#posting this here because I need something catchy to listen to while scrolling

[wordsarelife]

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞

pairing: theo nott x fem!reader

summary: you’re not particularly happy about theo’s song, all while he doesn��t even admit it’s about you.

warnings: none i think, apart from cursing :)

notes: mention of twitter because i refuse to call it X (elon musk is a puppeteer and i’m not falling for his schemes)

this is also still a bit of introduction, getting their dynamic and getting to know the other characters (april!!) better.

previous part | masterlist | next part

you woke up to your phone, flooding over with messages. most of them were from your best friend, april.

you and her had met in first grade, stumbling into each other. she had been new to town, knowing no one. it only took a week for the two of you to become the best of friends. she knew best of your hatred for theo, how it all had went down, from being friends to not even looking in each others direction.

y/n?!?!!!

the first message read. you ignored the twenty following ones and scrolled down to find the latest one.

give me a call when you're up. you won't believe this

you sighed, internally sacrificing the idea of a calm morning and raising your phone, already calling her.

"hey" she said and you could hear the unsureness in her voice.

"is everything okay?" you asked confused. april was normally the opposite of calm.

“yeah” she muttered and then it all came out at once “theo wrote a song and i’m pretty sure he wrote it about you. get ready, i’ll be there in fifteen minutes, okay?”

“he did what?” you asked flabbergasted, while you put her on speaker and opened twitter, checking if there was any evidence. “what the fuck” you muttered once your eyes landed on cursed legacy’s latest post.

“did you see the post?” april asked alarmed “you did right?”

“yeah” you muttered while you scrolled past the reposts “i mean pixie dream girl? do i look like a pixie dream girl?”

april was silent and you closed your eyes exhausted.

“i’m sorry, y/n”

“not your fault” you walked into the bathroom, already putting toothpaste onto your toothbrush “well have some time if you’re gonna be here in just fifteen minutes”

“i thought we could drive to sammy’s and have breakfast”

“just what i needed to hear now” you breathed “i’ll see you in fifteen”

“yeah” you could practically hear her smile “wait! don’t listen to the song alone, okay?”

“yeah” you muttered “i promise”

“it’s not as bad as it thought it would be” april said as soon as you had sat down in her car.

“you’re only saying that to make me feel better, aren’t you?”

“no, i promise I’m not” she assured “you will think it’s bad the first time you hear it, but it’ll become more and more harmless”

“how many times have you listened, april?” aou asked through clenched teeth.

“only like fifteen, but i needed to analyze”

“sure” you rolled your eyes “you don’t have to lie to me, it’s alright if you like the song. my feud with theo has nothing to do with you”

“really?”

“really” you nodded. you loved april incredibly, she was the sweetest person on earth.

“i only like it so much because enzo sings the backing vocals” april had been in love with enzo since the third grade. even though you had told her about a million times that enzo was in love with her too, she never acted on her feelings. you weren’t sure if it was because she was scared or because of you and your hatred for theo. still, enzo was your favorite out of the band and april knew that. you would never have a problem with them dating, you just hoped she knew that too.

“and?” you raised your eyebrows, sensing that there was something else she wasn’t telling you.

“and it’s really catchy” april admitted.

“well, I never said that theo can’t write, i’m just not a fan of him as a person, but his band and their songs are alright. so are you going to let me hear the song or are you not finished briefing me yet?”

she smiled, before she pushed the play button. you noticed her fingers trembling and the unsureness as she send you as smile, before she parked at the side of the road.

“what are you doing?”

“saving our lifes” she shrugged.

before you could ask her anything else, theo’s voice was already flowing through the car. the song was a mix of pop and rock, it took a lot to not bop your head along. the melody was really addicting and you hated theo even more.

“maybe the song isn’t even about me”

april send you an uncomfortable expression. you could tell that she was sure it was “maybe”

she's an average girl, with tangled up hair,

her laughter's like nails on a chalkboard, it's more than i can bear.

she flutters around, like a clumsy old crow,

leaving chaos behind her, wherever she goes

she's a mess wrapped in chaos,

a thorn in my side, no matter the cost.

she'll stumble and fall, then blame it on me,

i'm tired of her games, can't you see?

“well, it definitely is about me” you nodded with a forced smile.

“yeah” april nudged your arm “but the chorus is kinda nice, i guess”

you send her a look and she smiled apologetically. as soon as the song had ended, you were more than glad that she had decided to park. you got out of the car and the first thing you did was scream at the top of your lungs.

“fucking idiot!” you screamed “what the fuck is wrong with him?” you turned to april who had been quick to climb out behind you.

april shrugged her shoulders. “i don’t know” she said “how could he?” the way she forged the anger made you almost laugh. she was trying to be angry, she really was, but april was really rarely angry, not even when you two would fight. she wasn’t making fun of you, she was trying to relate.

“i’m gonna climb up the stupid tree, smash his window and throw everything that he loves out and when i’m finished.. then, then i’ll burn his stupid song book! ha!”

“you should totally do that!!” april screamed back “or maybe we could take all this anger and put it into something useful?” she suggested

“like destroy his car?” you perked up.

“no” april smiled while she walked back to the drivers side and took out a blog and a pen. “you could write everything that your feeling down and after we had breakfast, we’ll burn it on the bridge on our way to school”

“i don’t know if that will cure the murderous rage i’m feeling right now”

“we could try?”

you nodded and couldn’t help but smile at the way she was always trying to fix you. sometimes you wondered if she stayed up late only to google therapeutic ways to handle anger or sadness. she had never ending ideas considering that topic.

while she drove you both to sammy's you spend your time writing down everything you were feeling. the absolute anger and general questions and critique you had considering some of the song lines. when had you ever blamed him for something that happened to you? you could only think of a few things and all of them had been absolutely rightful. what games was he talking about? the way you were not interested in upkeeping any sort of relationship and he made it his daily task to annoy you to the best of his ability?

who was really playing games?

you finished your writing right as april parked the car, resulting in one full and another half page and a single sentence scattered on a third one. you held the two pages in her direction and watched as she put them in her bag.

"we'll burn them after" she assured you "what about the third page?" she asked as she noticed the single piece of paper you were folding up.

"that is for me" you explained "i don't want to forget how i felt"

"okay" she smiled unsurely "as long as you didn't plan theo's murder on that, it's fine"

"no promises" you shrugged and april laughed as she followed you into the restaurant.

✦•〰〰〰〰〰★🎸☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★〰〰〰〰〰〰•✦

you ran into theo sooner than you had anticipated, almost making him topple over on the stairs of the school. april was right about to run into you, but could stop just a second before colliding. she turned her head to the side to look around you and theo, noticing enzo behind the other boy.

“hey enzo” she greeted smiling.

enzo smiled as he noticed her, a rosy blush creeping onto his cheeks. “april, hi” you could see that he was trying to say something else, but before he could do so, theo started talking.

“watch where you’re going”

you sighed “just who i needed”

theo smirked, already guessing that you knew about his bands new song. “what was that?”

“nothing” you shook your head “what is wrong with you, theodore?”

“woah, theodore huh?” he raised his hands, laughing as he saw how angry you were “that does not sound like nothing”

“don’t act stupid” you rolled your eyes “you know exactly what I’m talking about”

“do i now?” he quirked a brow.

“pixie dream girl, really?”

“our new song?” theo wondered “what about it?”

you would’ve loved to just give him a gentle hit so he would fall down the stair, but you were smarter than that, at least you hoped.

“it’s obviously about me”

“well, it doesn’t say your name”

“no” you dragged the word out “but we both know you called me pixie since we were kids. don’t act dumber than you are, theo”

“no need to get offensive” theo tried to nudge your arm, but you pulled it back before he could reach it. “so you accept that as your official nickname? because as far as i remember you always hated me calling you that”

“i still do”

“so then the song is not about you” theo shrugged.

“one line literally says ‘she turns behind the window glass’ and my window is the only one that happens to be right in front of yours” it was a bit shameful that you could recall the line from the top of your head and you had to admit that the song was kinda catchy.

“it’s about a fictional girl”

“sure” you nodded, smiling ironically “just like daddy issues is. do you really think I’m an idiot, theo?”

“do you really want me to answer that question?” theo shot back and your smile died down. the two of you knew that both songs had been written about you. theo was good at writing songs, but also at fighting with you, so it had been easy to recall the lines he had said to you after he had incorporated them in his song.

daddy issues had come out with nine other songs a few months ago. it had been the second single on cursed legacy's debut album. you hated to admit how much the track had hurt you, how theo was able to use something you had trusted him with, against you. he was one of the few who knew about your issues with you dad and he had always been able to calm you down after one of many fights. to hear the sentences he used to whisper to you, used in the chorus really felt like a knife in your back.

but you and theo weren't friends anymore and you had to accept that you would never be again. he wasn't going to go easy on you.

“stop writing songs about me” you said, finally having enough of the endless back and forth you were used to with him.

“stop making stuff up” theo answered with a smile, before he straigthened his backpack and turned around, walking down the rest of the way.

“we have geography” you reminded him.

he just shrugged, before he turned around. “you don’t mind bringing me your notes later, do you?”

“fuck you” you spat and the grin on his face frustrated you.

“is it alright if i accompany you two?” enzo’s voice made your head turn. you had completely forgotten that he had been there the entire time.

“sure” you nodded and he smiled gratefully.

✦•〰〰〰〰〰★🎸☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★〰〰〰〰〰〰•✦

it was only during english that theo and also mattheo, who suspiciously always disappeared when theo did, turned up again. without an invitation, theo sat down in the open seat beside you. april was sitting on your right side and next to her enzo, who had also followed right after your friend for the next class and was seemingly not about to leave her side. so this arrangement left place for theo and mattheo to sit down on your left side.

"hey, pixie" theo greeted, still spotting that annoying smirk of his. you would have loved to smack it right off his stupid face.

"i had hoped you wouldn't be coming back"

"and just leave you hanging like that?" theo raised his brows "i could never"

you could've guessed that he would show up for english. you hated to admit it, but theo was pretty smart and english was not only his best, but also his favorite subject. it often seemed like he was mrs walkers favorite, considering she loved to read what he wrote and you had to admit he was doing a great job at writing the bands owns songs, even if some of them were about you.

"you're right" you nodded your head, acting as if you just remembered something "now that i think about it, i remember how little maturity you have in you"

"shot right through my heart" theo gestured to his chest and mattheo next to him had the nerve to giggle.

"what are you laughing at?"

mattheo's smile died down. "i see, we're not having a particulary good morning, are we?"

"well, you're onto something, genius" you said sarcastically.

"jeez" mattheo tried to hide behind his best friend "she must've heard the song" he whispered loud enough for you to hear"

"obviously i did, riddle" you rolled your eyes "does at least one of you have critical thinking skills? because this is getting repetitive"

mattheo kindly ignored your comment about his intelligence. "i really don't get you, i didn't think you would be this angry, honestly. i mean, it's just a harmless song isn't it?" mattheo shrugged "who can say that a band wrote a song about them?"

"harmless?" you repeated laughing in disbelief "you called me and i quote 'clumsy old crow'"

"oops" theo looked up the ceiling, as if something interesting was happening up there. you could see the amusement on his face and you hated how much fun he was having by only listening to you and mattheo talk.

"we also called you enchanting if it helps" mattheo smiled.

"it doesn't" you deadpanned and his smile faded.

mattheo shrugged "as i said before, i'm not getting you. the song might not be the nicest, but you have to think into the future. in ten years you can brag about the song!"

you send him a look "not the nicest" you repeated "your little bitch friend here is a petty asshole, who cannot, for the love of him, let go of anything" you said every word as slow and calm as possible, so mattheo was able to follow your train of thought. "and also i am thinking into the future. right now your band is as famous as my left toe and will probably always be. in ten years one of you will, a hundred percent, be in jail and if it's not zabini, i bet it'll be you. so, nothing to really brag about, you get me now, matty?" you leaned back in your chair with a triumphant smile. mattheo was pretty stunned at what you had said and it took him a few seconds to find his confidence.

"wha- i'm not gonna be in jail" he crossed his arms. theo next to him just shrugged and mattheo looked at him in betrayal. "okay, maybe, but only because i threw out a tv from a hotel room after we got that record deal"

theo's head turned at him as fast as yours did.

"record deal?" you asked.

"yeah" mattheo laughed, before he turned to theo in confusion "you didn't tell her?"

theo shook his head "it's not like we're the best of friends, mate"

"well, i thought because of le-" theo had elbowed his friend into the side, which made mattheo shut up immediately.

"what about leo?" you leaned over theo, knowing that he would rather ignore your question than mattheo would.

before mattheo could answer you, or theo stop him from doing so, mrs walker walked into the room, effectively shutting up the whole class.

you took one last irritated look in theo's direction, whose eyes were fixated on the teacher in front of you, before you turned to the book april and you were sharing, opening it to the right page.

taglist:

@7s3ven @madi-potter @shereadsandcries @getosbeloved @mischieftom @wolfstar-jpg @t00thfairy20 @chcrrysblog @aestramjackson @elina3011 @kr1nqu @hopeless-y @mitskiswift99 @fallingblackveils @ahead-fullofdreams @helendeath @schaebickel @chubbychasermattheotruther @punkprincess03 @subparslytherin @girlbooklover555

[nobodysdaydreams]

Finally Live Reacting To Time Bombs ⌚💣 (From the Creators and Actors of Wolf359)

Hello everyone! I have been intentionally avoiding my mutuals' time bombs content (which I'm sure is lovely) just so I can do this live reaction. For those that are new, I'm Bods, I posted a bunch of unhinged Wolf359 reactions under the hashtag "#Bods wolf359 reactions" and you should be able to find them all there if you scroll back far enough (sorry my blog is a bit disorganized as much like our friend Doug Eiffel, I also have terrible ADHD).

This podcast, Time Bombs, is a shorter three episode podcast created, written, recorded, produced, and released in a single week by the same creators and a lot of the same actors as the original sci-fi audio drama Wolf359. Which I have to say, is impressive. Creating and writing something in one week is impressive, but that's one thing, and getting the actors in the studio is another. I hope the entire cast, writers, and crew continues to go on to do amazing projects because they clearly deserve it.

I know nothing about time bombs going into it other than Jacobi and Lovelace's actors, Noah Masur and Cecilia Lynn-Jacobs, are in this, and Zach Valenti who voices Doug Eiffel, Alexander Hilbert, Bob the Dear Listener, and Sam Lambert in Wolf359 is also in this as "Additional Voices" (whatever that means). I have no idea if this is about time travel, sci-fi, or just secret agents with bombs, we're going into this completely spoiler free, which makes me honestly a little excited because I don't know what to expect. We'll see if this ends up as unhinged as my Wolf359 reactions and while I'll use that hashtag on this post for consistency, I'll also use "#bods time bombs reaction" so that you can just search that one if you want to find this again.

Since there are only three episodes and they're each about 15-20 minutes, I'll be doing them all under one post, and if you want to listen to the podcast yourself, you can find it here. Okay, enough exposition, let's get into it!

Episode 1: Pink Mist

"This podcast contains discussions of DEATH. BE FOREWARNED!"

*Upbeat smooth jazz music starts playing* 🎶🎶🎶

I love it already. Catchy little tune.

Hi Simon Teller. The worst day of my life? Well, I got a bloody nose, and I've been under the weather but that's not exactly abnormal for me. "Worst day of my life" is a tad dramatic.

Loving the jazzy detective noir vibes.

JACOBI! What's his new name? Midland? Mark Midland? "Talented, immature, still freaks out" is he scared of ducks?

Robert Hansen aka "Radio Bob". Is this the same Dear Listener Bob?

Good heavens. Bob. How much sugar does a man need?

Why is hating Christmas a side plot in both Wolf359 and Time Bombs? Eiffel at least made sense because his birthday is on Christmas, and he can't spend it with his daughter. Oh never mind. Midland hates New Years. And um...why are you working on New Years? That's my question.

Wow. Midland is going through something. Same man, but I'm really gonna have to hear about that job. Third most dangerous? "I thought it was the 6th most dangerous job." "Third if you only count legal jobs" asdkfljfsdljslfj;askldfj

That's my question. Who loves working New Years? Real talk, who loves working any day? Also, I see Jacobi/Midland is still a loyal underling to a boss that openly disrespects and infantilizes him. Some things never change.

"Business is booming, hopefully not literally." Haha, we'll see.

What record? And who is she?

Oh Lovelace. 😂 I love the bleeping of the swears. What is she doing here, is she just their HR to make sure they don't screw everything up or is Simon narrating for a news report about whatever he does?

Ah more detective action music. Let's roll, boys. 🚓

Okay bomb squad. Finally they get into the job, which I figured that's what this would be about. A small part of me was holding out for bombs that let you travel through time when the clock ran out, hence the name "time bombs" but for a three episode podcast, that would be a lot.

I do not understand any of these elaborate metaphors, but boy did they sound cool. Guessing pink mist is important. Also is Simon narrating this to nobody or is Lovelace's character taping this for him?

"You know what I hate? Car bombs." Does anyone love car bombs though?

I gotta be real. Whenever Time Bombs or Wolf359 are like "here is how the engine and bomb mechanics work" my ADHD brain just tunes out for a sec. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be this way, but it's just what my mind does.

"Why aren't we blowing up the cab? It's a nice cab. We're not robbing this man of his livelihood on New Years Eve." 🚕 I was thinking this boss seems a little like Doug and then I just realized that it's because he's the narrator.

Hospital thing? 🏥 Why is he role playing as a doctor? WHEN HE'S A BOMB EXPERT? THAT'S ALREADY EXCITING YOU DO NOT NEED TO PLAY PRETEND TO MAKE IT MORE EXCITING. That's like if a professional football player was like "as I'm running with the ball, I like to pretend I'm an accountant running late for a company meeting". But romanticize your life the way you want, I guess. Okay, never mind, maybe this character really is like Doug Eiffel.

Poor Jacobi/Midland just can't find a good boss can he? "Patient has been terminated" see, this is why the metaphor doesn't work.

"Lighten up and give me a high five" this man needs an HR rep on him.

"I'm a very smart officer and have been doing this for a very long time. You're in good hands." Oh what a lovely ego you have there. It's beautiful. Sure would be a shame if it lead to ironic consequences later.

Ah, I knew it. Lovelace is a reporter. Tatiana Sabero? That's such a noir reporter name if I've ever heard one. "I met her three hours ago, she's writing about us and got permission to ride along" seems legit to me. 👍🏻

"Harmless banter" "Off the record" destroy them in your report Tatiana/Lovelace. Destroy them.

Thank you Jacobi/Midland for being the one decent person here.

"Everyone's divorced. Twice before I was thirty, my brother doesn't speak to me, I owe my friends large sums of money, and my therapist broke up with me." Okay, clearly Simon has issues he deals with using humor. I think I've seen this film before.

"Bob, you're not divorced? Nah, no one can put up with my ✨crippling gambling addiction ✨🎲🎰" Okay no wonder these men work on bombs, they're addicted to adrenaline and danger.

Mark Midland's last night on probation? So he's got a lot on the line.

"No shenaniganry. Tomfoolery though... 😏"

I will say that there are certain personalities and types of people attracted to certain jobs, but this is sad. "It's just a bomb, the worst it can do is kill me" Bro, who hurt you? Why am I asking that, obviously these men are their own worst enemies.

Lovelace/Tatiana is asking the REAL questions. Time to explore your own mortality Simon Teller.

And...that's episode 1. Lots of fun exposition, I'm excited to see where this goes.

-------------

Episode 2: Emotional Dysregulation

I love this disclaimer before the catchy jazz music.

"Insufferable...I say with love in my heart boss." Oh Jacobi/Midland, won't you ever learn. Why do you take these jobs?

"Is that..." WHAT IS IT? IS IT A SCHOOL?

IT IS A SCHOOL.

"I'm gonna look like a hero!"

Simon, you're awful, and I smell karma heading your away.

Oh, is that Zach Valenti?

Yes, Jacobi/Midland. That IS what matters. No one got hurt. No bombs are a GOOD THING.

"What is wrong with these people? How can they be so selfish?"

Is he complaining about the fact that people DON'T bomb buildings more often? Dude. Get help.

"As long as we're there, put gun powder in someone's locker!" "Off the record" Lovelace/Tatiana, please destroy these men.

"Officially nooooooo...I hate bombs" "Unofficially?" I love how easy it is to get these men to talk. She says "Unofficially" and they're just like "ah, okay then."

"Emotional Dysregulation" no the term is adrenaline high and coping mechanisms.

"There is nothing funny about this job" What if Lovelace/Tatiana is a terrorist undercover to bomb them? That would be pretty funny.

UNIT 214?

UNIT 214!

I GOT THAT REFERENCE!

Yay! 🥳

So what's happening now? A...clown school? Well, that's the perfect place for you boys to enroll! 🤡 🎪

"Why would anyone want to blow up a clown school?" "Who wouldn't want to blow up a clown school?"

Someone afraid of clowns? Someone who just wants to set a funny trap for you? Someone you divorced or owe money to, perhaps, given the gambling addiction and admitted financial woes? At this point, if any of these characters was a surprise bad guy (or lady), I would not be surprised, they all have motive at this point, but in terms of podcast run time, I don't think we have quite enough for it.

So the fear of ducks is now fear of clowns. "Who would want to put more clowns into the world?" says the man who was just begging for more terrorists with bombs.

"What's worse than clown school?" BOMBS. Guns, disease, things that kill people. How about that?

What a complicated bomb to send to a clown school of all places.

Don't try to make him feel better Jacobi/Midland. He doesn't deserve it. "When it counts you stay focused and play it straight" "Midland, shut up". 😂 Why is Jacobi/Midland always working for toxic people who openly harass him? Why? Have some dignity.

"Less than 1% of bombs have collapsing circuitry" "Do you know that?" Jacobi/Midland may be the only one here with a brain.

Beep-beep!

"I hate it when you're right" No, you hate it when YOU'RE wrong. Nice work, Simon Teller. You activated the bomb.

Okay, so what happened? Did they fix it? Okay. Good. They did it...by guessing it sounds like. Hopefully that humbled him. There's an episode left so I won't hold my breath.

"That was me lying" Yeah, we got that Simon.

"If you knew which was the fail safe, why didn't you show me before you cut the other ones?" "Are you questioning your team leader tonight of all nights?" "No." JACOBI MIDLAND! THIS IS WHEN YOU OUGHT TO BE QUESTIONING HIM IT IS THE MARK OF A GOOD EMPLOYEE THAT YOU ARE QUESTIONING HIM.

"All off the record" "Of course" Kill them Lovelace/Tatiana. Not literally, of course, but you know. In the media.

Really flying along here. One more episode left! Let's see how they wrap this up.

-----------

Episode 3: Countdown

Discretion is advised and...JAZZ MUSIC 🎶🎶🎶

"2 hours from midnight, one bomb away, so what if Midland is mad at me?" Not developing a conscience, are we Simon?

I love Lovelace/Tatiana sneaking up on him. 😂 This man has such an ego he treats her like part of the furniture.

Oh, finally they offer her coffee. "Is officer Midland going to be fine?" Good question. I don't think so, but maybe they can make him feel better by the end of the episode.

"How are you going to be if you don't beat the record?" "Can I ask you a question" way to deflect Simon.

"Why are you spending New Years Eve in a police van?" See, these are the questions someone working for the cops should have considered already instead of fretting about a record.

"Teller is there when it counts" Is he though? Is he?

Oh, hi again Zach Valenti! Are you going to get to play an unhinged guy with a bomb? That might be fun!

A man to man talk. "Things were said. Some were not true. Some were unkind. But we are professionals." What an apology. "I'll forget what you said" oh so he's just no longer threatening him? WOOOOOWWWW...Simon, you're the worst.

"Tempers were high" "Yeah, tempers were high because of your lies!" TELL HIM JACOBI MIDLAND!

YES! Call out his ego!

"I make the rules" Simon, no you don't.

"Lets not say anything we can't walk back from" Lovelace/Tatiana is gonna destroy them so badly. 😂

"We're gonna fast forward past me screaming like a normal person" Simon you're funny, but you don't have Doug's morals and sobering regret and that's why I can't get behind you.

How convenient that the coffee got spilled on his hands so it's up to Jacobi and Midland to save the day. I guess this means he has to give up his record. What a sacrifice.

"The record doesn't matter" "...the record matters so much... 😭😭😭" And...that's why it's a notable sacrifice, Simon. Welcome to loving people, hurts sometimes, doesn't it.

Pinata bomb? 🪅 Sounds like a party!

Lovelace/Tatiana learns fast. She honestly should be doing their job, she just recited the whole thing.

"You sure you don't want to hang around?" I think she's good. I think she's got plenty.

You're all gonna get fired. "Or funding for 10 new vans, or both" 😂

How nice. They all get beers together. 🍻 Happy Ending!

Oh, and they get to watch the fireworks together. A very appropriate ending.

And...there's that jazz music! 🎶

-----

That was fun. Thank you to everyone who recommend it. The semester is starting and school is keeping me busy, but if I ever react to more podcasts in the future, I look forward to see you guys there. Bye!

[anushas-reviews]

“The Key to Life on Earth,” and its Confrontation of Classism and Wealth Inequality

This analysis is about the song “The Key to Life on Earth” by Declan McKenna. Before reading, listen to the song here. Scroll to the end if you would like to see song recommendations that are similar to it. :)

Disclaimer: None of the lyrics or images in this post are mine! Also, most of the analysis is my own interpretation of the song, so it is not confirmed by Declan Mckenna in any way.

Content Warning: death 

 “The Key to Life on Earth” is the third song on Declan Mckenna’s album, Zeroes. I first listened to it in February of this year, and then ended up listening to it on repeat for a month. It’s a beautiful song that ends in such a nice way. I also put this song on repeat in the background of the movie, Mystic Pizza, and I think it fits the movie perfectly. Definitely recommended watching it; it’s a really cool take on teenage, especially second-generation immigrant teenage, lives. However, in this analysis, I will be exploring the themes and my take on the song “The Key to Life on Earth.” 

This song is so, so powerful because it discusses inequality in America while focusing on the story of two individuals, effectively appealing to the emotions of listeners.

INSTRUMENTALS: 

Not a big music expert, but the instrumentals in this song are insanely catchy. The instrumentals add a lot to the meaning of the song, taking such a raw meaning and shaping it into something beautiful. 

LYRICS:

The way this song is written is amazing; from beginning to end, it tells a story. While there are many interpretations to the song, my personal interpretation is the confrontation of wealth inequality, classism, capitalism, and workplace culture. McKenna uses keywords that signal to the overarching themes while also telling the story of two people from poorer backgrounds.

ANALYSIS OF THEMES:

The song begins with the lyrics, “Gold / Let it unfold / Imagine you’re dressed in gold… Oh and your king.” It starts to create a visual picture of a palace or a statue or wealth: a description of gold, a vision of yourself in gold. Even from the beginning of the song, McKenna uses the repetition of the word “gold” to emphasize that the goal of life is to be surrounded by gold. This correlates strongly with the ‘American Dream’ where hard work and a vision for the future are said to result in success. However, this is rarely the case, as unequal opportunities limit a person’s success in life from the day they were born. This vision of gold can blind people from the harsh realities of life and leave them with a goal but nothing to work with. This isn’t the fault of the individuals, but more of the system. 

Furthermore, Mckenna reflects on the classism in society with the lines “Holy smokes / You kids and your jokes / Asking where we got our jeans / And where the hell we found our coats.” From a young age, many children from affluent families are brought up in a way where they assume that everyone around them also has access to the resources that they do. This can later turn into mockery or a sense of superiority towards lower-income or middle class students, which can be found in many schools across the US, especially in richer areas (Silicon Valley/New York suburbs). Classism mainly puts low-income students at the brunt of jokes and mean comments about clothes or personal belongings, which is very harmful and what McKenna conveys with these lines. 

Later in the chorus, he states that these “Scrounging rich kids / Are living here for free / On my home turf.” While many wealthy kids can use their parents’ money for basic needs, people with less money need to constantly work for food, shelter, and water. Capitalism favors the rich from birth itself, while the rest have to work to live. 

The bridge and outro of the song is the most powerful part. The bridge describes the tedious feeling in working life, established when McKenna says, “Iron your suit and tie / Forever until you die.” Retirement in not an option to many people, especially in the lower-income or middle class range. In our society, people can either work themselves to death or work until they die. 

Later in the bridge, he sings, “Join forces like carousels / And their horses forever spinning round / And never coming down.” After a person’s education, they join the workforce and continue to work forever, always trying to go up the leadership ladder and fearing the bottom (which is why they don’t come down). He repeats the word “forever” twice, which implies that this system is never-ending and unchanging. 

One of the most prominent stylistic elements of the outro is that it repeats twice, further drilling in the meaning. The first three lines are “Come out and join us honey, we will sort you out / Come work in Brookfield farm and we will shut your mouth / Come work in Sainsburys babe, until you’ve had enough.” These lines read like advertisements, coercing people to work for them while only revealing the truth after they’ve joined. A 9AM to 5PM job is taught as necessary and beneficial to young people, and they go into the workforce expecting to be happy with their job or being able to provide for themselves. However, what these companies don’t tell you is that working there is exhausting, and oftentimes an individual’s voice is silenced if it challenges the status quo. By shutting down employees’ negative opinions about their employer, these companies can ensure that they will continue to have potential employees (which means more productivity and money), and the cycle repeats again and again. 

“The Key to Life on Earth” conveys that there is no real key to success. From birth, people are placed into unfair situations with vastly different environments, problems, and resources. Children are encouraged to “dream big” and work towards them when many of these dreams end up amounting to nothing. In the end, people must look to other parts of life, including the people we love - the people that we experience life with - in order to find happiness and meaning in life on Earth. 

SONG RECOMMENDATIONS: 

Declan Mckenna’s style is really unique, and no two songs of his sound the same. It’s hard to find a song exactly like “The Key to Life on Earth,” but here is a list of songs that have similar themes and/or instrumentals! 

“Eventually, Darling” by Declan McKenna: This song talks about the heartbreak after someone you care for deeply leaves. While it’s themes are not similar, it has a lot of the unique artistic choices and instrumentals. Definitely a song to cry to. ;)

“Paranoia on Main Street” by Demi the Daredevil: Totally different type of song, as it is more in the punk/rock genre. However, theres a lot about how the subject in the song feels as if they’re only a number to the government (SSN). They also feel as if they are alone, which is partly because people tend to only look out for themselves and their success, rather than helping others. 

“Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman: This song is very mellow and relaxing, a mix between pop and country. It talks about how hard it is to make ends meet financially while also trying to live happily, a topic that is explored in “The Key to Life on Earth”. 

“The Story of John Doe” by Rosenfeld: This song is truly haunting - very different from the rest of Rosenfeld’s music. He writes about a character given the name John Doe (which is used when a person’s identity is unknown), and how no one can escape death; there must always be an end to life. 

“Stand Up” by In the Valley Below: This piece discusses the meaning in a person’s life, asking the question “Who is it I’m supposed to be?” throughout the song. I also recommend this whole album, because it experiments with a lot of different sounds, much like Declan McKenna. It’s called “The Belt”!

Sorry, this analysis was so short! I’ve been really busy lately, but I hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know if there are any forms of media that you would like me to talk about!

- Nusha! 

[the-color-blue]

HSM vs Lemonade Mouth

I saw this post while scrolling endlessly through Instagram where it was a screenshot of a tweet that said “Lemonade Mouth was more musically advanced than High School Musical and it had a better plot that developed nicely and aged well. Y’all only hype HSM musical because it’s old & is significant to our childhoods. Old doesn’t equal better. I’m on y’all heads. I said what i said.”

So, in this post I will be comparing HSM to Lemonade Mouth instead of sleeping like I should be doing. First, some points I would like to address. Just because one thing is liked more than the other doesn’t mean you need to put the popular thing down and devalue people’s opinions about it. I like both movies, it’s not a one or the other situation. HSM’s success doesn’t undermine Lemonade Mouth by any means. Another thing, people don’t just like HSM because it’s old. Yes, people like it because it’s nostalgic. That doesn’t mean that it’s the only reason, nor is it any less of a reason to like something.

Now I will compare each song from each movie in order of when they occurred. For example, the opening song from HSM will go against the opening song to Lemonade Mouth and so forth.

HSM Opening Song: “Start of Something New”: https://youtu.be/zBG-sEGlULs

LM Opening Song: “Turn Up the Music”: https://youtu.be/WXloumeq5Hs

- I would like to start by saying that a common theme that is probably going to occur in my assessments of HSM songs is that they’re better as stand alone songs. What I mean by that is that if you never watched HSM you’re more likely to think of their soundtrack as regular songs, whereas with Lemonade Mouth the songs are more unique and would obviously stand out compared to popular hits on the radio. Another point is that HSM came out in 2006 while LM came out in 2011. Around 2010 there was a shift in what kind of music was popular, and EDM and dance music became more prevalent, so the music between the two movies is definitely contrasting.

I love the song “Start of Something New”, but I would have to give it to Lemonade Mouth for opening song. It was close, but “Turn Up the Music” is just more engaging. Both are good songs though.

HSM #2 Song: “Get’cha Head in the Game”: https://youtu.be/8FbIZLpYR5g

LM #2 Song: “Somebody”: https://youtu.be/3XD-GnVJ6FE

- “Somebody” is a good emotional song, but HSM comes in for the mega win on this one. “Get’cha Head in the Game” is just so much more interesting. The use of different sounds that you would hear on a basketball court put together to make this amazing song is just *chef’s kiss*.

HSM #3 Song: “What I’ve Been Looking For”: https://youtu.be/S-wSCKaHJ6Y

LM #3 Song: “And the Crowd Goes”: https://youtu.be/F3yOHJ7RlwY

- “And the Crowd Goes” is just a whole ass mood, not to mention slightly annoyingly catchy. And the GUITAR omg. This point goes to Lemonade Mouth.

HSM #4 Song: “What I’ve Been Looking For: Reprise”: https://youtu.be/mB4lGVRmxcw

LM #4 Song: “Determinate”: https://youtu.be/LWGcejbf2gE

- This is probably gonna be a really unpopular opinion, but something that’s always bothered me is how dumb “Determinate” is. I like the song, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just lyrically dumb lmaoo. The point goes to HSM for this one. “Determinate” is definitely a bop though. A common theme with Lemonade Mouth is that their lyrics are just straight up dumb but the songs are at least catchy.

HSM #5 Song: “Stick to the Status Quo”: https://youtu.be/8PNUcxmO0-g

LM #5 Song: “Here We Go”: https://youtu.be/vbtYLSs3z9A

- A problem with comparing a lot of these songs is that the movies are doing two different things music wise. HSM is doing a combination of the genres popular at the time as well as theater music while LM is doing music reminiscent of the early 2010′s and is more for genuinely listening than to tell a story. “Stick to the Status Quo” was very much a musical number whereas “Here We Go” is just a song that makes a statement. Another unpopular opinion and I’m actually only SLIGHTLY leaning more towards the song than “Here We Go”, but I’m going to give the point to HSM for this one. “Here We Go” is more for general listening, but the song relies heavily on just being super repetitive. “Stick to the Status Quo” while being more theater type of listening is at least more dynamic and interesting lyrically.

HSM #6 Song: “When There was a Me and You”: https://youtu.be/GTZUvuduWPk

LM #6 Song: “She’s So Gone”: https://youtu.be/xnAc-rgvJTA

- There is absolutely no competition between these two songs, LM wins for this one. “She’s So Gone” is one of the movies few songs that you could hear on the radio and not bat an eye that it belongs there. It is hands down the best song in the movie, and it’s amazing. It is interesting that both songs kind of are conveying similar types of messages and emotions though lol.

HSM #7 Song: “Bop to the Top”: https://youtu.be/K3P2eH23_o0

LM #7 Song: “More Than a Band”: https://youtu.be/2rXLLb-gI54

- Another point to Lemonade Mouth. “More Than a Band” is a beautifully sentimental song, and frankly I just can’t take any song Sharpay sings seriously ksndofnso

HSM #8 Song: “Breaking Free”:https://youtu.be/0qj67KE5VXI

LM #8 Song: “Don’t Ya Wish You Were Us”:https://youtu.be/omXzWf5yNXg

- HSM gets this point. “Breaking Free” is just an amazing song overall, I listen and sing it in my car sometimes lol. “Don’t Ya Wish You Were Us” is a fun song, but it suffers from the same thing as “Determinate” which is that it’s lyrically stupid (but simultaneously fun af lol).

HSM #9 Song: “We’re All in This Together”: https://youtu.be/Bz73c8rz4QA

LM #9 Song: “Breakthrough”: https://youtu.be/hnLaDe9iWs8

- “Breakthrough” gets this point. I completely forgot about this song until I reheard it just now, but it IS a great song. 

Okay, song wise Lemonade Mouth comes out with the advantage with 5-4. Overall HSM did better with lyrics while LM did better with more interesting melodies and instrumentals. When it comes to the actual plots themselves I think HSM is better. Lemonade Mouth tackles some real issues which I admire, but it’s just not as engaging to watch as High School Musical. I personally like HSM songs better, but some of these LM songs definitely deserved the points lol. This is ALL just my opinion though. I’m up for RESPECTFUL debating about it in the comments or DMs.

[cosmiclatte28]

Radio Romance (Doyoung x reader, Jaehyun)

This was on my wattpad too! Do check them out, I am working on my SuperM fanfiction.

Warning : Fluff, Doyoung and Jaehyun are radio DJs! Sweet ones obviously 

fluff and safe for work ;)

enjoy !!!

A great hit by Adele fades out as the familiar prelude to my beloved radio segment chimes in. The catchy yet simple jingle makes me perks my ears.

"Good evening citizens! This is DJ Doyoung"

"And this is DJ Jaehyun. You are now listening to Night Paradise of One Two Seven Regular Radio"

"Where you can relax and sleep with sweet dreams." Said Doyoung.

"The time now is nine o'clock. It is Wednesday May 8 and tonight we will receive your song requests and of course the favorite Radio Romance program is still available." Jaehyunexplains their rundown.

I go to turn up the music louder, well the channel I am tuning in right now is our Campus' radio station and since freshman days, this radio station really helps me during the stress nights before finals until the lonely nights when I miss mother's home cook meal. I really love the program, listening to music, witnessing a guy confess to a girl he likes, sometimes I just like to listen to the bickering of the DJs, and mostly I just like having sounds in my silent room. I share an apartment with a foreigner from the same country but he is currently busy. And during these nights, the radio really entertains me.

"As we collect your messages and requests, first composition tonight will be from the latest hit by NCT. As the night is still early, we think a lot of our listeners are still sticking their nose to books and papers. To energize you, we present you Highway to Heaven." Jaehyun's deep voice echoes.

I smiled; this song is currently my mood booster. Picking up my pen, I can return to read my textbook and try my best to study more; Though it is challenging for me to keep on reading, instead of singing on top of my lungs while dancing wildly. As much as I want to do those two badly, I know that my parents sent me here to the United States from the Country of Ginseng and Kimchi to learn something and be someone. Halfway through the song, I can't hold back my feelings and grab my phone.

I quickly text a private message to someone,

"Seriously.. I can't focus. Finals are around the corner. Mum will kill me if A is not present."

I Hit the send button and locked my phone. I must not get carried away into chatting. That will end my life.

After calming my excited nerves with water, the radio DJs return with different love confessions and questions.

Ranging from

"What should I do to get this girl's attention? I'm super shy while she's the total opposite." The two each suggested dating advices. Which I believe were not from their experiences. It's definitely a google answer.

"I just broke up with my boy friend, and I need more comfort songs. Can you two please fulfil my request. Thanks, and DJ Jaehyun you're the best." To which Doyoung replies jokingly "Noted. More love songs. DJ Doyoung is in charge of songs tonight. You pick the wrong guy."

"I can't sleep tonight. I need to finish 3 works by 7 a.m. tomorrow. Please tune up the bpm." Jaehyun's cheeky remarks was "I think coffee will help you better than us. Our program ended at 10.. anyways, we hope you for the best! Fighting!"

Those are messages coming into their homepage

"Now moving on to the tweets, I have.." Doyoung laughs a bit

"To @osaka_prince I really miss you, let's meet for Takoyaki this week. Call me asap. From @nct_is_life"

"You heard that @osaka_prince, someone misses you! And next we have.."

tHis time Jaehyun's soothing voice exits the stereo

"To @ice_yongie how are you doing? I heard you tune into this channel regularly. Wish you all the best for your finals. From @fire_jung"

"Right... to every students, please stay healthy, have enough sleep, and prepare for your finals." Jaehyun said and continue with two more mentions.

After that they play another hit song, this time as the atmosphere starts to go bittersweet. Their choice was Because of You by Taeil.

The sweet voice and words I understands, made a good company for me. I finish reading my books as the last beat of the song drops and Doyoung'strademark voice comes in.

"We have one more hour to accompanyyour night. Now for the news, we have one from the school's Baseball team, one from the hospital and another from the cafeteria. After the news we'll head on to the Call Me Maybe segment. Please wait for it."

Jaehyun reads the news about the upcoming grand Baseball match this Thursday, it's Trojans vs Eagles. Don't forget to come with all your Trojans attire and merchandises we all know how the season will end. Winning is our middle name.

The next news was only about reminding students to take care of their health during finals and a new boba stall will open this Monday. Discount 50% for first 100 cups.

No matter how cheap that will be, I know I can't skip class just to queue for a boba. Not if I want to have my ass bloody red.

The Call Me Baby segment comes after 2 other compositions and oddly I love this segment. Though it may be weird to some people, listening someone making a voice note on air to their special ones and getting no reply.. still there is something in my heart that likes hearing those.

Apparently a lot of calls were desperate. From 5 voice message, 2 are clearly in a phase of knowing someone and trying to win their heart, the other 3 are asking how someone has been.. clearly they broke up one misses the other one, but have no choice other than to use the radio to ask his or her condition. Ego always wins right?

I feel bad for those three who cannot directly ask how the people who used to be special to them is feeling right now. Lucky I'm not in that condition.

Then they take a break with several advertisements and music.

I leave my room to wash my face and clean my books. Well I am sleepy, but I am waiting for someone to return home.

The radio DJs are currently online with the twitter. Since it is impossible to read every tweet on air, they take time answering some lucky listener's tweets. I scroll my twitter and smiles a little when my tweet got replied.

"Have strength! You can do it~" – DJ Doyoung

I retweeted it and afterwards continue scrolling and reading a lot of replies and stories. Apparently there's much more than love and broken heart problems. Some are posting questions of which food to eat, some are just saying hi, several others requested songs; others even post thank-you letters for the two DJ who work hard to make their nights enjoyable and fun.

I glance at the clock. It is 30 minutes to their closing. Turns out two hours is not a long time. Hufht if only every two hours lectures can be this quick and enjoyable.

The last segment was the story sharing time. Basically everyone can submit their inspiring stories to the channel's email and then the team will choose which one is good to share. Tonight the speaker was none other the school's favorite baseball captain. Lee Taeyong... he shares his baseball career path. He shares his hard works, his passion, and what keeps him moving forward. His 10 minutes talk is inspiring. I wiped a tear that falls from my eye, his story is really touching.

Jaehyun and Doyoung also seem to honor the man talking on air right now. They salute his never ending passion and hard work. Taeyong gets to greet some of his fans and cheer them up. The segment ends after 15 minutes and Both DJ wraps his visit by telling all listeners to support Taeyong and his team on field this Thursday.

More tweets are read and replied directly on air, soothing songs for sleeping also fills the room.

"We did not realize time is running. It was fun listening to your feeling. The stars are starting to shine on the clear sky. You might want to take a peek out of your window for a moment.And as the night deepens,our segment must end after this." Doyoung shares his regret.

"Right, we are sad Paradise Night is over, but worry not for we will see you again this Friday. Please keep on tuning into One Two Seven Regular Radio. I am DJ Jaehyun"

"and I am DJ Doyoung"

"We present you the last composition, UN Village by Baekhyun. Sweet Dreams and Good night." The two host harmonize and the calm upbeat prelude from UN Village takes over their voice.

My phone lights up as the song almost reach its chorus.

"I'm done. Going home now.. wait for me!"

I typed a reply and turn the volume louder.

I know that, I know that, I know Yes we are now

Hannam-dong UN Village hill Looking up at the moon from the hill

I walk from my room to the small balcony. The radio song fluently escapes my opened room. Isomehow remembered that Jaehyun or Doyoung earlier said the sky is bright. Turns out I can see sea of stars tonight. It's relaxing and pretty.

The front door of my apartment opens and closes. I turn around and see someone returning home with a tired face but a smile is still there.

"Thank you for waiting me... the stars are dancing tonight and the moon is big!" His attention distracted by the picturesque sky in front of our eyes. He stands beside me, one hand over my waist to bring me close to his warm body.

You and me, umm yeah

UN Village hill, eh

Side by side we look at the moon

We sway to the rhythm and the song ends not long after it. It was a nice closing song!

"I should be the one to say thank you!" I turn my head to face him.

He looks puzzled but a hint of smugness can't escape his lips which form a smile.

"Me? Why?"

"Because you did a great job hosting Paradise Night! I don't feel lonely and I can study better. Thanks to you and Jaehyun." I hug him and bury my face on his chest.

Doyoung softens at my words and returns my hug "Anything for my girl! Now, let me shower from the sweat of walking home.. and maybe I need some ramen tonight. I'm always hungry after hosting the radio." He walks to his room and after collecting his clothes and towel, he enters the toilet.

I make my way to the kitchen. Taking a pot to boil water and choosing our favorite night snack. While he clean himself under the shower, I prepare the dish and the side dishes.

"Hmmm it smells amazing! Thanks for cooking it for me." Doyoung greets me with a fresh smell of mint shampoo and he takes the sit across of me.

"Saranghae~" he sincerely gives me a heart with his fingers and digs into the food.

After a stifled laugh, I also begin eating mine.

Once again a beautiful night spent with the best radio DJ, who is luckily mine. Doyoung... na do saranghae💛

[archived-grimoire]

I need to probably start trying to talk to Apollo more so I might just do like.. prayer type post things here because I'm bad at focusing in my head. You can read or scroll past, it's not too important overall. It's just easier to type out my thoughts.

Thank you Apollo for clearing the skies and for the sun shining bright today when I was at the park. It didn't storm until I went home, even though it was supposed to storm all day. Maybe you had something to do with this. Maybe not. I feel like you might've. So thank you ever so kindly.

Today wasn't perfect, but it's was 80% positive. I found a site that sells affordable stim toys (shared by someone in a discord server I'm in) and I might look into buying a cute mystery case of them. It's a fluffy panda I could use as a pencil case w/ 4-5 stim toys, fidget and chewable. My ADHD has been getting harder to deal with so I hope to eventually get a diagnosis, not necessarily to medicate but for proof I'm not "making it up for attention." I wish to be taken seriously and for my mom to stop calling me lazy or stupid.

Also listened to some (Christian) devotional music that makes me think of you always. While I know they were not written with you in mind, they have good memories with friends tied to them, and they're just so fun and catchy, and I hope you don't mind me using them as a way to connect to my faith in you. You are my Lighthouse. I'm sorry for not being able to devote as much of my time to you, mental health has been taking a toll. You are still my Lighthouse, my guide.

Sorry again for my lacking communication, writing is way easier and I will try to talk to you more in this way.

[sage-nebula]

Game Review — Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition

About seventeen years ago, I played a Gamecube game called Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, and for the most part I really loved it. I got lost in every single dungeon all the time, and I really hated the annoying moogle I had to drag around, but other than that I loved the game. So it makes sense, then, why I would be excited when I heard it was getting a remastered release on Switch.

Overall Score: 6/10

While I was happy to get a chance to play this game again, I feel like Square-Enix whacked both of its kneecaps in two different ways. One, they did a remaster instead of a remake, meaning they just gave it a little polish instead of fixing existing issues; and two, they decided for some reason to port it to mobile phones, which I feel created some issues, though I admit I don’t have any proof of that. While I still enjoyed my time with the game for the most part, it definitely receives a lower score than I think I would have given the original in my youth. More details under the cut, best viewed on my blog for formatting.

The Pros:

This isn’t specific to the remaster, but rather more about the game itself, but one thing I think is notable about the setting is that it’s essentially a post-apocalyptic story, but it’s one where the people haven’t completely fallen into despair and ruin. I mean, some places have; there’s a village called Tida whose caravan never returned and so they all died slow deaths of miasma as their crystal’s protection ran out. But in other villages, including the player’s hometown, people are living their lives as best they can. Some people are even trying to find a way to get rid of the miasma altogether. While of course there is much to stress about and also people’s memories being taken from them, overall the world looks a bit brighter than in most post-apocalyptic stories. It’s always nice when post-apocalyptic stories recognize that even after the end, life still goes on.

I’ve also always rather enjoyed the way the way the game constantly reminds you that you’re not the only caravan out on this journey. You encounter caravans from other towns and villages pretty often, and their stories intersect with yours, growing as the in-game years pass. It’s another thing that makes the world feel alive, because you see again and again that there are other heroes out there, heroes of their own stories, that you’re just one of many in this world trying your best to get by and keep your village alive.

The soundtrack is also something that deserves praise, because it has a very . . . Celtic, I think? flair to it that really suits the setting, especially since the narrator has (what I believe is) an Irish accent. I can’t think of a single bad song in the entire game, and many of them are catchy and bouncy and fun to listen to.

After each little cutscene or dungeon, you get an entry added to the in-game journal, and I enjoy those as well. It helps keep track of the little side stories going on (since they span over years), and I like how some of them change depending on the choices you’re given in any given cutscene. That said, I do have a slight issue with them as well, but I’ll discuss that in a different section.

If you play single-player, the game assigns a moogle named Mog to carry the crystal chalice through the dungeons with you so you don’t suffocate due to the miasma. (In multiplayer, another player has to carry it.) This results in Mog getting tired, saying, “I’m tired, kupo, it’s your turn!” and making you carry it sometimes anyway, even if you’re being chased by monsters. When I played this game as a kid, it seemed like he was saying this EVERY FIVE SECONDS and it was THE MOST annoying thing. But it didn’t feel as frequent this time, and when I looked it up, I saw that the devs actually did extend the amount of time Mog could carry the chalice before he got tired. I appreciated this very much, even if Mog was still annoying.

The Neutrals:

From what I can tell, there wasn’t really a graphics overhaul done, except to increase the jiggle physics on female Selkies, which . . . I’m not a prude, I don’t really care that much (even though it can be distracting), but of all the things you chose to fix, it was this? Square-Enix, please.

While on the one hand I like that there’s no set order that you can encounter the random travel cutscenes in, that they can happen whenever, because it makes it feel like a more realistic journey . . . it also creates the problem that the events will still trigger even if you’re already finished the associated quest line. For example, to get the Unknown Element that lets you reach the final boss area, you have to complete a series of actions in Lynari Desert. You find out what you have to do through a series of travel cutscenes with a swindler named Gurdy, who gives you poem verses that strongly hint at what you need to do. I had a few of these before I reached the desert, but not all of them, so I just looked up a guide to get the remainder of the instructions. Despite this, I still later triggered the final Gurdy cutscene, and so it was like my character was standing there with the desert treasure while Gurdy told her about the desert treasure . . . it’s not a huge deal, but it does show how the idea of having random travel cutscenes is kind of flawed. (Additionally, you can beat the game without even finishing certain stories as a result, so it’s entirely possible you could get to Mio and not know who she’s talking about in the end. It’s not game breaking, but it is a bit of an issue too.)

The Cons:

The LOADING TIMES, OH MY GOD. This game has the longest loading times of any game I have ever played on the Switch, and I confirmed with someone who has played the original a billion times that these loading time issues were not present in the original game, meaning they are a direct result of development on the “remaster.” Literally, the game goes to a blank loading screen that lasts a good minute or two for almost everything. For every cutscene you have, any time you leave or enter a place, hell, even QUITTING THE GAME has a “Closing Software” box for FAR LONGER than any other Switch title, to the point where it made me afraid for a moment that my Switch, brand new though it is, was broken. I don’t know why the loading times are so bad, but I personally blame it on Square-Enix wanting to make the game multiplatform (multiplatform including fucking cell phones), thus not optimizing it for any one console. And on a similar note . . .

Online multiplayer is region-locked. Yes, you read that right. Two friends who I’d originally intended to caravan with live in Europe, and since I live in North America, we were unable to play together since Square-Enix decided to region-lock online multiplayer. It is honestly the most batshit stupid thing I have ever heard of. The only reasoning I can think of for why they did this is because of mobile phone support; it’s entirely possible that there is something within a phone’s SIM card that would make it not possible to play multiplayer across different continents, but honestly I have trouble believing even that since I believe that’s not a problem in other mobile games. Either way, the entire point of online play is to be able to play with anyone, no matter where they are, and the fact that in the year 2020 Square-Enix decided it was a good idea to region-lock online play is fucking ridiculous.

A minor complaint, but you can’t use the left joystick to scroll between items in menus. You have to use the little arrow buttons instead. This was also the case in the Switch port of Final Fantasy XII, so I think it’s a Square-Enix preference thing, but it annoyed me and I wish they’d at least give the option to change button configuration around.

There’s backtracking as the years go on that I personally found kind of annoying, especially when it made me go to dungeons I didn’t particularly like. The thing is, the gameplay in FFCC doesn’t have a lot of variance; you go to three dungeons, you fight three bosses, then the year ends and you repeat it the next year. The only real variety is in the dungeons themselves as you get to explore new ones. But in Year 5, you HAVE to repeat dungeons because you’re blocked off from going to new areas. And at a certain point there stops being new dungeons altogether, so you have to repeat dungeons if you want to get myrrh for the village. And yeah, the dungeons are a bit harder each time, but the layout is still the same, and so it made what was already a repetitive style of gameplay even more repetitive, which honestly made me eager to finish it as quickly as possible despite wanting to grind as long as possible when I first got the game because I wanted to avenge my childhood self, who never managed to beat the final boss.

The four different races to choose from all have different styles of gameplay, and you can make multiple characters in one file to fill out your caravan / open specialty shops all around town. The problem is, the only character in the caravan who gets stat boosts and experience from the dungeons is the one who goes through them, and the dungeons get tougher each time they’re completed. So unless you constantly rotate your characters, creating more characters to fill out the caravan and be able to use different play styles per different boss (such as using a Yuke when facing a boss like Dragon Zombie who can really only be affected by magic) is a pointless waste of time because your extra characters won’t be strong enough to face the boss you need them to face. I don’t know if this was an issue in the original, but it’s definitely a disappointing issue here.

While some of the journal entries change depending on your answer choices, I found it disappointing that the journal entries don’t change (or at least don’t always) change depending on what type of character you chose to play as. The specific example I have in mind is that I chose to play as a Selkie, and through the course of the journey I of course traveled to Leuda, which is home of the Selkies. If you choose to play as a Selkie, you can participate in a minigame there and no one will steal from you. Additionally, since you see in various dungeons that Selkies have had a very rough time of it and for the longest time couldn’t put a home base anywhere, I had it in my head that my Selkie character would feel like she returned home, in a sense, even though she personally didn’t grow up in Leuda. I mean, this is the land of her people, this is where Selkie history is richest, this is the reward they got for all the suffering they experienced. (And sort of still do, since the other races tend to be prejudiced against them, and one Selkie in Leuda even says that he thinks everyone else wants Selkies to just disappear.) But despite all of this, the journal entry for Leuda states that the main character had their wallet stolen and never wants to go back. That sort of entry makes sense if you’re playing as one of the other three races, but it doesn’t fit Selkies at all and was pretty disappointing. That’s just one example, but I’m sure there were others, and it would have been nice if a bit more thought was put into play here.

All in all, I still think that Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is a game worth playing. I really like the worldbuilding, as well as the characters, and I did have fun with it. With that said, though, I think that Square-Enix should have given this game a proper remake instead of a remaster, and should have made it a Switch exclusive (just as the original was a Gamecube exclusive) so that they could optimize it for the hardware, instead of being greedy and putting out one that didn’t play very well just so they could make cross-platform money. But despite those issues, if you want a unique action-RPG, I don’t think that FFCC’s remaster would be a bad choice to try out.

[nyxshadowhawk]

Nyx’s Ultimate Halloween Playlist

Need some theme music for your haunted house or Halloween party? I create a new Halloween/Samhain list every year. (This year’s list uses a LOT of SotN music! I’ll be posting that too.) Here’s a compilation of some of the “greatest hits.” Yes, there’s a lot of Nox Arcana.

Spooky:

“Toccata” by Nox Arcana: You need a version of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor! I use the Nox Arcana version, but if you want something more upbeat, I recommend the Trans-Siberian Orchestra version.

“Nocturne” by Nox Arcana: An almost quintessential Halloween piece. Dark, creepy, expressive, easily applicable to a variety of contexts, evokes sensual and torturous bloodlust... It’s perfect!

“Labyrinth of Dreams” by Nox Arcana: Another absolutely quintessential Halloween piece. I originally found it in a cute Halloween animation on youtube (which I’ll post later). This is my favorite Nox Arcana piece. It’s mystical and spooky, and contains the very essence of Halloween magic.

“Ceremonial Spell” by Adrian von Ziegler: In my opinion, one of the most beautiful pieces of music that I have ever heard. It invokes a dark, smoky atmosphere lit by candelabra and filled with undead, slowly, eerily waltzing.

“Masque of the Red Death” by Nox Arcana: Speaking of waltzes, this one is in a ballroom in a magnificent ballroom. This dramatic organ piece perfectly reflects Poe’s words: “There were delirious fancies such as the madman fashions. There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust.”

“Into the Night” by Nox Arcana: Another one of my favorite Nox Arcana pieces, spooky and fast-paced, as the night creatures crawl out of their lairs and gather to quench their thirst.

“Ghost Bride” by Adrian von Ziegler: A melancholy music box piece. Can’t you see a beautiful, sad spirit floating down a dusty corridor in an abandoned mansion?

“The Forgotten Path” by Nox Arcana: I think this piece is underrated. It’s sinister and kinda sexy, and brings to mind seductive female spirits.

“Shadow Dance” by Nox Arcana: Much like “Labyrinth of Dreams,” this one just screams “Halloween” to me. You can just see witches and demons dancing around a fire in a forest of leafless trees.

“Once Upon a Nightmare” by Nox Arcana: Another one of my favorites from Grimm Tales. I love listening to this one when I’m walking in forests around sunset. It’s sinister, but also sounds like the beginning of an adventure. I could see this in a video game.

“Shadowplay” by Nox Arcana: This is my favorite track from Theater of Illusion. I love it for how fast and energetic it is. It puts me right into the theater, watching a handsome magician spin shadows around the stage. Mmm...

“Born of the Night” by Nox Arcana: The Dark Tower is one of my favorite albums. This particular one’s a classic and among the best Nox Arcana tracks. This takes everything I said about “Into the Night” and turns it up to eleven. It’s just so intense and cathartic. Those aformentioned night creatures raise their raspy voices in worship of the Dark Lord and Queen of the Night. The night summons like an unquenched love, beckoning with the promise of dark desire.

“Night of the Wolf” by Nox Arcana: Arguably, Nox Arcana’s most famous track. I first came across it on SYTYCD when a man used it for a solo. A few years ago, by pure coincidence, I heard those first few telltale bass strokes in dance class as my teacher was scrolling through music, and I lost my goddamn mind. I squealed like an eleven-year-old squeals over boy bands. “I’m not like other girls, I squeal over creepy shit!”

“The Raven” by Nox Arcana: The piece that helped me rediscover Nox Arcana, and that began my obsession. This piece is just so beautiful, and based after Poe’s classic poem. I listened to it while memorizing the poem. Its instrumentation is just perfect all the way through. I’m not quite sure if it belongs on this list, since it has a bit of a different atmosphere, but I love it too much to leave it off.

“Halloween Waltz” by Derek and Brandon Fiechter: Alright, let’s leave off the Nox Arcana. There’s a lot of Fiechter pieces I could put on this list, but I like this one. It lacks Nox Arcana’s sophistication, but it brings to mind a classic gathering of monsters enjoying the Hallowmass festivities on their one night.

“Cemetery Waltz” and “Waltz of the Willows” by Two Steps From Hell: These pieces are both short enough that I basically regard them as one piece. I love how ethereal and romantic they sound.

“The Vampire Masquerade” by Peter Gundry: This French-style piece puts us in a regal vampire’s ballroom, with moonlight streaming through the windows, tall candelabra, and crystal goblets of blood. All the vampires are impeccably dressed in nineteenth-century clothing. Actually, that blond gentleman over there looks more eighteenth-century French. (There’s a really cool organ version of this piece on youtube.) There’s a lot of spooky Gundry pieces that I like, especially “The Shadow’s Bride,” “The Nocturnal,” and “The Shadows Hymn,” but this one felt the most “Halloweeny.” I recommend checking out his stuff.

“Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saëns: Samhain is about the spirits of the dead returning for a night of revelry. Azrael plays his violin while the ghosts and skeletons dance in the graveyard until dawn.

“An Embassy Waltz” and the original “Veilgarden Theme” by Maribeth Solomon and Brent Barkman, from Fallen London: I’m sad that FL no longer has music attached to it since the app was retired. I love this music. "An Embassy Waltz” is so evocative of everything Fallen London is-- street lamps and smoke and bats and tentacles. And the Veilgarden theme takes you straight to the dim honey-dens for a bit of hedonistic pleasure. (I’m referring to the quiet and sensual original, not “Carnival at Midnight,” which is the Mahogany Hall variation and the version that is on the official OST. I just like the former version better.)

Party:

“Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett: It would not be a Halloween list without Monster Mash. We’re heading into the party section of the list. The line “Dracula and his son” makes me imagine Alucard sitting in the corner of the castle hall with his back against the stone wall, sipping wine just like his father and watching the festivities with a bored, deadpan expression. Alucard’s not one for parties. I can’t act in-character at this year’s Halloween party, or I would be a terrible hostess.

“Land of the Dead” by Voltaire: I love Voltaire, and this jazzy song from The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy is absolutely perfect for any Halloween party.

“Moon Trance” by Lindsey Stirling: Lindsey’s epic dancing zombies graveyard number. This is the kind of Halloween piece that makes you want to bounce up and down.

“The Night (Deathrock Version)” by Voltaire: This is another Voltaire piece that I like to dance to. Some of the lyrics are a little cheesy, but I see this is as the fun, upbeat, rockin’ version of “Born of the Night.” Same deal, different style! It’s super catchy. Come with me to the other side! Make that girl in black your bride!

“Sympathy for the Devil” (I use the Guns N’ Roses version because it’s the one on the Interview soundtrack): You really can’t go wrong with this one. Especially if you want to stick it to uptight religious dweebs who hate Halloween for being “Satanic.”

“Emperor’s New Clothes” by Panic! At the Disco: If it feels good, tastes good, it must be mine... Want to embrace your inner decadent devil? I do!

“O Fortuna (Carmina Burana)” by Spiritual Project: A remix of O Fortuna that my dance teacher played in class one October. It rocks. It’s probably less “party” and more “evening workout,” though. (Its one song on an album of other Halloween remixes of stuff like “Ghostbusters” and “The Phantom of the Opera”).

“Don’t Go By the River” by Voltaire: It was between this and “When You’re Evil.” As great as that is, I thought this was more upbeat and catchy. And it references Lestat. It’s perfect if you want something Cajun-style.

“Phantom of the Opera” medley by Lindsey Stirling: A new addition this year. This was featured in The Umbrella Academy. It’s so awesome.

“All Souls Night” by Loreena McKennit: Putting the Samhain in All Hallows’ Eve. Brings the list full-circle in that it’s a bit spooky and very Halloweeny, but still fun to dance to. It’s actually pretty cathartic, and it makes me think of cloaked figures in masks dancing with their lanterns on hills. Old-school Halloween!

Believe it or not, I’m actually leaving a lot off. Pretty much everything by Nox Arcana works for Halloween. There’s a lot more Voltaire that I like, too. Lately, I’ve been listening to “Carpe Noctem” from Tanz der Vampire (the original German version, because it’s better), and that is just so dark and sexy and fun to rock out to. You can’t go wrong with “This is Halloween,” of course. I also recommend “Moon Dance” and “Remains of the Day” from Corpse Bride. “The Secret Garden” and “Dark Ritual” by Adrian von Ziegler are both creepy. I could go on and on. If you need music for a specific situation, feel free to ask me!

[rockin-llama]

92 (I think it was 92???)

tagged by @fxvixen​ ayyyyye pretty ladayyy

rules: fuck the rules (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

LAST…

[1] drink: water

[2] phone call: this solicitor that won’t leave me alone. Really, I need to get on a do-not-call list

[3] text message: “xo”from my Mom

[4] song you listened to: “Waving Through a Window”

[5] time you cried: ummm, maybe a few nights ago while reading? I don’t really keep track, I get emotional over books.

HAVE YOU EVER…

[6] dated someone twice: as in, date the same person twice (no) or date two or more people (yes)?

[7] been cheated on: yes

[8] kissed someone and regretted it: not really. There was this really drunk kiss with my half-aunts husbands nephew. Which even though that’s far enough away from being incest it still weirded me out when I sobered up. Plus I can’t remember his name for the life of me.

[9] lost someone special: yeee

[10] been depressed: ah, haha, hahaha

[11] gotten drunk and thrown up: gotten drunk, yes. Never to the point of throwing up though. I’ve felt pretty sick the next day though.

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

[12] Blue. Like, a deep blue. Not so dark that it looks black, but, like, deeeep.

[13] I’ve always liked dark greens, but they don’t really look too good on me.

[14] Rolanberry Red

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

[15] made new friends: yep

[16] fallen out of love: not really

[17] laughed until you cried: oh yeah

[18] found out someone was talking about you? Bitch, who wouldn’t talk about me.

[19] met someone who changed you: maybe??

[20] found out who your true friends are: What constitutes as a “true friend”? I’ve always been perplexed by that notion. A friend is a friend. I just talk about different things with different people.

[21] kissed someone on your facebook list: Bet y’all’d like to know who ;) (that was me channeling inner middle-school Marina)

GENERAL…

[22] how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: Now, this is something that I have to pick over. “in real life”. Like, if I have you on facebook I’m considering you as a part of my life (does that make sense??) And a lot of my facebook friends I have met through playing online games. So, no, I haven’t met them in real life (yet, someday I will take a massive road trip) but I consider us friends outside of playing games. So my answer is yes, all of my facebook friends I know in real life.

[23] do you have any pets: Jellicle (Jelli for short) is my kitty cat at my parents house. Unfortunately I can’t have free-roaming pets in the house I’m renting so I only have a beta fish, Hemingay, a bonsai tree (Groot 2.0, the first one was stolen off my porch), and a philodendron named Phil.

[24] do you want to change your name: Nada

[25] what did you do for your last birthday: uh, pretty sure I was playing video-games

[26] what time did you wake up: 10ish

[27] what were you doing at midnight last night: reading

[28] name something you cannot wait for: to move to the mountains and have a horde of huskies

[29] when was the last time you saw your mother: about 4 days ago

[30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I wish i had a little more motivation??

[31] what are you listening to right now: my fan running in the background

[32] have you ever talked to a person named tom: yes, I know a lot of toms. What the fuck is up with this question?

[33] something that is getting on your nerves: people who don’t hit “reply all” in a group email. For real peeps, we’re all seniors in college. You should know this by now.

[34] most visited website: uhhhh, I’m honestly not sure. Tumblr is definitely up there, but even though I hardly ever post stuff I open facebook out of habit.

[35] elementary: what about elementary? Are you asking what school I attended? Who my teachers were? If I ever pulled the fire alarm? WEll, I didn’t pull the fire alarm, but I did like to flood the bathroom sinks and report to the teacher that “someone clogged the sinks again”. I was a weird child.

[37] college: comme ci, comme ca. I’m pretty much only taking online classes this semester.

[38] hair colour:  so up until I was around 12 my hair was white blonde. When i hit puberty though it slowly started changing color. I now have light brown hair, but in the summer it has blonde highlights.

[39] long or short hair: shoooooooort. I have an undercut that leads to one side being shaved.

[40] do you have a crush on someone: ehh. I’m attracted to a lot of people but i’m not interested in starting a relationship at this point in my life.

[41] what do you like about yourself? So it’s very cliche, but I fucking love my eyes. They range from green to gray to blue. And I have abnormally large pupils so they really accent them. People in high school just assumed I was high all the time.

[42] piercings: dude, guys, peeps, I love piercings. And I am majorly attracted to people with piercings. I have my double lobes done and an industrial bar on my left ear. If I didn’t bite my lips so much I would consider getting a lip ring because I fucking love them.

[43] blood type: AB- , yeah, I’m one of those people

[44] nickname: Mina/ Mina Bina, Rina, MooMoo (thanks Final Fantasy)

[45] relationship status: pining for dogs

[46] zodiac sign: virgo

[47] pronouns: she/her

[48] fav tv show: hmmmm, D. Gray-Man (does that count as a tv show? I don’t watch tv)

[49] tattoos: I have so many tattoo plans. I want the fuckign white tree of Gondor on my back.

[50] right or left handed: right, but I eat properly with my fork in my left hand.

FIRST…

[51] surgery: I had seven stitches in my chin when I was seven years old. Buuuuuut, I’m having major surgery this summer to reduce the size of my boobs. It’s gonna be a grand ol’ time. (hellooooo pretty bras)

[52] piercing: first lobes when I was 7

[53] best friend: I mean, I always call Staci my best friend. And we’ve known each other for our entire lives.

[54] sport: Technically I played soccer in kindergarten, but I wasn’t good at it.

[55] vacation: there’s pictures of toddler-me running naked towards the ocean in Florida with my mom chasing after me with my swimsuit.

[56] pair of trainers: oh fuck if i know, they were most likely blue and from JCpenney’s

RIGHT NOW…

[57] eating: cough drops

[58] drinking: coffee (I know, it’s a disgusting mix with cough drops)

[59] i’m about to: pretend the college didn’t just call me to pay my bill, lol too bad my voicemail inbox is full  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[60] listening to: “Wildfire” - Keston Cobblers Club (it’s incredibly catchy, I strongly recommend)

[61] waiting for: the day I live in the mountains with dogs.

[62] want: for me to decide what I want for dinner

[63] get married: I guess I’d like to be married someday. But I often like to disappear and just be by myself, so, someone very understanding and able to give space would be needed.

[64] career: right now I work full-time as a Kitchen and Transportation Manager at a daycare. It’s amazing. So, I’m basically a fancy lunch-lady. But i’m also a full-time student. One day I will be a famous author and able to support myself through writing (hah_)

WHICH IS BETTER…

[65] hugs or kisses: So I really love hugs. Probably because you don’t get judged by hugging people platonically. And i’m always cold, so body contact is a major thumbsup imo. Buuuuut, I do also like kissing. But kissing kind of involves a hug (at least, most of the time?) In short, hugs are better just because they’re involved in both.

[66] lips or eyes: eyes

[67] shorter or taller: I like my fruity drinks tall, but since I am also a fan of a Manhattan I’m used to short cups as well.

[68] older or younger: I like how many of these questions aren’t even questions, they’re just assuming you know what they’re asking. And I’m a little peeved that I know exactly what the assumption is. idc

[70] nice arms or nice stomach: I like necks. Like, damn, especially since chokers are back in fashion now allllll of my attention is drawn to the neck.

[71] sensitive or loud: are you insinuating that loud people can’t be sensitive?

[72] hook up or relationship: neither here nor there

[73] troublemaker or hesitant: ???

HAVE YOU EVER…

[74] kissed a stranger? kinda

[75] drank hard liquor? yeeeeees (see earlier comment about Manhattans)

[76] lost glasses/contact lenses? kinda? I misplace my glasses all the time when I’m cooking

[77] turned someone down: yes

[78] sex on first date? ehh, there’s a lot of “depends” that can go into this

[79] broken someone’s heart? *shrugs*

[80] had your own heart broken? *shrugs* you’re assuming I have a heart to begin with

[81] been arrested? ;) ... no

[82] cried when someone died? yes

[83] fallen for a friend: muahahaha

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

[84] yourself? yeah, most of the time

[85] miracles? I’m not a firm believer in praying your worries away, so if that’s the type of miracle you’re asking my answer is “no”. However there have been some major moments of coincidence. I’m putting my money on aliens getting bored.

[86] love at first sight? Does my cat count? I saw her and knew immediately that I wanted to adopt her.

[87] santa claus? only if I can live in the North Pole

[88] kiss on the first date? yeeeee, most likely

[89] angels? Coming from a scientific point of view, I know for certain that the probability of humans being the only advanced race out there is practically nil. Therefore, I have no right to say whether or not angels exist somewhere. I know my late-grandma always did, she prayed to them every morning.

OTHER…

[90] current best friend’s name: Staci! I said it earlier, probably, but I’ve been working on this for a few days and don’t feel like scrolling all the way up.

[91] eye color: I thiiiink I also said this. But blue, gray, greenish

[92] favorite movie: Princess Mononoke

i’m tagging No one! Ha!

[lightchillvibes]

My Year With BTS

I will admit I am a little late with this post since I had my “one year anniversary” with bts in April since I started listening to them in April of 2017 but since the year is almost over why not post this?!

(Also I just noticed that the read more does not work on mobile phones/app? So I’m sorry for the amount of scrolling you’re about to do if you are on phone)

How it all started

It all started when I started looking for audios for video edits that I make on Instagram and came across an audio called “Not Today”. I liked the small clip that I heard so I went ahead and checked out the whole song. That’s when I noticed that it was by a group called BTS. 

I had known who BTS was because I had seen them on twitter but I never really paid much attention to them. Until I watched the “Not Today” MV. It was a very catchy song and it had beautiful guys along with awesome dancing. 

This of course caused me to go ahead and watch all their MV’s. Out of all their songs I got addicted to “War of Hormones.” That was my favorite song for the longest time and it was on 24/7. 

(Even though I hated it the first time I listened to it. No Joke)

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First Bias

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Mr.JK was the one who caught my attention and my heart.

IDK what it was but my eyes would always go to him whenever I watched something bts related. He was (still is) cute, funny, hot and could rap and sing. He basically had everything. That was until Taehyung decided to slide into my life without me knowing it. (Sorry Jungkook)

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I don’t exactly know when or how Tae caught my attention but he did. I’m pretty sure he one day decided that he wanted me to start paying more attention to him and BOOM! 

It might’ve been when I watched the “Fire” MV but he just stole the whole show. I especially loved how kind and sweet he was personality wise. He was also goofy which never failed to make me smile and it didn’t help that in 0.5 seconds he could go from cute to hot. Till this day he still is my Bias.

(Don’t get me started on his deep voice ommggg.)

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Bias Wreckers

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I won’t go into too much detail with this since I made a post about it here .

My two Bias wreckers are Namjoon and Jin. The parents basically. Namjoon stays attacking me 24/7 and Jin with his winks and kisses kills me every single time. 

P.S Jin’s voice is not appreciated enough. I love his voice. In my opinion his voice is unique and I could listen to it 24/7. 

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First Album

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My first bts album was the “Her” album and I managed to get all 4 versions which I will forever be thankful for. It was a weird, confusing and awesome experience. Especially since I didn’t know I could’ve gotten the album at a cheaper price. Since it was my first time ordering a Kpop album I ordered it from the official website and it wasn’t cheap.  I have learned my lesson and now I don’t really order from official websites anymore since they are pricey especially with the shipping.

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Confusion

When I first got into the fandom there wasn’t much confusion for me. I was here mainly for the music but I got sucked into all the little inside jokes and memes. 

At first I didn’t quite understand the roles every member had 

- Namjoon = Dad

- Jin = Mom

But eventually I realized why they had that title and how it fitted so well with them.

There was a time period where I got Suga and Jhope mixed up. I thought Suga was Jhope and Jhope was Suga. Took me a while to get used to calling them with their correct names but now I can tell them apart, thankfully. 

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The Future

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I am so happy and amazed with how far they have come and I am grateful to say that I started listening to them before they were “big” because that gave me time to see who they were, not as artist but as people. 

I’m not hating on you if you got into the fandom during the “Love Yourself Era” but for me I truly do feel like I wouldn’t have been able to join the fandom if I had started listening to them during that era. It would’ve been too much for me to handle. Especially since a lot of new things would’ve been thrown my way. 

I joined the fandom a little bit after the Not Today era (YNWA) and by that point the boys were getting noticed more and more but I managed to still see them before they were huge stars. I’ve enjoyed watching them rise and sell out concerts and pass records with the amount of albums they have sold. I hope to see more of that in the future. And of course I also want them to get a good amount of rest and to not stress themselves out.

We all know that Army’s have taken over the world but we have to remember that we are here to spread happiness and kindness not hate. With more and more Army’s joining the fandom the negativity has also grown. I’m not blaming the new Army’s for this because immature Army’s can be found during different time periods of the boys career. Starting fanwars and hating on other groups is childish and it needs to stop.

 It makes me happy to see that our positivity is beating out the negativity and that’s all that matters. 

(And our streaming matters as well of course)

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