#with THESE VOCALS?????? like that those high notes in that last verse COME ON

[starlightkun]

🎶🛌

[skteezcursed]

❝MANWICH❞ — k.ys & c.jh

part i || part ii || part iii.

PAIRING. kang yeosang x reader x bf! choi jongho.

GENDER AND WARNINGS. smut. idol verse. dom jongho. switch yeosang. sub reader. masturbation (both recieving). oral (both recieving). handjob. fingering. mxm action (only one part, so you can jump that if you are uncomfortable). cum eating. double penetration. p in v. overstimulation. lmk if i forget anything (i probably did).

SYNOPSIS. in which jongho choses to make one of your dreams come true with the helping hand of yeosang.

WORD COUNT. 7,7k.

NOTES. english is not my first language. this is a collab with @songmingisthighs & @bro-atz, this is the third and final part, also apparently i'm the only one who remembers how tihs crazy collab came to be, but yeah, i gave my best on this, i hope is up to everyone standards and lets be honest, the standards are high after those two amazing parts help. i also didn't think it would turn out like this, but anyways, hope you enjoy it, bye ♡.

IMPORTANT. this is a work of fiction, it has zero intent on portraing how any of the people quoted here are in real life.

CREDS. dividers by cafekitsune ♡

                There were many things Yeosang was proud of, there were many things he could endure. He was a person with a strong conviction, he wasn’t a person to fold easily, or to beg, or to show his soft side. At least not until you came into the picture, at least not until he managed to have you around his arms, to have you wrapped around him in more ways than one. If he was to say the truth, those two weeks he had with you, every single night having you squeeze him in between your legs, hearing you whimper and screaming his name were like a dream.

                A fever dream he was now, trying to recover from.

                Unfortunately, just like Jongho had been stuck in the studio, was now his turn, and for the last month, not only he had to barely see you because Hongjoong would lock him in the studio or Yunho and Wooyoung would lock him in the dance practice room, he also had to come home late at night and hear you and Jongho every damn fucking night.

                He knew it was wrong to crave you the way he did. The offer Jongho had proposed all those weeks ago still felt like a trick. Did Jongho really allow Yeosang to have you in every way?, to satisfy your needs in every way? Yes, yes he did. In all honesty, that day really wasn’t on Yeosang’s mind, at least not until the day you and Jongho returned from that trip he said he’d take you. 

                That was when he started to question everything, if it had even been real. The two weeks he had your legs squeezing his face as he ate you out, the two weeks he was buried inside you whispering sweet nothings as he watched your face contort with pleasure, pleasure he was giving you.

                Everynight he returned home, everytime you and Jongho kept him awake as Yeosang could hear all the moaning and beg that you did for Jongho, just like you had done with him all those weeks prior, his name never leaving your lips, the sweet delicious lips that he often on imagined wrapping around his cock as he could hear the two of you through the walls. Fuck he was a pervert, no, he was a simp. A perverted simp, if that was even a thing.

                As if his situation wasn’t bad already, as his mind kept wandering back to those weeks he had you, it also returned on how you ended up on his dick. By a motherfucking proxy kiss. If that wasn’t horrible, he now not only imagined – vividly – you around his cock, but the way he could hear Jongho command you and toying with you, was also starting to rail him up, the damn kiss playing over and over in his head when all he could hear was Jongho, probably because he was muffing your sounds and, in all honesty, the way Jongho spoke during sex should not have such an effect on him.

                When the two of you were being vocal, Yeosang couldn’t help but curse and imagine him with the two of you, on how you would whimper in between them, or how Jongho could easily manhandle the both of you, as he had done several times to both in different scenarios. He should not be thinking of you like that, he should not be thinking about his friend and member like that, yet, it was all he could think for the past week as he would use his fist, imagining it was you, as his mind would wander around imagining Jongho commanding you and Yeosang around. 

                “Good God, fuck-”

                That was his mistake, making him bite his lip with his other hand against his mouth containing the moans that wanted to leave him as the warm white stripes of cum would go all over his abdomen, it was only then he noticed how quiet the whole house was, a moment of panic flowing through him.

                “Fu-fuuuuuck!”

                When he heard your crying moan and Jongho’s little laugh, he could finally breathe peacefully. Hopefully neither of you would’ve heard him, hopefully he was still in the clear, being able to fuck himself at the thought of the two of you. Fuck, he was completely doomed at that point. Yeosang bit his lips as the sound of your wet pussy echoing through the dorm, along with your little moans and pleading pointless words sank through his body, making his cock getting hard again. 

                Giving him no other choice but to fist his leaking cock one more, using the cum on his body to help him find his release once again, your loud moans being the only focus of his, as he shut his eyes, his fist moving firmly against his length, completely unaware of how a certain figure passed through the room, a small smirk on his lips as he kept his walk towards the kitchen in search of getting you some more water. 

                Today was the first day in a while he had a break from everything, so he ran home just so he could relax. He knew you and Jongho wouldn’t be home, so he would also be able to relax and not have the imagine of any of you making him hard. No, that moment was for him to purely relax at the cozyness of their home. So, Yeosang took a long warm shower, made something for him to eat, making sure to leave some for you and Jongho to share as he knew you’d whine if you noticed he made food and left nothing for you.

                Once he was finally done, he sat down on the couch, his head resting peacefully on the back of the couch, eyes shutting down and sleep finally catching up to him. If he could just sleep it would be incredible, but the world had a different plan, or rather, Jongho, had a different plan.

                Although Yeosang sighed loudly at the pop-up text, he just locked his phone once more, only to be followed by three more notifications in a row. With a low curse spoken, he lit up the phone, the last notification being a simple, ‘open the damn text’ from Jongho, which he quickly did, regretting the same second his eyes were found with your smile, your cute little laugh filling out the dorm and Yeosang caught himself smiling at the screen.

                You two were out together at a park, your shorts leaving your legs bare for his eyes to linger as Jongho made sure to focus a lot on you from afar, and Yeosang couldn’t stop his mind from wandering towards the memories of your smooth skin against his, your legs wrapped around him, legs squishing his face while he ate you out. Then the laugh filled the space, the laugh you would leave whenever he kissed your neck after sex, or when his fingers lightly caressed your heated skin, or when he dropped an unfunny joke, but you laughed as if he had said the most hilarious thing ever. 

                Fuck, he missed you.

                The memories of all those weeks flew back into his mind as his fist worked around his length, teasing himself at the thought of you, you with him, you with Jongho, you. He was down bad and that was bound to become a real issue, but as of now all he wanted was to think of you, on how pretty you sounded when you moaned his name, how your nails dig into his flesh and scalp whenever he was eating you out or burying himself in you. At last, his thoughts went to the first time he had you, on that very same couch weeks ago, on how your pleas were music to his ears, on how perfectly your cunt hugged his cock, how pretty you looked above him impaled on his dick.

                His train of thoughts was cut short as he heard the lock on the door, how long has he been edging himself? In a quick movement, he picked one of the cushions, placing it on his lap as he took his phone swiping randomly at the screen, his cock aching under the cushion as the pressure made him hold a whimper as he heard you and Jongho entering. Both eyes quickly found Yeosang as he forced a smile trying to sound natural, but he noticed Jongho’s stare, most specifically on the cushion Yeosang held firmly against his lap.

                “My raccoon! You are finally home!” The fact that you didn’t notice how uneasy he was, made him give you a genuine smile, but still moved a little away from you, a small wrinkle on his nose as he did so, feeling the fabric of the cushion cause friction against his cock. “Sangie, you okay?”

                “M-me? Ye-yeah, I’m fine, totally fine!”

                He knew by the confusion in your face that you didn’t fall for that, walking closer to him, making him try to stay put, although his cock ached at every step you took closer.

                “You sure? Your face is red, maybe you have a fever or -”

                “Sweetheart he says he’s fine,” Jongho’s voice made you both turn to face him, but you still turned to Yeosang, your hand finding his forehead and neck, before he flinches away from you, not noticing your hurt face at that. “Why don’t you go take a shower, hm? Maybe do what we talked about?”

                “Okay teddy bear,” your voice was weak and Yeosang almost let out a whimper at how obedient you were being, “take care of Sangie, I don’t think he is fine.”

                “Don’t worry sweetheart, just do as I say, yes?” As they both watch you walk away, Jongho’s eyes find Yeosang once again, but his eyes are closed. “C’mon,” his voice was stern as the older one eyed him confused. “Hyung, don’t question, just come, let’s go to your room.”

                As soon as Jongho’s back faced Yeosang, he put his cock back into his trousers, cushion forgotten back on the couch as he tried his best to keep his hard on hidden. Jongho is on the desk as he points to the chair beside him.

                “Jjong, look -”

                “Sit.”

                It was all it took for Yeosang to know it was time for the dreadful talk.

                The talk in which Jongho would lash out on him for telling you he liked you, for fucking you every night for two weeks straight, for fucking you in Jongho’s fucking bed, for -. “Take it out.”

                “What?”

                “Take it out.”

                Jongho said it again, right hand on the desk as his left was inside his front pocket. His eyes and jaw sharp, not leaving Yeosang’s face even for a second, making the older one feel considerably small beside him.

                “Take what out?”

                “I know you are hard as fuck right now hyung,” Yeosang’s eyes shot up and he felt his cock twitches inside his trousers as Jongho lowered himself just a little, “now take it out and start stroking.”

                He shouldn’t be as turned on as he was.

                He shouldn’t be as turned on as he was by thinking about you, his friend’s girlfriend.

                He shouldn’t be as turned on as he was for how Jongho was talking to him.

                “J-Jongho, ple-please I-”

                “Take it out now, hyung.”

                Yeosang’s breath hitched as he looked down at the tent and wet patch on his trousers. Thank fuck you were in the shower, or would you like to see him like this? At yours and Jongho’s mercy? Something deep inside of him told him you would like that. He whined a little at the friction of his sweats against his red angry sensitive leaking cock, moaning as it was finally free, twitching slightly as Yeosang’s eyes found Jongho’s attentive ones already on the red tip, but he was still dead serious, and that was a little unsettling to say the least.

                Jongho leans over, face mere centimeters away from Yeosang who was already panting. A small shock went over Yeosang’s face as Jongho’s hand went to his lips, his tongue wetting the palm before his fingers met with the red tip, smearing the pre cum all over the head before going up and down Yeosang’s length.

                He had to admit, Yeosang had a pretty cock and having him do Jongho’s every bit made the younger one wanna play with the older one a little bit. The image of you and Yeosang coming back to his head, the moan he heard from both your lips that night he found the two of you in his bed coming back to him, on how turned on he was despite being slightly angry at the situation, or was it jealous? He didn’t know anymore, all he knew was that he wanted you both to squirm under him, fuck he wanted to see you both fucking again, but this time, he’d be present to guide you both through it, to see both of your fucked out faces as he buries his cock into both of you.

                Seeing Yeosang whimpering and squirming all thanks to his hands was a sight he never knew he wanted or needed. Whenever he started to shiver, Jongho would slow down the movements of his hands and fingers and watch Yeosang break little by little at that. On the other hand, Yeosang couldn’t do anything but to curse as he felt Jongho’s hand work on his cock, how good he was, how much at his misery the oldest one was, and how much he liked it.

                “Look at me hyung,” he couldn’t, he couldn’t open his eyes, all he wanted was to cum, “I said, look at me,” a harsh squeeze made Yeosang jolt and open his eyes in shock, finding a small smirk on Jongho’s lips although his eyes were dead serious. He gulped knowing that was the moment Jongho would tell him that it was over, that he would never have you, that he -. “You wanna fuck my girlfriend, don’t you?”

                As Yeosang remained silent, Jongho’s hand squeezed his cock once again, the wet sounds already even more present whenever his fingers went up the tip, spreading more of the precum, making Yeosang whimper and bite his lip.

                “Th-that’s not -”

                “Don’t fucking lie to me,” his voice died on his throat at Jongho’s words and torturous movements. “I know you want to, so I’ll let you fuck her again.”

                “Huh? Jjong what are you argh fu-”

                Fuck, why was Jongho so fucking good with his hands?!

                Yeosang’s thighs start to shake as his chest starts to go up and down, as his abdomen contracts even more, Jongho knows he’s at his limit, he’s gonna cum at any second and Jongho can’t help but smile as he sees Yeosang's spent expression. His smile only grows wider as he notices the shower noise being cut out, you were done and now the fun would happen.

                “Sweetheart, are you done?”

                “Yes, teddy bear, where are you?”

                The panic on Yeosang’s features made Jongho move his hands a little faster, but just enough to contain whatever thing the older one was planning on doing.  “Come to Yeosang’s room.”

                Although you were confused as to why Jongho would be in Yeosang’s room, you didn’t question as you tiptoed your way there, only to gasp at the sight in front of you. Yeosang fucked out face, cock out, red, angry and wet, being held by your boyfriend’s hand as he eyed you with a smirk, letting go of Yeosang turning towards you, eyes drinking every single part of your body regardless of the barrier of the towel.

                “Jjong, what -”

                “Perfect,” he says as his wet fingers call you towards where he and Yeosang were. You do as you are told, trying to ignore how wet you already feel yourself becoming, pushing your thighs together at each step which doesn’t go unnoticed by Jongho, whose smirk grows wider. “Lose the towel and get on the bed.”

                Your eyes avert to Yeosang once more, meeting it again before your eyes go to his rock-hard cock, wetting your lips ignoring how mouthwatering it was, how bad you wanted it in your mouth. As you lowered your head watching the towel fall to the ground, you also noticed the tent in Jongho’s pants, your eyes meeting him once more, the smirk present as his hands both went to his pockets, and you knew his hard on was getting uncomfortable. You took slow steps towards the bed, hyper aware of both their eyes on your naked glory as you crawled towards the bed.

                The whimper that left Yeosang and the groan that left Jongho, made you smile at yourself before turning back to them, knees shut together as you sat on your heels, hands crossed in front of your body, waiting for more orders. Jongho’s eyes turn to Yeosang, a simple ‘strip’ is said and the oldest looks between the two of you before finding Jongho nodding and you smiling, not taking long before he gets up the chair, striping down from every piece of fabric against his skin.

                Your breath is caught on your throat at the sight of him, but it doesn’t last long as Jongho also starts to strip, causing you and Yeosang to slightly panic, even if for different reasons. In all truth, you had led on the idea of having a threesome with the two of them, but never to open about it, yet you tried to make the idea blossom in Jongho’s mind. When he told you to get all clean up, you knew it meant that tonight you’d be fucked good, you just didn’t expect for Yeosang to be participating in it, but you weren’t complaining.

                On the other hand, Yeosang felt a pit in his stomach as he watched Jongho strip, his eyes averting for every single part of the youngest body, on how the wet stains would stick the clothes, the wetness being the mix of saliva and precum from how well Jongho had worked him up, his cock twitching again at the memory begging to cum at once, begin to be buried in your cunt or to be around Jongho’s fingers once more. Fuck, he was doomed.

                “Hyung, all fours on the bed,” the voice that came out of Jongho was dark, full of lust and Yeosang knew what awaited him, he just didn’t expected to be so eager for that to happen to make him question if it was a dream, one of the fucked up dreams he’s been having since hearing you and Jongho fuck every day and night since you two got back from your trip. “Hyung?”

                “Jjong, maybe he’s not okay with -”

                “If you are gonna fuck my girlfriend, I’m gonna be present, are you okay with that, hyung?”

                The subtlety that Jongho said that he will be present however he sees fit, made Yeosang gulp, looking at you once more, all pretty in the bed waiting for both of them to ruin you. The thought of both their cocks buried in you made Yeosang close his eyes and let out a breath before heading for the nightstand, opening the drawer and handing the lube to Jongho, who smirked at the oldest one who heads your way, standing right in front of you. Your pretty breasts insight for him, making his hands twitch to grab them, to pinch the perked-up nipples, to hear you moan to -

                “(y/n) spread your legs so we can see you properly, will you, sweetheart?” You do as Jongho says, your hands going to the mattress as you lift your hips moving your legs around until they are wide open on the bed, the sight of your wet folds making both boys in front of you smile. “Now, hyung, all fours, I want you to look at that pretty cunt while I take care of you for a while, yes?”

                Both noticed how you clenched at those words, biting your lip as you saw how lenient Yeosang was towards Jongho’s schemes, you threatened to close your legs, but Yeosang’s strong hands held them open making you whimper at the smirk he gave your way. The lube quickly being opened as Jongho took a good amount spreading on his fingers and on Yeosang’s ass, which you saw him closing his eyes. Fuck, this is gonna be one hell of a night.

                Your eyes met Jongho’s as he lowered his lubed fingers towards Yeosang’s cheeks, his right hand pushing one cheek to the side before playing with the hole as you saw the man in front of you whine and bite his lips, your hand cupping his face, making him look at you. Once he lifted his face, you could see the wet patch on the duvet from Yeosang’s leaking cock.

                One last look at Jongho, a small question there, the only answer you got was a small air kiss, so you pushed your body forward. The same time your lips met Yeosang’s, Jongho’s fingers entered his asshole, a loud moan left Yeosang’s lips but that didn’t stop either of you to kiss. How much you missed his lips, how much you missed his body, his reactions, him.

                Yeosang had been good to you, both you and Jongho knew, he also wasn’t stupid, your boyfriend knew how you two looked at each other, but he also knew you would never leave him or do something without his permission. He also knew Yeosang would never try to steal you from him, so what was the bad thing about sharing once in a while? If everyone was okay with the arrangements?

                Once you noticed how Yeosang would only moan stead of kissing you, your lips started to move around his face, kissing the corner of his mouth and his sharp jaw, as your fingers would tangle in his hair, scratching his scalp as you feel yourself getting wetter at the sign of him like that. Moving yourself closer to him, your legs still spread open, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Jongho, who worked his fingers up Yeosang stretching him open a few more times, feeling his own cock starting to hurt.

                “Hyung, eat her out.”

                Yeosang doesn’t take a second to waste as he lowers his head finding your wet cunt, feeling Jongho’s hand grip his waist holding it up as he put more lube putting on both Yeosang’s ass and his cock, pumping a few times watching as your face contorted in pleasure at how Yeosang’s tongue was playing around your clit and folds, your hand going straight to his hair as your other sustained your body, making your back arch, giving Jongho clear sight of your perked up breasts before he pushed his tip on Yeosang’s asshole, making him moan against your pussy.

                “Fuck, this is…”

                Your words died down at your lips as Yeosang lips closed around your clit, moaning as he felt Jongho stretch him out from behind, the tip of his cock touching the duvet just enough so he knew he wouldn’t last, but Jongho picks up on that, pulling his hips towards his cock, making his dick dangle loosely, receiving a whine from Yeosang.

                “Once she comes, you can cum.”

                “GOD FUCK!”

                It was like a fucking prayer to listen to you scream like that, to see the pleasure building up in you, to see how your eyes rolled back, to see your legs tremble, to see you biting your lip trying to contain the moans that were to leave you. Those things only turned Jongho more as he held Yeosang’s hips tighter, ramming against him, hearing your moans and his, completing each other in front of Jongho.

                As the youngest took a pace behind Yeosang, he became an incoherent mess of moans, which make him eye you with hooded eyes before using one of his hands to hold you in place as his dominant hand played with your folds, all while he left a chaste kiss on your clit making you arch your back before gasping as he pushed two fingers inside of you, curling them as his thumb pressed circular motions on your bundle of nerve along with random kitty licks when he felt himself capable of using his mouth for anything other than moaning at how good it felt Jongho’s cock on his ass. All Yeosang wanted was to make you cum, not only because he loved to see your fucked out face, or how much of a mess you could make, but also because once you did, he was also allowed to cum after all the edging it has been happening.

                “C’mon princess, cum on my fingers, make a fucking mess like we all know you love to make.”

                That was your breaking point, Yeosang’s deep voice as Jongho fucked him from behind, his fingers curling inside of you so well that you couldn’t do anything but clench around them, your eyes went to Yeosang’s first before meeting with Jongho’s who had a smirk at your direction, mouth slightly ajar as he kept thrusting into Yeosang. And just like that, your whole body started to tremble, your legs shaking, caging Yeosang’s face against your core as his fingers wouldn’t stop pumping and curling inside of you, his nose bumping against your clit at every thrust Jongho made.

                “That’s it sweetheart, make a sweet mess on hyung’s face.”

                The scream that left your body came along with the pull you had on Yeosang’s hair as his tongue kept taking all of your juice, only meeting you once he was sure none of it would go to waste before crashing both your lips, and you moan as you tasted yourself on his tongue, but the connection was lost as Jongho pulled Yeosang towards him, holding him by the neck, giving you open view of Yeosang hard leaking cock. 

                “Baby bear, can I?”

                “Yes, sweetheart, I think hyung has been good for us, so put that mouth to use, will you?”

                So you laid flat on your stomach, kissing the tip of Yeosang’s cock, hearing one of the most pleasant moans leave his lips as you take your tongue out, kitty licks all over the head before licking your dominant hand to hold the base of his cock, only enough to hold him in place, but light enough that Jongho’s thrusts would pump the base ‘till the middle of his cock, as your mouth engulfed the other half and tip, the taste of the precum finding your taste buds making you roll your eyes back, finding Yeosang’s already down on you, and you realized he himself, was also moving his hips trying to get more of himself in your mouth. 

                Panting heavily, both men were starting to get sloppier with their thrusts, as you took Yeosang’s cock with a better grip, moving your head trying to get more of him every time, hollowing your cheeks feeling him closer and closer, by the noises you could hear from Jongho you knew he was also close, so you moved your hand under both of them grabbing hold of Jongho’s balls, hearing him groan loudly. Your cunt already wet just by seeing and hearing those two men.

                As Yeosang’s left hand found your hair, you knew he was gone, he wouldn’t last long. Your hand squeezed the base of his cock as your hand started to move along with your head. It's been a while since you had Yeosang crumbling in front of you and that was making a new round of arousal to find your core. 

                Once his left hand forced your head to a stop, the warm cum went down your throat not long after, but once you patted his thigh he let go of your head as you promptly tried to get every drop of his cum in your mouth. Ah small weak, ‘fuck, princess’ was heard, making you eye up fiding a fucked out Yeosang looking down at you sucking him dry. 

                “Such a pretty little thing, ain’t she.” Jongho’s voice came from a little behind and you noticed he too had cum as he took a clean towel around his cock, that was getting hard by the second, although you still had Yeosang’s cock in your mouth. Your boyfriend’s hand patted your head before the tips went all the way to your back. “Did you swallow everything like a good little slut, sweetheart?”

                “Yes, teddy bear,” you said, opening your mouth, sticking your tongue out, letting go of Yeosang’s now soft hardened cock as Jongho’s fingers took your jaw, pulling you in. “What do you want me to do now?”

                “Well, you thought of me while fucking hyung, and thought of him while fucking me, so I guess nothing better than having both of us fucking you, no sweetheart?” You gulp trying to close your legs, but Yeosang’s hand were faster cupping your wet core, the pads of his fingers pressing lightly on your swollen clit. “Now, be a good slut and let us take good care of you, yes?”

                Before you could answer your boyfriend’s lips were on yours, his hand firmly on the nape of your neck as you felt Yeosang’s hands leave your pussy, but the movement under you made you break the kiss only to find the eldest head in between your thighs once again, eyes filled with lust. You moan loudly as his tongue takes a long stripe from bottom up, but you are silenced by Jongho’s lips again on you.

                It didn’t matter that you were whimpering against his lips, it didn’t matter your whole body was shaking on top of Yeosang almost making it impossible for him to breathe – not that he cared at least. As your body started to fail you, Jongho’s arms wrapped around your waist holding you steady as Yeosang ravishes on your pussy, finger, tongue, and mouth taking their time as your mouth was way too preoccupied with Jongho’s own mouth. 

                You could feel the buildup on your lower stomach, your legs already unable to hold you away from Yeosang, barely able to keep kissing Jongho, which he quickly noticed, giving you a smirk before calling the oldest one in between your legs, who quickly left from underneath you, his face glistering with your juice as he stood behind you, his hard cock pressing against your ass as Jongho kept his gaze fixed on you, analyzing how much you still could take. 

                “How do you feel about marking hyung?”

                “I think the skin is rather blank, Jjong, should we really mark the little princess?”

                You tried your best to hide how the praising was getting to you, how they are talking about you as if you weren’t there was affecting you, but you couldn’t, you had no more strength in you to fight the neediness that took hold of you. 

                “I think even sluts have owners, property should be marked so no one else touches.”

                His hand on your neck pulled you in for another kiss as you felt Yeosang’s teeth sink into the skin of your shoulder, his hands cupping your breasts playing with the hardened nipples, making you moan against the kiss with Jongho. As your legs failed again to keep you steady, you felt Jongho put his left leg under you, your soaking cunt against the skin of his thigh in a way to keep you elevated so both men could take their time with you, and God they were taking their sweet time with you. 

                As an instinct, your hips started moving on their own against Jongho’s thigh, making him chuckle against your lips before taking one side of your neck as Yeosang took the other, both sinking their teeth on the burning skin, leaving a mark each. Jongho’s hand never leaves your hips, helping you move against his thigh as Yeosang kept playing with your breasts, cupping, pinching, squeezing it. You were seeing stars and they had barely started to properly touch you, yet you were long gone under their lustful gazes and touches. 

                Again, as you start to feel the buildup, the warmth spreading from your core, the trembling of your limbs, but they both stop, making you cry out loud already sensing a bit of the tears forming. 

                “Please teddy, let me cum, I’ve been good, please.”

                Jongho only coos at your words, fingers gently brushing the skin of your face, in contrast to the hands around your marked neck, you could also feel Yeosang still kissing every part of your back, hands playing tortuously with your breasts as you feel him dry humping your ass, low grunts being heard from time to time. 

                You were nothing but their fucktoy at that point and you couldn’t even complain.

                “You will sweetheart, I promise you that, but first I wanna make your filthiest dream come true and to have both of us, with you being at our mercy.”

                Instantly your hips started to move faster against your boyfriend's thigh, getting a chuckle from both of them, but you didn’t mind, you were desperate. 

                “Seems like someone is eager,” Yeosang baritone voice made you shiver and throw your head back, only to find his lips brushing closely to yours. A painful pinch on your nipple made you gasp before he silenced you with his lips. “You should start behaving if you want to cum, princess.”

                “That includes, stop moving your hips, sweetheart,” at that, Jongho’s fingers held your hips in place, digging into your skin, making you whimper as you could feel the crescent moons forming on your flesh. “That’s it, such a good girl, aren’t you?”

                “Yes, yes I am,” you whispered, barely capable of forming a coherent phrase as they sandwiched you, pressing their bodies against yours, taking everything you could give them and more. “I’m your good girl.”

                You heard both of them groan at your words before Yeosang’s body takes a distance from yours, but before you could say anything, Jongho took your waist pulling you close as his back fell on the mattress, before his hand pulled your leg up so you could straddle him properly, his hard cock in between your bodies. With a small exchange of looks, you swiftly took his cock and put it at your entrance, but didn’t sink down to it, you knew better than to do that.

                “Oh sweetheart, you think you are ready for what’s to come?” Jongho coos as his fingers draw small random circles on your skin, your legs barely capable of keeping you up from all the things both of them have done to you. “You think you are ready to take both of us?”

                “Yes, yes please,” you cry out a plea, noticing Yeosang missing for your view before feeling hands cup one of your breasts as another takes your throat making you look at Yeosang behind you, a small smirk before he pinches your nipple and slap your tit making you hiss, before feeling his cock against your back. “Please Sangie, I’ve been good, haven’t I? I’ve been good, right. my little raccoon?”

                Your doe eyes almost made him pull you in for a kiss, but that wasn’t the moment for that, he also didn’t even think Jongho would be okay with that happening, not when you were mere seconds of being impaled by the younger’s cock. 

                “You’ve been good, princess, but do you think you can take us both?”

                His hand left your breast finding its way between your ass, pulling the cheeks to play with your asshole, making you jolt as he pressed one finger in.

                “Have you done what I told you to do, sweetheart?”

                Jongho’s upper body quickly met yours, his hands firm on your shaking thigh, he was testing how much you could endure until sinking into his cock, just so he could punish you for doing something without his permission.

                “Yes, yes I have, I cleaned up real nice for you teddy bear.”

                “Oh sweetheart, that wasn’t for me,” you felt his left hand leave your thigh already anticipating what was gonna happen, “Yeosangie hyung is the one taking your ass, because just like I said prior, your cunt was made for me.”

                A harsh slap met your right ass cheek, and you whined in pain and pleasure, closing your eyes as Yeosang pulled your face higher, kissing your cheekbone before pushing another finger into your asshole, making you jolt before sinking in a little, feeling the tip of Jongho’s cock entering you in the slightest as another harsh slap was felt.

                “I’m sorry, I’m sorry Jjong, but my legs, please, I can’t, I-”

                “It’s okay sweetheart, you can sit down, we’ll take care of you, won’t we hyung?”

                “Always the best for the princess.”

                Although you wanted to give in completely, you knew Jongho wouldn’t like that, he has been taking his time with you, if you sink in completely on his cock, he’ll be upset, and yet, the stinging on your right ass cheek made you consider how much were you willing to not take the punishment.

                At least, Jongho’s hands were holding your legs, helping you to keep spreading them a little at a time, clenching every once in a while, mostly because on how Yeosang’s fingers were going in and out of your asshole, making you only imagine how it would feel once his dick was inside. As you sank down on Jongho’s length, both boys were saying the filthiest praises you could hear. 

                Fuck, princess, can’t even take my two fingers is this pretty little ass?

                Sweetheart, my cock isn’t too big for you, is it? Your cunt was made for it after all.

                You are so pretty like that, all fucked out, do you have any idea how beautiful you are?

                You are gonna take the both of us so well, aren’t you sweetheart, such a good girl.

                Our good girl.

                They were driving you insane and they were barely fucking you properly.

                “That’s it sweetheart, how are you feeling?”

                “Full,” you moan as one of Jongho’s thumb found your clit, making you gasp and arch your back. “So big Jjong, oh my -”

                “Ready to take hyung’s cock, sweetheart?”

                Without expecting a word, you heard the lube being opened again before feeling the tip pressing against your other hole as Jongho’s hands spread your ass cheeks, Yeosang’s were firmly on your waist, making you whine and moan at every centimeter he entered you. If you felt full before, now you were on a break point of losing your fucking mind.

                Nails digging into Jongho’s shoulder making him groan against your ear before slapping your already red ass cheek, making you clench around both of them, making Jongho repeat the act as Yeosang pulls your hair, fingertips going all the way down your spine until it reaches the point where his cock is buried in your ass. 

                “Princess, we need words.”

                “I need you to move, please.”

                “Now, that’s not how I taught you, sweetheart.”

                “Green, my color is green.”

                “That’s more like it,” Jongho kisses your temple before holding your thighs while Yeosang pulls you slightly up by the hair, leaving a bit of space between you and them. “Tell me if you ever feel empty, sweetheart, okay?”

                “Y-yes, teddy bear.”

                In a swift motion, both start to move in different rhythms but in such sync that you never felt fully empty nor fully full. As Jongho would be coming out, Yeosang was coming in and you thanked your boyfriend for having the idea of asking Yeosang all those weeks ago to fulfill your every need or else you wouldn’t be here in this fucking manwich of heavens.

                In all honesty, you were nothing more than an incoherent moaning mess. Your mouth open, screaming moans and curses leaving it every so often, your nails digging into Jongho’s flesh as you tried your best from time to time to escape the overstimulation they were creating within your body, they were fucking reorganizing your organs at this point.

                Whenever your body would start shaking, both would slow down their rhythm, whisper sweet nothing in your ear, Jongho would kiss your lips as Yeosang would leave open mouth kisses to your neck and back. You bit your lip trying to muffle your moans, but Yeosang took your neck as Jongho pushed his fingers to spread your lips open.

                “Don’t you fucking dare hold back your moans, do you hear me?”

                “Ye-yes, te-teddy be-bear,” you cried as both of their rhythms came back full force, your cervix was nonexistent at this point, you were numb, your legs and arms shaking like crazy, you clenched around them more than you relaxed. “Oh God, fu-”

                “Tell us how it feels, princess.”

                “Tell us how it feels to have both our cocks.”

                “So fucking good, Jjongie,” you cried another moan just as Yeosang yanks you back, making both hit you on a different spot, feeling the common build up in your lower stomach, “fuck, yes, don’t stop, please please please let me cum, please!”

                You screamed as both of them, once again slowed down their movements, you just wanted to cry at this point, so you did something you knew you would be punished for, but it didn’t matter, you need to cum, you need to-.

                “What the fuck you think you are doing?” Jongho’s hands pulled your wrist away from your clit, making you look at him with pleading needy eyes. Fuck, you couldn’t take it any longer. “Hyung, hold her hands back,” the grip on your hands were firm, making you whine and move a little, the friction of your clit against Jongho making you moan. “If you wanna cum so badly, we’ll make you cum.”

                “Thank you.”

                The chuckle that left Jongho’s mouth was enough for you to know you were fucked.

                It didn’t take half a second and they both started rammering their cocks in and out of you, while Yeosang held both your arms and hair – making you back arch, leaving your breasts and clit exposed for Jongho’s pleasure –, you boyfriend took his time, slapping your breasts, pinching your nipples, playing with your clit, it was all too much, too fucking much and you were loving every second. 

                “Cum sweetheart, cum for us, cum all over my cock.”

                Automatically your body responded to Jongho’s words, clenching one last time before you convulse in between them, crying and cursing out loud as they used you, kept fucking you through your high, which wasn’t even done yet and another one was building up. Yeosang let go of your hair, hands wrapping around your throat pulling you in for a sloppy kiss, as Jongho’s thrusts became more feral. 

                “One more time princess, cum for us once more, please.”

                At Yeosang’s words against your ear, you came once again, this time, feeling the older one’s thrusts become erratic before he fill your ass with his seeds, before pulling out, letting your body fall against Jongho, who quickly enveloped you around his arms, fucking you even harder before his hips suddenly stop and you feel his seed inside of you. 

                “How are you sweetheart?”

                A small kiss is felt on your temple as you feel Jongho lift you up, putting you on the mattress, the feeling of emptiness and numbness fill you up after what just happened. Your eyes scan the room, finding Yeosang returning from the bathroom with a towel, ready to clean you up, while Jongho takes his already used one to clean himself before joining your other side as Yeosang takes his time cleaning your legs and taking particular care with your sensitive areas.

                “I feel amazing Jjong, thank you,” you pull your boyfriend in for a kiss before looking at Yeosang who is taking extra attention to the task at hand, even though you know he already cleaned all he could out of you. “Sangie?” His eyes pick up as you call his name. “C’mere, please?”

                You try not to roll your eyes as you saw Yeosang direct his attention to Jongho, who chuckles nodding as his fingers trace random patterns on your heated skin. In a swift move, Yeosang is now on your other side, pulling the loose hairs away from your face, making you giggle before taking his hand in yours.

                “Hope we weren’t too harsh with you, princess.”

                “Never,” you say genuinely, although your body would certainly complain a little more once it starts to cool down, but you didn’t care. “I know you two could never really hurt me, thank you for everything, my boys.”

                You kiss each of them on the lips one last time before looking at the bathroom door of Yeosang’s room, making both boys chuckle. 

                “I’ll get the bath ready; you make sure she doesn’t sleep before that bath or we will never hear the end of it!”

                Jongho got out of the bed shaking his head as Yeosang pulled you close to a hug, your leg quickly flying over his, tangling with each other, hand intertwined on top of his chest. 

                “And to think this all started because of a fucking proxy kiss Jjong gave you,” both laughed at the memory, as you turned to face him, making him curious. “I don’t regret it Sangie, and I talked to Jjong, he knows you like me,” he closed his eyes cursing at himself, “he also knows I like you,” his eyes shot up at your response, a small smile appearing in your lips. “I like you Sangie, but I also love Jongho, and he loves me, this needs to be clear.”

                “I’d never ask for you to choose between us, if that’s what you are going for.”

                Your laugh made a smile form on his lips, before you pulled him in for a chaste kiss.

                “I was actually thinking of proposing something, like, maybe sharing?”

                “Enough talk, you need to shower, we talk about that tomorrow,” Jongho quickly entered the room, taking your arms around his neck as he took your legs on his arm before turning to Yeosang, both of you eyeing the oldest. “I believe she said enough for you to think it through, hyung, we’ll talk tomorrow after a good night of sleep.”

general masterlist here ♡

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network: @cultofdionysusnet ♡ @atzhouse ♡

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DO NOT REPOST, TRANSLATE, PLAGIARISE OR REPURPOSE.

[madrone33]

THE WISDOM SAGA IS OUT AHHHH

It was SO much better than I anticipated. Like, I knew it'd be amazing to listen to - 'cause practically all of Jorge's stuff is - but I was less attached to Telemachus as a character than Ody, so while I was settled in for a fun time I wasn't as invested as I had been for the previous sagas.

Little. Did. I. Know.

HOW DO THE SAGAS JUST KEEP BEING SO GOOD LIKE WHAT JORGE DO YOU SLEEP

Anyway, now that it's officially out for everyone, here's 1000+ words worth of excited screeching/rambling/word vomit from my immediate reaction to the audio, when it released at midnight for me! (I'm australian, so I got it 15 hours ahead of the americans lol, but also means I hadn't seen the animatics from the Live at this point)

Also, heads up there's a lot of swearing and I wasn't very coherent, 'cause my brain-to-type filter was non-existent at midnight while in the middle of a HYPE adrenaline rush lol

I feel so awake rn, even though it's midnight lol.

Started smiling as soon as I heard him. He sounds so GOOD!! MICO you're knocking it out of the park!

"Come and give me a sign!" Ayyy the Athena motif!!

Ooh they merged MICO's audition way of saying "if you're dead... or just tooo far"!

"Can I do whatever I takes to keep my mum safe?" aww don't worry bebe Athena's coming!

"Where is the man who'll have to wife?" ooh they really did use the Man of the House lines!

And they dropped that it's been 20 years! That's good, a proper timeline needed to be established at this point or newcomers might get confused.

ohhh shit! That growled "Boy!"

(Also, edit from after I watched the Livestream: HE DID NOT JUST THROW A BOWL AT MY BOY OH HELL NO-)

"Why don't you open her room so we can" oh FUCK OFF ANTINOUS!

oh the LINE! The CHAMP line!

"If I fight this monster" THS MONSTER! It changed from those monsters to this monster, because while he might be having fun thinking of conquering distant monsters out in the world, the real monster is living in his home and he needs his father's strength more than ever and AHHH

(Another edit from post Live: he decided to fight for his mum's honour and thought he'd get a beatdown or DIE in the attempt and STILL put his fists up oh my goddd!! And also, HIM STEPPING INTO THE SPIRIT OF HIS FATHER AHHH)

Ok I hate Antinous already. Like, I really love his voice, it's perfect, Ayron did amazing, but Antinous? What the FUCK! FUCK HIM! And I decided I love Telemachus. He sounds so helpless in that last line 🥺 ATHENA STEP IN!

Listening to Little Wolf now! Oh god I'm scared for Tele

(Edit post Live: YOOO IT'S FULL ON STREET FIGHTER STYLE!)

"Wanna entertain me?" oh EW Antinous!

I just have a permanent stink face on rn lol

"Wanna entertain me?" Still ew, but also aww he didn't do the growl like in the demo

Clock sound effect! ATHENA!!!

she's giving TE/MO type vocal vibes, more than Act 1 Athena lol

"What's going on here??" lmao he's confused about Quick-Thought, like ody wasn't

"Uppercut him. Now." AYYYY FIGHT ADVICE

she's doing the verse melody but for him!

wait what'd she say? "I've no respect for bullies! Those who [something something] will!"

SHE CALLED HIM A DOG HA! What's a dog to a wolf hey antinous >:)

"One young wolf has a larger heart than all these men combined!" awww Athena <3

YES!! SHE'S SINGING THE CHORUS BUT IN HIS FAVOUR!!

the HARMONIES!!

"Oooh, maybe I pushed you a bit too hard..." lol she's too used to ody who is used to her

oh FUCK OFF antinous!

"Tell me, Athena, why you came to my aid..." wait WAIT HE SUNG THE "what keeps you up so late at night myyy friend?" MELODY??? HOLY SHIT!!

Ok that was awesome. We'll Be Fine time!

SHE CALLED ODY HER FRIEND!!

OMG SHE'S DOING THE "MIIIND" RIFF!!

awww she regrets <3

NO THE "SLEEP AT NIGHT" CALLING BACK TO ALL THOSE TIME ODY COULDN'T SLEEP FROM REGRET

omg but her HIGH notes

ooh? 👀 The line changed from "sailed to an island" to "and I didn't die?? What does this mean for HTD's "I heard he's on a diplomatic mission" line?

oh now HIS high notes!!

THEIR HARMONIES!!

awww their motifs mixing! <3 <3

(Edit post Live: lmao him trying to lean on her shoulder and accidentally falling through her instead XD)

Well that was nice! Time for LIP... What am I in for bro

AHA I was RIGHT! The music from the cover art reveal IS here at the start of this song!

OH HOLY HSIT NOT HIS "REMEMBER ME" OMG WAIT GO BACK

The "ohhhh" motif from Remember Them!

TIME DIVE! WITH LYRICS!

oh yo! THESE scenes! We called the Sirens, Scylla, and Thunder Bringer on the discord, but the lines that are being used are INTERESTING

(Edit post Live: the animatics are going CRAZY this saga!)

calypso time...

Ooh calypso's voice is much gentler than the snippets! (I'm determined to not let my bias against her character in the Odyssey colour how I feel about her performance, because Wangui is a lovely person, and her voice is beautiful.)

lmao the awkwardly long pause and then "... ANWAYS!" is always funny XD

the electronic elements when she reveals what she is!

"Time can take a heavy toll." uh oh what's that mean

Damn not the "all I hear are screams"-

...

... holy fuck. Um. My jaw literally dropped what. What. Ok first, her "ody" fuck that. Second, the LEDGE?? Um. UM. I need to rewind please

Oh shit

Oh my goddd JUST LET HIM GO

NOT THE OPEN ARMS NO WHAT THE FUCK NOT POLITES OMG EURYLOCHUS OH FUCK ANTICLEA TOO OH SHIT

no him calling for athena! 😭

the slow clock omgggg

YES GO HELP HIM HE NEEDS HELP

... wait I need to rewind wait shit I'm shaking

ok. Pause. That was.

I guess I called correctly, but it turned out to be a BIT of an understatement when I said there'd be an UNEXPRECTED EMOTIONAL MOMENT! What the FUCK. Oh god that was incredible and I teared up and ah fuck wtf fuck who gave him the RIGHT

TIme for God Games. Shit. Am I ready for Beast Mode Zeus??? No. But I'm doing it anyway! :D

ok that was beautiful. Also her calling him "father" was unexpected but welcome

"... Odysseus." commander motif!!

god I love his voice but I hate him

ok I love how he says "AphroDITE!" I'm smiling, I'm getting into this

also, wait why does he say "or" instead of "and" like the snippets did?

The voice teasers! Ah shit I can't believe I'm going to HEAR THEIR VERSES IN A FEW SECONDS WHAT. Also Hera's voice is VERY interesting!

Apollo? YO?? Wait wait I have to go back and actually listen to the words lmao his voice is cool!

oh the sirens??

Huh. I... don't really get that logic? Athena just said "yeah but they had it coming and now they'll know better" and he replied "understandable have a nice day"?

wow what is that accent? Lemme go back and understand lol

damn those went by quick. Also, not what I'd thought their issues would be. Tho I think someone called the sirens one!

ooh wait I've always loved aphrodite's, this is BEAUTIFUL. I need to go back to the start of the song so I can get her full impact after pausing so much.

ohhh she's the first one to reject athena!

Ares!!

"HOLD YOUR TONGUE NOW! HIS SON'S MY FRIEND!"oop you done fucked up ares

oh I LIKE hera's voice! It's kinda airy but still hella powerful!

damn my jaw hurts from smiling

I hear cheering 👀

ohhh THAT'S what he meant by "or"! Athena was supposed to face either the five gods or Zeus?

"You DARE to defy me!" DAMN Zeus! That growl!

THUNDER BRINGER CHORUS!

lightning bolt to the face lmao

oh? The Wotm motif?

wait. Is the. Is this the "anime character on brink of death thinks of their friends and powers up" moment???

(Edit post Live: shit, zeus. Someone call CPS)

"Let him go..." oh wait that's IT?? NO WHAT SHIT

... lemme hear that end bit again.

WAIT reading through the comments and JORGE'S DAD VOICES HEPHAESTUS?? HOLY SHIT THAT'S EPIC! Now we just need his sister lol.

Oh that's right, I can see the cast now! Brandon McInnis as Apollo, POSEY as Hera, and Mike Rivera as Hephaestus. Nice.

It's 1 am now. Holy shit that was a wild ride. Damn. Hats off to Jorge and all the cast and editors and EVERYONE, that was absolutely incredible!! 💙🙌🏼🎉

... but also JORGE! WHEN I CATCH YOU JORGE-

[atiny-for-life]

Creative Spotlight #5: Choi San

Masterlist

Intro: With so many new Atinys coming in, I figured now would be a good time to shed some light on all the boys' creative solo projects over the years, big and small.

ASMR

Like Seonghwa, San also tried his hand at ASMR and appeared twice on M2's Tingle Interview series. Once with Wooyoung in 2020 (San did great and Wooyoung was just confused af by what they were asking him to do - it's hilarious):

And once with Yunho in 2021 (Yunho did a lot better than Wooyoung - he seemed to actually know what he was getting himself into):

The Sanchelin Guide

Like the others, San launched his own series in 2020 and his is all about "critiquing" restaurants (really, it's just him giving anime girl reactions in a voice over while we watch him eat - it's fantastic):

Episode 2 was released shortly after the first, with Episode 3 following in early 2021 and Episode 4 in mid-2022, marking the latest addition to the series.

Cover Songs

San posted his first cover song to Ateez's channel last year.

Lee Hi's Breathe suits his voice incredibly well, going from sweet and soft to powerful high notes. It's a deeply emotional song with a backstory that was shared in the comments by a YouTube user:

Transcript:

nikki6030: He covered a song which is rather a very emotional song if you have been in Kpop for long… it was a song composed by SHINee Jonghyun (RIP my angel) for Lee Hi who suffered from panic disorder and breathing difficulty… Lee Hi sang this song once again after Jonghyun’s departure and made everyone cry… this song is just that special & San’s beautiful vocal reminded me of Jonghyun… and how idols struggle and feel being the public’s entertainment…. Let’s spread Love!!

2 months ago, San and Jongho collaborated on a cover of IU's Dear Name:

From songs like Turbulence, we already knew their voices sound breathtaking together, but this cover really highlights all aspects in which they mesh well. At 4:05, when the song builds, my heart stops until San comes in and they both harmonize - it's such a gorgeous cover.

Pentatonix Collab

Many don't seem to know this, but two years ago, Yunho, San, and Jongho were featured on a Pentatonix song called A Little Space which even included a Korean verse:

Imitation Soundtrack

Like Yunho, Seonghwa, and Jongho, San was part of the Imitation cast and, within the show-verse, part of the group Sparkling, together with Seonghwa and Yunho.

Since this is the third post on which I'm posting a Diamond performance, here's a fun fact for those who haven't watched the show (yet): going by the show's canon, Jongho's group, Shax, debuted prior to Sparkling so they had the running joke on set that Jongho needed to be addressed formally by the other three since he was their senior. Good times.

Dancing

8 months ago, San's dance performance to Imagine Dragons' Warriors was released, featuring a choreography San, BBtrippin, and TARZAN collaborated on:

It's got everything you'd expect from San-level quality in a performance: controlled power, facial expression, palpable emotion - it's gripping, it's stunning, and the camera work, costumes, lighting and editing are only enhance it all the more. We even get a touch of CGI to bring it all together and make it look as grand as it feels:

[naamahdarling]

Do you like to sing? If so, what's your favorite type of music to sing?

I actually contacted a local place today about taking vocal lessons, after a friend offered to pay for four! Fingers crossed they will take me.

It makes sense I would like to sing. I have a lot of musically tolerable and sometimes gifted people in my bloodline, including an opera singer, my great aunt or something? Who I look freakishly like.

I LOVE to sing and have wanted lessons since I was a child. My grandmother asserted I should try a musical instrument instead (for which I have no aptitude) because she was under the impression that I, at 11, wasn't old enough. So I never learned beyond some basic stuff in chorus in school, and I never had one on one lessons.

I want to be able to sing around or for loved ones, but mostly just want the pleasure of it going around the house or in the car. I don't sing around people right now because while the basic properties of my voice are great, I have issues with key and pitch which probably aren't too bad but make me very self-conscious. But that can be fixed!

And what does it harm to try? I have very modest goals (fix my pitch issues, refine my lower range and try to preserve my upper range a bit, and learn how to sing without hurting my voice). I can probably meet those goals to my own satisfaction very quickly. I don't have high standards or any aspirations.

I like to sing anything that is tuneful or highly emotive. Easy stuff I guess. I like some folk/filk, Broadway style stuff, a lot of 80s classic rock stuff, power ballads, and some 90s alternative like Depeche Mode. I love Queen, Madonna. I want to be able to sing the entirety of The Last Unicorn soundtrack. I am not super well versed in it but I like a lot of Irish and English folk songs and things in that tradition. I like things that are dark, or wistful, Long Lankin and Lagan Love come to mind, and some Hozier. I also LOVE a good "I Want" song like Into the Unknown or A Whole New World, that kind of thing.

So I guess it's the kind of very basic assortment that you would expect from someone who was a little girl who loved pop-rock radio and animated movies, plus a much later inclination towards darker traditional stuff and a little bit of folk.

And I do occasionally, quietly, without talking about it, write tunes from time to time. I just... can't write it down, I can't understand the notes on sheet music. So I would like to be able to record them accurately just for my own pleasure, which means singing the right notes.

Anyway yeah that was a sort of scary email to send, I don't know if these people will be weird about the trans thing, or will want to take me on, and it means I will have to listen to my own voice (ew) and sing in front of someone good at it. But...why not try, yeah?

[putschki1969]

Ghibli wo Utau Digital Release

It's past midnight in Japan so it's officially the release day of the Studio Ghibli Tribute album “ジブリをうたう/Ghibli wo Utau/Singing Ghibli”. Please be sure to ❗SUPPORT Wakana❗ in any way you can! Especially if you decided not to order a physical copy, you can purchase and stream the entire tribute album or just Wakana's song "Mononoke Hime" on various sites (mora, iTunes etc) and streaming platforms (Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, etc). Please note that a VPN add-on might be required. It is going to take a while for my album to arrive so of course I couldn't resist the digital version. • ————— ¤ ♫ ¤ ————— • BUY the album on mora (TUTORIAL here) BUY it in your local iTunes store at midnight in your time zone Digital link: https://jvcmusic.lnk.to/GhiblioUtau • ————— ¤ ♫ ¤ ————— •  

[Work information] Studio Ghibli Tribute Album “Singing Ghibli” On sale November 1, 2023 VICL-65894 / ¥3,400 (tax included) ▼ Click here to make a reservation https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/-/Linkall/VICL-65894.html

Thoughts: What a gorgeous and ambient arrangement! The choir, the drums, the sounds of nature. Very immersive. 100% obsessed! I absolutely adore Wakana's singing in the verse. So, so beautiful! In my opnion, her vocals are much more on point than during her performance of the song at the Wakana Anime Classic 2020 concert. I am just so smitten with the way she sings 月の光, 心, 美しい and きっさきに! The "aahh" higher harmonies in the background starting around the 1-minute mark are also a nice addition. Sounds like Wakana is doing them herself. The bridge/interlude with Wakana's "uh...uh...uhs" hits me right in the feels, the occasional shake in her voice actually works here (at least for me) because it sounds like she is just very emotional in those moments. I am a bit on the fence when it comes to the chorus, I like most of it but the まことの心 part is definitely a bit too high and thin for my taste (especially in the grand finale). I would have preferred a richer, more operatic singing style I guess...? Thankfully, it doesn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the song. What did you think? Other songs I enjoyed from the album are いのちの名前, テルーの唄, ルージュの伝言 and 時には昔の話を

Ghibli wo Utau Concert Announced

Today it was also announced that a special concert will be held in March 2024 to celebrate the release of this tribute album. Artists participating in the album will gather to hold a special concert for one night only! Enjoy a variety of famous songs, expressed in new ways by talented artists from all genres and backgrounds. ※Please note that not all artists participating in the album are guaranteed to appear at the concert ※The performing artists have not been revealed yet but we can expect Wakana to participate (especially since the event will be produced by Satoshi Takebe)

Title: “Ghibli wo Utau” Concert ~ Produced by Satoshi Takebe Date and time: March 27, 2024; Open 18:00 | Star 19:00 Venue: Tokyo International Forum Hall A Homepage: https://ghibliwoutau-concert.com/

SS seat ¥13,000 S seat ¥10,000 Wheelchair seat ¥13,000 U-25 seat ¥5,000 ※There might be an official recording of the event

Advanced lottery for CD purchasers Target product: "Ghibli wo Utau" Target period: October 31, 2023 to November 21

Album Reaches Rank 7 on the Mora Charts

The regular and high-res version of "Ghibli wo Utau" are ranked 7th and 12th respectively on mora's "Overall Latest Ranking of Most Popular Songs/Albums" within the last 24 hours. No news yet on the Oricon Chart front. Hopefully the album reaches a high position, I really want Wakana to get some much-deserved exposure from this release.

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Dreamcatcher (Part ONE)

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!

Here are my credentials: I’m a HUGE fan of Dreamcatcher, and have been an Insomnia since mid-2021 or so, just after the release of BEcause. They were actually the first concert I’ve ever been to, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience for that. They totally gave their all for those two hours and I ended up loving them even more afterward. I’m even considering going again if they have another tour.

Dreamcatcher debuted in early 2017, so they’re nearing their 7th anniversary (breaking K-pop’s infamous curse), with 7 members: JiU, SuA, Yoohyeon, Gahyeon, Handong, Dami, and Siyeon. Handong was not involved in their 2020 comebacks due to being in her home country of China when COVID broke out, but she’s since returned. They have very complicated storylines which I won’t be going too deeply into here besides when I think a specific song’s meaning in context is important to mention.

Their first single was Chase Me, which starts with a deceptively lovely piano and very typical for-late-3rd-gen-vocals. I was surprised by how k-poppy the song sounded, at least in its early stages and verses, but this was their debut after all. A lot of their early work is slowly stepping out of k-pop convention, one step at a time, although a sound all their own wouldn’t come for a couple songs. Any worries I had were assuaged by such a strong chorus, especially the combination of the bridge just before the last one.

Good Night immediately stands out from the often overly-bubbly, aegyo-filled 2017 k-pop landscape with its creepy ticking clock, marionette-like dance moves and an almost violent electric guitar riff. This time the guitar continues through the whole song, so there’s no fear of it sounding same-y. I’ll probably say this many times in this review, but I just can’t get over how well-suited DC’s vocals are to this rock sound, which isn’t always the case for other groups I’ve seen with a rock concept. The distorted voices in the bridge are a nice touch too. The b-side Lullaby is actually quite lovely, and is a good showcase for their voices in a more soothing context.

Fly High is a poppier sound for Dreamcatcher, although still with more of a rock base than is usual in k-pop, which does make sense as it’s supposed to be a prequel to their much darker storyline. I’ve heard it described before as a bit like an anime theme song, and I’d have to agree, especially the “I can make it!” combined with the strings, lighter electric guitar, and super high power note. Even with a bit of a sound change, Dreamcatcher never slows down their energy, which is something I really appreciate. They always sound like they wholeheartedly believe what they’re selling.

From the EP, Prequel, there are a few great b-sides I could choose (like the off-beat Sleep-walking), but I’m gonna have to say that Wake Up is my favorite. I’m totally biased, but I’ll just never forget the experience of watching them have the absolute best time performing this live for their encore and jumping into the stratosphere while waving a pride flag back and forth. It’s an anthem that needs an audience, first and foremost, and there’s really nothing more exciting than screaming “Wake up, wake up!” at the top of your lungs.

Full Moon is a special single for their first anniversary, and I won’t spend too much time on it, but I really like how it combines that anime-esque energy from Fly High, a harsher electric guitar, EDM, and some ballad elements. It’s a style that DC returns to later in their career, and it’s fun to see a slightly less complicated version here. I never gave this song much of a chance before so I’m glad I did now.

You & I is next in the “Nightmare” saga, and is probably both the most popular of that arc and the most similar to a lot of mainstream k-pop (which I do like, I want to be clear about that. This is not an attack on mainstream k-pop, guys, I run a blog about it.). Maybe it’s a product of that, but in such a strong catalogue it doesn’t really stand out to me. All of DC’s songs add other elements to their rock sound like EDM, pop, metal, or even a flute (we’ll get to that), but You & I is pretty straightforward, as are its lyrics. The chorus and the opening hook are both pretty good, I will admit, and always get me at least nodding to the song. Again, I in no way even dislike this one, and I’m not going to skip it if I’m doing a re-listen or if it comes up on shuffle, but I just never find myself going out of my way to listen to it.

Though the title isn’t my favorite, I quite like the EP Escape The Era. Which a Star may be an average b-side but it's really elevated by their voices and its twinkling instrumentation, while Scar takes some lovely strings and some crushing electric guitars and somehow turns itself from a rock song into a ballad and right back again. Mayday, meanwhile, is much like Wake Up with its anthemic answer, and immediately gets me headbanging to its hook.

WHAT starts with a tense energy right out of the gate with those strings, and in what may be DC’s best first 20 seconds of a song, it culminates in an excellent electric guitar riff that would feel right at home in a BabyMetal song. When the song returns to “normal” after, it only adds to the sense of “wrong” and foreboding…until the chorus smashes through a brick wall with perfect metal anthem energy. In case it wasn’t clear, I love this song and it’s tied for my favorite. You just can’t do much better than a song encouraging people to wake up, fight their nightmares, and live another day, which is one of my personal favorite song subjects.

In a switch from Escape The Era, I love What but Alone In The City is one of my least-favorite of their albums. That being said, I do like the contrast between acoustic and electric guitars in Trap, and its build up is pretty great. But I usually have more than one liked b-side.

Over The Sky is another special single and returns to the softer, more string and pop-rock led base (or “anime theme”, I suppose). It feels much happier than a lot of Dreamcatcher’s singles, and is a nice break in between their very heavy discography. I especially like the twinkling quality of its background piano.

PIRI is the end of their nightmare saga, and is a continuation of the defiance seen in What. It’s named after a traditional Korean flute that the song uses to say “sound the alarm (piri), emergency, emergency.” This is the first time rap is incorporated in its own (albeit short) verse, and I think the combination works quite well. The inclusion of the flute in the background is something I’ve never heard in a song before, but its shrillness provides a good contrast to the very low guitar and drums and Dreamcatcher’s voices sitting in the middle, perfectly capturing the song’s whole idea of being stuck in between light and dark. Overall, a fitting finale.

From PIRI’s EP The End Of Nightmares, while I do really like the sweetness of the ballad Daydream, Diamond was an easy choice for me. It has quite a minimalistic chorus, which normally I’m not the biggest fan of (for evidence, look at any review I’ve ever written to hear me decry the existence of anti-drops), but here it’s to let the great guitar hook and electronic background have some time to be appreciated and its fuller pre and post-choruses make up for it.

Deja Vu is a special single made for a game collaboration, so perhaps one would assume it to be a usual ballad or easily-overlooked piece of a great discography. One would assume very, very wrong. I assumed this, when I heard the first, very slow verse and the backing piano. Deja Vu definitely leans more into melancholy than most of their singles, but it's really at the end of the pre-chorus where the band comes in and DC goes full-on rock ballad that it begins to sound like them.The song is a slow burn, definitely, but the incredible catharsis at the end is totally worth it. Just go watch the music video itself, which is full of delightful drama and betrayal, and can best be described as “Macbeth, if it was gay, Korean, and magical.” You’re welcome.

Raid Of Dream, the EP, was also produced for the game, but the mix of metal clashing and delicate vocals in Silent Night, the backing piano for the full-on ballad Polaris, and the return of the anime theme (plus guitar solo!!) in the call-to-action that is Curse Of The Spider render it quite a strong album in their greater discography.

I don’t normally dive too deeply into Japanese releases, but, like with Taemin, Dreamcatcher’s offer an interesting expansion on their work. Endless Night starts with much harsher rock than most of their singles, while Breaking Out features a surprisingly chill tropical beat, and No More goes full now-or-never nu metal with guitar riffs that would make Babymetal proud.

R. o. S. E. BLUE is another special single produced for a game, and does lead into the more ballady side of k-pop soundtrack songs, but without sacrificing Dreamcatcher’s rock edges. It, like Deja Vu, is a slow burn that doesn’t seem to have much energy at first, but builds up to it through its great pre-choruses. It’s definitely not as good as Deja Vu (few things are), but does remind me of later-stage Gfriend’s more dramatic and celestial sound, and the music video follows JiU attempting to rescue her friends from the magical prison their minds are trapped in, at the expense of herself.

So that’s where we’ll end it for now, being around halfway through. I mentioned last time in my TXT review that this was supposed to be a one-parter and became two, but the second one is basically done and will be coming out in a few days (after I listen to the new album), not a week from now, and I won’t be doing supplementals. Apologies to the five people who actually read those, lol. So, I’ll see you next time for Part Two. Tschüss!

[kpodcast]

Dear H. - Xdinary Heroes

Here's a deep dive on the last track from XDH's album Deadlock, "Dear H." Included are my thoughts on the following: Lyrics/Meaning, Instrumentation, Chord Progression & Key Changes.

Lyrics/Meaning

The very first line is about a light that he used to be able to touch, but now cannot. There’s a sadness to knowing what was there, but not being able to reach it anymore. The whole song is a near cry for help; not yet a cry for help, but a struggle within—"I’m alone, I can barely take another step, my broken heart is cutting me from the inside out. Please talk to me, wake me up. Would it be better if I talked about it?"

Instrumentation

The verses have such simple instrumentation (just keyboard). It’s contemplative, it’s lonely. The chorus comes bursting out with the whole band joining in, and it’s an internal battle ("should I ask for help, what if I fly too high and burn?"). The guitar solo is a turning point, it’s an arrival (the key change at that moment also suggests this), the outro returns to the soft keys-only sound, and is sad and questioning.

Chord Progression & Key Changes

**There are a FEW musical things to note before we start talking about this section. Each tone in a key/scale is given a number 1-7. After 7, it repeats starting at 1 again. Roman numerals are used to represent each of those as chords: uppercase for Major chords, and lowercase for minor chords. I = major one, ii = minor two, and so on.**

The Chord Progression:

There is one main progression that happens in three different keys in this song: I - ii - vi - V.

The progression from the I chord to ii feels like a step forward, and, when paired with the melody, it feels so heavy!! This is a contemplative song with a lot of weight. The fall from the vi chord to the V chord reminds me of sinking back, almost settling. Two steps forward, one step back. There’s a hesitance to it, that supports the lyrics “what if I fly too high, too closely? and everything burns and falls?” “what if I fall on my knees? would it be more comfortable?” “would it be better if I talked about it?” and the uncertainty there.

The Key Changes:

The song begins in the key of F Major. HOWEVER! Half way through the first chorus (0:57), the song modulates (changes key) up a half-step (one physical key on the keyboard) to F# Major, with high energy from the vocal slide up to the A#. This is pretty early in a song! Usually key changes are in the last third of a song, and stay in the new key.

Immediately after the chorus (1:08) it returns to F Major for the second verse like nothing even happened, with only a nearly inaudible bass note after some silence.

The second verse and second chorus happen exactly as the first (key change 2:01), HOWEVER (part two!!) following that, the song modulates AGAIN (2:09) up another half-step to G Major. There's no transition here either (like the chorus-verse2), but there's no wait, either. It dives right into G Major, and feels SO triumphant. The guitar solo is a huge arrival point! The song stays in G Major for the guitar solo and outro (with a little extra spice) and the final two chords are G Major and a minor.

More on the chord progression:

The outro is initially the same chord progression we’ve been hearing the whole time, but the song feels so different. The melody for "더 깊이 깊이 난 가라앉아" is reaching, longing, scared, and the chords underneath just walk up the scale with the melody: I-ii-III7-IV. This is not a typical progression, and it's the first time we get a 7th chord, which is filled with so much tension! The song ends with I-ii. The ii chord is not a “home” chord, but it’s also not an “away” chord. The song ends with the same uncertainty flowing through the whole thing.

[decembermoonskz]

+ stray kids : ROCK-STAR (樂-STAR) | my comeback review/thoughts °˖✧

time for another skz comeback hehehehehe i have some thoughts about the mv so i'll jot them down as well but we're talking album first! if you're interested click under the cut >:D

album ;

★ - favorite

:: MEGAVERSE ★

!!!!! okay i love this song so much! it's a great intro!

i was getting a lot of maze of memories vibes ngl

the BEAT DROP THO :00000

i loved seungmin and jeongin's vocals

jisung and hyun's raps were my faves

chris doing the outro >>>>>

already i like it more than lalalala ngl but onto that one

:: LALALALA

the bass is so nasty /pos

i'm happy changbin opens the song hehehe

rap line really popped off fr fr

the pre-chorus is so heavenly 😩 i love it so much

the drop again is soooo good the key changing in the background is so satisfying hehe

HYUNJIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (start of verse 2)

kinda wanted seungmin's part to last a bit longer afterwards

jisung needs to chill /pos

CHRISTOPHERRRRRRRRRRRRRR (pre-chorus 2)

kinda not a fan of the song format this time around but lix saying "oh shit" is so good lol

jisung doing the second chorus start is perfect

CHRISTOPHER FALSETTO IS KILLING ME (I will never get over that ever. you hear me? ever.)

the hype ending reminded me of a yg song highkey (ikon/treasure vibes)

overall good title track solid 8.5/10 for me

:: BLIND SPOT

!!! oh! this is more upbeat than i expected!

jisung vocals!!!! >>>>>

jeongin 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

oh this is so uplifting.. 🥺🥺 heart feeling all warm and shit

OH HELLO THE SYNTH!!! i actually like it those really high synths sometimes bother but not this time

changbin!!! *head bops*

the pre-chorus feels really nice. like it's building up to something so happy and satisfying

the chorus is so cute tho!! 😭

hehehehe chris..... (read: FALSETTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

oh i like the switch up for the last chorus/outro

this one is so cute. very tmt vibes ngl it's so cute

:: COMFLEX ★

👀 oh? (classic skz sirens)

HEY NOW! *starts jamming*

that intro tho was perfect

jeongin!!!!!!!!!!!???????? YOU DON'T GIVE A WHAT????? (are skz saying fuck it when it comes to cursing now LOL fuck yeah)

oh the message is awesome

CHRISTOPER?!?!?!? AYO FUCK YEAH

THE DROP IS SO GOOD!!!

hyunsung you better fuck that rap up

i love the embracing all my scars and imperfections

i knew felix would do the drop intro this time

OH I LOVE THIS SONG

the bridge has such a goof melody tho

vocalracha is killing it

CHRIS I WILL SCREAM (that intro to the drop is so hot i love that for chanlix)

oh i love that one so much

:: Cover Me

omg that first 10 seconds is so peaceful i love it

omg i'm kinda speechless. this song is so beautiful 🥺🥺🥺

my brain is so smooth for this song HAHA

that whole first section was so pretty i felt like i was being carried through it (if that makes sense)

chris has so many falsetto moments in this album and i'm loving it

"the sun will always be there waiting after the rain" damn i'm crying ig

i'm not usually one for ballads but this one hits so nicely

i think it has to do with that electric guitar in the back

hyun!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺

SEUNGMIN MAIN VOCAL!!

omg him and chris holding those notes was so satisfying!!!

this is my new fave ballads they have (right next to waiting for us)

what? nooo i don't want it to be over 😭😭 that was so nice

need to see this in concert

:: Leave ★

WHAT IS THIS PERFECT LOFI INTRO???????????????

OMFG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

THE JAZZY LOFI VIBE I'M IN LOVE

changsung serenading with rap somehow i love this

i thought this would be the ballad (i mean it kinda is) but this has more chill than ballad omg

feels like a jisung song

CHRIS PLEASEEEE

the chorus is soooo nice

omg electric guitar again!!! it's so good the way they use it

oooh the second verse with minho is so nice yesssss

hyunjin better stop...

ah i almost that it was over but i was like "there's one more isn't there" lol

CHANGBIN VOCALSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS FUCK YESSSSSSSSSS ALL I ASK FOR GOD

seungmin backup vocals are so good

that was so nice def a fave

:: Social Path Ft. LiSA (KR Version)

i wasn't sure how they could change much since it's a english predominant song but okay?

i'm very biased and don't like their language switch-ups most of my time but this one is okay

the lyrics sound fluid actually LET'S GO

LiSA vocals (i'm in heaven)

this is literally my dream collab you have no idea

my fave group and one of my fave vocalists ever they did this for me actually

i love the "now or never" melody so much still

i don't have that many thoughts about this one bc i liked this one before

the korean lyrics fit fine since there weren't that many to start with but this is an okay language switch-up imo (this is rare for me so know that's good lol)

:: LALALALA (Rock Version)

OH GUITARS FUCK YES

OMG FUCK YES THIS IS SO GOOD THE DRUMS!!!!

oooooo the pre-chorus is more intense instead of heavenly I LIKE IT

oh the drop feels so different ngl bc of the inst. it makes it feel like a diff song

oh seungmin's part after hyun is better in this version ngl the hits are nice

changsung raps >>>>>>

the guitars are so fucking good

the rock inst. + chris' voice is amazing

OOOOOH THE BRIDGE IS AWESOME SO INTENSE AND HYPE-BUILDING

THE MUSIC DROPPED OUT AND CAME BACK WITH HYUN LET'S GO I LOVE THAT

more caps in this version bc it's so hype

oh the hits with lix's la la la is so satisfying

hehe 24/7- anyway

this feels like this should be the live version (i hope it is)

OH! different outro i liked that outro more i think

overall i like the alterations in this version but i like the og more still

mv/performance ;

so i'll keep it brief on the mv. it's not good for me. i love the color palette (browns and blacks are so so nice for me) but i really don't like it overall. they've had so many better ones imo.

it's just not for me. it kinda tainted my first impression of the song but i like it a lot more after watching music bank (i'm so excited for the studio choom)

it was a bit too frenetic and chaotic for me. it didn't go with the song that well and felt too random (a bus, a pirate ship and clowns? alien cg creatures too? too much and it doesn't go together). the editing for this mv was some of the worst i've seen for a skz mv and that's shocking to me bc they are so well-known for the editing of their mvs but i just really have no words for how messy it felt.

also the way the screen time for the vocal line felt so much more scuffed compared to the rap line tilted me a lot (i barely saw jeongin and chris in the mv and that bummed me out a lot).

overall i won't need to rewatch the mv that much. i am content looking at stayblr's gifs of the mv.

now as for the performance aspects, i really like the choreo and it really feels intense and hype. it's perfect for a concert which is always smth i think about in terms of them.

the chorus choreo is so powerful and i love the pre-chorus stuff it reminds me a bit of back door's pre-chorus choreo. like the vibes and stuff

the outro chorus choreo is so hype and it makes me bop my head as i watch.

tldr: i dislike the mv, but the choreo and energy are great!

final thoughts ;

i'm so happy my boys are back and they definitely did great with this one. is it better than 5-star for me? mmm i don't think so if i were to compare them i still love the 5-star album more. HOWEVER i really think the b-sides are amazing on this album. megaverse and comflex are so amazing and cover me and leave are so nice. i love when skz show their more gentle and softer sides in their songs since they're known for bangers. the mv nearly tainted my whole love for this cb tho so i'm def gonna overlook that. however skz never disappoints with bringing the hype energy and once again they've shown out with this comeback. they definitely made it rock (lol lemme stop). overall out of 10 i think this comeback was an 8/10 bordering 8.5/10 bc i really like the album itself. i can't wait for their next tour i need to see this stuff live >:)

[if-one-of-us-falls]

Morning View XXXII first impressions

or: one of my fave albums got re-recorded after 23 years and I'm here to shout about it into the void

My overall impression is that they did a decent job! It's still an enjoyable listen. I've read they added in some of the changes they do while performing live, and it did give an almost live-like experience, but with studio quality. Brandon Boyd's voice became annoyingly nasally, I think due to some kind of surgery, and I miss the original's beautiful and clear vocals. He still sounds great in the high notes though, and he can definitely still rock. Kudos to the drummer for consistently kicking ass throughout the album. A lot of the fun was from getting excited every time I realized which song was coming on. I still really want to see them live.

Nice To Know You The new intro is so ethereal! I'm not sure what to make of the choir-like backing vocals along the entire song. They don't hurt.

Circles The riffs in the beginning feel a little stiff and disconnected, but once the verse kicks in it feels better. I love the energy in the bridge. The ending is also pretty cool.

Wish You Were Here This one was a miss for me :( it lacks the flowing, almost liquidy sound of the original that made it one of my favorite songs. I don't know what kind of magic sauce they put in the original, but it's missing here, and the vocals don't make it any better.

Just a Phase Again, something is missing. It's like the guitar is slightly stiffer, more blunt than the original. The vocals at the final chorus don't rise high enough above the instrumentals, which spoils the awesome cathartic feeling that moment had in the original song. The feminine backing vocals caught me by surprise, but they sound good! And they make sense, with this song likely being from a woman's perspective ("call it women's intuition..."). The sneaky metallic sound at "they'll be throwing quarters at you on stage" was also a nice touch.

11 am The little "please" added before the last verse has my entire heart. The high notes don't quite hold up in this one :( I was sorry to see the moody, kind of muddy instrumentals replaced. Overall it feels like the same song with slightly less pleasing vocals.

Blood on the Ground I enjoyed this one! It has great energy, and the high notes are actually great. Brandon's rhythmic almost rap verses hold up way better than the rest of his vocals, it really just feels like a live performance. And the lyrics are so fun hehe

Mexico Beautiful song, and I would have been perfectly content with it if I hadn't heard the even more beautiful vocals of the original.

Warning nope. That nasally voice is taking over. no thank you.

Echo I'm torn about this one because it's one of my most listened to songs. I just love the original so much, mostly because of those lovely smooth vocals. The new version feel rougher, less floaty. The feminine back up vocals are back to soften it, which is nice. I do really like the new outro, and the drums are wonderful. It’s probably the best adaptation on the album, because it simply makes the song into something new.

Have You Ever Don't record me on that, but I think I might actually like this version better than the original 😮 It has such great energy! I love their heavy sound, it gets me completely in the zone.

Are You In The intro is nice, the instrumentals are smooth and flowing... I don't like the vocals in the beginning. It's sad because Brandon's technique and delivery are just as good as the original, but the voice itself is not as nice. Not his fault. After that, though, when we're back to the higher register, he sounds great.

Under My Umbrella This one I definitely like better than the original. Nice rhythm, nice energy, and the effect on the vocals in the beginning is a lot more subtle and less sterile. It just works better for me. I also liked the oriental bit before the final chorus.

Aqueous Transmission I was worried about this one, but it worked out. It's not as relaxing as the original, it's almost overwhelming at times, but it's still beautifully done. I'm glad they kept the frogs.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 13/04/2024 (J. Cole's Might Delete Later, David Guetta/OneRepublic)

Hozier’s “Take Me to Church” peaked at #2 for four weeks. The first week, “Uptown Funk!” blocked it, but for the most part, it was halted by Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do”. This week, just under a decade later, Hozier can finally claim his UK #1 as “Too Sweet” lands its first week at the top, skipping straight up from #4 last week. I’m personally not complaining as it’s a great song, but I will be complaining because under it, we have J. Cole. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start with our notable dropouts, those being songs exiting the UK Top 75 (which is what I cover!) after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid farewell to: “exes” by Tate McRae, “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves, “vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and some long-term bottom-feeders like “Someone You Loved” and “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac. Like much of everything else this week, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

We only have one returning entry, but it’s pretty interesting and surprisingly high: Thanks to the specific surge of TikTok traction to a Summer Walker remix, “Hell n Back” by Bakar, which peaked at #20 just last year, is back for another run at #26, already nearing its peak position that I honestly expect it to surpass soon enough. As for the gains, we see healthy boosts for “We Ain’t Here for Long” by Nathan Dawe at #49, “Worth It.” by RAYE at #46, “Jump” by Tyla, Gunna and Skillibeng at #43, “if u think i’m pretty” by Artemas at #39, “Saturn” by SZA at #30, “Happier” by The Blessed Madonna and Clementine Douglas at #21, “Back on 74” by Jungle at #19 - really glad this is still at it - “Belong Together” by Mark Ambor at #14 and finally, of all hits, “Austin” by Dasha finds its place in the top 10 at #8. Maybe this is a fluke, or maybe Dasha is a pop star in the making. I guess time will tell.

As for our top five, we start with… Artemas, joy, and “i like the way you kiss me” at #5, then the usual suspects: “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims at #4, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” by Beyoncé back to down to #3, Bentley Boonemobile with “Beautiful Things” at #2 and of course, Hozier at the very top. Now for whatever debuted on the rest of this chart this week… trust me, it’s mostly not very good.

New Entries

#67 - “Cry” - Benson Boone

Produced by Malay

Bento Box’s debut album with a name stupider than the nicknames I give him on this show debuted surprisingly low at #16 - that’s lower than Feeder, man. And I like Feeder. Regardless, I did like those two singles, I have yet to hear the record, but I’m sure there’s some good on it, and I’m happy to say that this would be included in that. Now why is pretty simple, it starts with a melancholy ballad produced by Frank Ocean’s go-to, Malay, but that doesn’t last long as it’s scrapped for a more propelling pop rock chug. The lyrics go from woe-is-me to bitter and toxic bitching about his ex, in icky falsetto deliveries only accentuated by an ugly, distorted vocal chop that does not fit at all. There’s an obvious vocal glitch that was kept in and doesn’t sound intentional in the first verse, but it adds to the genuinely infuriating song full of straining and one-note riffing, as well as a second fake-out with him briefly trying to see her perspective. The song’s ugly, it doesn’t flow and it makes me hate the guy singing it, but that seems to be the intention, with which it completely succeeds. Three-for-three, Ben 10, keep it up. I wish you were comfortable with swearing though, it would hit a little better… I know, that’s rich coming from me.

#64 - “Good Luck, Babe!” - Chappell Roan

Produced by Dan Nigro

With Olivia Rodrigo’s producer and some sleeper traction for her debut album from last year, Missouri singer Chappell Roan seems primed for a big 2024 breakout, especially since she’s on tour with O-Rod. Her last album was a bit of a queer concept record and this seems to be following in similar footsteps, being about compulsory heterosexuality, feeling like you are conformed into heteronormative behaviours despite being queer. It details a secret relationship wherein love cannot be fully reciprocated due to that circumstance, and it’s treated tastefully with enough drama for most of the song for it to feel both worthwhile and not mundane, as well as not making some grander statement. The bridge irks me a tad, not allowing for the nuance of gay women marrying men and framing it in a way that seems more bitter and honestly self-serving to her narrative. Even if it’s from a different perspective, it seems a bit tasteless and awkward tonally with the rest of the song, especially given this is a classic synthpop track in the vein not of the retro pastiche or indie revival but standing damn near to Wham!’s “Last Christmas” and struggling to tell the difference kind of synthpop. That makes it slightly unique but in terms of the vocal melodies Ms. Roan lays on top of that sound, it fails to capture me all too much, and I’m also really struggling not to hear a mashup on the verses with “I Just Called to Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder. The lyrics sharing soime similarities aren’t helping either. This is far from bad but both sonically and lyrically, it trips over, in a way that seems like it might be on purpose, and I do want to give this song credit for tackling an interesting, niche topic and having a morally grey depiction of it. That’s impressive for the pop charts, I just don’t really enjoy the final product. Sorry.

#59 - “Feel It” (From the Original Series Invincible) - d4vd

Produced by Gray Toomey, Noah Ehler and Sam Homaee

For some brief background, Invincible is an Amazon animated series based on the comic books starring Omni-Man, and the second part of its second season has just concluded, with the crew recruiting d4vd of… “Romantic Homicide” fame, because, of course, for a soundtrack single. Now for the song and okay, this is quite similar to the Benson Boone song from before. Firstly, it vaguely aligns itself with alternative R&B and indie pop in its groove, guitar tones and delivery and secondly, on a lyrical and vocal level, I’m pretty sure I’m also supposed to find d4vd a bit overwhelming and annoying, given how this girl thinks he’s crazy and he’s being inescapable to her. There are a key differences: A) this is not a rock song, it’s a synthpop haze with too much reverb, echo and overdubs - probably enough studio manufacturing to kill a small elephant. B) d4vd is neither funny nor really aggressive, he is simply being a nuisance towards the woman in the name of love, and has some creepy undertones regarding how she treats the woman in this story being uncomfortable with his advances, even if this relating to a fictional character in the series, it fails to translate beyond that. C) there is not much space left in this mix for any real emotional resonance, because he’s half-rapping and the song is filled to the brim with effects. It’s difficult to even focus on the narrative given the sheer amount of layers. Finally, D) this is a pick-up, not a rejection, so the annoyance feels like encroaching on territory rather than having any solid catharsis. All this is to say that the song just fails on all of its levels, but fails honestly. I can absolutely see someone liking this even having over-analysed it like I have, and its crime is not translating well to an audience it didn’t really intend to have, considering I’m not a d4vd fan and I’ve never seen this show. I can envision this getting pretty big and whilst I do not like the song one bit, it’s hard to complain about, really. It’s just refreshing, especially in a J. Cole week, to have a song that I don’t like for storied but largely impersonal and constructive reasons. To put it simply, I just don’t feel it.

#53 - “Crocodile Tearz” - J. Cole

Produced by T-Minus

I wrote a pretty extensive and scathing review of J. Cole’s latest mixtape, Might Delete Later. It’s #7 on the albums chart this week, and debuted three songs here this week. I am going to keep these entries brief as can be, because that review is there for you to read on my RateYourMusic 2024 listening log, the account’s exclusivelytopostown. Most of that log is in a scattered first-impressions style but that review is very thought-out, reflective and in-depth, so I’m quite proud of it. I’m tempted to format it and upload it separately as a review to this blog, though I don’t want to flood my page with such negativity. To cut it short, I think this mixtape is frankly embarrassing, as even moving away from stagnant and dire trap-adjacent production mostly headed by a clearly tired T-Minus, Cole is so unconvincing and insecure in his flexing that it becomes difficult to listen to, especially when he has all the technical lyrical skill and little personality to back up those flows, so they end up soggy and awkward. When he in any way attempts to be conscious, introspective or even commenting on his “place in the rap game”, he becomes downright insufferable and really just shows his ass rather than his pen. This song in particular has some of the dullest production Cole has ever rapped over though there are not many particularly corny lines here, other than how his dogs only shed tears in emojis and how he’s so much better than those girls on Instagram, right? Cole’s insistence on claiming himself superior to entire groups of people based on an intellect or higher spirituality he shows no proof of existing never gets old.

#38 - “7 Minute Drill” - J. Cole

Produced by T-Minus, Conductor Williams, Al Hug and Elyas

Okay, genuine question: how do I ethically tackle a song that has been rescinded by its artist, that days after release, has been disowned by the person who wrote and performed it, expressing live on stage that he regrets it and wishes it to be removed? Surely giving harsh criticism to a song that already makes him feel bad is just kicking a man when he’s down. Firstly, if you consider Cole’s position to be “down”, then you and me both are in the trenches and secondly, whilst I understand that the industry demands quick responses and can make the bureaucracy of releasing a track based on heated emotions quite frustrating, there is the option of just leaving it alone and not releasing anything, especially because “7 Minute Drill”, referring to the song process used to make it, not its runtime or genre, is framed more as a warning shot than a full-on diss. He didn’t even send the angry message before deleting it and walking it back with apologies. If anything, this song, like really the whole album, proves Cole’s insecurities about his self-instated “middleman” promo package and media representation. Cole just doesn’t have either the heart, or lack thereof, to make an actual diss track and also has nothing but good things to say about Kendrick - even in this diss track, he praises his musical output and fabricates outright lies about the albums’ reception to make it appear disrespectful. If you want any sonic criticism, the T-Minus beat is a practically unlistenable parody of “Like That” but Conductor Williams, as he always does, pulls a smooth piano jam in the back half that sadly cannot save the pathetic bars placed upon it. Next.

#37 - “I Don’t Wanna Wait” - David Guetta and OneRepublic

Produced by David Guetta, Brent Kutzle, T.I Jakke, Tyler Spry and Timofey Reznikov

Sigh… I quietly predicted this to myself. Once I’d seen EDM do-overs of “Gangsta’s Paradise”, “Better Off Alone” and “I’m Blue” hit the charts, a sinking feeling inside of me knew that O-Zone were not safe, and by God’s, Guetta has gone and done it. And he bought the hacks at OneRepublic with them, so no, let’s talk about that original song, because I think it’s genuinely great. Those synths glitch and buzz out more than you remember, having some pretty cool interplay with the deeper-voiced verses, and whilst yes, there is a nonsense hook, and the rest is in the band’s native Moldovan dialect of Romanian, you don’t need to know the language to find yourself humming the refrains in your head. The flip-phone beep after he says “beep”, the call-and-response “Alo! Salut!” and obviously both the “maiya-hee, maiya-hoo, maiya-ha” and “numa-numa-ey” choruses, they are so embedded into my brain, and that can’t just be by memetic coincidence, it’s a brilliantly written song and well executed. And obviously it was a hit - in the UK, their only hit, peaking at #3 in 2004 whilst Mario Winans’ “I Don’t Wanna Know”, also a classic, was #1. What’s most frustrating about this Guetta rendition is that “Dragostea din tei” was already milked dry for sampling, long before his 20-year anniversary last year. Most famously, it was sampled in a Newgrounds meme, but other than that, T.I. took it to #1 in the US with Rihanna on 2008’s “Live Your Life”, which was already a comical attempt at making it serious (consider it starting with T.I. shouting out the troops in Iraq), but you know what Tip and Rihanna DIDN’T do? Remove the nonsense lyrics - Rihanna does re-sing real lyrics in the nonsense melody, but they start and end the song with the original sample, there’s no hiding where it came from. They work because they’re nonsense, we do NOT need a Ryan Tedder rewrite! “Live Your Life” peaked at #2 here, but it was blocked by a single from The X Factor so it’s basically an honourable #1, I don’t like it much but it has a heart and charm that Guetta and Tedder could not successfully pull off even in their “prime”… which coincides pretty comfortably with when T.I. released that song. Have fun chasing the past, boys, maybe you’ll find your talent and creativity hidden back there.

#29 - “H.Y.B.” - J. Cole and Bas featuring Central Cee

Produced by DZL, T-Minus, Cedric Brown, AzizTheShake and FNZ

I quite like Bas. He doesn’t exactly a consistent brand of sound, instead shifting through a pretty eclectic array of pop-rap styles, though often maintaining both trap and Afrobeats influences, and therefore, his work tends to be a bit hit-or-miss when you consider the full-length projects. Regardless, he has genuine pop perfection on those albums - what ties his albums together is Bas, a lighthearted but experienced presence who is full of hooks and catchy flows, as well as often genuine heart that makes the variety of styles feel connected via that vocal throughline. This is his first top 40 hit in the UK, and it really bothers me that Cole do not push Bas further, as this could have easily been at least his second given he released a Jersey club-inspired single with AJ Tracey last year that could have absolutely smashed over here. It was one of my favourite songs of 2023, and still gets me really excited - if there’s anything Bas is great at, it’s just letting you loose and allowing for a dropping of the same pretence that has defined J. Cole’s every move. Cole puts Bas on his albums as a gesture but is seemingly unwilling to promote the man’s solo music. This may be because of how obvious it is that Bas, whilst maybe not as technically lyrical, has the pop edge over Cole, and could honestly be way bigger if given a chance to a mass audience or even bigger features like Cench over here, who is completely fine in his verse. This is just a sample-drill track wherein Cench does fine, Bas is cool but is only granted the hook - telling - and Cole embarrasses himself by reciting the alphabet without the letter L because he doesn’t take those. You got outcharted this week by two Benson Boone songs, Teddy Goddamn Swims and the song that dissed you in the first place still at #11. Please, stop lying to yourself, it’s not healthy.

Conclusion

Guess Best of the Week Boone strikes again with “Cry”. Jesus, I thought I was better than that. It’s even the only song I actually like out of our debuts, which is fantastic, so there won’t be an Honourable Mention. Instead, we can throw out a Dishonourable Mention for J. Cole’s “Crocodile Tearz”, whilst he ties for the worst. Both “7 Minute Drill” and David Guetta’s “I Don’t Wanna Wait” with OneRepublic feel like very cynical and regretful songs, made not for response but reaction and no, in art, those aren’t necessarily the same thing. Hopefully, we’ll have a more pleasant week on the horizon, there are pop girls by the dozen with Dua Lipa, Perrie of Little Mix, Sabrina Carpenter, Mimi Webb and perhaps most importantly, Future and Metro dropped the sequel. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy, and I’ll see you next week!

[a-moth-to-the-light]

Most-Listened of November 2023

(via stats.fm/spotistats)

[last month]

1. Howl -- Chuu

So... that was haunting. Damn. This song is like a mystery novel I can't put down.

2. Chasing That Feeling -- TXT

I didn't know I needed their angsty pop-rock vocals on a synthpop song, but I totally did! And the PRODUCTION. Look, I'm completely sold on this one.

3. Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) -- Fall Out Boy

*jumps around the room* WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE FOR MIRROR KARAOKE, Y'ALL

4. Pumped Up Kicks -- Foster The People

Look, I don't know how this became my comfort song this month--well, that's a lie. That weird horn instrumental from the verses in "Chasing That Feeling" is my favorite part of the song, and it also happens to remind me of the instrumental in THIS song, so I listened to both of those songs WAYYY too much this month.

5. Underwater -- Red Velvet

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

6. Chill Kill -- Red Velvet

I like this one against my will! (I'm still not totally sold on the chorus, but I keep listening to it anyway.) I hope this ages as well as "Feel My Rhythm" did last year, because I took a while with that one, too.

7. 1985 -- Hotel Apache

We love #stim songs!!

8. Drama -- Aespa

This chorus is the vocal stim of the year! Well, there is XG's "everything I do, I do it A-1 flaw-less"... I'll call it a tie!

9. Super -- Seventeen

I talked about this in September, and I'm still obsessed! The producers make SUCH good use of that opening instrumental throughout the song--it’s captivating!

10. Abittipsy -- Youha

A slightly-older angsty synth masterpiece to pair with "Chasing That Feeling" !!

11. Whistle Like That -- Cherry Bullet

Yeah, I'm totally here for Cherry Bullet's weird, plastic-y pop sound. I'm kind of obsessed with how obnoxiously artificial their music is, and I'm glad they're still out here making songs I can't really justify liking (and adore anyway)!!

12. Colorful -- TripleS

I've been pretty indifferent to tripleS, since they're The NFT Group and I don't really want to care about The NFT Group... but luckily, I haven't heard about the NFT thing at all in the year since their debut! That makes it easier to just appreciate their music, and this one really is gorgeous--it has a great buildup, and the high notes are SO pretty.

13. Closer -- The Chainsmokers, Halsey

I blame Todd in the Shadows. But I do LOVE Halsey on this.

14. Yolo -- Aespa

This one is… too perfect for me to really like? I don't know, I feel like I've been weirdly indifferent to songs I think are beautiful this month! This one's great, and I'm sure I've listened to it a lot. I'm not sure I like it, though--it's probably just my mood right now.

15. Standing Next to You -- Jung Kook

The BTS solos have brought SUCH a flair for the dramatic to kpop lately, and I'm so happy about it. (Just don't ask me about the album.)

Five-Star Songs This Month:

Chasing That Feeling -- TXT (defined my month, and it didn’t even come out this month.)

Vroom Vroom -- Weeekly (i have to put this here!! i can see the problems with it, but it really does play to their strengths so well! i'm a huge fan of them, and of this comeback in particular)

[agentnico]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) Review

Why would they release this only a month after Across the Spider-Verse?? It’s as if they WANT to live in the shadows!

Plot: After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers. Their new friend, April O'Neil, helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of course are close to the hearts of many people’s childhoods, however I do not share that element of nostalgia. I am aware of the turtles and their pizza obsession, and I have unfortunately seen both of the Michael Bay produced ones, but nonetheless I walked into Mutant Mayhem with a very open mind. I am a fan of Seth Rogen and have also been enjoying this new style of animation that spawned from 2018′s Into the Spider-Verse, that steps away from the Disney/Pixar dominated oversaturated 3D computer animation and instead incorporates 2D and various interesting art styles from watercolours to comic-book sketches. Again, Spider-Verse started this and is still probably the most well executed one, however I personally also believe Klaus and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have managed to take this new artwork animation style and make it their own. Mutant Mayhem again looks very good visually, and even though this one doesn’t really add much more to this animation style that Spider-Verse already did, there were still some creative choices made, like in many shots parts of the character drawings and the background sketches looking unfinished, as if a kid drew them, which I found to be a nice touch, especially with the movie’s youthful nature. But yes, the artwork is very close to Spider-Verse, and that is not the only comparison. Strangely enough the energetic music score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross hits near all the same notes and drum beats of Daniel Pemberton’s excellent Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack. Both are very similar, and again reiterated that TMNT: Mutant Mayhem gladly embraces that it exists solely due to the trend that Spider-Verse started.

What really works for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is that it actually accepts the fact that its titular turtles are teenagers. Voiced entirely by a youthful cast, the four central turtles have amazing banter and share that coming-of-age feel, making their friendship believable and entertaining to watch. At times it feels like you’re just hanging out with a bunch of friends who are being goofs. The supporting cast all do their part and are evidently having fun themselves. Ice Cube makes for a formidable villain who at first comes off really cool and charming, but then turns into an intimidating presence that manages to proudly proclaim rap lyrics. Jackie Chan is an inspired casting choice, as he brings an endearing warmth as the overprotective father-figure to the turtles, and his vocal performance felt genuine. There’s many famous actors that provide vocal additions to the shedload of characters in this movie, but I’d say Paul Rudd stood out the most as a crazy skater-bro who was foolishly funny.

Jeff Rowe (known for The Mitchells vs. The Machines) balances the themes of coming-of-age and acceptance really well with the fast-paced action-packed energy of Seth Rogen’s and Evan Goldberg’s script, and there’s plenty of laughs and colourful set pieces to keep kids entertained at the cinema this month. This is definitely a more younger audience aimed affair, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and at the very least is the best version of TMNT I have seen so far. Naturally my main comparisons are those Michael Bay movies and, well, that’s not a very high bar. But don’t worry, Mutant Mayhem provides plenty of entertainment value, popping imagery and mountains of ninja skills. And pizza, of course.

Overall score: 7/10

[madrone33]

Listened to the Circe Saga last night! (I'm in the superior timezone, 15 hours before the americans lol /j) Absolutely incredible, did not disappoint!

Here's the notes I hastily typed out during and afterwards lol:

Puppeteer:

The plucked guitar in that melody, thinking of Polites fr fr

Eurylochus sounds less autotune than in the snippet. Musta been compression.

Fuck i can't believe i'm actually listnening to it!!!

The time skip is wind I think?

"Inside we heaard a voiiice!" SO GOOD! SO SMOOTH! I LOVE IT!

Those deep strings tho- oof so good!

"What." HAHA add it to the count XD

CIRCE! It's fucking Circe!!!! Her little riff on "Go ahead and rest where-ver you liiiike!"

The party music is really cool

Her voice at "This is the price" is angelic!

Huh. The party music comes back in the Eury and Ody second verse, but it's weirdly off beat.

Second vese is a bit different from the old snippet. Ody is less... soft sounding?

Ok time to write down the overlapping lyrics.

Yeah I still don't really understand Circe's lines rip

Also, Ody's final line is strangely not emphasised a lot? It's easy to miss behind Circe.

Wouldn't You Like:

Hermes giggles are so mischievous lmao

Ody is shocked and awed at seeing his Great-Grandfather while Hermes is just there for the lols

OOOF YES! The fucking amazing bass in the first chorus!!

The rising and descending harp!

"She can TURN you into an a-ni-mal!" I'm smiling so hard rn, it's HERMES

Here in the root of this flower! So smooooth

That high note on "bEING of your cre-A-tion!" Hell yes!

Not how I imagined that Holy Moly part ngl. Thought it'd pause for a beat to let the joke sink in with Ody's "Ah." being very dry, but whatever, it works, I'm sure I'll get used to it!

Also the beat transition to the end chorus reminds me of Micheal Jackson? Or- wait. Did I just get rick rolled??

The end chorus with all the harmonising vocals and the chorus and Ody' high riffs!! It's so damn GROOVEY

Ody sounds so happy and grateful awww

Pffft Hermes that's cold bro. So blase and teasing. Also yeah, lowkey King George vibes lol.

Done For:

The ELECTIC GUITAR!!

Ody is so sassy passive agressive lmao

The LFOs!!

The chimera roar snarl is very cool!

Ody is one cocky snarky mf

Circe is bitching and sassing and sounds so done with Hermes and Ody both lmao

The HARMONIES ON THE LAST CHORUS!!!

The LFOs and electric guitar mixing!

The sound effects of the BOSS BATTLE! The heavy thuds of footsteps and the snarls. Also that's one sharp sounding sword

There Are Other Ways:

The waltzy sounding strings are so pretty!

Que the key change! And more fantastic overlapping hamonising vocals!

The... hand- drum thing? Took me off guard, still not sure if I like it.

The abrupt "I CANT." YOU TELL HER ODY!! Bro I was so tense without know how he was gonna get out of that.

Not the Penelope stringssss!! *adoring sigh* The Penelope strings... It's so fucking cool how you can just immediately tell exactly who he's thinking about.

"She's my everything... My Penelope..." AHHHHH

Just now realising that Ody tells Circe "Back at home my wife awaits for me" and Circe respects that and helps him, while him telling Calypso that Penelope's his wife doesn't deter her in the slightest. Yeah.

"12 long years" Timeline lore? Write that down write that down!

God of Tides is such a cool epithet

The "Circe" and "mercy" rhyme took me off guard in the best of ways.

And then he hits me with the breathy high "let us puppets leeeave" like bro COME ON

Nylon strings my beloved!

CIRCE IS HELPING!!!

The deep piano drop at "Problem is, this prophet is DEAD" lmao

The return of the LFOs lesss goooo!!!!

Ody sounds so baffled and hopeful and excited like SAME BRO

"There are many ways of persuasion" as in, he managed to pursuade her in a way she didn't expect!!

"Maybe showing one act of kindness, leads to kinder souls down the road..." HOLY FUCK! HOLY FUCK! Circe's on the mercy end of the ruthlessness scale?? Also took it to mean if she shows him mercy, maybe he won't turn and become like those strangers that dealt a heavy loss to her nymphs.

"I have been in love once before" 👀 Circe lore??

"Maybe one day the world will need a puppeteer no more..." When I realised where this was going! The END FUCKING RIFF IT'S FROM THAT CLIP! THE HIGH NOTES I LOVE IT!!!!

Odysseus and Circe friendship is real!!

OMFG THE CIRCE SAGA'S OVER WHAT????

I love it! The Circe Saga is out, and it's amazing! Thank you Jorge and Talya and Troy and Armando, and everyone else who worked on this amazing project to show us this incredible music, thank you so so much! You should all be proud!

[rabbitechoes]

(repost because the original post was marked as NSFW) still trying to tweak a few things with this series. i think i will present the songs in an unranked fashion, but i will still note which song is my favorite of the month! every song will be linked below and i rlly hope y’all enjoy this month’s list. (i’m surprised i was even able to get this done because i’ve been playing Zelda nonstop lol)

also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter

‧₊˚✧ BEST SONG OF THE MONTH ✧˚₊‧

“Tears Can Be So Soft” - Christine and the Queens

◇ featured on Paranoïa, Angels, True Love - Christine and the Queens (not yet released) ◇ genres: trip-hop, alt-pop

To be completely honest, I’m not super familiar with a lot of Christine and the Queens work. I love his feature on Charli XCX’s “Gone” and I thought his 2020 EP La vita nuova was pretty decent as well, but other than that I’m pretty much clueless. Despite that, his latest single absolutely blew me away. “Tears Can Be So Soft” takes obvious inspiration from 90s trip-hop, but god it sounds so incredible. The wispy, dreamy vocals backed against a string arrangement sampled from a Marvin Gaye song is a combo that works extremely well. I absolutely love this song and its probably my favorite of this month. If his next album is gonna sound like this, I’m super excited.

“Babylon By Bus” (feat. ShrapKnel) - billy woods & Kenny Segal

◇ featured on Maps - billy woods & Kenny Segal ◇ genre: abstract hip-hop

Maps, the latest collaboration between billy woods and Kenny Segal, is probably the most standout album of the month. Many of the tracks on the album could’ve made this list, but I wanted to limit it to a single one. “Babylon By Bus” is the song I’ve revisited the most. Like a lot of billy woods’ work, this song has that eerie and off-putting feel that makes him stand out. The verses from woods are very strong, but so is the verse from rap group ShrapKnel. I hadn’t heard of them until this and I will probably listen to more of their stuff in the future! Excellent song and an incredible album that I highly recommend.

“Justify Your Life” - George Clanton

◇ featured on Ooh Rap I Ya - George Clanton (not yet released) ◇ genres: chillwave, baggy, neo-psychadelia

George Clanton’s previous single, “I Been Young”, was my favorite song of last month and his latest single is one of my favorite songs of this month. “Justify Your Life” follows the 90s nostalgia of the previous single and I love this sound so much. Judging by the art direction of these two singles, it seems like this sound is what Clanton is going with for this new album which is super exciting. This track sounds a bit darker than the last, but it still has one of those choruses you just wanna obnoxiously sing along to. This upcoming album has the potential to be my album of the year given how incredible these singles have been.

“AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM” - Beyoncé & Kendrick Lamar

◇ genres: electro, pop rap

Breaking down this song and explaining why its good feels a little bit pointless. Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, two of the most important artists of our time, team up on a remix of a song from her excellent 2022 album RENAISSANCE. Obviously it’s great, look who is involved. Go listen.

“The Blades” - Squid

◇ featured on O Monolith - Squid (not yet released) ◇ genres: experimental rock, art rock

This new Squid album comes out in a few weeks and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve enjoyed the bands earlier EPs and Bright Green Field, but I think this new album could very well be their best so far. “The Blades” is yet another great single. The band has been playing around with added touches of different genres into their sound and it just keeps paying off. The little elements of krautrock are especially a nice touch. I have very high hopes for this new album and I can’t wait to hear it.

“Space Orphans” - Ichiko Aoba

◇ genre: chamber folk

I’ve been slowly working my way through Ichiko Aoba’s discography after adoring her 2020 album Windswept Adan. I wasn’t aware of this new single until after this post was published so I’m adding it in post. This new single is a gorgeous, spacey, chamber folk ballad that is very easy to listen to. The soft strings that occasionally accompany her voice and guitar are a very nice touch. Every time I dive into the world of her music, I am completely captivated. 

“Cops and robbers” - underscores

◇ genres: noise pop, indietronica

I absolutely loved underscores’ debut album Fishmonger and I have been anticipating whatever they were gonna follow it up with. Their latest single “Cops and robbers” builds upon the sound of their last album, but with a bit more polish. It has elements of hyperpop mixed with noisy instrumentation and a chorus that is clearly inspired by pop-punk of the 2000s. These all work together so well. Hopefully this is leading up to a new album.

“sulky baby” - yeule

◇ genres: dream pop, indie pop

yeule is an artist whose music I need to dive into further. I enjoyed a good bit of their last album Glitch Princess, but I couldn’t have anticipated how great this song is. “sulky baby” is one of the finest dream pop songs I’ve heard in a while. I absolutely adore the way the hazy guitar lures you into the track before everything comes to create this incredible burst of dreamy goodness. This is without a doubt one of my favorite tracks of the year so far.

“Zeitgeist” - Maruja

◇ genres: experimental rock, art punk, post-punk

Fresh off of dropping a really impressive EP, Maruja returns with another great song. If you liked their debut EP, I’m sure you will love this new single. One thing I love about this band is their consistently interesting instrumentation. The bass towards the start of this track is really cool and adding saxophone into a post-punk song is always a recipe for something great. This band is on fire right now and I can’t wait to see what they have coming up.

“Master P (feat. Big Sean)” - KAYTRAMINÉ

◇ featured on KAYTRAMINÉ - KAYTRAMINÉ ◇ genre: pop-rap

KAYTRANADA and Aminé joined forces to make a very good summer album. There are plenty of highlights across the project, but I wanted to shout out this track in particular. “Master P” isn’t the most summer-y on the album, but I think its one of the biggest highlights on the album. I think this track has some of Aminé’s strongest rapping in a while and when Big Sean’s verse comes in the track is elevated even more. Really loving this one.

“Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)” - Daft Punk & Julian Casablancas + The Voidz

◇ featured on Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition) - Daft Punk ◇ genres: disco, electronic

It kinda feels like cheating putting this on here, but I feel like I have to mention it. The 10th anniversary edition of Daft Punk’s magnificent final studio album dropped this month alongside a handful of new demos and extra songs. One such demo is a collaboration with Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas. Daft Punk and Casablancas teamed up for the incredible “Instant Crush” which ended up on the album. I guess this demo was what eventually evolved into that song and I think it holds its own pretty well. If you liked their previous collab, I think you will find something to love about this demo!

[customsonggift]

What Are Customers Saying in Their Songfinch Reviews?

song finch reviews finch has gained popularity for offering personalized songs that make for heartfelt, one-of-a-kind gifts. But what do actual customers think about their experiences with the service? In this review roundup, we explore common themes and feedback from Songfinch users to give you an idea of what to expect if you're considering commissioning a custom song.

High Praise for Emotional Impact

One of the most recurring themes in Songfinch reviews is the emotional connection created by the songs. Many customers report that their loved ones were moved to tears upon receiving their personalized track. Users frequently mention that the songs capture the essence of the person or relationship they are celebrating, making the gift not only unique but deeply sentimental.

A reviewer on Trustpilot stated, "I got a song for my wife for our anniversary, and she cried the moment she heard it. It felt like the artist truly understood our story."

This emotional impact is one of the biggest draws for Songfinch, with many customers recommending the service for anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, and even memorials.

Positive Feedback on Song Quality and Customization

Another common point of praise is the high quality of the songs themselves. Customers often highlight the impressive vocal and instrumental talents of the artists. Reviewers appreciate the level of personalization, noting how the chosen details—whether they be shared memories, inside jokes, or specific traits of a loved one—are woven seamlessly into the lyrics.

According to a customer review, "The artist included every little detail I had mentioned, and it turned out better than I ever imagined. The song was exactly what I wanted."

For many, the ability to tailor the song to reflect personal stories and emotions is what sets Songfinch apart from other gifting options. The platform allows users to select a genre, mood, and even the vocalist’s style, ensuring that the end product aligns with their vision.

custom song gift

Mixed Opinions on Pricing

While many customers feel the price is justified by the quality and the emotional value of the songs, some reviewers express concerns about cost. Songfinch charges around $200 for a personalized song, which some users consider reasonable given the effort involved, while others find it a bit steep. A few customers noted that adding options like a second verse or additional production elements increases the price, which might be a consideration for those on a tighter budget.

One review mentioned, "I loved the song, but the price was a little higher than I expected for the final product."

Timeliness and Customer Service

In terms of customer service, the majority of reviews are positive. Most customers report receiving their songs within the promised 7-day time frame, and they appreciate the company's responsiveness to inquiries. A few negative reviews, however, point out issues with communication delays or dissatisfaction with the song’s first draft, though many of these complaints were resolved after revisions.

A customer wrote, "I had an issue with one part of the song, but Songfinch’s customer service team quickly helped me get it fixed."

Conclusion

Overall, customer reviews of Songfinch are overwhelmingly positive, particularly when it comes to emotional resonance and song quality. While the cost might be a sticking point for some, most users believe the end product is worth the investment. If you're looking for a unique, personalized gift with a lasting emotional impact, Songfinch seems to be a service that delivers.