#and what's up with them and that violin person from the last ep??? why did no one say anything. huh???????

[wasyago]

they're a killer queeeeen

[thesimulacrasimp]

Ah shit, here we go again!

HAZBIN HOTEL EP 5-6 SPOILERS WARNING‼️

Ok i literally was waiting so much to see Lucifer n Lilith being a really happy and cute maried couple and now yall telling me that THEY DIVORCED??????? IM LITERALLY CRYIN WHAHT??? 😭

and OMG LUCIFER. HES SUCH A BABY, SWEETIE, SCRUNKY, CUTIE PATOOTIE!!! HES SO SILLY, I WISH I HAD DAD LIKE HIM. JUST LOOK AT HIM OH MAI GAHD

And his voice is really cool too! Not really what i expected him to sound like but still good! N the way he speaks is really funny too:

"Oh the applause! Oh please, thank u, thank u.. oh gOD WHO AM I KIDDING, THIS SUCKS!!"

"Daughter callin-- Da-DAU-DAUGHTER CALLING??? OH---"

"TAKE THAT, DEPRESSION!"

"Oh my golly!! You like girls!! SO DO I, WE HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON!!!!"

Hes ABSOLUTELY my 2nd fave character after Vox. Hes such a sweetheart i cant---

Also can we talk about how Alastor said "Fuck you" to a KING OF HELL? LIKE I KNOW THAT THIS KING IS NOT REALLY KINGING BUT STILL I WOULDNT HAVE BALLS TO SAY THAT TO LUCIFER HIMSELF.

Also the fact that Alastor was immediatly so pissed when Luci just steped into hotel is really strange. Maybe something happened between them that we dont know so far? Cuz purposely making Luci mad literally 5 secs after u met each other is really weird.

AND OMG THIS SONG IS TOTALLY NEW FAVOURITE BY NOW, THEY LITERALLY DID AN ELECTRO SWING SONG LIKE HELL YEAH!!! N THE FACT THAT LUCI OUT OF NOWHERE STARTS PLAING VIOLIN AGGRESSIVELY AND THEN SHUTS ALASTOR UP WITH AN ACCORDION IN THIS IS THE BEST TGING EVER.

i dont know how i think bout Mimzy rn. All i gotta say is she have a really cool singing voice!

And this shot is really adorable

Ok we actually now know from Husk that someone actually having Alastors soul! Just think about it: someone have AN OVERLORDS SOUL. Not ex-overlord like Husk, AN ACTUAL OVERLORD. Is this even possible??

This last song made me cry (again). I feel so bad for Luci, he was abandoned by heaven n he just doesnt want the same fate for his beautiful daughter, cuz she is the only thing he live for (i want him to be my dad so much omg..)

Also when Lilith took little Charlie away from Luci, it was sad, but it actually made me think, what if Lilith will be an antogonist? What if she will be the bad person? Maybe the main vilian even. I think if that will actually happen everyone will go CRAZY. But thats just my lil thought.

Ok, 6th ep! I actually didnt expect that we will see heaven so soon!

Ok but sir Pentious is GOT CRUSH ON CHERRI BOMB??? WHA??? THAT WAS SOMETHING I REALLY DIDNT EXPECT

Also i expected heaven to be much more strict place with many rules, where noone is alowed to swear. But turned out that its actually just a hell with better people and more rules, thats all. And its actually really strange that u can swear in heaven. Im not talking about Adam n Lute, cuz theyre exterminators and clearly just awhul ppl, this guy infront of heavens gates actually said fuck. Maybe im just wrong, but isnt swearing unacceptable in christianity?..

Also HELL YEAH we nailed it! We were right about Vaggie being a fallen angel. But the reason why she fell.... She was an exterminator and literally just didnt kill one child (which is really shows us that she have a kind heart) BUT SHE WAS EXPELED FOR IT IN SUCH HORRIBLE WAY.

I JUST DONT HAVE ENOUGH RAGE TO DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I HATE THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS. I REALLY HOPE WHEN HEAVEN DECIDES TO REDEEM PPL FROM HELL, THEY BOTH WILL GO TO FUCKING HELL FOR ALL THOSE VILENCE THEY BROUGHT TO WORLD, THAT WOULD BE FUCKING HILARIOUS.

Also Cherri Bomb is being kinda toxic friend to Angel n i dont like that.

ALSO ANGEL STOOD UP AGAINST VAL!! HELL YEAH, SLAY SPIDERBOI!!! IM LITERALLY NOT SCARED OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HIM WHEN HE WILL GO BACK TO HIS JOB!! IM NOT SCARED AT ALL!!!!

Ok this last song WAS SO EPIC!! ESPECIALLY WHEN CHARLIE N EMILY DID UNO REVERSE ON ADAMS SONG FROM EP 1!!

AND THAT PART WHEN ADAM REVEALED THAT VAGGIE IS AN ANGEL WAS SO EPIC TOO I LITERALLY GOT CHILS

and Charlies reaction to that was actually really heartbreaking

And everything ended up with Adam winning. I really hope that justice will overtake in this whole situation and Charlies plan will work. And im really interested to see Charlie n Vaggies relationships after that reveal. I honestly think that Charlie will forgive her, but its still really interesting.

Wow, it took me long enough to make this post.. I really like direction this show goes, n i can not wait for the next 2 eps!!

My thoughts/review on eps 1-2

My thoughts/review on eps 3-4

My thoughts/review on eps 7-8

[magic-number-3]

Top 5 ajr songs for the top 5 ask

shaking my fist like an old man darn you for making me answer this question!!! Ugh how am I supposed to choose?? I’m doing 6 cause fuck you i cant narrow it down anymore (not really fuck you its a joke <3) anyways the songs are under the cut cause I decided to explain my reasoning and it got very very too long. So in no particular order:

Don’t Throw Out My Legos - this song. REAL AND TRUE. I relate personally so much to this song because ~I moved away from home to follow my dreams~ and while the song is about wanting to preserve your childhood home and/or bedroom beacuse you dont want to face the fact of growing up, to me its also about wanting to preserve those sacred spaces in case, ya know. Follow your dreams fails and you have to return home. And so for me that has to be my top 5. Like people say ‘oh this song scratches an itch in my brain’ this song does that to my soul. N E way.

World’s Smallest Violin - ~its the mental illness luv~ . my 2nd most listened to song on spotify of all time and it only came out last year. Its killer

Turning Out - this was one of the first AJR songs I ever heard after that sponegbob song lmao (What Everyone’s Thinking EP, thank u for ur service) and DAMN if I havent cried listening to this song. Multiple times. I interpret this song as one of those where people are like ‘i dont feel like a whole person’ and i relate to that. like im TECHNICALLY a fully grown adult now but boy is that only technically. ‘You say I turned out fine / I think I'm still turning out’ and the ending of the song, ‘I'm a little kid, and so are you / Don't you go and grow up before I do / I'm a little kid with so much doubt / Do you want to be there to see how I turn out? / Cause I’m still turning out’ . Theres a feeling, a need to tell people whats going on because ppl think ur fine but ur not and youre nervous of an inevitable crash thats coming that no one will understand. But you dont know how to tell people. Youre scared to and you dont know how to make them understand. Anyway :(

Burn The House Down - this song goes SO. HARD. Its got a killer beat and this genius lyrics explanation says it all: ‘The titular line of the song is a blunt invitation for a sort of political revolution, at least in a metaphorical sense, in that the whole system will be replaced bottom-up with something new’. lets go burn the house down.

Way Less Sad - also my 5th most listened to song of all time on spotify. Like I’ve said before, its very uplifting and optimistic song to me. Maybe things aren’t great, but they’re better than they once were. And theres something very comforting abt not accepting that you dont have to be 'Happy' - whatever that means - that you can just be better than you once were. it relieves the pressure a little bit.

Karma - its very similar to worlds smallest violin, but the way that the musicality pushes the feeling and ideas in the song makes it just completely different imo. The way the music is constantly pushing the song forward - it never lets up and jack is in a rush to get all of these feelings out and he doesnt understand why he feels this way or why these things are the way they are and it all comes to a head with the final bit of the song when its pretty much silent, just him talking. The way the instrumentals push forward the concept and meaning of the lyrics is just some genius music making imo. Jack talking and talking and the way it speeds up and theres barely time to take a breath if youre singing along - the FEELING of the song, struggling to get these words out. The heart of it is very dear to me and meant a lot to me when it came out. I’m lucky that when I sing along now its not so much as a ‘these are my words i never knew how to say’. Its concepts no longer reflect my own stage of life, but when it did this song was very dear to me. Still is. Regardless of favoritism in relation to myself and simply as a piece of music, I do think it is possibly one of their BEST songs.

Some other faves cause how can I just mention FIVE??

100 Bad Days, the spiritual predecessor to Way Less Sad. GOES HARD

Next Up Forever and Finale - At first I was so bummed they didnt do an overture because I genuinely am such a slut for ajrs overtures but I love the way they these songs work as bookends to this album and I love the ideas explored in these two songs and the way they bounce off each other

[ablazenqueen]

BL/GL Tag Game

Tagged by the lovely @ellaspore, thank you!! 🥰

Your all time favorite BL/GL character and why?

Oh god, don’t make me pick just one! Can I make a short list instead? Bunn and Sorawit from Manner of Death. Pat and Pran and Ink from Bad Buddy. Two from Theory of Love. Mork and Tawan from My Ride. Win and Korn and Non from Cupid’s Last Wish. Black and Gumpa from Not Me. Mork from Dark Blue Kiss. Pure from My Gear Your Gown. I could probably go on but that’s already too many, isn’t it? To be concise, Bunn and Sorawit were the first to come to mind.

What’s your one character from a BL/GL you wanted to punt into the stratosphere (you only get one so choose wisely)?

Later Eps Canon Gram from Not Me can eat shit ❤️

He’s hardly the worst character out there, what gets to me is the way he’s treated like a good guy that we should be rooting for. He deserved his due comeuppance. (Not to be confused with Fanon Gram who owns my heart forever and deserves nothing less than a fuzzy blanket, hot cocoa, and gang cuddles in abundance.)

And honourable mentions go to all the homophobic parents in BLs.

The best music moment from a BL/GL?

I HAVE A LIST!!!! Because anyone who’s watched a show or movie with me can tell you, Soundtrack Moments™ drive me INSANE (it’s one of the things I love so much about Fox’s 911).

So there’s anytime the OST from Semantic Error plays (especially the scene where Jaeyoung first stops wearing red and makes his dramatic appearance), a good handful of scenes in Not Me (especially obsessed with the Seanwhite meeting scene and the Eugene/White “breakup” scene), the Patpran Ep 5 rooftop scene, literally anytime I hear the Dark Blue Kiss violin. Can I count all of 2Gether as just one big music moment?

What’s a popular heterosexual text that you would like to see adapted into a BL/GL?

There are a number of Shakespeare plays that I think would be fun like Twelfth Night or A Midsummer Night’s Dream (I’m sure someone with more Shakespeare knowledge could list a ton more). 10 Things I Hate About You (or The Taming of the Shrew) could also be a good one. And more generally speaking, I would really love to see more crime dramas (especially a GL crime drama with a female-lead cast but that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon).

A scene from a BL that always makes you laugh?

Literally any scene in Kinnporsche where Porsche is being... you know, Porsche. Apo just has the goofiest mannerisms and facial expressions, it cracks me up every time. (This is often the case for Sammy too, her facial expressions give me life.)

Biggest disappointment?

Oh man, hope I don’t get flack for this but… Not Me is somehow the show that both impressed and disappointed me the most this year. I could rant for hours (and have, in fact, done so with my friends) about what I personally think they did well versus what I think they did poorly. I’m sure it’s in large part cause and effect. I’m more disappointed by Not Me than by shows that are just straight up awful because it has so many good aspects that it really makes the bad aspects stand out.

What two random BL/GL characters would make hilarious exes?

It would be kinda hilarious if two characters who were played by the same actor dated the same character. Like Third from TOL and Sean from Not Me being exes. (Just imagine Third trying to move on from Khai… by dating a guy that looks exactly like him. And the jealousy potential of ‘What does he have that I don’t? We’re practically identical!’. Just saying. There’s some fanfic potential here 😉)

Who would be the funniest person to watch a BL/GL in its entirety and which one would you make them watch?

Are we talking a real person or a fictional person? Because I, for one, think Tankhun would be an amazing watch-buddy. But if we’re talking about real people, I recently binged Theory Of Love with a friend of mine and I’m planning on (re)watching Bad Buddy with another friend soon!

Best wardrobe moment and/or character wardrobe from a BL/GL?

Khai from Theory of Love and Tankhun from Kinnporsche have the best wardrobes, hands down. As far as wardrobe moments go, there’s the scene of Jaeyoung doing his dramatic entrance in a leather jacket, making Sangwoo do a double take while one of my all-time favourite OSTs plays in the background. And there’s also this cute GL scene Stupid Boys Stupid Love where Tu does a little twirl in this flowy dress while Thanh watches her with heart eyes, which is a classic and I adore it!

[twilightofthejedi]

fic: sorry to my unknown lover (wip)

He has never considered himself much of a religious man. His upbringing was in a Catholic family, so he went to mass with his family, but he had never found solace in religion like his late adoptive father had. And after he had joined the mafia, there had been too many stains on his soul for him to even consider the supposed blissful salvation of God.

But with Cha-young, he is somehow prepared to repent for all of his sins, if she would just be his heaven and hell.

or, what if vincenzo had been kidnapped by han-seok in ep 19 instead of cha-young?

inspired by this post by @ppppppenguin and @my-bated-breath

read chapter 1 on ao3 here or under the cut ꜜ

chapter 1: kristallnacht

Calling the monk had not, in hindsight, been his smartest move.

He allows himself to sulk on his couch for approximately two minutes before pushing himself up to pace. She had completely blindsided him with the makeup, and the jewelry, and the shiny straight hair that had swayed as she walked away from him, and now he can not feasibly think about anything else. She had baited and switched him, and he had been helpless to her every move.

There are a million things he needs to do. He needs to call Luca to make sure his dealings with the Lucianos had gone well. He needs to talk to Agent Ahn and Mr. Cho to make sure that the NIS is working with them to keep Han-seok in jail. He needs to pay another visit to Choi Myung-hee, as per Cha-young’s plans.

But right now, he cannot physically bring himself to do anything but think of the fact that Cha-young is currently wearing the earrings that he had bought her.

Madre di Dio, he is royally screwed.

He has never considered himself much of a religious man. His upbringing was in a Catholic family, so he went to mass with his family, but he had never found solace in religion like his late adoptive father had. And after he had joined the mafia, there had been too many stains on his soul for him to even consider the supposed blissful salvation of God.

But with Cha-young, he is somehow prepared to repent for all of his sins, if she would just be his heaven and hell.

Get a grip on yourself, Cassano.

He inhales, and then lets out a long breath. Time to get to work.

-

There are geraniums for sale in the flower shop down the street from the plaza.

Vincenzo had met up with Mr. Cho to make sure that their plans were set, and as he had been walking back from the rendezvous point, he had seen the flowers, and had wandered into the shop like he was in a trance.

It’s not a secret that Cha-young loves geraniums. She buys a bouquet every few days to keep in the crystal vase in her house(the one with the curled edges), and always complains whenever the store increases the price. He has grown used to listening to her rant about it when she comes to work in the morning, coffee in hand. Now, he stares at the bunches of bright red flowers and wonders exactly how to store flowers.

“Good afternoon! How can I help you?” The cheery store clerk has seen him, and descends upon him like a vulture. Twenty minutes later, holding three bouquets of not only geraniums, but also peonies, and a lily-of-the-valley and baby’s breath combination, he wonders at the persuasive abilities of people in the retail industry, and thinks idly that flower shop owners would make excellent lawyers.

He takes his time walking back to the plaza, where he will surely attract attention by walking through the halls with the enormous bouquets in his arms. He meanders through the streets of Seoul as the night awakens, hungry and powerful in its cover, spreading its inky fingers throughout the dusky sky. The world ebbs and flows around him, underneath the twinkling night sky. On the streets, he is just one more face, one more person, with his own story alongside millions of other stories, millions of other people, millions of other faces.

His own insignificance against the backdrop of the city is, in a way, comforting. Here, Vincenzo has no one to answer to, no one to ask him questions he cannot answer, no one except the vast sky and endless stretch that peek into his soul and pull out the parts of him that he does not know. The colors that he cannot change, the stories that he cannot explain.

Before he knows it, he is staring at the dark office of the firm, wondering where on earth they keep their vases. Hong Yu Chan, the plant lover that he was, must have kept flowers in vases, right?

A phone call to Mr. Nam later, Vincenzo concludes that Hong Yu Chan did not, in fact, keep flower vases in his office.

He spends ten minutes considering whether or not to call Cha-young, and then realizes that he is manufacturing a reason to talk to her. Setting the flowers down on the cool tabletop of the office, he looks up where to buy a flower vase, and then leaves the building feeling extremely foolish but having no idea why.

He buys the vase and begins the walk back to the plaza. He is just about to leave an alleyway when he feels a terrific pain in the back of his head. The vase falls from his suddenly limp fingers and falls to the ground with a crash, and he feels the sharp impact of his knees on the ground.

The last thing he sees before his eyes close is a gray hood, and floppy brown hair.

-

Hong Cha-young slides into the driver’s seat of her car, feeling supremely satisfied at a night well spent.

First she had completely flustered Vincenzo before she had left. Then, she had gone to the reunion and made sure that everyone was jealous of her. To top it all off, there had been excellent alcohol there, and she had taken full advantage of the open bar, and listened to everyone gripe about their jobs, or their kids, or their irritating spouses.

She sets her phone in the built in stand, and pulls out of her parking spot. The night air is warm, so she rolls down the windows and lets the smell of street food waft in. Seoul’s nightlife is vibrant, even more so in the summer, and she smiles at the people milling out on the sidewalks. She spots a noodle stand, and makes a mental note to bring Vincenzo there and buy him the spiciest noodles.

Just as she is pulling into her designated parking spot in Geumga Plaza(it’s still marked Hong Yu Chan), her phone beeps. She smirks to herself. She’s surprised Vincenzo lasted this long without texting her, but it’s sweet that he couldn’t hold off longer. She unplugs her phone, and lets the screen light up.

Joon-woo: 2 new messages

The screen seems to shake before she realizes its her own shaking fingers, and she sets the phone down on the center console, unbuckling herself with fingers that will not stay still. How is it that she still hasn’t changed the contact name? The heart emoji that he had put in after his name on his first day as her hoobae is still there, and she feels a rush of freezing anger at herself, at her weakness. She exhales shakily, and unlocks her phone.

Hi sunbae! Did you miss me? the message reads.

Attached with the text is an image. She downloads it impatiently, morbidly drawn to the screen like a moth to a flame. She knows that she will burn, that she will end up nothing more than ashes on a whispering wind if she does not stop and just think, but Cha-young has a horrible sinking feeling.

The image is of Vincenzo.

The picture has been taken from the ground, and the first thing that she sees is the glass. Thousands of shards of clear glass, stained dark red, on the ground. In the background, slightly blurred, she can see Vincenzo sprawled on the ground, blood matted in his hair.

In between her quickening breaths and blurring eyes, all Cha-young can think of is how much, in the picture, Vincenzo looks like the fallen heroine in one of the tragic operas that Vincenzo had dragged her along to. In the last act, as the music turns frenzied and faster, and then reaches a crescendo, and then falls to nothing more than a single sustained note of a violin, a lone lament to the dead.

The image has a caption.

Night of Broken Glass.

[trashahime]

Dude!

I think I know who the mama is…

They LITERALLY pointed to her in ep. 4.

This started as a crack theory but I think there might be something to it.

So, weirdly enough, as more info comes out, it's becoming increasingly difficult to believe anyone but Rin is the mother and yet I grow more confident that she is NOT the mother.

Rin, a widowed Sango and a reformed Kagura are the most likely options from the feudal era.

However, I still maintain that Rin would be too young because you cannot convince me that Hisui is meant to be 20+ with the current info available. I don't wanna hear the same timeline theories based on conjecture and vague wording. That boy is 16-18 at the most.

RT spoke as if Miroku was still alive in her interview so no widowed Sango.

Also when she spoke of Sess's wife, I got the impression that she had always been human and they had been together for a while. So no Kagura instantly reformed as a human adult. And no brief body possession of a random human. If Kagura retained her memories of being a demon, I don't think she'd be championing humans enough to change Sesshomaru's views.

But she could be reincarnated and grew up human.

In my last post I said the twins could have been born years after Moroha but due to time travel twists met up at the same time at the same age. If so, that would put Rin and Kagura back in the running.

And actually, that puts a lot of female characters in running, past, present and future.

I saw a post joking that maybe Sess copied his brother and got himself a time travelling school girl of his own. That the mama was one of Kagome's future friends. Impossible, I thought, until I saw this post from keichanz:

https://keichanz.tumblr.com/post/632882283089739776/her-names-kagome-she-was-always-causing-a

When I saw the pictures of Kagome and her friends I wondered who that 5th girl was. It seemed weird to include a never seen before character in two photos.

Sunrise said to focus on everything or something to that effect. So maybe she was put in there for a reason. I looked at the screenshots again and noticed something.

The two pages of photos seem to be from all different events except for the three photos taken at a school field day. Maybe Sunrise was trying to draw our attention to them, particularly the new girl. Maybe they were trying to rewrite history and give Kagome this extra friend because she will be important.

How important? Maybe she's the goddamn mama!

Hear me out.

In the photo below, the flag Kagome holds is pointing to the girl. And there is a 1 on it. Is Sunrise trying to say: she is the one!

The second photo of the group, which you can see in keichanz post, has the new girl's face partially cut off, in a way, calling attention to her again.

The third photo is of Kagome about to get hit in the face with a bun or something. Maybe Sunrise is trying to smack the viewers in the face with hard hints. Okay, that one's a stretch.

I was also caught by how similar new girl's hair is to Setsuna's who is said to have hair like her mother's. She even has the wispy pieces on the sides. And maybe Sunrise chose to do field day photos so that they could place red ribbons in their hair, further likening it to the red streaks in the twins's hair.

At this point it was still a crack theory in my head, then I remembered Sunrise kind of went out of the way to put Setsuna in modern clothing and even had Moroha comment on it.

A new theory spawned!

What if the twins weren't concieved years after Mohora but centuries?!?! Maybe the twins were meant to live in modern times and that's why they don't have any distinct demon characteristics. More on that later...

So… What if Sesshomaru met and married his wife in the modern era? Then, due to some danger from Kirinmaru, found a way to send his pregnant wife to the past where he believed it was safer. Or maybe Kirinmaru did it. It would explain so much.

Maybe feudal era Sesshomaru didn't believe new girl was his future wife but knew the children were his and that's why he took them the day they were born. I don't think he would just abandon them in the forest. He probably had Jaken watching them while he gaurded from afar.

He likely had no emotional attachment to them because he thought they were the product of some trickery or sorcery. And that could be why, if the theories are true, he chose to stay with Rin in the tree. Rin would still be the most important person to him at this point.

So who is this new girl? If my theory is true, I think she will turn out to be the reincarnation of Rin or Kagura. Sunrise is already kind of copying the jewel shard thing with the rainbow pearls. Why not another love triangle involving reincarnations?

New girl's hair is almost exactly like Kagura's but with a longer ponytail. Her face reminds me more of Rin, though. It's a toss up.

I think in the end, there's going to be a huge time reset. Moroha will be raised by Inukag in the past and the twins will be raised by their parents in the future. Their human appearance will allow them to blend in with modern society. I can already see the final scene. It's going to be of Setsuna giving a violin performance as her sister and parents watch on. Souta and his family will be there too. He will have something of an uncle role with the twins but be especially close to Towa.

What do you think?

Am I crazy?

Finally figured out replies! My dumb ass never verified my email.

[tomorrowsdrama]

Do You Like Brahms Ep 8

My Thoughts:

(side note, I finally figured out that the video player I was using to screenshot the episodes was saving them all weird and I‘m so annoyed because all my prior screenshots were weirdly squished)

Wow, Jung Kyung actually gave Song Ah good feedback and constructive advice.  Color me surprised.  As twisted and messy as she is in her personal relationships, it seems like Jung Kyung is a decent enough person when it comes to music/teaching.  Look at that, a multi-dimensional crazy second lead girl.

Gosh, the contrast between all the notes Jung Kyung wrote for Song Ah and the clean music sheets from Song Ah’s professor/”advisor” kills me.  You know, maybe if Song Ah’s professors actually tried to help her instead of insulting her all those years, she’d actually improve. 

Speaking of insults, is it a day ending in “y” if someone doesn’t insult Song Ah unprompted?

Same, girl.  I’m also tried of people constantly putting you down for no good reason.

Just two cuties being cute.

And the “let’s further isolate Joon Young and remind him that his life is not his own and people’s worth are measured purely by how good others perceive them to be” train keeps coming and running over poor miserable Joon Young. One of the very few joys he gets out of playing piano is playing with his friends but now even that is being taken away.  And it’s all because they’re not at his “level.”  He’s already a very lonely person because of his status as a world class pianist who has to constantly travel around the world to play concerts.  But now they’re further separating him from his very few friends and making it out as if it’s his fault for being too good. Talk about making him resent and become burdened by his genius even more than he already was.  I guess that saying “it’s lonely at the top” bears some truth.  The only thing is, Joon Young doesn’t want to be alone.  He’s being pushed towards the top by everyone but himself.  Even during his sabbatical he’s pressured into participating in a competition to maintain his status and income.  

 He rips off the orchestra seating arrangement because he doesn’t want her to obsess over it but she takes it the wrong way.  All the talk about different levels leads up to the two of them having their very first serious (albeit still very polite because this is still Song Ah and Joon Young we’re talking about) argument.  

Oof, he uses the word “meaningless” and you could tell it was the wrong word to use with Song Ah because of the way her face changes.  He wasn’t belittling the orchestra arrangement or by extension, Song Ah’s last place position, by calling it meaningless.  To him, it’s meaningless because he doesn’t value people based on their orchestra position (unlike everyone else in the field).  However, his point of view is different from Song Ah’s. 

And once again Joon Young is being alienated (albeit unknowingly) because of how good he is.  We know how important being a violinist is to Song Ah so it makes sense that the orchestra seating is for her.  Because no matter how hard she’s tried in the past four years, there doesn’t seem to be any sign that she’s improving or on the right path.  Being able to move up one seat would be the type of concrete validation she would be able to see to prove that the path she has chosen is the correct one.  Also, she is constantly being reminded of how subpar her violin playing is so of course she would be obsessed about moving up in the orchestra seating.

Omg Joon Young’s poor face as he lets the words sink in.  This is the last thing he wanted to hear after a day replete with people telling him who he shouldn’t spend time with because of their difference in musical talent.  The thing is, I was not upset with Song Ah for saying this.  I wish she hadn’t said it because of how much it hurt Joon Young, but I also understand why she did it.  She’s feeling insecure and unsure because (1) people constantly look down on her because she’s not “up to their level”; (2) Joon Young seems to be at a level she is unable to reach and; and (3) people have been telling her (1) and (2) non-stop.  So I get where she’s coming from and it’s really not that unreasonable to react the way she did given the circumstances.

And then you see Joon Young get upset with Song Ah for the first time and he actually expresses it.  You can tell that it catches Song Ah off-guard, too.  One, because she was too caught up in her own insecurities and feelings that she didn’t realize she was hurting Joon Young.  But also two, because Joon Young has always been amenable and went along with everything, no matter the discomfort to himself, to keep the peace.  Just like I don’t blame Song Ah for how she reacted, I don’t blame Joon Young for this either.  He’s feeling frustrated and trapped by all this talk about levels.  He just wants to be free to live however he wants and be with whoever he wants.  Song Ah is the last person he would expect to also subscribe to all this “difference in levels” nonsense.  The fact that Joon Young who always agrees to whatever people say is speaking up about how upset he is shows how important Song Ah is to him.  He likes her too much to just go along with her incorrect assessment that they can’t be together because of “difference in levels.”  To be honest, even though that confession and kiss at the end of the episode was epic (so much squealing!), I think this moment did more to move their relationship forward.  I mean, they were actually communicating with each other about their concerns instead of letting it fester within themselves!  When do you ever see a couple communicating BEFORE a big misunderstanding that could jeopardize the relationship happens in a drama?

This sums up Joon Young and it worries me to be honest.  When you live your entire life putting everyone first and just trying to please everyone, you’re going to reach a breaking point.  I just want Joon Young to be happy and live the life he wants to live!  And speaking of going for what he wants in life...

Omg he confesses to her and gives her the kiss that she deserves!  Oooh boy, I was seeing stars just like Song Ah was.  What a tender, yet searing kiss!  I love that she stumbles a bit and her hand slams on the piano keys.  I say, just let these two sweet, beautiful people make out for the rest of the drama!

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket, SE02, Ep25 (Season Finale)

ah~ I finished furuba’s Season 2..T_T.. now my life is empty..that’s a good ep!

- A moment with yuki:

I think there’s sth I still don’t understand abt yuki’s tohru-mom feelings...I thought that yuki after acknowledging such feelings, will slowly build a healthier, more equal relationship with tohru  & the only reason he didn’t tell her is cuz he wants her to be ready & not worry. So today, it makes sense that he comes & tells tohru he stood up for himself & was scared but made it! he’s proud of himself & tohru should be proud of him, too. Also, it helps tohru let go of worrying abt him & realize his growth. All amazing!!! However, the scene was depicted in a way that screams, “look mommy, I’ did it!” rather than a friend reaching out & proudly telling a friend. it really cemented the mom-son dynamics. I felt “awe look at him proudly telling his mom” sth I thought, we’ll be slowly moving away from towards more equal dynamics. Yuki was drawn extra thin & he was leaning as if he was waiting for a head pat. Nothing is wrong with yuki wanting motherly feels since he never got one but i felt nothing changed between them. yuki still below tohru. I mean he’ll never be able to repay her kindness. true. but I thought the story will let us see him standing taller bit by bit, y’know? I know he still calls her honda-san & perhaps him finally calling her “tohru” is when they’re equal..but shouldn’t he move slowly towards that? rather than suddenly coming & thanking her for being his much needed mother figure? why is this scene depicted with extremely strong mother-son feel? could it be cuz yuki is still putting tohru in a pedestal? he told momiji “did u do sth worthy of honda-san’s praise” as if tohru isn’t the person who praises momiji for a cute uniform or kyo for making a standard riceball. hmm, maybe yuki can’t be equal to her if he still sees her as the sky or an angel or someone who desperately needs protection. tohru is precious to him & he’ll protect her with his life, but I thought he’ll do so as a friend, not as a son. Maybe SE03 is abt him learning to see tohru as a normal, lacking but still amazing person? I’d love to see that!!

- Shigure ( the main character ):

It’s always forgotten that this goofy, good for nuthin dude is a main character. But once he turns dark & reveals his face, no doubt that this guy is the plot’s leader! Shigure doesn't do lengthy inner monologues, nor his actions are easy to read. Mayuko is right “ he is like a ripple in the water” .The stages of shigues’s emotions:

Bitter: “why not let yuki take responsibility & tend for akito?” mocking akito’s bedridden status over yuki’s defiance. “ why u ask abt tohru in the phone?” & proceeds to mock kureno for calling. Tohru would never answer the phone first. “ you’re featherbrained” cruelly mocking him using a pun on his zodiac while suspecting he isn’t one anymore. Only shigure is capable of such salt!

Silent Anger: looking at akito as she rants abt him not coming to her first! not choosing her first. while she’s the one who didn’t choose him. “you’re one to talk” Epic!! “ what do you want from her?” shigure had no right intruding on kureno’s business with tohru. but he’s too angry to behave. Kureno answers like a good boy.

Refusing to play blind: hatori looking for excuses for akito’s behavior within the curse’s lore. Shigure fires back with “haven’t u ever felt sth off with kureno?”. They all did. “ Ah~at long at last” not even waiting for kureno to say first.

Sticking his finger in open wounds: “don’t accept it?scared? sad? emotionally attached to the bond?” Verdict: “devious” he’s calling out  hatori & kureno both!

Embracing himself with no regrets: “ weak, intolerant, worthless, worst kind of man”. He embodies his own description of himself as he talks to kureno over the phone & sends tohru. “ see you later” only the worst kind of man uses tohru like that. sending her with no clue to an emotional shock. He wants the situation to escalates. He’ll use tohru if he have to. Let’s see if kureno’s “kindness” spares tohru the pain or if it tears her heart apart as it has been tearing everybody, kureno induced!

-Akito’s manipulating tactics start to backfire:

“ I speak cruelly of you, You know I don’t say it out of spite” very typical sentence abusers say to further their grasp around others. Insult them cruelly, then play the kind apologetic card. It makes the other person linger longer. “X didn’t meant it. X actually cares. X just lost control”. It happens in domestic abuse cases all the time.. it never changes..it never stops. Akito knows when she’s loosing her grip on someone. she feels it. Her ego doesnt let her acknowledge it. However, seeing akito’s innocent young self humanized her so much. She wasn’t despicable since birth as we’ve seen in yuki’s flashback, but here she was even more innocent than with yuki. Could it be cuz it’s from kureno’s perspective? someone older than her? or she treated older male zodiacs differently. Akito knew kureno’s curse broke as he himself did. hmm. it’s the bond, so the ruler does have a connection with the zodiacs. Akito fearing kureno’s abandonment is understandable. Akito using tears, screams, pleads & frantic behavior, “so typical of spoiled children” to get kureno to stay. It is a working tactic. A tactic that abusive adults use in toxic relationships so much & works to trap the other party to stay. Stay with me cuz you pity me, yes, but I’m the one on control. Keeping in mind akito’s age here, she looks 6? 10 maximum! is really twisted. Akito learned early one that manipulation works. She gets what she wants by playing games, whether it’s tears, pity, rage, ridicule, mockery, bets, humiliation, or sexual seduction. It reinforces her behavior that nothing can stand between her & her desires. curse or no curse. If she can keep a  non-cursed person, then the cursed ones are way weaker to leave. This, off course doesn’t justify her abusive behavior with yuki/ kyo/ momiji/ kisa/ rin/ haru/ hatori but today, we got a small window open into her psyche. The best “antagonist” is someone with irrational behavior that stems from twisted mindset! She is so interesting!

-Kureno & ( the most destructive foolish traveler):

So, kureno stayed with akito cuz he can’t turn a sad, lonely, fragile child away. Can’t bear to break her heart. The child became a woman. The woman needed him in bed, he can’t turn a sad lonely woman away. He gave in & their relationship became even more twisted with the complexity of intimacy issues. Kureno said “ arisa is the first person he ever loved on his own”. meaning that he slept with akito using the remaining feelings of attachment of his previous bond. EXACTLY as shigure said while questioning hatori’s refusal to believe the curse can break“ emotionally attached to the bond”. He continued this unbalanced sexual affair with her. completely submissive to her moods & whims. Unbalanced relationship cuz both stayed together for twisted reasons “unable to let go”, She has control over him since she’s the family head, over even his freedom outside the house, He is willingly submissive to her, choosing to not seek his happiness,  not standing up & denying her, or stopping her or telling her sth as simple as “ i want to go out to the supermarket”. content & satisfied with his dull, lifeless life. Until akito “ the sad child/ the sad woman doesn’t need him anymore??? but kureno can see that him staying by akito’s side didn’t do shit to improve anybody’s situation!!! Akito is still miserable! even before tohru appears in their lives. all the zodiacs were miserable & united in a toxic fake bond. The bond is so fake that all this time there was a fake imposter & no one dared to question. They’re so accustomed to submissive obedience that they don’t dare to hope. Only shigure. The intolerant jerk saw through it all.

-Kureno is a different kind of foolish traveler. He helped no one. Not even the person he gave his eyes to, Akito didn’t benefit from his kindness. He didn’t benefit, nor arisa, nor any zodiac. What kureno’s kindness brought him is misery. What it brought the sohma’s is enabling abuse & continuation of current toxic atmosphere. He is a more sever enabler than hatori. Hatori enabled the continuation of the curse by erasing memories & staying by akito’s bed tending for her with no life of his own. But hatori knows he’s a sinner & hatori is still chained by the bond. Kureno is free to leave. Yet, he’s still here deceiving everybody & suffering alone while pretending to be content with fake smile. Was Kureno raised to always follow orders? No personality. No needs. Still, he decides to continue even after given a chance to leave now!!!! he lost the first chance due to a promise he made while he was afraid, lonely & felt pity. Now, he knows someone there loves him (arisa), he has a new friend (tohru), someone flat out told him to freakin leave (shigure). Still, he feels that causing akito to break down & cry is cruel. The most passive character in the shows I’ve watched!! Kuteno is another proof of this brilliant writer! there are many kureno’s around us. hurting themselves & others by staying in the cycle of abuse. The writer is really brilliant for writing such variety of characters. Who cares if fans find him appealing or not? hot or dull? good or bad? that’s not the issue here. He fits the plot so amazingly & realistically represents real life ppl who are caught between causing immense harm & being severely harmed, between helping & ruining! Kureno just closed his own caged tight shut behind him. so foolish, so tragic!

Side Notes:

Momiji pulling tohru to his level to tell her abt his achievement is cute! I was told he’s supposed to be taller than tohru now! can’t wait to see that!

Momiji’s been dressing more mature for a while, such as the violin ep, ep24 & now. All three tops while still having so much decorations, a hint of feminine designs are still in tune with momiji’s funky spirit! Also they are NOT toddler-like clothes! at all. I’m convinced it is done on purpose!! baby is growing!

I love dark shigure!! OMG! the story take a whole other level once he turns dark & turns off the goofy mode, activating the bitter mode! He was raw with no mercy & unveiled hatori’s hidden feelings with no hesitation. He tore kureno like a vicious dog! I LOVE.

Akito’s Japaneses VA is queen! & shigure’s Japaneses VA is so amazing!! can’t wait for his American VA!!! he’s one of my faves!

the bond breaking visuals are perfect! 10/10. No words needed.

tohru does have a women’s intuition! She is the most emotionally intelligent & socially perceptive character in furuba, just as long as it’s not abt herself. XD

tohru had a flashback within a flashback! lol. flashback inception!

they gave tohru a lil bit bigger boobies than usual!! my girl is maturing, too? =D

The scene of kureno & akito’s innocent childhood & the curse lifting being cut & inserted all over the ep is EPIC!! 10/10 presentation. It gave the ep eerie & distorted feel. Exactly as both kureno & akito felt. 

The scenes of tohru realizing sth is off with kureno’s curse is 10/10.

“ how did the curse break?” tohru’s first question! wow! I thought it was good for you, I’m happy, then ask afterwards. But NO. Interesting!!!!

I love that there is NO explanation of why the curse broke!!! I hope there is NEVER any explanation!! plz don’t let it be sth magical kureno did without noticing or anything. Let it either be random to keep the suspense as we wouldn’t know who’s is next or let be sth abt the bond somehow. But not sth tohru herself needs to do!

I still don’t understand kureno much, but I find him well-written for the reasons mentioned in my post. As for akito, I still don’t know much abt her. I doubt I’ll like her easily. But I can feel that her part in the story would be so amazingly entertaining!!

Shigure is the most unique furuba character hands down!!!!! this unbelievably entertaining jerk! is hot too.

[nc7dr3am]

LILY’s RELTIONSHIPS WITH THE DREAMIES

MARKLY:

so their ship name is just his full name LMAO

they love it

so yknow how dream clowns mark?

obviously she does too

but she’s more gentle and has a TON of respect for mark

“minhyung oppa is extremely hardworking ... he’s always working to be his absolute best and he is so kind and down to earth”

they’re actually a really soft duo

because like. mark is truly her big brother

he cares for her a lot and helped her so much during her debut

he helps her practice her dancing (even after he left dream)

because she trusts him a lot and he know the exact way to help her

but yeah she still clowns him

calls him old man all of the time

but she was full on SOBBING at their last concert with mark

like she had to move her mic because it was so bad

mark isn’t too big on the pda but when they’re together he always lets his baby sister give him so many hugs

when sm told them that mark was coming back and they were a fixed unit ... god she cried a lot then too

she was so happy

“lily is actually so sweet guys. like, she’s so genuine. she cares a lot for all of us and she’s also so intelligent? she’s always reading” - mark when asked about her on vlive

he’s trying to teach her guitar but the only instrument she formally knows is violin

her skill with the bass is self taught and she doesn’t know actual notes so she applies that to guitar and mark is trying to ACTUALLY teach her

mark also understands her well because they were both raised in the west

she expresses herself better in english and mark is always there to understand and listen

they’re just actual siblings and love each other so much

LILJUN:

firstly

lily makes renjun look a lot taller

she doesn’t ever make fun of his height and gets mad at the other dreamies when they do

she clowns his voice crack tho HAH

lowkey the savage duo

lily is more secretly savage though

renjun is the one allowed in her room the most

he works on his art and she reads or writes or practices violin

they have a lot of quiet moments

but they also get silly together

so lily doesn’t think about the universe deeply because she lowkey thinks it’s a waste of her time

like .. she’ll never know and she’s fine with that so why dwell on it

HOWEVER she really believes in aliens and she and renjun legit have sat for hours looking online ab alien shit

they’re also both so smart

and she’s always talking about how much she admires renjun’s brain

stans his vocal talent. like. she’s loud about it

fans love this duo a lot nd they have a lot of romantic shippers

even tho .. they have never liked each other that way LMAO

at the airport she links arms with him a lot and they look like they’re gossiping hhhhh

when the dreamies are being too much they just look at each other and fans love that shit

also they’re both arguably the scariest members

renjun because... duh y’all know him

but lily doesn’t get annoyed often. when she does... there’s hell to pay and she has a good punch

“renjun oppa is so good at korean! i’m actually korean and he speaks it better than i do!”

“that’s because i’m smarter than you”

“do you want to die?”

basically just a really close pair! they’re always there for each other 🥺

JENLY:

she openly says that jeno is the cutest member

“he’s the most adorable person ever! his eyesmile is too cute”

the way she laughed when jeno ripped his shirt off-

she clowned him for DAYS

every time she was wearing a jacket or cardigan she ripped it off and mocked him

also whenever she’s drinking something around him she recreates his milk cf

also!!! she thinks jeno is so funny

she loves him and his humor

she and jeno have a really really deep bond.

he saw her journal (refer to my post about her room) and he’ll take what he read to the grave

he checks in on her a lot because he knows when she’s hurting

when they were trainees she was struck by how kind he was to her

and they were stuck together ever since

lily hasn’t ever been mad at him ONCE

they’re arguably the softest duo

they have a lot of romantic shippers too but

again

it’s a no

she’s a big nomin shipper too like unironically she thinks there’s something there

she always hypes his vocals!! he doesn’t get to sing enough >:(

he’s also her biggest cheerleader and when she cries and gets upset about her dancing he always pulls her aside and consoles her 🥺

he helps her with writing songs too!

wholesome beautiful friendship

they go out to eat a lot

jeno also helps her paint her nails LMAO

and they ride bikes together a lot

can’t commit to working out with him though because it’s way too much for her to do all that

lily also bakes a lot. and jeno appreciates that. a LOT

they’re best friends. she even bought them stupid girly heart bracelets that connect together LMAO

JIHYUCK:

so much affection!!!!

she is such a hyuck stan

“haechannie is my bias!!”

always calls him fullsun (in english)

number one hyuck skin enthusiast!! she thinks he’s gorgeous and glows brighter than all of them

also she loves his singing and thinks his vocal tone is so unique

always laughs at his jokes and finds him hilarious

he doesn’t prank her as much as the others because he’s actually so sweet to her

he’s used to having a younger sister and thinks of lily as his little sister

they constantly text and facetime a lot since they live in different dorms

she’s lowkey whipped for him and he’s whipped for her

not in a romantic way tho!

another member who always eats her baking

they learn girl group dances together

now we all know damn well that hyuck is the sweetest boy and so full of love

but we also know he annoys the shit out of the members

jimin is NO exception

he pokes fun at her and mocks her all the time

so she slaps him in the back of the head LMAOO

when does she actually get mad tho? when he shows up at the dorms and enters her room without permission

cue her chasing him around the dorms with murder in her eyes

yknow the vine where it’s like

“let me see what you have?”

“a KNIFE”

“NO”

that’s the other guys making sure hyuck doesn’t get brutally murdered

because lily can pack a punch

all in all though, they’re a great duo and they’re always so proud of each other

JAEJIMIN:

okay jaemin babies the FUCK outta her

he always takes care of her and talks to her about her concerns and vice versa

he was so happy for her when she debuted and was sad he couldn’t be there for it

she visited him all the time when he was gone

and she was heartbroken that he wasn’t with dream

she is a BIG 8dream stan because they are a family

but yeah fans can’t even ship them romantically because they know lily is his lil baby

she helps him with his english

and he always compliments her singing and dancing

proud of her songwriting

so much affection

even tho she hates when he pinches her cheeks n calls her cute

when he came back during go she was overjoyed

“go is our special era! we were all reunited~~”

he always wanted a sister and now he has one <3

she drinks a lot of coffee but not as much as him and was so worried about his health

they’re the biggest flirts w czennies

you’ll always find them with their arms linked in the airport

and everywhere really

during empathy era she was always hugging jaemin’s side

they also do a lot of lives together!!

such cute bffs

she is a big nomin stan like i said

name twins and they always tell everyone that they’re actual siblings

jaemin’s mom is so fond of her and treats her like her own daughter

HE REALLY TRIES TO GIVE HER FASHION ADVICE AND GIVE INPUT ON HOW HER HAIR SHOULD LOOK FOR COMEBACKS

they’re really true siblings and best friends 🥺

LILLE:

THESE MFS ARE BEST FRIENDS

01’ liners and so similar in ages but he ALWAYS brings up that he’s older

they compete over a lot

literally everything is a competition

she’s at her most childish with him

they also make lots of bets and she usually wins

clowns him for those predebut pics LOL

SHE ALWAYS SEND THEM IN THE GC AND EVEN POSTS THEM ON BUBBLE N SHIT HAHA

they can be really soft but will never admit it even if they are caught on camera

they’re pretty calm if they’re cooking together

he is Banned™️ from her room and she won’t budge at all

“chenle isn’t allowed in my room because he will disturb my peace”

remember on that one ep of weekly idol where chenle was SCREAMING while they did aegyo

yeah it’s louder when lily does aegyo

u didn’t hear it from me but her aegyo is SO cute it’s not as cringey as the others

but chenle hates it because she’s cute and he wants to clown her but he CANT

really proud of each other. super proud of each other

chenle has sat with her as she’s cried a lot. and comforted her. and it always stays between them.

she’s always there for him too

a LOT of fans have suspected that there’s something there

his mom loves her so much!!!!!

when she and jisung went to his house they were BAFFLED and impressed

“something bothers me a lot. one day, chenle woke up and looked grown up. he used to have chubby cheeks and looked like a kid and now he looks like an adult and has such defined cheekbones. it’s so strange”

when they became adults they got SHITFACED DRUNK

they definitely don’t say it a lot and when they do it’s in private (even tho everyone knows)

but they really love each other 🥺

LILJI:

jisung and lily is

p o p u l a r

with fans

because fans put together the pieces that jisung had a crush on lily during debut

lily thought it was sweet because jisung was always so cute and young

she saw him as a little kid

they used to not have MANY interactions

she always laughs when jisung is bein funny

and is in AWE of his dancing

he always assures her when she gets upset about her dancing

lilchenji is an ICONIC friendship

they watch a lot of movies together

she’s been on chenjis this and that a few times

remember that live when nomin got all in each other’s faces while chenji just froze and looked at them and then looked at the camera and looked real shocked

she was there and the three of them were like 😶

so yeah when jisung started getting really tall lily was real confused

and then somehow

during go and we go up

jisung started looking different. like. more grown up

and he had more confidence and talked to her more

and lily was like 😳😳

but spoilers so i won’t go too deep into that

they’re really good friends these days tho

the fans LOVE THEM it’s such a popular ship

at the dream shows when they sing bye my first

the song that lily famously LOVES

yknow that one line jisung has where the music goes quiet and he goes

“na geuttaeneun cham eoryeosseo”

blessed line it was beautiful

anyway at the dream show jisung would hold the mic to lily and have her sing the line or they’d duet it

and their eye contact!!!! and lily’s SMILE IS SO BRIGHT

stars in their eyes

um anyway!! they’re great friends nd very shippable for. reasons!

author’s note! i’m also a ‘01 liner! so don’t think it’s weird if i’m writing a jisung romance LMAO or who knows if it’ll be jisung? 👀👀

[britishchick09]

sherlock s2 ep 3 livewatch

it’s time for the sherlock s2 finale! i’ve been keeping lockie alive for as long as possible, but I can’t stall any longer. let’s fall into the reichenbach!

here it is:

the last masterpiece ep! :D

it begins with rain! *beatles ‘rain’ plays*

john’s back with the therapist from study in pink! :o

does this take place after the fall and the rest of the ep is a flashback?

it’s been 18 months!

john called tv ‘telly’:)

OMG HE’S CHOKING UP NO POOR BBY :’(

he called sherlock ‘my best friend’ IN THE SADDEST VOICE IN THE WORLD :’(

john: “sherlock holmes... is dead.” or is he? ;)

BAM INTRO!

guy: “falls of the reichenbach...” you dodged a credit roll with that one! ;)

sherlock: “diamond cufflinks. all my cufflinks have buttons.” john: “he means ‘thank you’. ...just say it.” awww what a parent :)

sherlock isn’t one for thanks and publicity!

the iconic hat! :D

EVERYONE WANTS HIM TO PUT THE HAT ON

he reluctantly put the hat on:)

the transitions from a scene to a newspaper is so cool! :D

john’s tabloid nickname is BACHELOR OMGGGGGG

john: “what do they mean by that?” oh you know what that means buddy ;)

CONFIRMED BACHELOR OMGGG VICTORIAN GAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! (or in his case bi)

john: “we need to be more careful-“ johnlockers: “NO!!!!!”

sherlock is criticizing the hat lol :D

john called it the ‘sherlock holmes hat’ eyyyyy!!!!! ;D

john’s voice has a hint of deep love it ;)

there’s so many people touring at the castle! :o

this sneaky guy has this on his phone and i’m guessing that’s what all apps in the uk look like lol

OMG HE HACKED INTO THE SYSTEM

is it moiarty?

lestrade said ‘bloody ‘ell!’ and it was so british of him :D

he’s dancing to the background music YEP IT’S MOI ALRIGHT

YEET

OMG MOIARTY YOU DRAMA QUEEN

also is this an abominable bride reference? :o

john’s text notif sound sounds apple WHY

he has a windows laptop and an apple phone how chaotic

the smiley face!!!! :o

ooh cool american song playing in the background! :o

john: “ready?” sherlock: “yes” *PRESS CHATTER* how would anyone be ready for that?

sherlock wants to be himself but john’s like ‘no smartass’ LET HIM BE A SMARTHOLE JOHN

it’s the bbc! :D

OMFG A FAN FOLLOWED SHERLOCK INTO THE RESTROOM WTF

i bet johnlockers have actually done this because they were craaazyyyy back then...

THE FAN WANTS HIM TO SIGN HIS SHIRT WTFFFFF

sherlock knows she’s not a fan lol :D

wait is someone peeing in the background wtf

fan: “you and john watson, platonic, have you there as well!” mofftiss totally based this girl off of real johnlockers!!!!

can they please leave the bathroom I SWEAR SOMEONE IS PEEING BACK THERE IT’S SO AWKWARD

sherlock: “you... repel... me.” YAS!!! :D

HOLD UP what if this is mofftiss’ way of saying they don’t like johnlockers :o

now lockie’s in court bor-ing!

moiarty is a spider great metaphor sherlock! :D

judge: “how long-“ sherlock “not a good question.” lol :D

sherlock and moiarty knew each other for 5 minutes lol

who ate the wafer

SHUT UP WIG MAN LET SHERLOCK SHOW OFF

aaand he kicked them out

john: “you’re doing The Look again.” omg so married ♥

he finds The Face annoying lol MARRIEEEED

epic wallpaper! :D

OMG MOIARTY WAS CHEWING GUM DURING THE CRIME AND THE COURT THING DORK

and he looked at john... ;)

moiarty’s out and sherlock beeps john away,,,

he be making tea WITH HIS VIOLIN PLAYING YYYAAAASSSS!!!!!!!!!

omg there’s a shadow...

AN A CREAK

I KNEW IT WAS MOIARTY!!!!!!

sherlock lets him sit down wowza kind to a criminal! :o

moiarty: “every fairytale needs a good old-fashioned villain ;)” omg HE KNOWS HE’S A STORY CHARACTER AHHHH :o

moiarty to sherlock: “you need me.” no he needs john THANK YOU VERY MUCH

moiarty thinks sherlock’s boring SHUT UP FUNNY MEAN MAN >:(

moiarty: “that’s the problem... the final problem.” eyyyy roll s4 credits! :D

moiarty: “i didn’t tell you... but did you listeeeennnn?” lol sing-songy moiarty is funny :D

he’s doing the hand thing ♥

moiarty: “i own secrecy” who do you think you are bish brother

MOIARTY CALLED SHERLOCK ‘HONEY’ :o

WHY IS MOIARTY SAYING ‘DADDY’

THE FALL HE SAID THE FALLLLLLLL

sherlock: “i never liked riddles.” *maddie hatter rages in the distance*

he’s having a row with the machine again ;)

also that’s literally my dad with his card lol :D

ooh antiques roadshow! :D

john’s meeting mycroft why

OMG HE WAS TAKEN HOSTAGE

it’s just mycroft’s way of saying hello?

what happened in 1972

mycroft’s giving john an unrelated case... s1 finale flashback!

john’s loooong groan lol :D

sherlock is moiarty’s ‘only rival’... >:)

awww john fed some crumbs to birds :)

another unrelated case and lestrade is at the flat! :o

lestrade called lockie ‘a celebrity’ awww :)

SHERLOCK DON’T YELL AT THE CRYING LADY :(

oh he wanted her to ‘speak quickly’ ok

not ok but thaaat’s lockie!

it be moi...

sherlock SNIFF

sherlock: “brilliant, anderson?” anderson: “really?” sherlock: “brilliant impression of an idiot.” OHHHHH!!!!!!! :D

sherlock 2 NOW

john: “don’t do the smiling thing. kidnapped children..?” oh he always does the smiling thing! ;)

molly was going on a lunch date but sherlock said she’ll go with him and her little ‘what?’ is so cute! :D

sherlock’s like ‘look at all the fricks i give’ :D

aaand he left her!

sherlock: “the chemical footprints will lead us to moiarty!” all roads lead to rome, and all the footprints there lead to moiarty ;)

SHERLOCK CALLED MOLLY ‘JOHN’ OMG :D

b r i c k   d u s t

molly: “you’re like my dad. he’s dead- no, sorry-” lol :D

oh no molly’s telling a sad dad story :(

i can kind of see why people ship sherlock and molly they’re nice together :)

BUT JOHNLOCK IS BEST SHIP

although molly’s super awkward she’s so cute! :D

SHERLOCK GOT THE FAIRYTALE REFERENCE AFTER I DID YAS!!!!! :D

lestrade: “brick dust!” b r i c k  d u s t

he’s the google in 360 website! :D

they burst through the kidnapper’s door and it was like ‘someBODY once told me’! :D

omg mercury chocolate wrappers! :o

sherlock: “the more they ate, the faster they died... neat!” ...neat? :o

they found the kidnapped kids! :D

lestrade doesn’t want lockie to be himself awww :(

THE KIDNAPPED GIRL SCREAMED AT SHERLOCK NO :(

lestrade to sherlock: “i feel like screaming when you walk in!” ooh noice ;)

the jerk lady said sherlock was ‘unbelievable’ coolio she’s a bit nice! :D

MOIARTY HACKED THE TAXI TV OMG :o

also there are tvs in taxis OMG :o

lestrade called sherlock and john ‘csi baker street’ lol :D

moiarty’s connecting sherlock to sir bostalot hmm... ;)

hmmm....

sherlock: “what was that on the tv?” cabbie: “no charge...” *drives away* OHHHH

OMG SHERLOCK ALMOST GOT HIT BY A DAR

OMFG WAS HE ALMOST SHOT WTF WAS THAT

john to the rescue!!! :D

the guy was shot not lockie coolio

sherlock uses a mac WHYYY :(

sherlock: “dust is eloquent” mrs. hudson in a whisper: “what’s he on about???” lol :D

lockie vlogs! :D

sherlock: “this is a game, lestrade, one i’m not willing to play.” so the game is not on, then?

john: “i know you for real.” sherlock: “100%” awww :)

john: “no one could fake being suck an annoying dick all the time.” OHHHH!!!!! :D

guy: “yer a bloody idiot, lestrade!” and yer a bloody brit aren’t ya?

mrs. hudson said ‘ooh hoo’ just like oaken! :D

OMG fairytale!!!!

lestrade and the lady knocked on the door and mrs. hudson’s like ‘don’t barge in like that!’ :D

OMG THEY’RE ARRESTING LOCKIE

WHY IS THE LADY THINKING LOCKIE DID IT HE DIDN’T!!!!!

awww sherlock and john were arrested together so romantic just girly things ♥

OMG GUN SHOT????

they’re running omg!!!!!

sherlock: “take my hand!” FRICK YES

john: “people will definitely talk!” FRICK YAAAAS!!!!!!!

just two bfs running around in handcuffs ♥

they need to coordinate while getting up the stairs... easy enough for them! ;)

THEY JUMPED IN FRONT OF A VAN JUST CRIMEY THINGS ♥

i thought the van thing was part of the drunk ep in s3 but it’s cool that-

GUN SHOTS????

they let go! :o

OMG IT’S THE CREEPY FAN!!!!

moiarty: “they didn’t have any ground coffee so i just got-” *SUSPENSE CHORD* out of context that’s hilarious :D

moiarty’s richard!!! :o

wait he’s a hired actor the frick???

THE FRICK ARE THEY ACTING??????

just because it’s in print doesn’t mean it’s real...

ok technically moiarty’s an actor BUT THAT BE KNOCKING DOWN THE 4TH WALL

an actor playing a person playing an actor... wild actorception! :o

moiarty: “i’m the storyteller! it’s on dvd...” but is it on blu-ray? ;)

sherlock: “stop it STOP IT NOW!!!!” yoda seagulls...

fan: “i can read you and you... repel... me...” DON’T USE HIS LINE BOI

sherlock: “there’s only one way to complete his game...” is it on? ;)

OMG he’s admitting his feelings to molly AND HE NEEDS HER awwww!!!! :D

the sherlolly fans loved that i bet! :D

john to mycroft: “you and him go out for coffee? you and jim?” sarah z be like ‘YAS!’ :D

OMG WAIT DID MYCROFT WORK WITH MOIARTY????

mycroft tells john to tell moiarty ‘i’m sorry’ and john just gives this ‘please’ wheeze lol :D

julie albright bouncing her basketball against her bedroom wall in ‘meet julie’ (colorized)

oh CRAP

lockie’s fidgeting with the ball awwww :)

OMG MRS. HUDSON WAS SHOT THE FRICK????????

john: “she’s DYING.... you MACHINE!!!!!!” YEAH LOCKIE YOU BISH

john: “friends protect people!” true that!

THE FRICK WHY IS BEE GEEZ PLAYING

this is the music video lol :D

omg are moiarty and lockie gonna have a dance battle like in despicable me 3 lol :D

moiarty: “our final problem... stayin’ aliiiive!!!!!” HE SO PLANNED THAT

there’s about 28 minutes left will the battle take that long?

oh he turned the song off :/

aw man moiarty has to play with the ordinary people :/

MOIARTY SAID ‘atta boyyyy’ TO SHERLOCK WHYYYYYY

ooh sherlock’s doing binary code with his fingers! :D

moiarty: “first one to sherlock is a sissy” oh SHUT UP

moiarty: “there is no key DOOFUS!!!!” WOAH MAN CALM THE FRICK DOWN

“look at ALLLLL THE FRICKS I GIVE SHERLOCK!!!!”

moiarty: “nice you chose a tall building! great way to do it!” sherlock: “do- do- do what?” oh you know what lockie :(

moiarty: “i read it in the paper so it must be true!” no!!!!

john’s here for mrs. hudson!!!! :D

she seems fine tho?

moiarty: “for me? pleeeeeaaaseee?????” OMG THAT ‘PLEASE’ WAS SO HIGH LOLOLOL!!!!!!!

toss him sherlock TOSS HIM!!!!!

moiarty’s little ‘woah woah woah!’ tho :D

aww sherlock has only 3 friends :(

moiarty about sherlock kermiting: “you gotta admit that’s sexier” WUT

NOOOOOOOOO

sherlock’s breath is so shaky :(

he said ‘privacy’ like ‘pri-va-cee’ why

he’s gonna call john!!!!!

awww smile!!!! :D

he knows that this is fake right?

moiarty’s like ‘WHAT?? WHAT DID I MISS????” BOI CALM DOWWwwwwnnnn

sherlock to moiarty: “i am you. prepared to do anything.” save that line for john plz

sherlock is ‘on the side of the angels’ awww :)

moiarty said sherlock’s not ordinary RIGHT HE’S A SPECIAL SUNSHINE ANGEL

moiarty: “you’re meee!!!!!” NOT WHAT I MEANT

they’re holding hands and standing close NOOOOO

HOLY FRICK SHERLOCK JUS SHOT MOIARTY IN THE MOUTH THE FRICK THE FRACK???????

he’s not really dead right or is that just a theory

sherlock’s like ‘oh god what have i done’ SAME WHAT DID YOU DO

it sounds like the thx theme!

oh no

i know it’s not a legitimate kermiting sewerside but DON’T FREAKING DO IT

HE’S CALLING JOHN OH FRICK

HE WANTS JOHN TO SEE HIM FALL THE FRICKKKKK

sherlock: “look up, i’m on the rooftop.” ♫ up on the rooftop, click click click, HERE COMES SAD OL’ KERMIT CLAUS ♫

CRAP

sherlock: “i can’t come down so we’ll have to do it like this.” it was only a kiss :(

an apology????

‘IT’S ALL TRUE’ THE FRICK????

is this just for moiarty’s game?

sherlock sounds like he’s gonna cry NOOOOO :(((((

john: “shut up, shut up, shut up.” SAME WTF ARE YOU SAYING LOCKIE???

sherlock: “no one could be that clever. you could.” OMGGGGG

FIRST WINSTON & JULIA AND NOW SHERLOCK & JOHN WHYYYYY

sherlock sniffled omg :’(

he researched john to impress him OH MY HEART!!!!!

it’s not a trick sherlock is legit amazing!!!!!!!!

sherlock wants john to ‘keep his eyes fixed’ NOOOOOOOO

if sherlock knows this is fake he’s doing a pretty good job at it BUT WHY JUST TO PLEASE MOIARTY OR ESCAPE THE SPOTLIGHT OR WHAT

sherlock: “goodbye john.” NO

NO

NO

OH GOD THERE WAS A CRACK

if sherlock’s alive THEM HOW WAS THERE A CRACK

WAIT JOHN JUST FELL THE FRICK IS GOING ON????

john: “i’m a doctor, he’s my friend!” yes you are AND YES YOU FREAKING ARE

it’s fake he’s not really dead OH HOW I WISH I COULD TELL YOU THAT JOHNNY :(

OMG NO :’(

THE SAD VIOLIN I CAN’T

everything is slow NOOOOO

i can’t believe mofftiss made the fans wait 2 YEARS TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT i know there was ‘many happy returns’ in 2013 BUT HOW DID THE FANS SURVIVE THAT LONG WITH THAT ENDING????

it’s raining now perfect

gun????

therapist: “he didn’t say it. say it now.” john: “sorry, i can’t.” he said ‘i love you’ :(

awww john and mrs. hudson! :’(

omg she’s crying no!!!! :(

john to sherlock’s grave: “you were the best man and the most human i’ve ever known.” awww :’)

john: “one more miracle for me, sherlock. don’t. be. dead.” miricale granted my friend ;)

OMG WHAT HE WAS STANDING THERE THE WHOLE TIME WITH JOHN SUFFERING LIKE THAT THE FRICK?????

that’s the end of s2! that was a much better finale than s1 and it’s definitely the best ep of the series so far. there’s a lot of exciting turns AND WHAT EVEN IS THE ENDING??? you knocked it out of the park mofftiss! i can’t wait to see what s3 has in store besides mary, drunk times and the wedding!

and to quote the blog... ‘#sherlocklives #johnwatsonlives’ ♥

[idio-cies]

Close by Scrubb-2gether

Well, let's continue with this series of analysing Scrubb songs!!!

Close is a really nice song, but what really matters with this song are the places in which it is played; it just expels intimacy in those scenes. I kinda do a little more analysis of the scenes as well in this, I’m sorry, this is one of the best scenes in the show thus far in my opinion!

It's played at Sarawat’s house for the recording in episode 3, and played by Sarawat. It continues in the background when Sarawat takes Tine home. The scene(s) are key to exploiting intimacy in a different way. Sarawat plays Close with the guitar that he is loaning to Tine, in his own home in which no one goes to except his family. Even though it was requested, I believe that Sarawat still knew of the meaning, which is probably why he said no in the first place. This all contributes to the notion of intimacy.

When it is used in the scene where Sarawat took Tine home, the intimacy here is that it's a common courtesy for the one you are courting, to escort home, no matter how capable they are. Sarawat then asks if he were to be flirting, what would he say in that situation, he tries to say goodnight, but is interrupted. There is intimacy there as well, making the audience well aware that he is indeed flirting with Tine for real.

This song is really upbeat and pretty simple. Immediately you can tell that this is about love between two people.

Verse 1:

Closer than any words can be spoken out loud

It’s closer than anyone else can be seen

These two lines are expressing how love is more meaningful and tangible than any word or visibility- basically it is hard to be expressed through words or vision

Take note that in the scene at Sarawat’s of Tine’s expressions. It tells you so much about how much he admires Sarawat when he plays. 

He also listens intently...

First, he’s excited, but he makes himself comfortable- I cannot stress this enough. He does it anyway before Sarawat starts playing, but he makes sure he can see Sarawat play.

When we’re so close that I want to stop breathing

So close that there’s only you and me today

Pretty simple, the world seems to just stop when these two people are close enough/together. It makes me think of when Tine (in book) got too close to Sarawat’s face that it made him stop breathing- he did this in the Ice breaker scene (and fainted) and then when Sarawat kisses him, he forgets to breathe. After Sarawat kisses Tine, it kick starts him into coming to terms about the way he feels about Sarawat. This is the same in their kiss scene in the series, where he just kinda freezes (and later is coming to terms quicker). you see this happening in the series also.

Chorus:

It might be because you happened to meet me

Note the pronouns “you” and “me”- establishes that they are somewhat on the same page. “might” is conditional- narrator also isn’t quite sure yet

I do feel like once again this is Sarawat’s perspective, my reason being is that he is aware. He is the one to express himself through music

When Sarawat is recording in his room, the chorus is where Tine joins in with the lyrics.

It might be because we happened to stay together

They are now tied to the other, no matter how limited Tine might think that is. Now there are collective nouns “we” 

Because you still have never figured out how things are

Too damn right, this is definitely Sarawat’s perspective. Tine and his denseness, though he is coming around ^-^

And I’ve never understood if it must stay like that

About Tine being oblivious to the situation for the time being, and I also think it might be all that time Sarawat spent looking for Tine.

If we didn’t ever speak to each other, today I probably wouldn’t have anyone who understands

It was fate that they met again, properly at least. Sarawat and Tine talk to each other about a lot of things and Sarawat is the one who usually asks him philosophical things, he also initiates the calling on the phone every day and things like that- drawn from both novel and series

I mean the conversation they have about Scrubb music before this is relatively deep, what makes it meaningful is the impact that it has on Sarawat of Tine sharing his thoughts and feelings (*cough cough* Intimacy *cough*). It’s funny; Tine helps Sarawat understand his feelings to the fullest extent without realising.

This expresses that they are two souls roaming that understand the other, they ultimately compliment each other.

That day you never, I never realized how things were

Searching for the answer to “Do you think someone who has never been in love could write a love song?” alongside Tine’s search for understanding why he feels the way he does around Sarawat. 

This song to me also expresses how it can be hard to express love, so finding the answer is difficult when they can be so close to it (the answer)

Why stop ourselves?

They both want to find the answer, reminds me of when Phukong asks Sarawat of it’s scary to change and fall in love, Sarawat’s response being “It’s not too scary” 

This is where Sarawat finishes recording as well btw. They do share a glimpse at each other, but Tine doesn’t take his eyes off of Sarawat.

I can’t express enough how intimate this scene is between Tine and Sarawat. From Tine being comfy, to the slow acoustic and Bright’s lovely voice. The only thing that really ruined the intimacy properly is the background music, but at least it was soft violins (which is meant to play on it being intimate and special in the first place), it’s just more raw without it. The lighting is warm, the setting is technically intimate taking place in Sarawat’s space. It’s just perfect and shows you that intimacy can be shown in a different aspect; not one where it’s potentially hot and steamy.

What is funny is Tine’s smile afterwards and the “That was... nice” comment kinda like saying “Did we just bond?” and they did! They totally did, but Sarawat wasn’t necessarily picking up on that because he’s still figuring out Tine at this point.

More or less a repeat of Verse 1 and chorus

As it carries on into the next scene and it repeats, I just want to explain the intimacy here as well. Firstly, Sarawat takes/walks Tine home which is a symbol of courtship, and as I have already expressed about the intimacy of a home (obvs not quite there yet with Tine’s until ep.5) but this is also where Sarawat is vulnerable; by asking questions on how to flirt. Tine reassures him, but they act more friendly towards each other. 

Also note how vulnerable this shot is, the previous one sec. shot of this that I can’t get a good shot of (sorry Bright) also shows how much vulnerability was on Sarawat’s face. This shot looks down over Sarawat, where it infers an inferiority, with Tine being out of focus, but still in the frame and Bright’s/Sarawat’s expressions 👌 This is the scene where it declares outright to the audience that yes, indeed Sarawat has feelings for Tine.

Last verse:

The path we walk on has two forks; we might have to break up

So there is a split in the road, the “break up” might mean that it will be a shift, this is pretty self explanatory that there is either a problem that they face, or something that comes in the way of potentially separating the pair- being pessimistic or optimistic. It could also be where they are situated in their path of this relationship; for instance Sarawat being fully aware and confident, whereas Tine not so much. I think this is also a perfect reflection of the scene that I just talked about as well. 

Whichever path we take, will you stay or go?

I interpret this to be “Will you stay by my side?” It is also about the step in the relationship.

Will we continue to walk together?

Continuation of “will you stay by my side?” 

For who?

Who are we stopping ourselves for?

This tells us that what was it that kept them back from love/loving each other in the first place and that if they have the other, they can probably overcome it. 

These questions at the end are vague as to whether the narrator has doubts and is asking themselves internally about the person of interest, or is asking said person why are they stopping. 

Close as a word on it’s own can be interpreted in so many way, considering it has a double meaning that mean polar opposite things. “Close” as in the closing of a chapter, a door etc, or it could be “Close” by a physical means or a metaphorical means. I do think the latter is the most inclined, but because of the ending and the ambiguity, it can also have elements of the former 

I do feel that the whole song, other than being close to the answer, is also about being on the brink of taking that plunge to properly figure it out.

Please discuss, add and share thoughts and feelings ^-^

Others:

Together | The Answer

[ithinkthingsaboutstuff]

The Grace of motherhood (TUA)

I wanted to do a character deep dive of my new favourite robot Mother

Grace Hargreeves, i just love that a small character like this got so much detail and crafting put into them when it was not necessarily needed.

were to start, lets start with how she looks,

the style of her look and how the change in her wardrobe showed her development. I will be looking at this in the timeline of the show not necessarily ep by ep.

The style and what it says about her.

very 1950′s no surprise but lets look at it deeper, when grace is created (by Hargreeves) she is shown wearing (i can’t find a pic of it anywhere) in the opening of  1x09 ‘Changes’

in something not dissimilar to this

the look is a long skit (dark brown) and a shirt with long sleeves (white with dark striped) and hair up in a very tight bun, like so

now theses are NOT graces clothes this is the uniform that the other nanny's where wearing as well. so this means grace did not chose to look like this, also in this scene we see her look over to Hargreeves and Pogo for approval she smile’s at a job well done and they nod to her. (i will come back to this)

so when Grace is first introduced (shows timeline not ep order) 

she is Hargreeves perfect uniform robot nanny that dose what she’s told with a smile.

the next time we see her in ‘I heard a rumour ’ (again show’s timeline) she’s wearing this

this Scene is also when Vanya is getting Rumoured, so Grace gives Vanya her Favourite food (grilled cheese) and her “medicine”.

in this short moment and change of wardrobe we can concluded that

1-  she now cares about what the kids want to a point , because there is no way Hargreeves told her to bring Vanya’s Favourite food, (even if he did tell her to bring food) 

2- she was more control over her self with being able to pick her own clothes, they have colour (not a lot or bright but more than before) and her hair is a little lower but still heavy made up. 

3- the kids (Vanya specially) trust her enough to take something from her and believe her without questions or a fight (Vanya takes her medicine quietly, because Vanya can still toss Grace out the room at this point)  

so grace is gaining a little more self identity but still very much live under Hargreeves thumb, because she dose not question or bring up what she was told to do and is still doing what she dose for Hargreeves and what he wants (get rid of Vanya’s powers)

Now here’s where it gets interesting her next bunch of appearances go roughly in this order, (I am guessing the order but from what I've talked about the first two do seem to line up this way, but the last two are certain and canon)

This dress is a step away from what we’ve see up until this point, it’s still a darker colour (silver,even if glittery) like a metallic and the ribbons and other fetchers are very streamline, makes it look almost robotic (see what i did there)  she is also wearing shorter selves and a wider skirt the look she favours  

so this looks like her first step towards what she wants to look like, also note that 

1-she also talking to Vanya directly this time, Hargreeves is not even in the room, so she doesn't have to say anything to Vanya if she didn’t want to

2-Vanya went to Grace’s ‘room’ or area to show her the violin

3- Grace encourages her ‘that wonderful Vanya’ or something to that effect 

4- and the line that kills me every time i hear it “i’m going to be extraordinary” is Vanya speaking to Grace 

(BTW this is a part of a wonderful gif set by  tuagifs link on gif)

Classic grace or most common outfit she has,

the look itself is light and colourful but still has black spots (apt metaphor if ever i’d seen one) now I’m sure this one comes second here because this is when grace starts to have more, awareness of Hargreeves BS towards the children and her feeling about it 

1- “the kids wanted to say good night” she is now going out of her way to do what the kids want even if it means interrupting Hargreeves

2- she dose not know how to handle his response or lack there of, 

3- leaves with the kids as apposed to staying with Hargreeves and she dose not turn back to him when she leaves

this is were the shift starts in Grace’s personality, she is no longer looking for Hargreeves approval and has shifted her focus to the kids  

The day five goes missing, this how see looks when he runs out the door (damn,buffering much)

she say nothing in this scene, but if we are looking just at the outfit here, it’s the most bright and colourful in the show and she wears it later. so i will talk more about them, note that the hair is still in the middle length and made up to perfection and she is behind Hargreaves (a few feet at that).    

Grace doing her rounds, here is when she is fully there mother, putting out fires everywhere for her kids (literal in Klaus case). her clothes are more simple but not as conforming as they once were, so they are for mobility and movement and not a uniform (ironic since the kids are putting on there’s)

now she is with her kids 100% here and the scene ends with her being proud of Diego and Hargreeves walking in unapproving, we did not see the conversation  that follows but we do see adult Diego’s reaction to it,

mournful maybe, but he did say she was treated worst then anyone, so this may have been an off screen example of that. who knows?

ok time skip to the present

I will skip the Luther surgery, for the sake of time, and lack of pic, but i will note that this is when grace official didn’t have any of her children with her anymore.

at the funeral  

not much to say about this one, sorry.

but i will say that, when she is looking at the painting this dress is similar colour to the one in the painting, since Grace is projecting herself onto this painting in that ‘she’s lonely’ also now that Hargreeves is gone and he took her mind with him, she is at her darkest.

also note that 

1-Hargreeves messed with her mind he didn’t just get Pogo to turn her on then off again 

2-Hargreeves set her up to take the blame for his death, thus being the murder mystery to get them all working together Pogo was talking about.

3- that was when Hargreeves saw Grace as reaching her usefulness, the kids where grown, he was going to kill himself and Pogo never needed her. so the only thing left for her was to reunite the kids to save the world, by making her his murderer 

We go back to classic look Grace until after her death 

after she’s is back, in 1x06 ‘the day that wasn’t’

she is moving around and back in classic Grace clothes but this time she has her hair down and she is moving freely, Diego talks to her about what she remembers and  Pogo appears out of a bookcase to instruct her not to say anything, now what dose Grace do she  takes Diego out of the grounds to tell Diego the truth,

this was it 

true independence her first real act of which we saw anyway. Hargreeves is dead and Mama’s going to do what ever the fuck she want’s

now this didn’t happen in the main plot line but this independence remained not in obvious way but still there.

this is show though her hair being down and her clothes being lighter and her make up being lighter neural colouring as well 

compare the pair

before 

after 

1- same outfit, years apart

2-  what she doing is the same serving food who she is with is different

3-  why she’s there is different to she is doing what Hargreeves told her to do vs getting Diego food because she wants to cheer him up

4- she is close to Diego puts her hand on his shoulder vs being a few steps away from Hargreeves 

this right here in two frames you can see a whole characters transformation form one mans automaton to a loving mother,done without even a complete change of wardrobe 

damn.

and that’s one aspect of Grace 

we also know she 

1- named the kid’s

2-she took care of all there injuries(so she was most likely the one who wired Klaus mouth shut)

3- did not even try to stop Diego from turning her off in fact she was encouraging him with is specking, mush mind or not that was her priority 

4- put smiley faces on her food, Hargreeves would not have told her to do this

Now this all leads me to my final point about Grace and honestly what i find the most interesting about her. Her whole housewife identity, more specificity when it comes to motherhood. what do i mean, 

we have all hear this narrative before of a women trapped in a marriage with a man she doesn't love, stuck in a house to do nothing but cook, clean and care for the kids.

this story is one that has been explored in shows like Mad Men (i have not seen a lot of mad men just a disclaimer)

Betty Draper for example

these character’s usually look at how the superficial can shape and destroy a life. and how in order to find anything real you have to broaden your horizon’s by going out into the world and opening your mind and therefor being more than a mother and a housewife, and you’ll be free of your superficial life. (and yes i know it dose not go this way for Betty but this was the overall idea of the arc)

this is a strong narrative don't get me wrong and it should be shown

but what i find interesting but Grace is that, yes she is basically trapped in just about every single way but her freedom dose not come from the outside world rather it comes form her.

she becomes a mother.

that’s where her freedom comes form.

every step she makes towards person-hood is form her decision to be a mother. she care’s for these children because that’s what she was made to do and she owns that, to the point that as i have already said she turns against her creators wishes in ‘the day that wasn’t’.

she gets her strength for being a mother it’s her identity and she love’s it because she is no longer a thing, a robot or vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet 

she’s someone’s mother.

but when her kid’s are gone she dose get lonely she said so herself in so many words (about painting)

but she’s there for them and they love her and that’s the one thing that Hargreeves never expected, when he set up his little plan to get them back together and take Grace down as his murderer. he never thought for a moment that the Kid’s would try and protect Grace (see my post about Diego’s Day) and that lead to his plan failing (also he’s an ass-hole)

so by embracing motherhood Grace able to turn her prison into her freedom and her programming into her life and she did it all without taking a step outside.

so when Grace answer Diego’s question of why she did what she did all theses years with

“because being your mother is the greatest gift of my life”

she meant it, boy oh boy did she mean it

[biansella]

This December, Bergen County natives The Front Bottoms will be throwing their annual ‘Champagne Jam’ in Asbury Park’s historic Convention Hall for the fifth year in a row after a successful co-headlining tour with beloved indie band Manchester Orchestra. The Front Bottoms are a band that just won’t stop from their humble D.I.Y. beginning on Bar/None Records to their cult-icon status on Fueled By Ramen. Their last major release was the Ann EP, the second in their grandmother series, which sparked a tour where they would play both the EP and Going Greyfront-to-back.

 This tour, they’re taking things even looser with an entire bar setup on stage and more crowd interaction than thought possible for a band that signed to a major label. I got the chance to catch up with lead singer Brian Sella and talk about new beginnings, the artistic process and what home means to him.

How are you liking tour so far?

 So far, so good, you know? All the shows so far have been pretty fantastic, so it’s been a nice feeling…To be able to come out here and, you know, play the music, and it’s like, “Oh, wow, people are rockin’, rollin’ and having a good time.” So, it’s really incredible.

You guys are originally from New Jersey. I am too, so I know it must be nice to get away from it for a bit, right?

 [Laughs] Yeah you know it. Jersey is a nice place to come home to. A nice place to leave, a nice place to come home to.

Lots of great bands and musicians are from New Jersey, like Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, My Chemical Romance and The Misfits. What do you think it is about New Jersey that inspires great art?

 Well, really, I’m not sure. I think it’s probably the tone or the atmosphere of it all. It’s just kind of, like, you could live close to Manhattan, but you don’t live in the city. You live close to Philadelphia, but you’re not from Pennsylvania. You could go to the beach, it’s on the coastline. You could also shoot up to Boston. I think the fact that there’s access to so many different styles makes its own style. I think that’s kind of why so many people from Jersey end up being total freakin’ nutjobs. [Laughs] Just kidding.

Your music seems to be heading towards a more polished, pop sound with each release. Was this the goal of your art from the beginning, but you now have the skills and label power to complete it?

 I think the goal from the beginning was to just play shows. My life for the past eight to 10 years has been going on tour and playing shows every single day for months at a time, going to a different city and playing in front of different people. And the recording process for me? That lasts, like, two weeks. That’s such a quick blip in terms of the artistic experience. So I would never say that that was a goal to make the recording sounds the way that they sound. It was just part of the discovery of the art. I was just trying my best, and when all of a sudden you’re in a room with amazing equipment, and your friends are there and all the time it’s like, “Let’s try to make this sound a little bit better.”

 But really the process for me is just one of discovery. It’s not like a projected path, I’m not thinking, “Oh, when I was playing a basement in New Jersey,” or “Oh, I wish this sounded like a Katy Perry song.” Each day happens and it unfolds and you roll with the punches. I think the most important thing is hindsight and looking back and saying, “Okay, that happened. So what did I like? What don’t I like? What do I want to change?” And really every single step and every single part of the process is you just figuring it out.

 So, I don’t know the next album in terms of the discovery of myself through the art. It might be a country album or a D.I.Y.-sorta basement style recording. I can just kind of discover [myself] through the music and everybody can listen to it.

 To answer your question, it definitely wasn’t a plan to have things turn out this way. I feel like that’s why things happened so positively; because it was never a plan. Everything was awesome and any little experience or accomplishment was the biggest thing that had ever happened to us, even if it was just a tiny, little thing. We just kinda roll with the punches all the way through. I think it would be unfair to give myself the credit of saying this was all a plan.

You kind of built your way up from the bottom — you played D.I.Y. shows and you and the audience were on a peer level where you could have a beer with all eight members of your early shows. Now, you’re selling out large venues and people are tattooing your face on their body. How does it feel like to have gained a cult following?

 [Laughs] It’s strange, it’s a strange world. I think that’s part of the whole thing that we were saying — there was no plan, you kinda let the audience decide the plan. That’s why I always take requests on stage, because I’m not up here for myself, I’m not up here for my plan. This is whatever people want.

 Like, back in the day, when there would be 10 people at the show, I could drink a beer with every single one of these people and a lot of these people got my face tattooed on them. It’s crazy, it’s a weird experience. I’m still so fucking lucky and I just try and stay naive about the whole thing and just excited about every little step.

I think that’s the best way to do it.

 I think so. You can’t plan anything, really, and it’s a bummer, but sometimes it works out. In this particular situation it worked out. It was years of time that I think people would consider it not working out. The six or seven years of time where there was only 10 people coming to the shows. And my family was like, “Okay, what are you doing? You’re still living in the van with Mat…” But for me, I was so happy and so pumped, this was amazing.

 So, I think that naiveté of it all was very important. If I had listened to anybody else talk, I wouldn’t be where I am now. You gotta stay positive and do what you want to do. I know it’s hard to be like, “Oh, just stay positive and everything will work out,” but really that’s kinda what happened. Me and Mat just stayed positive and remembered that we were having fun, and how lucky we were to not have to go work at a landscaping job or at a grocery store or something like that. That was the best feeling in the fucking world. You know, like with your writing it’s the same thing, you write articles and people read them. That’s a form of art. That’s incredible.

Thanks. Yeah, it’s nice for people to see what you produce.

 Exactly! One time this girl was like, “I want to go around the country and read my poetry to people.” And in a very negative way I was like, “That doesn’t exist, that’s not a real thing.” And she said, “That’s what you do.” And it really hit me like, “Oh my gosh, that is what I do.” And it was like this crazy awakening of, yeah, I shouldn’t be telling people, “That doesn’t exist, that doesn’t happen,” because that’s what everybody was saying to me when I was trying to “read my poetry” around the country.

Now that you’ve been signed to Fueled By Ramen, you guys have been able to add more touring members and build a more elaborate stage setup. You, Mat and Tom are familiar faces on tour, but Jennifer, Roshan and Eric are now a part of the ensemble. What made you choose them?

 Basically, Mat. First of all, the people in the band: Roshan, Eric and Jen, are unbelievable musicians. They’re fantastic. They are actual musicians. They are the reason it sounds incredible on stage.

Oh, I agree, it sounds great.

 Thank you very much, that means a lot. It’s an experiment, like I was sayin’, we’re trying to figure it out. It’s all over the place, everyone has their style and we’re just trying to put on a good performance.

 But basically, Rosh[an] is in a bunch of bands, he played keyboard in a band Mat was good friends with. Mat’s girlfriend was somehow involved. I met Ro[shan] at a bar one night, he was playing bass, and he had come highly recommended from Mat. And then Jen was in a band called River City Extension that we have quite a history with. We’ve known those guys a really long time, and I really wanted a violin player, I thought that would add a lot. And then Eric, we met at the studio. He was a studio rat, just always there, and I was making demos and stuff with him and it turns out he’s really incredible at bass. So we had him play bass and moved Tom over to electric guitar. And he loves to play electric guitar, so he was all about that.

 And that’s always how it all comes together. Same with how I met Tom. I met Tom through [former guitarist] Ciaran, eight years ago. He just showed up at my house and Ciaran was like, “This guy plays bass, he’s amazing,” and we heard him play bass and we told him, “Dude, you should be in the band!”. That’s always the way that it’s been. We always try to keep it loosey goosey like that.

Sounds like a good deal. By the way, ‘Champagne Jam’ is taking place where you live: Asbury Park, one of many coastal New Jersey beach towns [like where I’m from]. In your latest single “End of Summer,” and also “Vacation Town” off of Going Grey, you capture the melancholy that comes with the passing of another season. Was that inspired by Asbury [Park]?

 Absolutely inspired by Asbury Park. My girlfriend and I, we’re living there right now, so it’s definitely full circle. I wrote a lot of those songs when I was living there. That vibe of the summer time going into the winter time, it is definitely an energy that inspired those songs, absolutely.

Do you feel like that sort of parallels your life? Like you’re entering a new season, or new chapter?

 Everything is very personal with my art, even if it’s about somebody else. I’m always drawing from my little perspective in there, especially as a songwriter, I gotta do that. I do feel like maybe it is a new chapter. Like I was saying, I’ve been on tour for fuckin’ nine years. Not consistently, but I’ve been hustling for nine years and it’s been a fucking grind for sure. And we have this tour, we do the ‘Champagne Jam’ and then in the new year we’re planning to just write a lot. I’m going to try to write as much as I can.

 So I do think that it’s kind of like a chapter sort of ending and also sort of starting again. You need that refresher for art. You need to go get new inspiration. That’s where I’m at. I’m taking it year-to-year in Asbury, and you know, I like it. You’re always looking for the next thing and this is the first time in my life that I’m like, “Okay, I guess I can just chill”.

[twilightofthe]

Chapter Six liveblog of The Mandalorian!  Let’s go!!!

Wait this wasn’t from last ep I guess no flashback this time?

Hmm some sorta space station

SIR YOU ABANDONED YOUR CHILD AGAIN

Huh, Mando Man has friends?  Surprising

Nice old hobo man

I’m seriously worried about Baby Yoda being left on the Razor Crest alone

Oh good Mando Man’s getting some money 

Lol but let’s be real he probs won’t get the money

Ahaha as a member of a Star Wars RPG group with the explicit plot of “five random yahoos for hire clumped together to do some kind of infiltration job”, lemme just say that this won’t end well at all

Oh nevermind not nice old hobo man :(

Hmm so hired man number one.  Mayfield?  Does he have a personality?

Gah Mando Man’s voice is so friggin attractive hlep

Hmmm sharpshooter?  Wanna bet Mando Man’s still better than him?

Wait shite those guys are gonna have to share a ship with Baby Yoda that’s not allowed at ALL

Obligatory Canto Bight mention to try and tie it into the larger Star Wars universe xD

Hello Burg, lemme guess, you’re big and scary

Oh that’s Clancy Brown, I’d know that voice, cooooool!

Zero looks like a bug

Xi’an-- oh wonderful, a Harley Quinn knockoff

No, no, I’ll give her a chance

Hmm putting a new beat over the title sequence

Not sure how I feel about that

“The Prisoner” wait who’s this prisoner taken by anyway?  New Republic?

Ey Zero stay out of Mando Man’s stuff

Yepppp New Republic

Everyone needs to leave Mando Man alone :(

Mayfield’s voice and face seem familiar

I reeeeeally don’t trust these ppl on a ship with the baby

I’m worried Xi’an might fuckin’ try to eat him or something

I do like that they gave a Twi’lek woman visible fangs tho

STOOOOOOP TOUCHING HIS STUFF

“Why are they all dead?” Well the Jedi were the greatest warriors in the galaxy too and they died sooooo, guess it’s just bad luck???

If this guy tries to take off the helmet imma fight him

DO NOT TOUCH THE BABY

BABY BETTER BITE THEM

BITE HIM BITE HIM BITE HIM

HE IS STILL TOUCHING THE BABY PLEASE REMOVE YOUR GRUBBY MITTS 

SON OF A BITCH YOU DROPPED HIM I WILL MURDER YOU

Idk why those ppl are all so surprised about the Crest, the Falcon’s just as junky, ships last a while

Ok I do like Xi’an’s theme violin

This prison type is new, cool looking doors

I appreciate all the Lucas-era species

Mouse droid!

Awww he shot it!

Aaaaand they’re caught

Hell yea Mando Man show em how it’s done

That’s hot

Assholes could be helping him rn

Poor Mando Man you deserve So Much Better

“It seems your presence has been detected” OH GEE I WONDER WHY, IT WASN’T LIKE YOU ALL MADE A BUNCH OF NOISE OR ANYTHING

And Tumblr spoilers have confirmed for me that Helmet Dude is Matt Lanter!  Hello!!!!  Always a pleasure!!!!!!!!!!

Actually ya know what this show is really rude about putting helmets and ugly hats over really cute guys, I’m offended xD

“Egghead” ok lol he’s got a point

Awwww Mando Man’s tryna be nice :(

Aaaaand there goes Xi’an, “Crazy Twi” indeed

Awww, goodbye Matt, see ya in TCW this February!

How the hell are these guys still more competent than my RPG group

Ohhhh total betrayal, of fucking course

And he still doesn’t get paid!!!!!

Those bastards are gonna try and take off with the ship and Baby Yoda

Baby Yoda better pull some sorta Home Alone type shit on them

Oh hell yea did Mando Man kill the lights?

YES HE DID HELL YEA

HE GONNA KICK THEIR BUTTS IN DRAMA LIGHTING

AND THERE’S BABY YODA, GET HIM BABY GET HIM

HE WAS GONNA SHOOT THE BABY KILL HIM DEAD

What did all these other mercs even get promised for locking Mando Man up?  I doubt Xi’an has that much cash on her

So Ran wanted Mando Man dead????  Why???????

Aight Oin’s crazy act isn’t any more charming than Xi’an’s is

C’mon Baby get the droid get him

Ya know what, I wanna see MANDO MAN play Home Alone with these guys

Oh boom strangling, Saw works too

Oh wow this guy does not squish

Aaaaand Xi’an’s probs gonna kill other dude by mistake

Wait nope Mando Man drops doors on him instead haha

Smart baby hiding, I love him

Aaaand now Mando Man has Xi’an too?

Oof ouch this flashing light business is not seizure-friendly

Boom Mando Man sneak!!!!

Hell yea they got what they deserved

Wait, so Ran wasn’t in on killing Mando?

OOOF BABY YODA’S GONNA FUCK YOU UP DUDE

BABY YODA FUCKED YOU UP BIG TIME LOOK AT THAT EX

Oh nvm, that was just protective daddy xD

Guess he took care of Oin too, is what he deserves

Wait nope nvm I forgot Mando Man is nicer than I am lol

Omg he actually gets some credits to feed his son praise

They’re still gonna report him to the Guild tho aren’t they

Or Ran’s pilots will for some reason?  Why does literally everyone want him dead

HAHAHA MANDO MAN SICCED THE NEW REPUBLIC ON THEM!

And here come the three pilots who Tumblr spoilers have also told me are the three directors!  

Hi Dave Filoni aka TRAPPER WOLF David you gotdang nerd with an aesthetic I love you

Aaaaand Mando Man and Baby are out of there!!!

AND HE’S GIVING BABY HIS TOY

AND COMMUNICATING WITH HIS SON I LOVE THEM BOTH SO MUCH

Good now you shiny beautiful man go get your son some food

And Mando Man didn’t even kill them!  Aight he has to know this’ll just mean more future enemies right???

Oh so Faveau didn’t write this one

Aight so imma agree with what others have said, this ep is probs the weakest of all of them so far.  The merc squad was just kinda annoying and none of their characters were easy to appreciate.  I liked the familiar faces brought back in tho and I still am a sucker for Baby Yoda because I’m easy like that.  Also loving Mando Man’s competence, that’s just highkey hot to see.  Overall, still really pumped for the last two episodes and kinda really scared about how Season One’s gonna end!!!! o_O

[you-turn-it-into-light]

Wakana - magic moment (2020) Album Review

My girl releases another album less than a year after her first. What a hardworking woman! First, let’s do some overall thoughts:

I really love the title of this album, it’s a happy title for a mostly happy sounding album

I also love the cover, maybe even more than the ‘Wakana’ Album

Are those shoes the same ones from the Aki no Sakura EP?

I really love the diversity of sound in this album. One of my complaints of the first album was the lack of variety. I love me some ballads (70% of my playlist of all the music I listen to are sad songs) but it felt a bit stale after a while.

My complaints with Wakana’s singing is always going to be the same thing since her vocal delivery has not really changed technically that much. Her vibrato is actually quite nice as opposed to what some people would say as ‘Goat Wakana’ (great criticism I must say), especially at the end of 442, her lower register is gorgeous but has no support (as expected of a soprano) and her higher notes in her chest voice are quite nasally. Her falsetto however is quite grating on the ears (I’ll elaborate later)

Why is Orange on the album? To fill up space, that’s why (I get it, making an album is hard, but why not just leave it out? There’d still be 10 songs) And Wakana wrote the lyrics, I guess?

I’m really interested to see how some songs will be performed live with some overlapping vocals (in 442) and strings being in many of the songs (without a violinist for the upcoming live)

I listened to the album first when I was in a bit of a bad mood so everything seemed super average. I’m feeling a bit better about most of the songs. Also after reading the self-liner notes for the album and listening to the lyrics, I was able to appreciate some of the songs more.

Okay, now for the individual songs:

breathing 

(Lyrics: Wakana | Arrangement/Composition: Yumemi Kujira)

The orchestra sound is so gorgeous. At first it was weird hearing the japanese lyrics though lol. I like how they added different instruments for variety’s sake. The choir in the background was more hit or miss for me. During the first chorus is was really distracting but it was great for the rest of the song. My main problem is not the song itself but Wakana’s delivery of the falsetto; it’s very disconnected and screechy. It’s very hard to listen to and since the same chorus is repeated 4 times? It makes it a bit of a hard song to listen to overall. Wakana needs to develop better placement, breathing techniques and support when hitting notes in her head voice.

揺れる春 (Yureru Haru) 

Lyrics: Wakana |  Arrangement/Composition: Miki Sakurai

I don’t really like this song? The lyrics are quite nice, but it just feels like a plain upbeat song about being happy and reaching for goals and all that fun generic stuff. But what Wakana said in the self liner notes made me feel a bit better about the song:

“The hook’s 駆け出した (run off) and 君の叫び (your scream) are connected, right?”

“The urge to run off and shout. It’s exhilarating, and the canvas that you have now is white so you can draw freely and go with the urge. And the second verse’s 睫毛に触れたのは 昨日の自分の欠片 (What touched my eyelashes was the pieces of yesterday’s me) are about tears. The tears hit my eyelashes and one part stops there. The fragments that came out of itself include those that you pick up yourself (I had a hard time translating that sentence so I used google translate hehe). 

where 

Lyrics/Composition: AlbatoLuce | Arrangement: Akihito Takashi

I LOVE Wakana’s low register in this song and the verses. I also really like the acoustic guitar, it provides a really contrast to the more dance-centric feeling of the song. The first chorus still lacks the appropriate punch, but the key change for the second half of the song makes up for it. Also those ‘wooah’s’ are really awesome. Wakana’s voice during the 3rd verse (after the key change) is just gorgeous. 

442 

Lyrics: Wakana, Airi Okamoto | Arrangement/Composition: Koichi Ikekubo

I really wanted to know the meaning of the title, and apparently it’s the hertz sound of a baby crying for the first time!

“The lyrics are co-authored. First we talked about the subject (of the lyrics), we said “When we plan the song, let’s make the theme the reason why you started singing”. So when looking at the lyrics given to me, words came out from inside of me. In particular, the phrase 愛の声が聴こえた (I heard the voice of love) that Okamoto-san produced for us for the hook. [...] I thought that I was born to listen to the “voice of love”. And so, that singing voice is echoing throughout my whole body. It’s strange to cry with the same sound of when we were born. I wonder why? I thought about it, I was born to do something and I thought that your first cry was a singing voice that expressed it.”

I love the melody and instrumentation of this song, especially the chorus. The chorus holds an incredible amount of weight. Apart from her nasality, Wakana’s singing is quite solid throughout this song. I love Wakana’s ‘ai no’ at the last chorus. So much power! I also really like the violin and am disappointed that there won’t be any in the live... Also I love the last line 響き渡る歌声 (resounding singing voice) and the music stops when Wakana sings ‘singing voice’. I don’t have anything objective to say about it, I just adore that part.

ひらり ひらり (Hirari Hirari) 

Lyrics/Composition: Silence! | Arrangement: Mamoru Kuge

Bland... It might take me a few listens but I don’t know if I’ll like this song. Wakana’s singing during the verses is gorgeous, very clear and the melody of the verses and pre-choruses are lovely, but the chorus is really bland and forgettable. I like what Wakana said about the song though.

“It's a song for people who want to meet but can't meet, whether it’s because you can't meet because you're away or because you don't have the courage.”   

I’m in a long-distance relationship, so this song hits home a little bit. The lyrics are actually quite sad. If the whole song was like the verses I’d like it a lot more but the chorus is so uplifting...

アキノサクラ (Aki no Sakura) (Acoustic ver.)

Lyrics: Kei Saito, Yoshitaka Taira | Composition: Kei Saito | Arrangement: Toshio Uchida

I love the combo of bongos and accordion! There isn’t much to say about this song apart from the new instrumentation and the tempo. I really like the former but not really the latter. I don’t think I like it more than the original, but it’s a very nice song. The vocalisations during the bridge is also a pretty touch, especially when Wakana sings along with the music. and that ‘naite’ at the end was so emotional

myself

Lyrics/Composition: AlbatoLuce | Arrangement: Yoshifumi Ise

When I first heard this song, I thought it was BORING. On the second listen, I really liked it. Wakana’s voice is so gorgeous on this song. I love the melody of the line 壊れぬように抱きしめてた (I embraced it so it wouldn’t break). Her vibrato is a bit shaky with the delivery and her low register is not as clear as other tracks (but maybe that’s because of the mixing). Some of the strings sound synth, especially during the bridge but I’m not very sure. The parts with just the one violin instead of the quartet are my favourite bits of the instrumentation; it sounds really lonely. There’s nothing much else to say about it, a very solid song.

君だけのステージ

Lyrics: Wakana | Composition/Arrangement: Satoshi Takebe

I was disappointed. I really like this song and in my review of the live version I mentioned that her high register suits a song like this. But the way Wakana’s singing in the recorded version sounds different to me. The vowels are shaped in a way that sounds like a sadder song. Maybe this me being picky, but it took away from the happier experience. The nasality in her voice is the worst in this song, it literally sounds like she needs to sneeze and drink some water. Also the added noises (synth bells?) during the pre-chorus is very distracting. My review sounds very negative, but I really like this song and the lyrics are gorgeous. 

Happy Hello Day

Lyrics: Wakana | Composer: Akihiro Kasuga | Arrangement: Shu Kanematsu

At this point, the strings are really nice, even if they’re getting a bit old. But the piano during the verses is very cool... I really like the strings in the chorus and the melody of it too. The message of the song is quite sweet and easily applicable to anyone in every day life. These lyrics in particular:

手を叩き軽やかに Clap your hands lightly, 口笛吹いて whistling. ありふれた幸せで僕らはできてる We are made of ordinary happiness.

君が空を仰いで涙流し You look up at the sky, shedding tears. 息を詰まらせて動けなくなったら If you get short of breath and can't move, 此処に僕が居る I'm here.

These lyrics (for like the first 2 lines) are about a performer and the audience. Creating the atmosphere of a happy and chill live (clapping lightly, still listening to the music) and everyone being the same, even the performer. The second section reflects the way some people view performers and music to be an escape from their life. But it can also be interpreted as just an everyday person being happy to have met someone they like. I love how it’s so interchangeable and up for interpretation. 

magic moment

Lyrics: Wakana | Composer: SIRA | Arrangement: Shu Kanematsu

The strings are gorgeous (why no strings for the live????!!!!) and so are the verses. I particularly love the pre-chorus. The chorus however is quite bland and boring and the changing rhythm is a bit hard to grasp. The lyrics are lovely as well. I mean, I’m biased because Wakana wrote them. But I love these ones:

いつから夢も見ない大人になったの？ Since when did I become an adult that never dreamed? 最後の場所は決めたよ　さあ行こう I've decided on the last place. So, let's go!

The song is actually quite growing on me. I’m sure I’ll keep liking it but the chorus is still weighing it down. 

OVERALL:

I really like this album. An unimpressive first impression followed by a very nice second and third one. I’m impressed with the amount of variety in the songs and her singing is mostly solid. I just wish she would improve on different places and I’ll probably keep complaining about them. I think Wakana is liking the independence when it comes to helping the creation of these songs and I’m very happy for me. 

[interesting-blog-name]

SLIGHTLY NEW ALBUMS I LIKED (Little Simz - GREY Area; Monsune - Tradition; Backxwash - God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It)

More loose reviews that I write and instantly want to get out of my Word document and into Tumblr without much of an overlaying theme between the albums or any planning as to which ones I’ll be releasing at which point, but it is what it is. This time I’ll be compiling some recent-ish albums I’ve enjoyed, two of which I’ve come to know from TheNeedleDrop (I try not to watch reviews before writing down my opinion btw), and one EP from an artist I like. Here it is.

Little Simz – GREY Area

Little Simz, the 26-year-old British rapper, is an artist I’ve loved the first time I heard her, when I listened to Selfish for the first time and saw her cover of Feel Good Inc. in triple-j’s Like A Version. Today, May 30th, I was planning on listening to White Chalk by PJ Harvey, but from what I read, it’s a pretty depressing album, and I’m not in the mood for that right now, so I picked GREY Area from my future listening list.

It’s really nice to hear a rap album like this once in a while. The instrumentation is organic and well thought out, her flow is amazing, and her lyrics have so much substance and personality to them, ranging from the happier, more reminiscent tone in 101 FM to the much more aggressive tracks Offence, Boss, Venom and Pressure, she’s always giving her take on life, telling the experience of what it’s like being a black person with big dreams in England, seeing friends die while she tries to go somewhere in life through music.

The main tone she picks for her self-narrative is an unapologetic view of the world around her; she tells the listener: “’til now I ain’t ever been the selfish type, ‘till now I ain’t ever told nobody no, don’t get it twisted. This shit ain’t happen overnight” in the biggest song off here, Selfish, featuring the most calming and lavish pianos and violins in this album, and an amazing feature by Cleo Sol on the hook. Pressure features an amazing batch of verses all about. Same thing with the intro, Offence, with its bold, empowering chorus; although the track comes off more playful with its cartoonish sound effects nearing the end than the raw message of the track mentioned previously. A great, high-spirited track to start off the album.

What isn’t as high-spirited is the next track, Boss, or, to be fair, almost all the other tracks in the album. Boss is a big fuck you to anyone you might dedicate the song to: the hook has Simz’s most aggressive delivery in the whole record, and the entire message is about getting over those who hurt you and coming up.  The second verse is something else.

Wounds, featuring Jamaican singer Chronixx, deals mostly with the gun/crime problem ever-so-present in marginalized communities all around the world, and she tells the story from the perspective of both herself and as a companion of the “gun man”, repeatedly mentioned in the song (“When a gun man only knows self-hate, them bullets show no love”). I’m not super crazy for Chronixx’s hook, or the much slower tempo of the track, but it fits well with the groovy instrumental. Venom, on the other hand, is a super exciting, menacing song. She goes all out over the violins playing in the background, but unfortunately, the track burns twice as bright to last half as long.

To lighten the mood a bit, 101 FM brings the most electronic instrumental, with cheerful, banging 808s and synths, and lyrics about her come up as a rapper, probably the verses where her British accent and slang dominate the most, giving them a more personal feel somewhat. Pressure doesn’t feature the most compelling instrumental or hooks in here – the Little Dragon refrain is mixed very poorly and the vocalist just doesn’t do a great job -, but the verses compensate for that, especially the first one, probably one of the most heartfelt and important ones in this album. Therapy talks about Simz’s struggles with finding comfort in therapy. The instrumental is average for the project, but still slaps, so that’s nice.

Sherbet Sunset is an ode to a broken relationship, and a theme that could be handled so poorly by other artists is handled masterfully by Little Simz. In three verses, she displays so many sides to what I assume is one relationship, so many emotions and thoughts that she shares, it really feels like she’s transcribing something of a focused, bright mind rush over the track, and it amazes me how she can reveal her feelings so well on a track like this, progressing from the regret of not seeing how it’d go wrong, to the anxiety that comes from spending all that time for seemingly nothing, to coming to terms with it in the last verse (although not quite). It’s a stunning song now that I listen to it again.

To close it all off, we have Flowers, mainly a tribute to various artists from the 27 club, with mentions of Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse in the verses, trying to relate to their struggles with drug addiction and quick fame. It’s incredibly powerful and a great finisher.

I don’t dislike one track in GREY Area. It’s well conceived, a great statement, it really feels like she gives her all to make every track memorable, and even though her delivery is mostly monotone throughout the whole album, that also works to her favor, as she has a very unique and recognizable voice. So the lyrics are extremely well written, and the only reason I don’t give more examples of that is because I got a whole lot of school shit to do, the instrumental work is clean and precise, and I don’t have a whole lot to complain about. Check this shit out if you haven’t.

 FAVORITE TRACKS: 101 FM, Venom, Selfish, Offence, Boss, Pressure

LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: lol nah

 8.7/10

“Why you wanna all dress lies as truth? Have you ever seen what silence do? I don’t wanna see no violent troops putting out fires that haven’t been started”

 Monsune – Tradition

Damn I did not expect to like this as much as I did.

Monsune is a Chinese-Canadian singer who has recently been gaining some popularity from his amazing song OUTTA MY MIND, which features a funky bassline and high-pitched guitar playing that some have compared to Childish Gambino, specifically his album “Awaken, My Love!”. I decided to check out this short EP by him to see if he had anything more to offer, and it’s safe to say, he does.

The first track off Tradition already shows what this guy can do with his production. It starts off with the same vibe off of his previously mentioned biggest track, but on steroids: a prominent bassline, pitch-altered backing vocals, sunny guitars, and drowned out drums. His voice is also reaching higher notes in this song than in OUTTA MY MIND, but then in the middle of the song it all slows down for a very welcome beat change that shifts the song from this summer anthem to a very chill R&B tune. It’s amazing stuff, although I don’t understand why he chose to put some very noticeable autotune in this part.

CLOUD is my least favorite from the EP, but it’s still a very solid song, it’s just not amazing. The bass is still very strong, and the bridge later on in the song is addictive as shit. After that track comes OUTTA MY MIND, and then his style completely switches in MOUNTAIN, which starts off with some solo guitar and his low, beautiful singing. It’s actually really moving for some reason lol. It then picks up in the hook, the drums kick in along with what I assume is a keyboard, and his voice reaches the top of his range for the backing vocals, it’s a very well-made song.

JADE finishes Tradition off extremely beautifully, with a smooth acoustic guitar intro over a nice-ass bass, some ethereal, trippy scenes of Monsune floating over the ocean and appearing out of thin air in front of you (probably not you, the listener). And then all of a sudden this madman screams off the top of his lungs in the middle of the track and I fucking love it.

The flaws this EP has are mostly related to the mixing, which I think can be a little too harsh in some sections such as the big breakdowns in JADE and MOUNTAIN. Plus, I know lyrics aren’t a focus on a project like this, but it would be nice to get something more than love songs in the future perhaps. Still, loving this EP, so glad I checked Monsune out. You should too.

 WORST TO BEST: CLOUDS, 1998, JADE, OUTTA MY MIND, MOUNTAIN

 8/10

“Don’t you wanna come down? Cause I’m so bored of walking on the same old sky”

 Backxwash – God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It

God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It is an album by American rapper Backxwash, who received a new wave of attention after Anthony Fantano reviewed this album in his channel and gave it a decent 8. I haven’t watched the review yet, but I was interested in checking it out because of the high score, and especially since when I looked it up on Spotify, the songs only had around 8000 views.

Dark subject themes and the whole dark trap aesthetic are the core of this album. I, personally, have always been a fan of aggressive, heavy rap music, from more underground names like gizmo and Fukkit, to the more mainstream variant of these sounds, like XXXTENTACION. This album, however, operates in somewhat of a separate lane.

Many of the dark, edgy rap I used to listen to religiously back in the day was borderline mindless. Shit about ripping someone open, hollow flexing, except separated from mainstream rap only because the rapper in question is screaming their brains out when talking about designer clothes, instead of mumbling like your average Lil Baby, and, of course, personal problems, depression, being mad about whatever it was. Unlike its other contemporaries, however, it seems Backxwash has much more thought and elaboration into what she wants to yell about. Instead of hiding behind bass-boosted rather formulaic instrumentals, she takes the more scenic route, with still very dark, but more intricate gothic beats, sampling various religious speeches and implementing them into songs about black magic and overall unhappiness. The Black Sabbath sample that opens up this album should be enough for any listener to immediately understand what they’re about to get into, as the title track brings heavy percussion and some of the most graphic lyrics in the album, which it already doesn’t lack. Lines about downing pills and vodka, contemplating suicide, and blank vocalizations of anger (“I want war with these bitches, I want corpses and weapons”).

The track that resembles an average edgy Soundcloud rap song the most is Black Magic right after, with its own interpretation of the “ay” flow, shouted with a tone reminiscent of someone like Craig Xen. The big difference comes with the much grander production, especially the growling guitars that get introduced halfway, reminding the listener of Backxwash’s skill as a producer. From what I could tell, she was responsible for the production of the tracks in here, and considering there are no vocal guests except for Malldate’s quick appearance in Into The Void, I’m assuming the features listed in the tracklist are all producer credits as well, the feature in this track being Ada Rook, providing the amazing guitar work for this song.

Spells is mixed for me. I don’t enjoy the attempted singing in the chorus, and it falls completely flat to my ears; the beat is hard as ever, but the lyrics feel slightly disconnected with each other. At one point, she’s talking about going to Hell to her mom, at the other she mentions doors opening and closing in an office and how there’s no one in some corridor, and it doesn’t go anywhere from that, with lines such as “heart is so dead with tissue” not exactly evoking any sort of emotion or imagery.

Black Sheep is the most effective song out of the first four; it seems to filter all the positive aspects of the other tracks and package them into one quick serving. The beat is chaotic and in a constant state of unrest, the lyrics are centered and aimed at various of Backxwash’s problems in life, such as her father, people who want to bring her down and put her “in line on the X and O’s”, and overall venting. After that comes a brief interlude, the first of two that don’t have much use in the album except as pallet cleansers. It’s followed by Into The Void, a track that mentions her paranoia of being harassed and possibly killed when walking around in the streets and the deli. It’s haunting, and definitely the best song in here; it is laser-focused in the exact way I wished the previous tracks would be. Her vocal delivery is extremely expressive, and she tells the story in a way that gives the listener a brief, but at the same time immense glimpse of the reality that trans people face and have to go through, in a morbid fashion.

Adolescence is very short and eases the pace a bit after the intense emotions of the last. It’s a message to her younger brother that quickly descents into a confession of her inner struggle, mentioning possible overdoses and being too old for the 27 Club and fearing going to therapy. What’s great about this song is the fact that, even in such a short amount of time and with a less explosive instrumental, Backxwash manages to evoke her emotions so well; this is definitely what she does best in this record, and it overcomes the times where her delivery is flawed and her words are slurred and hard to understand. After this comes Amen, and holy fuck is this an angry song. Criticizing the hell out of the church, Backxwash comes at greedy pastors and their irresponsible spending when the churchgoers who support him are in need. My big problem with this song is the fact that the hook, as impassionate as it is, doesn’t do much for the subject, and the verse is way too short to have any impact with its theme. Lines like “these politicians politicking” don’t help much either.

The very distorted second interlude, Heaven’s Interlude, takes us to the last track, Redemption, the least intense song in here, which is appropriate as a sendoff. She expresses her frustrations towards her dad’s frustrations towards her being trans, and while the entire sentiment of the song is great and well formulated, I can’t find a way around the lines “Fuck these fucking boomers, fuck these fucking losers. Fuck theses motherfucking fuckers in their fucking two truck. Fuck these fuck(sic)abusers, and fuck these fucking rumors.”, they just emanate Limp Bizkit energy.

God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It is a very passionate, real, well produced and well-conceived album; it bears themes that are immensely important to be brought to the music scene, and by mixing that message with its explosive and polished production, it amplifies it a ton. However, as powerful as her deliveries are, I believe Backxwash can go much further with her songwriting and song structuring in the future, as well as her intonation, because that was really all that was keeping this album from being legendary. If she can do more of this in songs that are longer and super focused around whichever topic she decides, she can make something legendary. And thank God she got reviewed by Fantano, I hope she can take this opportunity and make something huge out of this.

 FAVORITE TRACKS: Into The Void, Black Sheep, God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It, Adolescence, Black Magic

LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Spells

 7.7/10

“Chosen one, sad bitch, lowest scum. Coldest, huh, black sheep talk to ‘em. If the situation changed I would have said the same shit, exactly the same.”