#not others ost part 2 lyrics

[project-sekai-facts]

Tsukasa and Rui are known collectively amongst their classmates as "Oddball 1-2 Finish" (in the JP, KR, and TW servers. The English localisation calls them "Weirdo Wombo Combo"). Due to this, they are frequently asociated with the numbers 1, 2 and any combination or variation of the two (12, 21, etc), both individually and as a duo.

In terms of cover songs, there's Telecaster B-Boy, where they sing the counting part at the beginning. Tsukasa says the number 1, and Rui says the number 2. Tsukasa is Oddball 1, and Rui is Oddball 2.

There's also a lyric in Oki ni Mesu mama sung by Tsukasa, that goes "Waiting for the "1, 2..." signal, holding hands with you is an act of courage for me". Whilst the lyric itself is entirely coincidental, having Tsukasa sing it was very likely intentional. The cover supposedly represents the growth in trust between Tsukasa and Rui, so with that context in mind, one could view the lyric as a reference to Tsukasa reaching out his hand to Rui at the end of the main story, a significant step in the development of their mutual trust.

There's also a few instances of staff releasing content for them on the 21st of a month. Examples include the Fixer 2DMV, which released on September 21st 2023, and their 2022 Summer Memorial illustration releasing on the 21st of August that year. This was also the 12th illustration in that series.

Coincidentally (or maybe not), A Story Where You Are the Star released on the 22nd of November 2023, or 11/22, and featured them both as 4* cards on the accompanying gacha. The event was announced the day prior, on the 21st again.

Rui's 3rd Anniversary Countdown illustration depicted their pillow fight from A Once-In-A-Lifetime Pandemonium!?, an event focused on their relationship, and was released 12 days before the anniversary.

The OST that plays during their Romeo and Juliet rehearsal in KAMIKOU FESTIVAL!, Ma・Ai no Theme ~True Love Song~, was later reused in A Song of Vows for You, Dressed in Pure White and released on the 2nd OST Album alongside the other music from that event. However, instead of being listed with the other tracks from that event on the album, it's listed as track 12.

Them being in class 3-C is a pun based on their status as Oddball 1-2. C is pronounced as "shi" in Japanese, which is the same as how the Japanese word for four is pronounced. Tsukasa and Rui being in class 3-C makes 1 2 3 4. Additionally, 1+2=3, and if you apply A=1, B-2, so on, then this also applies to A (Tsukasa's original class) + B (Rui's original class) =C.

There's also various smaller references, such as the full combo for KING on expert being 1002, Tsukasa growing 1cm and Rui growing 2cm at the 3rd anniversary, as well as Tsukasa telling Rui in the main story that he'll put 12000% into any role Rui gives him. The 12000% quote was also referenced in the 2DMV for their Dappou Rock cover.

[1-800-crscnt]

-music taste hcs for some clones, more under the cut-

Fox: likes slow songs with meaning you really have to dig for + minimal instrumental + soft but clear vocals & the type of rock music you'd find in sonic amvs from the early 2010s. Occasionally likes a very upbeat songs of most genres, usually as a distraction or quick motivator. HATES short songs (≤ 2 minutes long) and complains about it a lot to Thorn and Doom.

Thorn: likes metal, rock, rap, & punk, but listens to a lot of fast-paced electronic music too. Prefers songs that sound grim, screamy, or just sound like if the vocalists were out to get him. Doesn't like super happy pop music that much, but will endure it and occasionally dance if one of his brothers really likes it enough to dance first.

Stone: loves relaxing non-vocal music, but will sometimes listen to songs with it if the vocals are soft/flat and relatable. Other from that, isn't too picky about what he listens to. Prefers a lot of what I call "background / daydream" music, and is the number one hour-looped game ost fan. likes to hum along. can't stand fast-paced songs.

Thire: doesn't listen to music. it weirds everyone out besides Stone, who finds it "predictable". if he had to choose, it would be between breakcore or R&B. He's mostly using his experience and knowledge from parties he's been to and people he's watched/interacted with to choose what songs he "likes" so people stop bothering about him not listening to music.

Hound: loves EVERYTHING literally EVERYTHING. always wants to discover more music, but prefers more lullaby-like songs because they help him focus and sleep. Jazz and hip-hop are also high ranking on his mental list because he likes dancing and singing along to them, but he doesn't get chances to listen to either of those very often.

Cody: generally likes any song about the high and/or lows of romance with very emotional & strong vocals because he likes learning about different views on love, but likes a bit of psychedelic rock. Doesn't actually listen to music that much, and doesn't go out of his way to do so, might actually even pass up a completely harmless chance if offered.

Rex: likes a LOT of rock subgenres but hates dubstep completely. prefers a deep bass somewhere in the music he does listen to, and music criticizing messed up parts of society. loves shoegaze and the grungy rock you'd hear in games from the early 2000s. is very quiet about this, so most people assume he's just too serious to like music, and he doesn't correct this.

Wolffe: listens to metal and goth music, doesn't have a preference for any specific subgenre. honestly doesn't listen to music that much and tends to pass up chances just like Cody does, but mostly because he thinks it's too distracting. doesn't hate any sort of music, but says he hates random ones to mess with other people.

Doom: into most music actually, but goes out of his way to avoid listening to it in front of people, so all this music discovery is accidental on his part. gets strangely embarrassed about people knowing anything about him, and denies even caring about music. has a heavy preference for anything jazz and disco, but doesn't like metal or hip-hop that much. Avoids depressing songs when he can.

Bacara: is like Thire and doesn't listen to music. doesn't care about it, probably won't ever, and has no opinion about music at all. May find lyrics strange, and (rarely) question people for listening to "something that stupid", but genuinely couldn't care less as long as it doesn't distract anybody.

[whenthegoldrays]

TOP TEN EUNEUN MOMENTS (according to me)

10. Festival scene

The perfection of this scene, Eun Gyeol at his down-baddest and Eun Yoo putting on a brave face while literally going through some of the most distressing moments of her life, and their being kept apart by the (very understandable) misunderstanding and just. wanting to reach out and be comforted but staying behind those barriers. Chef’s kiss.

9. “Tears in Heaven”

The significance of his singing to her, singing this song specifically because it’s part of the connection they share and don’t realize yet, plus the lyrics being so peculiarly perfect for their situation. And the tenderness in his eyes! (This scene is also enhanced by Eun Gyeol’s later conversation with Mr. Choi.)

8. “You’ll be born just fine”

A tiny moment but so perfect because not only does it show off Eun Yoo’s slightly unhinged sense of humor, it’s also a perfect establishment that they are, in fact, on the same page now. And their facial expressions absolutely sell it.

7. “Under one condition”

This is technically a moment between Eun Gyeol and Yichan, but the fact that Eun Gyeol told Eun Yoo he hated her all of three minutes ago and is now publicly declaring his love for her in front of the whole school (and exposing himself to everyone’s anger in response) is simply too iconic and hilarious and to me, wraps up the essence of the show’s character dynamics flawlessly.

6. “Ajumma???”

Their delivery lives rent free in my head, and they just. hate each other so much right here. Kind of a delight.

5. Once more around the block

Am I overly attached to this scene because of the soundtrack playing over it? Maybe. But the way he cares!!! They’ve had the most emotionally and physically exhausting day and then they get this moment to calm down, for Eun Yoo to lie her head on his shoulder and for him to let her rest undisturbed for a few extra minutes. And!! she goes along with it, because she likes his nearness.

4. “You have three seconds”

The layers and layers to this scene. Both of them pushing their own agenda, both of them wary of the other, both of them YAPPING. The way Eun Gyeol goes from oblivious to apologetic to scared for his life to flustered to baffled in the span of like 45 seconds. And the chemistry is chemistry-ing.

3. “That’s the real me!”

My deep and abiding love for this exchange. Eun Yoo calling back to the pool scene and possibly expecting another fake answer, and Eun Gyeol answering her immediately. He doesn’t have to think up an answer anymore, he knows when he started liking her, he knows why and how, and the truth — that he likes her for her, not for her assumed identity — is so blindingly beautiful to her that she can only shout for joy.

2. “I’ll take my time figuring it out”

Obsessed with everything about this scene, from the callback to the last lightning storm, to Eun Gyeol’s promise to both help Eun Yoo get home and also make sure to draw out their time together as long as possible, to the tension. The longing. And the way the scene is structured around what you’d expect to be the most important part — but instead it draws a curtain of privacy around that moment and leaves the emphasis on his promise and how important and heart-fluttering it is to her. Add to that the beautiful OST and Eun Gyeol dancing down the street in joy and you’ve got a perfect scene to feed my mental illness.

1. “Let’s just stay together”

You knew it was coming. I love few things in this world more than a romantic rain scene, and this one deserves the world for so many reasons. The bigness of their emotions leading up to this moment — her whole plan and perception of her past has been shattered, and she runs away in distress, and he runs after her! He runs through the airport in desperation, he can’t lose her. They’ve been yelling and fighting and sobbing and everything feels like so much, but when he finds her everything slows down, everything can be still and he can just speak honestly. He wants to stay with her. The objections don’t matter. What matters is he wants to be by her side. He wants to shield her from the storm. And she takes his hand and stands up again and suddenly everything is a little less bleak, a little bit warmer. Plus Master watching them in satisfaction that they’ve found their helper? CHILLS.

[silliest-basilisk]

ok so i watched cinderella's castle and uh. ok here are my thoughts: first of all, the things i loved:

the puppets! thats what i was most excited about when it came to this show, and boy they definitely delivered. sir hop-a-lot and crumb were my favourite part of the show, and jon and joey knocked it out of the park as them!

the set design and lighting! i really loved the set, and the way they played with lighting was GENIUS. the fairy queen's entrance, and the way they used the blacklight during ella's entrance with the starlight dress so that you only saw the dress was amazing.

THE COSTUMES!!! they were gorgeous god!!

the choreography!! very nice as always :}

now onto the things i liked less...

way too many sex jokes for my taste. i know it's starkid but they don't usually lay it on this thick. it just made me cringe.

speaking of, i just generally didn't like the character of the prince very much. i found his style of humour kinda clashed with the tone of the show. james tolbert's acting definitely saved the character imo

and the absolute biggest disappointment for me: the soundtrack. god i'm sorry jeff really shat the bed with this one. purely sound-wise it's fine (though i'm not really a huge fan of the poppy feel of the music. i think the inclusion of electronic music is very interesting, but i personally would've preferred a more baroque rock type sound but that's just personal preference), but the songs were just extremely un-theatre-like. they suffer from what i lovingly call the "dear evan hansen problem": they're generic and vague songs where the character just sings about one feeling throughout the whole song. there's no evolution, which is KEY in musical theatre. for almost all the songs except the fairy queen's and one other song in act 2, i was just sitting there like "...ok? why is this song happening? it's telling me nothing". you could cut like 90% of the songs from this show out and you could still understand the plot perfectly well. the most egregious example being right at the start - the opening number. an opening number is supposed to introduce us to the world and the characters, and the opening number of this show does... neither. it just tells us there's. a castle on a hill??? ok??? what do i care??? the songs also feel very short - likely due to the lack of a bridge in most of them. bridges are important in musical theatre!!! they're usually the turning point of a song!! without one, this show's soundtrack feels empty and like it's missing something. and unfortunately, the overall poor quality of the other parts of the music also highlights jeff's poor lyricism. i can usually let it slide because the other aspects of the soundtrack are very good, but this time it's just... no. nobody's ever strung these words together in the history of man. fuck you mean "a cat that was strayed"??? nobody says that!!! god!!! also why are they talking about "neon lights" when the universe we're in is a medieval fantasy? i would've excused it normally, but earlier in the show, they SPECIFICALLY avoid mentioning a modern invention when the prince says he "dodged a sword thrust" instead of "dodged a bullet". so yeah overall, i feel like this show could've used a different songwriter, perhaps someone like the aj holmes and kaley mcmahon duo from twisted? but yeah those are my thoughts. no shade to you if you loved the ost, but i just personally found it weak! OH AND ALSO ELLA'S OUTFIT POST-RESURRECTION WAS A DOWNGRADE SORRY NOT SORRY!!!

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Buddy Daddies - OST - Song Titles: Translations & Info.

A few days ago, they put up a teaser video with some of the songs from the Buddy Daddies OST playing. They also provided this image above, which has all the song titles listed. I’ve translated them all and have provided some interesting insight and information when and where I could. If anyone else has any more info on these titles, or extra insight, feel free to add on to this! :D

So, first, here are the song titles:

1. Buddy Daddies Theme

2. Commencing Pursuit

3. Under Interrogation

4. SHARK ATTACK

5. Ska De Buddy

6. Buddy & Daddies Act. 1

7. Knight of Dragon Emblem

8. Funk Me Up! Feat. Nick Green

9. Jazzy & Daddies

10. Jingle Bells

11. Watermelon Woman

12. Let’s Cooking

13. Targets in the Dark

14. Silent Night

15. Undercover Investigation

16. Strolling Waltz

17. Battle of Spanish Joint

18. Welcome Home, Daddy

19. Comfort in My Heart

20. Franny! Rudolph! Francesco!

21. Mystery of Spanish Joint

22. Stand Off

23. Caprice Waltz

24. Country & Daddies

25. Diversionary Tactics

26. Start Strategy

27. Twilight Sunset

28. Requiem

29. Nocturne

30. Good Luck Charm

31. Wake Me Up to Hit the Town

32. Secret Maneuvers

33. 24 Hours

34. Don’t Say Goodbye (Japanese Translated Title)

35. Don’t Say Goodbye (English Title)

Some more interesting info on some of these titles under the Read More!

First we have the “Knight of Dragon Emblem” title. This makes me think of Fire Emblem (a video game series that I am not overly familiar with, I just know the name) and dragon imagery. Dragon imagery is associated with strength, courage, magic, and all of that kind of stuff. While a knight protects.

Second we have “Watermelon Woman,” when I looked this up, I found a Wikipedia page on a 1996 romantic-comedy drama called “The Watermelon Woman.” This is a movie that was written, edited, and directed by Cheryl Dunye:

a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. Dunye's work often concerns themes of race, sexuality, and gender, particularly issues relating to black lesbians. She is known as the first out black lesbian to ever direct a feature film with her 1996 film The Watermelon Woman. She runs the production company Jingletown Films based in Oakland California.

(From Wikipedia, which will be linked to below).

She also stars as the lead role in the film. The lead character is Cheryl who is a “young black lesbian.” 

This is the song that plays when Carol and Dorothy show up. Interesting. In the movie, Cheryl explores a lesbian relationship with a white woman Hmm....

But it also plays during stuff like Miri’s daycare interview with Miss Anna. So, I don’t know if there might be some other reference as well.

It could be an indicator of musical influence as well. At least, I definitely think that the song titles Battle of Spanish Joint and Mystery of Spanish Joint come from a song by D’Angelo that came out in 2011. The song is titled, “Spanish Joint,” and you can definitely hear some of the musical influences there. 

The lyrics are rather interesting, especially if you think about them in connection to Buddy Daddies.

One song is titled Requiem, which has a few meanings:

Text: 

(especially in the Roman Catholic Church) a Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead."a requiem was held for the dead queen"

a musical composition setting parts of a requiem Mass, or of a similar character."Fauré's Requiem"

an act or token of remembrance."he designed the epic as a requiem for his wife"

The second meaning is likely the meaning they are going with here.

Nocturne is a musical composition that is meant to invoke the night.

“Don’t Say Goodbye” is the song that Miri’s mother sings in the snack bar back in Episode 3. We get the extra lyric of: “I wanna spend as much time as possible...” Given the current situation she is in, with cancer and wanting Miri back, etc. This song seems like it will be reflective of her feelings in regards to all of those things. I hope we get a full version of it in the actual series itself too!

[slayerkitty]

Visual Effects in Only Friends MV part 2

The second song on the Only Friends OST dropped today; So What? by the amazing Ford Arun. Much like the first MV for Only Friends, this one is also has visual frameworks that made me stop and stare.

Just like my first post on this subject, where I talked about the late 90s/early 00s aesthetic of the show as well as controlled voyeurism (aka we only see what they want us to see), these themes show up again here, but a little differently. Unlike the Let's Try MV and the BTS vids which use multiple different effects and transitions as well as framing a lot of the scenes to look like (possibly) 90s camcorder footage, So What? has two visual effects (I think technically three, and I'll point out why I say it this way in a minute).

The first one is the camcorder footage effect. Except that it's even different from the Let's Try MV. While the Let's Try MV has the "play" prompt onscreen and time stamps, it now, to me, feels more like CCTV video than camcorder video. The video effect on So What? is definitely camcorder footage because it is time and date stamped.

Now, the time and date stamp is February 1st, 2020 at 6:06pm for every screen it appears on, which to me cannot be an accurate date/time for any of the scenes. Several of these scenes were from episodes 4, 5, 6, or potentially yet to air. Chuem drops info about Covid in episode one and in February of 2020, we were so early into the pandemic during that time that I'm not sure she would have referred to it so casually, plus with no Covid precautions being taken onscreen it does feel the show is set currently (aka 2023).

Why this date? Why 6:06pm? WHAT IS JOJO TRYING TO SAY HERE? Is this a specific reference to something upcoming on the show? Is this date famous in Thailand for something? Did he just pull a date and time out of a hat?

Onto the second effect: the yellow text on the screen is back! It was heavily used as a visual effect in episode one, and after a discussion with @ignoranaxed I did add it to my Narrative Frameworks post where I'm tracking visual effects on the show. We discussed whether or not this was an homage or reference to SKAM Norway, an extremely popular coming of age teen drama that had an amazingly done queer season (Season three. If nothing else, stop what you're doing and go watch SKAM Norway season three. You can thank me later). The show was so popular it has been remade in Spain, Italy, France, Germany (named Druck), Belgium (named WtFock), the United States and has even been announced as a Korean (BL?) drama for next year.

Is this an actual homage? I came down on the side of maybe. I can't swear it is, but I can't say it isn't. That yellow text on the screen is iconic due to SKAM Norway, and it is used in every single remake of the show (if Korea doesn't use it, I will cry. Also, if Korea doesn't release/air it in the same way, I will cry). Leaving that aside, the yellow text is in Thai, and as yet, I have no idea what it says because my subs only translated the song lyrics, not the onscreen words. If anyone who knows Thai can help me with this, I would love you forever because there's one other thing that shows up in yellow on the screen, and it's this:

WHY AN ELLIPSES, JOJO? WHAT DID IT SAY BEFORE THIS? I NEED TO KNOW WHY IT'S TRAILING OFF. IS IT TO BE CONTINUED? THE NOT KNOWING WILL DRIVE ME INSANE.

Onto the third , but maybe not really an effect: Is Ford photoshopped in here?

I ask this because if he is (and I can't quite tell but I think maybe?) then does that mean this is future footage coming up on the show? Or, like Let's Try MV did with it's extra SandRay footage in the car, was this just shot for the MV? I'm curious to see what people think on this.

Now for the rest of the MV where I just melt down because WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS DRAMA BETWEEN YO AND PLUG, JOJO? YOU CAN'T DO THIS. Also, is this Sand hugging Yo?

You can't do this to my girl. This will hurt.

Do we think this is Boston and Nick potentially going ice skating or roller skating? Because if it's roller skating, JOJO I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER.

In summary, the visual frameworks are back in play once again and what they're choosing to show and how feel important.

Tagging the ephemerality squad: @waitmyturtles, @wen-kexing-apologist, @ranchthoughts, @chickenstrangers, @lurkingshan, @twig-tea, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @distant-screaming

Apologies to anyone I missed. If you would liked to be tagged in my OF posts/meta, please let me know and I will add you.

[royal-marjoram]

Hello my government assigned mcyt Halloween @mcyt-halloween person @ravagerrush >:DDDD I come to you, humbly, with a playlist! It is double life Pearl themed!! Yayy we love to see it! I tried to arrange something with a wide variety of music, so that maybe some of it is to your liking or maybe you'll find some new stuff you'll like!

The cover of the Playlist is an, unfortunetly reused, but still my, fanart of double life pearl. (At first I wanted to make you a very nice double life pearl themed fanart, but my laptop exploded and it does not turn on anymore lol so I hope a playlist will be fine with you too )

So here's a link to the Playlist, I hope you enjoy it and I greatly reccomend listening to it in order because the Playlist is split into 3 main themes: part 1 (very short) the begining of the season, it's about the whole themes of double life and life series, part 2 double life pearl when she's on green and yellow life! This is a part where I tried to choose songs with themes of abandonment or unrequited love, being an outcast or disliked. And part 3, the longest and my favourite one, is about Pearl on red life! Many more violent, or wolf themed songs, loneliness and anger and revenge!!!

And if you'd like to go into depth of each or most songs here is a short list of what means what, how did I interpret the songs to fit the theme:

Part1:

1. Rule#1 - Magic - Fish in a birdcage

2. Everybody falls in love - *repeat repeat

3. Cavalry - Shayfer James

4.Saddam - AlicebanD

Those three songs are the introduction to Double life as a theme! The last one is somewhat a transition song theme wise, because though to me it's also about life series and how it is, it has some more lyrics that focus on Pearl

Part 2:

5. Here I am - The Crane Wives

Direct song about how Pearl got abandoned by Scott and wasn't able to team up with anyone else

6. The taste of cockroach - MARETU

It's a song about bullying and exclusion of some individuals. I do reccomend reading the translated lyrics (also the song is just really good I love it)

7.Where's Casey - Alec Holowka

8. Worms - AlicebanD

9. Jagna - L. U. C, Rebel Babel Film Orchestra

I think this one fits only if you've seen the movie 'Chłopi' from last year or if you've read the book that has the same title. Its a story about a girl who gets hated and exiled and excluded from the rest of the village. They say she's a bad omen too. And also it's a very beautiful track from the movie!

10. Duvet - boa

11. Fire with Fire - AlicebanD

12. I don't smoke - Mitski

All three songs are related to the relationship between Pearl and Scott

13. Usotsuki - matsushita

Though it's a love song, about unrequited feelings, I added it cause first and foremost it's a banger. And also to me it fits

14. Shoujo - Zetsubo-P

I think this one really fits how Pearl purposefully hurt herself and Scott

15. The well - The Crane Wives

Being bound to soulmates and dragging each other down by sharing health

16. Koniec lata - L.U.C

Another 'Chłopi' ost. Though this one is the end song! It has a lot of themes with nature and freedom. Running away. Change and new good things that will come back when spring comes again

17. Sin eater - Penelope Scott

Do I just really like the 'soul has never taken any damage' line? Yup. But also not being good enough.

18. 電気予報 (Denki Yohou) - inabakumori

Welp

It's a song about catching pokemon but if you get more into it It could also be about toxic relationships and wanting to have someone who doesn't want to be yours.

19. It gets better - AlicebanD

Part 3:

20. 超暗黒幻想 - kiichi

This one I just really like and I think it has this ominous sound that it fits as a marker for turning red

21. Left behind - Dagames

Okay, i know, fnaf song in dl Pearl playlist? What the heck! But don't worry, there's a second one lol. So yeah left behind, pretty self explanatory

22. Dear dictator - Saint Motel

People fearing you when you're red, yeah thas all

23. I'm gonna win - Rob Cantor

24. Everything's dead - The Dead Brothers

This whole song is very red life coded

25. формалин - Fleur

This one's also a very vaguely red life coded. Read the lyrics cause they're good

26. Камень - Fleur

Read lyrics. It's about being unstoppable and unbreakable

27. Red with love - Pom pom squad

Red life pearl going craaazy

28. Butcher vanity - Vane lily

Being blood hungry red life yayy

29. 原風景その３ - kiichi

30. [I Love You] - kiichi

Those two songs are a pack deal. They give the best effect when listening to one after the other.

31. Spiracle - Flower Face

Red life bloodlust combined with the soulmates theme of double life

32. Message lost - Ferry

33. Wolf - AlicebanD

34. Pełnia - Vołosi

So the last song and this one and the next one also have wolf themes and sound good. This one's title translates to full moon

35. The wolf - The Crane wives

36. Laplace's Angel - Will Wood

Hurt people? Hurt people!

37. Why I hate you - Iroharingo

Title says it all! Also it's a banger

38. How to crush a diamond - megurimeguru

Fitting for red life

39. Hell - Sumia

40. The mangle - Skyfixing, Nicole Gene

Yayy second fanf song. This time it's a red life going on a rampage kind of song. Revenge!!! And also the friends that are mentioned in the song are the wolves in Pearls case

41. Take me to war - The Crane Wives

42. Red River - AlicebanD

43. Cop car - Mitski

She will never die frfr

44. Born before - MARETU

having nothing to lose anymore

45. Love love nightmare - kiichi

The finalee at last! Read lyrics cause they fit real good

46. Homunculus - Trickle, Tikaal

This has very nice lyrics. Which to me fit the whole being reborn in future life series thing. It just fits life series as a whole yayy

And that's all! I hope you're not disappointed with the Playlist or it's length ':3

[aotopmha]

This is my random Dawntrail thoughts dumping ground post, stuff I didn't find enough to say about to make a separate post about.

Some general area spoilers!

I mentioned this briefly before, but I think Dawntrail might have a bunch of my favourite zones in the game.

I think Tuliyollal is most certainly my favourite city next to Radz-at-Han and Kugane.

I adore the Crystarium, Ishgard, Ultima Thule, Amaurot and Garlemald narratively, but they're also not exactly locations I want to be in "constantly".

I adore Lakeland, Il Mheg, Rak'tika, Thavnair and the Azim Steppe because they're pretty and they definitely fulfilled this role previously for me, but I just enjoy hanging out in Kozama'uka, Urqopacha, Shaaloani and Yak T'el so much more as "locations" and in terms of atmosphere, not for story reasons.

They're great "MMO" zones for me.

I'm almost done with maxing out the Shared FATEs and even the last two zones aren't exactly ones I just want to chill in, either, but the others?

Great stuff and a niché that hadn't been specifically filled for me before this expansion.

I'd farm FATEs for eternity here with or without battle music.

Next, I think Dawntrail might also have my favourite soundtrack so far. So much variety and with the exception of some vocals, it's all great.

I love the other soundtracks, of course, but ShB and EW in particular were much less diverse in terms of styles at play, mostly leaning into lyric tracks, traditional orchestral or piano arrangements with some outliers.

They're amazing at what they're going for, but DT has great jazz, great traditional orchestral stuff, great techno, great rock.

And it's all really, really good.

And HW and StB are somewhere in the middle where they have a bunch of different styles of music, but not quite as much variety within them.

HW has Alexander, which is very different from any of the base game stuff and StB has lots of old FF music in Omega and Ivalice, but outside of that also mostly leans on traditional orchestral music with a touch of the cultures you encounter and lyric tracks.

And obviously, only the base expansion and first raid tier are out, but DT had a track in a different style for every single floor of the first raid tier. The variety is unmatched.

As said, my negative would actually be the lyric tracks because they just sound off this expac for some reason.

I've always found it to be the weakest part of the OSTs because when they're good, they're good, but there are points where they tend to be muffled or a strange kind of crackly or in DT's case just not sound good. Smile and the song for Arcadion M2 are solid compositions, latter is wonderfully catchy, but the singing itself is just kind of off to me.

I felt it to a lesser extent for M4, too.

But it's a very small part of the OST so far, so I think it barely pushes out ShB as my favourite OST.

Next, I want to briefly mention the job design.

I got all of the jobs I've leveled to 100 (so far 6 different ones).

To preface this: I'm entirely casual, so I have no idea how these feel in high-end play, but in terms of casual play, most just feel "streamlined".

I'll go down the list:

My enjoyment of Dragoon in particular increased quite a bit because, most simply put, some of it was just annoying to keep track of and keep doing. I'm so happy Dragonsight is gone because it was just annoying to apply it.

On the other hand, as smoother as I feel the gap closer is in terms of gameplay experience and as much as I love the new combo, Disesteem being a 2 min and there being no actual attack oGCD in place of Plunge somehow makes Dark Knight feel emptier.

Now that I reflect on it, I liked that you had another button to push, just not that it was a gap closer. Now it just feels like you just have less to do because a gap closer is situational.

Even as annoying as Blood Weapon was, it was a button to push.

Dark Knight is the job I've enjoyed playing the most out of all of the ones I've leveled and I still do, but it's the one I feel is the simplest now and not in a good way.

I think it actually really needs more oGCDs that aren't conditional procs or a resource skill or anything more than it currently does or something else going for it besides the gauge timer abilities and Delirium. It feels so simple, yet unlike Viper less satisfying.

It's my #1 pick for adjustments or a full rework for 8.0 or earlier, even if I might not like it afterwards.

I actually have very little commentary on Red Mage and Sage outside of it being neat that you have more attacks now.

I hear the new Manafication setup for Red Mage is pretty annoying in hardcore context. I'm pretty indifferent about it, so I wouldn't mind if they adjusted it.

Bard's new attacks are great and having the ability to use your songs without targeting is fantastic.

And Viper is 100% my new favourite melee, I think. You can just follow the shiny buttons or focus on trying to not overcap as best as you can, hitting all of the positionals the best you can and perfecting all of your button inputs because there are scenarios where you can lose a bunch of damage if you press the wrong button.

The ranged options and movement options are fantastic.

Awakening is a blast to try and use well mid-battle.

(Please don't remove too many of the positionals. They're a fun optimisation option.)

And I think that's about it for some of the scattered topics.

I have 90% of my Dawntrail thoughts out now.

I thought about it and I think separate dungeon posts are a pretty mild priority and I'll just enjoy the game and take a break from talking about it for at least a little bit.

Also depends on if I'll get any other ideas on topics I want to talk about, I suppose.

[virune]

Yeah I could totally see that being on character tbh for Scourge. Especially with the jacket bit.

Also want to follow up on that question, we all know Sonic has the best soundtracks and geez, a wide variety of instrumentals. If he was in the games, what soundtracks would have the most fitting instrumentals / style of music for him? (Rush, Advance, CD, Adventure, SATBK, other ost you can think of? )

Say Sonic Adventure 2 for example, would he simply have his own version of “It Doesn’t Matter” constantly trying to one up Sonic or lean to another lyrical perspective about him entirely, the way it does to Shadow in his own stages?

as a disclaimer, i'm not super knowledgeable on music composition although i do love music, particularly videogame music, and the different themes/emotions they convey.

off the top of my head, i think scourge could have music that sounds similar to sonic's own tracks - as in, they use the same melodies here and there - but all the instruments are a weird blend of classical and (punk?) rock.

and i think this would work because it symbolises scourge's royal background (classical music, associated with wealth and finery he may have grown up with) and his repeated attempts to sever himself from it and become his own person (rock music, which is known for going against the grain and representing rebellion).

the hybridisation of these different genres might be jagged and unharmonious in some parts, as though it's painful, to represent scourge's inner struggles with his own identity. but as the "game" goes on and he gets more comfortable with himself and who he wants to be, which may involve accepting his past rather than trying to amputate it, his music becomes more harmonious and confident as a result.

i don't have any examples to show what i mean, but hopefully it makes sense!!

[marlo-noni]

My 10 favourite Liu Yuning songs, in no particular order

Satellite Lover (人造卫星情人), 2019 Why it's good: gorgeous slow crescendo, good production (especially the rock elements), and beautiful space-related lyrics.

2. Stay Up Late (熬夜), 2020 Why it's good: it's about losing sleep because of post-breakup heartbreak, and Liu Yuning is so good at these "emotional songs." This isn't an OST, but it would make a good one - it's so dramatic! Plus, the chorus always makes me want to sing along.

3. Spend My Life with You (共度), 2021, OST opening song for My Sassy Princess Why it's good: this shows off Liu Yuning's vocal range, and it's got this one part near the end, at about 3:20, where he goes up into his high register that makes me shiver every single time I hear it! You can really hear his unique vocal texture in that part, too, the thing that makes Liu Yuning's voice so special.

4. Hope You Are Well (别来无恙), 2020 Why it's good: this is just a legitimately well-written, well-produced rock song. It's got a hypnotic, swaying quality to it. Liu Yuning has said he always wished this song had been more popular, because he really likes it. I agree!

5. Beggar (乞丐), 2019 Why it's good: this feels like one of his representative works. I like the bare-bones start with just the piano and his textured, quiet voice, contrasted against the more rocking chorus.

6. Unintentional Big Dream (无心生大梦), 2024, OST fight song for Fangs of Fortune Why it's good: of course I have to include this one! It's a banger AND it's got suonas (and other traditional Chinese instruments) AND it's got rap! It's just cool in every single way.

7. Flying Through The Clouds (凌云寂), 2022 OST for Liu Yuning's character, Bai Choufei, in Heroes (2022) Why it's good: I know the plot went crazy in this drama, but Liu Yuning gave his all in playing Bai Choufei (and I loved watching him), and this song is all about Bai Choufei's journey. In the drama, it gets played during Bai Choufei's tragic downfall. So it's got emotion and a dramatic jianghu feel. Plus, he goes into a semi-Chinese opera falsetto at about 1:45 that is a delight to listen to.

8. Just Above the Rivers and Lakes (就在江湖之上), 2023, OST theme song for Mysterious Lotus Casebook Why it's good: I became Liu Yuning's fan in December 2023 (it really hasn't been that long, I'm just super duper obsessed!). I watched this drama in the summer of 2023 and thoroughly enjoyed this song without knowing Liu Yuning was singing it. There's that flute, so you know you're watching a wuxia! And it's just super catchy with the right fighting spirit. Liu Yuning is great at these wuxia songs.

9. Falling (掉), 2024, from the variety show Melody Journey Why it's good: I posted about this song after I watched it on Melody Journey. I loved it the first time I heard him sing it. It's another tragic love song, with lovely circular/repeating lyrics. If I were ever going to sing a Liu Yuning song at karaoke, it would probably be this one, even though parts of it are too low for me.

10. Imagination (想象), 2018 Why it's good: this is Liu Yuning's debut single, and if you like it when his voice gets growly, this will be a treat for you. I tend to like it when he rocks out, and this is another very good rock song of his.

I could have made this list 20 songs long, but instead I just made a part 2.

[capriciousleo]

s᥆ᥒgs 𝖿r᥆m mᥡ ᥣіᑲrᥲrᥡ 𝗍һᥲ𝗍 ᥣ 𝗍һіᥒk gᥱᥒsһіᥒ ᥴһᥲrᥲᥴ𝗍ᥱrs ᥕ᥆ᥙᥣძ ᥣіkᥱ. ⍴ᥲr𝗍 1

ᴇɪᴛʜᴇʀ ʙʏ ʟʏʀɪᴄs, ɪɴsᴛʀᴜᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟs, ᴏʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇʟʏ ʀᴀɴᴅᴏᴍ ʀᴇᴀsᴏɴ ʟᴍꜰᴀᴏ

ꜰᴇᴀᴛᴜʀɪɴɢ: ᴋᴀᴇʏᴀ, ᴢʜᴏɴɢʟɪ, ɪᴛᴛᴏ, xiao

Part 2

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ๑❥

Kaeya- “I know you want me” by Pitbull

Or any other Pitbull song. I feel like Kaeya would really enjoy listening to him and would learn all the lyrics and sing along. And when he gets tipsy? At the tavern? Oh lord, mans will pull some dance moves out of his pocket too than nobody saw coming, gradually annoying Diluc with it until the latter snatches the bottle away from him again.

Zhongli- “MIROTIC” by TVXQ!

I feel like Zhongli would really enjoy old Kpop. I was debating between using this song or one of SHINee’s old songs like Ring Ding Dong😭Nevertheless, the latter group would also definitely be in his music library. Hu Tao introduced him to kpop first by using new generation artists, but then, Zhongli made his own research and found old groups that surprisingly suited his tastes more. But, he now listens to them in secret because once Hu Tao made fun of him for having a “music taste of a grandpa”.

Itto- “Hero’s Come Back” by Nobodyknows (Naruto OST)

I feel like the second Itto heard this song coming from a group of kids that watched Naruto on one of the streets, he would automatically ask where it’s from and ultimately relate it to himself. Seeing and hearing about kids’ fascination with Naruto, Itto would also like to be called a hero and loved by the public. He would begin watching Naruto too and get tips from him hsjsk. The song itself has a heroic and daring tone to it, so he would defo play this song in his mind whenever he fights someone. Itto wants to be called a cool hero too, and seeing kids running to him on different streets as he passes by would make his heart flutter. Now he’s definitely one and Oni cool Arataki Itto ;) He’s so precious, protect him at al cost

Xiao- “Wires” by The Neighbourhood

I feel like Xiao would enjoy melancholic music. Not only this song, but the whole band would be in his playlist. He enjoys sitting by himself on one of many high mountain tops in Liyue and listening to melancholic music. It relaxes him and sometimes even stimulates his mind to think about various things in past or the future. However, there is a fine line between enjoying melancholic (how many times did I already say this word) songs and allowing them to bring your spirits down.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ๑❥

[kimium]

Put your Fave playlist on shuffle and post the first five songs that come up!

I was tagged by @m34gs in this post HERE. Thanks for the tag, friend! Like you, I'm making this a separate post just so things don't get too long.

In truth, I don't really have "playlists". It's usually all just thrown into a single playlist that's either My Library or Favourites. So, we're just going to go with my random songs. Also, I'm using my iTunes for this and not Spotify. Besides a few songs missing between them, the playlists are identical.

Also, all my songs ended up being connected to anime somehow. I'm sorry, but that's just how things work with me.

Butterfly 09 - United Forces Airplay Edit by Smile.Dk

Wow, we're starting with a nostalgic song for this list. If you grew up loving anime in the late 90s or early 2000s you could not escape this song. I believe most people were introduce to this song through DDR, but for me it was through AMV edits. I think the first time I heard this song was to a Rurouni Kenshin AMV. That or Sukisho, which according to the rating, at the time I watched it I was too young. In my defense, it's suggestive at best.

Anyways, the reason I have this song on my playlist still is because I like the beat and energy to the song. The lyrics make little sense, but I still adore this song. I don't listen to it often. In fact, I can't remember the last time I listened to it, but every time I do I'm transported back to my childhood days.

Shogeki by Yuko Ando

Going from a nostalgic song to a recent song, Shogeki is the first ending to the Final Season of Attack on Titan. This song is hauntingly beautiful with lyrics that tug at my heart. Even if you're not an Attack on Titan fan, this song is beautiful and tragic at the same time. I highly recommend giving it a listen.

Muspell Theme from Fire Emblem Heroes

This song is mostly instrumental except for the deep masculine voices chanting + the soprano choir nearer to the end. Definitely gives an ominous tone, indicating threat is approaching. Which makes sense as this song is for the Book 2 villains in FEH. Fire Emblem OST songs are always a great time, so even if you think instrumental isn't your thing, check it out.

SKETCH - Kiro Akiyama

Another anime ending song appears on this list! For the one it's the first ending to Season 6 of BNHA (My Hero Academia). I cannot tell you how much I love this song. The lyrics perfectly fits Izuku's character and many themes in the anime. This is also the ending where they changed parts of the anime to reflect the story moments of the episode.

Again, even if you're not an anime fan, this song is fantastic. The regret of the narrator as the lyrics talk about longing to reconnect, regret missing one another, and the desire to correct miscommunications are bittersweet but hopeful to me.

Dearly Beloved - a cover by Amalee but original by Yoko Shimomura

We end our list with another song from a game OST. This version I'm calling out is a cover by Amalee, where there are lyrics. However, the original is the instrumental song that plays in the menu for all Kingdom Hearts games. Amalee's version with the lyrics weaves a tale of love and hope despite distance from each other, fitting perfectly with the themes presents in Kingdom Hearts. So, even if this isn't the original version, give it a listen. Give the original a listen too! It's an amazing song that makes me want to cry every time I listen.

I tag: @a-little-harmed-shinra @someobscurereference @shreedle and anyone else who wants to do this!

[moononmyfloor]

A Compilation of Chinese Period drama OSTs that are inspired by Classical Poetry- Part 3

Part 1, Part 2

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More in Confirmed List

8. The Long River

"Life Passes Like a Dream (浮生若梦)" (Ending theme) by Li Bai, performed by Wang Zhenhua

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9. Oh My General (2017)

Yang Lin [杨蔺] - Pride of the Fishermen [渔家傲] by Fan Zhongyan

I couldn't find a way to share an mp3, but you can find it here and listen from there.

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10. Dream of the Red Chambers (1987)

Source

Source

Sadly I couldn't find any other songs he composed based on the original poems for the drama, except the one below. If you know more, please do share! 🥺 🙏

Burial of Flowers

A famous cover by Tong Liya

I highly recommend listening to this chilling cover done for the kiddie drama version of Red Chambers as well.

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11. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1994)

滚滚长江东逝水 Gǔngǔn Chángjiāng Dōngshì Shuǐ (The Billowing Yangtze River Flows East) by Ming Dynasty poet Yang Shen, performed by Yang Hongji

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短歌行 Duǎngē Xíng (A Short Song) by Cao Cao; performed by Yang Hongji

Extra: Rendition of the same scene in Three Kingdoms (2010) with Eng translation and in Advisors Alliance (2017)

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子夜四时歌 Zǐyè Sìshí Gē (The Midnight Song) Lyrics adapted from a Southern Dynasties era poem; performed in a Wu accent. Played during Liu Bei and Sun Shangxiang's wedding scene in episode 43. Source

A translated fanvid

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七步诗 Qībù Shī (The Seven Steps Poem) by Cao Zhi; performed by Liu Huan

(Aka the Bean Poem. Here's a nice comparison of the same scene in different dramas by another Tumblr user!)

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丈夫歌 Zhàngfū Gē (A Song for Men) by Luo Guanzhong; performed by Lü Jianhong

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There are more but this is all I was able to find :(

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12. The Advisors Alliance (2017)

In the same spirit (their version of Duan Ge Xing is already shared above),

十五从军征 At Fifteen I Joined the Army on Expedition by unknown Han dynasty poet, performed by Jin Yushan (金语衫) (not sure, Wikipedia says Jin Yubin) Here's a cartoon version as well.

The thumbnail of the vid is incorrect for some reason btw. It's from AA not 3K.

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怨歌行Yuan Ge Xing (Song of Regret) by Ban Jieyu, performed by Yeung Tung & Lu Moyi

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13. My Fair Princess (1998)

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14. Shaolin Wendao (2016)

Not a poem, but the ost is made out of the Mahayana Buddhist Sutra Da Bei Zhou/Great Compassion Mantra/Nilakantha Dharani.

This was one of the first songs I have listened on YouTube, even before I started watching Cdramas etc. It has always brought me great sense of calm and peace. Only recently, more than like 5 years later I finally found out where it is from.

Da Bei Zhou (大悲咒) by Jing Shan Yuan (敬善媛)

The scene from drama

Full ost:

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15. Journey to the West (2011)

Similarly, the opening ost was taken from the mantra of the Mahayana Buddhist scripture Heart Sutra.

Xin Jing (心经) performed by Yang Xiaolin

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My other posts

[i-logophile]

So I made that playlist for Game of Shards (and just generally, the turtles), and I've decided to explain the TGP-specific songs in excessive detail bc y'all don't understand the depths of my hyper-fixations.

For the most part, the playlist is in chronological order; however, some of the songs are grouped by general vibes (e.g., songs for Leo's various timeouts in the darkness are all grouped together as opposed to being chronological with the story), and whenever it switches perspective, it may go back to previous chapters (e.g., the first 40-ish songs follow Leo through Ch. 1-7, and then it jumps back to Ch 2 for his brothers' POVs). Instrumentals/OSTs are scattered throughout as interludes between scenes and/or perspectives.

Tbh I don't even mind if people actually read this; I just wanted to write this down lmao

If y'all have any suggestions or song recs, feel free to put them out there! (I reserve the right not to add them to the playlist tho—no hard feelings 🙃) I will probably continue adding to this list because I keep finding more and more songs lol

TGP spoiler alert (duh...). Also TW for mental health issues in some songs.

ROTTMNT Movie

1. "Everybody Loves Me" - Okay, but this song is just like LEO all the way. 2. "give a little." - Leo, stop that angsty middle-child nonsense (saxophone slaps tho). 3. "Expectations" - I ain't got much to say about this one tbh. I feel like it fits the vibe though. 4. "Doomsday" - Leo's getting frustrated with all this leader/hero business. He wants to go back to the simpler times when all he had to do was look pretty and smooth talk. 5. "Not OK" - Leo's tired of being told what to do. the lyrics "Sorry can you please repeat the question? / I'm broke, and I never pay attention" really give that Leo+Raph scene in Leo's room in the movie. 6. "ight bet" - Leo gets cocky and impulsive. 7. "One Wrong Turn" - It's not so much the lyrics as the theme of the song. In other words, Leo, you done fxcked up. "Something funny that I've learned / Is just how quickly fate can turn / How one simple mistake can take you out (out, out, out) / Something funny that I've found / Is just how quickly worlds burn down / Make one wrong turn and you can't turn around ('round, 'round, 'round) / One wrong turn can burn things to the ground." 8. "The Tornado" - LISTEN TO THESE LYRICS. They fit the movie perfectly, especially "Every fiber in me screamed out, but I couldn't make a sound / The whirling of a vortex, a violent carousel / It sounded like a freight train was draggin' me to hell / And this was my prayer / "Save me from this terrible nightmare!" / That was when I saw my family with my eyes shut real tight / Would they know how much I loved them if this was how I died? / No, I vowed I'd not be murdered by a monster in the sky that night." 9. "Otherside" - Leo's existential crisis following the Invasion Pt. 1 10. "When I Die" - Leo's existential crisis following the Invasion Pt. 2.

TGP Ch. 1: Leo Reminiscing

11. "Hold It Down" - More existential crisis, but now with that ever-familiar side of guilt and regret. 12. "Humpty Dumpty" - Something's wrong (*cough* PTSD *cough* chronic injuries *cough*). Leo's trying to push through it. 13. "Home" - The lyrics "When I fall, will you show me who I'm meant to be? / Because I'm getting tired of who I've become", "I'm not a hero or a child, I'm just something in between", and "Days passed as I would start to scream / I'd hear the words around my head like they were circling / You'll never be who they all want you to become / Oh will I make them proud enough / Or am I even worth the love / Don't let my self-doubt take my pride away, yeah / Because my spirit felt the cuts / And my ego lost its luster just as fast as I could say" hits my soul. Poor Leo. 14. "Growing Sideways" - Leo's brothers all seem to be healing, why isn't he? 15. "Superkid" - Leo's a ninja, a hero, yet something is still wrong—he realizes it's him. He surveys the damage to the city and thinks of the struggles his family has faced. He blames himself. ("So, hide your face / Smile at the people even if it's fake / 'Cause they can't know your kryptonite / Fly around the city, make 'em think you're fine / But you can't save them.") 16. "Tread On Me" - Leo's trying to take responsibility, but he's drained. "Lotta miles, lotta folds, I'm still tryin' to just get back up / Don't you tread on me / I could hardly sleep / So I don't / And I can hardly speak / So I won't." "I'm tryna live in the moment like you told me / I'm tryna control it without givin' it up / I'm a soldier and I'm on my feet for now." 17. "Porcelain" - It's the glass theme, guys. 18. "One Winged Airplane" - Self-deprecation with just a touch of despair. ("Even though I keep on fallin', I just pick myself back up / I just keep puttin' my all in, even though it's not enough / I've lost so much already, so what? I'm not afraid to show up.") (I'm biased toward the ADHD songs ngl.) 19. "Corner of the World" - Depression(TM): Leo Style. ("It was tough when he was younger, but he finally got it down / Convincing everybody he's a comic, he's a clown / 'Cause he hides it so well that it can't possibly be found / He's constantly let down, but he says that he heals / He laughs and jokes about it, but it isn't real / He just mirrors the emotions that he wish he could feel / But if no one ever noticed, it's a victory still.")

Ch. 1: Leo's Run

20. "Run Away to Mars" - The song's a vibe, and it fits the scene, what can I say? 21. "Run" - Leo was getting stir-crazy in the lair. Luckily, he can go for a nice run while he waits for the pizzas. ("Something isn't right, I can't hear the inner me / But my shell is doing well, so nobody intervenes / Convos feel like interviews, I get through by any means / Mirror on my face, I'm just displaying what you give to me / Every day I fantasize of burning it all / Go somewhere where I would never be a burden at all / Take every penny that I ever earned and give it away / Disconnect the telephone and disappear in a day.") 22. "run little hero" - "Run, run, run, run from your friends, from your family / Like they're the next calamity / Cut them out like profanity, – into insanity / Running from your commitments / You're running up on the price / You better run little hero / 'Cause you're running out of time." Also, the last lyric of this song killed me. 23. "Run Boy Run" - Just a run, a nice, chill, definitely-not-gonna-have-consequences run.

Ch. 1: Leo and the EPF Van (plus ~panic attacks~)

24. "Paranoia" - Leo notices a black van. Again. And again. 25. "Overwhelmed" - Pretty self-explanatory if you know the song—though this is a different cover than the OG, so a bunch of the lyrics are different. (Personally, I like this version better.)

Ch. 1: Leo v. Mark and Clark

26. "OH WELL" - Everything's gone to shit. 😃 27. "life is good" - Leo cannot, in fact, dodge tranquilizers. "Face down, but I can feel my body moving / Is this real or am I in an illusion / Get up get up I’m only human / Pupils dilated like I’m bout to lose it / so crazy so I turn off the news / Living in a lie and we can’t see the truth / Every one fighting tell me which side are you" 28. "Redecorate" - "I don't want to go like this / At least let me clean my room. / I don't want to leave like this / 'Cause the last thing I want to do is / Make my people make decisions / Wondering what to do." 29. "alive (it's a lie) - demo" - As Leo succumbs to the tranqs, he can't help but think of his brothers, all seemingly on the road to full recovery. Meanwhile, he's stuck. Some ninja he is.

1. Interlude

30. "Sinister Intentions" - Get it? Bc the EPF has sinister intentions? Somebody stop me

Ch. 3: Leo Wakes up and Meets Bishop

31. "Lucky Charms" - Leo wakes up in his cell and thinks lots of lovely self-loathing thoughts. ("Wish I could say, wish I could say / That this won't last forever / But every day, but every day / It never seems to get better / I hate myself but I don't want to / I'd ask for help but I'm too strong to / I got some feelings I've been fighting / Always hiding the truth.") 32. "Now That We're Alone" - Bishop and Leo vibes all the way.

Ch. 3-7: The Darkness (AKA Leo's timeouts) & Bishop's Interrogations

33. "Black Water" - Just listen, you'll get it. 34. "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" - Leo goin' crazy, y'all 😜 35. "Timebomb" - Leo's thoughts toward B-Man during literally every interrogation. 36. "Panic Room" - All bets are off when the lights turn off. 37. "Talking To Myself - demo" - He misses his family, your honor. 38. "Pretty Little Smile" - Leo's trying his best to hold it together. 39. "Ship in a Bottle" - Leo spiraling about Bishop and the EPF and his brothers and... 40. "SAD (Clap Your Hands)" - Thinking specifically of Leo doing the Cup Song here.

2. Interlude

41. "Solas" - Felt like this one was properly somber, but still a good transition into the frantic energy of Leo's brothers in Ch. 2.

Ch. 2-6: Donnie, Raph, & Mikey Want Their Brother Back

42. "Enough" - Donnie is angry at everything. He just wants Leo back. 43. "Me Myself & I" - Donnie regrets fighting with his family. 44. "Happy Song (Low Key)" - Mikey's gonna keep smiling if it kills him. 45. "Brightside" - Mikey tries to hold the family together while dealing with his own issues regarding Leo's capture. 46. "I'm Doing Fine" - Raph struggles under the leader's mantle.

3. Interlude

47. "Glacial Basin" - An appropriately unnerving prelude to Bishop's plan(s).

Ch. 8: Bishop Tries To Manipulate Leo

48. "Twisted" - Leo is (high on pain and painkillers but also) so confused. Come on, Bishop, you're hurting his concussed, drugged-up turtle brain.

Ch. 9: Bioagent-X

49. "Control" - Leo gets angry at Bishop, escapes, and finds his brothers, but he doesn't know what's going on with himself. (I know this song's kinda overused in a lot of fandoms, but I couldn't not include it. I mean, it makes sense here, doesn't it??)

Ch. 10: Turtles v. EPF

50. "Clouds" - Bioagent-X takes its toll. The EPF attacks. 51. "CHOKE" - The plan falls apart. Leo is taken once again. Angst, spice, and nothing is nice.

4. Interlude

52. "Fade (Interlude)" - It's a sad moment, dammit.

Ch. 11-12: They Are All Struggling

53. "everything is falling apart again" - I felt like this song fits Raph very well, especially here. One of his themes in TGP was that he felt like things were falling apart, and since the first half of this chapter is from his perspective following the disaster that was Ch. 10, this was the perfect place for this song. 54. "Gravedigger" - Leo is throwing reason and caution to the wind. If he's his own gravedigger, why not dig his grave as deep as possible and make it even more difficult for the EPF? 55. "Dark Room" - Back home again to his cell and the darkness and Bishop's manipulations. "Way down we go / To the dark room / Where your pain's the only one to greet you / Down we go / To the mind that / Will deceive you. / Only out to get you." 56. "Numb" - Leo struggles with despair. 57. "Headlights" - Leo's had enough. "Is it only me or do you / Ever feel like you've had enough? / Screaming at the top of your lungs / These days it's so dark and I can't get my head right / Mind is spinning out of control / Running, but there's nowhere to go / These days it's so dark that I can't see with headlights."

5. Interlude (and Ch. 12)

58. "Rain, in Your Black Eyes" - I know it's long, but this is my favorite instrumental piece. It's solemn but gradually hopeful. This song follows Leo regaining his Ninpō in Ch. 12.

Ch. 12: A Small Spark, A Blue Flame

59. "Power" - Leo uses his Ninpō and faces down the EPF with his escape in sight.

Ch. 13: Mind Meld

60. "Brother" - They've found him (granted, in the Mind Meld). (And, yes, I know the song's overused yada yada, but it fits.) 61. "can you hear me?" - Leo's gotten this far, but he can't get out alone. 62. "No Chances" - "We want you home in one piece now / We come for you, no chances"

6. Interlude

63. "The Last Survivors" - Cinematic and dramatic.

Ch. 14: Leo Holds On

64. "Come Home" - Leo's trying to come home. 65. "Bones" - Leo plays a desperate, painful game of hide-and-seek while his Ninpō fades in and out of his control. 66. "Bleeding Out" - This song makes me specifically think of when the EPF overtakes Leo after Bishops turns off the lights. 67. "My Tears Are Becoming A Sea" - Leo sees his brothers' light in the impenetrable darkness.

Ch. 14: Hamatos to the Rescue

68. "Flares" - Leo's family is here for him. 69. "Edge of Rain" - Hamatos v. EPF (Take 2)

Ch. 15: They Got Him Back

70. "Call Your Mom" - Yes, I know the song's about Noah Kahan's girlfriend, BUT "Stayed on the line with you the entire night / 'Til you let it out and let it in / Don't let this darkness fool you / All lights turned off can be turned on", "Waiting room, no place to stand / His greatest fears and wringing hands and the loudest silence / If you could see yourself like this", and "Don't wanna drive another mile wonderin' if you're breathin' / So, won't you stay, won't you stay, won't you stay with me?" IT FITS DAMMIT.

Ch. 16: Bishop's Boutta Get It, Guys

71. "Start a War" - Okay, but why does this song describe Game of Shards (not just TGP) so well? I think specifically of the lines: "Bang, shots fired. / Pain is what you desire. / The pen is mightier than the sword." ;)

7. Interlude

72. "Nuvole Bianche" - The send-off. For now.

Once again, feel free to suggest other songs. You may have noticed that some chapters/scenes didn't have any songs, so if you think you know a song that would fit somewhere, lmk! (I'm particularly salty that I haven't found songs for any scenes with the Krang Sister :P)

[twig-tea]

5 Songs Tag - QL Shows Edition

Created by @troubled-mind (see the original chart-like list and the first 5 QL Song Tag entry). The rules:

When you get this, list 5 songs from Asian QL shows that you actually listen to. 🎶They do not have to be custom-made for the series. 🎶Non-western tracks only. Let's support Asian music and languages! 🎶Feel free to tag anyone who may be interested in participating. 🎶Add #5qls tag to your post for others to find the new favourites!

Note: I'm going to play by the original rules that the show had to introduce you to the song, because otherwise I would not be able to narrow this down. Also, to everyone who already went so that I could narrow down my list, you're all doing God's work and have great taste (esp. to @lurkingshan, all five of her songs were on my shortlist; @bengiyo for his selections from About Youth, Like in the Movies, and Gameboys 2 (all five were excellent songs but those three were on my shortlist; and @absolutebl's top 10 OSTs listing songs from Wish You and To My Star which helped me let go of including them too!). I went with one song per country to help me choose, and it was a very fun agony. Here we go!

Silly Fools - วัดใจ [wad jai / measure your willingness (i.e. test your heart)] (Theory of Love; Thailand, YouTube)

I debated on the Thai song for so long but this is the song that started my obsession with Thai rock; Khai and Third rock out to this in the car as a moment of nostalgia for them and I sat up and took notice because it reminded me of 90s alt rock from my own youth; that scene is such a perfect encapsulation of what that felt like and it tied that feeling to this song for me. And the lyrics are also great as a hype song; they're all about how the singer isn't going to give up in the face of any obstacle or hate. Every time I hear it I think about sitting in the car yelling with my friends (even though we did that to Alanis Morisette and not Thai rock music, the feeling is universal). Even though I'd been watching Thai shows for a couple of years by that point, and had some OSTs on my playlist, this song inspired me to branch out into finding more Thai music and it's now been the genre I listen to the most for the past few years.

Đỗ Hoàng Dương, Cody - Không Yêu Cũng Chẳng Cô Đơn [Neither Love Nor Loneliness] (You Are Ma Boy, Vietnam, YouTube)

These two are musicians first and actors second, which is probably why the OST is so good. Cody is part of Uni5, and Đỗ Hoàng Dương is a solo artist. Large reason why this is on here is because I like Cody's rap so much. The lyrics are translated in this video so I don't need to paraphrase, but essentially they're about how love in youth is a lot of feelings, so let's just be together and love one another.

Shania Ann Bajen - Once You're Mine (Filippines, Win Jaime's Heart, YouTube)

Taking advantage of the change in rules from the original post to post a song in English because it's my favourite by this artist. Shania Ann's voice is mesmerizing, when this song appeared in the show I went searching for it and was so happy when they finally posted it to Spotify. This is what she said about her song:

This song is my original composition. 💕 It's about our loved ones, whether it'd be family, friends, or significant other, that we lost in our journey but never failed in making us feel loved and accepted despite our imperfections 🥺 Hope you all like it!

周予天 / Alex Chou - 分手放手 [Fengshou fangshou / Hard to Let Go] (We Best Love: No. 1 for You, Taiwan, WeTV)

The lyrics to this one are so painful in the context of the end of season 1 and the time-skip. They're translated in the video above, but essentially it's about breaking up and letting go when you don't actually want to. I really went back and forth with this one and Ray / 黃霆睿 - 我們 [Wo men / Us] from the Miracle book trailer, hilariously both for Lin Pei You vehicles, but finally decided that this song just hits harder (you didn't notice me sneaking a second rec in there nope).

センチミリメンタル / Centimillimental - 冬のはなし [Fuyu no Hanashi / Winter Story] (Given (anime), Japan, WeTV / CrunchyRoll)

This is either a really obvious answer or a polarizing answer depending on how you felt about the Given adapatation, but IDC it's on my list because I love Centimillimental and can't listen to it without getting shivers. I saw this anime and burst into tears the first time I heard the bridge. I used the official version for each of these links so that creators get views, but I have to also shout out my favourite version of this song, with Centimillimental (the guy who wrote the whole soundtrack for the anime and the movie) and Shogo Yano (who voiced Mafuyu in the anime) performing together. If you haven't seen the show, the lyrics are about having a love one torn away from you and struggling to let yourself move on. I had a hard time between this and the main song from the movie (僕らだけの主題歌 [bokura dake no shudaika / Our Theme Song]) but this is the one that hits me hardest.

BONUS(es) (don't judge me):

樹林座 [Shulinzuo / Grove ] - 水火 [Shui Huo / Fire and Water] (The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty, China, YouTube)

This song was as far as I can tell written for the series and it punches me in the gut every time. I don't know what it is about this song? It has me in a chokehold. It's basically about fighting for justice against an unjust world and how it's possible even if it seems to not be. It's also just a banger. Something about the irony of them using a very modern-sounding song for a historical drama tickles me (electronic rhythm sounds? electric guitar? For 15th century China? Love it). Put in the bonus round because the show is censored bromance.

Spencer Geronimo - Magkaibang Mundo [Different worlds] (Lakan, Filippines, YouTube)

Rest in Peace to the actor Kennedy Nakar who costarred in Lakan and who just died (on July 25, 2023) of Leukemia; He was 24. Kennedy and his partner Paul Cervantes were an out gay couple and starred in this series together, and were supposed to also star in Turbulence. This song is all about fighting for a love that people think is wrong, against the odds, and wondering how long you'll have to fight and wait to be together. In that context, it becomes even more heartbreaking. Since this song was in my favourites, I could not skip the chance to give their work some love.

Tagging @callipigio @pandasmagorica @formayhem @dribs-and-drabbles @redxblueihateloveyou no pressure but if y'all feel like it!

[skysometric]

you went on a big asking spree asking about everyone's favorite games, but I'm curious... did you have a favorite album, TV show, or movie this year?

an EXCELLENT question! but my answers my be a little disappointing, because...

Favorite Movie of 2023

i don't... really watch movies? they don't capture my interest or investment like games do. this isn't for lack of trying over the years, i've been exposed to many different genres; i just don't click with the format, i guess. i think of them like the average boomer thinks of games – they're cute little distractions and not much else.

there's definitely a few movies that i like and stand out as formative memories, i just don't go out of my way to watch more. even before the pandemic i would only ever go to the theaters like once a year, and for most of the pandemic i can't say i watched anything even digitally.

...but that did change this year! my partner and i watched both Sonic movies and the Mario movie at home, and of the three i can safely say i enjoyed Sonic 2 the most! i like what it was trying to do with its two stories intertwined, and it gave Sonic and friends a lot of time to shine both in action and characterization. plus the finale was super cool~

i do have a handful of films i want to watch one day... but it's kind of a "whenever i feel like it" basis. the ghibli films are high on the list, as are the monty python films and the truman show. maybe i could revisit ferris bueller's day off now that i'm an adult...?

Favorite TV Show of 2023

...i also don't really watch tv?? am i boring???

i mean, historically, i've gotten more into tv than movies. i like the long continuous plot threads, i like getting to know characters in detail, i like slice of life and comedy and cartoons. i have fond memories of watching sonic x, spongebob, survivor, and mythbusters growing up!

but like, as an adult i've never seen the office, or steven universe, or adventure time... and i'm in no rush to, they're just not really priority for me. i can't even think of other shows i might want to watch. idk!

i tried to watch some anime at one point but that didn't really do me either? i guess i had some fun watching squid girl a few years back... i think i just get understimulated by just watching things, vs playing them.

confusingly, you know what i do get into? livestreams and let's plays. so my weird, cop-out answer of "favorite series" is that i've been really enjoying Chuggaaconroy's let's play of pokemon bw2. his let's plays have gotten me caught up with a series that i wasn't "allowed" to play as a kid... i guess that's part of why watching someone play a game isn't as understimulating to me?

Favorite Album of 2023

you can probably guess where this is going – i don't really listen to music that plays on the radio or gets recommended by spotify. i have good reason for this one though: music with lyrics is overstimulating to me in specific circumstances, like when i'm working (always) or driving (the only time i'd use the radio).

but wait, movies are understimulating, even though there's talking... and music with lyrics is overstimulating, even though there's nothing to watch... argh! i don't even understand myself!!

either way i usually put on video game music, because that helps me focus at work, and (usually) doesn't have lyrics in it. i'm aware there's plenty of great instrumental music outside of just games, but games already have so much variety and quality to their osts – i've rarely ever had to seek out more! my music collection is already big enough!

my favorite album to listen to this year has been the music that plays in the cyberspace stages of Sonic Frontiers. the full game's ost is MASSIVE and incredibly diverse in styles, but the hardcore EDM of the cyberspace stages is extremely my style. and the remixes they added in the dlc are some of the best ones! been listening to the full playlist multiple times a week all year to power through some rough work days, and it still hasn't gotten old 💖