#the more fun I'm having and the lighter i feel the better i sing. so. i dunno. worth applying in other areas of life as well maybe

[daz4i]

wait ok one thing i learned from my singing teacher that may or may not be relevant to other people with mountains of self-doubt and anxiety like i have. is that just because something is easy to do doesn't mean it's bad

also, you don't have to push yourself out of your comfort zone constantly. you have to find your limits first and make sure you're comfortable there - find out what your comfort zone even IS - and only then try to step out. if you're in constant survival mode while trying something new or while being creative, you will just associate these things with having a bad time, so what's the point?

we live in a culture that really encourages pushing yourself and constantly getting better, but you can't grow without roots, and you can't run with no legs to stand on. you need to have a sturdy base of confidence and joy to start from and go back to as needed

sometimes trying hard can be to your detriment. it's okay to do easy things for a bit. it might be your best work yet, even if just because you simply felt better doing it. and i think you're gonna be surprised by what you can achieve when you do something just because you like it, with no real goal in mind

[solarwynd]

I doubt it will happen, but I wish Jin would try something a little more dark and mature, you know? For all that I didn't really ended up liking the songs that much I at least appreciate JITB for basically saying "I'm not just a fun, sunshine guy" and showing a different side of Hobi instead. And he went back to lighter songs that were more his usual style after with HOTS but that's fine because he had already done what he needed to do with JITB. It's what Jimin also did with FACE and MUSE. He needed to get those darker thoughts and feelings out of the way before he could do something happier. He couldn't do SGMB without doing Face-off first.

The differences between FACE and MUSE are so interesting, actually. The circus music in Showtime (which was used as an intro to SGMB in the music video) is supposed to sound genuinely fun because SGMB is a genuinely happy song. But the circus music in the intro of Face-off sound kinda off and creepy because Face-off is very much not a happy song and using that circus music is basically Jimin calling himself a clown and a fool for trusting others. Then you have the kids singing in CTT (and the kids dancing in SGMB) which is supposed to be nice and sweet. But in Alone, the one line where Jimin tries to be hopeful in what is otherwise a very hopeless song, the "It's gonna be all right" line is immediately followed by what sounds like kids singing "Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie" like they are mocking him for thinking things could get better. It's all such an interesting contrast. And I really do think Jimin needed to make FACE before he could make MUSE. Because when he explained the overall narrative of FACE he talked about how the events of Face-off made him skeptical of human relationships and made him think that he didn't need other people. So he needed to go through the events of FACE, to go from Face-off to Set Me Free Pt.2, to free himself from the past so he could heal from his previous bad experiences. Only then could he get to MUSE where he has learned to trust people again and now wants to be in a relationship with someone.

Sorry, I got sidetracked talking about Jimin (average Jimin lover behavior). But back to Jin. I know he has this persona of a silly, funny guy but I think he could try to break away from that for a moment and show he is more than that, just like Hobi did. But with how quickly this album seemed to be made (he said he finish recording in beginning of July and the masters and mixes were done by August) I don't think there will be a lot of depth here. I mean, pre-made songs, songs that probably weren't even made for him, can only be so personal. If you really want to share your own experiences in a more raw and honest way you're gonna have to write the songs yourself. Which no one in the vocal line seems interested in doing. And isn't that something? That Jimin was the only one to write his own album (two albums!) even though he was the one armys least expected to do that. Really goes to show armys don't know the members as much as they like to think they do. Which is another reason I wish the other vocal line members had made honest and personal music, so they could break away from the simple stereotypes they had in the group and show who they really are. But instead they just leaned into those stereotypes more.

To me it seems like the vocal line just released albums because that's what they were expected to do, not because they genuinely had something to say. Taehyung comes across to me as the type of person that likes the idea of things but never fully considers those things in depth. He liked the idea of making a mixtape, which is why he kept talking about it, but then he realized that's actually hard to make, which is why he kept making songs and deleting them and in the end gave up and let other people make the songs for him. And now he even says singing a whole song by himself is to hard and it's easier to just be in the group. Then you have Jungkook who seemed perfectly fine with not doing anything in the beginning of 2023 until Scooter Braun gave him Seven and convinced him to make an album by telling him he would make him a big popstar, which Jungkook himself said is his biggest goal. And while I could still be wrong about Jin, him finishing an album that fast makes it seemed like he knew he had to release an album, he couldn't be the only one not to, he knew everyone was expecting it, so he got pre-made songs and recorded them as fast as possible just so he could get it out of the way in 2024 and leave 2025 to the group.

And in contrast to those three you have Jimin, who started working on his album in the beginning of 2022, before the hiatus was even annouced. And he didn't make just one album and said to himself "Job done, I don't need to do anything else", no, he went and made a second album too. It's clear this wasn't just something he did out of obligation, he genuinely wanted to do this because he had something he wanted to say. Remember how he said he initially intended his first album to be more about his idol persona like Filter was? But when he started making the album it soon turned into something way more personal and raw, something that showed the real him in a way we never got to see before in the group. And it's not just that he wanted to get things off his chest, he also genuinely likes making music. The producers said that initially they came in with some demos to show Jimin but that those demos quickly were forgotten when he started giving a bunch of ideas (like him playing that keyboard which started the creation of Face-off) and humming melodies that were to good to pass up. So they threw those demos away and started making all the songs from scratch. Jimin doesn't need to be given pre-made songs because he not only has the interest, but also has the talent to make his own songs.

.��

[meltsyoutodeath]

Friday night funkin' x bnha crossover au where the fnf people were like born there and everything and. ok this post works better as a bullet list hang on:

(NOTE: anything I get fundamentally wrong is because I didn't actually get past, like, the training camp arc thing in bnha. I'm just going off the copious amounts of bnha crossovers I've been reading)

Bf's quirk is that he can pull anyone into a rap/singing battle that deals real physical damage if the opponent can't keep up. of course, the harder the song, the hardest it is for Bf himself to keep it up

Bf's quirk doesn't make a battle stop just because a rap battle began. you have to imagine a guy simultaneously fighting for their life and trying to hit the right notes to a song that started playing out of nowhere

Gf's main thing is that she starts looking like a demon whenever she feels something too strongly. That emotion can be happiness, anger, hate, love, whatever. BUT Gf can also enhance other people's quirks just by touching them

(more under the cut because it gets long)

Gf and Bf both go to UA! this is not because either of them want to be a hero. neither of them are interested whatsoever in all that. but Daddy Dearest insisted that Gf could ONLY go there because it's a prestigious school and he wants the best education for his daughter etc etc (it was totally not because it's hard getting in UA and DD thought Bf wouldn't be able to follow her there so they'd FINALLY break up)

Bf, of course, is THE boyfriend of all time, so he sweats his way through UA's entrance exams just to prove he'd do anything to be with Gf. and also as a fuck you to Daddy Dearest

They join the hero course because someone said Gf could never be a hero with such a villanous quirk and they took that as a challenge

moving on to OTHER characters: Pico is the quirkiest quirkless guy on earth. man was wanted for a school shooting at age 14 (yes I know canonically he was older during Pico's School but let me cook ok). he wasn't even responsible for the school shooting in question, but everybody just kinda decided he was because he was the one of the only survivors, so.

these days Pico works as a mercenary, but he's done enough to be seen as a villain. some even consider him a Big villain (because, you know. massive school shooting)

there are conspiracy sites that discuss what Pico's quirk is, btw. one day he made a burner account and said "I think he's quirkless" in one of those and he got banned from the website

Darnell's quirk lets him enhance pre-existing flames. So while he can't shoot fire out of his hands or anything, giving him a lighter is the same thing as giving him a flamethrower

Nene's quirk lets her copy any object she's holding, as long as she knows its composition. It's basically Yaoyorozu's but nerfed

That's how she gets her endless knives supply, and also how Pico never runs out of ammo. she makes, like, 20 magazines for him per fight

Darnell, Nene and Pico are a group who are mostly seen working together. they only try to kill each other sometimes

Fun fact abt them is that they have a combo attack where Darnell uses a spray can that's actually a bomb to distract enemies and then Nene launches a bucnh of knives that Pico redurects with gunshots as needed. this isn't easy or effective but they find it fun AND it looks really cool

One day Darnell is watching the news and something about some place being burnt down because of a villain comes up and he goes "something big burnt down,,, and not because of ME???" and at the same time Nene walks in all sad and goes "there's this new girl with some evil league or something who's stealing my knives brand :((("

so naturally they decide they HAVE to bring down the leauge of villains now. not because of the crimes or whatever but because they're stealing their brands

Pico joins them because why not. they become the team rocket of bnha

during the... training camp arc? is that what that's called? those 3 trail the League because a big open area sounds like a perfect opportunity to catch one of them alone and, thus, very killable

Pico ends up running into Bf and Gf locked in a battle against an unspecified villain and he looks like he's having trouble so Pico's like.... omg is that my ex?? I forgor he goes here. he's still kinda hot... who said that. I should totally help him out

so Pico gravely injures his enemy but gets so caught up in the friendly rap battle Bf pulls him into that he forgets to finish him off

and then Weekend 1 happens as normal except avoiding Nene and Darnell is a lot harder because they're, you know, roommates

anyway after that he starts hanging out with Bf again more. eventually Gf starts coming too and then I reveal this was SECRETLY GF X BF X PICO PROPAGANDA ALL ALONG

one day Midoryia sees them hanging out and near instantly clocks who Pico is so he runs away very comically (after Bf tells him he can't kill his classmates)

later on Midoryia can't help but ask wyat Pico's quirk is and promptly stops working when they tell him he doesn't have one

and that's all I have for now but you get my point right

[allys-diary]

stories i om-nom-nom'd :: april 2024 (week 1)

Considering that this is my first week of full on unemployment since 2016, this is also probably the first time I've purely had time just to myself. So you bet ur souls I nom'd a whole lot of media this week.

As usual, expect spoilers, you've been warned. Everything below the cut:

movies

Mulan (1998)

This was a rewatch and I honestly just had it on because I wanted something in the background while I was cleaning, but also I was having such a blast singing and dancing along to the soundtrack. And also I just wanna take this moment to say that Yao, Ling, and Chien Po were the realest ones in this movie because they were so unfazed by the reveal that their new friend Ping was actually a woman and all they cared about was trying to stop Shang because they thought he was gonna execute her. And then when she popped up at the palace going "Hey guys! I have an idea" they just dropped everything and didn't even hesitate to put on a dress and makeup.

Like I need friends like that, their loyalty is unmatched 👏👏👏

Also the Emperor becoming Mulan's wingman at the end was something I forgot and I cackled so loud watching that scene over 😂

Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

I'll be so real and tell y'all that I put off watching this movie for the longest time because I've seen so much hype around it, and when I see smth like that I have one of two possible responses. I either immediately jump on it the second it releases…or I procrastinate. But watching this was honestly so much fun and even though I didn't watch the first movie, I could still feel Winnie's devastation when she watched her sisters fall victim into a yassified Thanos snap. Although honestly I do feel like this was just natural consequence doing its thing, like Book really tried to warn her so many times, so really this is just "Fuck around and find out (Winnifred's Version)".

I will say though, that something I felt was lacking was the building of the characters of the new witches. It feels like the movie was made with the hopes that people would go in this with so much nostalgia for the first movie and that would be enough to carry the entire project without having to do much on actually telling us who these new witches are, and why we should root for them. The dynamic between the three girls felt very much like it was telling rather than showing that Becca would be the leader but she's going to put in the work to make them all have equal footing, while in contrast, the Sanderson sisters had a dynamic that drew you in and showed you from even the first scene that Sarah and Mary were treated by Winnie as subordinates rather than sisters.

There was just enough hints at the end that there's a movement for a third Hocus Pocus movie to be greenlit because there's still one more black flame candle, and that was more than enough for me to blurt out the words "Gilbert, you lil bitch".

On a lighter note tho…the flying roombas and the performance number were a few of the highlights of the movie that kinda make me wanna watch it again…Ohh and Hannah Waddingham as Witch Mother 100% had me going "this better not awaken anything in me"

nvm…too late

tv shows

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

I can't watch the shows in order because my streaming services really said "fuck your binging rights", so I have 0 context on overarching series arcs, but I watch what I can.

Season 21, Episode 1: They created a whole ass MeToo episode and it was so well-written I actually had to take a second to remind myself that this was acting and to hold off on hating Ian McShane because he portrayed his whole "sleazy media mogul with a whole ass casting couch" persona eerily well. One of the things I'm steadily coming to appreciate with the series is that they're not shying away from touching on current issues, and I personally cannot wait for the incoming seasons and they start taking jabs at Sickelodeon--I mean Nickelodeon.

Also Hadid deserves jail time she needs to be taken down ALL the pegs. If Hadid has 0 haters, I am dead.

Season 21, Episode 2: Speaking of not shying away from sensitive issues, this was a doozy and a half because it was really subliminally heavy on the victim blaming. Reagan's "friends" for one are some insane pieces of work just damn near scoffing when they were told "your friend might have been assaulted" and going "yeah probably not she has a whole bunch of crazy antics". And that utterly disheartening moment when the team realizes that if this actually does go to trial, that she might not win because the defense could spin a story about "her wanting it" because of her history and her sexcapades with a bunch of other guys.

In the name of fully supporting women's wrongs, I fully support Reagan going full "I Spit on Your Grave" on these bastards 😤 That and I'd fully be on board with a movie where Ariel Winter goes the vigilante & revenge route.

Sidenote: This is why I hate that I can't stream all the seasons because I have no idea what happened to Olivia in the previous season that was called back to in the final scene with Reagan where she said she knows that Reagan will survive because she survived.

Season 10, Episode 22: Okay so I knew from the jump when Stuckey was introduced that either he wouldn't be around for long because he was gonna screw something up which would result in him getting fired (or at the very least transferred to another department far away from interacting with people), or he'd get an improvement arc where he suddenly became an invaluable asset to the team. What I didn't think was gonna happen was that he was going to go on a murder spree in an attempt to manipulate events so he could overcorrect on a mistake that he made from being way too lax and honestly kind of arrogant.

I just know that Benson went like this the second they had him in custody:

games

Undercover: Blood Bonds

Chapter 3: We get introduced to Vera's former coworker (and possibly ex) Gabe, revealing that before she became a journalist, she was a detective, and he's not too happy about her career shift. In the chapter outro, we get a flashback of Lilly looking like she's going through it and has been keeping a diary to write her feelings down. This flashback might be of the night that Lilly disappeared, maybe the last time Vera saw her sister alive.

Chapter 4: Jericho's a mysterious new figure that makes his entrance by walking into Club (no really, the club's name is "Club") without being carded by Hank, the bouncer. Also he has red eyes. Vera managed to swipe Lilly's journal from the crime scene and she finds out that the last time her sister wrote in there was the night that Vera left the city to go back home.

Chapter 5: Vera's in a competition with Crystal over who gets to keep the job at Club because only one of them can stay after the week's over, and knowing she doesn't have a shot, Crystal sabotages Vera by "accidentally" dropping her lipstick on the floor so that Vera slips and falls and breaks a tray full of glasses. Hank mentions that the previous barmaid Daisy would've been useful to know what happened to Lilly, and the very end shows a flashback that Jericho met Lilly the last time she went to Club and bought her a drink.

Chapter 6: Jericho buys a drink for the new DJ, Bluejay, but doesn't score with her because she has a gig and she's determined to stick to schedule (which is finish her shift at 4am). Hank tells Vera that Daisy was head over heels for Jericho when she used to work at Club, and a flashback reveals Daisy trying to discourage him from chatting up Lilly because she's "just a kid". He's unfazed by that (red flag alert red flag alert woop woop das da sound of da police)

Chapter 7: Vera turns down Jericho's sleazy attempts to buy her a drink and invite her back to his place after shift, and he denies ever having seen Lilly when he's shown a picture of her, claiming that "she's not his type". Then he immediately rebounds in a record 0.5 seconds with the next girl that shows up (and serving her orders becomes our side quest for this level). Outro showcases Hank's green flag status offering his coworkers to drive them home since it's so late, and ends with him driving Vera to the police station so she can check on the status of the investigation.

Chapter 8: We play as Crystal in this level and let me tell you now, I hate it here. She goads on Vera for being "sluggish" and having a bad day and sucks up big time to the boss Mr Smirnov with "grand plans" to improve clientele, which of course gets him going and has him leaning towards granting her the permanent staff position. Then Gabe calls Vera with disappointing news and tells her he'll just give her the apartment keys after work.

Chapter 9: Gabe goes to Club to hand over Vera's apartment keys, which gives us our side quest for this level where we serve Gabe his orders for the night. When he releases the apartment back to Vera, he reveals that Lilly's ex-boyfriend Sam is the prime suspect. He also lets slip that their chief's trying to prioritize the case of a missing barmaid (most likely Daisy). We also get a flashback of what is probably the night Lilly disappeared, where she comes home to find Sam waiting in the dark, angry over her coming in late.

Delicious: True Love

Stage 3, Day 8: Philippe, a horny mustachio'd guy that made the moves on Emily back in Stage 2 and ends up having to share a passenger cart with her on the train, asks Emily about why she's so attached to Jean-Paul's letter. She tells him that she and JP had a summer thing when they were 16, and she wrote him a letter and thought he'd never replied. Turns out he did and the letter arrived a little late…like 16 years late. She says it's fate, but Philippe drops hints that maybe what fate was really trying to do was to make her cross paths with him along the way. He's really down bad for her and it's getting a bit painful to witness, tbh.

Stage 3, Day 9: Philippe writes a review for Fresco's Diner Express (the train restaurant…ohh also, Philippe's a renowned food critic), which he tears into pieces when Emily tells him "you're sweet but my heart's with someone else" and calls her a silly naive American girl whose head's filled with frilly "plastic" Hollywood love stories. Typical "I'm a nice guy" behavior, part of him still thinking that Emily "owes" him after he voluntarily bought her a ticket so she won't be kicked out the train. He tries to make amends when she goes back and gives him his torn up review that she taped back together, and says he's happy to stay friends.

Now see here I wanna believe that he means that, but I've seen "nice guy" behavior. They're never happy staying friends. They're like not-so-silent red flags 😤😤

Stage 3, Day 10: It's Emily's final day on the train and Fresco's a bit emotional because she's helped him so much (he's precious we must protect him at all costs). Philippe shows up at the end to wish Emily goodbye and good luck, finding her suitcase at the station that's now filled with a whole bunch of notes from her mother (she's another thing I don't even wanna touch on right now), and gives her the details of a restaurant where he believes she'll find Jean-Paul.

I'm now looking at the chapter titles for Stage 4, which takes place at a restaurant called "Chez Jean-Paul", and ngl y'all I'm scared. There's one here that says "A Bitter Blow" and something tells me Emily's not actually ending up with JP at the end of this story. Lemme just…preemptively sharped a pitchfork real quick…

Stage 4, Day 1: Emily's arrived at Jean-Paul's restaurant but he's not around, and she offers her assistance to the sole employee manning the place. Said sole employee then takes off to go to an appointment. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The day ends, still no JP, so she goes off to explore Paris and becomes so enamored with the place seeing all these couples so madly in love. Even the birds have their own love stories going on.

Imma tell y'all right now I have so many fears--

Stage 4, Day 2: Emily sees some flowers that remind her of Patrick (the boy next door who delivers flowers to her restaurant back home in Snuggford) and she has a moment where she's just happily remembering him before she up and decides to get some flowers for Jean-Paul. The day ends with her running into JP and him needing to jog his memory (it's been 16 years, so I can kinda understand), which really only kicks into gear when Emily starts reciting lines from his letter. They share a hug and they seem happy but…that chapter title from earlier is still giving me fears--

Stage 4, Day 3: Emily and Jean-Paul are catching up with each other, and that's really what the whole day revolves around. There was a side quest in this level where you'd have to tap on JP when he shows up because he's having a food fight with Emily while serving customers. He says a bit about her being worth waiting for, and they share a kiss. And here's where I have some critique for the story writers and game developers…

If y'all didn't want us to anticipate the twists, the chapter titles should have been hidden until the player reaches said level. Now I know that Emily's bound for heartbreak at JP's hands which makes it easy not to root for this relationship. Y'all should've pulled out the rug from under our feet without the early warning device. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Stage 4, Day 4: Ohh no. Ohh fuckque no I hate it here. Emily's over the moon and tells her new florist friend Amelie that she's reunited with her first love, and Amelie's equally excited because she thinks her boyfriend's about to propose after she's been dropping hints for the last six months. The chapter ends with Jean-Paul in a hurry and promising to see Emily later, but in his rushing he didn't see that a goddamn ring box fell out his pocket.

To quote Dr Swift herself, "I think I've seen this film before and I didn't like the ending" 😖😖

Stage 4, Day 5: Jean-Paul's clearly in a bit of distress because he can't find something, which opens up our side quest for this level, putting the ring back in his coat pocket. There's also an inscription on the ring about "love being a flower" which makes me even more convinced that this ring isn't for Emily, but rather someone else whose name sounds like "Emily". JP then asks Emily to go away with him and see the countryside, to which she says "Yes" because now she's convinced he's gonna propose to her there.

Stage 4, Day 6: Emily and Amelie make promises to each other to attend each other's weddings, both clearly excited about where their relationships are headed (meanwhile I'm here fully convinced that they're seeing the same man). At the end of the day, Emily asks Jean-Paul if they're going to see each other later that night but he says that he has "a prior engagement", but that he intends to whisk her away to the countryside the next night. So lemme just get this straight…he's gonna propose and get engaged to his long-time girlfriend (most likely Amelie), and he's turning Emily into an unwitting other woman by starting something with her without ever even once thinking that "Ohh oopsies I probably should've told her I have a whole ass relationship and I'm already in the proposal stage".

If OG story Jean-Paul has 0 haters, I am dead 😤

Stage 4, Day 7: The day starts off with Jean-Paul starting to wave his red flag loud and proud by showing annoyance at the sound of a child crying because he got a splinter, which has Emily side-eyeing him while she tended to the kid to get the splinter out. There's no side quest in this level, and the day ends with JP postponing their getaway because a friend of his is in town and "he hasn't seen him in so long and he wants to catch up".

Yeah no…I'm sharpening a pitchfork…

Stage 4, Day 8: Aaaaaand here it is. Big confirmations that this story's Jean-Paul is a piece of work that deserves to have da pipi chopped off. The day starts with Emily not having heard from him, the guy not even bothering to check on his restaurant that he claims he gave his entire life to just to earn his star rating, mind you. And it ends with Emily going to spend some time with Amelie, who reveals that she's engaged. They're planning a double date, when they see JP with another woman and kissing her ("haven't seen him in a long time" my ass). The two women reveal to each other in their shock that they've been seeing the same man, and Amelie's immediately on whack-a-cheater mode, while Emily breaks down in tears.

Stage 4, Day 9: We love Amelie in this household, she's a complete girl's girl, not even spending a single second even remotely annoyed at Emily and immediately goes in to hug her when they see each other again. She just hates that she wasted her time and moved to Paris for trash bag Jean-Paul. She walks off before the level starts, vowing to have her revenge. Then Philippe arrives excited to see Emily again and telling her he's had Chez Jean-Paul on his schedule to review, which kicks off this level's side quest of bringing him his orders. Amelie shows up at the end of the level, dousing the final dish that Emily serves Philippe with a heaping dose of hot sauce (high key hoping it's some Carolina Reaper levels of burn).

Philippe writes a review that will take away the restaurant's star rating, and JP goes rabid telling the two women that they ruined his life and "all because he couldn't help that he loved women", to which Emily pushes him into the fountain and Amelie delivers this absolute banger of a line:

Stage 4, Day 10: There isn't much to this day other than Emily saying goodbye to her new friends, and Amelie reminding her that one day they'll attend each other's weddings. We also have Nadia finally getting the quote right. "Love is the flower that grows in front of you." That sends Emily into another round of tears, and giving us as the viewer the glaring red neon sign that's been there since Stage 1, Day 1.

BAY-BEE. IT'S PATRICK. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE FRESHLY DELIVERED EVERY MORNING TO YOUR RESTAURANT FLOWERS 👏👏

Delicious World

Season 2, Episode 3, Part 7: This bit focuses more on Frank and Monet's side story, where Monet's cooking his boyfriend a simple risotto and Frank's trying to be reassuring that people would still love his recipes even if he pivots and tries to make simpler dishes, because what would matter is the taste. They have a discussion about what the people would think if he changed up his cooking style, and it led to how his reputation would be "ruined" if he comes out and reveals Frank to be his boyfriend, and sweet little pretend-Health Inspector boi says he's fine with staying private.

Sweet babey noooooo…you deserve better than to be hidden away in a corner 😤

Season 2, Episode 3, Part 8: Speaking of keeping relationships hidden…Jean-Paul's doing the exact opposite, constantly risking it all just to kiss his bb on the cheek out in public where anyone can see. And he shoots down the rumor about him and Shuvani. This is where it's giving me so much whiplash to play both this and True Love at the same time because while the original story's JP is a walking talking red flag, this one's steadily looking more and more like a green flag that I'm almost sad for him that he won't end up with Emily in the end. 😩

Gallery Coloring

If you're familiar with those games where you have to decorate your house/garden/cafe after completing enough levels or earning enough stars from completing levels, that's essentially the whole concept of Gallery. Except the levels are color by number that have varying difficulties.

The story I'm at right now is Leo and Mia (our main characters) are trying to get their friends Paul and Vivian, who've been crushing on each other, to make up and try their hand at a first date again, since the first one didn't go through because of Paul's outstanding levels of misfortune. Vivian's pissed and doesn't even want to look at Paul, let alone hear him out, and instead talks out what she wants to tell him by telling Leo what she appreciates about his and Mia's relationship in a way that's not so subtly criticizing and reading Paul for filth.

Meanwhile these four are all working together trying to get the cafe they've been renovating into a presentable enough state before an art critic named DeWitt comes in to meet with Mia and discuss her works.

There's also a Festival Season event that I'm trying to work through, which is just a mini story of Leo teaching his wife the ways of partying in a music festival.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure

A new update released this week, and gave us a few new morsels of lore. We go on a quest that spans 4 days to bring together Hapidanbui for a performance in hopes of reminding the Island Spirit that old long-running friendships are something to be cherished and hopefully heal her heart a little bit more and get her to open up a bit more to the idea of seeing her old friends again.

There was also a shorter quest that involved us bringing back weather into the island and getting it to rain with the restoration of the Aquafaller, so now it can rain throughout the biomes of the island, revealing blue flowers to water that will reward you with raindrops that can be traded for new furnitures and clothing items.

youtube & tiktok channels that got my watch minutes

India Rose Crawford

If y'all haven't seen the knitted frog stop motion animation videos yet, let me put you on because the way she has gotten to make these motions so smooth, it's like she's breathed life into this cute lil knitted frog?? Like, da fuckque??

SWOOP

SWOOP is one of those creators where when I see that she's posted something new, I wanna drop everything and watch through the entire video no matter how long it is. The new video she dropped this week was an hour and a half long, and she talks about Amanda Bynes and the devastating downfall of her career. If my heart wasn't breaking enough for her, it's just shattered now, and I just hope that whatever she's doing, that she's genuinely happy and giving herself the room and the patience to heal at her own pace.

Also, if Dan "The Foot Man" Schneider has zero haters, I am dead. Jail. Electric chair. 😤😤

Alexa Nikolas

While I can't find it in me to recommend a Trisha Paytas video, that's shockingly what's gonna happen right now, because Alexa made an appearance on Trisha's podcast "Just Trish" this week, talking about her experience in the set of Zoey 101, the abusive chapter of her life where she was a victim of child SA by her ex-husband and the cover up made by parties in the music industry that ultimately led her to starting Eat Predators. And while I do have my opinions on Trisha, I do have to give credit where credit is due and give them my respect for giving Alexa the time and space to share her story and let the emotions flow and not butting in with any potentially disruptive questions and adjusting accordingly when the mood shifts.

Also every single part of me itches so bad whenever I get reminded that she and most likely the rest of the cast don't actually get any residuals from Nickelodeon. Like excuse you?? After all those reruns that are still going to this day, and none of the child talents that helped y'all make those shows happen see a single cent of it?? What the whole grain full fat buttery fuckery is this??

ASMeRi Eats

On a lighter note, lemme share with y'all a mukbang video that had me going full on out of character and craving shrimp

Quinton Reviews

Quinton's become quite notorious for releasing videos that do deep dives of series that span anywhere from 2 to 21 hours. No, really…his Sam & Cat videos are a total of 21 hours spread across 3 videos.

Well this week a new video dropped on the Beverly Hillbillies, this time hosted by his father because Quinton's off hard at work on another project. And this video from his dad has a runtime of 38.5 hours. My eye's twitching just thinking about it, but for some reason I've started to watch it and I'm nowhere near even the 25% mark, but I'll ease my way through in multiple sessions.

stories to om-nom-nom next

Hello Kitty Island Adventure: Imagination Celebration Event

Not quite sure how much story they're gonna put into this event, but I hope that there's a good bit in it because there's castles and cute lil medieval fairy tale vibe type costumes involved, and also they're calling Kuromi "Spooky Queen Kuromi" so there's gotta be something there, right?

The Bricklayer

Honestly I just wanna watch this because Nina Dobrev's in it. I barely even remember what was in the trailer.

That's all for this week. Considering that I'm on vacation mode, chances are next week's post is gonna be even longer than this. I apologize in advance 🫡

[huntinglove]

Oh! this looks so fun :3 how about...

⭐ — How would they try to impress you?

for any F/O you're feelin! Also sorry if you've already answered this!

Hi hi!! Thank you so much for the ask!!

⭐ — How would they try to impress you?

Oh dear, they all have their own little... Quirks, especially when it comes to things like this!

Ennui isn't great with words or acts of service, but she loves quality time and "pebbling" during parallel play! They send me any and all photos and videos they think I'll enjoy as a way to show affection. He feels very proud of himself whenever he gets me to laugh or squeal over something cute

Charlie has a hard time speaking his mind and greater acts of affection make him flustered enough to faint, so his way to captivate and impress me is in the details! Reaching for my hand while we walk together, placing my head on his shoulder while we're on the bus or the train and leaving me small gifts after our dates!

Alma couldn't exactly touch me before we went through with the ritual, so they usually stuck to words of affirmation, quality time and gift giving! They'd gather little trinkets from around the campus to show me, then tell me about all the interesting things they saw during the day! Now they show me affection by helping me take care of myself while sharing my body, it feels so much lighter and fun to dance and sing when we're together like this

Mychael is still warming up to affection in general, understandably considering his isolation from humanity, but he shows his love and care by sharing information and spending time together! He always has so many interesting things to tell and show me and I'm always happy to be near him while he's cooking or knitting, it's such a warm and homely feeling that I wouldn't trade for the world

Muichiro used to try and impress me with combat skills, but ever since he's noticed that him being kind and sweet to me works better he's been spoiling me rotten. A lot of praise and cheerful smiles that he doesn't usually share with others and sudden bursts of affection that leave me a blushing mess each time

Simon's love comes with silence, he'll wake me up to breakfast in bed, kiss my forehead and help me out with harsh chores, without saying anything romantic at all! I don't mind it, of course, but sometimes I wish he wouldn't work so hard and end up tiring himself out just because of me... He always comes up with new ways to impress me and feel like I'm falling in love for the first time all over again

Sir Pentious tries his best to impress me in his own way, trying to make himself seem stronger and braver than he actually is, but what always gets me is his kindness and dedication! He'll weld me metallic flowers and come up with cute inventions and trinkets to make me smile and that's more than enough to make me swoon every single time

[greenelectricsky]

For the ask game! (And sorry if any are repeats 😊)

🧵🎬🐾

Hi, darling! Not a problem!!!

🧵Favourite production? Tecklenburg, winning for a hair over our local non replica. Why? Because it's so much more funny there. It's lighter, less serious, but I am under the impression that characters have so much more personality there. Like Gus "falling" from a scene to get more attention from Jennyanydots. Like Munku having fun scaring others when he is Rumpus Cat. Like Misto being an acrobat. Etc, etc, etc. And it has all the numbers, both Peaks and the pollicles, and Growltiger with Billy McCoy song. And it perfectly uses castle ruins!!! It's... I absolutely love it!!!!

What is funny, I thought I won't like it, because of "too humanish" costumes, but somehow, it works perfectly here!!!

🎬 Hm... One of those hard, hm? It will be all-so-adult-and-sexy-Rum Tum Tugger, doing "choo choo" with others, in the Skimbleshanks' number! Tugger closing Bombalurina in the smoking oven and her running after her. Rum Tum Tugger sliding on his knees and grabbing Munkustrap's booty. Or, from our local non replica, Mistoffelees doing real magical tricks on the scene. And a moment when Macavity has Demeter in his arms, she was fighting with him, hurting him, and he wants to do the same, to destroy her, he lifts his arm, claws ready to strike and... he is changing completely. His face becomes so sad and full of love, his hand so delicate touches her cheek... But those are the funny little things, not always done.

And there is a moment, almost always there, that is catching my heart hard and don't want to let it free. It's a moment, when Grizzabella (in reprise of Memory) is on her knees, so defeated, she lost hope and feel she did everything she could and it still was too little, too late... and Jemima starts singing for her, making Griz believe it's worth that one more try, giving her strength to fight again. It's... Oh, sweet moon, I'm crying just writing about that. It's something so absolutely magical, so full of emotions.

🐾 Ho did I discover Cats... It was close to publishing a 1998 film. I was young then (like young enough to not earn money, rather collecting pocket money from my parents), I had some money I could spend on myself, I was in a store... and by sheer chance I found that DVD. I love cats. I don't like musicals. But... I took that, because I thought it could be funny, maybe? And I fall in love. My mind just exploded. It was something so completely different from everything I ever saw... I... Maybe I could explain that better in my first language, but in English I just don't have words to do that.

I hope those answers are good enough! Lovies!!!!!!!

[saqui]

Rwby Ships as my kpop playlist songs:

I'm a very huge kpop stan and I think it would be nice to have some fun just by mixing my two interests into one. Enjoy!

Rosegarden - "SLOWMOTION" by TREASURE

What I love about this song is it speaks about taking your time to go deeper, slower, in the moment. It also gives deep comfort or ease. This song best suits Rosegarden in my opinion because from how I see Rosegarden, as the world is going faster that it's heavier to carry its heavy weight, they find as if the world became slower and lighter the moment they see each other.

Overall, the vibe just suits 😌🥰❤💚

Lines:

(1) We goin' slowmotion

(2) I want a deep talk

(3) All day, let's go, it's a long day, trust me, lean next to me.

Renora - "But You" by iKON

One, I can definitely see Ren singing this to Nora.

Two, this song tells about how sure that the girl, he used to be in a relationship before, is the only one for him no matter what and would want to start over again which I think suits them sooo much. Plus, I think this is something how Ren would really deeply feel about Nora even especially how they are currently.

Lines:

(1) You're the reason. I need you baby

(2) Start over and fall in love

(3) We know each other better more than anyone else

(4) Nobody but you

Bumbleby - "Bet You Wanna" by BLACKPINK

They're high for each other. They're hooked for each other. Just look at the gif. Does that not speak volumes to you??? /hj

Anyways, yes, this song has the whole vibe of being high because of their partner. Blake and Yang have always been clingy and whipped for each other and this song expands that idea more. This song is playful and teasing like their love language so it's this I choose.

This song kinda mentions a lot of fire too.

Lines:

(1) Take me to your paradise cuz I don't wanna wait anymore

(2) Something 'bout me's takin' you higher and you ain't ever gonna come down.

(3) I'm lighting your fire and it ain't ever gonna go out

Blacksun - "Thank You" by TREASURE

Both Blake and Sun are thankful for being with each other. There are so many lessons and memories they've made from each other and I guess it's time to say "Thank you". They wish each other good things in the world. That's the whole point of the song, just being thankful and moving forward. Also, the vibe or the music just suits them a lot.

Lines:

(1) Thank you that I met you

(2) All we have to do is walk on the flowery path

(3) Instead, I promise you don't get sick and I hope you meet a good person.

(4) Thank you so much, I was so happy

Tauradonna - "KILL THIS LOVE" by BLACKPINK

LET'S KILL THIS LOVE!

YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH

Arkos - "Shout Out" by ENHYPEN

Honestly, everything about arkos makes me associate everything specifically about being true to your feelings which I think relates to the song about "shouting" it out and considering how Pyrrah was always keeping her feelings to herself.

This song also has that beautiful vibe I feel for this ship.

Lines:

(1) The fake paradigm that locked me up beyond the border line drawn by someone, I shout out, and this is my shout out. I'm all for myself.

(2) Shout out my heart for you. My burning heart, shout out.

(3) I'm trapped in a wall that locked me up. Your voice is calling me

(4) My life without you is a misery

(5) With my real voice, I'll tell you my true feelings.

Everything here is only based on how I interpret both the songs and the ships. This is really fun to make!

The songs are beautiful!

If you're looking for other ships, maybe I would want to make another post for it. That is if you guys are also kpop stans haha!

I'm also genuinely curious what songs you think would fit these rwby ships too, let me know! 🤩

[deldeldel90]

OKAY SO!!! the front bottoms songs and how they are so like?? Lance and Blaine?? it's them, you honor.

"when the flood water comes, it ain't gonna be clear, it's gonna look like mud. But I will help you swim. I will help you swim. I'm gonna help you swim." -- Lance's promise to Blaine after everything goes down :(( him still seeing good in his brother. him wanting to help him.

"this is for the snakes and the people they bite, for the friends I've made, for the sleepless nights. for the warning signs I've completely ignored." -- Lance. just,,, Lance. His doubts about his father. his guilt about what happened with Lorena. him realizing everything.

"it's no big surprise you turned out this way [...] When they cut your hair, and sent you away," -- THEM!!! them sharing their childhood of being Leland's sons and being sent to that academy. them.

"I'm sure we could find something for you to do on stage." -- Lance's optimism <33 him wanting to help Blaine!!

"this is for the lake that me and my friends swim in, naked and dumb on a drunken night." -- Lance's academy days,,

"I wanna contribute to the chaos. I don't wanna watch and then complain, 'cause I am through with finding blame. This is the decision I have made." -- BLAINE. this is so Blaine!!?? bro. BRO.

"goodbye future, once so bright," -- post-canon Blaine. he's still not better from everything. his dad's in jail and the fate of the Plaid Kingdom is aksyakshsjsnb

"she looks me dead in the eyes and says, hey Brian, if you still believe in the Lord above, get on your hands and knees and pray for us,,," --- SHE!!! IS!!! MARIA. Maria to Blaine. omg. the Maria and Blaine confrontation.

"I never cried like that before, I thought my eyes would pop out of my head," -- Blaine isn't used to feeling much emotion before, due to just,, suppressing it and focusing on being the Perfect Plaid Prince.

"'Cause I can leave, so what now what, so where do I go?"-- in the end, there is no more Plaid Kingdom for him to return to. there's no more mountains. for the first time in his life, he is free from everything and, for also the first time, he has no idea what to do and no one to tell him where to go.

" 'Cause I can imagine throwing all my clothes inside a suitcase without bothering to fold them," -- Blaine no longer being expected to be perfect. him wanting to run away from it all. gahhha jgssjns

"I got boulders on my shoulders, collarbones begin to crack; there is very little left of me and it's never coming back," -- GRR!!! the high expectations being placed on Blaine!!! him genuinely being raised to have a mask on, so to speak, at all times. him never quite being allowed to grow on his own.

"there are certain things you ask of me, and there's certain things I lack" -- this could be about Blaine's fall from grace in his father's eyes, frantically trying to defend himself OR it could be Lance, who was never the academic. who was good at sports and fighting and that was it, when it came to their father. he was only seen as being 'good' at one thing.

"in the beginning we were winning, and now I'm just making up facts" -- THE PLAID/PASTEL FAMILY FALLOUT!!! Blaine, even when trying to convince Lance otherwise, knowing it's all gone wrong.

"there's no meaning to the words, but we still sing these songs well." -- the plaid family's facade..., (also, having to do with Blaine's musical past!!! he is playing songs on the piano that he doesn't know the meaning of---and they don't matter, not to Father, not to the judges of his latest competition.)

"but you're a killer, and I'm your best friend," -- OKAY SO. Lance,, to Blaine. them being attached to each other. them understanding what it was like to be under Leland's eye. Blaine potentially getting villianized and Lance being let off lighter?? but Lance stands by him no matter what 'cause that's his brother.

"I try to write you poems but the words, they don't make sense." -- okay. this, in my mind, could be Lance just doing shit for fun?? and he does it for Blaine, giving it to him to judge. they aren't perfect, there's made up words in them and repeating phrases, but Blaine keeps them all. he's just tryna have fun :((

"I try to show emotion, but my eyes won't seem to wet." -- BLAINE. Blaine Blaine Blaine.

"I think you're changing; don't worry, you don't gotta stay the same," -- Lance telling Blaine it's like okay to heal and stuff???

<33

OVERALL. these songs have made me lose my mind they're so good and just??? Them!!

[nitunio]

i keep thinking about idolish7 AUs!!!

What if Tsumugi chose three idols out of the initial seven? there's individual strengths to all, but there isn't much room for seven now is there?

EXTREMELY LONG POST ABOUT IDOLISH3 UNDER THE CUT (cw: source-typical drama and violence)

Sougo, Riku (center) and Yamato are chosen to be the IDOLiSH★TRiO

-- Mitsuki stops pursuing an idol career for a prolonged period of time, Iori is there to support him while calculating which strategies can be made to make his brother more appealing.

-- Tamaki doesn't bother with rejection, instead trying for other agencies. might do tiktok/musically to reach out to his sister

-- Nagi is upset, but is keen on staying at TakanashiPro - he's their new PR manager (and of course song provider)

i3 doesn't fumble concerts and gets to debut with an already released song (yeah trigger's songwriter steals "let's summer" in this au too)

i3 and trigger still hang out together, although its more awkward -- ryuu, sougo and yamato go drinking while riku is at tenn and gaku's (the only responsible sober adult) mercy. tenn is persistent on riku quitting.

re:vale is re:vale but momo's singing issue doesn't get resolved (yamato sincerely doesn't want to help re:vale. and so far hasn't really emotionally opened up about his feelings since all he does is drinks to blackout and neither him nor sougo remember what he was talking about. he's just an idol out of spite without anything attached)

-- somewhere at this point tamaki finds his sister and starts trailing her to see that tenn knows about her too much

momo and yuki mutually agree that they cannot continue -- banri reappears and agrees to OkazakiPro's contract, the new old re:vale is back (probably renamed too?). the zero arena opening concert gets framed as momoyuki re:vale's farewell to each other (they don't push back on ZERO's threats either, the whole thing's theme is "reminiscence" and "letting go" hence Re:vale singing Dis one and Dis banding (i'm so sorry for this pun. or should i say Dis p-), and letting new idols build on what momoyuki and ZERO made)

-- that being said yuki and banri coming back is framed as "the phoenix rising" and they probably have a song about that too.

Momo still gets spots in dramas and ads though less frequently. He prefers spending time networking and not thinking about singing. He meets Ryou at one of the events and the two share the sorrows (Momo has a tiny bit of bitterness about the Re:vale situation but their agreement to disband was mutual, his time was up, and he still loved Yuki. He confided in Ryou for the lack of a better listener and Ryou went with that bitterness and cranked it up to a 100)

-- riku actually gets better since he's always attended to by sougo and he is having fun with his time as an idol. his relationship with tenn also starts getting better, the two hang out frequently (and heavily disguised).

-- sougo and yamato have tension between each other because they keep trying to open up each other to make the group dynamics lighter but none are willing to share their emotions

Ryou tells Momo about his plan to form ZOOL. the members are -- Minami, Haruka, Touma and Mitsuki (Iori shoehorns himself in as Mitsuki's "personal manager", offers Ryou PR assistance to which he refuses and bans Iori from entering TsukumoPro)

-- momo gets more and more fueled by hate since ryou just doesn't stop generously salting his wounds while simultaneously comforting him

-- at some point here gaku confesses to tsumugi and she rejects. gaku turns his platonic love towards teammates and never pursues tsumugi again.

-- also at one of the hang outs TRG/i3 had gaku + sougo + yuki had a talk about making music and felt inspired. the motivation was to "have a great collab some time later"

ZOOL doesn't choose a target for elimination yet, Momo half-heartedly suggests Re:vale, Minami agrees, Mitsuki goes for i3 and Touma just shrugs and repeats Mitsuki, while Haruka alone vouches against TRIGGER

Mitsuki discovers his powers as MC and uses them to disrupt TRIGGER, Re:vale and i3 shows, instead turning attention to ZOOL and himself, sometimes barely dropping hints at all the dirt Ryou could dig up on idols. he is beloved on the internet as the rebel who's not afraid to talk despite how harmless he looks

- mitsuki has a falling off with his brother since iori is alarmed by the sudden personality change and keeps telling him about long-term consequences of so much negativity, while mitsuki doesn't understand why his brother just won't support him after going so long about helping him. mitsuki shares an apartment with touma. iori still attends ZOOL concerts, wishing to talk to his brother again.

-- nagi deals with bad press and all the stuff that happens to undermine i3

-- haruka teams up with tamaki to "free" aya from kujo. tamaki has a good following on tiktok/musically from his dance videos.

-- banri and yuki get married

---- ryou keeps getting momo new gigs to distract him from re:vale bc most idols are busy dealing with the allegations.

------ there's "unrequited love" thing going on between ryou (ready to ""love"" momo and idolize him) and momo (who is not interested in anyone after a heartbreak)

ZOOL distract TRIGGER, Haruka gets Tamaki backstage after B/W and he singles out / corners (while Haruka stands on lookout) Tenn who says he can't help them with anything. His smug aura gets on Tamaki's nerves and he tackles him to the ground and punches his face -> both escape the scene immediately, Tenn is put in ER, Ryou erases all the traces of ZOOL involvement in the incident, framing it as Gaku going out of control on Tenn.

Aya gets to the ER and gets spotted by media. Fans are raving about Tenn's "sister", some speculate that she looks exactly like Tamaki. Tamaki starts planning his recording to drag Kujo down.

Kujo "saves" Tenn from YaotomePro, forcing TRIGGER to disband. Tenn refuses plastic surgery to "repair the damages" and starts performing solo as the new ZERO (the costume is covering his unhealed injuries while he performs).

Tamaki gets invited to Kujo's residence and they negotiate to keep Kujo's name clean. Aya now lives with Tamaki.

Ryuu and Gaku get fired as punishment (and to save yaopro from getting bad press because oh! mitsuki is already covering the latest news about gaku not being a "cold handsome man" and ryuu being a violence enabler). They move in together and try asking for help.

-- unfortunately tenn is always forced to testify against TRG, as per kujo's order.

-- riku refuses to help TRG bc he believes what tenn says, yamato offers ryuu contacts to try for drama gigs and comforts him. sougo chooses to stay with riku since the latter has been having constant attacks after hearing the news.

Momo prepares to attack new old Re:vale by coming to the public with the "real reason he didn't want to work with Yuki anymore". Ryou writes a whole speech and "stage directions" for the sentimental video that spotlights "how much of a jerk Yuki really is".

i shall not continue. i wanted to write about

[thetenamongstthesethrees]

TW: REFERENCE TO SH AND RELAPSE OF SH AND SUICIDE ATTEMPT

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Ok so ik ive been inactive for a *WHILE* and im srry for that but like i have a buncha things that happened these past 3 months that I NEED To share SOOOO....

First things first, the one im most excited abt: I DID MY FIRST PERFORMANCE!!! My school was doing little mermaid jr and I got Scuttle! I was really happy to get my first role and getting at least one solo, and Im just happy overall on how it went! I think I did really good on my first try! Only bad thing was that now im kinda going through my lil mermaid hyperfixation and have been looking up fics where Sebastian and Ariel kinda have a Father/Parental Figure-Daughter or Older Brother-Younger (stupid but ultimately well meaning) Sister dynamic and have started to write a fic on that bc no ones done it before apparently😒(im going cray cray, bonkers mayhaps)

Might've gotten my eye infected(I live in the east of the us, new york to be more specific and woke up the day after the "live vintage (BLAME CANADA/j) filter" with my right eyes nerves slightly more irritated and haven't gotten that checked out so thats fun)

FINALLY finished that one drawing ive been making for 3 MONTHS.(well, technically....)

Almost done writing my passion project, AKA the one I originally wanted to make into an animated series but have settled for a book just in case that can't happen! I still need to work out some kinks, design more outfits, get all their personalities in check, make sure the world and magic is fully fleshed out, ect.

I also do band, and while I originally thought that I would have a problem bc of both band and theatres close scheduling(i originally had dress rehearsal on june 2nd, AND my band concert on June 2nd) but it all worked out in the end! My band concert went great, and while the dress rehearsal was a mess, we at least got through it! :)

Unintentionally quit SH! I was originally only meant to stop until AFTER performances, but ive been bettering myself and learned that if I ever want to forgive myself or at least move on I gotta stop feeling sorry for myself and not forget nor forgive, but remember, i just can't let it haunt me. I know I'll relapse, I always do eventually, but I want to enjoy these few moments of mental "clarity" while I can. I've also learned that for some reason i tend to become a more terrible person and despicable person the more time I spend at home with my mother, so that's fun. God, I hate America's education system, its messed me up BAD. AND the foster care system. I just tried to kms 2 times today, and she didn't even notice, or care. How sad is that?

On a lighter note, yes, as the rest of yt and TikTok, I got a minor lil hyperfixation on the Lorax and really think ppl should make more [PLATONIC] Lorax and Onceler dynamics, mainly the type where they're like some really annoying pair of bickering siblings or a father whos sick of his adopted child's shit, like there is so much on the table for platonic fluff and angst and most of what I've seen is romantic smut and fluff like CHANGE IT UP A LIL

Also, Ive been going to karaoke centers on Tuesdays and have become a lot more confident to performing in front of ppl! So far, I've performed "All You Wanna Do", "The Ballad of Jane Doe", "Heart of Stone", and am gonna do "What the World Needs" the next upcoming Tuesday, where I'm gonna try interacting with the audience while singing!!

(Also, before I end this....I may have ADHD??? my teacher who has ADHD says some of my behavior is "similar to hers"(i feel like thats just her way of saying i reek of neurodivergency) and I also did some research and I display similar/exact behaviors listed, have taken online tests from doctorate confirmed sites and basically all of them said to go get a diagnosis. I also found I do a few behaviors similar to stimming! Also also, I kinda suspect a lil more bc my mom has Autism and apparently sometimes neurodivergency is biological (i forgor the word) but my mom is kinda in denial abt my Depression diagnosis and thinks I got anxiety "biologically", so if I tell her I wanna get tested for ADHD shes just kinda gonna gaslight me into not believing that and i already told the school therapist and basically she just told me that I'm probably just imagining things or copying behaviors from my mother and that "kids like to give themselves all these titles nowadays" so I just did what I always do which is to keep it shut and act until they think you fell in line)

So yeah, thats all! Thanks for reading, now that my schedule is clear again ima start posting more frequently again, so be aware :) <3333

[thesinglesjukebox]

TATE MCRAE - "GREEDY"

Not an Ariana Grande cover, but the enunciation isn't much better...

[5.00]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Largely indistinguishable from the fake pop songs on The Idol. [3]

Leah Isobel: Tate McRae is 20 - old enough to embrace sexuality, young enough that she's still exploring its effects. "greedy" indicates both, its chorus driven by the novelty of being able to see yourself as a desirable object and by the fractured emotions attendant to that realization. She might embody the latter a little too well; her mushmouthed, cotton-candy voice throws off sparks on the chorus but dissolves into nothing when the verses send her into her lower register. What lingers isn't bravado or pleasure, but anxiety: when she hums "baby, please believe me," it's like it's directed inward. Please, say it right. Please, deliver what's desired in this moment. Please, let me get what I'm not sure that I want. I am very, very happy that I'm no longer 20. [5]

Ian Mathers: I was the only blurber here to love McRae and Khalid's "Working" (a song that has only grown in my estimation since), and that was entirely down to the subtlety, generosity, and maturity of its message and emotional range. I haaaaated the next time we covered McRae and my entire blurb was about disliking her singing style. Doing an A/B comparison between that song and this one I do think whatever was bugging me (which I still don't like!) is either less pronounced here or works better in "Greedy." But as opposed to something like "Working" there's nothing particularly distinctive or compelling to this one for me, indicating that at least right now she's more than capable of excelling on good material but maybe not so much of elevating average material. Wouldn't touch that dial though. [6]

Katherine St Asaph: The most memorable thing about "Greedy" is how hilariously mismatched the Darrin's Dance Grooves choreo is to the vibe of the song. (2023 songs the choreography would actually fit: "Padam Padam"; "Padam Padam"; maybe others.) [5]

Michael Hong: Sometimes, "you broke me first" comes on the radio and I just feel so bad for her -- she sounds so small, so miniscule, I just want to hold her. I like the zamboni of its music video, a really fun "I'm Canadian" statement, but the nasal quality of her voice does nothing for me here. [4]

Aaron Bergstrom: Real commitment to the hockey theme here, singing the whole song with her mouthguard still in like that. [2]

Nortey Dowuona: Stop being greedy/give to the needy. Tate sounds so confident on this record she can't be bothered to give the Gus Johnson lookalike in this song an actual name. Her voice is still cutesy and pinched, constantly pushed into the upper range of her nasally soprano, but once it's layered and compressed to stamp the hook into the brain, it becomes lighter and seethes, disgusted by the unappealing attention he tries to ensnare her. It's probably the embarrassing experience of Jasper Harris or Ryan Tedder, or the lived experience of Tate or Amy Allen, who has written "Graveyard", "Adore You" and "Without Me", all vivid songs with tight hooks which stamp on your brain just as this does. But I can't tell if I love or just like this song, it really depends on the day. So now it's a - [6]

Brad Shoup: We have Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland at home! [4]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Tate McRae's garbled singing is gerbil-coded. It's partly the AutoTune, partly because it's squeaky and small. Like, whenever the chorus comes in, I get the overwhelming sense that the songwriters tried to mask her limited vocal range. At least it's pitiable. [2]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: Looks like Tate McRae inherited the Ariana-Grande mumble-mouth gene for making a chorus sound pretty and unintelligible in one breathe. The lyrical conceit of "Greedy" makes little sense, but that matters little when the song is mostly a vehicle for Tate McRae to show off her dance skills and theater kid emotions. [6]

Taylor Alatorre: The basic structure of "greedy," with its neatly divided "he said" verses and "she said" chorus, makes it hard for me to see it as something other than the "Jerk Store" of pop songs. Unless we're really meant to believe that Tate McRae is saying things like "I'll put you through hell" in a public setting, a scene that would be laughed out of the writers' room of even the corniest teen drama. I do admire, though, the kind of obstinate creative logic that leads a singer to emulate Timbaland not merely or even primarily in his production style, but also in his underratedly weird stop-start way of delivering lyrics. Shock Value III when? [4]

Hannah Jocelyn: I've been rooting for Tate McRae despite all the reasons I shouldn't - she sounds like one of the mice from Cinderella, she brings little new to pop music, and yet she has her place as Olivia Rodrigo's bratty younger sister the way Rodrigo was initially pitched as one to Taylor Swift. I actually love how whiny she is - I find that more relatable than people who actually strive for relatability, and I don't even mean that condescendingly. She's kooky enough to have an entire alter ego named Tatiana, where she moves from Eilish and Rodrigo to Spears and Furtado. She's not as distinctive as any of them, but muscular production from Ryan Tedder (!) gives the illusion she holds her own. I've heard people say she sounds scared instead of assertive, and while I hear that, it adds palpable stakes to the song, however intentionally. But I also liked the last darker-and-edgier artist reboot no one else did, so what do I know? [7]

Scott Mildenhall: The vocal distortion is elevated by its sparkle, but compounded by McRae's mumbles, which obscure any attitude she intends to project. "In your face" is a stance to take; not a place to hide your syllables. [6]

Will Adams: Such an interesting approach to vowels. I await our next pop star who fully sounds like Homestar Runner. [4]

Harlan Talib Ockey: Tate McRae has somehow had a drastically different personality on every single of hers I have heard. Part of this may be down to her voice, which is pretty texturally unusual (underneath the bananies and avocadies) and possibly too oily to have a full-belt setting. "Greedy" is where she seems to have found the formula that works; McRae really suits this "Promiscuous" update where she can use a little more of her head voice. [7]

Oliver Maier: Greedy for what, bananies and avocadies? Lol. Apologies to miss McRae. The song is quite good. [6]

Kayla Beardslee: I'm a little surprised this song blew up, because I've listened to it several times and still cannot make out half the lyrics in the chorus ("I would want myself, the reason bleeblee"??). But we're starved for new pop stars right now, so any fresh hit that gets people talking about pop girl potential is a net positive. [5]

Jackie Powell: It takes around 5 seconds for "Greedy" to send me back in time. The beat drops after the steel drum-sounding intro and the unknown voice shouting "Whoop," a classic ad-lib in the pop/ R&B crossover space. Nelly Furtado or rather her influence has somehow returned around 17 years later in 2023. That "Promiscuous" sounding beat sticks out immediately and Ryan Tedder knew that it would. It was amusing to see in the liner notes that "Promiscuous" was given a sample credit, almost a preventative measure. Gasp, there can't be another Gen Zer taking rhythmic elements from the 2000s without giving proper credit. "Greedy" is a smash and has the potential to launch McRae to greater heights. (I'll still remember "She's All I Wanna Be", which was far superior.) An underrated part of the production is that rhythmic steel drum-sounding intro which finds its way throughout the entire song. McRae imitates the part's rhythm when she confidently vocalizes the different vowels in "Uh-uh, uh-uh-uh, uh-uh". While McRae's vocal tone is reminiscent of Camilla Cabello or Melanie Martinez, she's a much more expressive performer. There's an assurance that's way beyond her years in how she's able to communicate the story she's trying to tell. There's something empowering about a song with a killer beat all about how men can be creepy and aren't entitled to the allure of the women around them. She's 20 years old and singing about this! Speaking of her age and maturity, McRae has been deemed Gen Z's Brittney Spears, or the heir apparent to Spears. There's something incredibly unsettling about that. The similarities are apparent: both are trained dancers, both appeared on children's television (McRae voiced a LaLaLoopsy doll) both have huskiness attached to their vocal ranges and both have a command of their sexuality, which makes them both such captivating live performers. So what's unsettling about that? McRae is making her climb to the top with tools that Spears didn't have. Spears didn't have the prior credibility that McRae has. Placing third on So You Think You Can Dance and her self written and performed song "One Day" add much more to the McRae story than we ever had about Spears during the days of "Oops, I did it again." McRae won't have to deal with critics claiming she doesn't have talent. The evidence of her talent is all over the internet. During her live performances, she finds a way to maintain that credibility as well. She doesn't lip-sync but rather picks her spots with a backing track. She makes sure she has a moment to really dance full force to the music she just sang by adding an outro. These are tactics that Brittney Spears and her team either didn't think of or weren't really possible in the early 2000s. If we are transporting back to 2000s pop, I hope we also don't transport back to 2000s celebrity culture, a truly *dark* time in music. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[marshmallowprotection]

Hi! I would really love to ask for a romantic match up for my oc If that's okay? I just love all the characters so much, I'm struggling to decide who to put her with. She has been my oc for a while, but I wanted to spice things up by putting her in a different universe for fun, and where better than mystic messenger!

Here is her information:

Name: Yume Nijikawa

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her, but she doesn't mind They/Them

Sexuality: Bisexual

Appearance:

- Hair: long, fluffy and wavy pastel purple hair with lighter purple and blue highlights. It's hard to describe but it's very pretty!

- Eyes: they're a purplish blue that fades to pastel yellow. The shape is doe like, but droopy.

- Build: short, and despite her delicate nature, Yume is actually kinda ripped bc she's in a figure skating club at her university and she also weight lifts as a hobby!

- Clothing style: She likes to wear soft clothing, mainly in the color white with some pastel accents or accessories. She will buy anything if it has teddy bear, bunny or ocean/fish designs though.

Occupation: She's a university student, and she studies music! (I haven't gotten this far, but in the future she will probably be a singer or in the entertainment industry in some way.)

Personality:

Yume is soft, sleepy, gentle and kind. She's outgoing and enjoys meeting new friends and people, as well as having lots of adventures. Though she is considered an ambivert, so she also enjoys a good amount of alone time. However, she can be dangerous when angry, and tends to be very overprotective of those she cares about. She can get a little crazy when her loved ones are hurt or threatened, so messing around with her is a terrible idea. (So don't let that soft appearance fool you! She's fiesty!)

She's playful and has a good sense of humor! She's also good with communicating her emotions and feelings, and encourages others to do so. I would call her a mom friend but she's more like a grandma friend, always baking sweets for everyone and spoiling people. Tho she will hound her loved ones to take care of themselves and even take matters into her own hands if they won't.

- Positive traits: Loving/Caring, Reliable, Intelligent, Patient, Humble and Respectful.

- Negative traits: Impulsive, overprotective, unforgiving (she holds grudges for life unless they're her loved ones), emotional, gives up pretty easily if it's something for herself. Selfless, majorly.

- Hobbies: DIY crafts (mainly to gift to others), baking and cooking, figure skating, singing and dancing (ballet, ballroom...she can do hip hop and other styles though), weight lifting. She also likes to write, and paint. But her paintings look...quite terrible. She enjoys them regardless.

- Likes: S'mores, tea, marine life/the ocean, bonfires, being around people/people watching, naps, bunnies, and plushies.

- Dislikes: Fighting, people neglecting themselves, checking emails, bullies, heavy perfumes.

Background:

- her backstory is actually a pretty dark, so I'm going to take out a good chunk of things that could be triggering. Just know I'm scrapping the surface with the summary. Bro has been through some stuff lol.

- summed up though, Yume lived in a very rich but distant family. They provided for her, and they treated her well enough. But they never truly cared for her, or hung out with her or did anything special with her. Not even for holidays or her birthday besides the basic card or cake- which she appreciated of course, but she wanted more of their time, and she felt selfish for this. She was also homeschooled until high school, so she had almost no friends in early childhood. Besides a couple playmates her parents arranged to keep her busy.

- So when she was old enough, she began people watching. She took notes on others, how they interacted and what they did as they passed by. Eventually, she took these notes and started to throw herself out into the world. At first she was awkward, and not a lot of people wanted to speak to her. But even so, she did her best. And when she joined a private high school, she managed to make many good friends, and even more so now that she is in college!

There's a lot more but this is the most important part that shaped her.

Additional Information:

Her voice is airy and soft spoken most of the time as well.

And she has a lot of tattoos, her favorite being a blue jellyfish on her arm. She also has a dolphin, and sting rays and seahorses.  She wants a full sleeve of marine animal tattoos, and also...she has such a high pain tolerance she is unphased when she gets tattoos. Can just hold cheerful conversations like nothing is happening or she has even taken short naps before during them on accident.

She'd probably like dates either with a lot of adventure, or just napping outside where there is a lot of peaceful nature. She would enjoy camping!

Her love languages are gift giving, quality time, and words of affirmation. I couldn't decide on just one for her.

I match you with...

Jumin!

There is something about your soft and unwavering nature that would speak to him on a level that is hard to explain if you don't know him as well as he allows his inner circle to do so. You know how to meet him in the middle which is saying something because not many people can do that. It is your confidence when it comes to making sure that somebody knows how to say something that needs to be said.

Jumin is well-spoken and read. He knows how to navigate a room! But, when it comes to his emotions, it's a different story. It can be hard for him to say the things that are on his mind because his brain is flowing with a million things a minute.

There is just something about you that lets him slow down and think about what he wants to say. He doesn't have to put up a pretense or wear a mask around you. He can be his most genuine self. He can talk about the things he enjoys more than anything without assuming somebody's going to look at him like a chicken with its head cut off. You don't know how long he has yearned for somebody who enjoys talking to him about everything and anything.

You're the kind of person that would get him out of his assumed comfort zone. He will do many things without second-guessing himself, but you're the one that gets to pull out that wild side of him that's just underneath the surface. He will wind up doing things that nobody ever expected him to try with you. There's Something Beautiful about that. It's about trust and understanding. You give him that. He can only pray that he gives you that in return.

[kianbe]

PROJECT GREEN, PHASE 03 / INTERVIEW, RE: PROGRESSION

“so, kian, maybe you could start by telling me how project green has been for you. has dorm life been exciting?"

"project green has brought up a lot of emotions within me. for one thing, it's challenging because i've never done something like this before, especially taking on leadership roles, and living with guys who aren't family members, but i'm learning that, despite the obstacles, it's been a really fun experience, too!" he pauses, gazing off into space for a few moments to better collect his thoughts. "i love working on music with everyone, but i think what's been the most important thing, for me, is that... well, being around the others really reminds me of my childhood. i grew up in a big family, and that's what this feels like, too. in a way, it's been rather healing for me to come home every night to a full house. i really appreciate my hyungs for having my back, too."

“i see. and what were your thoughts on last month’s mission? you had two members take on the role of leader. did they guide you well? was there anything you felt as though you’ve learnt from them? has project green helped you get to know your members better?”

"last month's mission really proved that all of us definitely can work together as a team, and even if we made some mistakes and weren't as perfect as we wanted to be, i think for it being our first performance as a unit, we showed that we have a lot of potential!" kian hopes this answer isn't too generic, but it's genuinely how he feels. "the idea that we can all grow together, that there's nowhere to go but up, is exciting to me, too, because we're not going into this alone. i really appreciated siwoo and seojun during the last mission, siwoo especially because he brought a lot of strength to our team. seojun has a lighter touch, and i think that should be highlighted too! siwoo helped me feel more confident, and seojun put a lot of trust in me, which was comforting in its own way." "the thing about living with everyone is, whether we like it or not, we're learning about one another. bad habits, good habits, who takes the longest in the shower, who snores when they sleep... it's fun. at least to me! i feel lucky that i'm surrounding by so many cool seniors. they inspire me a lot to grow and be better myself!"

“got it! thanks kian. now onto this month’s mission. you’ve been chosen as the leader for this month, along with noel. how has it been like working with him? and as the youngest member, what has it been like, leading the older boys?”

"what i like about leading alongside noel is that we get to learn from one another, too. noel is a fantastic dancer and is super good with choreography. i'm better at singing and writing music. together, we create an ideal idol!" he grins, laughing. "i was more in-charge of 'the eye', and noel took on 'candy', and i think that helped us focus more on our strengths, and it allowed us to work more closely with the others, too." "i'm just glad that all of my hyungs put their trust in me; they lifted me up whenever i was feeling burdened. i'm the youngest, like you said, so i didn't want to let anyone down, which is why i set aside time to work with everyone on their vocal parts separately. giving each member a private 'lesson' with me seems to have boosted everyone's confidence in singing and rapping, and i'm glad it worked out!"

“alright. this month you’ll have to perform in front of fellow trainees, and senior idols. does that make you nervous? do you think the team will do a good job under your leadership?”

"performing is why we're all here, so i think this will be the most fun we'll have yet, especially since it's on halloween!" kian's optimism shines through, as always. "i tried my best to make sure that everyone's vocals, and confidence levels, are at a high for this showcase, and all i can hope is that they continue to trust me through the set. that's the only thing i'm nervous about; letting people down somehow." "all i wanna do is make the audience smile. at the very least, i think me and the others will be able to do that!"

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 22nd January

It's Shirley Bassey, back again for another stab at the charts. I feel like we haven't seen her for a while, since her cover of Banana Boat song back in 1957, but a quick Google tells me that she was charting, just not hitting the Top 10. That's one of the limitations of this project, I guess - you don't always get a sense for how an artist's career is going, outside of their biggest hits. Still, it makes for some pleasant surprises, when artists make a comeback after an absence. Case in point, this song!

Kiss Me, Honey, Honey, Kiss Me - Shirley Bassey (peaked at 3)

First things first, that's too many commas for a song title. Just call the thing Kiss Me. What it loses in memorability, it gains in straightforwardness. You should have one single comma in a song title, maximum, and preferably none. Soz, Shirls.

Banana Boat Song was playing with calypso stylings, and this song also comes straight from the Caribbean, with all these Latin rhythms in both the percussion and in the repeated bassline. It's a glimpse of tropical sun, which you kind of need by the 22nd January. You're far enough from Christmas, and it's still a while until anything interesting happens - and then along comes a little 2 and a half minute trip to Cuba. I can see why people enjoyed it.

The song's real flirty, too. Get a load of the lyrics: Kiss me, honey, honey, kiss me / Thrill me, honey, honey, thrill me / Don't care even if I blow my top / But, honey, honey, don't stop. Some kisser, this lover is. And it gets saucier, as Shirley sings about how I'd like to play a little game with you / A little game especially made for two. Eyebrows are rising nation-wide. But Shirley's not done, going on to sing about how we've never played this little game before / If you relax then you'll enjoy it more. And the less said of the final verse about how you kiss so well my lips begin to burn / And I can tell I've got a lot to learn, the better. I'm sure you do have a lot to learn, Shirley. Better get some lessons in while you can *wink wink*

I like it, despite (or because of?) how obviously horny it is. There's a playfulness to it, and a bold brassiness to Shirley's voice that fits the tone of the whole thing well, and perfectly matches the energy of the trumpet that comes in later on, all carefree and bright. It's got this cheeky sort of appeal, it sounds like Shirley's having a lot of fun, not taking the song too seriously. Which I suppose also explains the inclusion of the God-awful comedy uh-huuuuh from a single male backing singer, the only minorly offputting bit of the song. It's just so skeevy-sounding, I can't quite get over it.

Apart from that, I rate this song, though. A fun pick-me up. And apparently Shirley agrees, rating it as one of her favourite songs to perform. And fair enough, because like I said, it's really good fun.

Shirley's a class act. I think before this project I only really knew her as a singer who did various Bond themes. Which I'm sure we'll get to, but it's nice to hear her taking on something lighter, more romantic. Also, I was charmed by just how playful this song was. A real ray of sunshine.

Favourite song of the flirty, flirty bunch: Kiss Me, Honey, Honey, Kiss Me

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

Really depends what kind of narrative you're interested in. There's actually a lot of options these days!

Welcome to Night Vale has a fun, weird vibe that occasionally dives into horror, the supernatural, political commentary, and heartfelt messages about the nature of humanity. Narrative arcs are very fulfilling and you'll know right away if it works for you or not. Much of the series is locked to Cecil, especially in the early seasons, we occasionally branch out to new narrators later in. But broadly, if you don't like Cecil, you won't like the show. Strongly recommend trying the first episode and if it's not hitting you right, try the next thing.

There's a lot of horror lovers out there who will sing the praises of The Magnus Archives. While it's a bit of a gateway drug to horror, it's not my favorite tbh. So I'm going to make a pitch for Old Gods of Appalachia. If you're from the United States, I think this podcast is a must listen. If you're not from the US, I think it's still great, you just may not enjoy it as much. The Old Gods of Appalachia is horror, yes, but it's also fairy tale and myth, it's historical fiction, it's an examination of some of the most tragic and ugly roots of US culture. There are some pretty rough descriptions here, a lot of nasty looking monsters and violence, I won't lie. But it has powerful, fulfilling narrative arcs and if you're at all interested in magic, there's a pretty compelling magic system here. I have a personal fascination with some of these foundational stories, reworked in this eldritch setting. I think it's doing great work, but some of the bloodier chapters are not for everyone, that must be admitted. I'd try the first season to see if it works for you. The first couple of episodes set up a pitched overplot that surfaces from time to time as more linear plots take up season arcs. I do recommend, even if horror is not typically your bag.

Also gotta give a shout out to Malevolent, if you're a horror lover. Malevolent is loosely based on The King in Yellow by R. W. Chambers, but so much more than that. I can't say very much without spoiling, but if you like your stories dark and twisted, look no further. Also, it's voiced almost exclusively by one guy, did I mention that? Harlan Guthrie is a powerhouse if you want to see some excellent voice acting.

Moving on to lighter fare, the Amelia Project has recently become a love of mine. Boisterous, delightful, funny, it's about a death-faking company whose clients will never be as bizarre as the staff. It's really funny, especially in the first few seasons which are mostly self-contained episodes, sort monster of the week except it's a client with a dumb problem that our eccentric Interviewer must solve. There's cocoa, champagne, and a much longer story than you probably expect. There's eventually a turn as world governments begin to investigate our little gang of criminals and our stories, while still about death-faking, become ever more about the people who perform these services. There's a lot of meditation on what it means to die, what it means to live. I'd say if you like parts of Doctor Who, up to you what that means, or if Night Vale was working for you, then this will probably be your jam. Much like with Night Vale, try the first episode and you'll probably know right away whether this works for you or not. Oh, and for reference, the deaths are never cruel or grisly, this is a comedy; the more unlikely and ridiculous the disappearance, the better.

Those are my favorite currently producing shows. I'm also a big fan of Within the Wires, Stellar Firma, and It Makes a Sound but there's no new episodes for those and there's unlikely to be any for awhile, if ever. But it can be nice to experience something that's over.

Within the Wires is a woman-centric story about an alternative 20th century. It even has a novel end cap, You Feel It Just Below The Ribs, that hits like a hammer blow. Each season is a discrete story which can give you a chance to sample 1 or 2 to see if it's something you like. I recommend starting with season 1, it's still my favorite, but after that you could kinda listen to any season you liked.

Stellar Firma is... a disaster. The Brothers Meredith, of Magnus Archives and Rusty Quill fame, put together a screwball comedy about a planet terraforming service in the distant future starring Trexel Geistman an extremely entitled idiot whose parents never loved him and his long-suffering clone servant David 7 who does his best to keep the whole place from burning down in one of Trexel's tantrums. It's fantastically funny and largely improvised except for general plot threads.

It Makes a Sound is about living with dementia, losing your mother, your identity, your sense of the world and the struggling connections that make all of it bearable. It's about being willing to see the beauty, even if it's cringe, even if you look like a dork and feel like a dork. The music, and there is much music, is excellent and the story is heartfelt. There are no spooky monsters or wacky hijinks, just a lot of people doing their best. I have cried listening to this and I will again. It's a sweet, funny, sad story and it makes me feel very, very alive.

So there's a lot of different flavors out there. Eventually you'll find yours. Happy listening!

So I now have a >1hr commute 3-4x a week. I need narrative podcasts and I know nothing about podcasts.

I'm considering getting into WTNV? I guess? It's literally the only one I know of with a narrative.

Suggestions????

[synthetickitsune]

some of my thoughts about the (mostly?) recent comebacks that I've finally caught up on that nobody asked for because i'm lonely

iKON - Tantara: exactly what i expected the song to be and i mean it in the best sense possible!! i don't listen to ikon that often because their music is not really my style but maybe i'm changing my mind?? for some reason i really enjoy it lately. and i'll repeat myself later but bobby's so fun to watch when he's performing!!

iKON - U: i expected a lot of things but not that i'd fucking love this so much??? this is my jam now wtf, i listen to it every day, probably my favorite among everything i've listened to in this batch?? and bobby is always so fun to watch!! also jay omgggg i have no words to explain how i feel about this song but or how i feel about the feels that i have about it but it made me listen to the whole album and it's so good????

Oneus - Unforgettable: idk why but it made both me and my bestie cry :(( the ending :((( it makes me feel some deep longing and sorrow and idk why :(( on a lighter note - leedo with long hair??? asgkfjahsjfk not good for my mental health

Oneus - Erase Me: love the aesthetic and the look of it, and it's stuck in my head even if it's not among my fave cbs of theirs, speaking of which... i'm so glad that xion's styling is so mature the last few comebacks??? i mean i can't get used to it, don't get me wrong, but he looks so good and grown up??? also he has lines and i love his voice!!

Xdinary Heroes - Good Enough: i keep up with their cbs but i haven't heard a single b-side and so i never really heard them do a song like this and i'm shook?? it's really good?? idk the members (sorry) but the guy with the book/plant, whoever is singing that part, is so good???? i love him??? also life hack: don't watch this with your ex that's not really over the breakup, it makes things awkward lmao

Xdinary Heroes - Freakin' Bad: i love their title tracks, period, it's just really my vibe and their mvs are super cool

(G)I-DLE - Allergy: pouty soyeon?????? cute yuqi?????? yes plssssss???????? back to simpin' for women lmao... but srsly, it's cute and fun, and it's great for dancing around while cooking/cleaning

aespa - Spicy: you have no idea how much it pains me to say this is the aespa comeback that i've enjoyed the most?? like no hate to the girls, they're great, but their music is just not my cup of tea. also i finally kinda understand the hype about karina's visual?? like she's pretty but it didn't really hit me until the last part of the mv and tf?? i get it now i guess??

Le Sserafim - Unforgiven: honestly i think they're one of my fave ggs? definitely fave "newer" gg, and the visuals and everything in the mv?? the song is also fine, catchy (as always), but fuck me - the scene where she tore off her wing??? and chaewon???? back to being weak for women i guess lmao also i need !! the hoodie with the horns

BTOB - Wind and Wish: slayed as always what can i say lmao... btob's just really healing to me, and they're so silly and goofy omg i love them

AgustD - Haegeum: this is just what i needed for the action-filled scenes of my daydreaming lmao but i really love it - and !!! lore !!! i guess, i mean maybe i'm the only one because my army roommate doesn't see it that way but i feel like all his solo mvs form a storyline that connects?? and i like it?? at least my interpretation of it anyway. i love suga's solos always tbh, but the thing is - i think i like hope's solos more, they just match my taste better and idk they hit different and deeper??, but i always listen to suga's songs more for some reason??

AgustD - Snooze (ft. Ryuichi Sakamoto & Woosung): i haven't listened to the whole album yet but i mean my man's here i needed to hear it lol, and i'm so glad i did 'cause ???? it's so comforting??? and i mean i love the instrumental and woosung's voice is just perfect as always

Tempest - Freak Show: idk this group at all basically but the black-haired guy in all black really popped off??? i love me some circus themed mvs and songs <3

...also I won't talk about Giuk's solo album because this post would be even longer but I just wanted to say that EGO is mine ♡