, and what they say, but not everything, not even close to everything.

“So I guess you’re working tomorrow?” Roger asks, leaning against the bar as Ash polishes a glass. It comes as a surprise when she makes a face, shaking her head. “We’re going on a pub crawl, if you wanna come along then.” 

Ash takes her time before answering, hanging up the glass and pulling another from the rack before she finally speaks.

“I can’t, I’m busy, sorry.” And she sounds... uncomfortable about it. Roger’s never known her to be uncomfortable about anything that didn’t relate to her home life, and she can see the moment he jumps to that conclusion. “I’m going to Paris in the afternoon,” she says quickly, and Roger’s taken aback, “I don’t get home until late; train times, you know?” 

“A day trip to Paris?” He asks, and Maureen leans over to Ash with a small smile.

“Is that where you go on those Saturdays? That’s cute, Ash, little routine trips to France.” She flicks Ash with the end of her tea towel, to which Ash smiles despite herself, blushing and flicking Maureen back.

“Oi, I’m just going to Paris, nothing cute about it. I’m allowed to have hobbies, you know.” She argued back, and Maureen snickered, smiling fondly at the ginger before she tucked her tea towel into her back pocket and went back to cutting lime wedges. “I’m going to The Louvre.” Ash explained to Roger, cheeks still faintly pink.

“The Louvre?” There was a surprise in his voice that Ash had expected, and when she looks up at him, she still seems a bit defensive.

“There’s free entry once per month; first Saturday at six.” She pauses, and when his expression brightens, hers falls and she feels like she’s said too much.

“Do you go every month?” He sounds delighted at the prospect, and Ash wants to defend herself, but then he says, “you shouldn’t be catching the train so late, it’s dark even at six, love, you must get home at like midnight; just let me drive you.”

“Rog, you don’t need to do that,” but her grin is more relieved than anything else, the tension leaving her shoulders as she goes back to her work, “you guys are going out tomorrow, and besides, it’s not like I’ve never done it before.” 

“I can get on the piss with them any time; this only happens once a month.” And the way his words make Ash smile, quietly pleased, he’s already pretty sure it’s going to be worth it.

Things between them have been... weird. Good weird, sure, but that doesn’t make them less weird. They haven’t really had time for an actual date yet, they just sort of show up at each other’s homes and watch TV and make out whenever they don’t have work or rehearsals of a night. It’s been good, it’s felt safe. 

When Ash sits on the curb outside of her dorm, she feels nervous more than anything else. It’s not a feeling she’s used to; she’s never been nervous around Roger before; it takes her probably too long to realise how much she wants this to go well. When he shows up, just after midday, he’s beaming from the second hand station wagon that he’d gotten since recording the album. There’s a map in the passenger seat.

“I’ve driven there before, but not for a while, you’re going to have to direct me.” He advises as she buckles her seat belt, putting her sketchbook and thermos by her feet and unfolding the map.

It’s a long drive, just over five hours, and Ash is nervous for about three of them, which is only compounded by getting lost twice, and eventually Roger pulls over.

“You’ve been tense since I showed up; what’s wrong?” He asks, and Ash sighs heavily, picking up her thermos and pouring herself a small cup of tea.

“I don’t exactly go blabbing about the fact that I make semi-frequent trips to Paris, alright?” Ash admits, and she takes a sip of her drink, looking out through the windshield. Roger’s not sure what that means, how to respond, and after a minute, she adds, “Freddie doesn’t even really know.” And she finishes the tea, putting the thermos back, and Roger’s still quiet. When she finally looks at him, his expression is fondly amused.

“You’ve made me feel all special.” It’s far too genuine to be a joke, and Ash lets herself smile back, rolling her eyes at him.

“Don’t let it go to your head.” She warned, and Roger’s smile sharpened as he pulled back onto the road.

“Too late.” But he reaches over to rest his hand on her knee as she opens the map up again, and her heart grows warm, her anxiety easing. They turn up the radio for the rest of the trip; Ash hums along to the songs she only knows the tune of without too much hassle, yet somehow can’t seem to actually sing a note to save her life. She finishes butchering Elton’s Crocodile Rock at the top of her lungs, and Roger’s sides hurt from laughing, and she’s grinning in a way that means she knows exactly how terrible she is and how much it amuses Roger.

“I have other skills.” She says dismissively, grinning with her nose in the air as the radio host announces another song, and instead of answering, Roger sings along to the radio like he’d written the melody himself. “Showoff.” Ash laughed, and Roger’s eyes crease as he grins.

“I don’t have other skills, I gotta make use of this one.” He replied, lightly, and Ash’s expression softened.

“Oh shut it, you’ve got at least two other skills, probably.” She played along with his joke, watching him as he sings along to the rock song blaring from the radio, and it’s relaxed and easy, and she finds herself wondering why she’d been so worried just a few hours before. 

They hit Paris at a quarter to six, and grab some fast food before heading to the gallery. There’s people everywhere, and the line isn’t exactly short to get in, more than a few of them are uni students like them, looking to get in for free, and Ash says hi to a few; the fact that she goes here enough to know other people who do this regularly to is still something that baffles Roger a little. He’s worried she’s getting nervous again when she takes his hand - they’re not the sort of people who hold hands - but when he looks at her, her eyes are shinning and bright as she looks up at the building; she’s excited. 

Ash goes quiet in the gallery, looking around with wide-eyed reverence at the works around them. They move past the entrance slowly; Ash gazes at the works with their plaques memorised, while Roger reads them, fingers laced with hers. 

“Oh, hello.” Voice reverential, Ash greets a statue at the end of the hall like an old friend, and introduces Roger as such. “This is the Venus de Milo, she’s almost two thousand years old, god, look at that marble work, imagine how sharp it would have looked back then,” and then it’s like she’s opened a floodgate, and she’s tugging him along, rambling along the way about each piece they pass, little facts not on the plaques, things she can cite from the top of her head. Above everything, she’s passionate, pulling out of his grip to clutch her hands to her chest and looking up at headless sculpture of what Roger thinks is an angel, and what Ash clarifies to be The Winged Victory of Samothrace.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Ash’s moon-eyed gaze was focused on the statue’s marble garments, but Roger’s only got eyes for her. When he doesn’t answer, she looks to him, catches the way he’s smiling at her, and she feels her cheeks heat up. “What?”

“You really love this stuff, don’t you?” It’s a sincere question, and it’s as if he can see her responses flit through her mind, sarcastic, dismissive, an eye roll, flippant, she passes them all, takes a moment to really look at him, taking her time to breathe in the whole situation before responding.

“More than anything.” It’s a sincere answer, and it catches him off-guard. Ash is many things, but unapologetically enthusiastic is not one Roger’s familiar with.

Turning on her heel, Ash leads further in to the gallery, but it’s finally hits him how much this means to her, this place, these works, bringing him here. They’d been together for barely a fortnight, but they both know it’s felt so much longer than that; she’d taken a gamble, bringing him, he has no doubt she’d have left him in London if she didn’t want him to come along, and something tightens in his chest. 

He doesn’t dwell on it, he takes it in stride well enough, peppering her with questions along the way that she seems thrilled to answer. Tucking her arm into his, they make their way through the building, the babbling turning to banter easily as Roger provides his own commentary on each piece as they pass, which serves to make Ash laugh.

They get to a small painting on the top floor with a border that looks bigger than the picture itself, and Ash has gotten quiet again. 

“Who’s this?” Roger asks, the two of them stepping close to get a closer look.

“The Lacemaker.” Ash sounds a little awed, and when he looks down at her, Roger sees how fondly she’s smiling at the little painting. “She’s my favourite.” 

“’course she is, she’s like you.” Roger answers easily, and Ash makes a face, laughing a little self consciously.

“No she’s not, shut up.” She doesn’t sound like she believes him, a bit of a laugh in her words, but she’s resting her head against Roger’s shoulder and he wraps an arm around her.

“Same focus.” Roger muses, and when Ash looks to him, surprise and confusion on her face, he just grins. “When you sew, you’ve got the same look on your face, same focus.” He explains, and there’s something in Ash’s awed expression that he can’t place, and she pulls away from him too fast for him to really identify it.

She’s pretty sure she loves him.

It’s fucking terrifying.

She can’t look at him, stepping out of his grip as she feels tears well in her eyes as her emotions overwhelm her, not that it’s an uncommon occurrence, Ash has never set foot in an art gallery and not cried, but Roger didn’t need to know that. She’d really been doing well today, too. Usually she gets lost in the scope and detail of The Wedding at Cana, or even comes to obsess over the little details of The Lacemaker, but she’s also usually alone and can get away with it. 

“That’s- Rog, that’s really sweet of you to say.” And he can hear in her voice that she’s trying not to believe him, that she can’t let herself believe him. And when she turns back, she’s wiping at her eyes, and he wants to try and comfort her, but she’s already walking past him briskly, leading to the next painting.

“There’s something I’ve... well, I’ve always wanted to try here.” He hears her say, voice firm as if she’s trying to move quickly past whatever the moment she’d just had was. She leads not to the painting, but to one of the weirdly low, backless sofas that are scattered around for people to view the paintings from. This one’s empty; Ash looks around for security, and seeing none, steps up onto it. 

“And what’s that?” He asks with a smirk, the sofa giving her only about two inches of height on him. He doesn’t ask why she’d almost started crying, and for that she’s thankful. Instead, his hands come to rest on her hips, and he’s smiling at her in that way that sets her heart aflutter.

“Don’t ruin this.” She warns very quietly, amused smile on her lips, and Roger quirks an eyebrow.

“Ruin what?” He asks, shooting for innocent, a million different things running through his mind that could make her smile, but would definitely ruin the moment; he bites his tongue. 

Ash cups his face in her hands, and she can’t help but laugh as she leans in to kiss him. It starts sweet and tender, her lips soft against his, but he wraps his arms around her, pulling her close and deepening the kiss. There’s people moving around them, most ignoring them, some stare, but neither of them seem to care. She tastes mostly like the tea she’d sculled in the car when they’d arrived, and she’s got a hand in his hair when he presses kisses from her jaw, trailing down her neck, and she laughs, a little giddy. He pulls back, if only to see her bright eyed and blushing. 

“Let’s go home.” She says softly, and Roger’s never agreed to something so quickly, his heart elated to see Ash giggling and mischievous as they backtrack through the gallery, knowing that he and the art were the things that made her smile like that. 

“I didn’t ruin it.” He sounds a little smug when he says it as they walk through the streets of Paris back to his car, and Ash glances at him out of the corner of her eye, snorting.

“I could see you holding yourself back from a one-liner about pinning masterpieces to walls or something like that; I appreciate your discretion.” She tells him, deadpan, and Roger gives her a self-satisfied grin.

“It certainly wasn’t easy.” He agrees, but she still reaches out and takes his hand. When they get to his car, he goes to head around to the driver’s side, but she pulls him back for a moment, pressing a kiss to his lips. After a moment, he’s got a hand on her hips, pressing her against the side of the car, and she sighs against his lips, her arms around his neck. Her legs slide open easily as she pulls him closer, letting him slide a knee between her thighs.

“Christ,” Roger breaks away from the kiss, murmuring the word against her neck as her nails graze his scalp.

“Thank you for today.” She whispers softly, and he can hear the smile in her words. He presses a kiss to her shoulder.

“Any time, love.” He steps back from her, enough to see her fond smile, and to give one in return, before he heads around to the driver’s side and they both get in the car.

It’s well past midnight by the time they get back, and Ash follows Roger up to his flat with a yawn, flinching as the door opens and Brian, Freddie, and John all greet them with a cheer, obviously taking a pit stop in the middle of their pub crawl.

“I was starting to sober up; the walk between the last pub and the next is directly smack bang in the middle of here.” Freddie claims with a surprising amount of confidence considering his words make no sense.

“No- this place is on the way to the next pub.” John corrects, and Ash has to giggle at the sight and sound of a drunk John Deacon. It never fails to amuse her, he’s surprisingly confident and well spoken.

“Yes! Deaky is right! You two can join us!” Freddie brandishes and subsequently spills on Brian, who’s sitting beside him.

“Go if you want, I’m knackered.” Ash yawns, giving Roger’s shoulder a nudge, moving past him to his room.

“Actually, I think I’m right, I’ve been driving for a while,” Roger says, making to follow Ash, only to hear Freddie boo loudly, and John call out after them.

“Where’d you guys go?” He asks, and Roger answers over his shoulder.

“Art gallery.” He answers, and he hears Ash snort from his bedroom.

“That’s... Rog, that’s surprisingly cute, didn’t know you had it in you.” Brian smiles at him, and Roger feels a little patronised by the pride in his flatmate’s voice. He flips Brian off, along with the rest of them, since John was grinning like the cat who got the cream and Freddie looked like he was three seconds away from actually ‘awe’ing. 

“Did you kids have fun?” Freddie calls, sounding nothing so much like his own mother, wearing a shiteating grin, which only got wider as Roger told him to piss off, slamming the door once he got into his room. 

Ash was standing by his bed, pulling off the shorts she’d been wearing all day, already wearing one of his shirts. Roger can hear the others on the other side of the door already laughing and talking about something else, all three of them trying to convince themselves to get up and move on to the next pub. She gives him an amused smile and Roger just rolls his eyes at his friends’ whole situation.

They don’t speak, though Ash’s yawn triggers one in Roger, and when he’s stripped down to his boxers, she’s waiting for him beneath the covers. When he kisses her, it’s a thank you for the day, and she hums a soft, contented noise against his lips. They’re too tired to even fool around, and Ash wraps her arm around him as he turns to lay on his side, pressing her chest to his back, pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade before they fall asleep.

the ususal suspects: @deakydickfanpage @hollyissuchahoe @laueecakee @smittyjaws @crystalshines2909 @i-am-sarah @legendsaresooftenwarnings @2ptonpt @benhardy24-7 @maiilovely @mickey-yr-a-goner @butter-times @heyyouitskay @tired-eyes-fairy-lights @yepimthatperson @missieluvsmurder @ironqueen98 @ceruleanrainblues @banhbao329 @fantasticchaoticwho @ko-kitty @seven-seas-of-hi @mimisfangirlfantasy @aadjuric @rogmobile @cardybenhardy @snacfu @perriwiinkle @the-strange-fan-girl @finite-incantatem-7 @tapetayloe @florencewelchismybiggod

[salfordiansiren]

Interview Questions for Ren Harvieu, God is in the TV ‘In Conversation with…’article

We do like to ask some ‘off-the-wall’ questions, also some slightly tongue-in-cheek and left-field ones not connected to the music business at all. There are also a few multiple questions and I’ve mixed them up a bit so that the subjects keep changing. Many of them are open-ended, giving you the opportunity to be as verbose as you wish.  Please ignore any question you do not wish to answer.

Hi Lauren, my name is David Bentley, I write for a UK-based e-zine God is in the TV (GIITTV).

The objective of this interview, which will be published in GIITTV within a week of receiving your responses, is to introduce you to a new audience in the UK and abroad and to promote your forth on ming album.

The interview will also feature some embedded videos and/or audio unless you ask us not to do that.

There will be an ‘introduction’ to the interview but that will be written after its completion.

Thanks for agreeing to take part.

So, here we go…

 

Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. How are you?

I’m in a great mood today thanks. I had foot surgery last week and so I cant leave the house or really move for 6 weeks but I feel strangely calm about the whole thing, I dont mind bein

 

For the benefit of readers who may not be familiar with you, how would you describe yourself as an artist, in a paragraph?

 

 

You have released two singles, ‘Teenage Mascara’ and just now ‘Yes, Please’ from your second album, ‘Revel in the Drama’ which is scheduled for next April and the first one was well received by broadcasting ‘tastemakers’. How does the album differ from the first one, ‘Through the Night?’

 

The difference between Revel In The Drama and Through The Night is that this is a much more personal album. I spent the last couple of years honing my songwriting craft and these lyrics have come straight from my gothic salfordian brain. Its darker, more intense, stranger but still has the beauty of Through The Night. I think both albums sit nicely together.

 

 

Since 2015 you’ve been co-writing with Romeo Stodart of the Magic Numbers and he appeared on stage with you at your recent concerts. Will that relationship continue? Do you prefer to control the songwriting process yourself, or are you content to work with other music or lyric writer(s) into the future? If the latter, who has the final say?

I’ll keep writing with romeo till I die if he wants to. He’s the best of the best, and he understands me. I never really felt understood as an artist till I met him. I feel so comfortable in his presence that I let it allllll out, not just the versions of me t

 

You signed with Universal, a huge corporation, as a 17-year old. Is that too young, or are there any benefits in being ‘bloodied’ in the industry at such a tender age?

I think I was too young, although Universal were great that wasn’t the problem. But there was a lot going on behind the scenes that I was dealing with. I wasn’t a show biz kid from a showbiz family and I had real problems that seemed bigger than singing about about being dumped by some boy. I felt too young and overwhelmed but also too streetwise and smart for it all. It was a confusing time.

They say that everything happens for a reason. In 2011 you suffered a life-changing event, just as your debut album was about to be released, and one which set you back several years. Eight years on do you think the dreadful accident in which you broke your back has had any positive repercussions?

I think there had been positive repercussions,I dont think I would have started writing if it wasn’t for the accident. I dont

 

What attracted you to signing with Bella Union for your new album?

Well

 

Do you have any role models in the music business? A hero or heroine? Anyone you would enjoy being “mentioned in the same breath” with? (Dusty Springfield comes to mind, also perhaps Shirley Bassey).

 

I really admire Fiona apple because she does whatever the hell she wants. And her records are stunning, unique and completely un compromising.

You are compared occasionally with Elkie Brooks (I’ve done it myself!), a different kind of singer perhaps but a highly respected one who hails from the same city, and even the same suburb as you. And she’s still performing, in her seventies. Is there anything you feel you can learn from her and, indeed, are you ever in contact with her?

I dont know Elkie personally but I love her shes a legend. Rising Cost Of Love is my jam!

 

 

You left Salford and relocated to London a while ago. Do you miss it? How did the move impact on your creativity?

I really miss the north, everything about it but I needed to leave because I was really sad and I knew if i didnt do something soon I was going to slip down the back alleyof my mind and maybe disappear forever. I have memories on every street, bus stops make me emotional. Corner shops where me and my friend would try and get booze in our school, theres just memories everywhere and I needed a clean break. To create some distance so I could write about it

When you’re writing, how do most of your songs start life? A piano part? A chord? A melody? Does inspiration simply come, or do you have to seek it?

I feel inspired everyday by everything. When writing a song I like to visualise it, like a film, frame by frame. Sometimes I move around, dance, put on voices. Romeo will play something off the cuff that’s so beautiful that I’ll just start shouting and laughing and hugging him. Its the closest I get to spirituality. Writing wise, I want the narrative to have as much depth as possible, I want to feel something and I feel it is my duty to give the emotion and the stories the respect they deserve. I take it very seriously.

 

Do you see yourself as a live artist, or a recording artist, or both?

I see myself as both. I get to appease the introvert in me by being in the studio and attend to the outrovert by playing live.

 

How would you personally measure ‘success’? By ‘breaking’ America? Or something more modest?

Success to me would mean I get to create and perform music for all time and make a living on it. Success to me would mean that people are touched and moved by my music. I would love to be a voice to someone that can comfort them, just as say Rufus Wainwirght was to me when I was a depressed 14 year old. I’m not doing this just to stroke my own fragile ego, I genuinely want to reach o

 

When I saw your show at the Deaf Institute in Manchester recently, in one song (I think it was ‘Cruel Disguise’), you reached and sustained a note that convinced me and those in my company that you could probably tackle opera singing. Do you have any ambitions to perform in that or any other genre?

I would love to learn opera. I think

 

Back in 2012, while you were recovering, you performed several James Bond film theme tunes with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, including ‘You only live twice’ and ‘Nobody does it better’, both of which arguably could be applied to you. Do you picture yourself as a ‘Bond girl’ in the sense of recording the theme to a future movie, or do you even have any acting ambitions to actually play such a role? After all, the new album is constructed so that you can “revel in the drama of my life” as you say. (Incidentally, a female friend of mine – also from Salford – commented that you look like a 1950s Hollywood movie star).

Tell your friend I said thanks a lot! I would love to sing a Bond theme, I feel like it could happe

Acting wise I’m open to it, why not?

 

I saw one of your Christmas Special shows at the Soup Kitchen in Manchester in 2015. During the show you told a story about how a school choirmaster prevented you joining a musical assembly on four occasions for no better reason than that there was something about you that he didn’t like. Your rejoinder to that was “Well, fuck him” and of course you soon went on to release demos on MySpace which were picked up by a local manager and sent on to Amy Winehouse’s producer. The rest is history. A new song, ‘Little Raven’ was written cathartically as one to your younger self when you had no label and didn’t know if it would ever be recorded. What advice would you give to young people who find doors being slammed in their face as that schoolmaster did to you?

If anyone is picking you, school teachers, other kids, parents, anyone i would say to

If schoolmasters are singling you out and picking on you, its probably because your different and they cant stand

 

 

What touring plans do you have to support the release of the new album?

We are organising a tour right now around the UK, quite a big one its really exciting. I also cant wait to tour outside of England, I’ve never done that.

 

If you weren’t a musician what would you be? Do you ever aspire to being ‘something else’ entirely (model, politician, footballer, train driver…?!)

I think I’d try and be a fiction writer. I love books and stories and characters. I heard Donna Tartt say something life ‘as much fun as it is to read a book, writing one is one level deeper’ There’s something about losing myself into another world entirely that really appeals to me.

 

The environment. Whose viewpoint are you closest to? Donald Trump or Greta Thunberg?

 Greta or course.

United or City?

United

 

Coronation Street or EastEnders?

Corrie

 

Thanks again and good luck with the album and your future career.

[noiseartists]

Loomer: Bliss from Brazil

Loomer, from Brazil, are another great Shoegaze band (or Nu-gaze band if you are timely conscious) that have emerged on the worldwide scene in the last decade.

The band is currently composed of 4 members:

Stefano (Male vocals/guitar),

Michelle (Female vocals/bass),

Richard (guitar)

Guilherme (Drums).

They are currently on the Midsummer Madness label. Looker have released two EP’s and two albums as of the time of writing this, May 2019.

Loomer certainly wear their influences on their shoes (See what I did there!) but Stefano (Lead male vocals/guitarist) insist that they do not force the music that they make and that they are different people and each member brings their own influences and ideas to the studio.  

They really live up to the title of indie as they are independent in their creating and recording of their own songs. Since their 2nd EP ‘Coward Soul’ the band have mixed all of their work and mastered all of it, bar the debut album ‘You Would Not Anyway’ which was also recorded in various places ranging from the comfort of home to an unorthodox location such as a beach!

Loomer prefer to start playing tinny, trebly sounding arpeggios that are more concentrated on authentic guitar tone blended with a bit of bliss that is reminiscent of Swervedriver, in particularly, the outro of their 1993 hit from Sophomore album Mezcal Head; Duel. In fact, their inclination of rock style lead guitar playing and the tone that they select would fit well into any Swervedriver song.  However, Loomer are far from being a rip off band. Their ability to stay clear from obvious guitar effects like Reverse Reverb (which has been subject to over kill in the Shoegaze genre for the last 30 years) and floaty guitar tone sucking ambience is refreshing.

MUSIC WORK

Their first EP’s were ‘Mind Drops’ (2009), followed by ‘Coward Soul’ (2010) and the two albums are ‘You Would Not Anyway’ (2013) and ‘Deserter’ (2017). The first EP’s are both raw in sound quality, like they were made in 1988 and immediately, I can hear comparisons to The Jesus and Mary Chain  (Check out the tracks ‘Search On Your Own’ and ‘Damned’ with Jim Reid style deep vocals and more ear-piercing feedback than your English teacher gave you at school), damn, these guys are loud!

The other EP ‘Coward Soul’ (2010) reminds me initially of Sonic Youth because of the raw octave, harmonic, rapidly strummed spring reverbed guitar playing, and the sudden outbursts of punky shouting during the refrains. This is also the first EP that features female vocals blended with Stefano’s vocals in the form of Michelle, like Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. The debut album ‘You Wouldn’t Anyway’ aesthetically catches my eye with very 60’s psychedelic cover art that is lit up in a striking purple colour and the music is better produced than their EP’s.

The track ‘Enough (From the debut Mind Drops EP) starts with an interesting tinny slightly delayed single note riff before launching into a raucous, unstoppable and solid wall of sound that features a joyous, bouncy vocal melody encapsulated. Ethereal, fragile but endearing female vocals enter the fray in the first refrain section gliding along with the deeper, reassuring male vocal creating a balance or maybe an imbalance to the music that the band themselves admit to liking the sense of mystery in their songwriting and sound. Classic My Bloody Valentine right there, hence the name of this band. The ending mellows out but instead of the abrasive guitars transforming into ethereal, angelically ambient tools of sorcery,

On their Album ‘Deserter’, a track that grabbed me is the penultimate song, ‘Another Round’ which begins with one very fuzzed up guitar and a few abrupt un-musical jack input noises to create suspense. The guitar tones on this track are pure gorgeous and they also vary. Each section of this song has something different going on with the guitars, whether in terms of tone or chord changes or playing technicalities, it’s all evolving all of the time, sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant.  The fuzz that growls and a purrs like a V8 engine in an American muscle or British lightweight sports car appears in the pre-chorus section acting as a soothing haze coinciding with the floaty vocal lines. This track is by far one of the catchiest and interesting tunes from the album without being too simple or boring.  

The album finale, appropriately named ‘Opinions’  features a mind bending dentist drill guitar effect that emerges at the Thirty One, Fifty mark of the album and emerges again near the end ad sees out the remainder of the song. Again, this is a track full of surprises that gives the listener one final treat before the album ends and all of a sudden, the world seems like such a quiet and dull place.

Therefore, this album, this artist do their job as a huge aspect of the essence of Shoegaze music is to transport the listener and when the music stops, the holy experience is over and the world is bland again, and that’s when you really appreciate the benefit of this incredible genre that we call Shoegaze. Loomer certainly capture this essence.

Link to ‘Enough’ from debut EP, Mind Drops (2009) below:

Stunning track from debut EP, Mind Drops (2009)

INTERVIEW

THE BAND

Where are you from in the Brazil? Where are you living now?

I, jaquelina and guilherme were born in Rio Grande Do Sul, south of Brazil. Fernanda was born in Santa Catarina, also in southern Brazil. Richard was born in Germany. And Michelle was born in the United States. At the moment, Fernanda who played bass with us is living in Florida United States, and Michelle is living in Porto Alegre, she is our current bass player now.

What did you study?

I studied Electronic Engineering. Richard and Guilherme studied design. Fernanda studied psychology. Jaquelina is a self-taught artist. Michelle is studying civil engineering.

What is your day job at present if any?

I like my job, but I dont really want to talk about it. Sorry...

Do you dream to live from your music or is it a passion you do not want to spend your full time on?

I don’t really know. I’m following what life offers me. I really love music and cannot stop doing that.

Do you have families?

I live with my wife Jaquelina. We don’t have any children yet. Michelle lives with Andressa, her girlfriend. Fernanda lives with Kim, her wife. Richard lives with Maria, his wife. Guilherme is divorced and is the only one of us who has a son, Gabriel.

Could you tell me how the band meet and decided to do music together?

I was playing another band called Transmission. In the year 2005 Richard came to live in Porto Alegre, and formed another band called Lautmusik, as he liked my band we decided to do a tour together in 2007. But things ended up not working, Transmission stopped playing in 2007 because the singer has moved to another country. Because of that, we probably ended up making a band.

Guilherme, was already my acquaintance, we played in another band called Materia Plastica, and he came to join us as our drummer. Liege was the last one to join the band, but that gave the finishing touch in the formation, took the bass and made the backing vocals in some songs and sang others. Later in 2013 the Liege left and entered the Fernanda that already played with me in the band Parkplatz. This is the formation that resists to this day.

Can you tell me the inspiration behind your band? You can detect the influences of shoegaze and indie rock. There is also a very interesting duality with some violence in the music that is always balanced by some tranquility with the feminine voice or other means. It is a great example of ying and yang or masculine / feminine influences. Is it on purpose?

We did not try to force the music we made. I mean, at least we think so. We are different people, and each one brings their influences to the music. Sometimes the core of the song is composed at home grossly and finalized in the studio over many essays, other times it is completely developed in the studio. We like male / female duality, we think it brings a balance, or maybe an imbalance. I'm not sure, I just know we like it that way.

Was there a vision of sorts or did you know what you wanted to do when you started up? I.e. when you started the band was it always a project to create a shoegaze band? Or was it different from now?

At first, Richard, our guitarist, had the idea of making a band in the style of My Bloody Valentine. We watched TV shows, we listened to music, watched horror movies. So he had this preconception. But when we got people together and started playing, we had more influences than just MBV, and we wanted to use all of them. It was a lot more fun, and we kept it that way. After all, we do not like to sound too alike to anyone, we prefer to sound like ourselves.

Do you have any other musical side projects apart from this band?

Actually, at the moment we are not playing in any side project, but we already had many.

Could you tell me more on the band composition? Do you have plans to add new members, or is there possible departure scheduled from existing band members?

The band is me (Stefano) on male voice and guitar, Michelle on female voice and bass, Richard guitar and Guilherme drums. Fernanda moved to USA in 2015/2016. Jaquelina played with us from 2016 to 2017. Now we are playing with Michelle Franzen.

We've already had 4 bass players playing with us since initial training. Liege in 2008, Fernanda in 2013, Jackelina in 2017 and Michelle in 2018. We have no plans to add or remove band members. We are just doing music and shows, things that we love, but sometimes the circumstances of life change people's destiny.

Can you tell us more how you came to have the band’s name?

Well, in the beginning we were playing for 6 months and have a scheduled show, but we hadn`t a name yet. So we made a list of 50 names to choose one. Loomer was a suggestion made by Richard, and it was the winner. Of course Loomer is because of MBV song, but what we use to say is that we wasn't looking for anything related to MBV on purpose, it was just a coincidence that this was the best name to think of when we had to choose one.

The Creative process

Who writes the song and the music and how do you get to the final song? Is it a community process, do you have leaders in composing or arranging music?

We have a lot of ways to compose songs. Some of the songs I write at home and bring to the band. Some songs are born entirely in the studio. Some songs starts with a guitar riff, some with the drums or bass giving the idea to the band to complete the rest.

Do you listen to the advice of your band mates? What would you do if they said a song was shit but you liked it?

Well, this has not happened yet. But what usually happens is that sometimes the members do not have ideas to play certain music, and it is put on the shelf to be finished later. Sometimes when a song takes too long to complete, it may happen that we lose the spirit it initially had.

There’s a degree of unconventional songwriting with you guys. Was it kind of intimidating going to record knowing people might not be engaging with the songs in terms of hooks and such and trying to deliver an engaging sound on record?

We just try to make songs that we think are good. We do not know how many people will like it but if we like it it was already worth the effort. Everyone in the band is free to contribute to the composition, and this already provides a greater degree of creativity.

Personally I like songs that confuse the head but that are simple after you understand it. But I will not impose anything if it is not working. I can not say for sure. I think what we do has to be worth it to us, somehow.

You have a great way about your guitars, with tones and melodies answering each other, almost like discussing. Could you tell us more on how you work together on this?

Well, we've played so loud that many times we can not hear what others are doing. It is often a pleasant surprise when we will listen to the recording. Maybe our guitar dialogue is just two guitars talking to the walls. Another important detail is that we try not to interfere with what each one creates. Anyway we think it works.

Talking about the lyrics: who write them? Is there a common thread in them, a theme?

Usually I write the lyrics. But usually I write only what I sing, and when Liege sang, she wrote the part of it. Fernanda has not yet felt comfortable writing her songs, although we encourage her to do so. But she helped me in the lyrics on the last album. I do not think of a main theme when I write, at least on purpose. I think this ends up appearing naturally according to what I am experiencing at the moment.

Do you labor over your lyrics? Is that something that comes easy?

I do not consider myself good at writing. I think I'm better maybe in the melodies. I admit that several songs I leave to decide on the lyrics only during the recording, although I already have an idea of what I would like to talk about. Anyway we like the voice as being just another instrument of music, not being something in the foreground.

Do you have a message that you want to get across in your music? If so, what are some of the messages you want to spread?

I do not have a message. When I start to write I do not know what I'm talking about. And if I have enough time to this initial process the whole letter appears and I am quite happy with the result. But if by chance I leave the lyrics to finish later, then I will need to understand the subject to be able to conclude. These are the hardest to finish.

Did your listening habits changed over the years and does it affect what you write?

Yes, my habits change a little over time. And I think it's natural that what I write also changes. But I do not try to do anything on purpose. What I want to say is that I do not try to listen to something new in order to incorporate this into my music because it's a new trend. What I do is dig old and new bands for something I really enjoy. And when I write, it's always the old thing I've always done.

How is your recognition going in Indonesia and Abroad? Is it growing? Are you happy with it?

Did you mean in Brazil? Yes, in Brazil we have some recognition that has been growing slowly. We are happy with this, because it is a musical style that has no space in the mainstream media. Time helps reward that.

The path to music

Is it easy to find producers and studios in Brazil for indie-rock?

It is not very easy to find, so we produce ourselves. We like to do this because we can keep the result close to what we would like it to be. But we lost in the aspect of an external opinion that could enrich the music.

Your recorded sound is very good, which is not easy. Did you engineer the sound yourself, or did you have a sound engineer with you? If yes could you tell us more about him/her?

The first EP "Mind Drops" was recorded by Lucas Pocamacha, guitarist of Superguidis, a very cool indie-rock band here in Brazil that is not playing anymore. He did this in exchange for a sound card we bought for him. The second EP "Coward Soul" was recorded in the DUB studio that we usually do our rehearsals and we did the mixing and the mastering.

The first LP "You Would not Anyway" we recorded ourselves at home, on the beach, in the studio, in different places. We mixed and the mastering was done by Paulo Casaes (Fujimo).

The last album "Deserter" we recorded in the studio Dissenso and in the studio DUB. I mixed it myself and mastered it. We've been looking for a sound engineer but we still can not find it. We thought it would be very good for us. In the meantime, we're doing things ourselves.

Was it a community work to try to have the best sounding music possible or mainly driven by the sound engineer or by the band?

It is a work mainly directed by the band. We spent a lot of time mixing the result. Recording usually does not take long. But it is not so because we want it this way. It's because the recording (mainly the drums) is usually in the studio and paid per hour. I still believe it's best to spend more time recording and less time mixing. The result would be even better.

Can you tell us how the recording process was?

We are still learning. But what we usually do is record the drums first. Our drummer likes to record with us playing together, without a metronome or guide track. In this sense I think it can be said that each band has an ideal way to do the recording.

Anyway the drums is the one that takes more time to be recorded in our case. And it's worth it because if it gets well done it makes it easier for the rest of the process. It needs to do in the studio. After that we recorded the bass, and it can be recorded at home if we want to save money. It's something quick to record, so it would also be okay to record in the studio.

After the bass comes the guitars. What takes in the recording of the guitars is not so much the execution, but the choice of the tones, the pedals, the regulation of the effects. Many hours of tuning and testing for 4 minutes of noise. But it's worth.

Since it takes a lot of time to adjust the tone of the guitar, it is best to record several songs at a time when you find the right tone. It is possible to record the guitar at home, but it gets better in the studio since we play loud. At last we record the voices, and these we can do at home as well. It's good to have a condenser microphone for this.

The rest we solve in the mix, where we do all the magic. But that is not a rule. We like badly recorded things too. Whistles, voices and guitars out of tune. What does not work can fit in very well. You need to hear what's coming out. I think it's the ear that's in charge after all

How did the recording work differ over time?

We recorded all of our albums. With this we learn over time new things, new tricks. I think you should not give too much importance to mistakes, or avoid doing something because you do not know enough.

More important than that is to let work flow, to enjoy the flow of inspiration because it matters more than the quality of work. But the recording is also part of the work, the two things complete themselves, the recording and the composition.

Is the recording material yours when you are out of a studio or do you borrow/rent it?

We have our own recording material. That is to say, we acquire over time equipment that we understand that would add to the sound of the band. But we also try to stay free to enjoy what we find at the recording location. It may be the noise of the wind, the trees, the water, in a studio we take advantage of some old equipment, a tape recorder, a tube or tape microphone, things that may sound a bit strange, or that inspire us.

Any interesting anecdotes on some recording session you would like to share?

I'm not very good at trying to be funny. But in our first EP Mind Drops we did the recording on a farm improvised. We took the sound table, the microphones, the amplifiers, the drums and everything else. We made the loudest noise, played really loudly and recorded separately, on separate tracks. Could not understand the result at the time.

Back in town, when we went to mix the result, we could hear horse whinnies, the noise of chickens and other strange things on certain channels. When I put everything together I could not see it. It was like this. I think this is funny in a way...

Did getting the live experience across on record create any pressure for yourselves in the recording process?

I think it creates a pressure yes. But we are not very organized to create the songs, or sometimes we take a lot of time to finish them. So some pressure helps us. They push us forward.

Instruments: you seem to be mainly a Fender band. Could you tell me what inspire you to use fenders rather than other brands?

We really like the Fender sound. I think what motivated us to use so many Fender outfits are our influences like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine among others. We thank them, because we like the result.

A question for a future paper I have in mind: if you use often a Fender Jaguar, could you tell me more about what makes it good to play (sound, neck, …). I find there are lot of noise artists that are using this guitar and I am interested to know why.

In my case, what I like most about this guitar is the sound of it. I think the combination of her sound with distortion and fuzz pedals gives a very engaging effect. Besides I consider a very beautiful guitar. I personally like old, vintage things, working fine.

Do you have one favorite instrument or do you change often?

We do not usually switch instruments. We have a fixed formation, with bass, two guitars and drums. In the recording sometimes we risk playing other things, like acoustic guitar, synthesizer, tambourine. But anyone can say or suggest ideas.

The funny thing to note is that we are a band in which we are all guitar players. Guilherme our drummer is actually a guitarist, and our bass player Fernanda is also a guitarist. I always use the same guitar, the Fender Jaguar. Although you have already modified some things in it like the keys, the pickups and the bridge, it's always the same.

But what I change with some frequency are the pedals. As I have more pedals than fit on the pedalboard, I do some kind of rotation to test everyone. In the end of course there are some favorite pedals.

Tell us what you are looking when trying to achieve your sounds? Do you experiment a lot or have a clear idea of what you want?

We experiment a lot, and we've tried to take advantage of everyone's idea. Maybe this will end up making the song a bit unconventional. But I like strange and uncomfortable songs. I can not say what we are looking for, because each one actually puts it in its own way. We eventually discovered what we ended up creating. I do not know if it's the best way to compose, probably not, but that's how we do it.

Who is the more knowledgeable with pedals? You use them a lot, to great effect.

Thank you. We ended up getting a lot of pedals. We do some research and we end up getting some. In the end we want to use everyone, which is not possible of course. But I think they help increase the possibilities of the songs. Me and Richard are the most interested in pedals, we've been researching what some bands we like have used on albums we like and we're going after them. It's a form of judgment because there is a very wide variety of pedals.

How many concert a year would you do on average and what would be the size of the venue?

We do not do many shows. We do 5 to 10 shows per year. But that depends a little on the season, since we've been focused on finishing the album in recent times. The size of the venues depends a bit on the event, we have already played in venues for 10,000 people, and we have already played in venues for 50 people. The smaller ones are more suitable for us, because our public is not so big, besides, small places are cooler.

Would you mind sharing some good anecdotes from your concerts/touring?

In respect to the reader, it may not be a good idea. =)

What are some places around the world that you hope to take your band? Do you have any plans at present to tour in other countries than the Brazil.

We think of going to countries here near Brazil, like Uruguay and Argentina. We also have plans to go to the United States, after all our bass player Fernanda lives there. We also thought about going to the UK, we even staged a show last year but we couldn’t go. Japan too. It's good to have plans, don’t you think?

Is there any reason in particular that you want to go to these places? Is there something about dream pop/shoegaze in those places that makes you want to go there?

We really like to write songs. Besides composing, recording them, it's very cool. In addition to recording, being able to play them around, and checking people's connection to our songs, this is very motivating. Sometimes we go places far away from where we came here in our huge country and have some people who know our names, follow our trajectory.

They thank us for doing that. I think there is a natural process of an artist wanting to expose their creation. These countries we mentioned before, we are very curious. We have a strong connection with them as well, as these are places that really enjoy shoegaze music, or that have created the style. You know, we're just living.

The Scene

Brazil have a thriving indie scene that is not very well known internationally. Could you tell us more about it?

Brazil is a huge and beautiful country. It's hard to know everything. There are many bands that come and go, and some are really good, but that for some reason are not very well known. In fact the indie scene is something that is self help based on the friendship, and in the musical taste of course, since there is no support of the larger media. We have some blogs and independent radio programs on the internet that have helped. It's really a fun aside.

Is it easy for a Brazilian indie bands to be known internationally? Do you have any example?

I think it's not easy, not because the bands do not deserve it, but because the outside public would probably think 'look, a Brazilian band singing indie rock. it must be bad.'. I do not know. Maybe not. It's all a matter of taste. I do not think much about being known or succeeding outside (or inside) Brazil. I think only of making songs that I consider important, maybe cool, or worthwhile for us to record or play at shows.

With respect to bands, there was an indie band that was relatively well known abroad 'Cansei de Ser Sexy'. With respect to Brazilian shoegaze, I know of two bands that lived in London for a while, Wry that is in Brazil now again, and The Tambourines who still lives there. Our seal, the Midsummer Madness, is now in London as well.

Has the scene changed since you began, and if so how?

The scene changed a lot, many times. In the 80's and 90's, many people went to the shows without even knowing who was playing, local bands had space on some local radios, record companies invested in new bands. In the 2000s there was a lot of variation, difficulty in publicizing the concerts, closing bars and independent rock show venues.

But you can go play in other cities, or on the other side of this immense country. With the internet and social networks, you can promote the shows in distant places. Even though there are few, there are always one or two pubs to play.

Nowadays still appear spaces for bands, because the bands help themselves based on the friendship. It's a way of life.

Is there any Brazilian band(s) you want to recommend in the indie/shoegaze/post-rock genres?

There's a lot of cool bands here. I can cite a few such as Herod, Twinpine (s), Wry, Labyrinth, Sileste, Justine Never Knew The Rules, Firefriend, Lava Divers, Juna, Carne de Monstro, Churrus, Space Rave, The Sorry Shop, Lupe Lupe, Low Dream, Fellini, Second Come, Pin Ups, Patife Band, This Lonely Crowd, Bruxas, Duelectrum, The Soundscapes, Blear, The Cigarettes, ruido\ mm, Proud Beggars, Walverdes

Economics

Do you have a label? Could you tell us a bit more if so.

We have two labels currently, Midsummer Madness and Sinewave. Both help us in spreading the record. Midsummer Madness also helps us in the pressing of physical disks. They both also help us to schedule shows here in Brazil.

How did the funding worked for the LP? Did you invest a lot yourself? Was your label supportive in that respect?

Yes, the label helps with a portion of the money to make the LP, and it returns in LPs to be sold. The other part is paid by us and we have the equivalent in LPs to be sold as well.

Where does the majority of the money go when you’re paying your own way?

Most of the money goes in the beers.

Do you make a decent revenue from your music or is it still very much a hobby?

We do not have enough revenue for considering it a professional work. In the best of situations we can pay the expenses. But that does not mean that we will change or give up, because we do what we love.

How do you sell your recordings (shops, online, …)?

Our label, Midsummer Madness, sells a part of the discs online. We sell online also through bandcamp and at shows.

The Future

What is the next album due?

We're thinking of making a single or an EP now. But we do not have a definitive date yet. It would be good to be this year, but...

Any other project (ie movies soundtrack, …) or plans

Richard plans to make a horror B movie. He really likes 80s-b-horror-movies. Maybe I'll do the soundtrack. Something with synthesizer or noisy bending guitars. It can be funny.

Do you plan to continue music for a long time or are you tired of it?

We do not intend to stop playing music ever. While it is possible to step on the pedals, they will be busy. I do not think it's possible to get tired of something that you love. Circumstances change, sometimes they get difficult, but that's what makes things worth it. I could get tired of not loving anything.

MORE ON LOOMER

Some good music videos

  Where to find them on internet

Bandcamp

Myspace

Facebook

Is there any people that you want to thank here?

I thank Sam and David (the Editor), you’re great!

[dreambucketgenie]

촉각 -Touch / Jung Hoseok

                                            Begins

Dogs walk in the park with their loved humans. Cats don't care about anything they break by pushing things off the table. Birds twit, sun rises and day starts. It was a typical day for me because well, why wouldn't it be?

All my days spend in bed, reading books, catching up with TV, because college is a pain in the arse and doesn't let you be, and basically anything trivial. I'm not complaining though. I like how I spend my summer holiday. Doing nothing actually is a big task to accomplish. Friends always ask to meet up and gossip, parents always talk about why you aren't going out, even for getting a meal, but the hardest thing is boredom.

Boredom makes you do many things. Exercising (trust me I know some people exercises just because they are bored), hanging out with friends which you actually don't like at all, even jumping from roof to roof. Okay maybe not all of us jump around like a squirrel, but it would be very fun to be squirrel, We do things to feel like how we do all the time or sometimes want to feel happier than usual. These are fine, really. It's not that I dont want to hang around and do crazy stuff. It's just that I want to spend my holday with absolutelly nothing this year. There is actually a big reason for this and it is bigger than just college.

Many stories about soulmates have been written in almost every country's history. Soulmates overcome many hardships and finally be happy together. That's how it is always end. The truth is, not everyone has a soulmate. This is like a slap in the face but it's true nonetheless.

In my county, especially in the village, many believes that soulmates are real and they can meet anytime, anywhere in any situation. I know, it isn't very specific discription but that's all we have. Elders of the village try to foresee if you have a soulmate or not with the help of a fortuneteller. They basically give you a date, like an appointment you get from doctor and when you go, it takes like 5 mins to decide if your future to be destined with someone special. In other words, soulmate.

To be honest, I don't actually believe in those fairy tales. You can love someone so much, that's understandable. I respect that but the idea of soulmate is more intimate. Like, you know how sick it was when Bella and Edward's daughter was Jacob's mate! She was just a baby when it was decided and come on! Jacob was already 20 at that age. I love the idea of being mate to some weird ass werewolf or in some cases vampire, but still, does it not count as pedophile? What if I'm destined to be with someone who is almost as old as my dad? I dont even think my dad would let me marry him. Not that I would marry...

Anyways, all the thoughts are messing with my head and I'm pretty much uncomfortable. Since I passed my first appointment two years ago, elders are on my back. They looking for me in the village. I'm sure if they see me, they will kidnap me and forcefully take a look at my future. So damn cruel!

With the vibration of my phone, I took my empty eyes off of wall. Thinking always has this effect on me. I stare at walls with dark eyes. Not "the angry dark eyes", they are more like "empty blackhole dark eyes" and it is sometimes scary as my friends says.

"What?" I put the phone on speaker because I hate holding my phone while eating popcorn. It is like a disrespect to popcorn.

"Your politeness always gets me, you know that?" Taehyung talks with his 'I'm annoyed' voice. It takes my interest. I get up on the bed and put the popcorn bowl on nightstand.

"What's up? Was the appointment bad?" He replaid with an exhausted sigh. At that point, I knew there was something wrong.

Taehyung has a child-like personality but he only shows that when he is with his close friends. Others only know him as rich, cool, not so down-to-earth boy. I can sometimes agree on the last part.

"Can we meet? It is not something I can talk on phone. I might need a sholder to cry on later." His tone of voice gets me so bad and I cave in so easily. I think he knows that too. I just have a sweet spot for Taehyung and cannot reject him when he use his puppy face. How can someone rejects a puppy?

"Come at my place. Mom and dad are out." I get up to get down the stairs. I know how much of a foodie Taehyung is. He will probably want food sometime tonight.

"Eww squirrel, I'm not going to do the'do' with you! You can't seduce me with your rabbit nighties." He laughes his own joke while I stand with a disgusted face. Not that he can see...

"Don't come. I'm not openning the door." Taehyung laughes louder this time.

"Be there in 15. Love you."

With that he shuts the phone off. I don't mind him closing the phone like that. We always do it to each other but he is still going to get a forehead flick when he comes home.

——————

"If you ask me, all they say is a big, fat lie." I take a handful of cherry from the big bowl between me and Taehyung. After he came, he asked for dinner immediately. I was right about him wanting food. It's actually a bit upsetting to know him this well. Sometimes I just want to kill him with bare hands.

"You really don't believe in fate, do you?" Taehyung turns a little bit towards me to look at my expressions better. I know him so well, that's true but it is a mutual topic. He knows me like back of his hand.

"I mean, I don't see the point! I'm not against the idea of soulmate. It is just so unreal, like a fairy tale. I used to love them when i was a teenager." I turn a little bit too. Just to face him better.

"You are not that old. Why are you acting like a granny?" Taehyung pops a chocolate bar in his mouth. His pepsi cone is still resting on his left leg in his hand. Creating a wet circle on his denim jeans.

"Age isn't everything Tae. My insides feels like as if they are rotten." I clung my T-shirt's neck and act like I can't breath well. He smacks me with his feet and laughs at my weird face. Sometimes I just forget how it is fun to be with Taehyung.

"Do not touch me with your bare foot again or else I will chop it off!" Getting up, I made my way to the kitchen to get some wet wipes. It is so irritating, even though he knows that I hate people touching me with their feet, he touches me with his feet all the time. At this point it doesn't disgusts me anymore. I feel angry only.

"You love me!" I hear him shouting after me. It brings a smile to my face but I'm not going to show this to him. He is already weird, giving him this opportunity means he will be all over me saying 'I love him' and he will do whatever he wants. That's not happening.

"So, do you really think that you won't be able to find your soulmate?" Taehyung comes after me into the kitchen. He props himself on the kitchen counter. His eyes are on me and calculating my every move.

"I'm not saying that. I just think it's ridiculous to think about soulmates." I clean my leg with the wet wipes and throw it in to the thrash.

"I can love someone so much and he might not be my soulmate. That doesn't mean I'm going to dump him for someone I don't even believe he is real." Holding my waist with my two hands, I look at Taehyung who seems very deep in thoughts.

I make my way to him slowly. My hands find their way to his knees and squeeze them. His eyes find mines. I see a familiar emotion in there. An emotional I have in mines all the time.

He is scared. He is lost. He wants to find his way but all this soulmate thing is keeping him back from what he wants to do. I know his passion for singing. I know he wants to try his chance on a singing contest but I also know he is afraid to lose his life's only love and stay alone for the rest of his life.

We have talked about this thousand times. In every each of them we couldn't agree, so we let things go. We needed to relax. These were all three years ago. Now, he is afraid he will not get the last train to Soulmates Land.

"Taehyung. It is going to be okay." Taehyung looks at my eyes. Deeper this time. Minutes later only nods his head.

Later, we keep talking on the couch in the living room. More foods are eaten. We fall into a silence.

I can hear his breathing under my ear. The steady breathing of his actually brings me comfort. He is my childhood. He is from my past and my future. At least I hope he will be in my future too.

"Do you know about soulmate stories." His raspy voice comes like a melody to my ears. I don't make a sound. I shake my head negatively. He gets the point immediately. I believe his eyes are also on me too.

"Namjoon hyung told me how he started feeling his soulmate." He takes a deep breath. A signal for how long the talk will be. I place my hand under my chin and look up at him. Waiting for him to continue.

"He said, he had a weird feeling inside. Like millions of insects were walking inside him and tickling him." His arm wrapped around me comes a little tighter. His long fingers dances on my belly, tickling me.

"But it wasn't always happening, he said. It only happened when he visited his usual coffee shop, the one at the corner of Bersley's Candy Shop." I take his hand in mines and play with long digits.

"Not long after, when he talked to new barista in there, I'm quoting, 'fire and flames started burning my heart. My head felt so high that I couldn't use my limbs at all.' Do you think it will be the same for me?" I sign with a deep breath. Everything about this soulmate thing is irritates me. Although I cannot do anything.

"You know. My mom told me, we all feel different. It is always a different story how one meets or feels the other. Mom told me she felt like an ice poured on her head when she met dad." I cuddle deeper on his chest. Letting my eyes close and arms wrap around his slim figure.

"Maybe we will feel like hit by a trunk. Who knows?" Taehyung giggles a little. His chest ups and downs fast. It brings a smile on my lips.

"Have you ever been hit by a trunk, squirrel?" He sweeps a lock behind my ear. I feel his hot breath on my forehead before his soft lips touch my skin.

"Exactly."

I know there will be times we won't be able to identify easily and probably finding your soulmate is one of from them. Still, I just wish my best friend to find his love as soon as possible.