#starting a band is only the most recent example

[sabbathbloodysabbeth]

Ok so I know that I just did a poll for what to focus on but I really just need to get this Drabble out and then I’ll focus so hard on my Eddie Big Bang fic.

Anyway! I’ve been thinking about false positives and how that could correlate in presenting in the omegaverse. Like it’s rare but it can happen.

For example Steve Harrington has been forced to go to the doctors every month to take a hormone test to see if he’s going to present as an omega, beta or an Alpha. His parents desperately want an Alpha and are taking every opportunity they can to ensure Steve will be one. His father, an alpha, is purposely scenting Steve every morning before he goes to school. His mother had taken pills when she was pregnant with him and makes him lunches that have strong testosterone levels. It’s now getting to the point where he’s getting close to being able to predict what he’s going to be and it’s a very stressful time.

So when he goes to the doctor and the test finally comes back positive to him show casing alpha hormones he’s relieved. His parents throw a party to celebrate, and when they realize their efforts worked they return to disappearing on business trips. Leaving for weeks on end. Now, all they have to do it wait for Steve to present, but they already know Steve’s going to be an alpha so it wouldn’t be productive to be home when that happens.

Though their plans sort of back fire and Steve hasn’t presented on time. He’s extremely late while his peers all proudly announce their secondary genders. He’s a little disappointed but knows he doesn’t have long to wait. So he decides to throw a party for his friend Chrissy. Who just presented and is the first Alpha female in Hawkins ever. Even though that’s not what her mother wanted, who purposely did similar things to Chrissy as Steve’s parents did to him. They actually both bonded in the doctors room because of it.

So that’s how the both of them find themselves sitting across from Eddie Munson, who had also recently presented as an Alpha. They wanted to have pot there, Steve really enjoyed getting wasted and stoned at the same time. Chrissy just didn’t care, it was a huge party. So they offer to include Eddie in the celebration, as he just presented and hasn’t really thrown a party.

He declines.

Neither Chrissy or Steve see or talk to him until the party. Chrissy had been so busy that she didn’t notice Steve not feeling to hot. Or the way he stands next to Robin Buckley, an omega from band, and has the best conversation ever. Between feeling the most comfortable he has ever smelt under her smell, and feeling like he just met his long lost friend something shifts. His stomach cramps up, his chest grows sore and he feels over heated.

He has to step away from the party before anyone notices. Steve’s pretty much having a panic attack on the stump hidden in the woods when Eddie finds him. His scent smelt a lot stronger than it had at the picnic table. And now that Steve thinks about it he hasn’t been able to really smell anyone until he started to talk with Robin.

Steve doesn’t want to ruin Chrissy’s party, nearly going into distress about that. He knows she deserves this but his entire body hurts.

Eddie sits next to him and without thinking carefully rubs his shoulders. It’s best that everyone presents with only their family members, but Steve didn’t have anyone and he was scared. He’s lost in a haze and being wrapped in one of the best smells and being lead to a van. He doesn’t know what’s happening but Eddie seems a smidge freaked out as Steve’s body temp keeps raising higher and higher.

They somehow find themselves at the Henderson. Dustin’s mom was a nurse and would know what to do. Immediately Steve is taken care of. Eddie is forced to stay, just in case as he was the only alpha in the house and Claudia may need him.

Steve is pretty much stripped to his boxers, and both Eddie and Claudia think he’s about to present as an Alpha. He’s showing the signs of it up until the middle of the night and something in his body completely shifts. His scent changing from the hickory to a soft sunflower. He watches in real time as Claudia goes from being tensed up from the alpha smell to relaxing from the scent change. Her eyes are beginning to droop as she tries to take care of him.

“Dear I think you have the best scent I have ever smelt in my twenty years of being a nurse.” She admits. She’s changing the care routine, quickly grabbing scents that she things Steve would want. But is quick to realize Steve’s mumbling about two people he smelt at the party. One being Robin, who started all of this.

Claudia doesn’t waste a second and forces Eddie to go get her. An hour passes and Eddie comes back with Robin who is confused as to why she is needed. Unlike Steve she hadn’t smelt Steve and knew he had to be an important to her. But when she walks in the room and takes one small sniff she knows immediately and is quickly wrapped around Steve before Claudia can stop her.

It’s not uncommon for omegas to bond with each other, what is uncommon is for how hard Steve and Robin bond. Steve is quick to toss on a tank top, not wanting Robin to have to curl next to him shirtless. He’s already feeling himself calm down.

Then comes Eddie. Who pops his head in to say he might have it go. Before he can he gets a whiff of Steve and is quickly red in the face and stumbling over his words. He’s not allowed to stay, as he was an alpha. So instead he gives Steve his battle vest without a second thought and dips.

The presenting process goes a lot smoother after that. Steve is clearly an omega and has a lot to figure out. But for now, he’s happy with Robin, Claudia and even bonding with Dustin. Claudia’s son, who hasn’t had another omega in the household in a long time. Steve accidentally claims him as a pup in the process but Claudia doesn’t mind.

[fantasticalleigh]

as much as i love drew and find him entertaining no matter what i have to admit that his post match loss surprise attacks are kind of stale by this point. i know we sort of have to expect this from him by now because he's that unhinged but i think there's room to do more here so it doesn't feel like the same thing every week.

for example, i love when he still refers to himself as 'the savior (of wrestlemania)' or acts all holier-than-thou with the "find one lie, i dare you!" and the "and i forgive you bc you know not what you do!" bits to the audience in his promos and i think that should be explored more.

he's been dropping cold truths for a long time now and nobody's listened to him and he's been proved right. (most recent example is jey and sami running back to roman's side for War Games). no one's ever apologized to him or acknowledged that he was right and he's just stewing inwardly over the unfairness of it all. he believes in his own cause so much he's willing to burn bridges left and right and even burn himself to try and prove that he's right...except he keeps failing in the end.

i would love if, instead of another post-match crashout, next time drew just takes the mic and addresses the roster and the audience and starts ripping into everyone who ever doubted him or called him irrational/whiny/crybaby. let him once again declare that he's told nothing but the truth and he's tired of being made fun of so he's going to make us all see as he vows to prove he's still the Chosen One who will bring justice and peace to the roster. (he's only gonna make it more chaotic)

let it lead him down a darker path. when he says those lines i mentioned above, he really sounds like he's trying to emulate some kind of messiah. wouldn't it be interesting if he used all his power to try to force everyone to see his side and for his own cult? a plight for truth and justice that could and will corrupt him in the end. he's so blinded by his faith that it turns him into an even more despicable heel but he'll always think he's in the right. bring back his sword. set the blade on fire and have him look terrible and mighty and so so sinister. he could go through the roster to find allies, and anyone who doesn't want to join his side is automatically an enemy. he's trying to make everyone see through the cancers and the poisons in the locker room that he's always talking about (roman, punk, jey, seth to an extent, etc.,) at last and he's given up all reason. he's given up all patience. he has nothing left to lose so it's do or die.

i'd love to see him defeat roman once and for all and finally end his storyline with the blooline. let them run drew vs seth back and drew defeats seth again, let him scream at seth that he was a false messiah and the real one was always the Chosen One. bring out punk vs drew part two and this time drew wins. make him unstoppable for a bit to really give him credibility. he'll win either the WHC or the universal championship and use that as validation that he won, that he was right along...until someone (not sure who yet. punk? damian? sheamus? rises to challenge him in an intense feud that either serves to redeem drew at the end and makes him realize how fucking nuts he became in the pursuit of 'good', and repent (to a degree) or...he's defeated at last and his cult/band of supporters dissolved and he's banished (sent packing back to Raw) to find himself again.

AND i know they already had a program last year/are still sort of entangled lately so the wwe probably doesn't want to run this back so soon BUT this also parallels back to seth with his messiah gimmick from years ago. but frankly i hated that gimmick for seth bc it hardly made sense to me and wasn't written well tbh. it could also make a jab at punk, too, because drew's always making comparisons to punk and charles manson but in the end he himself would turn out to be the crazed cult leader.

anyway it's late and i'm rambling like crazy. thank you for reading this insane fantasy booking :D

[edinburghtohell]

Hi, it's nearly 2 AM here. I have work in the morning but I also have big feelings and a lot of thoughts to process. I originally posted it on Reddit, but I wanted to archive it here, too.

There are spoilers for both tape 1 and 2 beyond this point. You have been warned.

So, while reading the board these past couple of months, I've been seeing a lot of references to Bloom and Rage as being something akin to a coven of witches. This view is based upon both explicit references in the text and implicit readings of the text.

For an example of the former, in Tape 2, Kat describes a dream she's had recently where she saw a group of witches (but from like a long time ago) and where she's a part of them -- which to be honest is probably a premonition of the end of the game. Meanwhile, for an example of the latter, we can see the way in which the band casts a curse on Corey in Tape 1 and the way in which the band comes together after freeing the deer.

This reading of the text is perfectly valid and I celebrate it. What I would like to propose, on top of this interpretation, is that Lost Records: Bloom and Rage can also be read as a feminist interpretation of Peter Pan by JM Barrie, with Kat taking the role of Peter himself. Like the original reading, this interpretation is based upon explicit references in the text and an implicit analysis of the text.

Explicit References in the Text

Kat's Peter Pan Poster

The main in-textual reference to Peter Pan in the game comes from the Peter Pan Poster in Kat's room, which can be found when we're sneaking into the Mikealsen Ranch in Tape 2. This poster is noticeable for two reasons.

We see it as soon as we first see Kat in Tape 2

It's the only thing in the room that doesn't match Kat.

I'd like to discuss this second point a little bit.

Most of Kat's stuff is well, frankly, Kat's. It's either punk as hell, modified, customised, or torn asunder in the case of her dolls -- which could be interpreted as Kat refusing to look back at her own childhood.

In contrast, this poster is an anomaly. It's not punk, it's not adult, it's not feminine. It's a poster dedicated to a very male character in a very traditional, very male, very problematic story. Not something Kat would like at all.

I think this is an important clue. From hereon, though, we have to dig a little deeper into the text.

Implicit Interpretations

Rejection of the Future, Peter Pan's Androgynous History, and Kat's Haircut

I'm going to start here because it's potentially the most problematic.

Peter Pan, as a stage character, has often been played by female actors, particularly before the advent of film. The reason for this is simple: Peter is not a man, he is a boy, a child who has rejected his own masculinity in favour of eternal youth and innocence -- neither male or female. He doesn't look to the future the way other people do, he's just there for the here and now.

We can see this same point of view in Kat. Because of her illness, Kat doesn't look towards the future -- she's fully invested in having a great summer and actively wishes that it would go on forever -- something which she says multiple times in both Tape 1 and 2.

Turning back towards my earlier point about androgyny in Peter Pan's representation, I must turn to Kat's haircut in Tape 2 . Before moving forward, I want to make two things clear:

Within the text, t his haircut is presented as Kat's decision -- an effort to maintain her own agency in a difficult situation wherein Kat has no control. It's possible to read this haircut a number of different ways, especially if you're familiar with abuse victim behaviour. I'm not well-versed enough to discuss this interpretation, but it is valid.

My following analysis is based upon western cultural stereotypes only and I would ask you not to read into it as a support of a deterministic or prescriptivist model of gender conformity. Only you can determine your gender -- not me, not the British government, only you. Anyone who says any different can fix their hearts.

Although still a cutie pie, Kat's haircut pushes her representation between these two binary points, to a similar space that a Peter Pan occupied in the audience of those early 20th century plays -- neither man nor woman.

I'd like to make it clear that I'm not trying to make a point about Kat's own view, or anyone else's view, on their own or anyone else's gender. Likewise, having long or short hair doesn't make you any less a man, woman, or whichever gender you identify as.

Kat as the Girl Who Never Grew Up

Moving past the above point, I would like to bring to your attention the Kat's lines to Autumn near the end of Tape 2. Kat describes herself as someone who will 'never get to grow up.' By itself, this could be a reference to Peter Pan (or I might just be digging too far) but I think we need to go a bit further.

In the game, Kat is shorter than everyone else, and she's less developed than everyone else -- in Tape 1, we learn that she still wears a training bra. In universe, the reason for this is that Kat's cancer treatments have most likely interfered with her growth. However, I think another meta textual reason for this is because the game is already presenting Kat as someone who, like Peter Pan, hasn't grown up.

Taking this a step further, we have to analyse Kat's fashion sense in comparison to the rest of Bloom and Rage, particularly Autumn and Nora. 90s "punk fashion" (in quotation marks because punk is, by its nature, both fashion and anti-fashion) can generally be divided in three stages:

Grunge

Skater

Emo

Kat, Autumn, and Nora each represent one of these three eras in punk.

Kat represents the heavy denim of early 90s grunge fashion -- made famous by Nirvana, Pearl Jam and other members of the Seattle Scene. This type of fashion was also commonly associated with the Riot Grrl scene because of similar climate/culture.

Autumn represents the baggy shirts and jeans of the Skater Scene. This style of fashion was popular with a lot of bands coming out of California and owes a lot to the Skate scene there, as well as California's Hardcore Scene. You get a lot of pop punk and ska punk bands from this era.

Nora represents Emo, or at least the modern idea of what Emo was. Popular with bands from the mid-west and Washington DC, Emo is often associated with dark colours, dyed hair, and fondness for gothic adjacent aesthetic.

Now, the thing is, by 1995, grunge was already over. Following Kurt Cobain's suicide the year before, the Seattle Scene had largely fizzled out, and most of the most famous Riot Grrl bands had broken up.

By summer 1995, Skate Punk was already starting to take over the airwaves while Emo was starting the long slow march to cultural relevance. From a fashion standpoint, Kat was already something of an anachronism, a call back to a scene fizzled away.

She never grew up with the rest of the punk scene.

Fawn's Rest/Curse as Neverland

Another out of time area is Fawn's Rest/Fawn's Curse. Like Neverland, it's a place out of time and seemingly defiant of directions unless you know what you're looking for it -- in Tape 1, one of the girls mentions that surely they would have noticed it previously.

Like Neverland, Fawn's Rest/Curse is an area just for the protagonists -- just like Corey tries to invade Fawn's Rest/Fawn's Curse, Hook tries to take over Neverland. Likewise, just as Corey is swallowed by the Abyss, Hook is swallowed by the jaws of the crocodile.

Kat and Swann's Ages Post Game

At the end of the game, when Swann is about to enter the Abyss to find Kat, she is much older than Kat. This matches the epilogue of Peter Pan -- When Wendy Grew Up -- where Wendy Darling is a grown woman while Peter Pan still hasn't. In the story, Wendy's daughter goes off with Peter.

Such a narrative isn't possible in Lost Records (as far as we know) but I think the similarity in ages between Swann and Wendy and Peter and Kat is noteworthy nonetheless.

Kat and Stars

Throughout Tape 1 and 2, Kat has an association with stars and other stellar phenomena. In her diary, she describes a time where she, Dylan, and their mom went to watch a meteor shower. Likewise, in Tape 2, you attempt to rescue Kat to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower. Finally, through both Tape 1 and 2, Kat will wear stars on her clothing. This is most apparent during the concert, where Kat will have several fake stars on her arm.

Peter Pan also has an association with the stars. To find Neverland you have to follow the 'second star to the right and then straight on until morning.'

Bloom and Rage as Lost Girls

For my final point, I'd like to raise the idea that Bloom and Rage are, in a sense, 'lost girls' -- similar to Barrie's lost boys but also uniquely feminine. Where as the lost boys were children who never grew up, I'd argue that to some extent Bloom and Rage are lost girls who could never grow up.

Because the events of Summer 1995, they all lost something.

For Nora, she eventually lost that amazing self-confidence that she had when she was a teenager. Instead of staying weird and being herself, she became, well, an influencer, someone who is to some extent a slave to trends.

For Autumn, she eventually lost her principles that had her protesting the Iraq War. Instead of putting her foot down with her boss, she coddled him all during the night.

And Swann, at least in my play through, lost her love and passion. She never really put herself out there again after 1995. If you romanced her, Swann never really put herself out there after Kat. She lost her love of making movies. To paraphrase a line Swann says to Autumn in Tape 1, she went from someone bold and passionate, to someone 'waiting out the clock.'

They are lost girls in the sense that they are girls who lost something.

What Does any of This Mean?

Ultimately, it's unclear whether any of this has any deeper meaning to the larger Lost Records universe -- we just don't know. I think this reading might influence the story of the next game (if there is one) but I wouldn't like to speculate at this stage.

Even if it doesn't mean anything, it's still fun to note all the similarities between the two texts.

I hope you liked this post. Please let me know what you think.

Edit: I forgot the difference between AM and PM

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Heat is Rising

Sorry this late, blah blah real life actual job blah blah.

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

June 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Goodday (Sat YT) ep 8 of 12 - Why is it so good?! It’s unfair. Cause I know pain must be incoming. Also... Yak moved to the "rao" pronoun for his confession! SO ADORABLE!!!!! Can you see me kicking my feet and squealing with joy on this side of the screen? Well I am. 

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - I think I'm finding this show a lot funnier than the show is trying to be. The pose in the doorway. The sparkle pants. The creaking of the leather. It’s all hilarious. The foot massage. So silly. Simultaniously, full of thirst. Yay! I like thirst. Not entirely sure why he’s dicking him around and not dicking him out but hey the tension is fun. Also the shot staging is very good. Very yaoi. Lin going to have so much power in this relationship once he starts trying on seduction for size. All just to say, it’s good and I’m enjoying it.

My Stand-In (Fri iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - you know I'm enjoying it a lot, so a surprise to see a Star Hunter beat it out? It's just MosBank are SERVING classic BL and I am a sucker for that kinda smut. Back to Stand-In...

It’s sad and a little complicated and interesting. And I’m still enjoying it very much. But this episode was mostly a rehash of information we already had been given, it was slow. Although since the acting is so good in this particular show, I didn’t mind it as much as I might have in a pulp piece, for example. 

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - I’m very much enjoying this. Not quite as much as I initially enjoyed the JBL version. But I’m liking a lot. There’s something particularly high school teen YA angst about this IP. Even more so than something like Make it Right or Love Sick. It’s just the cringe reactions and the constant embarrassments and the roller coaster of emotions that each character goes through in every scene. I forgot how exhausting it is to be a teen.

We Are Cute (Weds iQIYI) ep 12 of 16 - We Are Cute continues to be very cute indeed. Honestly Phum doesn’t need to flirt with Peem, Peem is already in love. The learning about each other is fun, but the fact that Phum still constantly communicates via kissing is great. I love that we have a couple whose love language is smooches. TanFang endgame is my favorite, I fucking LOVE them. But... NO SINGING. Worst fake band ever? Place docked in BL standing this week for that alone.

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - It's fine I guess? Trash watch here.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - It’s ridiculous and they're very cute and I kind of don’t know what’s going on. But the young one getting his first dildo and skipping with excitement was utterly adorable. And it is the first rep we’ve got for such a thing in this genre. So good on you little pulp!

Only Boo! (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - Everything felt a little rushed and oddly paced in this episode. Not entirely sure why K came back to him. Anyway, I hope it’s all explained in the finale.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 10fin - I’ve made no secret about the fact that I haven’t been wild about this show.

Here’s a few things I enjoyed about the final episode: Uke initiated the sex scene!! Lots of tenderness. Long takes plus the absence of (and then very gentle introduction of) music. Unexpectedly high heat. Condom rep! The gayest bedroom layout ever. What I didn’t like: The absolute pinnacle of frustration for P'ABL on the other side of the screen wanting to grab the leads and shake them until their teeth rattled and scream "FOR THE LOVE, just TALK to each other!"  Oh but they are so cute and SO POLITE when the finally do reconcile! 

In conclusion:

A BL about the making of a BL where the famous one has a crush on the obscure one. It’s already been done.  Recently. By Japan. I would be tempted to say "better" but I didn’t like the first version either. At least this was less stalkery? Look, this show was fine. Just, in a word: cool, unengaging, and frustrating. OK that was 3 words. But they’re apt. A lackluster offering with a great ending. How to rate that? I despaired but ended up on 7/10 - do better Japan, I know you can.

Blue Boys (Korea YouTube) - it got its part 2, thank the BL gods, rounding this one into an 8 ep series. Still short (those eps barely scrape 10 min at most) but a solid little offering.

Charming reunion romance full of class + coming out struggles and great chemistry all of which was let down by a curtailed length. Had it just been given some legs, it could have grown wings and taken flight, but in the end it is simply too short. Still enjoyable and certainly worth your time. Cause ya don't need much of it. 8/10 RECOMMENDED

It's airing but...

The Last Time (Thai Fri YT?) - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something. Can't find it.

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ???) 10 eps - I've put the search on hold for a bit and y'all can let me know if it's worth tracking down.

In case you missed it

I mean you were under a rock on Tues Jan 18th Thailand's senate passed the Marriage Equality Bill. As of typing this, the King still has to sign it into law, but he's unlikely to veto. So it's a matter of time before everything is official. Thailand follows Nepal (2024) and Taiwan (2019). Both of those were judicial, Thailand's is legislative.

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2 AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai 2 Haime! (Japan movie) - Continued the (frankly) lackadaisical story from part 1 and was meant to drop yesterday. We thought maybe Gaga, but nothing so far.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. Devastated this hasn't had international distribution.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Last of the June Releases

6/26 The Rebound (Thai Weds Gaga) - MeenPing are back in their 3rd BL together, a basketball based romance (Meen was a national basketball player, so yay for that). I like this pair better than most (I still do miss Meen with Est but Est has a fantastic looking new BL coming from GMMTV so yeah...) Anyway I'm up for a sports romance starring a man who, yah know, actually played that sport so... I'm game (pun intended).

6/26 I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) 10 eps - A new series adaptation of beloved yaoi I Hear the Sunspot (first adaptation was feature film Silhouette of Your Voice 2017).

6/30 The Trainee (Thailand Sun YouTube) 12 eps- office romance between a boss/employee featuring OffGun. Taking over Boo's spot for GMMTV.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Lip touch! So sexy. So rare from Korea. Blue Boys.

I do love a meta call out moment.

Tiny idiots (affectionate)

Love their kisses. Such a great side couple.

All Wandee.

(Last week)

QUICK NOTE: I'm flying international back next weekend and the damn thing is gonna take like 72 hours or whatever insanity. Needless to say, I may not get to this round-up for ages. So don't panic, I'm not dead just sleeping.

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Vampire Nomads

Hear me out. Vampire aristocracy is an awesome Trope, Dracula is one of the scariest books I’ve ever read and enjoyed, and I will always take a second look at a vampire wearing a cape, because so many have done it with style. And yet.

From a worldbuilding perspective, vampires as nomads has interesting possibilities.

Vampires are predators, and the real-life predators we’re most often familiar with take and defend territories. Lions, tigers, bears, oh my; all of them need a large expanse of territory not just to have enough prey, but to have areas to court, mate, and raise offspring. But these are not all predators. Take great white sharks. Zoologists have rather recently established that instead of hanging out constantly near swimming beaches, they commonly migrate from near the poles to the tropics and around various continents. They meet and mate as they travel; female great whites are capable of taking care of themselves, and great white pups are independent shortly after birth. They don’t have territories that we recognize as such; they don’t need them.

Folkloric vampires may or may not mate (look up dhampirs). But how vampires are created generally is not standard reproduction. There’s no courtship, competition with others of your sex, or territorial defense involved when a vampire arises from a suicide, or is infected with a bite, or by blood dropped into their food, or an animal jumping over the corpse. Or most of the other myriad ways folklore has said they rise. In that sense, a new vampire is like a newborn great white: perfectly capable of feeding and existing on its own pretty much from the start. So why shouldn’t vampires travel as they will?

This makes even more sense when you think about what vampires need to feed on. Almost invariably, they need blood. They need living animals. (Humans specifically, but not always exclusively.) And that implies they would want areas where there are more animals to feed on than plants. As in, areas where ranching and herding makes more sense than farming. A grassy steppe dotted with horses and sheep is full of blood walking around. A farm growing grain, where there are only as many animals as the farmer can afford to feed? Not so much.

On top of that, through most of history nomadic herders have had more meat to eat, hunted and from herds, than most farmers who subsist on grains. Meaning less anemia than settled people who have to boil iron in their rice and ram nails into apples to rust, then eat the rusty apple! Herders are probably going to taste better.

Plus, if you think of vampires as beings of eldritch lore and ancient knowledge? That also fits in with a lot of nomadic cultures. The Mongols, for example, were well known for giving extravagant gifts of silk and gold - things that are heavy to carry - while carefully hoarding intangible treasures like their language, knowledge of bone-setting, and skill at iron-working.

Of course, nomadic vampires are easier to pull off if they don’t burn to ashes in daylight. (Many vampires in folklore do not.) But even if they do... the Roman legions were known for building a whole fort every night they stopped. I could see a band of vampires digging out and concealing a hiding spot completely on their own. Or, if they’re part of a larger group of mortal nomads, just rolling up in the tents for the day, and taking the night-watch to look after the herds. Heck, with how many nomadic groups also sometimes drink animal blood from their herds, they might not even be considered that strange....

What do you think? Valid un-lifestyle?

[floating--goblin]

"Whites of your eyes" AKA Sleep Talking

AKA the trilogy starts with a call and ends with an answer

So by now we know that, while most songs are from Vessel's perspective, some stand out as being weirdly out of character and/or not fitting in this whole narrative the band's constructed unless they're someone else's words-- Sleep's. Some examples are Sugar, Jaws, Jericho and even Nazareth; these POV switches were a lot more prevalent in the first era, but we've seen a possible one as recently as TMBTE with Are You Really Okay?

One other notable thing about ST's catalogue is that there tend to be some running themes or phrases that are weirdly specific or otherwise unique. The one that stood out to me from the start has been "the whites of your eyes", which is used three times: in Jaws, in TNDNBTG, and then in Euclid's reprise of TNDNBTG.

Another detail is the use of darkness-- when a song mentions dark places or the night, it's generally safe to assume they're talking about a difficult period, mental strain, etc. The first album being called Sundowning makes reference to sundown syndrome, a condition which afflicts dementia patients, where they become more disoriented after sunset. Less tethered to reality, as it were.

That is likely why Sleep was given that name as well; an entity that encompasses all that lurks in the dark, one step away from death, paralysis incarnate.

Now that we got that down, back to "the whites of your eyes". Its first appearance is in Jaws, which is pretty widely accepted to be Sleep's POV, which means there's a non-zero chance the other occurrences are too. In Euclid that particular passage is backing vocals, detached from Vessel; it can be interpreted as another speaker. That leaves TNDNBTG, which means that this

Was spoken by Sleep, not Vessel as we'd thought until now. Sleep is the one begging for a little time with the object of its fixation.

It makes sense in context, given what "the night" represents-- the lowest time in Vessel's life, when he is at his worst and weakest, is the only time he's attached enough to his misery to stay trapped in it. To stay with Sleep.

The phrase also originated in military contexts, specifically ones in which ammunition was in very short supply; to avoid wasting ammo, soldiers would be commanded "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes", meaning essentially "we're low on ammo, so don't shoot your gun until you're close enough to be positive that your bullet will hit". And themes of predation and love as physical attacks are common in ST tracks--

So it has connotations of physical closeness, but specifically physical closeness so that you can accurately attack someone when you have limited opportunity to do so. Jaws and Take Aim also create a sort of dialogue, in that they both paint the other party as the hunter and the speaker as the hunted, which lines up with the TMBTE poem-- "I am hunting something, and in turn, that same thing is hunting me."

Another such dialogue exists in TNDNBTG and Higher:

Essentially Sleep saying "You're lucid enough to stay away from me until you relapse again, then you come back to this comfortable misery" and Vessel saying "You remember not to take me for granted only when I start getting better and I no longer let you consume me."

And if TNDNBTG is Sleep's perspective, it also means that Are You Really Okay? is the last time we hear Sleep speak-- at least in the trilogy-- and it stands as a look back on their shared journey and the horrors they've endured,

Accepting that the cycle they're trapped in cannot sustain Vessel anymore,

And checking in one last time before Vessel takes his leave.

Overall a fond goodbye, to which Vessel finally responds to that first summons three albums ago with

Acknowledging that his misery has consumed him for years but that he holds no grudges; that he'll give Sleep-- however many things it represents, the darkest parts of him, the stupidest things he's done, his lowest moments and what he romanticized of all of it-- the time it's claimed, but that he must move on now. To better things.

[chzdavmpr]

So after listening to and loving the most recent That Handsome Devil album I had 2 thoughts. 1: More people should post about them on here. 2: Since I liked this new album so much I should listen to the rest of their discography, like obviously there's a handful of songs I listened to even before this new album but I know next to nothing about their older work.

So that's what this post is, me going through their entire discography album by album, song by song, and giving my thoughts. I'll spend a few days with each album in order to get my a proper opinion of each song. (Disclaimer: I am very unknowledgeable about music so a lot of what I say will be wrong. For example I am very bad at telling if something is guitar or bass. But in general if you get angry at people not knowing music stuff then scroll past)

I'll also be rating each song from 1-5 for funsies. However given that I am a fan of the band that scale is a very positive weighted one, so a 1 here is like a 5/10 on a normal scale.

That Handsome Devil (The Album)

Standing Room in Heaven

The first song of the band's self titled first album goes for a bit of a slow feel, giving vibes of a 20s gang speakeasy filled with cigar smoke. We of course have the great vocals of Godforbid that really just hit all those great notes that help this be a good smooth jazzy song. The main problems I have with it are that the bits of energetic drums in the first half feel likee they come and go out of nowhere. Also the song is just a bit long if you ask me, could have had 1 less chorus and maybe a little less instrumental at the end. 3/5

Yada Yada

Yada Yada is an odd one. For this song Godforbid adds a certain wobblyness to his voice that… kinda works. It adds a memorable sound to the song and doesn't sound bad, but it can sound a bit like he's a cartoon goat. However this song has an amazing beat that always has me bobbing in my chair. And the bit with the backup vocals is just superb. I feel like the score for this one could fluctuate a lot based on my mood but for now I will give a 4/5

Sleep it Off

If the previous song made ms bob in my seat this one makes me want to get up and do a groovy little walk down the street. There is just so much that I like here. The multiple different vocalizations in the background, what sounds like violin during the chorus. I feel like this song accomplishes what it sets out to do perfectly. 5/5

Elephant Bones

From what I know this is the most recognized song in this album (apparently it's even guitar hero. wow.). And I can see why, it's the most danceable song on the album. It's also got a lot of interesting layers with I feel a large difference in energy between it's high and low energy parts. That said, I might just be burn out on this song since I actually found it before I started this whole listen though, but I find I want just a little more something from it. Still great but I think only 4/5 great instead of full score.

Dating Tips

I don't think I get this song. To me it feels less like a song and more poetry with a simple melody in the background. Also the background vocals on this one are notably- well- bad. It's some good poetry tho and I can definitely see this being a song that a different person loves, but for me it's 1/5

Miss America

Our first real somber song gives a great feeling of melancholy, really showing that Godforbid can also put quite a lot of emotion into his vocals instead of just funky energy. Honestly I kinda wish it leaned more into the slow and quiet, but as is it's still a good 3/5!

James Dean

I do not know about music theory to explain why this song works for me. It kinda sucks. 4/5

Closing thoughts: I feel like my opinion on this album changed a lot in a very short time. On the first listen or two Elephant Bones and Yada Yada would have been a pretty easy top 2 for me, but I feel now that they've fallen behind Sleep it off and James Dean. It's a very consistent album if you ignore Dating Tips, but I feel like the band can for sure reach higher peaks than this.

A City Dressed in Dynamite

Damn Door

This is another weird one. Like you know when there's a song that's carried a lot by the chorus and the rest of the song is fine but it's not what you're there for? This song is a song made only of those parts. Nothing is bad but it leaves me wanting for a good part that doesn't come. I wouldn't skip past it in an album listen-through but it ain't going in the shuffle. 2/5

Wintergreen

We got a hint of surf rock here. This is kinda the kind of song I was talking about with the last one, where most of the song is unimpressive but then the "sleepin on a subway! sittin up above me! runnin since the day I was bawn!" hits and it gets stuck in your head. Other than that I also feel the drums are notably good in this song. 3/5

Rob The Prez-O-Dent

I haven't talked about lyrics much but this one is just very fun conceptually. Who wouldn't want to get drunk with the boys and rob the prez-o-dent for completely apolitical reasons? This feels like the soundtrack of a goofy yet violent cartoon comedy. (I've seen a meme of this song with the tf2 mercs and that feels perfect) The song also has a very good sound, with a constantly high energy and incorporating things like alarms and shotgun blasts into the instrumentals in a really good way that adds a lot of spice. 5/5

Pills For Everything

If I could describe this song in a word it would be "smooth". The guitar does a lot this song, especially to make the intentionally tired-sounding "oooh"s and "aaay"s sound actually good. I also don't know enough about music to describe it well but I think the meter of this song does some really cool things. If someone who knows more about poetry or music could describe why this song does it well please let me know. 4/5

Cry

If ever there was a song I expected to be a somber song based on the title it was this one. But I was a fool cause this is a bop. Whenever I listen to this song for the next 20 minutes I'm saying "alone in my appartment- eating all the garbage" to myself, which isn't the lyric but I like it. This song is just firing on all cylinders. Good drums. Good brass. Good guitar. Good vocals all around. 5/5

Kiss The Cook

I feel like this song does what it's trying to do well, but what it's trying isn't my taste. It's quite atmospheric aside from the vocals, and I feel it does a good job of getting across the feeling of slow prolonged rot and emotional numbness the song is going for, but that leads to it not coming at you with any strong emotion which is how I personally like my sad songs. If I was rating quality it's a 3 or 4 but I'm rating more on opinion so 2/5

Viva Discordia

I feel like this song gets mad overshadowed by the sequel song. Which honestly- yeah. Deserved. This song is good but (spoilers) the other one is better. On it's own this song has a fun sense of old school rural folk song (at least to me. but that may just be the banjo). It has lyrics that almost tell a bunch of short stories which is fun. 3/5

Squares

Ok so you know how a lot of THD songs will have little bits of audio at the end. I don't know if they're clips from old tv or radio or what. But I think they are good, they give you a wind down and since they are at the end they are easy to skip by just going to the next song. I bring this up to nitpick that this song has one of those at the start, which is WAY worse since they are much harder to skip. You just have to wait like 20 seconds after you start the song before the song actually starts. The actual song is fine I guess. It's got a weird thing I assume is a keyboard in the background. Other than that my feelings are basically the same as Damn Door, except I usually end up skipping this one because of the 20 second startup, even if the song is a bit better. 2/5

Mexico

This song is hype. To me it gives vibes of triumph, of being the coolest badass, and an "all my fellas" type companionship. If I actually read the lyrics it that probably wouldn't be the vibe at all but for now this song is the vibe of that hype moment when the hero confidently walks up to the bbeg, now having the power to wipe the floor with them. 5/5

Reagan's Kids

This is another song where I wish I knew more about music theory in order to explain why I love that song. All I can say is listen to this song, and if you can't help but join in with the vocalizations at about the 1:50 mark, and just harmonize with it, then we are on the same wavelength. You get this song like I get it. 5/5

Treefood

I feel like I've been complaining a lot about the more sadder or melancholic songs, so I feel it's important to point out that this is the kinda song that does that in a way I can really get behind. I like it when a song can use the entirety on it's sound to grab your heart and make you feel a way. This song does that. The grief. The longing. The acceptance. It's purely gripping. And it all comes together with the ending vocalizations followed by somber strings and accordion. This isn't quite a song that will make me cry but it's a beautiful piece of music. 5/5

Ok so this is written quite a bit after the paragraph above, about when I'm finishing up my thoughts on D&G4E. I just discovered that apparently this album (and as far as I can tell only this album) has a whole bunch of sneaky secret tracks that aren't on Spotify. So I guess I should go over those as well. (ps the closing thoughts for this album were written before this and I will not be bothered to change it)

Atom Shell

Weird thing about this one is it's the same upload as Treefood on the YouTube playlist I found of these, and it's just separated by some silence. I imagine that with physical releases of the music if you let it play for a while after Treefood ended that's how you were supposed to find this hidden track. As for the song itself it's a pretty standard but very good rock song. And of course it has the anything but standard vocals of Godforbid to set it apart. For me this was a first listen 5/5

Karaoke Burial

Very strong beat. I feel the vocals can clash with it a bit at times, but just a bit. I feel this one is ripe for getting stuck in your head, but I'm going through these a little faster than others so that hasn't happened yet. 3/5

Power Drunk

Very understated. The bass is good, but other than that all there really is is some mediocre bongos, some quite weak vocals, and noises that kinda just cover up the song. Low 2/5

Powderbomb

Yeah I can jive with this. I can get behind this. It's just got a great energetic feel that really makes you wanna move, especially that second half. Love when a song goes boom. 5/5

Romance is Dead

The slower parts are kinda just a weaker version of Inside You which we'll get to later, but the rest is a completely different song. It's loud, it's got some good brass in there, it's bombastic, it's really good. Not the best but really good. It's so weird how it keeps weaving between these 2 completely different sounds. The average of the song is like a high 3/5 but let it be know that this is a very odd song to rate.

Closing thoughts: This one is quite a lot less consistent than the last one, but I guess that comes with having a lot more songs. But when this album hits it HITS. Those last 3 songs especially are better than anything on the first album. And tbh I prefer an album with a few huge bangers compared to one that's just decent from top to bottom. (side note added later: but why is like a 3rd of the whole album secret?? Like I get 1 maybe 2 but 5/16???)

Enlightenment's For Suckers

Bullet Math

Decent instrumental on this one but the vocals are little weak. There's a part in the chorus where Godforbid sounds like Squidward, and depending on who you are that might make the whole song unlistenable or it will be the part that gets stuck in your head for some reason and you'll come to like it. I'm in the later half so I think it's an alright song. 3/5

Stockholm Syndrome

Very consistent song this one. It's pretty strong all around, a very nice beat, a bit of that jazzy brass. It's a bit repetitive I feel tho, with only that one bit about 2 minutes in that I feel really breaks up the song. 4/5

Disco City

OOooohoohoo! Take me down to the Disco City indeed! I'm a very big fan of the energy with this one. It's also got some great variety in sound, avoiding the problem of the previous song, yet still feels very coherent. 5/5

Eristocrats (Discordia pt. II)

This is the song that pretty handily overshadowed the og Discordia, and as I said earlier, I think that's quite justified, this is a great song. It trades out the previous honky tonk instrumental and "ooooo" background vocals for chanting and more rockabilly instrumentals (I think. I haven't really listened to rockabilly but that's the vibe I get). Point is that this song has upped it's energy to where instead of hearing stories round a campfire in the woods you're now hearing them from the crowd around a carnival barker. Does any of what I just said make sense? I dunno. 5/5

Johnny Wouldn't Die

Perfectly passable song. I think the kinda underplayed vocals give this one a very unique voice. However it loses all the points for that from the "go johnny go" part, which is a low of the album for me. Perhaps that's hypocritical since I liked the squidward singing in Bullet Math and this is kinda similar, but it's my list and I do what I want. low 3/5

Closing thoughts: There's a very important reason I gave each of these albums a few days to really sink in instead of giving my literal first impressions, and that's because I'm someone who's opinion of a song can change a LOT over repeated listenings. One of my favorite albums is Mouth Dreams by Neil Cicierega, and I hated it on my first listen. And honestly the majority of THD songs are like that for me, where it takes at least a few listens before they really click for me. I bring this up now because wow I did NOT jive with this album on first listen (except for Eristocrats, but I've been listening to that one for a while now). I literally remember thinking "wow it's a shame that I'm going to be so negative twords nearly this whole album". But then I listened to it a bit more, and it really grew on me. Disco City in particular went from real zero to hero, but even the rest of them went from 1s and 2s to 3s and 4s.

Oh btw I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but this and one other album we'll get to and another one later are technically EPs. But I don't care and I'm just calling them albums.

The Heart Goes to Heaven, the Head Goes to Hell

Adapt

This one flips a lot between the more "boogie" side of the THD sound and the more "pretty" side. I think they make it work pretty well tho. The bit at 2:45 is a particular highlight, so much so that it almost makes this otherwise 4/5 song into a 5. Problem is that the song definitely should have ended at the end of the section, at about 3:23. But as is the song just kinda continues with more of the same and feels like it more stops than ends. So close to full marks, so much so that I could make a full marks version by just trimming the audio file myself, but as is it's a 4/5.

Becky's New Car

I honestly get almost the vibes of slam poetry from this one. Maybe that's because I feel the instrumentals are definitely not the strong part of this song. But other than that I love this song. The vocals are just beautiful. It's subdued but still dripping with emotion. Even there's a line or two where it almost sounds like a voice crack, this is such an amazing vocal work that I think it carries this song to a 4/5 on it's own.

Twist the Knife

I wanna say this one has vaudeville vibes but I have no idea if that's accurate. It's a fun and bouncy little ditty. I feel like this would be great music for a stroll in the park. 4/5

The U & I in Suicide

There's a 8 note loop that the bass guitar is doing in this song. It reminds me of something but I can't quite place it. Other than that my feelings on this one are pretty tepid. It's not really bad but I don't really like it either. 2/5

Charlie's Inferno

Great song. 5/5. Ok now that that's out of the way I'm gonna rant a bit.

I'm glad that at least one of THD's songs hit semi-mainstream-in-niche-online-circles. It means there's tons of cool fanart, discussion, and even animatics about this song. I've also heard that this song's success may have led to THD making their 2 most recent albums, which if true is great! Buuuuut- it's still kinda frustrating how much this is like the only song that people talk about. Part of that may be that there aren't really any other songs in their discography that sounds like this (some are kinda close but not quite), so people who came to the band from this song didn't stick around for the rest. Part of it's also definitely people not even trying the rest of their songs. And it's just a bummer sometimes to search the tag on here and only see stuff about one of their songs. Sorry if you were waiting this entire time to hear my thoughts and takes on this song but the entire reason I made this massive post was to talk about about every song other than this. Again tho, great song. 5/5.

Karmakaze

What even is this? There's some decent parts but like 70% of this song is the words "c-c-c-c-cultural k-k-k-kamekaze". And even the decent 30% would still be like 2 or 3 if the whole song was that. Worst one since Dating Tips, maybe worse. 1/5

Loving Parasite

Last third is a little weak but the rest is astounding. Great beat. Great bass. Excellent chorus. Very standing-up-in-the-middle-of-those-spinny-things-at-playgrounds-while-a friend-spins-you-core. 5/5

One More Try

Back to the slam poetry vibe but in a very different way (honestly more fitting descriptor here but I write these in order and don't feel like rephrasing the last one). Out of all THD songs this would be one you could probably put in the background and have it not be too distracting. Which isn't really what I'm looking for with THD but I guess the song is good at what it does. 3/5

Buyer's Remorse

Grungy. A little dirty. It starts with a real thunk and then gets floatier throughout the song before going right back to the weighty stuff at the peak. The thunk part is the best. 3/5

Bored

Ok so you know that one rhythm heaven minigame with the rocket where you need to go donk donk? That minigame's grizzled dad became part of this song. Anyway this song is really good. Got a sleezy, kinda shadowy feel. 5/5

My Pen Is a Shiv

Another song that kinda goes in a lot of directions, rarely repeating itself. But all the different places it goes are good and work. Great song if you like Godforbit just holding a note with the vague suggestion of words while a good beat happens, cause that's the only vit that repeats. 4/5

Inside You

I feel this is the rare combo of slower song with high energy. Said energy builds pretty satisfyingly to a peak near the end. 3/5

Party's Dead

Another beautiful emotionally resonant song. The song tells of hopefulness to change, but uncertainty of if the singer has the strength to make those changes and I think that vibe would come across even if you didn't understand the lyrics. Plus this one actually has some really good instrumentals, so I give it 5/5

Closing thoughts: I'm very mixed on this one. There's some great stuff here like Charlie's Inferno and the emotional songs, but there's also like 2 and a half stinkers which isn't bad but is more than this band normally has. But what sticks in my mind most is just the feeling that this album has a lot of good songs that just a little pizzazz away from being amazing.

Drugs and Guns for Everyone

No Roots

Generally just a great energy with this one. Very strong chorus that really gets stuck in your head. Lyrics are pretty repetitive honestly but other than that it's good. If I were to assign this song an action, it would be doing a big kick into the air. 4/5

The Cops!

Dire. Threatening. Hints of grandiose. That's the vibe I get from this song, and given the subject matter I imagine that's intentional. This one isn't much of a dancer but definitely a head bobber. Best part I think is the end where it really drills into you the haunting line "your freedom don't belong to you". 4/5

Throwing Up

I had the unfortunate experience of this coming up in shuffle while I was listening to music with my mom. That aside this song has some really good drums, guitar, and vocals (which to be fair is kinda a given for THD but this one I think is even above normal). Once again the airy-er part about near the end is a highlight but the rest of the song is also stellar. If you avoid my mistake of listening to this when your parents are present this is a 5/5

$=♡

(had to copy paste that Unicode heart) Stellar song here. Comes out fists swinging and slowly mellows out before getting into this album's first instance of "pretty instrumentation that I don't know how to describe" which we'll be seeing a few times in this album. It almost feels like this song shouldn't work, like it should clash with itself, but I feel that having it start so high makes the more subdued later parts feel a lot weightier than they otherwise would have. 5/5

Party Mom and Invisible Dad

Has that "song doesn't start until 20 seconds in" problem I talked about with Squares but here I think the song that follows is good enough to where it doesn't bother me as much. Speaking of good music, this is debatably that. It's got 70s infomercial vibes which just sound like a bad foundation but they make it work. It's almost got a Charlie's Inferno vibe. It also has some of that "pretty instrumentals that I can't describe" in the chorus. If someone hated this song I would absolutely get it, but for me this is a high 4/5

Junkies In Love

I bet there are people who headcanon that the titular junkies in this song go on to become the parents in the last song. This one has a wonderful old school romance song vibe, with of course the THD edge painted on. Gets especially strong in the later half. The piano also adds a lot. 5/5

The Face For It

This one I feel has each element just a little off. The vocals are weak, the beat is bland and the rest of the instrumentals are awkward. Any one on their own would still have it be a fine song, but since EVERYTHING is a little off it ends up having the song as a whole being pretty not good. 2/5

70's Tuxedos

Buttery smooth it also has a few seconds of that "pretty instrumentals that I can't describe" near the middle with is a nice shake up that prevents the song from getting repetitive. I also feel like there's something weird going on with this song music theory wise, but I think it works and helps the song sound nice. 4/5

Goldfish Brain

It's ok. Instrumental could be a bit stronger. Backing vocals noticeably above par. Most 3/5 song so far.

Time Machine

Oooh. OOOH. Takes 21 seconds to start this time but honestly I think this song uses it kinda well, with the instant drop into this song's aggressively strong piano. Said piano also gets the vibe of going back in time all on its own. I imagine it may be a common chord progression in reverse or something (reminder: still don't know music. if that's embarrassingly wrong I'm sorry). The harsh parts are epic and the gentle parts are emotionally gripping. Easy 5/5

A Drink To Death

It's got a unique sound. Not one that I particularly care for tho. I struggle to really say anything about this one. Not really bad- but as the ratings I give are based on my own opinion I have to give it a high 2/5. The ytp-like bit at the end is neat and kinda funny, but that's not song.

The Last Ones

15 seconds. This one's got a great almost western style guitar that leads into the gentle somber vocals that drip with emotion, all the while backed by a very strong beat. The bits with the bells is also partially good. If we were to divide THD's songs into danceable and non-danceable this would be one of the very strongest in the later category.

Closing Thoughts: I feel this is the most unique sounding album so far. I feel like I could identify any song from here just based off the distinct vibe they all share. Quality wise tho it's pretty standard; a few greats, a lot of good, and a few ehhs.

History Is A Suicide Note

Savages

Pretty sure this is THD's second most popular song, and I think it definitely earns that spot. The lyrics got a nice flow to them, the chorus is great, the instruments are unique but not overpowering at all. You don't need me to tell you this song is good. The only reason I wouldn't give it full marks is just because I've listened to it so many times that I'm a little burned out on it. But let's not kid ourselves. 5/5

Fake

If I could describe this song in a word, it would be heavy. Not in terms of subject matter (but being a THD it isn't entirely light in that regard) but this song is heavy in the way that every note has a real weight to it. It's soo bassy. I feel like this is a song music snobs would hate but for me this is another 5/5

Emergency

Very early 2000s emo kid brand of metal, or at least that's the vibe I get as someone who doesn't know what I'm talking about. It's got a nice sense of building, it only really goes down in intensity once in the whole song. 4/5

Echo Chamber

Pretty man voice 👍 4/5

Pendulumonium

This song is like if Karmakaze was good. It's a LOT of the same words repeating over and over, but it has excellent vocals and the way he says "swoop" just gets in my brain just the right way. 4/5

Closing Thoughts: If you ask me every single song here is good. I think ACDID is still my favorite release because of how high the highs of that are, but this is the album with the least low lows by far. Any song with this album cover shows up in shuffle and I am happy to hear it.

Your Parents Are Sellouts

Intro

Not much here is there? Ohh I know! I have nowhere else to put this so let me go more in depth with how I choose my rating for each track! There are 2 main ways I listen to music; going through a release in order, start to finish, and my own person shuffle (usually based off the artist, so for example I have a shuffle of every THD song I like). On my scale a 1 is a song I actively dislike. I skip these on album listens. 2s are inoffensive. I still don't like them and they are not allowed into the shuffle, but I don't skip them. 3s are allowed in the shuffle, but when I play it I may skip past the 3s to get to the good stuff from time to time. 4s are a good song. When skipping past 3s in a shuffle I'll see this song and say "this is good". 5s are the premium beef. These are ones where I hit the loop 1 option and listen to this one song on repeat for who knows how long. With these definitions this into is technically a 2. It adds to the album and is so short skipping it isn't really worth the effort, but it also isn't a song so there's no way I'm putting this on shuffle.

The Unpossible

Oooh! Oooh Yeah Yeah! Oooh! Oooh! Oooh Yeah Yeah! Additionally; this song has a nice bounciness. And while the bass isn't doing anything flashy here to make it the center of attention, it does what it does great and makes the whole song work. 3/5

Dinosaur

Groovalicious! … Man I should have made this like a "reviewing every song in 10 words or less" type thing. It is very hard to come up with unique things to say about each of these. Like what song are we on? By my count like 60. So yeah my review of this one is "Groovalicious." 3/5

Shutup You're Stupid

Has vibes of both margaritaville-esque romance song and the adrenaline deliciously crunchy evil guitar. 4/5

Hoodlum

A relaxing day strolling through the park. A wonderfully pretty song. Obviously that's in contrast with the lyrics but that doesn't make the song sound less pretty to me. 4/5

Guys Are Gross

I really dig the synth making the womp sound in this. Wonderfully jazzy, with some unique instruments that help it stand out, not only among the rest of THD's discography but this album which tends to have songs of a similar vibe. 5/5

Date Rape U

Man I am glad I'm doing this on Tumblr and not one of the social media where I would get in trouble for just saying the name of this song. Anyway this one feels to me less like a song and more some freestyle poetry overtop some instrumentals. It's a decent instrumental but there isn't really any flow or rhythm for me to get into. 2/5

Everyone's Trying To Kill Me

A song where the bass goes unreasonably hard? From THD? Why I never! (the joke is that this is common. especially in the next album. Shout out to Jeremy Page). Anyways this one has a bit of a spy movie vibe, if that makes sense. Or at least the instrumental does. 4/5

Bad Vibes

The keyboard is actually the carry here, which you don't see much from this band. This song also has a good amount of flavors but I think they blend quite well. 5/5

F2F

Tango vibes. The woody percussion is really pleasant. 3/5

Punch In The Face

Ok so as someone whose experience with music reviewing consists of the contents of this post; a lot of time my tactic is to point out a part of the song that stands out. Like the vocals, the beat, a specific instrument, etc. With this one I can't do that, because quite frankly there isn't anything that stands out, each piece of this song is pretty standard I think. And yet; this song is amazing when put together. It's so much better than the sum of its parts that it's almost mind boggling. Out of all the songs so far this is the one I would most wanna hear from someone who knows music theory on why this works. 5/5

EVL PPL

It's got an almost lullaby quality. It's pure distilled vibes. The instruments really just have a dream like quality. (can you tell I'm writing this while very sleepy?) And I feel it's probably the song the shows off what this album is like best. 5/5

La Di Frickin Da

It's almost a high 3/low 4, but there's that one bit in the middle where the lyrics just have no rhythm. There's just way too many syllables. It honestly ruins the whole song for me. Could maybe still be a 3 on a good day but for now 2/5

Outro

Not a song. 2/5.

Closing Thoughts: This is probably the album that's best at having a consistent vibe. Which is bad for this review thing because describing vibes is like one of my 2 ways I can think of to talk about most songs. But I think it makes the album work better when viewed as a whole. The heavy bops aren't absent but there's a lot more pleasant melodies and chill times, and while that may not be the first I think of from this band I still love this album and think it was executed great. Even the "lows" of the album I think still add to the overall experience.

Exploitopia

The Age Of Men

Definitely starting off the album strong. It of course has an amazing baseline, but spoilers; that's true of pretty much every song in this album. As for this song's specific merits; it has a certain ephemeralness that I think really complements the theme of time passing. And the end has a great syncopation to it. Even the way it transitions to the post song old-timey audio is particularly good here. 5/5

A Million Bots

Pretty standard punk rock song but it does it great. By now you should know I love a crunchy guitar. 4/5

Everybody's Robbing Everyone

Excellent flow to this one. The words just string together in a way that just works great. The funky synth also gives this song a unique sound. 5/5

You're Doing Too Much Cocaine

I wonder what the message of this song is. Anyway the drums are really good in this one. But that guitar bit at the end is just sbwgdtdbskwkls, one of the best few seconds of the whole album. The guitar bit is 5/5 but the song as a whole is 4/5

Gravity Of The Situation

Has vibes of those songs that manual laborers would sing to keep rhythm in the olden times, you know the type. The brass is really good here. 3/5

Before You Were Born

Great sorrow and rot vibes. An angsty animatic of this song would go hard. The drums are going off. There are some slower parts that I think go on a bit too long or get repetitive, but overall still a good song. 4/5

Tonight

The ultimate crunchy song. Anthem of bad decisions. 4/5

About You

Weirdly I think the chorus is the worst part of this song. Something about it is just slow, but not in the good way like songs from the last album. The rest is decent tho. 3/5

Buddha Was A Rich Boy

This is one that you can really move to. And I think that it manages to keep the energy up without being at 100 the whole time and burning itself out. 5/5

Kill The Rat

The beginning is a little slower that I would have liked but one it ~45 seconds in it goes so hard. It just has such a climatic sound to it. This is an end of a character arc song. 5/5

Cleanse My Algorithm

Appropriately techno sound to this one. Something about this one makes it so infectious to sing along to, especially the "our nervous systems weren't supposed to stretch around the earth" part. 5/5

Crooked Heart

Way different vibe to this one. Almost sounds like it would fit better in Your Parents Are Sellouts. If it was in the album tho I think this one could stand alongside the best of that album. The backing vocals are especially good, as well as the twangy strings. It also builds to a very satisfying crescendo (I think I'm using that word right). 5/5

The Toilet That Killed Elvis

Oh hey it's been a while since we got a really good melancholic song. This one I feel is a little too up tempo to make it a sad song tho. Still sounds great tho. It also brings out some amazing brass at the end. 5/5

Closing Thoughts: This should be obvious just based off my ratings, but this is my favorite album from THD. If you remember it was the pure peak that was this album that got me to do this whole big project. I honestly wish I could say more about the songs in this one but at this point I'm really running out of steam on how to talk about music.

Well there we have it. That is every single album and EP covered. It's also everything that's on the bands page on youtube music so that's probably everything. Buuut there were those bonus tracks that weren't listed normally, so I should double check. Let me look up their discography on Wikipedia…. I'm sorry there's how many?

The Singles

Face in the Sun

For the most part I don't go back and edit stuff in this post because if I edited it every time my opinion on a song changed it would never be done. The reason I bring this IP is because this is pretty much what I said I wanted Miss America to be, way back when I talked about the first album. This is a very similar song (which checks out since I think this came out around the same time) except this one is a lot more slow and mellow. And despite this being exactly what I asked for I think this is the inferior song. It has some really good strings but other than that it just doesn't have enough emotion to make a song like this work. 2/5

How to Get Money

It's an odd one, but also weirdly kinda nothing. Like a lot is going on but none of it is particularly noteworthy. As an example the way the backing vocals say "money" is nice, but they use that same voice clip too much. It doesn't ruin the song but it's still pretty mid. 2/5

Don't Go

This one feels like a failed experiment. It's going for this smooth groovy jazz, similarly mellow to Face in the Sun. But the problem is that this kind of song works best when you have a buttery smooth vocalist. And while I love Godforbid's vocals I would never describe them as smooth. So this ends up feeling kind of like someone singing karaoke. Also the instrumentals are nothing impressive. 1/5

Steady and Slow

Sorry that so far all of these singles have just got the reaction of "they aren't very good" from me, but I'm afraid this one is just the same. It has vibes of the song a band of highschoolers would make as their rock band in a garage. Which has a certain appeal, especially since it's definitely better quality than a genuine garage band, but it still has that vibe. 2/5

Lucky Me

Finally a single with some energy. Like this isn't the best song, the horns are whatever are really good and it uses them a lot, which is good. And even the stuff that isn't horns is decent, but man after those first 3 singles a 3/5 like this is nice.

Chicken Claw

The chorus is pretty good. 3/5

Marilyn Loves Heroin

Great instruments here. The trumpet(??) is quite good and the flute(?) works excellently as a garnish that doesn't overstay it's welcome. The song is a little too long but it's still a low 4/5

How to Get More Money (And Not Have to Shoot Somebody)

This came out 7 years after How to Get Money, and it is definitely just a more refined version of that song. It's better than that one is pretty much every way. 3/5

Ode to the Scumbag

Ok so this is interesting; the last single came out in 2011, and this one came out AS I WAS WORKING ON THIS POST, so 2025. No idea why there's such a big gap there. Anyway this song is pretty good. It feels like it could go alongside the songs in Exploitopia, which you should know is high praise. The best part is probably the chorus, with the high note "up"s and low note "down"s all the while the main lyrics have a very nice flow to them. 4/5

Closing thoughts: so most of these are pretty bad. like some of them are decent but not enough to go seek them out, since if you use Spotify or something you won't even see any of these except Ode to the Scumbag. I recommend checking out Marilyn Loves Heroin, but other than that you can skip these. Oh also we still aren't done. when I checked the Wikipedia earlier there were also 2 more EPs!

Hating New People

Talk Dirty To me

For these EPs I'm listening to them in a YouTube playlist of unofficial uploads, and for some reason the title of this one is capitalized like that. I'm not going to go through the effort to see if that's wrong so I'll just assume it's correct. As for the song, most of it is pretty mid, except for the short rockabilly bits like the one at the end. I like those bits. low 3/5

Hey White Boy

Wow. This song uses a certain something as a sort of base. And I don't want to spoil what that something is, because I think the shock that comes from hitting play on this song and hearing what you hear is just too good. It has to be experienced. The only thing more surprising than what this song does is that it does it well. Like they really did just make a bop out of [redacted] huh? This may be contentious but this is a 5/5

also for some reason there is a month old comment on the 14 year old upload of this song that reads "I want him im ovulating come here god forbid". I just wanted to share that.

I'm Too Sexy

I'm not super familiar with the song this is a cover of, but from what I vaguely remember this is quite different. The instrumentals are really good, but the vocals are just kinda... too much for most of the song. Depending on who you ask this could rank very high or very low, for me the good and bad parts average out to about 3/5

It's a Man's Man's Man's World

Grandiose feel to this one. Unique sound but doesn't stray too far from the sound of THD. 3/5

Mr. Grinch

The backing vocals add a nice layer, but other than that this is a very similar song to the original Mr Grinch which this is a cover of, nothing major is changed. Godforbid even has a similarly deep voice to the original. Like; if not for them adding the word bastard in I feel like you could convince someone who hasn't heard it in many years that this is the original Mr Grinch. eh I dunno 3/5?

Fairytale of New York

ok so when I look up this EP, some of the only things on it are from like review sites, and on all of them it's only the above songs, this one is never listed. And yet it's here in this youtube playlist I found and I have no idea where it came from. May as well talk about it here. So this song is pretty good. Feels kinda like something from a musical. It's also nice to hear more substantial lyrics for Naoko Takamoto, who normally does the excellent backing vocals. But yeah good energy to this one. 4/5

Closing Thoughts: I feel like on the That Handsome Devil iceberg we are definitely quite low down. So far there hasn't been any covers as far as I can tell, and yet this one has quite a few. Too Sexy and Mr Grinch I knew immediately, but Man Man and Fairytale I only know are covers thanks to youtube comments. For all I know Talk Dirty and White Boy are also covers, but I couldn't find anything on that. Quality wise it's pretty decent. Most of it is still debatably not worth the effort to go find it, but Hey White Boy is definitely a stand out that I recommend all THD fans check out.

The Jungle Book

Intro

not a song. 2/5

Friends

Good beat to this one. Good marching music, very cheery save for that bit at the end. 4/5

Trust

It's just him saying "trust in me" for like 3 minutes. 1/5

March

Forget what I said about Friends, now THIS is marching music. Or really just workout music. It still has a distinct identity from Friends tho even if they both have very strong beats. This one also has some really good guitar. 5/5

Fire

Wait oh my god how did it take me this long to realize this is LITERALLY The Jungle Book from Disney. Admittedly it has been a while so things like the elephant's song I didn't recognize. But yeah this is literally all covers of songs from the movie. Well since this song is based on arguably the most iconic song from said movie this one is obviously pretty good. It goes for a bit of a more sinister sound than the original, while still keeping the nice catchiness from the original. The scatting at the end is also really nice. 4/5

Bare

The direction of this is... interesting. It kinda rains on it if that makes sense, really brings the mood down. I don't think it works. 2/5

Home

It has been so long since I watched The Jungle Book. I don't remember this at all. But this feels like an exposition song with a music box motif used to introduce a very high society character in a show. Not really what I'm looking for from THD. Better than the last but still 2/5

Closing thoughts: Man what a weird note to end on. A Disney movie cover album of all things. Overall it's pretty good tho. The last 2 are a little eh but the rest is good. If you wanna see THD do take some Disney songs in some unexpected directions I would say give this a listen.

Closing Thoughts for this Whole Dang Project

That was... way more songs than I expected. Like when I had the idea for this I looked at their discography on Spotify and it was bigger than expected, and then I figured out there's even more than that! So this project in turn is way bigger than I would have imagined. It took me like 4ish months working on and off on this. And frankly I do not think my music critique abilities were up to this level of challenge. Finding things to say for some of these songs was quite tricky. But it was still enjoyable to go through all these songs, see how the band evolved, and just learn about a lot of good music I otherwise wouldn't have. Like by the end of this my THD shuffle has 76 tracks.

But I hope at least some of you enjoyed reading through all these words I wrote. See you again sometime. I'm off to listen to literally any other band.

[nohoes-bedempty]

A useless metal history lesson because I'm intense and I love Eddie Munson

Featuring: Billy Hargrove.

You know...

I've always loved metal, from my early teenage years to now that I've turned 30. And since I started watching Stranger Things and Eddie came into my life, I don't think I've ever felt prouder of being a passive part of the community, but as much as I love fanfiction, understand and respect the need to write an OoC Eddie, mostly to be a little self-indulgent, there are things that I just WANT to share with you, simply because I can and I've been thinking about lately.

So, if there's something that always makes my soul burn with love, it's music; making it, practicing it, listening to it, study it in a philosophical, anthropological way, appreciating it in a peformative way, doesn't matter, I love it, and I love watching documentaries about the history of it, mainly, you guessed it: metal.

Now, I love me a Rockstar!Eddie fanfic every now and then, but I recently read a -very- unpopular opinion that rubbed me the wrong way about Eddie not actually liking metal, but pretending to like it while enjoying other music. Now, they're unpopular for a reason, and this is by no means a statement to dismiss a mere opinion, but it seems like someone discovered liking other artists while being actively part of a subculture. As a goth myself, and it being a music-based subculture, we know it's pretty much impossible to listen to a single music genre forever; you have to listen to the music to be considered part of the subculture, but that doesn't mean it's the only genre you have to listen to for the rest of your life. I'd go crazy if I only listened to a single music genre, no matter how much I love it.

Eddie LOVES metal, but not just any kind of metal, not the kind to come across when you look for "Accurate Eddie Munson Playlist" on spotify, for example. I'll tell you a little story:

Back in the eighties, when metal funded the bases of political views, sound, aesthetics and the public that felt drawn to it, was also the time it was mainstream. Many musicians were earning a good bag by making rock/metal, and to a lot of other aspiring musicians, it was never about the passion but about the money, they wanted to become rich by playing music that was being well-paid. Why do you think so many songs about **certain** glam rock bands are so trivial? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but when most metal bands sing about politics or fantasy stories, it looks like there's a stark difference between how metal started vs. how it ended.

In the history of metal, there are a lot of bands that want nothing to do with the genre because they wanted nothing to do with bands like Poison, Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Twisted Siste, Jetboy or KISS, because it took the main purpose of the message of what metal once was.

Now, although not all glam rock bands talked about the same things, there is a difference with bands like Iron Maiden, Dio, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and King Diamond/Mercyful Fate. W.A.S.P. was one of the glam rock bands that Eddie liked that had really interesting lyrics.

Why am I mentioning Billy Hargrove? Patience, my darling, I'm about to start.

Eddie, like I've said in a past post, is a storyteller. He's a Dungeon Master, meaning he has to get creative about writing stories for his campaings, dig in fantasy worlds, that's why he likes TLOTR, that's why he likes Dio and Iron Maiden, because their lyrics feed his wandering mind (likely ADHD) to keep him creating. I'll leave some verses of songs to make a point.

"...In the land of the lost horizon

Where the queen lies dark and cold

And when the stars won't shine then the story's told, yeah

When the world was milk and honey

And the magic was strong and true

Then the strange ones came and the people knew

That the chains were on

That the chains were on..."

Dio - Egypt (the chains were on). (The Last in Line, 1984)

____________

"...When you're lying in your sleep, when you're lying in your bed

And you wake from your dreams to go dancing with the dead

When you're lying in your sleep, when you're lying in your bed

And you wake from your dreams to go dancing with the dead

To this day, I guess I'll never know

Just why they let me go

But I'll never go dancing no more

'Til I dance with the dead..."

Iron Maiden - Dance of Death (Dance of Death, 2003)

_____________

"...You have been dying since the day you were born

You know it's all been planned

The quartet of deliverance rides

A sinner once, a sinner twice

No need for confessions now

'Cause now you've got the fight of your life..."

Metallica - The Four Horsemen (Kill 'Em All, 1983)

The fact that Eddie was a drug dealer and was two years behind graduation make people believe he wasn't smart, but the creativity needed for what he did, plus the amount of reading he probably did gets ignored constantly, because we think Eddie doesn't read, that Eddie doesn't have a sharp mind, that the only thing he does is play guitar (as if that enough wasn't to be praised, he likely learned Master of Puppets in a week with no internet and no youtube tutorials. I don't think you understand how skilled he was) and play DnD (and some authors don't know how sharp and smart DMs are).

Eddie was way more than that, and every time I think of his artsy nature, I can't think of anything else besides how much I want to lick his brain. Eddie was a genius, one dominated by the right side of his brain. Do you not remember his speech at the cafeteria about false comformity?

Billy, Billy... How are you featured in this post?

Oh, because the post about Eddie pretending to like metal made me think that it's actually a real thing. People pretending to like certain music genres because of the public image it gives them.

There are a lot of people in the community (mostly men) who like metal because they think it makes them look intimidating, badass and smart, like they like to brag about how the bands they like talk about things that matter in their lyrics but these fans don't live up to what they listen to; they're still homophobic, racist, fascist and a lot of awful things in between, while listening to music that's highly political. Billy liked Metallica, I rememer his "Kill 'Em All" poster stuck on his wall, but he was a douche. Do you know what he listened to? You might guess... Yeah! Glam rock! Ratt, Mötley Crüe, all the bands you think Eddie would listen to just because it says 'metal' and it happened in the eighties. Billy was a man worried about looks and getting laid, things that these musicians talked about in their lyrics. He wasn't sharp-minded, he wasn't interested in being creative, in bands protesting against war or telling fantasy stories about pharaohs, dancing with the dead or princesses and castles. The current image of the misogynistic rockstar surrounded by groupies and wasted on substances was an image created by musicians bragging the life they could afford thanks to rock and roll, nothing to do with the initial message of the genre. If you know anything about the main bands Eddie likes to listen to and Corroded Coffin's potential influences, you'd know they weren't really interested in living their music in Mötley Crüe way, where the main focus was, like I said, bragging about the things money from rock and roll gave them or the women (using them and stop seeing them like people while happily married), but in a sillier way where they focused mainly on writing creative music, writing lyrics for the outcast like them the way Metallica did.

Although there were a lot of iconic metal figures who were nothing but polite when asked about 'looks metal', who would roll their eyes at the question because the wording was disrespecftul towards those musicians, there is an undeniable rejection too. Lemmy Kilmister from Motörhead was respectful, he'd say he wished he was pretty too, that he didn't mind 'being copied'. Cliff Burton said that it worked for them, but wouldn't work for Metallica and that was fine. But James Hetfield said during a concert that they weren't 'a band who sang about girls and shouted rock and roll every few seconds'. I wonder who they were hinting at. (I'll look up the video to leave it here or to at least quote it verbatim).

Anyway, if you're curious about bands Eddie would have liked from the eighties, I'll leave a very scarce list so you can use them for prompts in your fanfics, just in case you want to be a snob like me and use bands with contents he'd appreciated:

Helloween

Ronnnie James Dio in any band (Rainbow, Dio, Heaven&Hell, maybe even Elf)

Savatage

Death Angel

Dark Angel

Sepultura

Witchfinder General

Cruel Force

Armored Saint

Diamond Head

Metal Church

Saxon

Crimson Glory

Just a name a few, I actually had a longer list I can't find and I'm not in the state of mind to search or try to remember, also to not make this post longer than it already is. BUT if you want more bands I'll be posting the list in a different post, and if you want me to tag you, just ask ♥

[lnights]

Hey! As someone who's only kinda recently started getting into Blind Channel, can you "introduce" the band members to me/tell me any fun facts? 😊

It's okay if not, I just feel like it's so fun hearing it from other fans than trying to dig it out myself LOL

Welcome friend 🖤

You're about to get an essay 😂 anyone please add in, this isn't an all inclusive list of everything about them.

Let's start with Joel - vocals (and guitar depending on if you're going back to the first couple albums)

Joel is the oldest member of the band at 30, has ADHD, has dealt with insomnia, talked about being bullied in highschool, handles the band's social media, has a wine and has made a lot of references to dating his hand 😂

He is one half of the (t)error twins with Joonas, such named by the other members of the band for their chaos and having the same birthday, one year apart. He has said more than once that Joonas is his closest friend and they're found hanging out a lot outside of the band, they have been called an old married couple, always squabbling (but with a lot of obvious brotherly love)

Joonas - guitar

Second half of the (t)error twins, sings backing vocals, has been photographed with his dick out on more than once occasion, has a naked painting of himself, he's (sometimes questionably) a fashionista, and is known to have a rather sensitive digestive system.

Joel met Joonas in highschool after their own bands ended and became friends, eventually decided to form their own band, Joonas had already been in a band with Olli and their now tour manager Santeri, and previously in one with Tommi. Joonas, Olli, and Tommi are childhood friends prior to highschool.

Niko - vocals

Niko went to the same highschool as the other founding members, but hung out with a different crowd. Joonas, Olli, and (maybe) Tommi were at a house party, Linkin Park’s In The End came on, Niko rapped Mike's parts and Joonas invited him to join him for the band’s first practice the next day. Joel picked him up, even though they hadn't met.

He plays and teaches piano, writes most of the band's lyrics (though there is collaboration), has a kitty named Rommi, has a long term girlfriend, Joonas lived with them for a while. He has a large band symbol on his side with roses for each of the band members (minus Aleksi, but he does have a matching tattoo with him)

Tommi - drums

Papa bear himself! Lot of bear references with him, he has the nickname nalle (teddy bear in Finnish) from the band. He used to drive the band around when they were still in vans rather than tour buses and his job in the band is to “have final say”.

There's a single brain cell in this band, and most of the time it seems like Tommi has it, but every once in a while he's as dumb (affectionate) as the rest of them. He and Olli are the only two still in the band's hometown and as far as we know he is the only member of the band without tattoos. And he's a nurse!

Olli - bass

Called the most beautiful member of the band by his bandmates and known to eye-fuck any camera that happens to be focused on him.

Or if you happen to be watching them live 😳 it's intense.

He used to have gauges. There are several photos and videos of him and Joonas just holding hands 🖤 (lots of love in this band)

He can come off as a bit of an airhead, the biggest example of this is his poor bass Simba (rip) that he left on top of a van at a gas station, didn't realize until they had left and was far far down the road. He did eventually get it back but it was destroyed.

He designed their newest stage outfits and even sewed the patches on himself. He used to work at a hospital transporting patients.

Aleksi - DJ/percussion

Newest member of the band and only non-original member.

Had/has a solo DJ career and career as a producer as Alex Mattson, and accidentally ignored Joel in 2016 when he reached out to talk about a collab.

He ended up meeting Joel and Joonas at a Bring Me the Horizon concert in November of 2016 (where they also met Joonas (Johnny) Parkkonen) and they cleared up the accident and became friends.

He collaborated with them and help with song writing/production before he officially joined the band in 2020

Baby of the band and a menace. He got his first tattoo with a couple members there to hold his hand, I think it was Joel and Niko, Joonas went with him to get his band tattoo.

He grew up around the music scene (his dad is a booking agent) and was a drummer in a band as a kid. He has a little dachshund named Rilla

Joel, Joonas, Niko, and Aleksi all have the band's symbol tattooed on them. Joel's is in his arm, Joonas has it in his hand, Niko on his side, and Aleksi near his wrist.

[zsofiarosebud]

Okay folks, want to explore Galizan music? Then

Start here.

Nowadays there's galizan music in every fashion and style! Thank tradition and community spaces for the good health of our musical industry, ever growing! Here you have some examples:

Mondra

Electronic folk

Lately, a lot of galizan artists inspired their works on Galizan traditional music. They're usually put under the tag 'tradi'. They're mostly queer friendly or openly queer artists who knows how to dance, sing and play traditional instruments. But this guy? What this guy does is sickk!! Unique style and a great live performance!

Check out also this recent single... are you thirsty now?

Caamaño & Ameixeiras

Folk

More stuff on the folkie side. Give this two a violin and an accordion and wait for the magic to happen!

De Ninghures

Folk

This is my most recent discovery on the galizian folk scene. They originated in a foliada, that is, a kind of traditional party and jam session in which everybody bring their instruments and voices and improvise.

These three bands, Mondra, Caamaño & Ameixeiras and De Ninghures, are my absolute top three of nowadays galizian folk music. Enjoy!

Tanxugueiras

Folk pop

Everybody knows the Tanxugueiras here, even little kids sing their songs in school. They were a musical phenomenon, one of the bands that started the most recent folk fever a few years ago. They almost got to Eurovision! But Spanish tv didn't want an indigenous nation to represent the whole state and opposed this. SHAME

I like their first album more than the second, but the second has MIDAS.

(Footnote here: the gorgeous man in the bathtub is Xisco Feijóo, he's a great dancer singer and tambourine player, check him too!)

Baiuca

Techno folk

This man plays with old recordings like dolls. I really like the vocals of Lilaina, frequent collaborators of his. BUT for me the fucking best song he made is not technically in galizan, but in asturian language, it's a collab with asturian artist Rodrigo Cuevas. Check this!

That was tradi. Now for some punk!

Grande Amore

Techno punk (sorta???)

This guy's lyrics are so FUCKING relatable when you're a late millenial living in Galiza. The ANGST, the DESPAIR. Always with an eye on partiying. And so fuckin funny! Check out this song and also his best known single as well: Esta pena que a veces teño. And also maybe his last album. Go in peace now!

Os Vacalouras

Punk with funny lyrics and strong local identity

I've already talk about them in Galizan. They were my best 2024 summer discovery!

Familia Caamagno

Punk

This people took a righ-wing pop hymn and made a cover, with a music video full of communist parafernalia. RESPECT!

Expect more parts to this post! There's still classical music, jazz, rap, pop... and that's only the beggining, because I also want to go back in time and discuss the Galizan Folk Renaissance and such. Stay tuned!!

[kanmom51]

I have always wondered why JM Stans hates JK. I have seen posts about how JK is being the Company's favorite and that Scooter is trying to use JK to out sell JM. I don't believe it but I do want your opinions on this. I know you will probably say that's a very stupid thing to ask for but I see it a lot and I wonder why they keep saying that JK and V are the companies favorites. And also do you think the company didn't actively promote JM? This Fandom has finally twisted things around. I just need to know your thoughts on this matter. Thanks

Hey love.

Ok, where do we start?

Maybe from the end.

It being that it does feel at times that JM gets the raw deal from the company. If it's intentional or just because he's too nice and doesn't speak up enough I don't know. But this has been going on for years. The way the promotions for Face were handled, the way his name or photo somehow seem to disappear at times from official sites. For example the official BTS US store had all the members apart from JM in the index.

The issue has been since fixed, but it took angry JM stans posting and sending messages and emails to the company to notice it and make it happen.

Or, another example is JM's Like crazy Korean and English version streams being counted separately by Spotify.

Little things that make you ask "why him?" or more so "why is it always happening with him?"

Now, it's not that Jin has been forgotten at times as well (being cropped out of group photos at times). Somehow it's always those two, but with JM it's way more frequent and feels off.

Saying that, I do feel that some JM solos tend to make JM out as a constant victim (perhaps part of allowing them to be his saviors). While doing that they are constantly making comparisons with the others and while doing so also try to tear the others down.

I think this is part of the issue with solos. Forgetting that these 7 men are part of one band. A band they ALL want to be part of. Something they have said multiple times in the past and recently as well. 7 men that love each other (not to mention the elephant - cough couple cough - in the room).

It's more than ok to have a preference. A member you feel you like more or feel more connected to. It's a different matter to call yourself a fan of a single member elevating him by tearing down the others and constantly calling for said member to ditch the others and go solo. Spewing hate at the other members in that person's name, supposedly for him. Obviously you are not a fan of BTS when you do that, but more so you are not a true fan of said member who loves the others you constantly attack and wants to stay with them as a group, as he constantly and repeatedly tells us all.

Like the whole comparison made between JM's promotions and JK's (two totally different stories, different artists' objectives, different markets). And let me be clear here. I am not saying it felt like JM's success, which was, I feel, unexpected, was downplayed or not properly formally and publicly recognized. At the time it certainly felt that way. What we don't know is what JM's feelings were on the matter. Did he want it that way or was it a company decision? I know how it looks, but at times we need to understand that there are so many undercurrents and we don't get to see most of what's under the water. We only see what's shared or not shared with us, by the powers at be's decision. For example: Later on, in his documentary we saw that JM did get a cake for the #1 billboard achievement. So was it his choice not to post a pic? At the same time we saw his success, again, kind of being downplayed in articles, in BPD's interview, so this is one of those things I am leaving with a big question mark. Was he given the well deserved acknowledgement (even if not publicly)? Was it downplayed from the start, even towards him? And if so, why?

That being said, attacking JK, writing hateful posts about him, his looks, his artistry, his character not only would not make a damn difference as to how JM is being treated by the company but goes against everything that JM is and everything that JM feels towards JK.

Same issue, btw, with all solos. JK solos and the hate towards JM, the person JK loves the most in this world.

Do you see what I mean?

That was a little long winded, lol.

So, I do take issue with the need to cut down at another members success only to lift JM's up (he don't need no lifting, he's bloody amazing). I can assure you that is something he personally would not want, being the beautiful soul that he is, he wants the others to succeed and is not in competition with them.

I also hated this need to cut down JK even before his music came out, during JK's promotions, when he was choosing to mirror JM, a clear friggin calculated choice with a clear friggin purpose, by calling him lazy and a copy cat.

First of all you could see, if only you had eyes and kept them open, how throughout ALL of his promotions JK was mirroring JM. It was with similar outfits (even using the same exact black leather pants). It was with wearing the top part of an outfit to which JM wore the bottom part in his promotions. It was with his hair style and colour choices and references to JM's album. Anyway, point being once again that attacking another member does nothing to help lift JM up.

I always find it funny that JM solos hate JK so much.

The person that JM loves more than anyone else, and who loves JM more than they could ever.

The person who knows JM more than they could ever.

The person that JM chose to spend the 18 months of his army service with together, 24/7!! This was not forced on either of them. This was their choice.

Could it be jealousy perhaps? You know, JK gets to get JM and they don't.

Or perhaps this need to be the savior - poor JM needs them to save him from the big bad JK and the big bad company.

p.s. - maybe, just maybe, if indeed JM is being targeted by someone in the company, that's the issue that someone has with him. The fact that he will always come first for JK. The fact that because of him they can't control JK. Well, JK is not someone easy to control, but a. with JM in the picture some of his priorities are different (like wanting to spend time with him, like wanting to go public with their relationship) or perhaps the effect JM has had on JK, being his catalyst (JK's words) and all; and b. Outright homophobia. JK is the golden goose and he is in a long term relationship with a man, a bandmate. It makes life much harder for those that would rather milk the badboy hetero fuckboy image to the limit when said person wants to be accepted for his true self...

Well, that was definitely me digressing from your questions. Oopsy.

Bottom line:

Something kind of feels off with how things seem to go with JM and official content at times over the years (that includes photos, sites, spotify etc.) including his solo promotions.

That said, the comparison with other members, in my opinion, is unjustifiable. Because first and utmost they wouldn't want their fans to be comparing them. They all put themselves out there for their fans and all heartedly supported each other on that journey. Every single one of them had a different kind of solo debut. This is about different music genres, collabs or not, writing their own music or not, promoting out side of Korea or not, even down to the language of the songs. And with this also comes the different kind of promotions. Music shows or live/recorded performances for army, in bigger or smaller venues or even a tour, like Yoongi did.

The comparison with JK is just unfair to both of them. Especially given the very special relationship those two have. Both being the other's biggest fan and supporter.

That aside, the two went on two very different journeys. JM went on a personal journey releasing his first album taking part fully in it's creation, it being a very personal story he was telling us. JK, on the other hand, for whatever reasons (some of which he told us some of which he most likely didn't) decided to go with songs written by others, choosing to challenge himself with singing in English, and new genres and vocals. The choice for an album in English could very much have been pushed by the powers of be, and I do not want to go into the discussion of just how much influence SB has or not, other than say that Bang PD, a very smart and savvy man, knows his way around the music industry and business worlds and has much more influence on JK than anyone else, and that JK is a grown ass man and has told us on more than one occasion that he tends to make decisions for himself, even if at times they might not be the right ones, he goes with his gut. JK also told us he wants to be a huge superstar and singing in English, what can you do, opens up the US and other markets for him in a way that singing in Korean wouldn't.

But even putting that aside people seem to forget that from the get go JK was always the Golden maknae, the one that not only the company saw as their golden goose, but also all other members put on a pedestal. Not saying that's right. Not saying that's fair. But it is what it is. The company is a money making business. And now that BH are under Hybe, although they have autonomy (mostly) on the music, the costs and promotions, they don't have free reign over. And if it's about money making and profits, at times these will be the guidelines as to into what and where the money goes as far as promoting an artist. Let me be clear here. I'm talking here about costs and profits as in how much hard cash was put into a member's promotion over another's. This here isn't about other shit that's happened, such as no public acknowledgement or counting streams of different versions of the same song together or separately. That is another issue. What I'm trying to say here is that the starting point was and never will be the same also due to financial decision making.

Ok, so I think that maybe I've made more of a mess here than anything else, lol.

My bottom line is that even if I feel that JM is being wronged by the company in one way or another (and this goes for any member that might be wronged as well), I would never turn on another member and blame them for it nor would I compare between them. You can like or dislike the music each and every one of them released. That's fair enough and makes sense too. But belittling a member just to try and lift up the other one, that is just wrong in my books.

[nightmaretour]

I hate to do this, and it's a long shot I know, but things are getting desperate and it seems like I'm going to be waiting WAY longer than I should be for something that's fairly urgent.

I'm a disabled trans man living in the UK. Recently I was found to have severe anemia, and came up with my FIT test (gastrointestinal cancer screening) a few months ago, and was referred for a colonoscopy to find out the cause, since it looks like I'm having a slow but constant bleed through my GI tract. However, my referral has been awaiting review for over three months now. I'm not even on the waiting list, I'm waiting for someone to decide if I need to be on the waiting list. Since then I've started having GI symptoms such as pain, intermittent loss of appetite, etc. as well as my anemia worsening significantly.

This is of course pretty urgent, but it looks like I'll be waiting months longer once I finally get on the waiting list too. I really have no choice but to get it done through a private hospital, because of the time sensitive nature of, you know, potentially having cancer. I managed to put some money away out of the backpay I got from PIP, but it's not enough.

[ID: A screenshot of an email that's says:

Dear Mr (name blocked out in red),

Thank you for your website inquiry. For your information, the cost of an initial consultation with one of our consultant gastroenterologists is £280."

It then lists the names of 3 doctors as links, all blocked out in red. The email continues,

"The guide price for a colonoscopy is £2,339. For further information, including appointment availability, please don't hesitate to contact the medical secretaries (followed by three names redacted in red) directly on (phone number redacted in red) or call the private patient team on (phone number redacted in red). End ID]

Currently I have around £1,400 stashed away from PIP backpay I got after they royally fucked things up (however I may need to dip into this at points if I find myself struggling). Together the consultation plus the colonoscopy will cost £2,619, which leaves me about £1220 behind. I know I'm most likely not going to get that much from this, but I honestly have no choice but to try my luck here. I really don't know what else I can do.

I really don't like asking for money from people for nothing, but I have a Ko-fi store where I sell handmade screen printed patches, and I'll be adding more designs to it over the coming weeks when I have the time and energy to make new screens. I'm also offering commissions for custom band patches! (Due to Kofi's TOS I can't officially offer patches for bands without their permission.). Below are a few examples of my work:

[ID: 5 images of patches printed in white on black fabric, all sewn onto a worn looking black denim jacket. All are sewn on roughly in red floss, aside from the last one. The first says "only dates I want are tour dates". The words "dates" and "tour dates" are larger than the other text. All of the letter As are replaced with spade symbols. The second is the logo of the band Cop/Out, which is the band name with rough, jagged edges. The third is the logo for The Prodigy, which is the band name in sharp. Zig-zagging letters. The fourth is the logo for the band Subhumans, a stylised skull shouting into a microphone. The fourth is the horizontal silhouette of a crutch. With the words "Talk shit" above it and "get hit" below it. Unlike the rest it is sewn on in black, and the edge of an embroidered back patch is visible just above it. End ID]

I know a lot of people aren't doing well financially right now, and that there are people in far, far more dire situations who probably need your help far more than I do, but I would appreciate any purchases of patches or help you can offer so, so much. Even just sharing the post would be enormously appreciated.

Current progress:

£115/£1220

And of course as pet tax, here's Cynder :)

[ID: A photo of a female wild type leopard gecko laying spread out on a smooth rounded rock in a glass fronted tank. Her head is sideways and raised, looking at the camera with one eye. She looks relaxed and curious. Behind her a large piece of thick tree bark and a plastic cave can be seen. End ID]

[jokeroutsubs]

[📝 ENG Translation] They enchanted Europe and released their third album - Joker Out about a dynamic year and a half: “Even creative blocks are part of the inspiration”

Original article written by Nina Katarina Bračko for mariborinfo.com, published on 14.12.2024. Photos by Nina Katarina Bračko. English translation and review by @kurooscoffee and @chaosofsmarty, proofread by @flowerlotus8.

Article below the cut. 👇

A few days ago, Joker Out returned from a successful tour of the wider region, where they played their third studio album, 'Souvenir Pop' for the first time. Before one of the concerts we had a quick chat with them about the dynamic year behind them.

Joker Out are definitely the hottest item on the Slovenian music scene. The explosion of popularity followed after the group presented themselves in Liverpool with the song 'Carpe Diem'. Although their 21st place at Eurovision left a bitter aftertaste, they've reached the hearts of listeners throughout all of Europe with their performance and charisma.

At the end of last year they sold out Stožice, then embarked on a successful European tour in 2024. Fans in 21 cities in 13 countries enthusiastically sang their hits - in Slovenian.

In the meantime, they 'escaped' their native Slovenia, moving to the British capital for a few months, where they worked hard on their new album.

Ph: Nina Katarina Bračko

The new album is like a collection of magnets that were collected throughout a year and a half long journey since the start of their Eurovision journey.

Bojan Cvjetićanin, Jure Maček, Kris Guštin, Jan Peteh and Nace Jordan merged impressions from all over Europe on the album 'Souvenir Pop'.

Like they've said, the album finds inspiration in places, people and memories of the past year and a half and takes listeners on an emotional journey showcasing the growth of the band. The songs on the album are like fridge magnets, they say, each representing a vivid image, but together they form a perfect whole.

The band's third album after Umazane misli (2021) and Demoni (2022) offers a daring, new sound, but keeps the signature recognisability of the music with which they enamoured fans around the globe.

Ph: Nina Katarina Bračko

The album is instrumentally diverse. During its creation they actually didn't stay loyal to their usual instruments, but they began to explore and experiment. For example, about half of the songs were recorded on keyboards, played by the 'guitarist'' Jan. They also included electronic drums.

Not only instrumentally, the album is also diverse in terms of different languages. The songs are in three languages - Slovenian, English and Serbian.

Even at the first two concerts in Cvetličarna, which were only a week after the album's release, the audience already knew the lyrics by heart. The album received amazing local and foreign reviews and has already been featured in some yearly album release overviews. For example, the Croatian music site, Muzika.hr awarded it second place in the list of best local and regional albums of 2024.

We caught the boys from the band before the concert in Maribor, which was the second to last stop of the Album Release Tour. As part of it, they sold out Cvetličarna twice, performed in Belgrade, Skopje, Zagreb, after Maribor they'll perform in Vienna.

The concert in Novi Sad, which was initially planned was postponed to next year due to the recent railroad tragedy. "The wounds are still fresh and we believe it's not the time for music" they wrote.

Before the Maribor concert we talked to Bojan and Nace about performing abroad, creative blocks after the Eurovision euphoria and the heartfelt people they work with. They also confided in us, which music they listened to most often in the past year.

Ph: Nina Katarina Bračko

As part of the tour, you've stopped by in Maribor and you chose Štuk as the venue, which isn't an unfamiliar location to you. You've already performed here, including presenting the second album. Was that the reason why you came back to Štuk again? Do some memories tie you to it?

Bojan: "Štuk is definitely an epicentre of performing to us in terms of Slovenia. It's such a cult club with which we have connected our musical story from the very beginning. We've been here many times before - both as a band and at parties. As far as Maribor is concerned, it's the major 'spot' for us."

Štuk in Maribor is synonymous with college parties. My college life was also inseparably tied to Štuk. What was yours like, where did you go to parties?

Bojan: "I'd hardly be able to say it was inseparably tied to Štuk, because we're not from Maribor, but I've even worked at Štuk at a few college parties as an MC. So I've already experienced a college party here."

Kris: "With 'Ljubljana's Štuk' it was inseparable. You had found yourself in Cvetka many times."

Bojan: "That's true. I think Cvetličarna would be some sort of closest equivalent to Štuk."

Ph: Nina Katarina Bračko

In this post-Eurovision year, you also performed on many stages across Europe. Does concert culture differ from country to country?

Nace: "I mean, it definitely differs because not everyone speaks Slovenian. And every country has its own unique energy; you get a different kind of 'feedback' from them. It’s hard to define anywhere as being better than home. It’s just different."

Bojan: "The biggest difference for us was that we mostly played without the usual constraints on any day of the week. In Slovenia, we were used to always playing on Fridays or Saturdays, meaning the weekend. Meanwhile, abroad we performed literally from Monday to Sunday. Perhaps people abroad are somewhat more accustomed to musicians coming on tour, especially in larger cities, and that you go to a concert regardless of what day it is."

For your new album, you said it’s a collection of magnets, memories of everything that has happened to you in the past year and a half. Did all these experiences bring only a lot of inspiration, or sometimes also creative blocks?

Bojan: "A lot of creative blocks, but in the end, blocks are also a part of inspiration.It's been such a turbulent year for us, full of some major highs happening in a short time, and after the highs, the lows must come too.

When the levels of dopamine and energy in your blood drop a little, you need to find a healthy balance to carry things forward so it doesn’t end up in a total crash. So, we dealt with that a lot, faced many new situations, because we had never encountered something like this before. But I think we navigated it well."

Ph: Nina Katarina Bračko

As we’ve already mentioned, the past year has been quite busy, with many performances abroad. To make sure everything runs smoothly and stress-free, your team is also there for you. What would you say, what kind of people do you work with?

Bojan: "Basically, we work with people who joined us in a very natural way. For many of them, I’d have a hard time pinpointing when exactly they joined the team because they just kind of flowed into it, like a tributary flowing into a river.

We really work with very heartfelt people who are extremely dedicated to this story of ours and who fundamentally like this ‘music’ and the story behind it. I’d say we’re a kind of functional and dysfunctional family. We learn a lot together, and each person, with their own knowledge, has definitely contributed growth to this band."

Ph: Nina Katarina Bračko

Five songs on the album were already known, and five are new. How important do you find releasing singles? Do you feel that we listen to albums less in the traditional way—from start to finish?

Bojan: "The attention span has significantly shortened in people in general because we’ve really gotten used to fast information and content that can be switched between in an instant.

So, an album as a whole is perhaps quite a complex medium to listen to, at least for those who aren’t truly extreme 'fans.' That’s why I think that, overall, showcasing and communicating through these short 'singles,' which are essentially a sort of our 'Reels,' is a good decision."

We increasingly listen to music on streaming platforms rather than physical media. Recently, the much-anticipated Spotify Wrapped was released. Bojan and Nace, what do your statistics reveal?

Bojan: "Spotify Wrapped looked interesting. I think we had just under a million listeners this year, over 20 million streams in 168 countries, if I’m not mistaken. I think the number of years surprised us the most. This year, people listened to us for 118 years altogether."

Nace: "You probably meant how our personal Spotify Wrapped looked?"

Bojan: "Oh, our personal ones. My top three were Post Malone, Magnifico, and The Black Keys."

Nace: "My number one was Declan McKenna."

Bojan: "Again?"

Nace: "No, I haven’t had him before. My third was Wham!, I know that."

Bojan: "Did you listen with your mum?"

Nace: "That surprised me a bit."

Bojan: "Who was second?"

Nace: "I don’t remember. But I switched to Spotify midway through the year; otherwise, I mostly listened on Tidal. It’s not a totally accurate picture."

What are your plans after the tour? Are you planning a well-deserved rest?

Bojan: "We still have some plans, but a well-deserved rest is definitely a big part of those plans."

Ph: Nina Katarina Bračko

[redfountainpostin]

just going off an ask i saw you answer but what do you think a “horrible, abusive” relationship btwn darcy and riven would be like?

TW: Description of physical and psychological abuse Although the main form of abuse between Darcy and Riven will always be psychological, here the first thing that falls on my mind is physical abuse because that is the part that would be most obvious to others, and I think a "horrible, abusive" relationship between them would be so bad others would notice too. I think Darcy has no issue hitting, biting and scratching him, to the point that Riven regularly has welting scratches (often to the point of blood) on his neck and face, even ears sometimes. There would also scratches on his forearms. Also nail shaped cuts around his wrists but those are usually hidden because he has those arm bands. Honestly, if this is something that's been going on since the boys' first year (because that's one of my favorite things, to have Darcy and Riven be an item since before the show's starting point) I think Bloom at first thinks that Riven just has a particularly aggressive cat (since she can't see the nail shaped cuts around the wrists). It is not completely one sided, although Riven absolutely is the victim here- I think he, on occasion, pushes or even hits/slaps Darcy, mostly when she's going really overboard and her scratching gets dangerously close to his eyes. It was not rare for him to slam her against a wall. Those things are done in self defense/retaliation, but sometimes, when they're arguing, he can grab her wrist to the point of pain. My Riven didn't really grew up in normal conditions so that, paired with the fact that fairies/witches in general have an upper hand in magic compared to specialists, means he's not well versed in the "don't hit girls" thing. He spent most of his life severely underweight and malnourished and also only recently filled out, meaning that while he's absolutely aware of the change in his body, sometimes he'll forget his own strength. This is also made worse by the fact that he's most often fighting Sky in RF classes, who is above him in body weight and strength category. And when he's not fighting Sky, he's thinking about how to fight Sky; the fact that Sky (brandon too lets be real) can overpower him is more prevalent in his mind than the fact that he can overpower Timmy, basically. Also the lifetime of being in constant danger makes his every move be rooted in defense, even when he's on the offense. His first instinct is that everything and everyone can and wants to hurt him. Darcy, on her part, feeds that part of him. When they're not in a physical altercation, she feeds his paranoia to make him cling to her more. She used to send him nightmares but stopped because their mind link reflected them in her own dreams and she could not deal with it. She likes to bring up bad memories to the forefront of his mind, and she read through them like a diary with sick fascination; she will use his most vulnerable secrets and traumas in a fight without so much as pardon. She will also call him crazy, and making him believe it is extremely easy because not only does he already suffer from hereditary mental health issues that were made worse by his childhood, but also the fact that Darcy's actively chipping away his sanity. When she tells him he's going mad, she's not exactly lying. Riven is not stupid, and he actually knows Darcy. He understands her like no one else in this world, and while his instinct is to protect her, both against everyone else and herself, after the breakup, he's going to use whatever ammo he has (and he has a lot). For an example, I think if Darcy calls him a bastard as an insult, he'll say "I'm the bastard you fell in love with, the only time you ever liked yourself was when you were trying to be someone this bastard might like" (Gone Girl, paraphrased). And he's not wrong in saying that. I think Riven's squad is well aware his relationship with Darcy is abusive, but they cannot do much because in this verse, they never actually became friends. Darcy successfully isolated him from them. He and the squad only grow close in year 3.

[storkmuffin]

The Magic of San of Ateez (1/tbd)

#1: Fangirling San Is Intergenerational (a real life example)

During the unusually long Lunar New Year Holiday, 2025, I spent a lot of time, inevitably, with Family (not family, but Family, you get me?). And because I'd recently concluded that not being shit to women who like entirely harmless things with enthusiasm is actually really important feminist practice, I decided to 'come out' (sorry for appropriating the language but you'll see why I do it) about my interest in the Kpop Idol group Ateez.

I comandeered the remote, in other words. It was in a quiet moment after all the food had been cooked (by women) and eaten (by everyone) and the dishes done too (by women - not all families are like this but my Family is). Up until then what had been on the giant 8K flatscreen had been news, followed by old soccer clip compilations on some sports channel, followed by old fight compilations on another sports channel where really big barefoot men wearing only panties slip on each other's blood as they try to make the other one unconscious by punching him in the face, and back to news.

I turned on the below- Ice on My Teeth performed by Ateez for the MBC 가요대제전 2024.

Oh. My. Gosh. The. Comments.

The choicest one was this: "I suppose everyone has to do all the silly things at some point, inevitably, before they die? So if you were a good, smart teenager and you don't care at all about Idols and all that silly nonsense during that time, you do it later, when you're all grown up." (Derogatory) (Mocking)

The one I'd been expecting was this one, which also happened: "I have never understood those ridiculous 빠순이(derogatory) who follow 연예인 around and ruin their lives, and I never ever thought you'd ever be one of them!" Madam, I literally just put a video clip from youtube on, to watch, because a composer, multiple studio sound technicians, 8 singer/dancers, a choreographer, a dozen back up dancers, stage technicians, camera crew, a director and an editor put a show together for me to watch. Why are we talking about lives being ruined?

Sidebar- Etymology of 빠순이: I always thought that it was a neologism consisting of 오빠 + 순이 (kind of a common, girl next door name of a certain previous generation, like "Betty" or a "Jenny") and it is actually that. But the book by the ethnomusicoloist taught me that it had a second, sexually contempuous meaning: 바 (bar) + 순이 = barmaid + 순이 = whore + 순이. To be a fangirl stan means to be a woman who is expressing, in some way, desire, and in public, and this is shameful. By the by, 빠순이 has been appropriated again by the original set of people it was designed to harm, much like I understand queer to have been done by that community, definitely by millennials but possibly even before that.

The ethnomusicologist discussed having an 입덕부정기 (a period in which one denies that they have, in fact, joined a fandom) for her current most favorite band. She doesn't go into why as a person who studies music she had this internal block against actually liking music and performance but then again, I don't think she needs to say it. We know why.

So, just to be pissy, I put that shit on repeat, and then something really nice happened!

"This is a really fun song!" (yes it is!) And then! "Oh these boys have a really Korean way of singing!" (someone in her 70s). And I perked right up. What do you mean??? "It's just very Korean. They sound like they know our traditional music."

Cue me FREAKING OUT internally but very calmly saying, "You are probably right! Because they had a Chuseok show one time, where they were all making 전, and they just started singing 판소리 among themselves. it sounded practiced to me, too! And, a lot of the newer Kpop does this on purpose - they bring in pansori vocalizations and instrumentals and rhythms, because overseas fans really like it!" (I may have gotten less calm by the end of this.)

So, thus encouraged, I put on this: Killing Voice Ateez, where dance pop makers come out and sing acapella to prove that they can.

And immediately, San's voice popped out for someone. "He sounds like Steve Yoo 유승준!" she said, pointing. For her, this is the highest compliment anyone can give a Korean Idol singer. Such a pretty tone, such clarity, such emotional appeal!

Sidebar: Steve Yoo really did have a lovely voice. He wasn't a bad rapper either even though his stuff sounds so dated now (inevitably, perhaps, since he was active in the 1990s). And Steve Yoo has been entirely erased from all histories of Kpop. It was only after I heard his name in context of how much San sounds like him (clarity of tenor as well as the emotional resonance) that I realized this. Several of the books I read did abbreviated histories of Kpop and Korean pop music, and mentioned representative groups & individuals in successive 'generations' of Idols, some of whom I have never heard of, but Steve Yoo, who was a big huge deal, is so banished that they never mention him, even though he was such an immense star.

WELL IN THAT CASE I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU.

His handsomness kind of went without comment beyond a nod of agreement, even though I prompted, because Idols are supposed to be handsome. But what seemed to grab attention was how 올바른 (proper) he seemed.

Responses: Well mannered, demure, well spoken, respectful.

Me: He's the son of a taekwondo 관장!* He's from 남해!

Sidebar: Getting Taekwondo to the status of an international sport and an official, long-standing part of the Olympics was a major national project leading up to the 1988 Olympics and beyond. They fortified what was already there to distill what we consider the best and most proper parts of our culture - being powerful and fit and fast, yes, but also elegant, refined, well-mannered and respectful. When you want to show a shorthand for a character going from like, being shady to a proper, upstanding member of society, you will have him get into street brawls at the start and end with him becoming a taekwondo instructor.

Responses: Ohhh!! He's a 경상도 boy?? OOOH. And he sings so well! His English pronunciation is so good!

And then, and I have no idea if this will actually translate into English, we had a good laugh about how even now, even though regional dialects, especially strong ones like Southern 경상도, are considered 'cool' because standard Seoul speech has taken over completely, people from my family's root region exhibit a 'change of voice' when they speak Seoul. You have to open up your throat to make 경상도 sounds - the volume goes up, the sound gets 'rounder' and 'bolder,' so when someone whose native speech pattern is 경상도 speaks Seoul Standard, they come off to fellow 경상도 speakers like they're being very cautious. We tend to find this both adorable and comical, in ourselves and each other. So we all cooed at him, whenever he was talking to Lee Mujin.

And see, this is the magic of San. He will do insane gyrations on stage, make the most arrogant sexy bad boy face you ever saw, but 70 something Korean grandmas will find his style of singing comfortingly familiar amidst all the imported African beats, and appreciate the purity and gentleness he's able to project. BLESS!

[thehollowwriter]

The Official (Remastered) Bio of Finn Clearcove

Basic Info:

Class: Class 2C

Dorm: Octavinelle

Club: Gargoyle Research Club

Birthday: 20th November

Age: 17

Height: 146cm

Dominant hand: He's ambidextrous

Unique Magic: Mirror Image. He can copy the voice of anyone he directly touches and their physical form if he pushes hard enough. If he wants, he can limit it to certain characteristics. (E.g: voice or eye colour). He can also copy their unique magic. However, it often comes out "wrong" (for example, King's Roar will result in a goopy black tar instead of sand), and if it results in a physical object like Riddle's collar, the object will look nonsensical and ai generated

Preferences:

Favourite subjects: Art, biology

Hobby: Painting

Likes: Butterflies, animals, reading, music, cooking, painting

Dislikes: Large crowds, loud people, showing his teeth, loud sounds, bright lights

Favourite food: Chocolate mousse, shrimp

Additional Info:

Homeland: The Coral Sea

Species: Cookie Cutter Shark Mer

Family: His father and later on Chrysos who belongs to @distant-velleity

Nickname: Blue Angel, courtesy of Floyd (thank you @azulashengrottospiano for the name!)

Relationships: Finn is polyamorous with the Octavinelle trio

Sexuality: Finn is gay and polyamorous

Appearance:

Finn has long, fluffy forest green hair that has a curly seaweed/kelp like shape that goes to just past his is shoulders. It is often tied in a tight bun. His eyes are a bright amethyst and his teeth look like they came straight from the mouth of an angler fish, twisted and horrific.

Finn is very chubby and most people think "soft" and "squishy" while looking at him. Until the dread sets in, that is. He's quite pale as well but has recently started to tan a bit. He is very very small and most of his clothes have to be taken to be adjusted so they actually fit him.

In his true form, Finn's tail and face are forest green in colour, just as is the rest of him. The palms of his hands are seafoam green. His tail is like that of a cookie cutter shark's. There is a large patch of scarring on his left shoulder and the middle of his tail. He has long black claws that are retractable and incredibly sharp.

Finn has a band of black scales around his neck, and from just below that all the way to his navel are photophores that glow in the dark, which helps him camouflage and can even make him look like a school of fish from below.

Personality:

Finn is quiet and mostly keeps to himself, barely speaking to most people unless absolutely necessary, and is usually polite. He lives be the rule "don't bother me and I won't bother you". His "default" expression, if you will, is usually just a blank or serious face.

Finn is intelligent and quick-witted. He often weeds information out of people for Azul, taking the role of the "therapist bartender" except most people get an uncanny valley feeling if they look at him for too long. Despite his politeness something about him always feels wrong to others. They get this sense of dread that make them want to leave as soon as possible.

Finn is quite sadistic and has a deep love for the twisted and macabre. This is often reflected in his paintings, many of which are disturbing in nature. He is very happy to extend his sadistic ways to other students if he deems it necessary. Only if he deems it necessary. (What he deems as necessary can vary)

Finn is, most of the time, immensely confident in himself and who and what he is. He is quiet but he is not, by any means, shy or timid. He does have his insecurities though, mainly about his teeth since they're often viewed as ugly. He covers his mouth whenever he laughs or smiles in public.

Some "Fun" Facts:

▪︎Finn is haunted by the ghosts of the siblings he devoured in the womb in true shark mer fashion, they aren't aggressive towards him but they are tethered to him and cause him nightmares and endless stress and fear (they are the cause of the sense of dread people get around Finn)

•Finn's voice is very soft and very nice to listen to. It's like a flowing river. He's difficult to hear at times.

▪︎Finn enjoys flying and is very good at it

▪︎His family comes from the deep of the midnight zone, so he is well versed in abyssal magic and the dangerous and powerful spells that come with it

•Finn likes to garden

Fic Masterlist

Art by @clovenoko

Art by @boopshoops

.....................................

A/N: Here's the boy! New and improved with an extra long personality section ooops

Tagging: @distant-velleity @krenenbaker @kitwasnothere @officialdaydreamer00 @jaylleoo14 @oya-oya-okay @cynthinesia @azulashengrottospiano @whspermy-name @minteasketches @the-banana-0verlord @adarkenedforest @whspermy-name @twisted-wonderland-but-gayer @ramshacklerumble @cyanide-latte @boopshoops @skrimpyskimpy @jovieinramshackle @quartztwst @amOnline @offorestsongs

@the-trinket-witch @ghostiidasponk @poisoned-pearls @natsukishinomiyaswife