#probably two sets for some bc there are eps with more than 10 songs

[hawkinslibrary]

The Vanishing of Will Byers Soundtrack

01. Can’t Seem to Make You Mine | The Seeds 02. She Has Funny Cars | Jefferson Airplane  03. I Shall Not Care | Pearls Before Swine 04. Jenny May | Trader Horne 05. Every Little Bit | Ian Curnow & Jackie James  06. White Rabbit | Jefferson Airplane 07. Africa | Toto

[mikuchae]

mikuchae's top 40 kpop releases of 2023

DISCLAIMERS: i did not include japanese releases, english versions, remixes, or korean versions of japanese songs. but kep1ers "i do, do you? was the best japanese release this year, FYI. also i'm sorry if your favorite album didn't make it on this list. i'm sure i probably liked a bside off of it or two.

40. A Dream of ILY:1 - ILY:1

ALBUM RANKING:

twinkle twinkle (title track)

tasty

secret recipe

thanks to

2024 will be the year ILY:1 breaks out of nugudom. mark my words. every track on this ep brings the sort of fairytale/storybook/christian horse girl feel back to kpop effortlessly. it also fits the members incredibly well and i hope its the direction their company continues to take with their music for a while.

39. TEENFRESH - STAYC

ALBUM RANKING:

i wanna do

not like you

be mine

bubble (title track)

first of all, we're way overdue for a full album. second of all, great ep. bubble is almost infectious, a sugary sweet, vibrant song that makes it almost impossible to be in a bad moon when you listen to it; which is why it's such a crime to make it less than 3 minutes long. anyway, i think stayc, for a group just 3 years old, have managed to create such a wonderful discography filled with gems and songs that can fit in any kpop stan's playlist

38. KILL MY DOUBT - ITZY

ALBUM RANKING:

bet on me

none of my business

bratty

psychic lover

cake (title track)

kill shot

i have so much fun when i listen to itzy. it's been an honor to support them since dalla dalla and see their discography grow into the catalogue it is today, no matter what some losers on stan twitter say. bet on me is probably my favorite song from by them to date, a cooler, more mature switch from their usual music. it's a perfect song to listen to while walking outside w friends at night, and the meaning behind it makes it even more special to take in.

37. FACE - Jimin

ALBUM RANKING:

like crazy (title track)

alone

face-off

set me free pt 2

interlude: dive

oh, hey! the first boy-group adjacent release! was wondering when we were gonna get to that. anyway, this releasing the same night as fall out boys album was life-changing for me. like crazy is, well, a crazy song. the instrumental following the first chorus grabs you by your ankles and drags you through the rest of the song. the somber feeling in alone and face-off feels like sinking into a pit of tar ( in a good way). i'm not even sure how to describe set me free pt 2, with it's bone-shattering instrumental and jimin's booming, commanding voice suckerpunching you through the song-- like he's demanding to be heard. a one of a kind solo debut from a one of a kind performer in the industry.

36. A Midsummer NMIXX'S Dream + expérgo - NMIXX

ALBUM(S) RANKING:

roller coaster

paxxword

party o'clock (title track)

love me like this (title track)

my gosh

home

just did it

young dumb stupid

yes im including both releases bc a midsummer nmixx's dream was too good to be used for just two songs and also its my ranking list and i'll do what i want. besides that, im glad that this was a better year for nmixx. it's been tough seeing the backlash they've had simply for releasing just more experimental music than other groups-- which makes me understand this switch for a more smooth, less "noisy" sound. at least for these two releases - soñar seems to have that "nmixx change up" concept back, and we love her for that. back to these two releases-- i loved roller coaster so much. fun song, fun mv, fun choreo, i love fun kpop songs.

35. OMG + Get Up - NewJeans

ALBUM(S) RANKING:

ditto

cool with you

super shy

new jeans

get up

omg (title track)

asap

eta (title track? idk all of these songs had mvs)

newjeans continues to blow me away with every release. the only reason this isnt top 10 despite every song being basically perfect is bc every song is way too short (what the fuck is ador thinking making get up less than a minute long and then saying "uhhhh maybe we'll release the full ver someday 🤫. anyway) . and, although it was released in dec of 2022, i cant pass up an opportunity to talk about ditto. a beautifully haunting song with a melancholy feeling perfect for the upcoming month of january. just perfectly produced songs with concepts executed effortlessly and further cementing the group as a force to be reckoned with even with just 3 official EP's.

34. I'VE MINE - IVE

ALBUM RANKING:

off the record

payback

either way

baddie (title track)

ott

holy moly

following their first full album in april (which is coming up soon!!), ive once again took over the kpop scene with their first official EP. baddie wasn't necessarily a concept i had imagined for ive, especially since i've typically thought of their concept as a more mature, modern version of iz*one's. but i was pleasantly surprised with the song and the music video. however, i definitely prefer both pre-releases, with off the record being my favorite of the three and of the album. i'm a sucker for kpop producers sampling older songs, so this song using "memory" from cats was no exception. ALSO LOOK HOW CUTE WONYOUNG IS IN THE MV W THOSE GLASSES ASJAKDJSDHJLE

33: 5-STAR - Stray Kids

ALBUM RANKING

collision

hall of fame

item

topline (ft. tiger jk)

super bowl

fnf

mixtape:time out

s-class (title track)

get lit

dlc

youtiful

you either get stray kids's music or you don't. thankfully, i do. or at least i really did with this album. idk. i know experimental, "noise" music isn't every kpop fan's thing but i don't mind it-- especially if its from a group that does it exceptionally well. if i were recommend a non-experimental skz song to someone, it would probably be collision- a nice step back from the loud, fast-paced songs on the album.

32. THE WORLD EP. 2: OUTLAW + THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL - ATEEZ

ALBUM(S) RANKING:

dune

we know

wake up

crazy form (title track)

wake up

this world

matz (hongjoong + seonghwa)

outlaw

arriba

emergency

dreamy day

bouncy (title track)

silver light

it's you (yeosang, san, and wooyoung)

django

youth (yunho + mingi)

everything (jongho)

fin: will

ateez's "the world" series is probably one of my favorite examples of world building in kpop. from the references to actual art pieces in the "guerrilla" mv to the cool "choose your character" type teasers with bouncy and crazy form, this was truly a great era for their music. both albums are a ride from start to finish. with this world building you up for dune's electrifying chorus like a rollercoaster trudging up a hill. the eery synths in we know feel like you're being prepped for a boss fight, either against or alongside ateez. although this recent album was the last of their "the world" trilogy, i hope they do decide to incorporate the instrumentals that accompanied it in future projects.

31. READY TO BE - TWICE

ALBUM RANKING:

wallflower

moonlight sunrise

set me free (title track)

got the thrills

crazy stupid love

blame it on me

no, it definitely doesn't make me irrationally emotional that we've now switched to just one regular twice comeback per year, why do you ask? besides that, another solid album from them. wallflower quickly became one of my favorite bsides of theirs with it's sultry, cooler feel to the instrumental. also i rly like the part in the set me free choreo where they're all dancing in a circle during the post chorus. we love you twice.

30. ISTJ - NCT DREAM

(and fuck tumblr for putting a limit on videos 🖕🏻)

ALBUM RANKING:

yogurt shake

blue wave

istj (title track)

broken melodies

skateboard

poison

starry night

pretzel

sos

like we just met

i'm happy to say that this is the first time i've enjoyed an nct dream full album entirely. in terms of title tracks, i still dont rly vibe with hot sauce, and it took me a bit to warm up to glitch mode, but ive always enjoyed most of the bsides. istj, however, is probably one of the best examples of "good" experimental sm music. a loud, techno-ish instrumental but with plenty of amazing vocal moments so the song doesnt sound like they're yelling at you. yogurt shake takes the cake as one of the cutest boygroup bsides of the year, another track that makes it difficult to be in a bad mood when you listen to it.

29. I feel - (G)I-DLE

ALBUM RANKING:

queencard (title track)

paradise

lucid

allergy

peter pan

all night

2023 was finally the year i decided to bite the bullet and jump into idles discography, with queencard being the catalyst for it. queencard is pure fun and you're miserable if you dont like it. oh, you're not a queencard? your boob and booty isnt hot? get over it.

28. Second Wind - BSS

ALBUM RANKING:

lunch

fighting (ft. lee young ji)

7pm (ft. peder elias)

i'd like to give a big shoutout to booseoksoon for releasing a song that manages to get me psyched up for work every single morning without fail. and not only that, but releasing an EP with a really cool concept; each track representing a different time of the day. ive listened to lunch many a time while waiting for 20 minutes in the line at qdoba. and i wouldn't have it any other way.

27. MY WORLD - aespa

ALBUM RANKING:

welcome to my world (ft. nævis)

thirsty

im unhappy

spicy (title track)

salty & sweet

til we meet again

would you guys be mad at me if i said i ultimately preferred this concept for aespa instead of the whole kwangya shebang? i hope not. on its own, i think the whole kwangya/alternate version concept is cool but the execution of it has been kinda meh since black mamba, but all the songs that came from it have been pretty good, dont get me wrong. plus i think it should have been just aespas concept all along instead of trying to tie in exos 10+ year old storyline into it, but whatever. anyway, incredibly strong bsides. also i <3 the blonde hair on karina

26. Love War + HATE XX - YENA

ALBUM(S) RANKING:

love war (title track)

wash away

hate rodrigo (ft. yuqi of (g)-idle) (title track)

wicked love

bad hobby

intro: wash away

and a big fuck you to kpop stans who lack basic media literacy to know that hate rodrigo is a satirical song about celebrity worship and an even bigger fuck you to yuehua for doing barely anything to protect yena when she was getting hate for the song. primal rage aside, very nice songs from her this year!! love war was an interesting concept change from her past two title tracks but that isn't a bad thing at all!! also yena + yuqi saiki k reference <3

25. The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION - TOMORROW X TOGETHER

ALBUM RANKING:

tinnitus (wanna be a rock)

farewell, neverland

devil by the window

sugar rush ride (title track)

happy fools (ft. coi leray)

my ult group makes their debut onto this list with their january EP. i thought of this album as a return to their softer concept seen in songs like "fairy of shampoo" or "blue hour", but with a more mature feel to the concept. tinnitus is an absolute gem in their discography, with the song and choreography (if you watch their performance) telling the story of using music as a coping mechanism. farewell neverland is one of txt's most underrated songs, in my opinion- another perfect song for winter. a brilliant start for boy group music this year.

24. D-DAY - Agust D

ALBUM RANKING

snooze (ft. ryuichi sakamoto and woosung of the rose)

people pt 2 (ft. IU)

haegeum (title track)

amygdala

huh? (ft. j-hope)

interlude: dawn

sdl

d-day

life goes on

polar night

when bts first announced their "chapter 2" back in june of 2022, i knew that yoongi's solo release was gonna be good. initially, daechwita was one of the only kpop songs i liked in 2020, and i patiently waited for him to produce another song using korean traditional instruments since it worked with his style so well. and my god, does haegeum deliver. using an instrument of the same name, haegeum is almost terrifying-- and the music video that accompanies it makes the experience all the more immersive. snooze is probably my favorite solo bside from a bts member this year-- an overwhelming yet inspiring track with a beautiful instrumental from the late ryuichi sakamoto, who had passed away a little less than a month before d-day's release, and kim woosung's wonderful vocals. people pt 2 was also an excellent pre-release, and has left me wanting at least 20 songs by yoongi with an IU feature. just a wonderful album overall that i regret not being able to see live every day.

23. Loossemble - Loossemble

ALBUM RANKING:

strawberry soda

newtopia

colouring

day by day

real world

sensitive (title track)

intro: searching for their friends

the second post blockberry creative freedom release, loossemble's self-titled debut EP is just a fun and easy listen. i also really appreciated them for releasing this on a friday so i didn't have to worry about going to work with less than five hours of sleep. from the jazz instrumentals reminiscent of red velvet's "birthday" in real world to the unapologetically cute intro title "searching for their friends", this album is pure kpop. i also think it was really sweet that yves, despite not being an official member of this unit, got to participate in the production of strawberry soda and make one of the sweetest b-sides of this year.

22. Howl - CHUU

ALBUM RANKING:

aliens

my palace

howl (title track)

hitchhiker

underwater

i am so unbelievably proud of jiwoo, especially as someone who's ulted her since 2018. her journey has been both heartbreaking and utterly inspiring. this ep is a wonderful solo debut and exactly how i envisioned it. aliens, an 80's-esque track, has aided me in several walks through campus, aka therapy. just an extremely solid ep that i also wish i could have seen live but alas had a final on the day she was going to be even remotely near me.

21. <Version Up> - ODD EYE CIRCLE

ALBUM RANKING:

air force one (title track)

je ne sais quoi

my secret playlist

did you wait?

love me like

lucid

hey, that's three loona releases in a row! wacky! anyway, with how deprived i was of loona music and how often the boycott podcasts kept getting deleted off of spotify, oec could have released an album of them reading aloud from a cookbook and i would have streamed it like it was actual music. air force one is a masterpiece, a song that sounds like exactly what i would have expected to hear from odd eye circle if loona's subunits had continued to release music in official ot12 albums. the bsides are nothing short of perfect, from je ne sais quoi's hypnotic chorus to love me like's pep that motivates me when I go on the treadmill at the gym. also jinsoul with an eye patch was hot.

20. UNFORGIVEN - LE SSERAFIM

HERE'S A GIF FROM THE MV BC I CAN ONLY POST 10 AUDIOS FUCK YOUUUU TUMBLR

ALBUM RANKING:

eve, psyche, and the bluebeard's wife

flash forward

fire in the belly

no-return (into the unknown)

burn the bridge

unforgiven (title track)

fearnot (between you, me, and the lamppost)

source music thinks they're slick for calling it a full album and then making the half that i didn't rank just a "greatest hits" compilation. i see you, bastards. anyways, shoutout to epatbw for being my most-listened to kpop song this year. it's funny to think that the part of "the hydra" that was never released back in oct of 2022 would end up being one of the most stand-out, love it or hate it b-sides of 2023. overplayed? you could argue that. catchy as hell? you betcha. flash forward also stands out to me, not only bc it's just a really cute song, but sakura finally has lines!!! the world cheered!!!

19. Guilty - Taemin

ALBUM RANKING:

guilty (title track)

not over you

she loves me, she loves me not

blue

night away

... the rizzness

taemin, we are so happy a REAL performer is back. guilty, the styling, the choreography, and the bsides that accompany it are so unapologetically taemin. a perfect return to an extremely impressive solo career spanning what will now be ten years. also if i ignore the first sentence of the rizzness i can like the song. his power.

18. Good and Great - Key

ALBUM RANKING:

coolas

good and great (title track)

can't say goodbye

intoxicating

mirror, mirror

live without you

if i could sit down and have a conversation with any idol and talk about their creative direction, it would be kibum. i'd also like to be in a committed relationship with him but i digress. from the dystopian workplace setting in good and great to the campy 80's horror movie elements used in the gasoline concept photos, to the bowie-inspired space concept in bad love, kibum has cemented himself as a one of a kind artist-- and has made me secretly wish for him to work with my favorite groups in terms of styling and concept direction. coolas is electrifying-- tbh one of the few english songs to come out of sm that i've enjoyed. kibum is many things to me, but most of all, he is a STAR.

17. EXIST - EXO

ALBUM RANKING:

love fool

hear me out

let me in

regret it

no makeup

another day

private party

cinderella

cream soda (title track)

i was so deep into my zb1 hyperfixation in july that, although i listened to it the same hour that it came out, i didn't come back to exist as much as i thought i would. which i'm regretting as i type this and relisten to the album for the first time in a while. i unfortunately still can't really vibe with cream soda, and i'm upset with myself for not knowing why. but, rather than focus on the negatives, let's talk about the positives. it's an exo album. every bside here is handcrafted by jesus.

16. Circle - Onew

ALBUM RANKING:

circle (title track)

anywhere

no parachute

paradise

caramel (ft. giriboy)

rain on me

expectations

cough

walk with you

always

good lord he's done it again. after serving pure cutieful in dice and gut punching me with blue, jinki somehow does both with circle. i'll let you all in on a little secret; i'm a sucker for choirs being utilized in kpop (ex. this song, kind of dune by ateez, mama by j-hope). this song is already gorgeous on it's own, but the choir in the background of the chorus makes it all the more heart wrenching. the bsides are all excellently produced-- from the breezy track anywhere to paradise, which is heavily reminiscent of sunshine, one of my favorite bsides from his previous album.

15. HARD - SHINee

(he's so fine)

ALBUM RANKING

10x

juice

identity

satellite

the feeling

like it

insomnia

hard (title track)

gravity

sweet misery

going on 16 years into their career and not a single miss. going on 16 years into their career and still being innovative. going on 16 years and still having an impeccable discography that still holds up TO THIS DAY.

14. LOVESTRUCK! - Kep1er

ALBUM RANKING:

happy ending

why

lvly

back to the city

giddy (title track)

bet u losers didn't think kep1er would show up here. THINK AGAIN, FOOLS!!!! kep1er once again releasing an incredibly high-quality EP only for it to go completely under the radar of kpop stans thanks to their shitty company. this concept was executed wonderfully, from the beautiful concept photos to that indie-film style trailer dropped before the album that apparently just never got brought up again. this album even has some of my favorite vocal moments of 2023, from the melancholy post-chorus in happy ending to chaehyuns spectacular high note in giddy.

13. MELTING POINT - ZEROBASEONE

ALBUM RANKING:

take my hand

melting point

kidz zone

good night

crush (title)

zb1 gave us the best boy group debut this year and then said "watch us do it again" 4 months later. ANOTHER perfect album for winter. also, for a group not even a year old yet, kidz zone feels nostalgic enough to make you feel like you've known these boys for years now.

12. I've IVE - IVE

ALBUM RANKING:

cherish

blue blood

not your girl

hypnosis

next page

heroine

lips

shine with me

i am (title track)

kitsch

with starships track record of literally just single albums in 2022, i honestly thought it was gonna take years before we even got rumors of a full album for ive. so imagine my surprise when they gave us one in april. this album is one of a kind, with powerful bsides like blue blood and hypnosis to cuter, more bubblegum pop tracks like cherish and not your girl.

11. SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN - SEVENTEEN

(cannot find a gif of god of music anywhere for some reason so here's a gif from home run)

ALBUM RANKING:

diamond days

monster

god of music (title track)

back 2 back

yawn

headliner

woozi you fucking genius you. a spectacular album to end the year with. from the callback to their literal first song in diamond days to the haunted house-ass instrumental in monster, another masterpiece from seventeen to fawn over until they release the next masterpiece.

TOP 10 HEYOOOOO

10. FML - SEVENTEEN

(woozi pls pick me)

ALBUM RANKING

dust

i don't understand but i luv u

f*ck my life

super (title track)

april shower

fire

hey speaking of seventeen here's the masterpiece they gave us before god of music. when super comes on i become the physical manifestation of "bro thinks he's on the team." FUCK YEAH SEVENTEEN, I LOVE MY TEAM AND MY CREW!!!

9. Chill Kill - Red Velvet

ALBUM RANKING:

knock knock (who's there?)

underwater

bulldozer

iced coffee

nightmare

will I ever see you again?

chill kill (title track)

one kiss

scenery

wings

it's a red velvet full album. do the math. every song is gonna be perfect. now don't make us wait 6 years for another one again i swear to god @/smtown.

8. Layover - V

ALBUM RANKING:

slow dancing (title track)

rainy days

for us

blue

love me again

just insane production. slow dancing is one of the prettiest solo songs from a bts member, teased originally as a 70's style song about dancing with your lover-- that had me hooked from the beginning and i hadn't even heard the song yet. i mean of course i would know all about that considering me and taehyung are in a fully committed relationship haha i mean what lolololol

7. the billage of perception: chapter three - billlie

ALBUM RANKING:

nevertheless

enchanted night ~ white night

euonia (title track)

extra-ordinary

various and precious (moment of inertia)

lionhearted (the real me)

my favorite release from them to date. billlie are on their way to crafting one of the most intricate, unique discographies in the industry. but honestly, the final chorus of nevertheless alone is enough to say that they've already achieved that. kpop groups are playing checkers. billlie is playing chess.

6. ok im gonna be honest i still havent listened to kiss of life's full debut album yet but i really like sugarcoat and i think that song is good enough to deserve it's own spot in the top 10. we love you natty. we're proud of how far you've come.

5. GOLDEN - Jungkook

(ok i know this technically isn't kpop bc every song is in english but have you considered i love jungkook)

ALBUM RANKING:

standing next to you (title track)

closer to you (ft. major lazer)

somebody

yes or no

3D (ft. jack harlow)

seven

shot glass of tears

too sad to dance

hate you

the last bts member to release an album this year, golden is modern pop perfection. standing next to you booms with it's high pace and it's almost as if you can feel jungkook's stage presence even if you're just listening to the song.

4. Unlock My World - fromis_9

ALBUM RANKING:

attitude

my night routine

#menow (title track)

prom night

what I want

eye contact

in the mirror

don't care

wishlist

bring it on

it's hard to rank an album when all of it's songs are perfect, as has been the problem with a lot of these releases, but with fromis_9 in particular. i've said this before on twitter, but fromis are one of the very few groups to have an extremely seamless, graceful transition into a more mature concept since their debut in 2018. i can only hope and pray that pledis does more to promote them this year, especially after the success of unlock my world, and continue this gorgeous transition.

3. The Name Chapter: FREEFALL - TOMORROW X TOGETHER

ALBUM RANKING:

skipping stones

dreamer

growing pain

happily ever after

chasing that feeling (title track)

blue spring

deep down

back for more (txt ver)

do it like that (ft. the jonas brothers)

coming in at bronze is txt's third full length-album, which managed to do the impossible; make a rock song released by a kpop group NOT sound corporate. skipping stones is guttural, a song reminiscent of day6's music that, if i were just a tad bit more mentally unstable, would make me fall to my knees and clutch my chest in any public setting if i were to hear it. dreamer feels like a big sister to their older r&b track, 20cm, and just might be better than it. a solid full-length album from my ult group that i will treasure for a while.

2. Magic Hour - Kep1er

ALBUM RANKING:

the door

love on lock

tropical light (yujin, yeseo, youngeun, and xiaoting)

tape (chaehyun, mashiro, dayeon, hikaru, and hiyyih)

galileo (title track)

YOU THOUGHT I WAS DONE PRAISING KEP1ER??? YOU'RE TALKING TO HEAD KEPLI1AN HERE. this EP almossttt topped doublast for me. almost. magic hour, although i will defend kep1er's "noisier" music until the day i die, is the concept i admittedly think wakeone should have given them from the start. the softer, more elegant feeling exhibited in tracks like the door and tropical light fit each member down to a t and, if this is the path they will take until july of this year (except they're NOT DISBANDING they're gonna EXTEND THEIR CONTRACT UNDER A DIFFERENT COMPANY MARK MY WORDS), i am extremely excited for what's to come.

and.. without further ado...

YOUTH IN THE SHADE - ZEROBASEONE

ALBUM OF THE YEAR RANKING

in bloom (title)

new kidz on the block

always

back to zerobase

our season

and i

where do i even begin? this year saw the birth of the 5th generation of kpop, and i truly think there was no better song than in bloom to start it. refreshing and whimsical and sampling Aha's "take on me", in bloom is a masterpiece from start to finish. "my day starts and ends with you" rings throughout the song, promising the listener that they will stay with them. let's dissect the rest of the album. back to zerobase, the intro, is both mysterious and welcoming, ushering the listener in with a warm smile but holding something unknown behind it's back, evident in the album trailer it was originally teased in, with possible easter eggs to potential *matpat voice* LOOOREEE. new kidz on the block is fun and cool, telling other groups in the industry to look out, because here they are. and I shows off their cuter side, with lyrics perfectly crafted to fit the y/n fantasies of any zerose. our season is their standard thank you to the fans, we'll promise to stick by your side track except IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD AND THEY'RE GENIUSES FOR LISTING THE SEASONS IN THE SONG IN THE ORDER THAT WE MET THEM IN. finally, always, hao's solo song, is a sweet, vibrant song, carried by hao's beautiful vocals.

and there you have it. a very solid year for kpop for both boy groups and girl groups. this year was probably my favorite for kpop since 2018. now, with the releases already slated for january and the upcoming debuts of some groups, i'd say that 2024 already looks extremely promising be just as good as 2023-- if not better.

[konaizumi]

A Tale of a Thousand Stars ep 10 thoughts/reaction

here we go

damn, phupha’s really been whipped from the start, huh?

awww, tian leaving the sticky notes for the next teacher

i can’t handle this, why are goodbyes so sad

you know what? im usually crazy about child characters very much but i would absolutely die for each of the children

meejoo wanting to be a teacher like tian 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

even khama tearing up at having to say goodbye and the rest of the village crying, how could tian ever leave them???

“this might not be as good as your designer clothes” ofc its not its way better

phupha you told him to leave forever and don’t even have the guts to say goodbye

the way tian’s voice wavers when he says 1 2 3

if his parents could see this group hug they never would’ve made him come back home

the parallel of him crying as he walks away from the villagers as he loses them once again

tian really said this is my jacket now

i called it, last week i predicted tian would finally see torfun’s wish and it would turn out that he had already fulfilled it

tian writing about all the things he doesn’t have to do anymore despite the fact that he is now doing those things

the product placements used to be horny but now they’re just sad

it’s the little details, like tian going back to having the parted bangs when he’s in bangkok that are a bit more stylish but when he was in pha pun dao (and when he’s back in the post credit scenes) he didn’t style his hair

tian, i’m glad you found a love for northern food but i can’t help but be reminded when your doctor specifically told you not to eat spicy food

tul knows what’s up

character A talking about character B then the scene cutting to character B sneezing is one of my favorite troops in asian media lol

dr nam also knows what’s up (and everyone else in the village)

i think i understand tian a bit better bc i feel like last ep i was kind of confused why tian just accepted leaving when there wasn’t anything truly forcing him to do so, but i think it’s bc tian has always had this mindset of following what his parents want so he thinks of that future with his parents as somewhat set in stone even if the path there is flexible, so even though i wish he hadn’t had to leave the village i do think it’s important that he had this period of realizing that he can choose his own future

i like mr winai, he’s cool

the metaphor of the flower being tian, when he’s coddled too much by his parents he withers, but when he really experiences life and faces it he blossoms

also “the place that fits you will make you grow”

it must be so frustrating for tian to have gone through all that, to have finally put his all into something, to have experienced all the ups and downs and then to have everyone reduce that experience to just “a rich kid having some fun pretending to struggle for a little while”

okay but how prestigious a university do you need to go to for teaching tho? like not to reduce the difficulty of teaching or anything but does he really need to go overseas?

what with nam flirting in the eearly episodes, i wish he and the show had treated the wedding more as his wedding than just an excuse for phupha and tian to reunite, like marriage is kind of a big deal

“are you having a date?” yes

lol he’s marrying p’amp

unpopular opinion maybe but phupha’s suit is lowkey kinda ugly

on the other hand, yod and rang look fantastic

now i do think it was important for tian to finish his degree and spend the two years teachings but in an ideal world they would’ve reconnected at the wedding and kissed and gone back to pha pun dao together

poor tian tho, thinking phupha is specifically avoiding him, that shit hurts

i still can’t tell if phupha was actually avoiding him bc i feel like if he was he wouldn’t’ve come back and he seemed surprised to see tian

yes, good job nam, get his phone number

phupha, you coward

the song that plays when phupha comes is so good and the lyrics fit the situation so well, honestly this whole sequence of phupha staring at him then tian returning back home while this song plays was for me one of the most emotional scenes this ep

“it keeps my heart warm”

tian, no amount of distance will make you forget phupha

more sad product placement

in ideal world #2 phupha would’ve goon to the airport to stop him not just send him off

also, tian in the black turtleneck with phupha’s jacket is a look

that phone call though with the long silences as neither is quite sure what to say and they’re too emotional to say more

the whole airport scene has really got me fucked up

just everything about it

phupha saying he wouldn’t be able to forget him and he doesn’t want them to forget each other

that hug tho

and then the second one

and the mom’s reaction has me cracking up, poor woman is the only one with zero context for this whole interaction

kiss him on the lips you coward

okay but the rangers taking over as teachers while waiting for the new one is adorable

also the kids teasing phupha about tian some high quality content

“where is the angel now?” “In the US probably” “he just avoids saying it directly” im gonna say it again but i would die for these kids

i think my biggest complaint about the ending is that we never see tian’s reunion with the kids, i kept waiting for that

okay but did tian suggest faking the security threat or did one of the other rangers suggest and tian was like “perfect”?

its sweet that he buried the notebook on the cliff, that’s where torfun would want to be put to rest

phupha, what did you see your endgame being if it wasn’t tian returning to pha pun dao?

also, earth looks really good in the lighting of the sunset

then earth’s softer version of the OST in the background (i still like aye’s version better bc its amazing, but earth’s is nice too)

lol phupha used a pick up line on tian

the post-credit scene gave me life, it is everything

the hug from behind

tian just stepping on phupha

tian’s “beg me”

phupha is so fucking whipped and tian knows it

“just sleep?”

when gmmtv decides to make our skyy season 2 there’d better be 50 whole minutes of just scenes like this for them

the way they’re laying in bed parallels the first time they slept next to each other

i can’t believe it’s over, y’all, like what a journey, i truly wasn’t expecting the story to be so emotional and dramatic but i really have loved it so much and while i’m glad we’ve finally gotten to the happy ending, i’m so sad to say goodbye. i don’t think fish upon the sky will be quite as good or be so impactful, but nevertheless i’m excited to start that next week and i hope it will be a good addition to frigay and give me something new to be excited about each week

[razberryyum]

So you’re done with The Untamed and want more, what now?

Reposting this since I’ve updated it with new info/links. Again, I entered the fandom via The Untamed so I’m by no means a MDZS expert, just tried my best gathering all the resources I can which I hope will help some new Untamed/MDZS fan out there. If you spot any errors, don’t yell at me, just let me know and I’ll correct it as best I can, especially for any future reposts.

READ THE NOVEL

Read the original web novel the show was based on: The Untamed (aka “CQL” or “Chen Qing Ling”) was adapted from the BL web novel, Mo Dao Zu Shi (aka ”MDZS” or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) by author Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (”MXTX”). Yes the novel came first, CQL is only an adaptation. In the novel, you get the uncensored romance of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, where they are canonically married and living happily ever after. The novel goes full into R18 territory so please tread carefully.

All four volumes of the novel can be purchased from the original publishing site, JJWXC. The site’s in chinese but here’s a tutorial on how to navigate it and purchase the books:  JJWXC Tutorial Link.

There’s also the option of purchasing the physical copies from Yesasia which might be easier but it’s also more expensive since they’re the middle man: Yesasia MDZS Link

It would be wonderful if you can support MXTX-laoshi by actually buying the books, especially since the cover art is so beautiful and the extra chapter volumes come with a lot of awesome extra goodies, but of course there’s also the option of reading the fan translations graciously provided by the Exiled Rebels Scanlations team at their site:  

They translated all the novels including the bonus chapters in their own free time and are providing the fanslations for free so please give them some love for all their hard work.  

WATCH THE ANIME (aka “Donghua” in Chinese)

Watch the anime based on the novel: The donghua was released before The Untamed. Two seasons are already available (23 eps total) with a third season in production and a special chibi version of the donghua in production as well. The Eng-subbed donghua can be seen using the WeTV app or on Youtube:  YT MDZS Donghua Playlist

Grant it, the donghua is even more censored than The Untamed, but the donghua team still managed to sneak in some easter eggs (f.e. WangXian naked bathing scene in the cold springs from the novel...in The Untamed they were fully clothed) and more importantly, the animation is just gorgeous so it’s absolutely worth a watch despite the censorship. 

READ THE MANGA (aka “Manhua” in Chinese)

Read the manhua which is ongoing and is being officially translated by WeComics, available on their app for free. Search under the name “Mo Dao Zu Shi”.

Unfortunately, the official translations are more than 20 chaps behind the raws and there have been complaints about the quality of the translations in the past, but I believe they’re starting to improve so since they’re official, it’s always better to support the official source.

The raw untranslated manhua can be found on the Kuaikanmanhua app. Other than being in Chinese, some of the chapters (f.e. the most recent ones) are behind a paywall, but here’s a tutorial on how to purchase the chapters, provided by @chiharuzushi on Twitter:  Kuaikanmanhua Tutorial

The chapters are quite cheap...I purchase 1000 KK coins for 10 rmb ($0.14) and each chapter is only 68 KK coins so even if we end up with 500 chapters it’ll still be...er...quite cheap overall (don’t make me do the actual math). The most painful part is figuring out how to set up the Kuaikanmanhua account, but otherwise, if you can read Chinese or know enough of the story by now that you don’t really need to read the words, the manhua is definitely worth reading because it’s less censored than The Untamed and the donghua. 

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO DRAMA

Listen to the audio drama, which is at this point the most faithful and LEAST censored adaptation of the novel we will probably ever get! Wei Ying’s voice actor in The Untamed is the voice actor for his audio drama counterpart. (Yes, almost everyone in The Untamed is dubbed by a voice actor, EXCEPT for Nie Huaisang. Ji Li, the actor for NHS, was the only one who used his own voice. Lan Zhan in The Untamed shares the same voice actor as his character in the donghua). 

Each episode art of the audio drama is AMAZING. Google Translate works well on the site, you’d want to see the listeners’ comments cuz they’re just adorable and hilarious.

Official links on Maoer FM:

Season 1: Maoer FM S1 Link

Season 2: Maoer FM S2 Link

Season 3: Maoer FM S3 Link

The audio drama was supervised by MXTX-laoshi, the author of the novel, so a lot of love and care went into the production, and it shows. The audio drama is behind a paywall but I remember it’s relatively inexpensive. Here’s the tutorial on how to purchase the audio drama from the Maoer FM site:  Maoer FM Tutorial Link

Ngl, it was tough at first navigating all that, Google translate helped, but once I figured it out, it was all so worth it because in addition to the MDZS, the site houses a lot of other wonderful audio dramas. There are also MDZS fan songs on the site that are near professional quality and oh so good.

Suibian Subs have kindly translated the episodes and their translations are available here:  Suibian Subs MDZS Audio Drama

Show them some love too for translating the episodes, but please if you can, purchase the episodes so you can support the audio drama team which have done an amazing job.

There’s even a Japanese audio drama which the Chinese AD team helped spearhead, available on the MIMI FM app. Here’s a tutorial on how to purchase the eps (half of the first season is out): MIMI FM Tutorial

It’s in Japanese but just follow the pictures. I’m hoping that the Japanese audio drama will end up being the MOST uncensored version of MDZS since Japanese BL dramas are not afraid (and allowed) to go all the way to R18. XD

MORE THE UNTAMED CONTENT

Lastly, if you’re just thirsting for more Untamed content, there are two spin-off movies you can watch. The first one, The Living Dead, is kind of centered on Wen Ning and Sizhui post-CQL. 

The second one, Fatal Journey, is focused on the Nie brothers, Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang, with a cameo by Jin Guangyao. It takes place prior to Wei Ying’s return from the dead.

Of the two movies, I definitely recommend Fatal Journey more. Both movies are available on the iQiyi app, which offers a one month free trial for first members. Each month afterwards for VIP is $6.99.

You can also go on the WeTV app for even more Untamed extras: WeTV put out a special edition cut of the show which tightened up the story AND features the original ending that was intended before censorship forced the production team to come up with the more ambiguous one we saw in its original run. It was a simple matter of rearranging certain scenes and getting rid of the separation part, but imho it really made all the difference to the ending.

There’s a ton of behind-the-scene cuteness that you can watch and also concerts with the cast in Thailand and Nanjing. VIP subscription to the WeTV app is $5.99/month and the Nanjing concert is for rent for 3 months at about the same price.  

The show also put out two official soundtracks, one for the vocals and one for the score. Both are available on Amazon and iTunes. For Amazon though, you can search under “The Untamed” but they did this weird thing where the vocals one is listed as “The Untamed (Chinoiserie Music Album)” (wtf) while the score is just listed as “The Untamed (Original Soundtrack)”.

Finally, most of the male members of the cast took part in a fan meet and greet at the start of the show, before it became hugely popular. The entire meet and greet is available on youtube subbed: The Untamed Fan Meeting

That’s it for The Untamed and MDZS. If you end up liking the novel enough to want to read more by the same author, MXTX-laoshi has also written two other BL novels, The Scum Villain Self-Saving System (aka “SVSSS” or “Scum Villain”) and Heaven’s Official Blessing (aka “TGCF” after its Chinese title). Both have been fully translated by fans (but always try to buy the original if you have the means, as a way to support the author!): 

SVSSS Translation: BC Novels Link

TGCF Translation chaps 1 - 24:  Sakhyulations Link

TGCF Translation chaps 25 - End: Suika & Rynn Link

As with reading any BL novel (aka “danmei novel” for Chinese BL books), please heed the warnings and if it’s not your cup of tea, just exit out of the page and move on with your life. No big deal, right? 

Anyway, hope all this info dump helps someone! If you’re brand spanking new to this fandom, welcome, and I’m so jealous of you! Would love to relive stepping into the world of MDZS/MXTX/danmei novels all over again since I feel like I’m already running out of stuff to read and I’m beginning to panic a little. 

Happy watching/reading/listening!  

[woo-do-hwan]

The June Review

Dramas & Films I watched in June

The Romance of Tiger and Rose (2020) [9.5 out of 10]

I finally watched this so I could stop avoiding spoilers and tbh it did not disappoint. I finished this in about 2 days and I honestly don’t know what to do with myself now. I might have to start calling Lu Si the comedy queen because of the one heck of the performance she put on. I also loved the chemistry between the leads and by ep 10, it was so obvious the male lead was so in love with her, my heart just burst for them. The couple also reminded me of Donghua & Fengjiu in some instances bc Han Shuo is whipped for his woman just like Donghua is. Anyway... I might have to go rewatch this bc I feel empty inside now. 

My Dear Lady (2020) [6.5 out of 10]

I watched this curiously because of the summary but it seems most of the plot happened towards the end of the drama and by the end it felt rushed. I also got bored often watching most of this but the acting was still good. 

Kore Wa Keihi de Ochimasen! (2019) [8.5 out of 10]

I do truly enjoy watching some jdramas bc they’re just 10 episodes with no exaggerated or lengthy plot line and this was exactly it. It also had the subtle romance plot which doesn’t take the majority of the 10 eps which I quite enjoyed. And pretty much each ep came with a different story which I also loved with odd exception of the romance plot and the two last episodes. 

Kleun Cheewit (2017) [7.5 out of 10]

This isn’t my first lakorn and it certainly won’t be my last either. The chemistry between the two leads were amazing. I’m not sure what else to say... felt like they dragged out some parts and some things were a little so-so but good drama. 

Mystic Pop Up Bar (2020) [9.0 out of 10]

This is probably one of the best dramas I’ve watched this year, at first I wasn’t planning on watching it but I decided to give it a try and little did I know, I was going to be hooked two episodes in. I did mostly watch it for the back story (with the young actors) and I hope when they’re older they might consider doing another drama together. But I’m a sucker for tragedy & angst which I also try to avoid most of the time going into dramas (this is a very odd combo). The plot was great. A great drama, and I notice this also applies to books, when the audience guesses and already knows of the plot twists before they are revealed. It’s quite satisfying when all the pieces fall into place and that is exactly what happened. Mystic Pop Up Bar also kept it light-hearted bc you needed the humour after watching some of the angsty scenes, phew. 

Someday or One Day (2019) [8.5 out of 10]

I guess you could say this is a murder mystery for most of the episodes. The twist and turns are quite unexpected and I quite enjoyed watching. Greg Hsu could have my heart any day of the week. (this list is getting longer and longer with each passing day)

Want More 19 (2018) [7.0 out of 10]

A short web drama. I mean... the main reason I was here was for Day6′s OST ‘Chocolate’ It’s a great song. Also an amazing band. Again, it’s just a breather in between long-winded dramas. 

The Legend of White Snake (2019) [7.0 out of 10]

I know I said below another drama review that I had changed my ways and don’t skip through things now. Well... I skipped through this one mainly because I got fed up and bored, this consistently lasted through a whole chunk of eps. So I kind of skipped to the end... I didn’t miss much if I’m being honest and I wasn’t a fan of the ending. 

Tokyo Tarareba Musume (2017) [8.5 out of 10]

I went through a phase of watching dramas but regretted not paying enough attention to them the first time I watched them, either by skipping through the episode or just missing out episodes in general. Now that I’ve changed my ways and want to fully appreciate dramas, no matter how good or bad, I decided to rewatch this. There’s nothing better than watching Sakaguchi Kentaro be an angsty af man. Anyway, I enjoyed this very much. Jdramas have a lovely charm about them by not being too long and don’t drag out the storyline either. 

Good Casting (2020) [8.0 out of 10]

A better title for this show would be Chan Mi and her sidekicks... I wasn’t really a big fan of her character. She was literally everywhere & I think that’s where the plot falls... maybe I would have liked it more if we actually had a chance at seeing more of the other main characters. I think I was trying so hard to find a reason to like it but there wasn’t much to like about it. The premise of it sounded so appealing but again, it was just another drama that fell short. 

When My Love Blooms (2020) [7.5 out of 10]

Let’s be real here... I was watching this for Park Jinyoung & Jeon So Nee, I don’t know about you all. Honestly... I felt like Jinyoung & Jeon So Nee’s storyline would have worked well in a standalone drama. That would be quite interesting to see. Anyway, great chemistry between those two as well. I can’t say much for the present day storyline, easiest way to put it, I didn’t like it. But I suppose it’s what I get for a melodrama with the added extra drama tag. (Note to self, stop watching melodramas) 

My Woofy Poofy Love (2018) [8.0 out of 10]

It’s quite refreshing to watch short web dramas like this in between heavy dramas. You are angst free while watching fluffy web dramas. This was pure sweetness and very uplifting to watch, especially because I’ve been watching some heavy dramas recently. 

Where Your Eyes Linger (2020) [10 out of 10] (BL)

I’ve never given out a 10 before, they’re rare, extremely rare. Perfect actors, perfect length of episodes, perfect storyline. I loved it. I loved the way it reeled you in the first couple of episodes, with the fluff and the humour, then it eased you in and gave you a taste of the angst to come before completely ripping your heart out. And they gave us a kiss! A KISS! It was one of the softest kisses ever. PLEASE GIVE US SEASON 2... Ahem. At the moment, it is one of the best dramas I have seen this year. (I’m going to have to compile a list at the end of year of the best dramas, aren’t I? There’s bound to be more than one, Mystic Pop Up Bar is heading for a Best Drama crown this year too) Anyway. Go watch it, it’s worth it. 

The King: Eternal Monarch (2020) [7.5 out of 10]

Okay, if you follow me, you’ll know I was watching this for Woo Do Hwan and also Kim Kyung Name (you might have not known that one) and the queen Kim Go Eun. I mean it’s definitely not the best drama I’ve seen all year, it’s only June, there’s plenty of time for another drama to come out and impress everyone. But with this one... there was nothing really keeping me there except those three. My interest did peak around the middle episodes but died down quickly after. I wasn’t in love with Kim Go Eun/Lee Min Ho pairing but that’s just me, certain episodes they clicked with me and others they didn’t. I wanted more out of that final ep but I don’t at the same time. I wanted to see more of everyone’s life instead of the brief snippets we got, not to be biased but I wanted more to see more of Jo Yeong. I guess you take what you can get... we were teased with so much, the excellent cast, the hype for it and having a well known writer behind it but having watched it, it was a big let down, for me at least. 

Born Again (2020) [7.0 out of 10]

For an overall mystery/crime/fantasy/melodrama drama (If we can call it that) it wasn’t that bad... if we exclude the horror of the romance plot. The writer glorified what Jang Ki Yong’s characters did and that was not okay, he clearly needed help. Main Female lead ended up with the wrong guy. Lee Soo Hyuk deserves better. The stylist and him need a raise for his outfits during the later episodes when his past self takes over his current body because hot damn he was pulling that off better than any other character I’ve seen in a suit. 

My Holo Love (2020) [8.0 out of 10]

I loved the beginning of the drama but my interest died down after the plot was revealed (an evil man wanting the AI)... but I did however love the last scene of the series, that was a nice way to end it. 

Novoland: The Castle In the Sky (2016) [7.5 out of 10]

I just struggled to get into the storyline, I’m not sure whether to go back and watch the “happy ending” (ep 29) because I was fine with how they ended things. 

Maybe, Maybe Not (2019) [8.0 out of 10]

This a web drama, sweet and short ^.^

Long Time No See (2017) (BL) [8.5 out of 10]

This is just a short little drama, I loved the chemistry between the leads and it was very action packed for the few episodes it had. 

Snow Flower (2019) [Movie] [7.0 out of 10]

There is just something about Japanese movies... and sometimes dramas. It’s hard to explain, where they can be the most melancholic and beautifully filmed thing. It’s the odd feeling I get when I’m drinking coffee and it’s raining outside and I’m just overwhelmed and feeling nostalgic. Have you ever watched a film where you thought it was good, not extremely good, just good and not really have any qualms with it. This was the movie. Setting itself to be a sad movie with it’s summary surrounding terminal illness, but it’s hardly reflected upon. It focuses more on the romantic side of things which I didn’t mind. If you’ve got 2 hours to kill then it might be worth the watch.

Secretly, Greatly (2013) [Movie] [8.0 out of 10]

Worth a watch. It’s a good spy action movie with the comedy elements added into it as well. 

[mybodyfails]

hi hi hiii. finally back home from berlin, caught a few zzz’s, still sleep deprived, but i’d do it again in a heartbeat!

i‘m gonna ~try to do bullet points here, but you know me... probably not gonna happen. sorry, you have to deal with my longwinded ramblings now, i‘m posting this mostly to remember it all for myself.

let me preface this with a quick disclaimer, these kind of events are usually not really for me, too awkward, too cringy, i’m shy as fuck and socially incompetent in general... but druck has had such an impact on my life, it was a no-brainer for me to go.

biggest shoutout to @lapalooz (with no access to her real tumblr, get on that!) for making the waiting time not only bearable but enjoyable with her engaging presence! aaand i’m pretty sure i wouldn‘t have made it to the meet&greet (aka hi&cry) if i didn‘t have the amazing @matteounterdruck by my side. thank you tina, so much!!! you really kept my spirits high and taught me how to release nervous energy through dancing! lmao ❤️❤️❤️

okay. let’s start at the beginning. the exhibition of and appreciation for all the fanart was one of my favourite things when we walked into that location. druck really said this show is as much about YOU as it is about US and just how lovely is that???

the q&a wasn‘t as bad as it could‘ve been... i just wish it would have been a bit longer though! they seemingly were prepared for the ‚why did amira‘s season end after 7 eps‘ question, but tua being honest and saying fuck yes, i wanted 10 eps for her too... iconic.

surprise surprise, the two people i truly didn‘t expect to be there were milena and michi. and then they were! and they were whispering to each other a lot <3 and michi was the most adorable awkward person to ever exist. you can tell he really is such a shy and private person, and i think seeing that spelled out right in front of us like this made it all the more special that he showed up at all! the things he ~did say were really witty and charming though, so there‘s that. 💕

the bloopers were so good, it was moving to see how much fun they had on set and that their friendships aren’t contrived in the slightest! all i kept thinking was “i can‘t wait to reblog the gifs of that to my tumblr“ haha. SO WHERE‘S THE VIDEO @DRUCK?!

for someone who went in there expecting to have a complete breakdown i was actually okay...ish when we watched the ep (i was so relieved to finally see amira again!) and david‘s film... until the cast went up on stage during anselm‘s second song and mile was stood there, tears streaming down her face, leaning on lukas for comfort. oi, that broke me. :(

quick shoutout to the person behind me who was crying in the club as they say, no, actually it was full on SOBBING. in my mind i just kept going ~SAME~. and, you know, anselm‘s songs didn‘t help the cause either... what a mess.

now on to the meet&greet. if you’re not interested in the people behind druck, or you think meeting them in person is weird or whatever - then this part is not for you and you’ll want to x out of here right now, please spare me the comments, i‘ve already had enough negativity in this fandom for years to come, whew.

i‘ll put this under a cut, just to be extra sure.

you know, i‘ve grown so attached to these characters over the last 1.5 years and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to say thanks to the actresses/actors who made them come to life. for real though, i think really looking them in the eyes and saying THANK YOU was the best thing about the whole experience for me.

this‘ll be chaotic, i’m just gonna list everything i remember off the top of my head, please bear with me.

first of all: best. cast. ever! every single one of them was lovely in their own way... some of them are really high energy people (keep in mind we went in reallllly late, they had been doing this for hours at that point!)... think anselm, tua and mile. they just carried everyone else with their energy!

anselm was as warm and welcoming as i expected, yet it still surprised me how confidently he handled the whole situation (unlike me rip)... i literally blurted out “you‘re such a good host!“ to him and he sounded really flattered when thanking me. he just has the best vibes <3

naomi... oh my god. i was really shocked to even see her at all which was only right before it was our turn with her group. she made a little sarcastic remark about how she “can‘t wait to be tagged in alllll the pictures“ lmao. just leave it up to her to make me fall in love in real life too. :(

i don‘t know if they did it in all of their pictures, but her and hassan were hugging it out in the background of ours like the laura/mohammed crackship that they are. loved that! lmao

speaking of hassan though, i only had the BRIEFEST interaction with him bc how does one cope with all that beauty up close?! one doesn‘t, that‘s how. damn.

i lovelovelove that they kept the five girls together for the photo op, now the pictures ended up looking like we‘re part of their squad!

tua was the life of the party, she made the whole room dance and sing along when ‘geiles leben’ came on (that was when most people had left already bc we went in so late)... it was such a special moment!!! she was also really confused whether to speak german or english to us, bilingual queen!

lea gives the BEST hugs that was so unexpected for such a tiny person, she REALLY goes in wow.

jobel... all i remember is that my face was literally buried in her hair while we were hugging and she smelled amazing!

and lilly omg... lilly! my favourite bean, so easy to talk to, the best aura! she was kinda stretching her legs out when we got to her (l m a o) and kept thanking us for waiting so long (which... a few of them said that... and i always replied with a hä?! thank YOU for doing this for so long!) and rolled her eyes just at the thought of the aftershow party they had planned and told us she‘ll only drink water though! lmao

mile as i mentioned earlier was being so motivational, yelling “we‘re gonna do it! we‘re gonna get through all of you!“ in between again and again, probably more for herself than any of us haha. we did end up talking about food with her, which... you know. foodies amongst each other. ;)

found a whole new appreciation for louis... who poured so much of himself into carlos oh my god. chill. quick witted. hilarious!

so now i left lukas for last. as i briefly mentioned before, i didn’t go up to him after romeo&juliet, but this time i did (there really was no other option when you were there, that would‘ve been rude lol) and i wasn’t let down. at all. he was one of the few people who actually properly introduced himself and that is SO nice, one of the things i’ve always loved about people who are in that kinda position, you know? he is just the sweetest sweetheart, we all know it, he’s proven it over and over. he ran across the room bc some fans forgot their photos at their table, that’s how considerate he is. while we were waiting for our pics to be printed, he came over and hugged us AGAIN and made it a point to say goodbye. MY HEART. 💕

oh, also... we noticed that the mile/flo/louis/lukas group was the most organised with the whole picture situation... they had a ~system going y‘all. lmao

okay. i think this might be it for now. OOF. if anyone actually read all that... you deserve a cookie. i know i promised coherent thoughts, but this is. what you’re gonna get. oops?

if i remember other bits and pieces i‘ll put them in my tags or whatever.

i‘m gonna see myself out now.

[rebekahgaveup]

Cruel summer, The Man, London Boy, Soon You'll Get Better, ME!, Delicate, LWYMMD, New Year's Day,Welcome to New York, Shake it Off, Red, All too Well, 22, WANEGBT, Everything has Changed, Starlight, Sparks Fly, Enchanted, The Best Day, Superstar, Mary's Song, Our Song, I'd Lie

Answers below the cut because Chey asked me Taylor’s entire discography

cruel summer: describe the best summer you’ve had.

I don’t know that I’ve ever had one distinct summer that’s better than others? Like I’ve definitely had some that were worse but summer is just such a like...happy time for me. Like in my head summer is this place where time doesn’t exist and everything tastes like honey and sunshine and I’m always warm and nothing can hurt me. It’s very idyllic. So I think all the summers?

the man: name a woman who inspires you and why.

Amy Adams! Obviously there are a million women who inspire me, but Amy Adams came to mind because not only is she extremely talented but she’s never really let her fame stop her from being a normal person. I feel like she looks and acts how she wants to rather than trying to appeal to some impossible beauty standard, and I think that’s part of what makes her both a beautiful princess and an intrepid journalist and a thousand other roles. She is all of her roles because they are her and all of her roles are her because she is herself, if that makes any sense. She seems like someone who doesn’t let other people define her. I don’t know I just find her very impressive and I think she’s a powerhouse.

london boy: what is your favourite city and why?

I think Long Beach, California. I have a lot of family that lives there and like, my great-grandparents lived there and so my family has been living there for generations and I just think it’s a really beautiful place. There’s something very historical about Long Beach. It kind of feels like it’s trapped somewhere between the 50′s/60′s and now. I just think it’s a really neat place.

soon you’ll get better: name your top five saddest taylor songs.

1. Ronan

2. Soon You’ll Get Better

3. Last Kiss

4. The Moment I Knew

5. Clean

ME!: what’s your favourite thing about yourself?

Physically? My eyes or my legs. They’re the only two parts of my body that I consistently like, haha. Personality wise? I think my tendency to look for what’s good in the world. I come into things wanting and expecting to love them. I don’t think I’ve ever met a person and wanted to dislike them, or gone into a situation and genuinely disliked it from go (though I can’t say there haven’t been some situations I ended up disliking anyway). I don’t know. I just like to think that the world is a good place, sometimes even after it proves me wrong. I think everyone except for me is fundamentally good.

delicate: what was your favourite moment of the reputation era?

Specific to me, @gillettestadium followed me during the reputation era which was very exciting for me. More generally in regards to the fandom, when she showed up to the Billboard Music Awards kinda out of nowhere and took a picture with BTS that was probably my favorite reputation moment. There are a lot though bc that was the era that I got into fandom and so it holds a lot of good memories for me.

look what you made me do: what is your favourite taylor music video?

I think probably the I Knew You Were Trouble music video. I love the speech beforehand.

new year’s day: if taylor held secret sessions for all of her albums, which one would you want to go to the most?

Speak!!!!! Now!!!!!!!

welcome to new york: is there a place you dream of moving to one day?

Yes! New York, actually! I’d like to try living in either New York or London. I think I’ve kind of idealized both places a lot, but also I think I would probably still have fun living there if I had the funds to do so.

shake it off: which songs instantly put you in a good mood?

I actually have a whole playlist for this! You can find it here.

red: what colour do you associate with each of taylor’s albums?

Debut: Blue and green

Fearless: Yellow and beige

Speak Now: Purple, Eden green

Red: Red, beige, white, mustard yellow

1989: Lavendar, beige, baby blue, neon pink

reputation: black and white, orange, army green

Lover: pink, blue, orange, yellow

all too well: if you could only listen to five songs for the rest of your life, which would you chose?

There is no universe in which I could answer this

22: which is your favourite taylor friendship?

Taylor and Selena! I think they’re really cute and I love seeing how they support each other.

we are never ever getting back together: what is your favourite taylor single?

Love Story. I go feral every time it comes on.

everything has changed: which artist do you wish taylor would collab with?

BTS!!!!!! But also Niall Horan please and thank you.

starlight: if you could go back to any era in time, which would it be and why?

There’s several I would go back to and it would all be for fashion reasons so I’m going to pick the only one that isn’t for fashion reasons, which would be the turn of the 19th century because that’s when all of Jane Austen’s novels are set and she sure knows how to write dashingly polite men.

sparks fly: if you had to create an ep with ten of taylor’s songs, which would you chose?

1. Enchanted

2. The Moment I Knew

3. Last Kiss

4. Gorgeous

5. You’re Not Sorry

6. Holy Ground

7. State of Grace

8. The Last Time

9. Death by a Thousand Cuts

10. Paper Rings

Not necessarily in that order.

enchanted: who is your favourite disney princess?

Solid tie between Belle, Ariel and Rapunzel.

the best day: talk about a memorable day you’ve spent with somebody you’re close to.

Most recently I got to watch Frozen II with my aunt in her new apartment, slept over and then we went for breakfast and got macarons afterward. It was a very good day and I think about it a lot. 

superstar: which artists do you stan besides taylor?

A ton, but the only one I really stan as hard as I stan Taylor is BTS. 

mary’s song: if you could have written any taylor song yourself, which one would you chose?

Okay so as a songwriter this is a terribly hard question because the answer is, at some point, all of them. However if I had to pick just one I’d say probably Last Kiss. I think it’s her best written song. Again though, I’ve wished to have written every song in Taylor’s discography, so...

our song: country taylor or pop taylor?

Pop Taylor. I’m more of a pop fan myself.

i’d lie: which is your favourite unreleased taylor song?

Dark Blue Tennessee! I actually have a non-canon URL saved for this one, but I’m not using it currently because I’m too afraid to even temporarily put lovedyouthreesummers on ice.

Thanks for the longest, most detailed ask I’ve ever had to answer Chey!

[flvshlights]

courtney eaton. 24. genderfluid. they & them. the front bottoms. | i can’t believe i just saw LUCINDA “LUKE” ARCHULETTA walking out of cadence records. they’re the GUITAR & LEAD VOCAL from the INDIE ROCK group WE TRIED USING A BAND NAME GENERATOR who have been in the industry for SIX YEARS. the tabloids love to focus on their ALOOF nature , but they’re also pretty HONEST and they seem to give off a vibe that reminds people of TYING FLANNELS AROUND YOUR WAIST, NEVER BEING WARM ENOUGH, PLAYING AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR IN A SHARP TUXEDO, CLAIMING YOU DON’T SMOKE MARIJUANA WHEN YOU DO, THE COMFORT AT THE BOTTOM OF A SWIMMING POOL. 

                                     she started talking backwards , but nothing                                      good it brings her. so the next time that she                                      sees him, it’ll be peace sign + middle finger.                                      to listen as you read.

listen i always say i’ll stick with one muse and that never happens so i’ll just skip the part here where i berate myself for being weAK and instead introduce u to lukey-pookie here !! they’re a very new muse ( while also combining some essences of other muses of mine ) since normally i pick from a premade roster of my own ocs and normally use courtney for a... very different character but 1.) i’m gay and 2.) i love the front bottoms so HERE WE GO !

tws : depression, divorce, arrest, drug usage / overdose

HISTORY

So Luke was born to a regular working class family in Wilmington, Delaware - they have some relation with the famous DuPont family that built their name there, but don’t have anything to show for it since a few generations ago Luke’s great grandmother cut off the rest of her family and now they don’t speak. So Archuletta it is.

Their mom worked a typical 9-5 job and their dad was an aspiring painter - but he was always... sick. Not sick in the physical sense, no - sick in the fact he never was himself. Sick in way that Luke always thought he was so tired and sad and nothing could ever cheer him up, and they rarely spent much time with him due to his tendencies to keep to himself. So that led to an early divorce between him and Luke’s mother when they were about six years old.

So Luke’s life was relatively normal. Maybe even too normal for them. And they’d try and put themselves out there - even joining musical theatre in attempts to try and find “their group.” Musical theatre was where they’d meet Krista.

A beautiful girl who had a passion for Broadway, booze, and marijuana - she’d become Luke’s greatest friend, and even taking Luke to meet their friends she hung out with regularly after class. But they weren’t the kids you’d want to bring home to hang out with in your parents’ house. No, in fact - they were the opposite.

Bad things, those friends did - well - bad ( or rather, illegal ) things, and Luke followed along. Such as smoking pot and getting caught for it, spraypainting and defiling public areas, maybe getting into a fight or two. In an effort to fit in, Luke would do the same - but they faced the consequences they’d never thought - considering those kids seemed invincible. Untouchable. 

Setting off fireworks from the roof of an abandoned building it a bad idea. Getting arrested the cops is an even worse idea. Your friends running off before they can get caught, leaving you alone to wait for your mom to pick you up... The worst idea.

Nobody came to check on them after that.

Not even Krista.

But the next day, Luke hung out with them like nothing was wrong, following that crowd still - and it’d only reach a breaking point when they were sixteen and had to call the ambulance since Luke found Krista in the bathroom of a party unconscious due to overdose. And thank god she survived - 

And there they were again, without many friends since Krista was seemingly the only person who even came close to genuinely liking them and everyone else, they barely knew anything about. And Luke would grow, finishing high school and clinging to the only other friend they had since childhood - being convinced to write out their issues since by NOW, Luke maybe turned out a bit more cynical than they used to be.

Writings of prose and poetry turned to translating that to music - and that would be the beginning of their new life: We Tried Using A Band Name Generator.

ABOUT ‘WE TRIED’: 

‘We Tried Using A Band Name Generator’ - or more conveniently just referred to as ‘We Tried’ is probably Luke’s pride and joy. It was their friend’s idea for them to originally write out how they felt - and they mutually came up with the decision to try and write songs out of that.

A small band from Wilmington didn’t seem like it was going to get notice, and it took a little while, sure - it started with an EP titled Slow Dance to Soft Rock ( 2013 ) that made Cadence turn their way. Since the indie community definitely liked the acoustic sounds paired with raw, blunt, honest emotions pushed out in songs like The Beers and Swimming Pool. And that was when they got signed.

The first album they’d release would be six months later - self-tilted, We Tried Using A Band Name Generator. They didn’t have too much of a following at the time, but they were making good momentum enough to convince them to keep going.

Things were going so well, in fact, that during touring, Luke & their best friend / drummer actually attempted dating since - there had to be a reason they worked so well together. There had to be SOME feelings. But a million arguments later and stressful tours, overall mentally testing experiences, pushing out an EP called Rose which was as amazing as it was tacing to complete... they couldn’t do it. It was thought that when their best friend left the group in early 2016, it was thought that everyone’s new favorite indie rock group was done for.

And... Luke couldn’t let that happen. It was selfish, too, in the sense that We Tried was their biggest method of release and comfort. So instead of just giving up, they got off from tour and IMMEDIATELY hit the studio for recording and song-writing.

The product of a few months of straight work would result in their 2016 album , Talon of the Hawk - all songs pulling experiences from the split between them and their drummer to their experiences with Krista in high school. 

Au Revoir/Adios was 100% written the day after their ex-drummer left. 

Another year of touring and thankfully, four more members joined the group - producing the EP Needy When I’m Needy as a sneak peak of what was new to come. A few months later , a surprise album called Back on Top would come out. 

The next three years would work well - with the band releasing another EP titled Ann and the inklings sprinkled of the next album - Going Grey.  

SO IN CASE THAT WAS TOO COMPLEX BC I RAMBLE... again, general timeline:

February 2013: Release of Slow Dance to Soft Rock

March 2013: We Tried is signed to Cadence

August 2014: Release of Self-Titled.

September 2014: Both members of We Tried start dating.

July 2015: Release of Rose.

December 2015: Nearing the end of touring, We Tried’s drummer quits and the pair breaks up. Touring officially ends later that month.

January 2016: Luke Archuletta announces they’ll be taking time to focus on a brand new album.

August 2016: Release of the rushed but extremely well-received Talon of the Hawk.

July 2017: We Tried introduces four new members.

October 2017: Release of Needy When I’m Needy.

March 2018: Release of the surprise album Back on Top.

January 2019: Release of the EP Ann, paired with the announcement production of the next album will begin soon.

March: Two songs - Peace Sign & You Used to Say (Holy Fuck) are released to tease Going Grey.

July 2018: Release of Going Grey. 

SO YOU CAN SORT OF TELL THE TIMELINE IS SPEEDY - because that’s a big part of how Luke sort of... overworks themselves and hyperfocuses on their music. Especially since ever since their first drummer left, they haven’t let go of the idea they can only rely on themselves. 

BUT MORE ABOUT THE BAND - We Tried’s aesthetic is sort of The Front Bottoms mixed with the Young Veins - Luke’s especially fond of showing up in suits, vests, etc. despite the normally blunt & uncouth content of the songs. 

There is literally always something being made. Luke can’t sleep without having something in the works. 

And... yeah that’s it honestly it’s rly just TFB but with a TWIST! 

ABOUT LUKE 

5′10, genderfluid bisexual bby who honestly just wants a nap

SOOOO yes, Luke’s a very chill individual but chill in the sense that... they just. Don’t care. Except when it comes to their work - then they work the hardest they can on that shit and have to pay attention to every little detail.

They’re still not actually sure if they have any talent - musical theater never seemed to work out, so why is a band doing that??

But they do have one thing down pat - directing. All of We Tried’s videos have so far been directed by Luke, save for a few. 

This comes from Luke’s longtime adoration of film and cinema, from the perspective of an observer and a director.

They DO have a tendency to be a little... clingy and aloof at the same time. They’re always worried about being in the position of trying to keep a band of only one person alive again but also they don’t really notice they can other people to do things for them now.

They’re independent to a fault, in that case.

And also now finally getting a hang of not falling into peer pressure since it’s just made them cynical and aloof from people now.

They’re v grateful for their bandmates tho!! Don’t get me wrong, they love them!

Luke’s more of someone who communicates their appreciation through gestures and actions than words - setting a blanket on you while you sleep, getting new drumsticks if you broke yours, making coffee in the morning when you’ve forgotten. That kind of stuff.

They don’t get a lot of sleep for the sole reason they sort of have tendencies to keep themselves awake just... thinking. Luke thinks a lot. Luke’s actually wack-levels of intelligent, and it does show in their music save for when they’re making odd comments and obscure references.

Luke talks about tattoos a lot, but they’re actually barren since they’re afraid of needles. 

They also don’t drink, but they do smoke marijuana. But they’ll never admit to it - ...like TFB even though they have a MILLION songs that mention recreational use of the drug.

They sort of don’t really know where their purpose is, still - and that does lead them into a depression of their own, much like their father. They don’t talk to him and their mother that much nowadays - considering, the dream was always that Luke be a lawyer or a doctor and not the crass musician that they are.

They’re lowkey a fucking comedian but in the dry, deadpan humor sense. Most of their interviews consist of them making some joke that either takes a little while for the interviewer to get or one that makes the room silent for a quick minute. Or, even worse, they’re taken seriously.

Despite this aloofness, though, they actually thrive on being around other people. They’re sort of relearning how to accept that, though, since again, they’ve been shelling themselves up in their own work for quite some time. 

Also lowkey a bit of a flirt bt u didn’t hear that from me

Rides a motorcycle partially to look cool and also... bc they have the song ‘Motorcycle’ which was about them. Trying to learn how to ride a motorcycle so it just kind of stuck.

They’ve got another talent in dancing, since they took ballet classes throughout middle school to high school - but had to quit after they got arrested. Shame.

Their one dream was to be Ariel in the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid when they were younger since... they also love the sea and Disney Princesses so much secretly, but they’ve sort of given up on that.

Their love for the sea’s also because of where they’re from - Delaware beaches are beautiful and were Luke’s happy place back then. 

Most of their loves and interests are sprinkled in their songs, in that case - Delaware scenery, references of Disney films, etc.

They’re a very... complex individual. But god I lOVE them.

WCs

THE DRUMMER. PLS GIVE ME THE DRUMMER. I HAV IT ON THE MAIN... PLS GIVE ME THE OG DRUMMER THAT LEFT AND NOW HAS A SOLO CAREER OR IS IN ANOTHER BAND ELSEWHERE. PLS.

also the current bandmates. that would b. cool.

if ppl from luke’s old squad can show up now w/ their own careers... that would b. cool.

kids who they went to high school with that r surprised where they are now.

enemies in the music scene who don’t like luke or we tried for a multitude of reasons

maybe they think luke’s secretly a conceited dick underneath the ‘distant mysterious songwriter’ schtick

mayBBEEEE they think the nature of we tried’s songs are some sort of keep gimmick to try and cash in on being ‘casual’ and ‘relatable’

maybe they just don’t like the damn band i mean. yeah.

any reason. pls.

hook-ups bc i’ll b honest they are... a bit of a flirt. let luke serenade u w/ shit like “historic cemetery” cowards,

a rebound sort of?? probably very short-lived, but i can see luke wanting to get their mind off from their ex/drummer leaving and falling fast into another relationship - and that wouldn’t work out bc of it.

i’d also lov a plot where maybe sb discovers luke’s talent for dancing bc they do it for recreational purposes semi-often now?? 

maybe they can attend a class together or smth

or they just do it for fun at luke’s place

idk this cld go anywhere n it’s honestly adorable

ppl that they befriend who they can just. take back to delaware one day.

or even ppl they just hang out with to relive the ‘good ol days’

trips to the beach

buying store bought fireworks n setting them off

going on camping trips n shit

i’d lov a plot where there’s one person who just thinks luke is like... a MYSTERY and they just get closer and closer in attempts to try and figure that mystery out

also 100% open to brainstorming! i’ll actually get 2 interacting tmr bc it’s 2:30 AM nearly here n i want to sleep so yeah! chances are tho if u like this i’ll message u for plotting!! again if u want my discord - hmu @ rocky lynch lovebot / hylia.#0329. :^)

i love the front bottoms so much

[todaysbiggesthits]

The Exam

Best Music Moment of 2018:

Nasty: Hearing Red Eyes live. I've already said it on TBH, but seeing your favorite band in their relative prime is such a cool thing. 

BC: Since partying all night with my favorite band fell within the short window between Bestuv '17 ending and Bestuv '18 beginning, I'd have to say:

1. Kacey Musgrave's performance of "Slow Burn" on SNL

2. Radiohead perfectly executing "There There" which transported me back to Lollapalooza in '08 3. Despite the annoyance of sitting in lots of Indy500 traffic due to a new parking situation, I quite enjoyed working through half of the Stones' catalogue with Bronco riding shotgun and Codemin listening in from the flatbed of Dillon's pickup

Codem: Spending what was New Year's Eve for the central timezone in the USA at a Fijian medical bath facility listening to music, playing cards, downing tequeel and getting ringworm with my blushing bride. -hearing peter hook play the bass line from shadowplay live and in person. -Arden, JD and JJ encouraging me to go talk to Kyle from Swearin'. -Silver Jews and Westing (By Musket and Sextant) came to Spotify. -Watching "Random Rules" video for the first time

Larse: Sitting behind this massive (I mean orca fat) guy at the CHVRCHES show, feeling really bad for him before the show started because he was all alone and kept looking around and worrying about letting people in his row and things. As soon as CHVRCHES came on though, this guy was exactly where he was supposed to be that night. Sang the words and danced to every song and just made my day with how happy he was to be there. Jotted down every song of the setlist into his smartphone and just had an all around great time. And some of you motherfuckers won't even go to a movie by yourself!

JD: May: A moody Chinatown stroll with the new Grouper album in the rain. July: Soaking up some good tunes at the housewarming party to ring in our new pad. July: Some hilariously rambunctious youths having at it when “House of Jealous Lovers” came on during a full play of Compilation 1 at the DFA summer party. One of them (who must have been ~8 in the bygone days of 02) screamed out “this is the song that started it all!” to a crowd of stationary gawkers and I felt a brief moment of hope for the youngs. August: Shaking a leg at Pete’s wedding (also featuring a delightful hojl spin). September: A rowdy spin of “Sentient Oona” on the Levee juke with an impromptu digital jukebox dance party at the Turkey’s Nest with jj’s cousin and his lovely girlfriend. October: The best music cue I’ve ever seen at the end of Beau Travail.

Bronco: Taking John to his first concert, and that first concert was Mastodon. That was pretty awesome to be able to share that experience with him. He was super into it, and so were the metalheads at the show. "Dad of the Year" was definitely shouted more than a few times, and I thought to myself, "fuckin-A right."

Chap: My kids saying "Papa" when "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals comes on.

Best Shows Seen in 2018:

C: Open Mike Eagle at Pitchfork

Bronco: Sleep

Laser: CHVRCHES at Riverside Theater; Chromeo at Summerfest

BC: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Radiohead

Nasty: The War on Drugs. 

Code: kraus - schubas peter hook - metro no age - the bottle swearin' - bowery eleanor friedberger - lincoln hall my bloody valentine - aragon "quickly climbing the ranks of my nice" ballroom kraus - the bottle pictureplane - bottom lounge soft moon - the bottle book of love - chop shop

JD: 1. Shame at Market Hotel 2. Hamilton Leithauser at the Carlyle Hotel 3. Beach House at United Palace Theater 4. The Voidz at Elsewhere 5. Parquet Courts’ Wide Awake! mid-day album release show with my morning coffee at Rough Trade

6. Flasher at St. Vitus 7. Deafheaven at Brooklyn Steel 8. Panda Bear at Brooklyn Steel 9. No Age at Brooklyn Bazaar 10. CCFX at the DFA summer party at Elsewhere with my girlfriend in full blown rem sleep standing up with her head on my shoulder 11. Alex Cameron at Warsaw 12. Gang Gang Dance and Interpol at House of Vans Of note: Dekkar at On Cinema Live at the Bell House.

Confession of 2018:

JD: I have a real TBH confession that I held until now. I was thoroughly enjoying the Flasher album on a recent evening after a few too many drinks when a burning urge to see them washed over me. They had a show coming up at a bar just a few blocks from my apartment, so I enthusiastically snapped up tickets for me and jj. Thinking this might be a good opportunity for a TBH outing, I emailed Chap trying to peer pressure him into attending the Flasher show and gauging his interest in a Parquet Courts concert that would be happening the following evening. No response.

We later received an invitation to a holiday cocktail party at a friend’s apartment on the same night as the Flasher show, and I hatched a cockamamie scheme to go from our home in Greenpoint to the party in Soho, leave after an hour to catch the concert back in Greenpoint, head back to the party in Soho, and finally retire back to Greenpoint. JJ wisely passed on such a scheme and I left the party to trek off to the concert solo with an extra ticket in tow. 

Awash in good cheer and excitement while Flasher set up, I thought what the hell, might as well take a flier on reminding Chap of the show. Maybe the twins are asleep, he’s just sitting around, can jump into a cab, claim the extra ticket, watch the show, and cruise on back. Mid-text I paused, wondering just why he never responded to the initial email weeks ago. A quick gmail search, and there sat my drunkenly composed beseechment to join, rotting in the drafts folder unsent. 

A couple of the dudes from Parquet Courts were bouncing around the bar, and I decided it would make more sense to hit up Chap about attending their show the next day than explain the whole snafu and extend a ludicrous invitation that required dropping everything and leaving immediately for a show he didn’t even know was happening. I ate the extra ticket, had a blast watching Flasher, zipped back to the party, drank myself into oblivion, and was way too hung over to even consider the Parquet Courts show the next day. NICK SORRY NICK! (editor’s note: too long)

Larson: I saw Timberlake at Fiserv Forum

BC: My neighbor invited me to see Imagine Dragons. I lied and said I had to travel for work. "On a Saturdee?" he inquired. "Yeah. Totally sucks," I awkwardly replied. I hid inside my house all weekend.

Bronco: I'd rather see shows by myself than with my buddy. He likes going to shows, and I keep inviting him, and we have a fine time, but he doesn't live in town anymore, so I gotta worry about him drinking too much and driving an hour home. And his wife is a psychopath and that complicates shit. Too much. And it's just so much more freeing being able to not give a fuck about anyone else during that time, to just soak it all in, it feels good and right.

Codem: -despite all of the bad things that kanye said, i still liked listening to his catalogue throughout the year. i even liked his EP that came out in 2018.   -i really liked the beach house album!   -i liked the snail mail album, skipped two opportunities to see her and then by --the end of the year, i thought the album was sort of boring.   -Arden and i went to see pictureplane open for alice glass and thought that the show sucked and pictureplane played such stupid songs. three months later, he put out my favorite album of the year and i can't stop thinking that i hated all of the same songs the first time i heard them. -i read an article on a bright fall saturday morning that exhaustively detailed the Cardi B and Nicki Minaj feud and i watched all of the instagram story clips that showed Cardi B scrolling through her phone with those outlandish nails of hers. it took me two cups of coffee to get through it all, but get through it i did. [i couldn't think of nicki minaj's name just now so i stared at the ceiling and kept running through names in my mind's eye: missy, kim, cardi, kelis, kim??, eve, trina. i couldn't remember. so i finally googled "kanye monster" and found her name. easy.]

Nasty: I'm done with new music. It’s over. I didn't listen to a single new album - I don't even know if I could name a new album. Realistically, I did like Daytona. 

Biggest Disappointment of 2018:

Nasty: MAGA Kanye

Larse: Timberlake at Fiserv Forum

Bronco: Black Tusk, Alice in Chains

BC: Getting into The Orwells literally two days before #MeToo chewed 'em up and spit 'em out

Chap: Car Seat Headrest. Can't believe he's gay! jk the album was the disappointment.

Code: -somebody hacked my spotify account and wiped all of my music and replaced it with raggaeton and halsey. i was able to get my music back, but i lost all of my meticulously cared for folder structure. -i wanted the simple minds album to be cool; it was not.   -i wanted the swearin' album to be really great; it was okay. -pictureplane and ovlov did not tour their albums.   -i had to eat two tickets to my bloody valentine after buying four. the original show sold out and i thought i was going to be able to sell my extras for a profit -- they ended up announcing a second show and there was no secondary market for the original show.   -no CCFX followup ):  

JD: Got to Hammerstein Ballroom for MBV and there was a line longer than an entire avenue. They were already on by the time we made it into the heinously oversold venue and we were stuck by the bar in the lobby surrounded by people constantly shouting in an effort to compete with the apocalyptic noise.

C: Terrible sound at Tame Impala show

Most Overrated of 2018:

Code: -probably that kacey musgraves album; i got absolutely nothing out of it. also, i liked the robyn album, but i wanted to love it after many years between releases. i think i'm just being greedy.   -i'm going to get killed for this, but the throwing the baby out with the bathwater approach to artists' criminal behavior or inflammatory tweets is pretty overrated right now. 

Bronco: Ghost - I like their schtick, with rotating members and the whole inverted church thing. It's campy but they're sticking to it, and that's fine, but their music isn't metal. It's poppy glam shit about the devil, and that's also fine, but I don't get why it's on anyone's list. Production value maybe? But the music itself isn't anything to write home about. I just don't get it.

JD: n/a. The thick layer of nonsensical, Pynchonian obfuscation the platform economy dollops over everything has made it impossible to understand how anything is rated. Almost feel bad for the click driven publications that have to just throw out a guess.

C: Mitski

Chap: Snail Mail

BC: Kanye. His new music is no longer good enough to put up with his bufoonery.

Laser: Timberlake at Fiserv Forum

Nasty: Clemson. GOARSH. 

Make It Stop 2018:

Nasty: DJT, anytime now. 

Bronco: Party politics. No more labels allowed. You can have a list of stuff you support and a list of stuff you are against, but that's fucking it. No more this side vs that side for reasons as caddy as an R vs. a D. Also religion having any influence whatsoever in the way our country is run. Believe whatever you want to believe, but don't force your bullshit on anyone else. You want to torment yourself with a lifelong christian guilt trip, that's your boat to float, but don't go poking holes in my boat just because you're a miserable fuck. Just stop. Also, Jack White.

Larse: Timberlake at Fiserv Forum

Chap: Baby Shark

BC: My shrinking attention span

JD: The cultural currency of clapbacks, shade, and tea.

Code: trap music playing from a phone's external speaker while i'm trapped on public transportation.  i'm going to go broke buying enough earbuds to distribute to these offenders.

Biggest TBH Regret of 2018:

Larse: Timberlake at Fiserv Forum

C: Not seeing Low at a church on University of Chicago's Campus

JD: -Hearing about a Grouper show at a church around the corner from my pad after it sold out. -Not necessarily a regret because I didn’t know it was happening, but oh how I wish I had seen Jon Glaser and Jon Benjamin as Dave Farina and Dave Franz, Dennis and Dennis’ sons, at a Bowery Ballroom Yo La Tengo show.

BC: -I wish I would've cooked up a way to see Shame play a midnight show in Bloomington.  I just want that kid to scream "Concrete" in my face. -I probably should've seen Smashing Pumpkins when they rolled through town too. 

Code: my flight got delayed and i missed the swearin' show at that place in brooklyn that "smelled like hot fish"

Bronco: Not a regret so much as I was super-bummed when High on Fire dropped out of the tour I saw in November. The venue we were at put my buddy and I right next to the stage. It would've been crazy awesome to see HOF there, but they've rescheduled at least, and I'll see them in January.

Bin: I haven't listened to any Kanye this year. I thought it would feel gratifying by year end - it doesn't. I'll probably still avoid this most recent album, but I'm going back to the well. I'll continue to talk shit about him though. Take that Ye!

Chap: No regrets 

Detective Murtaugh of 2018:

Larse: Getting too old to keep up with all of this new music and put a worthwhile list together at the end of the year…

Nasty:

Code: i added book of love show to my top ten concert list because Arden and i were able to take a seat on the ground in the balcony section. we had to continually move our spot on the floor to be able to peer through the railing and a mass of bodies in order to catch a glimpse of the stage.

JD: -Two of my favorite music related experiences of the year were seeing Hamilton Leithauser in the cafe of the Carlyle Hotel and the extended Niles family in The Nutcracker at the NYC Ballet. -When I googled “Detective Murtaugh” just now it was mostly pictures of Damon Wayans (Jr. no less!) playing the role on the Lethal Weapon CBS series.

Bronco: Putting up with shit instead of speaking up about it. There's room on the train but I'm squished by the door because some self-absorbed dinks won't move in? "Could you please move in?" It sounds so simple, but breaking that silence barrier was a scary thing. Now I don't give a shit. I'm on train for two stops, and I'm not going to see you again, so fuck you, move in or I'm going to move myself in and it aint gonna be pleasant for you.

Chap: A hipster female barber said I was a silver fox. AYFKM?

BC: What the hell is Fortnite?

Resolution for 2018 Update:

Larse: get my list in on time! How it went: probably horseshit! (editor’s note: it was early yet!)

NACK: While I didn’t have the occasion to catch shows this year, I anticipate doing so in '18 due to some changes afoot. How it went: Joe Dons has yet to let me know of a concert going on and I have no other friends here, so I blame him for my failure

Bin: I’m just going to keep saying “get to NY for a show with JD” until I make it happen. How it went: Didn't get to NY for a show with JD.

JD: See you gents more often with or without a show attached.  How it went: Fairly decent, but is it really ever enough?

Bronco: Get in shape. I want to stick to a schedule of running all year round. I ran a 10K back in June, then needed to recover for a bit, been recovering ever since…Fat Dad needs to keep running all year round without excuse, especially given that we go skiing between Xmas and New Year’s and I’m gonna be a floppy legged mess. During those runs, I’ll try to listen to new material each time. How it went: I ran a 5-miler in May. Haven't run since. Though I have been reasonably consistent with my prison workout (situps and pushups before bed time), so now there's a hint of muscle under my fat dad layer. Just gotta combine the two now somehow.

Code: make more playlists for my wife How it went: i said that i was going to make more mixes for my wife. i made one year-end mix for her and i'm sure she's loving it :*

BC: No more resolutions How it went: 2018 Resolution was "No More Resolutions," so pretty darn good!

Resolution for 2019:

Laser: ---

BC: Listen to one new album a week; reboot the Classic Album Review Club

JD: Greater consciousness of how I’m using my attention - an ineffectual and meaningless protest of the ways the world is burning down in pursuit of it.

Bronco: Read more 'classic' books. I didn't read many of them, even in school (especially in school? Never could read a book I was told to read). But I'm leaning in the sci-fi direction of 'classics'. I just read Dune this summer, and wrapped up Fahrenheit 451 the other day. I'm feeling an unexplained need to beef up my nerd credentials and this seems the way to accomplish it.

Chap: Learn Piano; Guilt Joe Dons into finally inviting me to a concert

Nasty: I'm sticking with it - get to NY for a show with JD.

Code: catch ovlov, pictureplane, washer, chromatics, EMA and colleen green live this year.

Most Anticipated of 2019:

Bronco: Tool. Fifth year's the charm. I'm actually hopeful this time around. In fact, I half expect them to drop it on New Year's Eve or something, just so it's post Listicle season, but not quite 2019 so it can't end up on those lists either. They're such dicks like that.

BC: Still waitin' on dat Vampire Weekend yet

Chap: Vampire Weekend, Chromatics

C: Lin Manuel in Mary Poppins... I kid, My Bloody Valentine

JD: Going to put Frank Ocean out into the universe, MBV take 2, Grimes, Panda Bear, Kanye’s escape from the Black Lodge

Codem: chromatics - tommy, MBV, washer, colleen green, EMA(?), DoM

Laser: no idea what's even on the docket

Nasty: Mueller's Report

[granger--danger]

The 100 ask game

Thanks for tagging me @frecklessbellamy, this was so fun!!

1. What would you get arrested for on the Ark?

Definitely stealing medicine, I’m not much of a trouble maker so I can’t see myself doing anything else that would be illegal

2. Would you take off your wristband when you landed on the ground?

I really want to say no but tbh I’m very easily intimidated so if someone like s1 Murphy or Bellamy told me I had to take it off if I wanted to live I probably would just let them and then go cower in a corner somewhere

3. What would the necklace Finn would make for you look like?

Cat!

4. If you could resurrect any minor character, who would it be?

Wells, 100%. I started a rewatch recently and it’s making me so sad for all of the potential he had  

5. Create a squad of 5 characters to go on missions with. Who are they?

Bellamy, Clarke, Raven, Murphy, Miller

6. Minty or Briller?

I used to be very into Minty bc that was what everyone always talked about but honestly anyone Miller wants to be with I’m down

7. What would your name be in Trigedasleng?

I have no idea - Breona? I’m intrigued by the language but haven’t spent enough time looking into it to really know

8. Thoughts on Finn?

Finn did a lot of awful things (and I’m never going to get over what he did to Clarke and Raven) but so has everyone on this show so idk, I’m not his biggest fan but I don’t hate him I guess

9. Be honest. How willing would you have been to take the chip without knowing all the horrible things it does?

I don’t like drugs that mess with your brain like that so I definitely would have avoided it

10. What character do you relate to most and what character do you like the least, not including the obvious ones like Pike, etc.

This is one of the questions I had to think a lot about and I think maybe Monty? I’m pretty loyal to the people I care about, I’m level headed, and I tend to shy away from the spotlight but am willing to take a stand/fill a leadership role as needed. As far as least favorite character, I’m so over Jaha

11. Describe your delinquent outfit?

I want black jeans, combat boots, some kind of henley/jersey shirt (probably in blue) and one of the awesome looking statement jackets that everyone seemed to have in s1

12. Favourite type of mutant animal?

The two-headed deer is classic but the glowing butterflies are pretty fun too. So many people have said Pauna but I just do not get that storyline it has never made sense in my mind I’m sorry

13. What would your job be on the Ark?

Something in medical. Do they have a pharmacist on the Ark or did Abby just deal with all of that too?

14. Would you have willingly pumped Ontari’s heart if Abby asked?

I would try my best, and I think if I knew I had to do it to save someone else I’d be able to, but blood in medical settings makes me super sick (hence why I’m going into pharmacy instead of becoming a doctor)

15. If L wasn’t Heda, then who would make the best Commander?

Ummm Anya? Lincoln? Maybe Indra from the later seasons? Idk I would need to finish my rewatch to get a better idea of what their leadership styles would be like before I could answer this

16. If you were a grounder, then where would you live and who would be your mentor?

I’ve never thought about this so I don’t really have a good answer, but I guess Trikru so Lincoln (ugh another death I’m sad about) could be my mentor? I don’t know enough about the different clans right now to really say anything else

17. How would you act if you ate the hallucinogenic nuts like Jasper and Monty?

The one time I’ve been super drunk I was very giggly and willing to answer questions I usually wouldn’t, so I’d probably go around telling everyone my biggest fears and secrets while laughing at a squirrel or something stupid

18. How would you have dealt with Charlotte’s crime? A more John Murphy approach or Bellamy Blake?

Probably Bellamy but we all see how that went (rip Wells ugh) so honestly not sure what the right call would have been here

19. Who should be the chancellor, if anyone?

I’m cool with Kane doing it

20. Mount Weather had a lot of commodities. What would you snatch while there?

Shampoo, conditioner, soap <-- keeping Elly’s answer for this bc I do not understand how everyone survives constantly covered in grime (I guess priorities lie elsewhere, but still)

21. Do you think you would have caught the virus spread through camp or would you have been immune like Octavia?

Yeah, I get sick pretty easily unfortunately

22. What would your grounder tattoos look like? Hairstyle? Warpaint?

Man I don’t have a good vision for tattoos or warpaint but I want it and I want it to be badass bc I’m too much of a wimp to get a tattoo irl. For hairstyle I’d probably just stick with a ponytail that maybe had like a braid or two in it, I can’t have my hair down for more than a few hours without getting annoyed by it so idk how any of the women in this show fight wars like that

23. Favourite quote?

“We all have battle scars. Suck it up and build a brace for yours.”

24. Can you forgive Murphy for his actions? How about Bellamy?

Kind of like what I said earlier, everyone in this show has done something they’re not proud of that seemed like it was the best/only choice (ha) at the moment. While the acts they committed seem awful when isolated, I think we have to forgive them in the end (also these people have really fucked up lives, seriously, they’re gonna do some bad stuff every once in a while)

25. If the characters were in The Hunger Games, who would have the best shot at winning?

Octavia. I would say Clarke or Bellamy but when it came down to the final two people I don’t think either of them would be willing to kill the other participant

26. Least favourite ship? Favourite ship? (Not including BC or CL)

Least favorite would be Finn with Clarke or Raven bc they deserved better, favorite at the moment is probably Memori

27. A song that should be included in the next season, like when Radioactive was? If there had to be another guest star like Shawn Mendes on the show, who would you want to make a cameo?

I saw someone else who did this say they needed to bring back Home II by Dotan and I absolutely agree. Not too picky about cameos, it would be fun to see anyone in a random episode but if anyone does guest star it would be interesting to see them in a more... not important role, but a role that actually seemed relevant to the story line? Idk I haven’t rewatched that ep yet but from what I remember wasn’t Shawn just there to play the piano for like 30 seconds? This answer got away from me, I’m moving on

28. What would you do if you were stuck in the bunker with Murphy for all that time?

Drinking games? Some other kind of game? Idk I get bored really easily so I’d need something to keep me busy, otherwise I’d just sleep all day

29. Opinion on Emori? Roan?

Love them both, very excited to see Emori’s storyline in s5 (and very upset about Roan’s death but it’s fine I’m fine)

30. Would you want to be an extra that is killed off in a brutal way?

Um yes please, if it was brutal I’m guessing it would get me significant enough screen time to meet everyone so sign me up

31. A character you’d like to learn more about and get flashbacks of?

I am so hyped to find Madi’s story

32. A character you’d bang?

They’re all seriously so attractive but I gotta stick with my boy Bellamy

Not sure who has/hasn’t done this because I’ve been seeing a lot of it on my dash the past few days, so consider yourself tagged if you see this and haven’t done it yet!

[spaceymcspaceship]

twenty eight

the lodger

circa 2010

apparently this is the only episode in season 5 that is actually set in the year it came out??? like the other present day eps r slightly in the past or in the future

weird i love this show

in watching some of these eps for the first time i really enjoy seeing the doc do shit that i’ve had them do in fanfic and then clearly it was done on the show but i didn’t know that bc i haven’t actaully seen all of it? idk it makes me feel very much on the right wavelength even though making the doc build a sciency contraption out of household objects in their bedroom is not that hard of thing to guess the doc would do

the doc trying to be human is always a+ content

can we please use that telepathic trick again where he just knocks his head into craig’s bc that is top tier and i like to think that whenever the doc gets impatient they could just have that in their back pocket

i’m sorry the doc doesn’t have another name for the football team but introduces himself as captain troy handsome to the ship without hesitation 

night terrors

circa 2011

doctor who making ordinary shit creepy since 5ever

the episode was Good like i feel like there are a lot of takes on Nightmares and fear in this show but this actually felt really refreshing and interesting and not all rehashed

closing time

circa 2011

i completely forgot about this episode and how much of a delight it is

leave it to doctor who to do an episode that’s basically two men and a baby and a cyberman

there are too many good moments craig and 11 r underrated and i probably ignored them in high school bc i was too distracted by when we were going to see river next

speaking of which

river in academic robes is uhhh doing things to me

the wedding of river song

circa 2011

‘what happened to time’ ‘a woman’ HOW DID THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS STUFF

a wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff episode

river’s you are loved and by none more than me speech :’)

L E T  R I V E R  M E E T  H E R  W I F E

i genuinely can’t remember what happened to the silence arc...is this the last of it?

dalek

circa 2012

excited to go back to 2005′s version of 2012

why r we in utah again

the scene with 9 and the dalek is SO good like the reveal in the dark immediately into 9′s absolute viciousness and hatred and taunting and the no holds barred violence just holy shit eccleston 

god ROSE just ROSE

they did such a great job making the dalek truly terrifying

no offensive to classic who but daleks and cybermen r just not actually that scary by themselves they absolutely have to connect them to what they stand for

you would make a good dalek oof

i forgot how unbelievable this ep is def one of my favorite season 1 stories 

fear her

circa 2012

time to go back to 2007′s version of 2012

creepy kids has been a theme today

actually this plot is very similar to night terrors like a stray child of the universe who doesn’t want to be alone 

so many little rose/doc moments? her telling him to not eat the olives or whatever in the kitchen?? she points and he holds her hand in the tardis???

any actually canon relationship with the doc is an entire hour long sub-section in my Let 13 Kiss a Girl powerpoint

that ending is such cheese with the doc lighting the olympic flame and only this stupid show could make me still feel something with that because it’s so brazen and so doctor who

‘they won’t ever split us up’ my GOD rose u can’t just say that

the bells of st john

circa 2013

damn time is flying it seems i was just finishing up with 10′s present day which is Old nuwho to me and now i’m already onto clara’s present day which is Recent nuwho to me

i dunno why but clara genuinely not knowing about wifi is hilarious to me

okay when did clara’s theme start making me emotional?? 

‘you can always skip ahead to breakfast’ may officially be one of my fav 11 lines for personal reasons

so i totally see why clara immediately had a crush 

other than her first almost dying 90% of what they’re doing is like first date shit like drinking tea and talking to each other under the stars and zooming around london on a motorbike and getting breakfast together

wait when did the tardis interior change??? wut??? did i completely miss that???

rings of akhaten

circa 2013 (maybe???)

i love clara

i love everyone in this bar but i’m about to be on the clara train

WOW another line that i basically wrote in a fanfic not knowing it’d been on the show when the doctor is talking about how the elements were built in stars and then flung out across the universe i mean again not a stretch for the doc to say that but still

storiessss again i love one (1) thematically consistent show

just goddammit smith another killer speech and this time he’s just so tired

it does kinda bother me that if the god was the planet and they extinguished the planet then they just kinda gravitationally fucked up the entire system GUESS WHAT GRAVITATIONAL MASS WERE THOSE RINGS ORBITING U FOOL

whatever this is doctor the moon is an egg who

so much progress, and tomorrow i’ll have day of the doctor coming up!!

[syncogon]

Some Chinese Cartoons

[Disclaimer: this was addressed to one specific person. I’ll make a better post one day.]

One day I’ll add pics and make this actually formal and stuff. But for now...

我为歌狂/Music Up:

Summary: Two musically talented, insanely popular high school guys - but that’s about all they have in common. In fact, they hate each other’s guts. And yet, through complicated circumstances, they and two others join to form a four-man band, “OPEN.” Both individually and as a band, they face a variety of problems: financial, academic, familial, romantic, and everything in between, in order to pursue their dreams. (52 eps)

Commentary: This is set in modern(ish) day, real world. Made in 2001, so keep that mind when considering the animation quality. They do have a lot of good songs, since this IS a show about singers and pop bands. Overall the tone is pretty light. Some things are a lot more dramatic than they need to be but that’s fantastic. And a lot of the problems are highly relatable. Development of characters and relationships is def one of the selling points. HUGELY nostalgic for me and a lot of Chinese people it seems haha

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLkMLYnt73g the second opening.

战龙四驱/Go For Speed:

Summary: Two years ago, the genius high schooler Fei won the minicar (4WD) racing Nationals. But only shortly afterward, he disappeared, with only a short note hinting at why. Now, his younger brother Dragon follows in his footsteps, designing and creating his own minicars to compete in the tournaments and steadily working his way up through the rankings. Along the way, he meets many people, makes friends and enemies, and struggles to find Fei and his reason for leaving. (64 eps)

Commentary: Modern/slightly future-day, real world (Shanghai!!). Okay so this show is based around like the gimmick of “minicar racing” - not sure what to really call it. The races are surprisingly fun to watch actually imo, with the technological abilities of the minicars, interactions between players, and obstacles to pass... but you’d probably have to decide that for yourself. For me, the biggest draw was probably the surprising number of subplots, which explore the complex relationships between all the characters - literally every single side character is well established and developed. Family and familial relationships play a pretty big role. Revenge and forgiveness are there too. I got hooked into this show when it was airing on TV solely because of one character haha. Caveat that it starts slow, I don’t know how much you’d actually like this, there needs to be some suspension of disbelief, and the animation quality isn’t fantastic… rip

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb0tHRbyaek&index=30&list=PLQukwpGC9a0wfDv0ymEgGX-LydTKbZY_s (a trailer, in english for some reason even though i’ve never found an english dubbed version of this and don’t want to. It mostly focuses on the racing aspect, but as before, don’t let that fool you, it’s surprisingly deep. Come for the races, stay for the chars)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQukwpGC9a0zqrmIGCXOW1QVlfh6svY7y since when was this on youtube?? :o WAIT HOLY SHIT SINCE WHEN DOES THIS HAVE ENGLISH SUBS THIS IS A GAME CHANGER AAAAA NOW LIKE I MIGHT GO REWATCH THIS - just kidding, only the first episode. Man what a letdown

弹珠传说/Danzhu Legend:

Summary: This is a world where people have Danzhu battles: competitions involving channeling your magic energy into Shooters to launch marble-like Danzhu at targets. These objects have great power, but, so far, no one has decided to take advantage of it… until now. One day, a young boy who has always dreamed of becoming a Danzhu battler is chosen by one of the five Legendary Shooters. He journeys into the mountains to seek training from the Danzhu Master, where he meets the other four Legendary wielders and learns that their job is to stop the evil threatening to take over their world. (52 eps)

Commentary: Fantasy world. So this is like your pretty standard “boy discovers power and works to save the world” story, but still enjoyable in its own right. The gimmick of this are the aforementioned Danzhu. The Guardians are also very important; all Shooters are linked to a spiritual animal/creature/something that’s the basis of power. The battles are all very cool! Quick disclaimer: for various reasons I am more familiar with this show than maybe any other of the ones here. This fact made me appreciate how much potential this story had, but also made me realize all of its flaws. There are a lot of things it could have done better - character development jumps to mind, because aside from the MC and one of the antagonists, most of them don’t change all that much. Also there’s lots of recycled animation. Just keep these caveats in mind. However, I still found the adventure/plot/magic very exciting to watch, a healthy dose of idealism and humor as well as tension/smarts/raw courage, so if you’re interested in that aspect more, I’d recommend this!

Links: ALL THE EPISODES ARE ON YOUTUBE ONCE MORE PRAISE this is very helpful for me because when i needed them to be on youtube, someone had like taken all of them down, which was very upsetting, but now they are back again, glorious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvQUvsPwKA0&list=PLZKi4aAqJS8dbVOUrKnDqNU4F4rnm8Ott playlist isn’t in order but you should watch the opening theme to get a feel for it - if you want even more of a feel, watch to 4:50, which is kinda like a prologue and a better summary of what I said above lol

开心宝贝/Happy Heroes:

Summary: Just read what’s on tvtropes tbh haha (link below) (Ongoing, 10 seasons, 52 eps each (except season 8 which was 40 eps) )

Commentary: Imo the best seasons were 3, 5, 6, and 8. After 8 the animation style changed a bit and the humor quality kinda went down…well, that might just be me, though. Either way, though, there are so many amazing earlier episodes, and I’ve gotten really attached to all the characters. It being a kids show, there’s no super deep plot or lasting impact of anything (aside from the last arc of season 7, heh. I remember watching when it came out in 2014 and flipping out bc I did NOT expect that, knowing HH) but it’s still thoroughly enjoyable. There are also two movies: the second movie is kinda confusing and meh but the first movie is pretty good and I think you can find it on youtube. In fact I believe all the episodes are on youtube, but I imagine you have those links already

Links: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKA3CuHXUxHflv9KAgEJyKQ is the channel with everything. Watch the trailer for season 8! It’s v epic and got me hyped when it released.

Tvtropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Animation/HappyHeroes

Movie 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUiA3nue22Y. (there are english subs too! haha)

Movie 2 isn’t worth watching trust me

星游记/Rainbow Sea:

Summary: Years ago, a man dressed in all red made a declaration to the universe: behind the largest black hole was a mysterious place called Rainbow Sea, a place where any dream could be fulfilled. Enchanted by the stories, people from across the universe joined the man in red in his journey. Unfortunately, no one ever returned. Rainbow Sea was scoffed at as a myth and a lie. The man in red was cursed, nicknamed by people as the Red Demon. The sinister organization known as the Galactic Eyes quietly gained control of the Solar System and numerous other star systems, sealing off the planet where the Red Demon had come from, Earth, and forbidding any ships from entering or leaving. Now, ten years later, the Red Demon's son Maidang has reached adolescence and is determined to fulfill the pinky promise made to his father before he left: to reunite with him at Rainbow Sea.

Commentary: Quality stuff right here. Best part is the backstories of all these characters, there’s some really moving stuff. The characters are p great - Maidang is so inspiring, Gudong is highly relatable, Diya is awesome... The art style (esp for their eyes) is really nice. ...Not much else to say off the top of my head, esp since the story is far from over, but even if it starts off slow, this is definitely worth your time!

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiB_oZBdi7k&list=PLF068DA90359EDE0D all the episodes. The opening theme/sequence was what got me hooked, you should def watch it (up to like 1:20 or whatever, then if you want like a prologue watch to like 3:07)

26 eps so far. Season 2 and after are apparently going to be “web movies” instead of episodes, something like 60 minutes each, and will cost money (rip) but I’m sure they’ll show up for free somewhere eventually. Fingers crossed this’ll be soon. Wanna join me in hiatus hell :DD

神魄/Zinba:

Summary: Kan is happily chatting with his closest friend on an ordinary school day when, all of a sudden, he finds himself pulled into an alternate fantasy world. This world is filled with Zinba, large and powerful creatures that may form bonds with select humans, called Linkers, for immense battle power. After becoming a Linker with one of the strongest Zinba ever to exist, Kan joins the peacekeeping Dux force of the kingdom of Toria and fights against the various evils threatening the land, all while trying to find his way back to his own world. (52 eps)

Commentary: Okay, so you know, I wouldn’t recommend this as much as some of the others on this list, esp since it’s the most recent Chinese show I actually watched, but it made enough of an impact on me to have it worth talking about. I started watching bc a) it showed up as recommended for me on youtube, b) the opening is SICK as HECK, and c) the protag of this is voiced by the same person as the protag of DZL, and generally looks/acts kinda similar haha. Anyway, overall thoughts: basically, it had a lot of unrealized potential. The world and the character designs are AMAZING. I liked the animation. The plot is interesting, with a surprising number of plot twists as to who’s the real ultimate villain. But there could have been So Much More development – we could’ve gotten more thorough backstories for the main crew, for example, or seen more of the world/magic/tech, but instead a lot of the people as well as Zinba just… exist, as static and boring entities. There were like two interesting characters total (Kan’s aforementioned “normal” friend being one of them heh). Kan himself was suuuuper annoying, esp at the beginning. (can you tell I really appreciate/prioritize the characters of a show?) However, some moments were quite well done and epic, and I wrote some fanfiction and commentary on basically every episode, so it holds a place in my heart. Also, there is a full English dub lmaooo (the voices suck but the translations for names/places/etc are interesting) (episode 1 has 318k views??? That’s a TON for a chinese cartoon)

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G83STZ9xcc the opening which is good and worth watching, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQukwpGC9a0xatMI-KGO9SILZ5sSWfWXX full playlist, syncogon.tumblr.com/tagged/zinba lol

[erlangs]

kpop recs

okaaay so i was bored and wanted to procrastinate so i thought why not??? keep in mind that this list isn’t exhaustive and there are probably more recs out there but here are just some of my favorites + why i would rec them!! a lot of the recs are on the popular side of things too but i also tried putting in groups that not everyone know of / listen to already ( i put the more popular groups down the bottom btw ).

day6: day6!!!! day6!!! i got into them like over a year after their debut lmao so i was a lil late but damn am i glad that i started listening to them?? they’re more krock than kpop probably but honestly....pls listen to day6.... a lot of people have been saying that some of their songs feel like anime intros too and i would agree?? like some of their songs would fit v v well into shonen anime intros tbh esp probs like sports anime? ANYWAY, they have a variety of songs like they have different sounds for some of their things but i think they still have a v distinctive day6 feel it’s just a matter of preference which sort of sound you like better? honestly, i would rec all their songs but i think for the purpose of this list my rec for them would be letting go (놓아 놓아 놓아). even without context the music video feels so Raw and Deep too imo but...with context lmao they left a keyboard untouched whenever there are scenes of them playing as a band and that’s bc one of their members left and that always makes me emotional. also, congratulations was their debut and you were beautiful is a continuation of that mv wise which i think is cool af. personal rec though? both tracks from the every day6 march ( how can i say is the title track for that one ). 

dreamcatcher: ok so as i write this they’ve only debuted like a couple of months ago but goddamn i love their concept. here’s a fun fact: they debuted on friday the 13th with a song and mv bearing a horror concept which is??? sick af??? their debut mv chase me basically is about the girls as ghosts haunting this place and it is SO COOL. ofc tho, trigger warning for horror!! i believe that the mv is part of the trilogy, and here is the second part of it called good night. the chase me mv i think is the BEST but i really really love good night as a song too. also !! they have rock sounds which is really cool!! ( also, pls listen to yoohyeon, sua and siyeon covering winner’s really really. )

laboum: MY GIRLS WHO DESERVE SO MUCH. i....honestly don’t even know what to rec for this list just bc i like everything they’ve done?? some i do like more than others though, but i think it also kind of depends on your taste and what you like?? if you like kinda like that cute concept then i would def recommend shooting love?? honestly, i myself am kind of like...picky about cute ish concepts just bc a lot of them seem to blur together but i really like shooting love?? it’s such a fun mv and is such a bop. if you’re here for something slower, though, give fresh adventure a listen. and pls support their latest mv ( as i write this ) hwi hwi which is such a catchy song i’m crying.

loona: they’re doing this thing where they’re releasing info about a member every month this year and they’re letting their members come up with a debut song and mv one by one until all their members are out to public. i think it’s a really cool concept too and they seem really really promising. i would recommend watching each of their individual debut mvs ( hyunjin’s around you is my favorite, but watch them all tbh ) and i still can’t get over how much i love their mv ( not featuring all their members tho as not everyone is “released” yet ) love & live.

pentagon: i....love them??? HONESTLY i have no idea what it is about them that makes me love them so much?? sometimes i’m like pls @ them but i really love them and i think their debut was really Solid too?? it’s an mv called gorilla and it just....really impressed me for a debut mv?? their second title track is called can you feel it and they also they have a super cute mv called pretty pretty lmaooo. in their second ep though ( five senses, with can you feel it as title track ) i really like the song engine!! if you like slower and chiller songs, give beautiful a listen too. the mv isn’t like a Spectacular concept or anything but i just love these boys and how much of cute losers they are.

kard: as i’m writing this they have currently not yet debuted but !! they released three project singles that are all such BOPS HONESTLY. kard is a coed kpop group with some really cool sounds. i’m just gonna list all three project singles here because i def think you should listen to all of them esp bc they’re kind of a trilogy song wise?? their first one is oh nana, followed by don’t recall ( a personal fave ) and their most recent one is called rumor. there are v interesting fan theories about the mvs too, especially for don’t recall.

triple h: they’re a project unit featuring hyuna and pentagon’s hui & e’dawn and their debut is!! really something!! their debut mv is called 365 fresh and holy fuuuck. trigger warning for blood, bruises, violence, murder and suicide, though, so please keep that in mind if you plan on watching. if not, the song in itself is such a Fresh song. i love the entire vibe of their entire 199x ep too.

vixx: kings of dance and vocals, ngl. i swear that they just get better and better and better and every time they have a comeback ever since like chained up they just get even fucking better somehow??? fantasy i really really love too and for the longest time it was my favorite song of theirs but then they recently dropped shangri la which is honestly....quite Something Else. i have admittedly not listened to many of their non title tracks either but i really like black out!!

f(x): i’ll be honest and say that i haven’t really listened to much of f(x) other than their 4 walls era but i love that era?? i love the mv to 4 walls too and i would 10/10 rec it. though honestly pls give the entire album a listen and personally, my favorite song from the album is deja vu.

blackpink: goddamn these girls got popular real quick. honestly one of my fave girl groups though I LOVE THEM SO MUCH and though boombayah i think is officially their debut mv whistle is honestly such a bop and also has a bomb ass music video?? their other two mvs playing with fire and stay are also sick af i just really love them. they got the #aesthetic.

seventeen: i’m just gonna keep this short bc i don’t think i know nearly enough about svt just yet but mansae is suuuch a fun mv imo as a whole group that’s their best mv just because it was really fun?? the song is super catchy too. but give their hip hop unit’s check in a listen too bc it’s Iconic tbh.

bts: they honestly deserve the hype they get?? so much?? you’ve most likely already heard about them but if you’re not into them yet or have yet to listen to a song and don’t know where to start my number one rec is blood, sweat and tears — which is also what got me into them — ( and here’s the japanese ver but keep in mind there are triggers for blood, murder & allusions to drugs, i like to think that the japanese ver is an alternate universe/continuation of the korean one and there are lots of theories on this that you can read up ). althouuugh bst especially the mv would set your standards very high i think?? but honestly....that’s a Must Watch if ur getting into bts. i know that it’s already v popular but it really really deserves the attention it gets imo. BUT the entire wings era is worth listening to and also pls listen to all their solos in the wings album ( my personal favorite is rap monster’s reflection ).

red velvet: probably another name that pops up a lot too and they have a really interesting concept tbh?? they have like this duality where red is like a more playful and fun concept and velvet is more classy and elegant in a way?? dumb dumb is a really fun example of the red concept and be natural for velvet!! russian roulette seems like a hit or miss for people too but i think the song is really cute!!

exo: again, who hasn’t heard of them?? monster was a Hit and deservingly so too. i honestly really really love the entire lotto / ex’act album too and i especially really like can’t bring me down from the album. but honestly, as much as how big of a hit monster ( and some of their other mvs like overdose and call me baby, amongst many others are huge hits too ) was, i think my favorite mv they did was sing for you. boy that made me feel things?? many fans speculate that the mv was kind of a tribute to kris, luhan and tao ( three members who left ) too and that made me even more !!! about it. ALSO ALSO they have a sub unit called exo cbx and i just rec everything cbx does tbh but before they became an official sub unit they did this song as an ost for a kdrama and i LOVE it so much it’s called for you.

got7: another really popular group so imma try not talk too much about them but honestly...i think just right is p much an insight into got7′s personality LMAO aka adorable losers. everyone loves all three of their flight log trilogy eras too but my favorite is the flight log: turbulence era. hard carry is a masterpiece that i keep on coming back to and skyway is my other favorite song on the album, followed by boom x3.

bigbang: i’m not even gonna get into this one because chances are you’ve heard fantastic baby or bang bang bang. listen to anything in their made album, basically. but i’m just gonna leave last dance here it was a Masterpiece.

2ne1: a disbanded group, which is really sad lmao. you’ve probably heard i am the best too but i just wanna rec come back home and falling in love. 2ne1 was what got me into kpop in the first place too and i love them.

soloists: i’m too lazy to link all the mvs and all but look into seo inguk, kim chungha, lim kim, ailee, lee hi, park jimin ( of 15& ), amber liu, kisum, dean, heize and i’m probably missing a lot of people.

[100percentdirtball]

like @spookyalienfriend, i don't need to be tagged to know that i am 100% going to answer all of these fucking questions, this is exactly my thing. let's go.

Taboo VI The Homecoming: What was your first exposure to the Mountain Goats?

i think, i think, that the person i was head-fucking-over heels for in 2007 made me a cd that included no children, and when i came back to austin without them, i bought protein source, and it was so very different from no children. it took me a year or so to really fall hard for the mountain goats, and it was all hail that did it.

Zopilote Machine: Which is your favorite “Going to” song?

the going to series is not my very favorite series. probably going to tennessee? "the sun is setting on memphis, the sun is setting on memphis." i would've liked this song as a young person, listening to it late at night driving up and down i-35

Songs for Peter Hughes: Which member of the Mountain Goats reminds you most of yourself?

i have written a couple of times about how much i identify with john darnielle

Sweden: Do you personally prefer the lo-fi or hi-fi albums? Why?

they do different things for me? if you asked me to list my favorites, there would be more hi-fi albums than lo-fi, but if you put a gun to my head probably all hail would be my no. 1 mountain goats album of all time. the lo-fi albums tend to have this restlessness to them that i'm not always in the mood for, but sometimes i need.

Nothing for Juice: What’s your favorite cover that the Mountain Goats has done (besides “The Sign”)?

my jokey-joke answer is the boys are back in town, bc the boys are back in town. seriously, there are actually a lot of really good ones! i wouldn't even call the sign my favorite cover. i'm so lonesome i could cry is amazing, it's a very strange thing that works much better than a straight cover would have. i think i'll just stay here and drink is pretty good--can you tell i like country music--but it's very hard to go wrong with two headed boy. maybe crazy train? fuck me it's hard to pick a favorite cover.

Full Force Galesburg: What’s a Mountain Goats song that most people don’t like or aren’t familiar with, but which you love?

i dunno about don't like, but i think alpha omega is a fairly not-talked about song, and probably my favorite of the whole alpha series.

Protein Source of the Future…Now!: Which Mountain Goats song series is your favorite? (e.g. the Alpha series, the Orange Ball series)

pure, probably? it has some of my favorite songs, pure heat and money are all some of my favorite tmg songs.

The Coroner’s Gambit: Which Mountain Goats album do you think is the most under-appreciated?

not “most under-appreciated”, maybe, but i do really think get lonely is a spectacular album, it just happens to be sort of one-note?

All Hail West Texas: What Mountain Goats song reminds you most of yourself

it varies, for sure. in the way that makes sense, right? i contain multitudes. i think there was a time it was super no children, but i think now it’s either never quite free or you were cool

Tallahassee: What’s your favorite Mountain Goats album? Why?

i don’t know how i could possibly choose. def i get stuck on different albums at different times. rn i’ve been listening to tallahasse and the life of the world to come a lot.

We Shall All Be Healed: Have you ever seen the Mountain Goats live? If so, what was your favorite thing about the show(s)? If you’ve never seen them live, is there a specific venue you’d like to see them perform at?

never. i recently saw john darnielle speak, for the universal harvester tour, which was rly excellent! and i'm seeing tmg//jason isbell this summer.

The Sunset Tree: What Mountain Goats song always makes you sad?

maybe sprout wings, i think. there's such deep longing and guilt and... idk, describing old friends as ghosts while being suicidal super gets me every time, i know that vibe too well.

Get Lonely: Who do you wish the Mountain Goats would collaborate with?

i just want there to be more tmg collaborations, generally, but i have said before that a townes van zandt//tmg thing would be fucking amazing. even just a townes cover would blow my mind. 

Heretic Pride: What’s your favorite non-album the Mountain Goats track? (e.g. a live-only song or a rarity)

you were cool isn't just my favorite non-album song, it's one of my favorite, probably top 5 or 10 tmg songs, period.

Satanic Messiah: What’s your favorite Mountain Goats EP?

real easy question, nine black poppies

The Life of the World to Come: Do you prefer 4AD or Merge? Why?

i don't think there's a meaningful distinction? and like, the producers are the same even. but if it's just, which set of albums do i like better? probably 4ad, but it's whatever

All Eternals Deck: What’s your favorite Mountain Goats lyric?

"woke up afraid of my own shadow // i mean like genuinely afraid" has been stuck in my head a lot recently. i love the delivery on "i am just a broken machine." i always feel a very particular way where i hear "crows outside complaining about the // finer points of local politics", and i have thought about "i am // coming back to midland // and i hope you don't mind" at least once a week for the last two years straight.

Transcendental Youth: What are three of your favorite bands besides the Mountain Goats?

hard to say tbh. historically, probably bomb the music industry, speechwriters llc, and american football? stumbeline deserves a spot in there, and tbh tegan and sara do too.

Beat the Champ: What Mountain Goats song always cheers you up or gets you pumped up?

chavo usually gets me jazzed. for a while, high hawk season and werewolf gimmick were some of my go-to tournament pump-up between-round songs.

i know y’all don’t usually do this, but it would be cool if @thetroubledsoup and @cornerof5thandvermouth did this thing, or did some of these questions that caught there eye, idk, and anyone else who feels into it

[survivorpacificislandallstars]

Ep. 9 - “WHY THE HELL WHY THE FUCKING HELL GOD FUCK” - Charlotte

Stevie just got idoled out by Andrew. I'm extremely upset by this. I was planning on working with Stevie through the entire game. Luckily I still have a lot of allies and I won't be targeted on my tribe since 1. I haven't been to exile and 2. I'm good at challenges. With Dan going to tribal, I am the person who's been to tribal the least this season. Honestly, I'm probably the person that's been to the least tribals in this series left, only with 4 in my entire PI career. So, I'm gonna make a list of the people I'm with least to most, since I never did a proper cast assessment. 19. Sam B - I want her out sooner rather than later. She screwed me over in Niue and she knows I was coming for her at our first tribal together. We made a pact that we wouldn't target eachother after that, but that's a load of bullshit. She's my number one target. Payback will be sweet. 18. Gage - I just met him, but he's higher on my list since he did well in the challenge. 17. Steffen - I'm petrified of Steffen. He's a cutthroat player and doesn't really take into consideration friendships outside the game. Or so I hear. The only game I've played with him was TAR and he screwed me over in that. He can go too. 16. Andrew - He just took out one of my closest allies, and he's working with Mitch. I want Mitch to myself. 15. Billy - I REALLY wanted to work with him, since it's been over a year since our last game together, Somalia. But I just don't think it's in the cards. He's way too close with Sam B and Steffen for me to get myself into that alliance. 14. Kevin - He's not that active so I don't think I can really rely on him. Sorry Kevin :( But hey, you're number 5 on our tribe! 13. Karen - This is a bit of a placeholder spot for Karen. I love playing with her, she's just one of two people I haven't been on a tribe with yet. I just don't know who she's with or what her plans are yet. 12. Dan - I worked with him in HOS, but he was super sketchy in Niue and he still managed to win. I also already broke an alliance with him by voting out Madison. I would like to work with him, but he's just too much of a wildcard for me. Honestly, this is where it gets hard because I'm pretty close with all of these people left. 11. David Robb - As far as I know, I'm working with him and we have a close working relationship. I just don't know how far we can go together before I need to cut him for my more important allies. 10. Van - Same as Andrew and same as Charlotte right below. 9. Charlotte - Once again, I would like to keep Mitch to myself. I won't be voting off Charlotte, but if she happens to leave, that's fine with me. 8. Sam G - Ok, I adore Sam. She is one of my closest people, especially when Drew is around. That's a three person group I can see making it far, but I can't go to the FTC with them. There is 0 way I win that. 7. Mitch - I see Mitch becoming very powerful if Andrew, Kevin, Van, Charlotte, and Drew are all here come merge. While I would love to work with him, but he's a savvy player with a bunch of allies. I don't think he would ever see me turning on him. But I will. 6. Jordan Pines - Similarly to Mitch, I see Jordan being powerful if him and his allies/friends make it to merge. 5. Chrissa - An easy final 2 I would have, if she makes merge. While I haven't been on a tribe with her yet, I know she'd drop everything for me. I just don't see her making it much further if she loses immunity soon. 4. Drew - He won't turn on me, and I don't see myself turning on him. Unless it was absolutely imperative to my game. 3. Sara - I love Sara so much they're such an icon. They offered to trade Pokemon with me i just haven't got to yet :( Hopefully she sends me a Rowlet and a vote from the jury when I'm at FTC with the next two people. 1/2. Ash and PunPun - TRUE ICONS! I love these two so so much. PunPun slightly more than Ash since I've talked to them more. Basically right now as long as we don't swap, us three + Charlotte control the Hōkū tribe. This is the dream final three right here.

Conf 16 (I Think): My dad Stevie died and now I have no one! What the fuck! oh my god! How dare Andrew do that to me! and now there is a swap so I feel pretty confident tbh like im with Sam and Steffen and Kevin so i feel pretty good?

Whelp, this was fun. I got out with all of the Nuie people, and Mitch who might as well be a Nuie person. On top of that they all suck at competitions! I can't wait to be the next person voted out because of a god damn tribe swap again :)

BYE I can't trust anyone on this booty ass tribe. I just killed Stevie, my father, and am now being reunited with Sam, my mother. So I thot I would have some 'splainin to do but Sam was cool. Seemingly. Then there's Drew who mind you - hand picked these tribes with the other exile people. Now, he probably knows I'm close to Sam, but if I'm being targeted he will also probably think she'd turn on me. Also, Dan would write my name down again in a second. And I'm friendly with Sara but she has no reason NOT to vote me. Really, the only person I truly trust now in this game is Billy. I wanna say the same for Steffen bc I love him and we pulled some wacky shit in Westeros but... He's too sneaky. If we lose I might be really really fucked. 

I. DON'T. FUCKING. LIKE. DREW. There I said it. He is literally shooting every idea I have for this vine challenge for his own. The fucker just wants to go to exile to get a shit clue for an idol I couldn't even find. Like your ideas are not original, or cute and you're really starting to piss me the fuck off. 

We won got second but we won, good i thought i was still on hoshi and lost, war flashbacks and all but so happy thank god for ste*fen for that one, as much as they thought it was too straight forward it was still good enough to win I'd like to also thank me for that vine submission i made, the song is so catchy. 

Hey it's me, your resident exile island whore and your boy who constantly fucks himself. Tribes have swapped, shit has happened, I've never been comfortable. I've been on exile island so much that people are probably going to come at me for having advantages and being a quiet threat, but I've been building my alliances of people I love who will protect me if I need. I need to let them know I'll die for them if I need to, because winning is just a perk. I like making friends. Oh! Did I mention my repeated trips to Exile earned me a ruby idol? Thought that was pretty cool, even though it doesn't guarantee my safety, but it's something I have. As part of my confessional, I need to talk about the people left in the game. Andrew - Not much of a threat and an ally I want. After saving himself with an idol he's going to be shook and looking for someone to trust, and I've given him no reason to distrust me. Considering I was exiled and not a part of... that, I can play it up that I wasn't planning on voting him and would've turned the vote on someone else (Which is the truth.) Ash - I don't... know her. I haven't been on a tribe with her, but I feel like she doesn't get very far in these games, so maybe she's not too threatening. I would like to use that and hopefully get her as an ally if we even meet up. Billy - He has made it to FTC multiple times. I know he can be a dangerous player and he would be very difficult to get out if we were to merge. I don't know if he can win, because something always seems to trip him up in the end, but I know that he would be taking up a spot in the finals that could be used for me or an ally. My hope is to vote him out tonight, but Jay is hesitant because he did the work for us, which I understand. To be honest, our story was... bad. If I had seen the direction it was going, I know I probably could have spiced it up and made it better, but it was a rushed decision. That said, I made this tribe to get Billy out before merge, and if this tribe doesn't do that, I'm going to be disappointed. Charlotte - Right now, she's my #1. She's my student of sorts, and I like to think of myself as her mentor. I've trusted her with information about idols, and with the fact that she's at work a lot, she's an easy target for a vote, which I don't want. If she gets to merge, she will not be a threat, and my goal is to help her get far. I love her as a person, and I can't see her turning on me any time soon, and her coupled with Jay gives me a good position on this tribe of 5. Chrissa - She's sweet, and someone I really enjoy being around. I haven't been around her a whole lot because of these ridiculous swaps, which is concerning, but I see her being a good ally if we're able to meet up again. She's not the best at challenges, and she can be odd, which will probably be a detriment. Her tribe is going to tribal, and I have a feeling that she might be their target, which sucks. I love Chrissa, and if I can get her on my side at merge with the group I have, we'd be set. Dan - He has literally won a season. He has a social flair unlike anyone I've ever seen. Dan is incredible. HE GOTTA GO DLKDSJSLDKJFS I was HOPING Whetu would go to tribal so Drew could pull strings and vote him out, because Dan has the social game to steamroll merge. He's been voted out at merge before, but that was when he started. Now that he knows how to play the game, he easily could beat all of us up if he's not out before merge. So... that needs to happen. Pronto. David - You know, I don't know how David plays in Survivor. I played briefly in Sri Lanka with him, and going to rocks really messed him up. He's hosted me in TAR. Other than that, I don't know how David plays. I feel like Drew or Jay could do better at roping him in if we needed, but for now I want to keep my distance and hope something works out. Drew - BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I love Drew and we never get to play together so I'm VERY glad this game is giving us a chance. We both came in on a challenge threat ticket, and the other people on that ticket are gone. And yet Drew and I are both in pretty good spots since we get to choose the tribes since we keep getting exiled. We're painting ourselves as huge threats, and I'm aware of it. I think Drew's aware of it too, so hopefully we can keep our asses afloat. He's my main ally for connecting with folks, alongside Jay. Gage - Gage has also won a game, and also made it to FTC before. He's an under-the-radar player, and he's going to be ignored in a season of people who want to constantly take the reins and struggle for power. Gage is a hidden threat, and I want to get rid of him before he gets rid of us in our war. If I go to exile and we get to rearrange the tribes, I am putting him with me and my alliance and I am kickin him. Jay - JAY another bitch I never get to work with in games. He is my furry bro and he is so great at the social game that he can coordinate our entire alliance and I don't give a fuc. He and I are already seen as a duo by other people, so I feel like I should keep my distance, which is difficult because I rely on him for playing the social aspect of the game while I just win challenges, go to exile, and get idols and shit. So hopefully Jay continues to work his magic and I get the benefits while not taking heat. Jordan - I have a sneaking suspicion that Jordan has the Hoshi advantage, because when I went to look for it, it was gone. He's been to exile a few times now, so I know he has the clues to get it. It's not an idol, but it's SOMETHING, and the more power Jordan Pines has, I know he has the ability to create chaos. But Drew and Jay trust him, so I'm not going to kick the floor out from under him and catch heat for it. I'll let him live while sneakily planting a seed or two that he needs to go out the back door before shit happens. Karen - I have recently been booted out by Karen. I know she has people up her butt because she's a social player. I would LOVE to have her go, because she can make FTC but... not really win? Which puts her on the level of Billy, actually. If she hits merge, she's a problem. I know these people like her too much to send her home though, so we'll see where this goes... Kevin - I like Kevin as a person, we hang out in the gorlley chat (shoutout to gorlleys) and he's chill. I don't know how he plays Survivor though, I know he can get pretty far into merge and be fine, so maybe he's someone I want to take along for the ride. Punpun - I love punpun. They always die SO early though, so I want them on my side so I can at least help some people get farther than they have before. I know they like me, but we haven't played a whole lot of games together, so who knows how they've changed their gameplay since we last interacted. Sam B - A SOCIAL ASS BUTTERFLY. Everyone loves her, and she can get DEEP into merge. Fuck, she's also Billy.  I want her to go, because she has ties to Steffen, Van, Billy... So many people. She needs to go because she'll also be hard to get rid of at merge.  I'm intimidated by her. Sam G - I love her. She's quiet and easy to work with, but I'm not entirely sure how hard she plays. I think she makes it relatively far in all games, she's made FTC in Burma F4 trash, so maybe she's more threatening than she lets on. Who knows. Sara - Another quiet person who I'm not sure how she plays! She's nice, and our conversations are good. I think I can keep her on my side for a while, and if she gets pretty far, I'd be okay with that. Steffen - Another BILLY ugh. I don't trust Steffen with an inch of my life because of what happened in Hawaii, but maybe things have smoothed over. I'm always cautious around him, though. Van - I LOVE HER She's my Spain buddy and I think I can get her on my side if we get rid of Sam/Steffen/Billy. She doesn't play revenge game, so I don't think I can worry about a lot of backlash if I'm the one to boot them out. And for fun, here's a threat ranking! And people I want as allies. Fun stuff. THREATENING. GO HOME NOW (in order of threateny goodness): Billy, Dan, Sam B + Steffen, Gage, Karen Be careful: Jordan, Sam G, David, Van, Andrew They like me, we're ok for a while: Chrissa, Kevin, Sara, Punpun, Ash? I love them and they love me: Drew, Jay, Charlotte Still laying low! But I'm doing my best to be aware of what's going on around me. 

Okay so first off, I'm going to need Jessica's home address, but it's just for a friend! I'm not going to pay her a visit and give her a PIECE OF MY DAMN MIND ABOUT GRADING OUR VINE STORY SO HARSHLY. Any who, it doesn't matter because MOMty and AlliMOM fell under the weight of my influence and enforced the ruled to save my ass. I made an alliance with Andrew and Sam G (HONESTLY IT JUST TOOK ME 6 MINUTES TO REMEMBER HER NAME Y'ALL) and I like it actually. Like realistically we're going to be split up next round, but it doesn't hurt having connections I guess. I gave them the clue to the idol too, which is cute.

We lost? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! Our story was gold! Pure, rock solid gold! Hoku clearly doesn't know what the fuck "1 sentence" is! You were supposed to accompany each vine with 1 SENTENCE NOT A FUCKING PARAGRAPH YOU MORONS!! And Kyaal had 9 vines and there was no fucking effort like honestly what the hell are these judges smoking? Hoshi's did suck ass so like okay they can go to tribal but what the fuck? Ours had a real story to it AND we actually followed the rules! Hoku shouldn't have even been allowed to submit that since they had PARAGRAPHS NOT A FUCKING SENTENCE LIKE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO! This is ridiculous and now I have to go talk to people and vote someone out and it'll probably Dan and I feel bad djdvdkdk unless it's gunna be me in which case whatever take me away from this ugly ass game WHAT THE FUCK DOES JESSICA MEAN GO OUTSIDE AND LIVE YOUR LIFE? LIKE SHUT UP I DONT KNOW HER BUT IM NOT A FAN BYE! I KNEW RICKY WOULD BE A FAN THOUGH SO SHOUT OUT TO RICKY FOR BEING MY FAVE <3

Dear Hoku, you can't put a comma in place of a period and still call it one sentence. Y'all can choke for not knowing your grammar and making us go to tribal because you're stupid. With much hate, Sam

"So anyways... It seems that this vote could go one of two ways, Sara or Dan. Andrew and I were talking about pulling in Drew and vote either Dan or Sara but Dan also wants to work with me and Andrew" WHEW I GOT THIS FAR AND SAW THE ANNOUNCEMENT I'M SHOOK WE DID THAT SUCKS TO SUCK HOKU SORRY NOT SORRY

When Dan gives me a clue to the idol and honestly I shouldn't have told him he was looking the wrong way skdvdkdkx I'm greedy and want all the idols for myself

I guess Chrissa is really out to snap my neck. If we're gonna blame people for this, well for one I'm not blaming myself because why would I do that, so I'm gonna blame Karen cause I think it was her fault for throwing Chrissa's name out so... :/ But queen Samantha, who Id die for in an instant, is gunning for Chrissa with me and we only need one more vote so hopefully it shouldn't be that hard to get Steffen and David but idk I just asked Steffen if he'd heard anything and he said no despite specifically agreeing with Sam to vote Chrissa so uh...something could be up

AUUUUUUGH This is so STUPID. Charlotte wants to vote out Van, Jay wants to vote out Van, and I'm sitting here wondering why they can't see the bigger problem here. Billy is a social threat. Van is a quiet cinnamon roll. We're cut from the same cloth. If I vote her out I'd lose a confidant. BILLY YOU'RE MAKING MY LIFE DIFFICULT AS ALWAYS. Judging from our conversation, Charlotte EASILY spilled to Billy that we were voting Van, so I'm chalking that up to a rookie mistake. I made myself look stupid by telling Billy I'd let Charlotte know. He already knows we've been talking. So he knows I'm a liar. And dslfkjsdss. He's going to ream my entire asshole for this later, I just know it. I'm pretty sure I'm making myself look like more and more of a liar. I just don't want Van to go home, I want Billy to go home. "I made this tribe to get rid of Billy and if that doesn't happen I'm going to be disappointed" What more did I expect from PI? Did I expect to not be disappointed? Why am I so stupid But I need to lay low. If Jay and Charlotte want Van out, that's on them. I won't fight their decision because I need to follow people if I want to go far. That's just how it is in most of these games. I know Jay and Charlotte won't turn on me if I don't give them a reason to think I'm sketchy, so I'm just going to wait it out and vote from the car on the drive down to San Francisco. Which should be fun. Hopefully things don't happen. Watch Van come online and defend herself and this entire conversation goes out the window because I'm a weak piece of shit. 

this is a pretty fancy new tumblr theme you guys got going in here i likey On a gameplay related note if I make it through this vote alive it'll be a miracle if I make it through this vote alive it means I've had to lose every bit of sanity and backstab some people who I trusted and probably trusted me. probably hello niue my old friend i've come to play your game again https://youtu.be/IZaYdwa8KMQ

Omg this round has been so crazy. Let me just start out by saying I did not contribute AT ALL to that vine challenge. I thought it was super cool but I was busy and I don't really like group challenges like that. Anyways, Steffen did the most, and I'm so proud of him. I'm somewhat mad that I asked about it being more than 1 sentence and they said "they are one sentence" and us being disqualified because they weren't, but it was still a great story and I'm happy to claim it for our tribe. Anyways, about this vote. So I trust Steffen for the most part. But I feel like my final 2 lies with Karen. I also love Kevin, so I do want to work with him. When we first lost this comp, Chrissa came to me saying that she wanted Kevin out. She also said that David was on board. However, when I talked to Kevin, he said that him and David were voting out Chrissa. So that leaves me and Steffen to basically choose which side we want to work on. We talked to david individually and he told both of us that he wants to vote out Chrissa. That makes it easier to vote her out, honestly. If he wanted Kevin out, and since we were already leaning more towards chrissa anyways, we still would have had to deal with him after the vote, but knowing that we can keep him on our good side is great. I think that I could definitely work with Kevin long term. I don't think I ever could have said that about Chrissa. So hopefully this works out. And omg !!! I got the merry go round idol for a second time. The first time was randomized (but nobody had previously used it so I'm pretty sure I was the first) but the second time it was given to me by ash. WHO I LOVE. Ugh I love Ash. But yeah, so I am going to give it to steffen. I know I had given it to steffen last time, but I was on a tribe with him so I felt safe doing so. Even though I trust Karen, we haven't actually been on a tribe together in a while. So I'm not sure where she stands with me. I do still want to work with her, though, so hopefully that'll work out. If we ever merge. We might just tribe swap until like final 6, I have no clue with the rate that this game is going. Tribe swaps every few rounds though definitely help my social game, so I guess I'm not complaining :) 

BILLY WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO GET ME OUT? GOD FUCK YOU ALWAYS GET NERVOUS AND TRY AND PULL OFF THESE MOVES WHY THE HELL WHY THE FUCKING HELL GOD FUCK

I've taken to talking to myself using both of my accounts in my chat...........it's been a day frankly......

me tonight

[todaysbiggesthits]

The Exam

Best Music Moment of 2017:

Code: dancing out the entire wedding reception playlist with my best girl on an empty concrete slab on a breezy texas night

BC: -The absolute stellar dance party at Codemin’s Wedding; most notably:

     “Carol” by The Rolling Stones

     “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode

     “Crystal” by New Order

-OK Computer’s 20th Anniversary and the listening/reflection that came with it -My four year old, Emmett, learning “Maps” on the drums pretty much on his own

JD: February: Watching the “Emotional Rescue” scene in A Bigger Splash:

March: Seeing Stop Making Sense on the big screen at my favorite theater with m’gal and a David Byrne Q&A after the screening. April: The dance party of a lifetime at Code and Arden’s wedding. November: Watching Parquet Courts play “You’ve Got Me Wondering Now” for the first time in years.

C: "Born to Run" at a good friend's, Brian Ferguson's, wedding.

Nasty: This playing at the end of Leftovers Season 3, Ep 5 - "The Most Powerful Man in the World"

Bronco: Sitting on my back porch with Brenny, sipping down some delicious whiskey drinks and listening to the new Mastodon on a surprisingly unshitty Amazon bluetooth speaker. Watching his face on the breakdown in Jaguar God was quite entertaining. Also listening to the Squalus album (the metal interpretation of Jaws) with the kids, my oldest asking what it was, and him saying he wants to watch Jaws now. He was especially fascinated by the USS Indianapolis part of the story.

Laser: This 

Chap: My 17 has been dominated by the two new ladies in my life. I made this mix for them:

and played it for them on random the morning they were born. This was the first song that came on:

and I finally broke down with emotion after the 36 hour experience while holding one of them while this song was playing:

Best Shows Seen in 2017:

BC: This first 60 seconds of this:

Nasty: Future Islands & Action Bronson

Larse: Future Islands with Maddie, Nasty, and Sam; Action Bronson at The Rave - pretty sure I got a contact high just from being in the show

C: War on Drugs

Bronco: Mastodon

Codem: lvl up - beat kitchen kitten forever - subterranean downstairs ovlov - beat kitchen pqc - the bottle girlpool - logan square auditorium moving units’ joy division cover set - the bottle PAWS - cobra lounge a. savage - the bottle pictureplane

JD: 1. William Basinski and Julianna Barwick at National Sawdust 2. No Age at Elsewhere 3. Parquet Courts and B-Boys at Elsewhere 4. Liars at Warsaw 5. Deerhunter and Eleanor Friedberger performing while Bradford Cox painted her portrait onstage at Warsaw 6. LCD Soundsystem at Brooklyn Steel 7. Yo La Tengo in Central Park 8. Andrew WK at Warsaw 9. Vince Staples at Panorama Fest 10. Wire at Baby’s All Right 11. Vagabon at Brooklyn Bazaar

Confession of 2017:

Bronco: I listened to the New Kids On The Block offering of 2017 "Thankful" (it was fucking terrible).

C: Still haven’t listened to LCD Soundsystem

Code: -knowing the backstory, the mount eerie album was probably the best album i heard this year, but it was too dang sad to listen to more than a handful of times. -i still loved that brand new song despite the lead cat being a creep. -i thought that this year was pretty rough for music, but my tune changed after looking back through my top tracks.  maybe there were just so few full albums that i liked? -i fast fwd'd through every SNL musical guest this calendar year, but i did catch the tom petty tribute from the vegas countrymin. 

BC: I don’t hate that objectively awful Chainsmokers/Coldplay song because it reminds me of this year’s BOB since Creevey played it every twenty minutes for 36 holes.

Larson: Listened to more rap this year than I think I have in past years; must be Nasty's Lincoln influence!

Nasty: I listened to more podcasts than music in 17.

Biggest Disappointment of 2017:

Laser: LCD Soundsystem

Codem: -no chromatics this year. -the two lcd shows that i saw this year.

Chap: The albums. I would not be shocked if I didn't listen to any of my top 15 all the way through after today.

Bin: DJT

JD: Mondanile

BC: Real Estate.  I think they need to invite the perv back into the band.

Bronco: Bison, Monolord, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, And So I Watch You From Afar. They all put out albums this year, and I've like their stuff in the past, but they did little to nothing for me this time around.

Most Overrated of 2017:

Codem: slowdive, but also twod and japanese breakfast

Bin: Bodak Yellow / Cardi B

Larse: LCD Soundsystem

Bronco: -Pallbearer - just don't like the guy's voice, and though they're slow as shit, there's no good riffs or anything to connect with for me. -Code Orange - hardcore band that I just don't get. One of those 'motherfucker I'm the best!' type super close to being alt-right supremecy type bands even though they're probably completely against it. They're at the top of most metal lists this year. I've given them 4-5 spins, most in reaction to the praise they're getting, but I just don't get it. -Royal Thunder - just one big case of blue balls. All of their songs seemingly build toward a climax that never happens. It's just so blech.

JD: Did the music press even treat anything as a lasting work of art and not ephemeral content to get through a week or two of famous personality driven clicks? King Krule? 

BC: Lorde, I think?  I mean, that album’s gotten a lot of love this year and I thought the lead single – “Green Light” – was hot garbage. It spawned a conspiracy theory in my mind that Taylor Swift was proactively influencing and then purposefully sabotaging the work of her close friends (see Lorde, Haim, et al).

Make it Stop 2017

Bronco: Sex monsters. Can we just take all white dudes in powerful positions, assume they've sexually assaulted at least one person, imprison them, and move on? We could take everything they have, give it all to Native American tribes, then force them to walk their own trail of tears to live out their lives in the desserts of New Mexico, and force them to build the wall, but it would just be a wall around their sad sex monster reservation.

Also, Taylor Swift.

Nasty: I didn't have the luxury of expending any real hate on music this year... which I'm just now recognizing as a bad thing.

JD: -Unceasing sadness and anxiety about the present and future. -Jack Antonoff

BC: Life on this planet.

Code: any rap station that i hear in an uber. that cardi b song was playing every time i caught a cab at 5:30 a.m. to play golf.

Larson: U2

Biggest TBH Regret of 2017:

BC: Not seeing NIN at RiotFest

Larson: Skipping the Car Seat Headrest show at Summerfest because I could tell Maddie didn't want to leave Jonas' party (party was fun, so not a real loss, just wish I would have seen the show).

Nasty: Not even giving new artists a chance. I'll listen to an average album from The National 10x's before I give someone new a shot.

Codebreaker: not having an opportunity to karaoke badu's tyrone

JD: -Had the worst fever of my life during LCD and could only manage standing in the back shivering. -Forgetting to go see Dinner at Baby’s All Right. -Not enough time with Bjork, Miguel, and Blanck Mass. 

Bronco: Fucked up the family calendar maintenance and ended up not being able to see the Toadies and Local H. I was pissed at my wife, but it wasn't the end of the world. I haven't listened to either in forever, and the listen I gave to the Toadies latest offering didn't knock my socks off. It was really just for nostalgic purposes. Still it sucked to have to miss it despite my best efforts to bring it to her attention multiple times.

Detective Murtaugh of 2017:

NACK: I had two separate opportunities to see LCD, and just didn't feel like putting in the effort. Was going to put this as a regret, but I don't regret it.

Code: i skipped 7 shows that i had tickets for and left 6 shows early. two shows i left early due to brightness of lights.  mmmmmnhh

JD: Couldn’t hear for 18 hours after No Age. Needed two Tylenol for the headache I gave myself during “You’ve Got Me Wondering Now” at PQ Quartz.

BC: Having no idea who either the SNL host or the musical guest was for three straight weeks.  Tiffany Haddish? Saoirse Ronan? SZA? I’m too old for this shit…

Nasty: Carson, Maddie, Sam and I went to watch the IU game this weekend with one of Carson's co-workers (an IU grad) who is 23.... I got rolling on a rant about how important it is to enjoy your 20s because after the impending onslaught of weddings and babies life basically isn't any fun anymore. Suspect it was a little too impassioned by the end.

Bronco: I was enrolled in a three month coding bootcamp to learn Web Development. Aside from the two older ladies (50+) and the weird Brazilian idiot (45+), I was the oldest person in the room by probably an average of 13 years. They are all for the most part life-pivoting in to the dev world and they all have all the time in the world to learn new shit, do whatever they want, whenever they want...goddamnit I miss that. So maybe this is my "too married and fathered for this shit" section of the exam.

C: Wife’s Pregnancy

Laser: Every time I wake up with a fucking hangover and tell myself that I’m not gonna drink like that again only to get back on the saddle the next available opportunity.

Resolution for 2017 Update:

BC: Put a goddamn band together. How it went: 

C: Check out some jazz/blues in Chicago. How it went: FAILED

Larson:  Focus on the shit I really care about instead of trying to listen to everything posted on the thread…I’m just going to have to be honest with myself and realize I ain’t got time for all this media! How it went: Terrible; found myself listening to Timeless Pop Rock hits playlist more than anything else.

Chap: Check out more of the recommendations on the TBH thread. Try to organize get-togethers around TWO shows. How it went: Actually not bad. I had a few solid period during nap times when I didn't feel like working. I think I was able to listen to every album I wanted to at least once.

Code: make concerted effort to listen to music that i liked in previous years in addition to music from the current year. How it went: i nailed my resolution, as i devoted four full months to the grateful dead and it was the best musical trimester of the year for me. it was really interesting to watch all of the new music pile up and never once feeling compelled to listen to something else. god damn did the '77 version of the band have it all figured out. i could listen to any uptown mississippi halfstep toodeloo from that year at any time.

Bronco: Learn the guitar. I’ve been fooling around with Rocksmith (guitar hero with real guitar) and I want to push myself to execute the more complex chords, not just stick to the powerchord simple songs like Blitzkrieg Bop, and start learning how to build and execute a solo. I also want to distill my own whiskey, build a garden shed from scratch, and learn to code. How it went: I haven't quite mastered the guitar, but I can play a few songs fairly well. I did not start working on my own whiskey or build a garden shed from scratch...yet. But I did learn to code. I am now at conversational levels of fluency with Javascript and at "donde es el bano" levels with Ruby and Python.

Nasty: See a show in NY with JD. How it went: Not great, Bob! I barely made it down the street to see Action Bronson with Laser 

JD: Seeing more shows with you guys is an evergreen resolution. How it went: To quote BC,

Resolution for 2018:

BC: No more resolutions

C: Catch some jazz in Chicago

Laser: get my list in on time!

Chap: While I didn't have the occasion to catch shows this year, I anticipate doing so in '18 due to some changes afoot.

Codem: make more playlists for my wife

Bronco: Get in shape. I want to stick to a schedule of running all year round. I ran a 10K back in June, then needed to recover for a bit, been recovering ever since...Fat Dad needs to keep running all year round without excuse, especially given that we go skiing between Xmas and New Year's and I'm gonna be a floppy legged mess. During those runs, I'll try to listen to new material each time.

Bin: I'm just going to keep saying "get to NY for a show with JD" until I make it happen. 

JD: See you gents more often with or without a show attached. 

Most Anticipated of 2018:

C: MBV

JD: MBV, No Age, Panda Bear, something surprising

Code: chromatics (i think it's really coming this year), mbv, no age, DOM, CCFX full album

Bronco: Tool. Fourth year's the charm...fuck those guys. It better suck me off when it finally does come out. Also a new Sleep album and a new High on Fire album...still waitin' on those too.

BC: Simple Minds, Vampire Weekend, Kanye

Nasty: Kanye, ASAP Rocky, Rhye, Chromeo, Vampire Weekend

Chap: After a quick glance at the list... Vampire Weekend, Kanye, Chromatics

Larse: Honestly don't even know what is on the horizon, just hope I can listen to it with this net neutrality bullshit!