#but the first 4 songs imo were just bland

[fingertipsmp3]

Ngl I heard a couple of TTPD leaks and I’m thinking about cancelling my preorder of the CD

[thepalmofyourfreezinghand]

If you had to remake TTPD (featuring TA) which 16 tracks would you use to make a solid album?

This is so difficult! But I’m gonna try.

So, the og album already tells a pretty cohesive story on its own, but there are a few “missteps” (in my eyes, of course!) that can be fixed. These are the songs I’d remove from the og tracklist:

1. MBOBHFT: This is just a bad song, imo. Very flat and repetitive. “Rivulets descend my plastic smile” is also a perfect example of a lyric that uses a whole lot of words without saying anything. There are a couple of important lines here (like “pull the string and I’ll tell you that he runs because he loves me”), but the song is just really bland.

2. The Alchemy: Worst song on the og tracklist and perhaps worst song overall. Again, its biggest crime is just being flat (IMO!). I also think that we don’t need the Travis narrative to make a complete and cohesive album. He’s clearly extremely important in Taylor’s life! But I don’t think we need his piece of the story to make sense of TTPD. Every other album has a moment at the end when the tension of the album is released (the world is sad but let’s go to the lakes! The world is painful but the pain won’t be forevermore! This heartbreak was horrible but now I’m gonna begin again! This was the worst year of my life but on New Year’s Day everything changed!). But TTPD’s story is more compelling if we remove that part of the story, imo.

3. ICFH (NRIC): Again, not important to the story (it’s already evident that she couldn’t “fix” him) and I really dislike the song.

4. And then I’d remove TTPD, just because I don’t like it hahah. It has a few moments that are relevant to the whole story, but nothing we can’t do without for a song that’s below average, imo.

5. Finally I’d remove Clara Bow. I love the song but it’s better as a bonus track, imo! I don’t really see how it would fit the main narrative.

Now, by removing these ongs, the only big narrative gap we create is the marriage one (in relation to MH) but we still have loml that talks about it, so it’s okay.

This would me my new tracklist!

INTRODUCTION

1. Fortnight. Of course, it’s an amazing opener. It sets the scene for the whole record and the “failed American dream” story is so mesmerizing.

2. COSOSOM: This is Fortnight sister, and it serves the purpose of bringing the album to a more “real” setting: first we see that the American dream has failed, and then we see why her specific story has failed.

SETTING THE MOOD FOR TAYLOR’S STATE OF MIND

3. I Hate It Here: “this place made me feel worthless” is a fundamental lyric to understand the entire album, imo

4. Florida!!!: again, with this song and the following one we have a “fantasy/real” scenery, just like in the first two tracks. She’s so bored and she feels so disconnected from her life that she dreams of doing the most crazy stuff (burying bodies in swamps…)

5. Guilty As Sin?: the “real” part of the consequences of her boredom: she won’t uproot her life and move to Florida, but she might reconnect with an old flame

THE END - THE BEGINNING - THE END (AGAIN)

6. So Long, London

7. Fresh Out The Slammer

8. BDILH

9. Peter: I know this is technically about the past, but I like the idea of placing the song here, because it’s kind of like… you said you were gonna grow up and you were gonna come find me, and now you’re here, you’ve found me, but you’re still not grown up.

MAKING SENSE OF THE ENDING

10. Down Bad: again, I like the idea of having a “fantasy/real” pairing. In this case, she’s so distraught about being left alone that the only way she can make sense of it all is by thinking “maybe you were an extraterrestrial creature that chose me temporarily, there’s no rational explanation here”

11. TSMWEL: she can’t make sense of the ending, but in this case it all boils down to “you’re a small man” (so this is the “real” part of the pairing)

POST MORTEM

This is just about examining the two relationships with a clear mind.

12. How Did It End?

13. loml

AND NOW?

These are two songs about the two possible outcomes for the ending of a relationship, long term: you’re either wishing they’d look at you while happily celebrating Christmas, or you’re wishing they’re having a shitty night at The Black Dog

14. The Black Dog

15. I Look In People’s Windows

THE PATTERN

This is a section about examining the patterns in her life, very easily put: why the story keeps repeating itself and what can she do to prevent that from happening again

16. The Bolter

17. ICDIWABH

18. The Prophecy

19. The Manuscript

I’m sorry, they’re 19! And then I’d add Clara Bow and WAOLOM as bonus tracks about the different cascading effects of fame. And I wish I could add The Albatross because I ADORE it but the story can live without it, imo.

Also these don’t go in order musically but I just chose the story with a specific story in mind.

[davyjoneslockr]

what's your writing process when you work on fics and does it change depending on if it's a longer fic compared to a one shot?

and second question, what fic are you most proud of?

Yeah so!! My issue is that most of my writing process consists of “fuck it we ball.” For oneshots, I’ll usually have a starting point, an ending point, and vague ideas for a few scenes in between. Everything else sorta comes to me as I go. (<- This is a bad strategy. Don’t do this.)

I usually plan out long fics a lot more. For Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday, for example, I had a really long outline with a few “beats” for each chapter – at the very least, how it starts, the climax, and how it ends. My one rule with multichapter fics is that something should change by the end of each chapter. Characters should grow, relationships should change, the main character should obtain some significant information, etc. And a good chapter should have a mini conflict of some sort (this is why, imo, some chapters towards the middle of YMYYYD are kinda bland – if I did a rewrite, I’d flesh them out and make more actually happen.) So there’s the overarching plot, and each chapter also follows its own mini plot structure.

Also, to generate fic ideas, I listen to a lot of music :] A lot of them had their titles taken from the inspiration songs, but some were different. To use YMYYYD as an example again, the song that originally inspired it was The Sweetest Thing by Camera Obscura. The working title was… A Mista(ke) actually lmfao, but when it came time to post the first chapter, I considered calling it Yesterday’s Gone, and ended up going with the final very convoluted title because I thought the song’s lyrics fit the story well. Also, I thought up This Bird Has Flown while listening to this version of Norwegian Wood.

As far as the fic I’m most proud of, I’d probably have to say both parts of the Mista fic for different reasons. I think the story was more compelling in YMYYYD at the expense of some sloppier writing, and Leaves That Are Green was maybe a bit slower story-wise with better prose. Chapter 4 of LTAG, in particular, I’m pretty proud of. Just in general, though, I never expected the emotional response I got from a lot of readers on that fic, as well as how popular it got, so. Idk. To be real for a second, it genuinely means a lot :]

I’m also really happy with how This Bird Has Flown turned out overall, and the response to that fic was so fun to witness. I remember reading some of the comments when I was with my partner (who just kinda went. Hey what the fuck at the ending) and they were like. YEAH. WRITE SOMETHING HAPPY FOR ONCE. And my other one I’m pretty happy with is Setting. Yet another one I was surprised to get a lot of love for, especially because it’s a Gen fic for a duo that’s not super popular, but I’m glad a lot of people enjoyed it!! Fugo and Abbacchio emo family forever <3

[all-the-fun-of-the-cirkus]

so i've still been working through neil's discography, so here's the albums i've listened to for the first time and not previously discussed

on the beach - 9/10

my least favourite of the ditch trilogy, but the one i listen to most often. sad and bleak, yet warm and hopeful, and side two is utterly mesmerising.

best song - see the sky about to rain. ben keith is a treasure

comes a time - 7/10

song for song this album's wonderful, but i don't like the arrangments. it's dense and slick, to the point where it feels less sincere; i've heard some beautiful solo versions of the title track, already one, human highway, but here they're just enjoyably catchy

best song - look out for my love.

re-ac-tor - 8/10

thirty minutes of endearingly silly jams and eight minutes of being pinned against a wall and beaten with hammers. glorious

best song - shots, stunningly good, nothing comes close

everybody's rockin - 3/10

very funny in theory, less so in principle. all one song, and that song wasn't so hot in the first place. at least it's short

best song - kinda fonda wanda is pretty cute

old ways - 4/10

it's okay. kinda bland. i defy anyone to say anything interesting about this album

best song - my boy is lovely

homegrown - 8/10

the only thing funnier than the idea of neil shelving an album for being too sad then releasing tonight's the night instead is this album actually being sadder. but all the songs that popped up elsewhere make so much more sense here, and the deep cuts are wonderful

best song - white line. gorgeous

landing on water - 7/10

this could easily be an 8. fuck it, it could be a 2, i don't fucking know. genuinely one of the most baffling albums i've ever heard. the mix is wild, drums ramped up to the front, then synths, then guitar and vocals, and given they were built over demos the vocals are already tentatitive, so it fully sounds like neil is drowning in his own songs. the songs themselves? i haven't a clue. i think i enjoy them? i haven't a clue, but it sure is compelling

best song - weight of the world, be it fron the production, performance or song itself, straight up feels like it's suffocating me

life - 4/10

the "normal neil but synthpop" album i thought landing on water would be. first side's rather good, second falls off a cliff, but very little off this album makes too much of an impression either way, except maybe for the laziest song of all time in too lonely. the synth stuff actually helps the songs though imo

best song - either inca queen (the quote from like an inca is genuinely inspired, and the rest is pleasantly moody, plus the acoustic guitar/synth combo works really well) or we never danced (sounds absolutely nothing like neil young but is rather lovely in its own right)

this note's for you - 8/10

one of the genuine major surprises i've had in this deep dive; this note's for you is great. i thought it'd be a throwaway big-band-blues album where it all sounded like one song, but it's as varied and compelling as you'd hope, just bluesy. i prefer the smokey jazz-club songs but while there's no classics on here, everything's good

best song - coupe de ville. atmospheric, melancholic, haunting and enrapturing from start to finish

[consumeronionbulletin]

Inspector Koo (2021)

I didn't know what to expect from this show. It's kind of a quirky remix of Killing Eve crossed with a video game. But after a few minutes of watching Lee Young-ae on screen I was completely sold.

What Worked

This show is hard to explain, visually. The title credits look like some kind of anime tribute. They like to throw in weird flashbacks that aren't flashbacks, characters talking to each other in some kind of liminal space that doesn't exist, and cuts to cheap (though not necessarily bad) video game effects. This makes the show feel like a live action adaptation for a comic book that did not, in fact, exist (though I would totally read it if it did). As a way to keep the show fresh and interesting (while keeping the budget low), I'd say it mostly works, but YMMV.

What Didn't Work

The last 4 episodes kind of felt flat. It was mostly a writing problem (and maybe a budget problem). They had a chaotic energy running through the show that ended up being abandoned in favor of the more standard K-drama ending where everything gets put back in order and justice (of a sort) prevails. I don't think it completely ruined the drama, but they should definitely have let the chaos run for a few more episodes before trying to setup the ending.

Also (*spoiler*) the "battle of wits" in the last episode was just not interesting. What makes Inspector Koo great as a character is that she manages to use chaos to her advantage. She's not a Holmesian detective, they shouldn't try and put her into that role.

The Performances

Lee Young-ae as Inspector Koo. This actress is a legend in K-film and I had no idea who she was going into the show, but her performance in this was still magnetic. Throughout the show she's a complete wreck—she quit the police, and spends her days and nights playing video games (a pretty cool looking MMO) and drinking herself into a stupor. Basically, she's a total trash goblin and I love her for it!

She ends up in a better place at the end of the show, but manages to still have this chaotic goblin energy that is great. 10/10 no notes. We need more trash goblin detectives on television!

Kim Hye-jun as K. / Song Yi-kyun. She did a great job taking on (roughly) the same role as Jodie Comer in Killing Eve, but with her own spin. Everything up to episode 7 or so (the big election announcement episode) was great. Then the writers kind of didn't know how to resolve her arc. Her character needed to change in some fashion, IMO, and I'm not sure if they really did that. Still a great performance overall.

Kim Hae-sook as Yong Sook (Director Yong). She did a pretty good job as the "true villain" of the show, in a sense, and a big departure from her role in Hospital Playlist. I think the writers decided to play it a little safe with her character in the last few episodes, they could have made her more of an equal of the two leads and upped the stakes, but overall it was still a good performance.

Kwak Sun-young as Na Ja-hee. This was a slight disappointment compared to other roles I've seen her in. When the writers gave her good stuff to work with, she did well, but there were other times when they made her a bit bland and I think her performance got lost a bit. If you want to see her in a much better role, just watch the first season of Hospital Playlist.

Bae Hae-sun as Jung-yeon (K.'s Aunt). She started out as kind of a sleeper character, but as the writers made her more interesting, Bae Hae-sun started to wake up and by the end of her time on the show, you really felt for her. I've seen her in maybe a half dozen other shows, but this was the first one that was really memorable for me, for whatever reason.

Baek Sung-chul as Santa / Han Kwang-wook. I wouldn't say this was a complete standout performance, but I still really enjoyed watching him. Again, I think the writers were a little lazy with the character in a few places, but still a good performance and an interesting side character.

Everyone else. Most of the side characters / villains were fun to watch. I liked the guy that played K.'s sidekick (Lee Hong-nae) and Director Yong's family and lackeys had a number of good character actors. The guy who played the annoying rival team lead did an especially good job at being hateable without being evil. The other "trash" characters that were victims / potential victims of K. were also pretty good.

TL; DR:

I had alot of fun with the show. The title character is especially fun to watch, but there were alot of interesting characters and performances. I felt a bit of a let down in the final stretch of shows, but it was never bad, just not as fun / chaotic as the first eight episodes. Just one of those shows that peaks in the middle of the run, and that's okay.

[bomnun]

because i believe in equality and fairness here are loona songs i would delete from their discography if i could (once again only my opninon!!! lmao):

1. pose: can we not make loona be the boyz i thought loona when theyre not being the boyz were great... it really is just the chorus (and subpar production quality) that ruins this one for me... hate the drop, hate the shouted “chant”. many parts of the song are enjoyable and have potential, and it’s...more dynamic than, say, ptt, overall, but, dude, that “chorus”... something positive is that i rlly like how heejin sings/raps in this in the same low tone she speaks naturally...unusual and sounds lovely <3

2. not friends: released because ryan jhun is obsessed with himself and was trying to make his brand a big thing or whatever. i’m mad lip’s songwriter debut had to be with him as a producer. i do sometimes watch the video, because, well... :) hehe, but the song is so incredibly bland too... lip’s lyrics did heavy lifting but you can’t work miracles on this.

3. ptt: the most ??? song to choose as a loona title track ever imo. makes no sense from a standpoint of the rest of their discogtaphy, or, music in general. the atrocious chorus opened the door for pose’s chorus.... incorporating tabla would’ve made sense if it was, like, a theme throughout the album, but that album was extremely incoherent, and i’m not sure at all why they made them go “bollywood inspired” all of a sudden at all... loona the world, sure, i guess, but it could’ve been done in a lot of other ways that would’ve made more sense imo. aside from that, the main melody of this song is just…not interesting.

4. dance on my own: a very unworthy follow up to star... this one’s not gonna get that hot radio airplay in the us you’re after blockberry. could’ve been released by some us pop girlie like sabrina carpenter or madison beer or whatever theyre called. baaaasiiiic. the meaning behind the lyrics makes sense for a loona song, but absolutely nothing in the execution worked. lower on the list because of that video where chuu makes funny faces at haseul when they’re performing it trrying to make her laugh.

5. but also #1. uncover: musically...an incredible song, great production, chrord progression and just good composing in general, but, the lyrics? WHY were you making 17 year old choerry sing this... it’s very obviously about having sex for the first time “so come on uncover me now” ??? no minor should be singing these words ever?? either release it with completely different lyrics or find adults to sing it... haseul, vivi and jinsoul were all of age when it came out if you erally wanted to go down that route BLOCKBERRY. honorable mention related to this: love cherry motion. incredibler song. this is a song i wouldn’t delete, but would rather have it performed by an adult, well aware of what they’re doing... choerry can’t listen to or watch performances of this , because she was too young and it was too inappropriate. hanbits, like half of them, boycotted this release and for good reason...

...  that’s it actually! they have fewer songs than pitigi and i can see a fair case being made for all others. once again, this is only my opinions, slightly exaggerated in some cases and in some not... don’t take it seriously sdhsjdfkhfd

[penroseparticle]

Would it be appropriate for me to be That Dumb Bitch™ and ask for all of the music asks? Because I know I'm gonna ask them all on Anon anyway and I really love your opinions,thoughts, and suggestions on music

Thank you so much💜 ily(platonically)

And I hope you're drinking water

ILY too anon

We both know I’m drinking Diet Cokes rather than water. But I appreciate it! And of course you can be That Dumb Bitch. I approve of all Dumb Bitches as I am one too. all 30 questions coming right up!

your favorite album opener I know it’s pretty basic to answer Arctic Monkeys is a good band, but I am pretty basic so here we are. AM is a near perfect album, which is not news to anyone, but few people know that Do I Wanna Know? is the first track on the album. Masterful. 

a song starting w/ the same first letter of your first name Cheat, by Emily Burns. It’s just a quiet, competent, earworm. And it’s a pretty nice message too- if it were me I wouldn’t have cheated, end of. I like it.

a song outside of your usual genre I’m not super into Metal. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy it, my brother pretty much exclusively listens to hard rock and metal and such, so I have some stuff I like. But it’s just one of those genres someone has to introduce me to songs in. That said, I really like Cold Water by Protest The Hero. Good stuff!

a song that reminds you of your favorite season Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy is SUCH a Fall song, I swear.

a song from a lifelong favorite artist I think my lifelong favorite artist is Ms. Lauryn Hill, if we’re going by the artists I’ve loved longest- that’s obviously influenced by my mother, who LOVES Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, etc. I’m going with a Fugees song, not an independent, but it’s still fantastic- the classic “Killing Me Softly With His Song”.

your current “on repeat” song Montero by Lil Nas X is still on repeat and I’m not ashamed.

a song your friend introduced you to that you ended up loving Shout out Anna for introducing me ti Leikeli47! Girl Blunt was the song and now I just love her in general but Girl Blunt is good. I think my fave is Wash and Set though, so have a freebie on me.

a song that speaks the words you couldn’t say I have a hard time asking for things for myself so Rose’s Turn has always been a song I think but don’t say out loud. Starting now it’s gonna be my turn? Too unrealistic tbh.

a song that captures your aesthetic (can be ideal!) Bambi by Hippo Campus

a song about the place where you live I have played Welcome to DC so many fucking times (By Mambo Sauce because this city is a fucking joke) and I am thoroughly sick of it. When youth hockey teams use a song as their warmup song it gets old REAL fast.

a song from an international artist I LOOOOVE Maluma, sorry not sorry, and El Perdedor is one of my favorite songs of all time tbh.

a song you can scream all the words to Love In The Morning by Chris Jobe. I just really enjoy the song idk why. Also it’s a very simple song and it’s easy to sing.

a reboot of a song/songs you already loved (remix, mashup, acoustic, etc.) I love Passionfruit, but Drake is a... problematic artist to enjoy nowadays. Yaeji did a very slow, lilting, quiet cover of it that I quite like. So now for my Passionfruit fix I support a small artist and not, you know, Drake

a song with the name of a place in the title Oh god. Vienna is literally the name of like 4 songs that I love (The Fray, Billy Joel, Lambert, and Ultravox, so I’ve gotta go with that one tbh. Lambert is instrumental and Ultravox is some chill ass 80′s stuff, and everyone knows the Billy Joel one.

a song that reminds you of traveling Feel It Still by Portugal the Man reminds me of a trip I took to NYC because someone I went with loved the band.

your favorite childhood song My favorite childhood song is What Kind of Pokemon Are You? From the 2.B.A. Master album for pokemon. It is my fave because that cd is the first piece of music I ever bought for myself.

a song that reminds you of a good time Midnight by Caravan Palace. I have seen Caravan Palace three times live, more than anyone but Betty Who, and I ALWAYS have a fantastic time at their concerts. Just. So good.

a song that reminds you of a bad time Season 2 Episode 3 by Glass Animals is how I describe depression to people- it’s not just that I’m like, blank or sad or bland. It’s that I go through the motions and it doesn’t feel like anything. I do things I love and it feels like nothing. You kind of just can’t do anything to get out of it, your stuff just stops working.

a song from an artist whose old music you enjoy more than their new music So it turns out that my favorite album by FAR for OkGo is Of The Blue Color Of The Sky, a fairly old album of theirs. I like most of thier stuff and obviously all of their videos are great, but my favorite song of theirs is from this album- Needing/Getting.

a song that empowers you I like other Lady Gaga songs more but Donatella makes me feel like I can punch through Concrete idk why

a song from a local artist DID YOU KNOW GINUWINE IS FROM DC. ANYWAYS STREAM PONY

a song you related to in the past and present, but for different reasons Let’s Dance To Joy Division by The Wombats is a song I’ve always related to. Back in the day it was just loud and fun and very good, and now I really think the message of “Everything sucks but we’re gonna celebrate what we can” is something I try to absorb as much as possible now.

your favorite cheesy pop song Classic by MKTO is an objectively bad song that I constantly have in my Spotify Wrapped. I legit can’t explain it. Is it good? no. Is it original? Also no. Is it interesting? No! I don’t get it but I’m under the spell

a song from a soundtrack (musical, movie, video game, etc.) A PROMISE FROM FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES WAS MY NUMBER THREE SONG ON MY SPOTIFY WRAPPED LAST YEAR SORRY MOM SORRY GOD

the song currently stuck in your head OR the song you are listening to right now My music is on shuffle but it just hit Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear

a song that taught you a lesson Which to Bury, Us Or The Hatchet by Reliant K is one of my favorite songs and really is an object lesson in letting things go. What’s more important? The person or the problem? And sometimes it’s the person, so you bury the hatchet, and sometimes it’s the problem, and you bury us (the relationship). It’s a good song imo.

an instrumental song Teleblister by Clever Girl

a song you always skipped, but ended up loving once you listened to it My favorite song from The Blessed Unrest by Sara Bareilles is Cassiopeia and I straight up skipped it every time I listened for the first like, 6 months I listened to the album.

your favorite album closer good kid, m.A.A.d city is a perfect album as well, and Compton is the last song on the album. Perfection.

your all-time favorite song Such a hard question, and not always easy to answer to be honest. It fluctuates. But for me I think my all time favorite song is currently  

[mr-face-both-ways]

Stex Appreciation Month: CB!

Can’t trust anyone these days, remember I can face both ways!

Ah yes, my url’s namesake, i finally had time to finish and post something lol i’ll post the others soon

Questions answered under the cut! This is extra long because he is my Fave and im Biased 

Fave song: There’s Me hands down, the whole scene including That Was Unfair is just so good in establishing CB’s, Greaseball and Dinah’s characters so well, plus the melody is just*chef’s kiss* and the fact that its technically a villain song?? Love that, plus the parallels of him finding Dinah alone and upset and comforting and supporting her and lending her a hand up and sending her on her way after she’s cheered up, with post race 3 where he’s the reason Rusty’s alone and hurt on the floor, kicking him when he tries to get up (looking at you 1991 boot) and mocks and insults him, leaving him alone with his confidence broken as he leaves laughing. What an absolute bastard!! But when There’s Me is taken out, you don’t properly see his two sides, both the bad and good sides are important to his character! He’s a contrary dude but that’s just him! Plus the actual song has one of my fave melodies of the show, I can and do listen to the intro from the ost on repeat, plus that lil bit in the japan vid?? So cute?? And the contrasting styles to that and Wide Smile?? Amazing, love it

Fave actor: Once again my fave actor list is gonna be like 5 people lol, the great thing about C.B’s material is that his attitude and demeanour can change based on his inflection, movement etc so! Michael Staniforth is a given, his Wide Smile really demonstrates his range which imo not many others have been quite as good, plus what extremely little footage and photos there are of him he was extremely expressive and just fun to watch! I’ll also go with Peter Rees, Andrew Prosser, Hans Johansson, Oliver Rhoe Thornton (and what the heck let’s also go for early Kapa Kitchen and Daniel Ellison)

Fave ship: Ohh boy this is super self indulgent but CBGB honestly (has the fandom given it a nickname? Greaseboose?? idk) I love that in the older scripts him and GB high five (that us boot where cb does a lil jump to hit GB’s high five?? Adorable) and actually talk like friends?? Like Greaseball is a jerk to pretty much everyone and for him to be friendly with him is just sweet. Not to mention its Greaseball who tells his gang that CB’s a “mean machine”, is always calling out to CB in the races and a recent thing that clicked in my brain is that when CB says “what a race, what a team!” and GB’s like “shhh! ohhh you mean me and dinah?” like did he just think that CB was about to out that they were working together during the race to crash the other engines in front of Dinah so he shushed him, then realised he was talking about GB and Dinah?? then just the whole exchange after sabotaging Rusty?? Duet One Rock and Roll? That GB just lifts him up like its nothing then they just kinda sit on eachother?? Those two are in cahoots I tell you!! Plus to me i get the vibe that they’ve been working together for years?? I just love their dynamic haha (and CB’s the only one i think who calls him GB that’s so cute) oh and platonic CB/Dinah is top tier, I feel like Dinah’s a very emotionally honest person so CB would feel like he could actually trust her?? And thanks to the new megamix Canoose/Elektra can have one right, as a treat

Fave thing about him: His independence! All the other characters are very much driven by either winning the races or finding love (or both), and C.B. just...doesn’t care. What you “are” is a big deal in Stex, like the engines, coaches and freight all have their identities shaped by their titles, and that can influence how they feel about the above two subjects “nobody can do it like a steam train”, etc and looking at when C.B. does participate in the races him and his partner tend to take the lead so he is good at racing!! But he chooses not to in order to make his own fun (at the expense of pretty much everyone else). He also seems to have a level of self-awareness, take his verse in Freight for example, he knows that as a brakevan he has to essentially serve the freight train, perceptually at the back of the train. But instead he uses his “purpose” aka his brakes to not do what he’s been told and to disrupt the train, and gets away with it by presenting himself as the innocent helpful brakevan! He’s just doing his own thing, (poor Rusty but,,) good for him!! And of course I have to say again, his two sides, and the ambiguity of it?? Like is he good, bad?? He’s both and neither?? An absolute force of chaos, but it only really works when both sides are present. Plus he a cutie tehe

Random headcanon: I think he’s unnervingly observant, even moreso than Pearl, and has amazing peripheral vision. That and taking notice of things like vibrations on the rails he’s very good at telling whose around before they’ve fully come into vision. He’s always watching everything around him, and isn’t necessarily being creepy, he’s just trying to get as much info on the current situation as possible. I think he likes to have some control and be on top of things?? I also really like the ex-boxcar theory (I first saw this theory on the old bellesdomain forums, rip) and I think that maybe when he was converted it was very difficult for him, having to deal with people, and having the CB radio to control what he hears helps ground him and keep his thoughts less cluttered?? He might’ve also forgotten a lot of his boxcar days, so when he says “you know I’m to blame but you don’t know my name” maybe he doesn’t even remember his original name?? And never got a new one as just the Red Caboose, so he clung onto the CB radio to give himself a sense of identity when his previous identity was stripped from him?? IDK

Unpopular opinion: This wagon can hold so many spicy takes he’s not a murderer lol but at the same time i can see where people can think that considering the lyrics reference several real-life train crashes even if they don’t make sense for CB to be there which tbh I put down to Stilgoe going tehe railway incident reference! I think he’s travelled around a lot and done a lot of questionable things, and maybe he was responsible for those crashes in the stex universe?? or maybe he’s just lying?? he’s definitely responsible for some shit, but considering he crashes 5 (!!!) engines during that one race night and being publicly humiliated after race 4 he doesn’t get in trouble and besides, all those engines are back for light at the end of the tunnel, they’re fine lol. Another thing is that I haaaate how CB has like no agency anymore in the current version like everything he does is for money, he’s basically a henchman for the engines (and everyone knows what his deal is and he isn’t in train jail?? what??) and they got rid of the pre-race 4 bit “just for me, I’m in this just for me” (in that slightly twisted there’s me melody) and Electra desperately pleading “help me caboose, help me caboose” to just the generic “I’ll help you win” at the end and not really its own little bit anymore like he barely has his own motivations anymore, it actually makes me really sad :( it really just doesn’t feel like CB anymore, though his character has been really disjointed since like 2007 when they got rid of there’s me. He’s just kinda bland now, like before he instigated a lot of the conflict, now others tell him to do something and he does it. I could like him more if he had an ounce more depth, like why is he so motivated by money? Maybe go into that old vs new tech theme and bring up that now that there’s new tech that can do the job of a brakevan he’s now antiquated and has to go into crime to get by?? Idk just please give me something, I think CB’s always been a bit of a fan favourite because he had multiple layers to his personality but new boose just has a whole lotta nothing :/ 

Anyway let’s end on a positive note at least we got pride lighting and a solo in the megamix so that’s something I guess XD 

[jinfilms]

han @knjz​ tagged me in this question tag and i’m finally doing it at 3 am lets get it 

1. It’s your birthday! What did you ask for and did you receive it?

i h*te celebrating my birthday so realistically just merch or money...my bday is may 7 so we were quarantine this year anyway but my present to myself was mots tour merch !

2. What was the last song or album you listened to?

all about luv by monsta x i’ve been listening to it sm recently!! i bought it today when i was at target

3. What is your go to snack when you’re hungry or bored?

i don’t snack bc i don’t usually have time to .. but during my 10 min breaks at work i’ll get a single serving container of those white cheddar cheez-its bc they’re top tier 

4. What is your morning routine?

wake up, shower if i didn’t the night before, skincare.. i usually eat yogurt w granola and fruit and honey in an attempt to be healthy </3

5. What mythical/cryptid creature would you be?

i don’t know much about those but i think i’m the gen 8 pokemon sobble.. but only the first evolution sobble u know not the twink final evolution

6. How do you interact with somebody that you don’t like?

there are 0 people i interact with that i don’t like online bc everyones so precious :( irl though i’m very fake in front of them so they’d never know i hated them jdslksd it just comes with my job plus i live in the south where everyone is evil so i’m a self proclaimed pro at it by now

7. How do you define a toxic person?

my parents

8. Have you ever been to a concert or fan meet type of event? If not, would you want to?

i saw florence & the machine for my 13th or 14th bday and she’s an actual goddess irl but since then no... i want to see the boys live someday but that’ll probably never happen Don’t Remind Me

9. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?

no...imo it is just a pseudo science but the quizzes are fun

10. If you had only one sense (hearing, touch, sight, etc.), what would you want?

sight but i would rlly miss music and food

11. Who is your favourite celebrity or idol?

out of all of my biases and favs and whatever...hoseok takes the cake i just think he’s gotta be like. one of the most talented ppl in the world not even kidding ok...his singing and dancing and rapping and his heart...i think about how much he’s donated and his ability to teach and make people laugh all the time i can’t believe all of that can exist in one person but it does!! it’s hobi!!! his name is literally hope!!!!!!

non kpop related i think i’d choose bill hader or zendaya bc barry and euphoria are the only running shows that exist to me

12. If you could talk to your favourite celebrity(s) for a limited time, what would you tell them?

mmm i think i would tell hobi all of that^ if i had the chance.. he lives up to his name and he should feel proud of his accomplishments and if i could i would give him da world !

13. I’m taking you out on a date and it’s your choice. Where are we going?

staying at home and making a home cooked dinner and desert yum yum (i buy us expensive wine and my cats are there to scream for attention and it feels very domestic) 

14. Do you like sweet or savory foods?

savory...specifically spicy food i add hot sauce to pretty much every meal or else it tastes bland at this point 

15. Do you have any band merchandise or merchandise from any of your favourite artists? If so, what?

i have a lot of bts i won’t name it all, for nct 127 i bought all the neo zones, and again i bought monsta x’s all about luv version 1 today (i’m not gonna buy the other versions bc i don’t even stan them yet i just wanted to support them bc that album,, banger idk it was just a pleasant surprise cause i wasn’t planning on listening to it and now i see why there are so many monbebes!!)

i wanna start collecting txt albums and merch too but i honestly just forget they’re sitting in my amazon wish list lmao also exo and red velvet but not for a while...yall just wait till dragon dee debuts i’ll buy everything ever those boys deserve the world

tagging: @everythingoes​ @kyeomtae​ @sweetnightsjimin​ @scevery​ @honsool​ @taechnological​ @kimteahyung​ i don’t wanna tag too many people and risk annoying anyone else but if u guys see this i hope u are having amazing days/nights and i love u v much kiss kiss

[ithriveinchaos]

Here are my Evermore song rankings after one half asleep listen at 2 in the morning. These will certainly change after more listens.

1. happiness (may rank lower later but hit me in the gut on the first listen) 2. ivy (why is everybody sleeping on this song, it’s so good?) 3. no body, no crime (cool vibe, cool story, may rank lower later though) 4. ‘tis the damn season (which I expected to hate based on the title) 5. tolerate it (love the theme of the song) 6. champagne problems (catchy and lyrically fun, might get annoying with too many listens, not sure yet)

So honestly that’s the list of songs that off the bat I LOVED. The rest of the ranking is kind of a toss up because I didn’t feel an immediate pull to any of the songs. 

7.  goldrush (cool story, not sure about the ethereal sections of music fitting into the song for me)  8. long story short (I liked it off the bat because it like woke me up from all the slow piano songs on the album but I may have just liked the change up in music, lol) 9. willow (I don’t know why but this song isn’t doing it for me, there are aspects I like but something is missing the mark for me.) 10. closure (the versus are some of my favorite on the album but the chorus really brings the song down for me, it just doesn’t fit IMO) 11. dorthea (I need more listens for this one) 12. cowboy like me (didn’t love it as much as everyone else off the bat, we’ll see if it grows) 13. marjorie (sweet song, not a stand out for me, but she didn’t write this one for us IMO so I get that) 14. coney island (lyrically very good, musically a bit bland) 15. evermore (the sound effect on some of the vocals kind of ruined it for me, just not my cup of tea) 

Overall I like the album, I can see myself putting it on while I read or mellow out. But for me, after one listen, I do think it felt like an album of songs that didn’t make the cut on Folklore with a few stronger songs thrown in as well. I don’t mean that in a hateful way, it just wasn’t as strong of an album as a whole for me. There were a handful of songs that I loved off the bat and will probably grow to love even more. But as a complete piece of work I connected to Folklore much more. Musically this kind of stayed in one lane for me more than I wanted it to. But some people might actually like that aspect of it. Again, I have to listen more to really form an opinion. I’ll probably listen a few more times today and update the rankings. 

[rawbin69]

Honestly, I’m not sure if I personally even like the show anymore.

Like, there was SO MUCH POTENTIAL!

The love square was such an interesting and fun concept! The stories of the characters were amazing and just- AGH everything was set up to be an amazing series!

The first season was good, though imo it didn’t *quite* becoming as awesome as it could have been. Still, it didn’t disappoint!

Then.. ahah. Then they dragged it all downhill.

Like, here! Have these two love-interests that come out of nowhere and now just accept that they’re there! Oh, and also, one of them is 100% perfect in every way and is super bland but he’s really cool also, and the other is a cool character on her own that would be much cooler if she wasn’t a love interest for ANYONE and was asexual!

(As you can tell, I really don’t like Luka because he’s poorly written and whilst I like Kagami I hate that she’s a love interest at all)

And just… killing off the love square is such a bad move. To be fully honest, I might just like,, idk. Make an AU where I can be happy with the show lol

(actually yes I will)

Look, here are some changes that would make the show sO MUCH BETTER (at least in my opinion):

1. Don’t add drama for the sake of drama. At this point, everything feels forced.

2. Luka loving Marinette is super forced. Like,, he sees her and is like “oh yeah this girl who is two years younger than me,, imma write songs for her and love her bc why not?” Also, he’s literally perfect and that makes him a bad character. Characters need flaws to be interesting. Luka is boring. (If you like him, that’s cool though)

3. For the love of god, stop killing the love square. Like,, in all honesty that’s what I’m here for because it’s juST SUCH A GOOD CONCEPT yet they fucking kill it off all the time

4. Instead of complicating everything with two new, forced love interests, how about idk, just reversing the love square? It’d add so much to the show and whilst it would be SUPER FRUSTRATING it would also be SUPER FUN! Like what the everliving fuck why do you ruin your own show

5. how about you don’t force more responsibilities on marinette, a 14 year old girl, and especially without a warning right after she’s had a breakdown over having too many responsibilities, hm?

Also, note to Astruc; *Stop making Félix a fucking demon. Yes, he’s a bitch, but he’s one of the best characters ever. At least in the PV version.*

[kikiofthevast]

Black Friday Song Ranking

My opinion! Also spoilers! For Black Friday!

These songs are not ranked on how good they are objectively. They are ranked based on how much I enjoyed them. Some good songs will be near the bottom and some eh/bad songs will be near the top because I personally liked them.

@virgilismyanxiety

---

17 - What Do You Say

This song. Grates on my eardrums. I don't know how else to describe it. It's not enjoyable for me to listen to, I can't stand it. It feels so out of line with the rest of the musical (which is ironic because it takes place in a line). I like bits of the song (Linda's dialogue, "oh my god it's a train wreck", etc)

I just can't listen to it regularly. If at all.

---

16 - Take Me Back

This one I don't like because I wasn't sold on Becky and Tom's relationship. They both had unfortunate luck with love in the past and the sharing heartfelt stories thing didn't work like it did in TGWDLM. Their relationship felt rushed and forced and we were expected to care about it like we did with Paul and Emma.

I didn't. I would have preferred them to stay friends mostly because they both had trauma related to love and it felt hollow for them to get together.

---

15. Adore Me

I just wasn't feeling this one. It felt kinda bland, and I don't know why? It's not a bad song it just didn't make me feel anything or make me hate Linda. It was just kinda eh.

---

14. Wiggle

Don't actually hate this one. It's similar to Adore Me where I just wasn't feeling it. These two songs also feel really similar to me and I'm not sure why. I do actually like this song though.

---

13. Black Friday

I KNOW people are going to hate me for this one and despite the great vocals for this song it made me feel n o t h i n g. It was a good song, and there are some heart-wrenching lines but if I can stare at the screen as I watch and feel zip that's no good.

---

12. Monsters and Men

Now we're getting into the ones I have good things to say about. This song is solid. I like it a lot and it makes me smile when I hear it. Jeff Blim is genuinely a really good singer and this song is a nice one. Maybe not the best Act 1 finisher I've ever seen but it works and it's a good song nonetheless.

---

11. Do You Want to Play

I like this song more than its placement suggests. The contrasting harmonies and the music are really good, Kim and Dylan are excellent and the whole song achieves its goal of being creepy and unnerving.

---

10. Monsters and Men (Reprise)

Two words: Jeff Blim

---

9. Tickle-Me-Wiggly Jingle

This one is honestly catchy and makes no sense. I really enjoyed this opener on my first watch and I really appreciate its weirdness but it's one of the songs on the soundtrack that's hard to listen to with no visual component.

---

8. What Tim Wants

Should I mention that the only reason I like Tom at all is because Dylan is playing him? This song is not nearly as good as his other solo number but it's still solid. I think I really only like one part of this song specifically but that doesn't mean the rest of it isn't great.

I will say this musical did not benefit like TGWDLM did from the cold-open-post-opening-number thing

---

7. Our Doors Are Open

This song is just fun. Corey Dorris is amazing and Angela is wonderful. The ensemble is also my favorite part of this piece with the acapella harmonies in the background.

---

6. CaliforM.I.A.

The sole reason this is so high is because the recording for this song is heavenly. Robert and Angela's voices shine more in the recording than the live version imo and the lyrics are delivered better. But nothing really beats the choreo of this song either. This song is the main reason I cared about Lex, Ethan and Hannah and it does it really well.

---

5. What if Tomorrow Comes

This song. This song gave me chills the first time I watched the show. I would have liked to see the whole stage at once in the recording but I am glad that we got to see most(?) of it. The choreo and the music slaps, the simple melody is haunting and memorable. I love it.

---

4. Deck the Halls (Of Northville High)

This is similar to Our Doors Are Open in that it's just really fun. It's weird and nonsensical and it made me laugh at how cringy and cheesy it was.

---

3. If I Fail You

The only reason this song is ranked so high is because I cried. I sobbed so hard at this song. Listening to it fucking hurt. I'm not even a parent yet Tom's struggles as a dad really hit me hard. I love the lyrics to this song and Dylan's performance.

---

2. Feast or Famine

It's so good, you guys. It's soooo good. It's a commentary, which cranks it up automatically and it's just so fucking good. Jeff and Curt are the highlights for me but everyone is great and I adore it.

---

1. Made in America

THIS. SONG. THIS FUCKING SONG. JOEY RICHTER NEEDS TO PLAY MORE VILLAINS BECAUSE HOLY SHIT. I WAS IN A STATE OF SORT OF AWE-STRUCK PARALYSIS THIS ENTIRE SONG. Honestly it's not the best objectively but by god I thought it was INCREDIBLE. Joey Richter is the single best actor I have ever seen in all my life (besides Dylan Saunders maybe) and he is also an incredible singer. Also it's a commentary on consumerism and I love it.

[scarletlotus182]

I know you already did characters so theres some overlap but what about favorite soulsborne bosses?

Seriously, though, do we count Sekiro?

Because Sekiro would be cheating, I’m gonna mention my one Sekiro pick at the end of the list. Honestly I feel like Sekiro perfected sword fighting in games and seeing the lessons that game imparted on me get brought out in Bloodborne and how effective just feels so satisfying and fulfilling. 

Anyways, Top 5 Soulsborne Bosses-

1. Lady Maria- Yeah I already gushed about her but I can’t stress enough how she’s the coolest fucking boss ever. Her fight is such a rush that doesn’t ever feel to unfair, losing to her just makes me feel like I got my ass handed to me by some PvP god. 

2. Sif, The Great Grey Wolf- The emotions and design of this fight are hands down my favorite in Dark Souls 1. Really, a lot of my favorite bosses from 1 are more emotional beat downs instead of physical ones. This is the first real fight in the game that makes you feel like maybe you’re the bad guy in this story. 

3. Ornstein and Smough- Okay I said the thing about DS1 fights being more emotional but then immediately remembered this fight, so I guess I lied. Ornstein and Smough is the last fight in the game that tests whether or not you have what it takes to beat Dark Souls 1, which is really weird for a fight that takes place halfway through the game. 

The rest of the bosses in Ds1 are more like you’re putting down sad old people and it really feels like this is the test of whether or not you can do it, if you can beat Ornstein and Smough, you can beat any souls game. I love that! The feeling of accomplishment that came through when I beat this fight made me feel like I finally understood the game and was no longer just bashing my head against a wall.

4. The Fume Knight- I tried really hard to think to think if there was a boss from Ds2 or Ds3 I really liked and, well, a lot of the bosses in 2 are bland and while the bosses in 3 are a lot better, none of them really stood out to me as much as Fume Knight in 2. If Lady Maria is a test in aggression and the spirit of being a Hunter, then Fume Knight is a test in patience and strategy. This fight was fucking insane and imo, the hardest fight in all of Dark Souls 2, not counting the dumbass ‘fake hard’ that is the Ancient Dragon. Fume Knight taught me to think during these fights and to not just try greed for as much damage as possible. You get openings to attack twice per combo of his and if you need to heal, you need to sacrifice an opening to attack for it. Not every fight is about DPS bursting an enemy as quickly as possible, sometimes you need a more careful and methodical approach. 

Fume Knight was easily the most satisfying fight in the game for me and the reward of getting the Iron Crown + the blessing of assembling all three crowns was probably the most rewarding feeling a Dark Souls game has given me. Ds2 may be my least favorite entry, but those DLC were perfect.

5. Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder- Everything about his fight is perfect. Over the course of the game, Gwyn is built up to be the legend, a conqueror who put an end to the age of the dragons and created a pantheon of gods in Lordran. But as we go through the game, seeing what has become of Gwyn’s friends and loyal knights, and the state of Lordran itself, you can’t help but feel like something’s wrong. When you finally get to the fight, Gwyn is no longer this invincible conqueror, he’s a husk. Gwyn is a burnt out empty shell of what he once was in his fight and it really shows. Shrunken down to the player’s size, almost all of his attacks are parryable, he can’t throw his sunlight spears anymore, and he’s easily staggered when hit, even if you aren’t a parry god when you go to fight, you can still just wail on him with an enhanced weapon and staggerlock him.

By far however, my favorite part of the fight is the music. With every boss in the game, the song that accompanies them always conveys the emotions and feelings the player is meant to feel. The demons all have a very frantic and panicked boss theme, which works as they are the first bosses you fight, Ornstein and Smough have this really cool and bombastic theme that feels like an epic fight against the final guardians of Anor Londo, But Gwyn’s theme? Gwyn’s theme is sad and melancholic, it doesn’t feel like some epic grand finale, it feels like Gwyn’s legacy is coming to an end. 

Gwyn’s fight isn’t the final duel between the humans and the gods, its the sun setting on the age of fire. 

[sole-cuore-amore-e-droga]

Tel Aviv 2019: Straight outta Australia to Eurovision with the Statue of Liberty's opera number

It took 4 years for Australia to figure out one day, “you know what would improve our chances with the viewing audience that’s tired of bland and easily produced pop? That’s right, a GODDAMN NATIONAL FINAL!!!! anyone here agreeing, mates? ehhh???”. And so we finally had an Australia Decides - the whateverth of many of the NFs to be added to the NF family. Where only the best of the best Australian acts compete for their title to get to Eurovision. The last Australian NFs I’ve seen before then were fan-made NFs for online Eurovision fan contests. And they were fun, but now they’re not as fun anymore as a real life-sized counterpart, with shorter than 1 week voting periods, real live performances of totally new songs, all on the same arena, and actual hosts instead of the short but clear instructions of “here are the songs, here are the voting details”. Good times.

Rather exciting the show was, full of anything AND everything. And what did it birth? The first ever totally white Australian participant (nothing wrong with it, it’s just that other 4 ones were of more exciting descents than European), Kate Miller-Heidke. The surprisingly older-than-she-looks operatic blonde with a sizeable career to boot, with nice songs on her overall repertoir (and a chubby lil bun of a son :3). I admit I knew of her from one of those mentioned online fan contests, at the very time one of her songs “Sarah” was popular in a fan circle of like 150-200 people. Since then I heard two more of her songs, so when she (and Sheppard) were announced as part of the Australia Decides lineup, I was excited because of the “automatic name recognition alert!!!” triggering in my head. And I hoped her song is as exciting.

But then I did listen to “Zero Gravity”. And I got confused.

But then again, it’s Kate. I had this moment of realisation that I actually am not a huge fan of her music overall? Just a couple of songs here and there, and probably that’s all. The other ones that I listened to that aren’t those ‘couple of songs’ are nice, but something that I’d only listen to volutarily to torture my inner state of mind.

For me the problem probably arises from the fact that I don’t feel the song’s structure and a lot of things feel like unfinished (because it takes a humongously long time between songlines ksksksk). But at the same time it might as well be the point of the song?? As far as I remember this is very much so about mental issues and how is one trying to break free off them while entering the “ze-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-eeeeeee-ro gra-a-a-a-a-a-aaaaaaa-vity”, and the “stone in shoe” thing (don’t you hate it when you find tiny-ass pebbles in your shoes, guys? cuz I do!!! let alone finding bigger sized ones like Kate just did!!!). Whatever’s keeping her down this time. But for some reason I don’t quite think that Eurovision has really been graced with great mental issue songs - Malta last year was just a cheap pop song stuck in the early 2010s with its dubstep sound; Romania last year was just an average teen sitcom background rock song, and it’s a shame about it being all that forgotten by others because I just happened to like it more and I feel for all those that feel depressed about their own existence and feel like saying “goodbye cruel world, I’ll see you never again anymore”. It feels odd not wanting to break the taboo before I become an animal or going where there’s zero gravity with these songs, yanno what I mean??

BUT! I didn’t say I hate that song. It has its qualities. Like, the verses are pretty decent, it’s just that the chorus feels completely detaching from my interest, which baffles me because I wanna like it more. We have these standard 00s mild-synthpop-like choruses and Kate’s blissful singing into your ear (ffs she starts her verses with “hey you” with THAT vocal sound. You don’t feel like turning up to her to ask “yes”??) on top of them, and then the chorus buildup feels like a helium balloon ride I wanna be let go of already. Alright, well, the 1st post-chorus doesn’t sound TOO bad... but the 2nd one, I’m not really a huge fan of it when she vocally warms up and then SPITS the opera vocals at me scarily. I’m spooked out. And then the last minute of the song is spent with sounding like it’s taken from a cheap-rent theatre play (I say ‘cheap’ because nothing here aside Kate’s voice sounds like OTT theatrical musicals to me), now with some more of delightful opera voice and the backings reminding us all that ain’t nothin’ holdin’ Kate down no’ mo’, ayy! The ending of the song is just so painfully obviously theatrical though, where all the horns rise up and let out a final blast with the final high vocal note like a flat silver-painted chocolate star on top of a dazzling white cinnamon-lemon cake with white glaze and some red berries sprinkled around... I guess I felt excited, I guess I felt like I was carried through a musical journey, but I still ended up completely unsatisfied because there were long pauses in the song that didn’t reasonate with me all that much. My soul really has something against songs that only have two verses and two choruses and that sound like they have potential but are overally unappealing (like me not getting over at how silly “Meggyfa” from A Dal 2018 sounds with all those horsefly and DAW-produced cartooney violins thrown in the song... it should have sounded like a fairytale about a king’s cherry tree, not a peasant’s made-up hallucination of an old and dried-out cherry bush :V). There shall be the day I overcome that obstacle, but for now, I’ll keep it be...

All in all, a competently composed, but at the same time, estrangedly composed song, performed by a classical fairy princess dressed in white and decorated by glitter (and her complementary backings that are cheerful enough sounding for a pop and/or tune). And the entry shines bright, too. As much as Kate’s beautiful teeth and shiny red lips - a perfect combo that could potentially scare an audience for being too perfect.

Approval factor: I’m on a fence with this one, yet again, but my views are leanings toward a mild non-approval. Though objectively I do approve this because it’s finally not a safe-ass entry that is just there to keep Australia afloat on Eurovision, but subjectively... it will take me several lightyears just to get over that severely cheap-ish chorus.

Follow-up factor: Again, it follows up the trail of Australia’s in Eurovision nicely, being so far something totally and completely unexpected from the nation’s, and something so daring in Eurovision overall (we got plain opera songs in the past, now here’s a more popera-musical crossover song that is not anyhow as schlagertastic as that one entry performed by Greta Thunberg’s mom 10 years ago!). A step in the right direction, even if it means that I am personally still inner screaming about it, lol.

Qualification factor: it’s perfectly capable of floating through a couple of places in the territory of both a safe qualification comfort and a hellish danger zone. I’ll leave it up for juries and televotes to judge it for themselves, but for me personally? If that pink foggy cloud from Greece underperforms with no chances to come back into a better shape, I think it could lend a spot to the Oz’s even-foggier thundercloud of joy, and it could even climb up higher if people aren’t overly charmed by the other game changers of the semifinal (like Iceland and Portugal, especially Portugal). But as of now, I guess I’m indifferent anyway the wind blows, and literally anything can happen. It’s truly one of those “anything can happen” songs, I assure you 100%, and it shall be fine, and any result for it will be perceived as spectacular, imo.

NATIONAL FINAL BONUS

FYI, if y’all want, you can rewitness the whole show here (before SBS sues off that for copyright reasons), but let me guide you through some of my personal highlights:

• If you guys that ever read these reviews know of any other Sheppard song than “Geronimo” then it’s okay, and it’s also okay if you don’t (and if you even haven’t heard of “Geronimo”)! I’m just saying that these guys were the first ever exciting sight in the Australia Decides lineup (along with KMH of course), and now, I’m not saying I wanted something that could top over the hit song of these guys in my personal opinion (well their actual NF song, “On My Way”, might be slightly on the path of suffering from the “it’s-no-hit-song-so-it’s-automatically-disappointing”-itis, which is incredibly contagious, especially for all the one hit wonders out there (and not only), but despite people accusing it of not being “Geronimo” here and there, I sat down, listened and simply liked it), I am just saying to stop throwing shit at the artist just because their management is worse than their music. Yeah! Remember the time it was uncovered that Sheppard is funded by their parents’ business being torturous? There are Papua New Guinean asylum seekers locked away in a faraway island where all kinds of shit happens - abuse, torture, rape... and the parent Sheppard is responsible for all this (well actually he’s only 1/3 of the responsible men), and he makes profit off it. That’s disgusting to the max, I know, and by no means I support this pasttime, but I really hope that the Sheppard kids don’t support the way their parents get the money to fund their hopes and dreams, otherwise... well anti-stans you were right. I might as well begin regretting stanning Sheppard now but for a dumb bitch I am there always exist a shard from a broken hope I can hang on to just in case things would get better. Just like the time when Kesha broke free from the Ke$ha image at the time it came out to light that her former producer, Dr. Luke, is THAT kind of guy. Anyway, if there are people down here that sometimes come for the music and not for the backstory, I’ll leave a video for Sheppard’s entry, which wouldn’t have come onto Australia Decides if not for the Sheppard fans (that they still had before the mentioned incident?) that encouraged them to go ^_^ Is your love for this song on fire? (probably not but I still am asking b/c fuck it)

• I know what you’re thinking, so I’ll include Electric Fields as well. And with a good enough cause because I liked their song too, just like many people did. “2000 and Whatever” mixes electronic music with a relatable message for all the millenials out there who don’t want to “live forever”, Aboriginal sounds and cool inclusion of new and unheard-in-Eurovision-before language(s?) and all in all would have definitely made a more kickass Australian entry for this year. And what’s the best about it? They didn’t need to have a big fanbase like Sheppard’s or a relatively middle-sized abroad but big inside like Kate’s. They did THAT by being incredibly fun and unique and gained both national AND international fans with their one year Australia Decides stint, and now the fans are hopeful to see this duo come out on another Australia Decides in the future. I salute their newborn fanbase for being so passionate and hopeful already. Oh, and of course, they got a meme out of their way at the same time without even needing to win (which wouldn’t have happened if not for SBS’s care to translate different languages than their own):

casually describing the jury chatter on National Finals like

But my favourite moment of the performance that they had is when the lead singstress let go of her headscarf to show off her beautiful long dreads to the viewing audience <3333

• For those combined fans of both ESC and RuPaul’s Drag Race, Australia fished out a special surprise with Courtney Act (what, you thought all drag race queens have had to be American of origin?!) being on the lineup as well! Together with several other dancers, she presented “Fight for Love” (not to be confused with Dami Im’s “Fighting for Love”) on the Gold Coast stage - just your typical soft club banger with tight red dressing reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s eccentric costume era and Courtney’s special stare:

I HAVE SPECIAL EYES

(what’s more hilolololarious is that Logo, who aired BOTH ESC AND RDP, has not gotten a renewed contract for Eurovision this year, which means that if Courtney DID win, the Muricans would not be able to see a drag alum they might have loved at some point! As they already cannot broadcast Lady Madge, the only American performing on show, flashing her covered-up sponge pudding. A devastation <3)

• Hey, let’s not underestimate the other acts, too! There were 6 others that I didn’t mention, and among them my favourites were Ella Hooper (as during her performance I felt like I was watching that Shania Twain concert DVD again with her outfit being as outstanding as in this video) and Alfie Arcuri (one of the other names I heard before just like Kate and Sheppard - it’s a homosexual guy that feels confident enough with his sexuality by turning his struggles to songs!), and Leea Nanos (a 16 year old girlie who, like Electric Fields, don’t really have fans, but she came here to have a good time and performed confidently enough for her age! *clap* *clap*) wasn’t so bad, either.

• Australia Decides as a whole is a thing to remember. Not too annoying hosts? Check. Beautiful introductionary postcards (involving the NF guys going around to enjoy nature, talking some more about themselves and a specific soundshape for each act at the end of each postcards)? Check. (Fun) Interviews with the contestants and interval acts?? Yeah, you can check that as well. Behind-the-scenes get-togethers of every one of the participants and them getting to partake in a fun questionnaire?? Wow, they even have that!!! All in all I admired this slick production, the smooth flow and the nice details that went into this whole event. Thumbs up on that one! First organisational pancake did not burn up.

• Then again, every single one of those nice ones have to have an ugly interval act hidden somewhere, like, the German drag-like caricature that appeared on AGT not so long ago, Hans from Adelaide, who did a Eurovision medley and included “Ooh Aah (Just a Little Bit)” in it as well... needless to say, the fandom didn’t approve of that, and obviously the Måns's version from EYD was better.

• Also also, what do other NFs don’t do that Australia Decides just did this year??? A REJECTED ENTRIES COMPILATION SHOWCASE!!! Damn straight! When was the last time you’ve seen one of these? At least SOME recognition given for those songs that were close enough but the NF compilers found much better songs than those ones so those other ones just didn’t get their chance... amazing considering I believe I’ve never seen a thing like that before. There indeed were some rejected NF songs that are marginably better than some from the actual list. And thanks to Australia Decides showing them, they’ll never be any other NFs rejects ever again, unlike the Melodifestivalen/DMGP/etc. ones. Yeehaw. Maybe this serves as a ladder of hope for those rejectees to get up and try again so we’ll see them in another edition?

• Let’s not forget Kate herself. She did come down at us as the Australian version of Statue of Liberty (as the title of this write-up suggests, youhouuuuu) that looks more like someone’s unused Miss Universe national costume, but still very goddamn dazzling. And the rando flying above her presence that couldn’t be “holding [her] down”. What would have been any other way to present a mental issues awareness song than that. Majestic. I’d printscreen her dress for this one in full motion but I’d rather put down this picture with a more interesting shirt choice walking nearby the Australian Eurovision songstress while she was getting down to be ready for her winner’s reprise. I’m sure you’ll be able to see the dress in this too!

(if only I could use some extra fries in life!! =( )

All in all, I applaud the Down Under-ners for a succesful kickstart in the NF business, and I really hope SBS invests in this more than just calling up DNA Productions again to find themselves a starlet from an old Australian Idol/X Factor season that’s of different descent as always and slap a pop tune onto their discography with which they gotta go with to ESC. Would be incredigood. Thanks.

I’ll wrap this cumbersome beauty up by wishing the whimsical beauty Kate all the best in Tel Aviv! Hope your infected foot did not ruin the fun for you, dear sis.

[isobel-thorm]

Answer all the questions for New Divide. Please.

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way? Basically a few months back when that one developer did his spiel about the John intro video, my friend and I both kind of looked at each other “does that mean he’s gonna betray them and we’re gonna have one of the cult leaders on our side but he’s gonna be a spiteful little shit?”. Then the game happened, we were very wrong, my friend didn’t like that and told me to Write A Thing to fix it, and New Divide was born. 

2: What scene did you first put down? A scene that didn’t make it into the finished product. I’ve mentioned that originally Nic was gonna be a lot more sociopathic because of Jacob’s conditioning. One of the first scenes I wrote was her kind of coming out of that haze for the first time in months because John pissed her off. It was basically a ‘talk shit, get hit’ moment that ended up as weird bonding because John appreciated getting his Lady Wrath back. 

3: What’s your favorite line of narration? Because I can’t choose just one:

 John Fucking Seed had just saved her life. He was her blood-soaked guardian demon.  

 There’s a ‘John Seed’s seed’ joke in there somewhere- God, Nic, what the fuck?

Something in the back of her head was screaming at her to stop there, that was fucking enough, this is not you. But it was John.

Also I think I have to say the last couple of sentences of the fic itself which I won’t list because super spoilers, because readers clearly lost their minds about it and I got about six messages from usual readers/readers who came out of the woodwork yelling at me about it, so that was the best feeling.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue? Again, can’t choose just one:

“I have lost everything. Because of you.” 

“Uh... s’mine! I am!”

 “‘So Judas kiss’d his master, And cried ‘all hail!’ whereas he meant all harm…’ ” he recited. John scoffed. “You’ve got the wrong Judas.” 

“You’re my very best friend, you know that? You’re comin’ back. You can do anything. Hell, you yanked whatever stick John’s had lodged up his ass outta there and are planning on beating Joseph to death with it, so you can do anything. Including survive,”

“The only one who gets to kill you is me.”

5: What part was hardest to write? I call the three smut bits the “Smut Disasters” for a reason. Also, writing Joseph was agonizing. Like, I wanted to keep him neutral the whole time, but I also first wrote one of his major scenes during the big fandom war about whether he loved or used his siblings, and since I set it up where he loves AND uses them, posting that/trying to word it as… decently?? as possible was like walking in a minefield.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics? Reader reaction/participation. This is the seventh time I’ve said it but the FC5 fandom is the friendliest, most active, technically verbally supportive fandom I’ve ever been a part of and I love it 

7: Where did the title come from? The Linkin Park song/ the old go-to fandom video song. But at least New Divide tended to be associated with some good fandom videos. 

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it? Outside of my friend yelling at me to write it, not really. 

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic? As mentioned, Nic was gonna be more sociopathic and damaged from Jacob dealing with her. The fic was gonna be super short accordingly, and then the Nick reunion scene happened and John and Nic did a lot of sassing each other via silent communication and I realized there was no way in Hell I was gonna give up that tone. 

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story? During planning,  again it was aaaalllll because of the assumption about the redemption arc. It was always going to be John. But post playing/during writing: Can’t stand Faith, can’t stand Jacob, John was the lesser of all the evils regardless imo.

11: What do you like best about this fic? Same answer as number 8. The fandom/the readers responding to it so much/so eagerly made all the difference. I’ve only ever gotten reactions like that to my main tasertricks fic, but even to the extent that I had with this one. Like, I’m a humble little potato but being a major player in the fic world with New Divide was a massive ego stroke that I very much needed over the last year. 

12: What do you like least about this fic? It’s super dialogue heavy at times and there’s not enough descriptors in places/the descriptors are kind of on the bland side, and then I look at other fics *cough* Revelations from Frequency 12 *cough* and yell because talk about beautiful prose, like why can’t I come up with SUCH ELOQUENT WORDS FOR MY STUFF AS @iheardtheowlcallmenames DOES.  Also, uh… Staci. And I wanted to change it but then it just kind of soured the other reunion later so I had to keep what I did and ugh SO MANY REGRETS. 

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? I listen to the playlist I made for the fic and yell a lot 

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic? I hate followng up number 11 with this but I’mma be petty and go “Look Ma! You can do a decent FC5 fic without having the Dep get sexually assaulted/have a 2 Edgy 4 U backstory and still have it be engaging to people!”   I think I’m like… one out of ten people who haven’t crossed that cringey line. 

15: What did you learn from writing this fic? People like my writing

[spiritgriffon]

Rachael’s Favorite FE Characters

Well, since I posted my favorite Pokemon... everything a while ago, I figured I’d post my favorite FE characters class-by-class as well! I’ll also post my least favorites.

The games I own are Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Shadow Dragon, New Mystery on an emulator, Awakening, Heroes, all 3 Fates & Echoes. I’ve played a bit of FE4 too but I’m not far enough into it to pick favorite characters.

Favorite Lord:

Male- Chrom (He’s pretty vanilla but I still love me my Blueberry Dorklord)

Female- Erika (Who is not NEARLY as foolish as recent entries would have you believe. She’s quite a bit better than Celica at any rate- there’s no way she’d fall for fkn JEDAH)

Least Favorite- Ephraim (He’s such a... warmonger. There is no point in the entirety of SS where I go “Yes, he’ll make a good king!”)

Favorite Avatar

Robin! Robin’s the best. Robin has the best coat. Do I need to say more?

Well, I guess I’ll say too that Robin’s personality is quite a bit like my own, which is why I prefer Fem!Robin. I too, would relentlessly pelt Lon’qu with figs and, when faced with unwinnable odds would, just resort to a Big Fire™

Least favorite goes to... IDK, I want to say Kiran but Kiran can marry Navarre so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite Cavalier/Paladin/Great Knight

Seth wins, but Xander and Berkut are close seconds. Seth/Erika is my ultimate FE OTP- they’re the only ones in the whole series I can’t even bear to pair with anyone else for a playthrough to get their supports. I like Xander/Corrin and Xander/Sakura quite a bit, but neither come anywhere close honestly. And Berkut is my angry garbage son~

Least favorite goes to Jagan. You honestly think I’m going to kill Frey who arguably has better stat growths than both Cain and Abel and keep you? Screw canon, off you go, old man!

Favorite Myrmidon/Swordsmaster/Trueblade

Joushua, obviously!

...

I mean, Navarre doesn’t really count because he’s my favorite FE character PERIOD. Besides Navarre, I like Joshua.

Least favorite is Marissa. Not that crazy about Mia either, but Marissa is just so inferior to Josh stats wise and while he’s tons of fun, she’s no fun at all. If she were in another game it’d different but Joshua makes her look really bad in comparison. Plus she took his spot in Awakening AND I’M STILL SALTY 4 YEARS LATER

Favorite Mercenary/Hero/Dreadfighter

Navarre in FE1

Ike!... Yes, I’m counting him here... Oh fine, Ogma then. They’re both big gay softies that are 40% pure iron muscle and 60% heart. I bet they give the best hugs!

(And no, I don’t believe Ogma’s “feelings” for Caeda are in any way romantic bc he met her when she was like 5 and he was probably 20. He probably feels like her big brother or father- which is equally impossible for him to express due to his lot in life. Plus, Marth never gets jealous around him, while he practically turns green around any of the other characters interested in her.)

(Oh, and I consider Soren to be the more canon partner for Ike over Sothe and Ranulf bc Priam is a thing and I’m like 70% sure Soren is supposed to be trans. And yes, there is a canon lesbian whose name is currently escaping me & Sothe is canonically bi, they just went with the “heavy implied to the point of being basically irrefutable” route instead of outright stating it, so it is VERY possible Soren is trans. I like all 3 ships tho)

Least favorite is... The dude from SS. I can’t even remember his name. He’s the only freaking mercenary in SS and his personality doesn’t do anything for me.

Favorite Knight/General/Baron

The Black Knight of course! His writing is bit... a lot of a mess, but you can’t deny how badass he is.

On a less villainous note, Forsythe is pretty cool too.

Least favorite is... IDK, was there one in Awakening? I thought there was one on the cover but he’s so forgettable...

Favorite Archer/Sniper/Ballistician/Bow Knight/Hunter

Tacomeme :)

Leon is also pretty cool, but he’s not nearly as useful in-game. I like Niles too! But I’d be lying if I said a good part of that wasn’t bc of Takehito Koyasu and his sexy voice rip

Least favorite is Faye in Heroes Python’s inability to hit the broad side of a barn Zero’s stupid name change to Niles Innes. His stats are nice but his personality rubs me the wrong way.

Favorite Pegasus/Falcon Knight/Sky/Kinshi Knight

Probably Claire! I didn’t expect to like her much (I got Maribelle vibes at first), but she really grew on me throughout the game and her supports. I love the way her friendship with Alm was written- if it had evolved into a romance I would have found it believable, but it’s one of the VERY, VERY few times I think IntSys has handled a one sided crush on the main character well.

Least favorite is... Probably Cordelia. Like I said, VERY few times. (Vanessa, Sumia, Syrene, Palla, Catria, Est, Hinoka, Subaki, Tanith and Sigrun all tie for second to last. This is... not my favorite class.)

Favorite Dracoknight/Wyvern Rider/Wyvern Lord

Hmmm... I would say Camilla, but my headcanon version of her is quite a bit different from the way she actually is in canon lol. So... Probably promoted Caeda. Minerva is utterly useless on the battlefield, unfortunately, and I like Caeda about the same as Clare so I put her here.

I guess I like Haar, Jill, Cormag, Gwin, and Valter (As a villain, not as a person) somewhat too.

Least favorite has to go to Beruka. I find her... bland.

Favorite Villager/Recruit

AMELIA THE GENERAL IS COMING THROUGH! MAKE WAY, MORTALS

Do I need to say who my least favorite is? Do I really need to?

It’s Faye. Because... she’s Faye.

Favorite Thief/Trickster/Assassin/Rogue/Ninja

That has to go to Julian! He’s very similar to Gaius, but instead of candy, his thing is puns. Fun fact: I have a blood sugar condition similar to diabetes IRL that makes me unable to eat sugar, so Gaius just made me crave sweets I can’t have most of the time :/

Second place goes to Gangrel or Rennac. Gangrel is actually my second favorite character to romance in Awakening due to his great redemption arc in his supports with both Robins & his talks with Em in the DLC, and IMO he makes the second best dad to Morgan (And yes, I have ALL of male Morgan’s supports with his fathers, yes, it was boring, repetitive, and took hours, and yes, the only one I like better is Chrom), and Rennac is just... so hilariously cranky. They also both go in the “They deserved better in their endings” bin- Rennac can’t marry L’rachel despite their great chemistry and Gangrel flat-out dies if you don’t marry him.

Least favorite... I guess Nina. I never found her very funny.

Favorite Cleric/Troubadour/Valkyrie/Bishop/War monk

Elise! She is... one of two healers I like. In the entire series.

The other is L’rachel.

And Sakura, Lissa, Natasha, and Rena I... don’t particularly dislike.

I don’t like any others. Tat/iana is the worst of the bunch. Tat/iana is actually my least favorite character in the series

Favorite Fighter/Pirate/Warrior/Barbarian

Maybe... Vaike or Ross? Or Boyd? Basilio? Wow, there aren’t any I really like a lot. Guess this is my least favorite class.

My least favorite of all HAS to be Arthur though.

Favorite Mage/Monk/Dark Knight/Sage

Soren! He’s really well written. At first he comes off as a racist asshole, but as the game goes on & you get his supports, he proves himself to be a really great, three-dimensional character. And he’s so gay for Ike. Like, so, so gay.

Least favorite is all of the little red-headed boys that are clones of each other. Except maybe Ewan, because he’s actually useful in-game. Most of the others aren’t.

Favorite Dark Mage/Sorcerer/Summoner/Necromancer/Druid/Witch/Cantor

LYON!!!! Oh man, I don’t want to spoil exactly what happens but suffice to say that he is my FAVORITE antagonist in the series.

My least favorite is either Validar or Iago... I don’t know which to pick. They are how NOT to do a decent sorcerer villain in FE. But all of the Cantors in Echoes also get a special mention for being FREAKING ANNOYING.

Favorite Manakete/Dragon Laguz

Tiki- particularly young Tiki! She’s so sweet... and badass!

Least favorite... ugh, I have to say Myrrh. I do like her, but her uses of Dragonstone are so limited that you can barely use her and while she’s just as cute as Tiki, she’s not nearly as tough. She also has a lot sadder story than Tiki- she’s a really good character, but she just doesn’t make me feel bubbly and happy when I see her the way Tiki does.

Favorite Beast Laguz/Bird Laguz/Taguel/Wolfskin/Kitsune

All hail King Naesala! He’s another character that brings a smile to my face when I see him-and that’s saying quite a bit, since he has a pretty serious story. This man oozes personality- He shows up on screen and you know he’s there to kick the world and rule the ass. And no, that’s not backwards.

Honorable mention to Reyson- every time these two are on screen together you know that Reyson is about three seconds from punching Naesala right in the nose, never mind the fact he’d probably break every bone in his tiny, fragile fist. The fact that Naesala’s only paired ending is with Reyson’s sister is just hilarious to me.

I guess my least favorite is Lyre... She sort of feels like she’s just there to have one more playable character to me, since she has so little bearing on the story.

Favorite Dancer/Singer

In terms of personality, supports, and gameplay, Feena is far and away my favorite. However... I’m honestly not a huge fan of her design, so in terms of appearance, Azura, who I personally think has one of the best designs in the series, takes the cake. The fact she has such a catchy theme song is a huge bonus too!

Tethys gets the last spot because she’s completely useless in battle. I’ve heard Ninian can’t fight either but she boosts your stats- why did they give Tethys the shaft so badly?

Favorite Lancer/Soldier

And finally... ending this on a weird one. See, neither Nephenee nor Oboro do anything for me- I don’t dislike them, but I don’t particularly like them either. So, I guess this one goes to Azura!