#spaced-out-xandy

[rocketturtle4]

Don't mind me I'm just collecting evidence for Ray's complete lack of self-esteem self-anything

(I'm shadowbanned which means that fact that I'm tagging everyone is USELESS (although I may have someone to help me out) but maybe it won't be useless later. Also I also cannot reply to comments, and you will not see in your notes if I reblog your post...fun times) @waitmyturtles should thee wish)

Finally pushed over by this post (@burnsuncomet @dewtu @plantsarepeopletoo) because @thegalwhorants that's right, it is VERY SAD

Because is this scene funny and ironic? Yes!

Do I think people (me, I'm people) are going to swing around in 1-11 weeks time pull out screenshot one and comment not on the irony of this shirt but it's poignancy? ALSO YES. (Screenshots stolen out of this post @chickenstrangers)

So I'm starting my evidence collection now...

Poor Boy Gifs (a selection) (in no particular order)

His t-shirt and reactions @khaotunq

Drunk boy this gifset by @gunsatthaphan

More Drunk Boy this gifset @heretherebedork

This gifset @gunsatthaphan

Also this scene again because it's so awful it deserves to be included twice:

this gifset by @userneos

speaks for itself:

this set by @sunsetandthemoon (whose ENTIRE set here is just good evidence, but I promised myself I'd only steal one gif per post)

Ray's face when he sees Top and Mew dancing

gifset here by @plantsarepeopletoo (multiple parts of this gifset have flashing lights)

this gifset by @nick-nellson

Look how happy he is surrounded by his friends!!!

Oh and I'm sad again...

I gave in and grabbed 2 from this one @raypakorn

Since I already broke my rule I'm grabbing another one from @sunsetandthemoon:

This is clearly just the (shit)icing on the (shit)cake of his (shit)life.

Finally thanks to @plantsarepeopletoo

His pure excitement at the idea of doing this project with his friends help...

verses everyone else...

Other Posts:

You're a burden screenshots (by @heretherebedork)

Information about Ray's subtitle/label "the one who [abandoned/discarded/threw away/cast out] himself" @lurkingteapot

Interesting thoughts on Sand and Ray by @bird-inacage - Ray's Fear of Inadequacy

Someone else who is sad with excellent screenshots @poetry-protest-pornography

I feel like this line might come back to haunt us lol @sparklyeyedhimbo

Trajectory of relationships and sex by @thatgirl4815

also by @thatgirl4815: Ray and apologising

Body language notes @captain-xandis

More random thoughts worth noting (Sand & Ray) @clara-maybe-ontheroad

Tweets

this post by @thatgirl4815

(directly referencing the scene where Ray wakes up and doesn't seem to mind the fact that he thinks he got roofied and kidnapped for sex)

Plus:

originally posted here by @elliebirdwrites

Thoughts

(I'm not really taking it THIS seriously, just apreciating all my feels...also I don't think I've ?EVER actually watched a show from week 1...I normally have 2-3 episodes to obsess over by the time I start. This one ep business is not taking up enough time)

How much of Ray's identity revolves around making his friends (Mew) happy?

How much is he going to break when the ?rich? hotel owner moves into the only space he feels like he has value in?

(and how much is his breaking going to break our best boy Sand?)

Let's see how much Ray(and Sand) can singlehandedly make me cry for the next 11 weeks...It is afterall, a FirstKhao specialty.

(now do I make a similar collection about Sand...or wait till next week hmmmmm....)

I'm going along with the masses and loving the poor boy and his rich (poor) boy.

[ahatintime-oc-competition]

however. i am wondering if i should submit my own oc because i love her so much.

would it be cheating if i, the poll runner, also had an oc in there? i dont know

either way im gonna share her now her name is the maskmaker aka hazel marigold

(last two images were made by spaced-out-xandy and goosesuredoesexist)

[simcardiac-arrested]

revenge for @spaced-out-xandy of her character Lumi!

[spacey-xannabelle]

URL change!

Spaced-out-xandy -> Spacey-xannabelle

[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions] Critical Role 3x52

If the last episode was shocking and heart-stopping, we are now at the other side of the 'its the end of the world as we know it' moment. It's silent and uncertain and they're alone.

In a way, it's kind of a test of faith, except the people being tested don't have a lot of faith.

This episode was such a good way to slow things down after the frenetic Race to the Malleus Keys kicked off.

And god, Imogen broke my heart at the start with the way she is frantically trying to connect with Laudna but was denied every chance of it because of a weird static.

Something Imogen's heard of before from episode 49, The Aurora Grows:

IMOGEN Let me step away from everyone. → I'm going to try to get away from the group a little bit and I'm going to open my mind up and see if I can sense anything around. →

#MATT Okay. →

#LIAM Open your eyes. →

#MATT You open your mind to the space around you. → You do not sense any other presences, which leaves you at ease. →

#LAURA Okay. →

#MATT There is this very, very faint, underlying, best I can describe it as a static or a buzz that you haven't heard before when you've done this, this very light (whooshes) which rests on the periphery of your consciousness. →

#IMOGEN If I look out at the floating lights, does the ripple coincide at all with the static, or is it a constant white noise sort of vibe? →#MATT It just feels like a constant white noise. → I mean, there's maybe some bursts where it gets a little louder or softer, but it's perpetually there. → You're uncertain if the two are connected. →

#IMOGEN Weird. →

And now it's here in full swing, possibly because of the Ley Lines, probably because of Predathos, or both. But it is preventing magical means of communication, and this could probably lead to the development of technological communication.

And finally, we get a much-needed shading of Chetney, I find him amusing but his humor sometimes doesn't work on me -- like the way he was so cavalier about Xandis's life (who is still probably in the eye of that storm unless Ira dimension doored him away).

That put a sour taste in my mouth even though he tried to walk it back, and also more than Fearne, I trust Chetney less because at least Fearne is upfront about her shadiness. Chetney is a troll. Seeing him with Deanna was good and maybe finally will get me to like him. Instead of going, oh he's there.

I also love Fearne's development, like who had it in the bingo card that Fearne would be grounded on in this group and the one who would most likely swat people with a rolled-up newspaper for considering or even considering letting Imogen give up to the storm.

Imogen has repeatedly said, that if she ran into the storm and give-up she'd die. And I think this is the storm Imogen is talking about, her dreams are just portents, this Apogee Solstice, Malleus Key-Ruidus flavored red storm?

This is the real death that would mean the death of Imogen's self.

And it does seem Predathos or Ludinus might have hard-coded something into Exaltant Ruidus Borns to be seduced into walking into. Sleeper agents amongst the people of Exandria.

Fearne being born in the Fey realm is saved from this, as Matt/Otohan phrased it: An alluring, seductive call that Imogen is feeling 100% in full and always have to fight against.

Imogen's feeling of relief when Deanna cast Greater Restoration on her was akin to the one she felt with the circlet. Unfortunately, according to Matt, it's a relief that's not going to last long.

And then there are the two people! AABRIA IYENGAR AND CHRISTIAN NAVARRO. THEIR CHARACTERS WERE AMAZING. And in a way, their relationship with each other reminds me a tiny bit of Imogen and Laudna.

But also AABRIA'S DEANNA AS CHETNEY'S EX? YESS PLEASE.

I also love how the Bells Hells look to outsiders they are wild and they're not even the full group yet. BH is so used to each other's weirdness and danger levels that they barely blink anymore, especially when Chetney ran to transform into a wolf.

FRIDA WHEN THE BELLS HELLS SAY THEY'RE DANGEROUS AND DON'T GO LOOKING FOR CHETNEY. THAT MEANS THEY'RE DANGEROUS AND DON'T LOOK FOR CHETNEY WHILE HE'S A WOLF.

Oh let's also talk about Frida and Deanna's very Buffy Resurrection and which has caused them grief and Issues with their gods. FRIDA, in particular, harbors some let's say... very Aeorean views on gods. And Deanna just has complicated feelings about her god.

But also I hope we can get Laudna and Deanna in one room and talk about their different experiences about dying. Deanna experienced the full Buffy Heaven Package.

Meanwhile, I think FCG is getting a realization about themself too, and yet FCG is stubbornly clinging to their faith system. Both for FCG reasons but also, IMO for Sam Riegel trolling reasons. Imogen and Fearne are just done with it though and would happily chuck the changebringer coin down the ravine if they could.

But also so many people on Reddit have an issue with Bells Hells not being into gods, trying to save the gods and I'm just-- Honestly, I like it more because it means what the Bells Hells are doing is a choice. And they're trying to stop Predathos because to paraphrase Guardians of the Galaxy: THEY AND THE PEOPLE THEY LOVE LIVE ON EXANDRIA.

And then of course all this to end with:

A WEREBOT MAYBE???

[infoglitch]

Nexus: ogre slayer. [1/2]

(oh hey look glitches back uploading more of his original work. Well actually it's kind of obvious that I would considering I don't just do Rwby though I am a fan of it considering the fact that I'm making a rewrite. Anyway enjoy these three pages that have all been merged into one.

[Season 1] "ogre beasts?"

After awhile Xander and Johnson headed back to their rides.

"So wait that thing was a uh..." Johnson said trying to remember it's name classification.

"Ogre beast." Xander added. "Ogre beast right duh and what are they actually?" Johnson asked. Xander sighed.

"Okay I can't explain all of your questions but I know a place where they can be answered so get on your ride and follow me" Xander spoke calmly. Johnson noded and they got in their rides, xander having a three wheel motor bike, and Johnson has his motorcycle.

They drove off. As they drove Johnson started noticing more of the city that wasn't just all skyscrapers and buildings there was also some, wildlife? Not only that, there were multiple parks with massive trees but also a lot of other plant life probably wouldn't be surprising if he find more than just raccoons roaming around the streets.

As they continue driving they stopped at a giant building with a glass dome for a roof. The outer walls shape the building into the shape of a violet's bud. It was actually rather beautiful just looking at the building.

"I present the hunter foundation one of many foundations that are all part of a something much bigger and other fancy stuff." Xander said pointing at the beautiful building. Johnson just stared in awe of it.

"Well anyway come on apparently I'm going to have to take you on a tour of the building" Xander continued as he started towards the front door then realize Johnson was still looking at the building and then promptly walked back to drag him to the front door.

When they enter they saw many people with different outfits and weapons on them, not surprising there being weapons cuz this is the "hunter foundation".

As they walked there was a giant boom and everyone in the building looked to see smoke coming from a hall as a male covered in ashes walked out trying to dust himself off with his hands.

"God dammit another Mech blew up" the male said as he got the ashes off, his Cobalt jacket showing more now after getting dusted and the male had silver hair with a similar cobalt eyes.

"You good jay bird?" One of the hunters said. "Does it look like I'm good?!" The male known as Jay retorted.

"Hey bolt!" Xander said catching jays attention, he walked over to xander "sup green bean" jay said shaking Xanders hands.

"Hey uh I got a newbie here and he has no idea what ogre beasts are" Xander said gesturing to Johnson.

Jay noded. He then looked at Johnson and started to inspect him. "Uh what is he doing?" Johnson said. "Doing a pat down. Making sure you ain't going to do something risky" Xander replied.

"Oh" Johnson spoke then jay started patting up his chest. "So....your in the clear, also one how old are you, need to make sure this doesn't come off as illegal" jay said.

"17" Johnson simply said, "oh so your younger than me and xandy boy" jay responded.

"Wait... Xanders older than me?" Johnson said slightly surprised. "Yes I am, just because I'm shorter and look younger doesn't mean I am younger." Xander spoke putting his hands on his hips.

"Wow" Johnson replied, "ok two weird question, you gay?" Jay asked which threw Johnson for a loop. "Uh I'm straight.... Why you ask" Johnson said confused.

"Just making sure you didn't enjoy the pat down~" jay said pretending to flirt and Johnson was not into it.

"Personal space please" Johnson said and jay backed off. "Sorry" jay said, Xander just chuckled at this.

Jay, Xander, and Johnson then went down a hallway and entered what Johnson assumed to be Jays mech garage.

Then again with giant mechanical body parts scattered around the damn place it'd be kind of dumb to not assume that this was a Mech building garage because it was already obvious that this is a mech building garage.

"So what are we here for Xander?" Johnson asked. "You were wondering what the hell ogre beast are remember?" Xander said.

Johnson did a "oh" and then noded. Jay then pulled out a computer and set it on one of his many tables that were just limbs of a mech. Jay opened up the computer and logged in.

Johnson simply tilted his head confused as Jay check some tabs and then closed his computer. "Was that for the ogre Beast thing?" Johnson asked, "no I just looked up a grilled cheese recipe" jay answered with Johnson just staring blankly.

"Anyway to explain ogre beasts is pretty simple basically there's this thing called the ogre virus no one knows who created it nor why it was created. All we know is that it causes a genetic mutation inside of animals causing them to mutate and get bigger and more violent" jay spoke as he fiddled with some thing.

"And it's up to people like me and Jay to hunt these fuglies down and do the good old 'off with their head' treatment" Xander added. "Wait if it's that simple why didn't you just explain it to me" Johnson asked again still confused.

"Well that's just the abridged answer to actually explain it is to go on a scientific blah stuff" Xander answered as Jay face palmed.

"Well since that's all you came here for I'll see you off unless-" jay said then looked at Johnson, "you want to see my builds cutie~" he flirted. "Once again I'm 17" Johnson said bluntly as he backed away.

Jay chuckled as Johnson and Xander left. The two entered the mess hall and sat down at a table.

"So...." Xander spoke as if he was about to ask something. Johnson looked at him "I know we just explained to you in The abridged version of what ogre beast are but uh you want to join?" Xander ask trying not to sound stupid as FuCk.

Johnson just stared.....

And stared

And stared

Xander face palmed and groaned "just answer the question" he spoke. Johnson noded "yeah... Wait does this job pay?" Johnson asked. Xander just looked at him "ya fight giant fucking monsters why would you not get paid?!" He shouted.

"Well you know just seemed like all those cartoons I watched as a tween." Johnson answered. "your a dumbass" Xander groaned out.

10 days later.

It had been awhile since Johnson joined Xander, And he learned some interesting things like for instance.

"WAIT HELL IS REAL?!" Johnson shouted at the revelation that not only ogre beasts exist but HELL ITSELF DOES ASWELL! "Yep sadly it does though you're not at a high enough rank to go there" Xander said as Johnson sighed in relief.

"Now how about some practice! I've been itching to see what you can do with that new sword ya got there" xander continued pointing at Johnson unconventional sword.

Johnson pulled it off his back the blade was thin but big and it had a strange blue glint to it. "I call it gante I had the blacksmith design specifically for me in mind" Johnson said grining.

Continuing with the appearance the reason why it was so unconventional was because the weapon itself was a two-handed saber with the blade looking like it had a razor pattern. You'd think it be breakable but it's not.

The metal was combination of titanium and surprisingly quartz aswell as some iron.

Eventually we see Xander and Johnson head to a field of red and green? roses. Once they arrived Johnson took a stance and prepared gante. Xander unsheathed his blade.

"I am xander oakgreen the emerald tide! Me and my gree gunto will smite your existence" Xander spoke as he and Johnson stared each other down.

"Well if we doing that then I'll introduce myself" Johnson said before cleaning his throat "I am Johnson purgatorio red! I am son of Nora red and Alexander red" he announced and something appeared to click in Xanders head.

Xander then shook his head and got in fighting stance legs wide swords tip facing Johnson and blade beside Xanders head, the tether was detached from the blade.

Johnson did some what the same stance except the blade was pointing up.

They stood there waiting for who would make the first move. Johnson noticed the fault in his stance and realized something.

Johnson smirked as he then rushed forward as Xander got ready, and when Johnson was just close enough xander struck the hilt of his sword, Johnson however placed the flat side of his sword on top of his head and back, his blade blocking the strike from Xanders sword.

Johnson let go of his sword and grabbed onto Xanders legs and used his entire weight to push him off balance, Xander then fell backwards.

Johnson got up and went to get gante but Xander got up and dragged him back, Johnson stumbled back as Xander got into a boxing stance.

When Johnson noticed he got hunched over as if kneeling. Xander did a small "ha" before Johnson sprang at him and tackled him.

Johnson after tackling Xander pinned him to the ground by bringing his left knee and right arm together and holding them tight.

Xander after squirming gave in and tapped Johnson shoulder. He let go and got off the brunette letting him catch his breath.

"God damn where the hell you learned that?!" Xander asked panting. "Uh I guess with my brother" Johnson said.

"Bullshit!" Xander shouted which startled Johnson, "I know you must have had some kind of training because one I finally know why your last name was familiar and two no body can wrestle like that by just wrestling with their bro" he continued.

"Wait how is my last name familiar" Johnson asked as Xander groaned and goes to a mail bin of an abandoned building, he walked backed to Johnson and opened the news paper and showed him a article about a Alexander re- wait.

THAT WAS JOHNSONS POPS!

"WAIT THATS MY OLD MAN!" Johnson voiced in utter shock as Xander covered his ears. "Maybe don't shout to the heavens please" Xander said irritated.

"Sorry, but I knew my dad was rich and all but not famous rich." Johnson spoke. "Well my amigo he is and you are son of the dude." Xander said as he wrapped his arm around the boys neck.

"Well anyway that was some good practice" Xander said, "you mean your ass getting handed to you gourmet style?" Johnson said smirking as Xander turned red with annoyance.

"Ha, ha, shut up ya toddler, atleast I get bitches." Xander said, "I highly doubt any of that" Johnson retorted. As they went to their places to stay.

[purewhitewolf]

Valentine's List...

Kaitlyn, looking at the calendar, hums. "Valentines Day is coming..." She grabs a list from her desk. It was full of names and notes.

"No chocolates or strawberries for Past but get lots of soft (light blue) roses and pineapples, run naked in the woods together. Tons of chocolate Shadow and fox shaped sculptures and (red, dark blue) roses for Brooke as well as gift her a sexy calendar of the three of us(her, me, Shadow). Make a chocolate sculpture of a dragon and cecaelia making out for Xandy and Dimitri. Help guides with their romantic plans and soul bind partners with a kiss."

There was more...

"Make out with Astrid while covered in catnip anyplace. Take Helga to the fair and win her a prize. Take Cally to the zoo. Massage Sky with special oils in the space room where we had our first date. Help Mike set up cake surprise for Fenrir. Get Lex a jar of sugar to remind of our first meeting. Get Cat and Victoria a grand meal to hunt."

It kept going...

"Amanda only likes white chocolate and apple pie, Wooly gets peach pie, get yellow and pink roses for Fred, go to Red Mountain to see Voryn Dagoth and Indoril Nerevar. Help Uncle Discord and Aunty Tia with their chaotic date, ask Aunty Flutters for help with tea. Deliver golden flowers to Chara, Frisk, and the two goats."

And going...

"Kai only likes balloons, book a themed park for all 500 kids with Shiki the Destroyer, have a fucking orgy with my Misfit Gangs of mates at our favorite hangout, pay child support to Barbara, apologize to Dirk for sleeping with his mom and dad, obtain feathers of Stolas for Sheogorath."

And after thousands of more names...

"Cover self in chocolate and whipped cream for Flandre and Lisa, have violent hate sex with Raoul in the dungeon, visit dad with Jacob and Ranini to give mom's lily in her memory, kiss Death in Purgatory under Renati's rainbow, and finally go to sleep and spend time with Aya in a soul essence dream recreation of our ancient city...."

[hummingvoid]

ARForest - The Last Page [BOFXV19]

First attack against @starlit-xannabelle  /  @spaced-out-xandy with Lucy. Oneiron showcasing a dream orb to a fellow dream creature. Very shiny, though kinda bittersweet. :]

Yes, I know, it's Lucy again. Can't help it, he's so cute I wanna hug him! Hope you like it. :D

[aeviterncl]

"Hey, Xandy-kins. You know that ginger who works over at the cafeteria? Does she somehow share your genes? Or is maybe your long lost sister even?" Vivian questions, allowing curiosity to lace her tone. "'Cause you two look awfully alike."

Perhaps she was being a bit too nosy, but that question itself had been bothering her all week, to the point where after spotting Xander by a table near where she was shelving books, she finally brings her to air out that one query she had been meaning to voice aloud. Vivian, though, might have done so in a way that was a bit too blunt for his liking.

UNPROMPTED ┊always accepting.

Ever since he had worked on that chemistry assignment in the library, Xander had found it a bit of a relief to work when Vivian was around. Although he didn't really want to use his little rectangular hand-held low vision aid tool in public spaces, the library was one of the few places where everyone minded their own businesses, and even if someone was curious, it was unlikely they'd ask. The redhead was simply doing some textbook reading for a math course (as he had recently bombed a test and needed to go over concepts again) when Vivian called out to him.

Moving his hand using his elbow as the pivot point to get the magnifying tool out of his field of vision, Xander forced his focus on the girl who wanted his attention. Looking up from the book pages he no longer could make words out for, the redhead turned his head in Vivian's direction. Propping his other elbow on the tabletop, he rested his chin in the palm of his hand, taking this chance to relax for a moment and digest all the reading material.

❝ No, she's only a friend of mine. I have an older brother though, ❞ Xander answered. This question had been popping up a lot recently from the professors they happened to share. Was it because of their similar appearances? Likely so. It wasn't really common for two people to have obscenely red hair like his and Larisa's on top of similarly intimidating looks (as others have described them) and somewhat distant personalities. Would it discredit the rumor if he revealed his hair was dyed? Who knew? Except, Xander didn't want people to know what his natural hair color was, so his lips were sealed on that front for as long as possible.

Noting the curiosity from Vivian, Xander paused for a moment to brace himself for the follow up questions, ❝ why do you ask? You want to befriend her? ❞

[theeverlastingshade]

Rat Saw God- Wednesday

There have been plenty of great records that have come out in 2023 so far, but very few records have captured that simultaneous self-assured, slow-build accumulation of talent and experience with a real genuine sense of idiosyncratic expression akin to something like the latest records from Big Thief or Waxahatchee. Enter the band Wednesday, who released their 5th LP, Rat Saw God, last month after years of following along a natural progression of steady touring and releasing records that have just gotten better and better (RSG follows this trend with aplomb). Wednesday have plenty of tried and true touchstones (they couldn't be any more unabashed about their love for Drive By Truckers and The Smashing Pumpkins, and I can hear more than a little Neil Young and The Swirlies in their sound) but on RSG their warped and weary americana manifests in songs that are better realized, more thrilling, and exude far more personality than almost everything else that I've listened to from 2023. RSG is a loud, deeply unsettling record that brims with some of the most cathartic music that I've ever listened to.

Wednesday are a 4 piece consisting of vocalist/guitarist Karly Hartman, guitarist/vocalist MJ Lenderman, lap steelist Xandy Chelmis, and drummer Alan Miller (RSG was recorded with the addition of bassist Margo Schultz who has since left the band) that splits the difference between alternative country, shoegaze, and classic indie rock. Their earliest music was far more indebted to classic shoegaze, with blistering waves of feedback accentuating the harrowing details of Hartzman's bleak small-town narratives. As they progressed the music became richer and more multifaceted if not necessarily less noisy, and Hartzman's harrowing storytelling became more striking and inimitable. Wednesday started as Hartzman's solo project before the other members joined the fold, and while they've been playing as a proper band for years now (Lenderman co-wrote some of the songs on their early EPs) this is still unmistakably Hartzman's project. All of the songs on RSG were written by Hartzman and performed by the full band, which only amplifies the record's singular point of view despite exuding an inclusive communal feel in no small part due to the remarkable amount of chemistry among the band members.

RSG doesn't exactly push Wednesday's sound in any new directions, it simply refines and amplifies everything that they had been doing well for the last several years. Lenderman's solos are nastier and more dynamic, Hartzman's writing has gotten darker and more specific, and the band are writing and playing rich, multifaceted songs that don't necessarily invite themselves to easy listening despite an impressive command of melody. Wednesday have been tagged with the "country-gaze" tag since the jump, and while it's by no means entirely misleading it certainly misses the full scope of what they're doing. The music is raw, unsettling, noisy, twangy, and deeply human above all else. There are understated songs like "What's So Funny" that sound so wispy and formless that they might blow away in the wind jutting up against noisy, life-affirming shoegaze freakouts like "Bull Believer" in a way that not only sounds completely logical, but like the most natural pairing of sounds and sensibilities imaginable. It's part and parcel of Wednesday's gift that they can carve out space for and honor all of their influences while still making cohesive statements that sound true to themselves.

At 10 songs in 37 minutes, RSG is a bad-vibes sprint that's anchored by two particularly muscular singles ("Bad Believer", and "Chosen to Deserve", respectively) and consists of several other songs that are more succinct but no less sinister. Opener "Hot Rotten Grass Smell" needs barely more than a minute and a half for the band to set the record's tone with a storm of squealing feedback and Hartzman's forlorn tone, but the impression lingers like the titular smell. While RSG on the whole is loud more often than not (distortion-laced freakouts inevitably erupt at some point on most of these songs) it still offers a few breathers like "Formula One", and "What's So Funny", both of which scan as fairly straightforward country rock fare rendered with a caustic eye for detail, regardless of their specific context on RSG. On the other end of the spectrum we have those aforementioned singles, which are easily among Wednesday's most ambitious songs to date. "Chosen to Deserve" gets a ton of mileage out of Lenderman's massive southern rock riff and a plethora of particularly unsettling imagery from Hartzman, while "Bull Believer" begins as a noisy indie rock romp before transitioning into several minutes of hair-raising shrieks from Hartzman as she's encircled by trudging shoegaze guitars. The sonics shift, but the tone persists.

Since RSG was written entirely by Hartzman and recorded with the full band the music is heightened by the deft chemistry between band members but the writing still manages to retain a singular perspective. It's unclear how much of RSG is auto-biographic, but it's clear that these 10 unsettling songs are deeply felt missives from life spent growing up in the American south. Hartzman's writing hits a new peak throughout RSG as her lens fix themselves on a wide range of topics that span sour relationships "I sat on the stairs with a never-ending nosebleed/You were playing Mortal Kombat" ("Bad Believer"), Benadryl overdoses "One of those times my friend took a little too much/He had to get his stomach pumped" ("Formula One"), overpass vehicle destruction "Truck was too tall for the overpass/Got the top ripped off, didn't see it happen/Just saw the aftermath" ("Formula One"), and so much more with striking specificity. The strongest writing emerges on the record's second half in the form of gripping short stories brimming with personality. "Quarry" in particular is a masterful exercise in dispensing detail while sustaining tension as the band dovetail from one increasingly rich verse to the next before the song culminates in a substantial drug bust. RSG is far from an easy album to stomach, but it's unlikely that you'll find another 2023 album that makes you feel as alive.

Essentials: “Quarry”, “Bull Believer”, “Bath County”

[sinceileftyoublog]

Wednesday Album Review: Rat Saw God

(Dead Oceans)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

In a minute and a half, Wednesday reveal their palate and ethos. “Hot Rotten Grass Smell”, the opening track to their incredible new album Rat Saw God, immediately juxtaposes country guitars with shoegaze squall. Songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Karly Hartzman references Smog’s “The Well” before turning inward to a bleak vision: “Your closet froze after you left / Except the people who took your shirts / Closed off your door with yellow tape / Saw myself dead at the end of a staircase.” The song ends with a sudden cut to field recordings of peepers. Heartbreak, anxiety, life, death, both the natural environment and the concrete depression of the South. It’s all there for Hartzman’s poetry, and no moment is too small or too ordinary for worship.

Hartzman’s a true blue country singer, combining Angel Olsen’s crying wail with Lucinda Williams’ deadpan drawl, and she sports the observational prowess to match. The band’s unique aesthetic, a combination of twangy indie rock with overwhelming fuzz, spans eras of music and only serves to emphasize the universality and perennial nature of her themes. If on the band’s previous album Twin Plagues, Hartzman first practiced putting her vulnerabilities to tape, she’s doubly honest on Rat Saw God. “The racecar driver died on TV / I ran like hell into the burning house / It’d been too long since I had felt the sting,” she sings on “Got Shocked”, a reminder that feeling is living. On the same song, a cricket jumps behind a fridge and stays there for two days. You’re forced to ask yourself, “Who would I rather be?” Yet, songs like “Formula One” and “Chosen To Deserve”--the former using the same car racing motif--occupy different spaces of the heart. They’re sweet dedications to her partner, Wednesday guitarist MJ Lenderman, whose nasally backup vocals beautifully complement Hartzman’s coos on “Formula One”, whose riffs (along with Xandy Chelmis’ prickly pedal steel) propel Hartzman “tellin’ you all my worst” on “Chosen to Deserve”. “If you’re lookin’ for me / I’m in the back of an SUV / Doin’ it in some cul-de-sac / Underneath a dogwood tree,” Hartzman hilariously declares on “Chosen to Deserve”, wearing her warts not like badges of honor but as simply and sincerely formative parts of her past. 

Wednesday expertly build tension alongside Hartzman’s stories, a necessary representation of how bad things compound in real life. On “Turkey Vultures”, an increasingly desperate narrator tries to create deeper meaning from tragedy; Alan Miller’s drums gradually change tempo until the song pummels, Lenderman’s guitars squealing with pain. “Bull Believer” follows a similar pattern, albeit over an epic 8 and a half minutes. It’s a song about watching someone succumb to addiction, or the desire for a merciful end to the worst, but just like bull in a bullfight, it’s often death by a million stabs. As Hartzman recalls watching someone play Mortal Kombat, she cleverly chants the game’s famous catchphrase, “Finish him!”, but dragged out to a squirming length, as she lets out piercing out-of-breath screams and cries. It’s the type of catharsis that allows her, emotionally exhausted, to look at the fictional characters of “Quarry”, or the real person who overdosed in a Dollywood parking lot on “Bath County”, with zero judgement, just as much empathy as Bill Callahan before her.

That Rat Saw God ends with the unassuming road song “TV in the Gas Pump” is entirely fitting. The titular object “blares into the dark.” What could be more plain? Life goes on, minutiae are at once endlessly boring on the surface, limitlessly interesting if you stop for a moment. Wednesday implore us to observe and share.

[trobbio-silksong]

@spaced-out-xandy *points at whisper* same hat!!!

[cryptic-lily]

i have this image in my mind of kamal saying "haha that's funny it's like a normal sized puppet compared to you but when i hold it it's like too big. it'd probably be like perfect for you ahaha" and then totally dismissing it

[drhabits-habitatat]

*kissies* you got a kiss uwu

“tahnk you guyss!!”

[parsleyrosemarybotch]

”Hey that was a really weird color, mind saying that again?” part of my art trade with @spaced-out-xandy

[teeth-lillies]

It's the middle of the night and Kamal heads to the kitchen to fetch a midnight snack. He opens the fridge and is about to grab the first thing he touches when he hears rustling. He turns to the source of the sound. He sees multiple glowy eyes in the barely illuminated kitchen. The Lintbits are stacked on top of each other. They are raiding the cabinet for Kamal's secret cookie stash

Oh my fujking goodness