#relistening to it and knowing everything is also Really Good and in some ways it's even BETTER the second time around w the knowledge

[yardsards]

we need to make the voidfish real so i can experience listening to taz balance for the first time all over again

#eliot posts #taz #taz balance #the adventure zone #i know that's technically not how the voidfish works #if i erased all knowledge of the adventure zone from my head using the voidfish #then i'd just be rendered completely unable to listen to the podcast bc all i'd hear is static #but god. to be knocked over by those twists again. to be baffled by the mysteries again. i want it so bad. #relistening to it and knowing everything is also Really Good and in some ways it's even BETTER the second time around w the knowledge #but it's not The Same as learning everything for the first time

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 14th Jan ✨

Oh, friends, I have had a shit week but these listens have definitely gone some way to making it bearable. Happy Audio Drama Sunday 🎧

👻 @tellnotalespod oh how I love you and how I have missed you!! It seems that some time has passed since the end of S1 and Leo has OBVIOUSLY made absolutely stellar choices in the meantime. Nothing is better for one’s mental health than isolation and trusting the slimiest creature on god’s green earth. 

🦀 @thesiltverses (37) my beloved Silt Verses have returned with a frankly exceptional HOUR long episode filled with so many things to scream about that I don’t even know where to start. Val’s revelation that extreme power can also be used to bring people joy is VERY interesting indeed. They were never going to be able to control her, but I doubt it even more now. And PAIGE stepping up!! Part of me really wants a Val vs Paige stand off but most of me wants to protect Paige at all costs… I am loving the music choices this episode and the scene with the telephone calls was so good! Also, PLEASE stop foreshadowing Carpenter’s death, I am going ‘lalalalalala I can’t hear you!!’

🧳 I listened to episode 8 of Travelling Light by @monstrousproductions after a night shift and the hazy tiredness only served to make it even more transcendentally beautiful. I adore the blossoming friendships aboard the Tola, especially between the Traveller and Óli 😭🌌

👁️ @malevolentcast (39) I love it when you can *feel* that an episode is gearing up to a season finale, a few little loose strands tied up here and there but one BIG problem looming for the finale. I NEED to remember to not listen to this show when I’m emotionally compromised in any way because I found myself bloody sobbing as Marie was talking about her son. I should know that Malevolent is going to play dirty with my emotions. 

🏛 @the-mistholme-museum ENDLESS okay I don’t want to ruin this for anyone who hasn’t listened yet but !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!! and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! let’s go!!!!!!!!!!!

🐬 @patterspod P Files brought creative levity into our lives with the tale of Professor Fantabulum. I’m honestly a huge fan of the idea of creative genius as a torch passed on to the people who you inspire

🌨️ @thewhitevault (5) Oh I just don’t trust this guy at all. . . everything he says is so perfectly plausible that there’s just obviously something wrong with him. My friend pointed out that the family meeting mentioned surveyors . . . . .  Now S has been killed by something . . . . I just adore the way The White Vault slowly ramps up the cosmic kind of horror but you’re so distracted by all the other scary human shit going on that your brain is primed and ready to be terrified by the obviously fictional stuff by the time it happens. It’s such clever writing!! 

❤️‍🔥 The Love Talker (6) Ah, now, Ren…. Just because you *can* do something, doesn’t meant necessarily mean that you should… you feel me? Some of the anatomical descriptions in this episode made me want to vomit a little. It’s so awful, I need to know what happens next!!

🏢 @somewhereohio (S2E5) I’m absolutely living for these scenes with Green and Sterling. Are they squishing my heart into pieces? Yes. Do I feel sick to my stomach thinking about the impossibility of trying to perfect and control the one you love? Yes. Can I have more, please? 

🍾 I finished season 1 of @ameliapodcast and what an absolute DELIGHT that ending was!! What an absolutely masterful raising of the stakes at just the right moment in time to keep the listener absolutely hooked. I hope Tara and Lily come back one day, they were so much fun and I think will be even more fun as free agents! 

🌫️ @souloperatorpod dropped this week and the first episode is very intriguing indeed! I think I need to relisten without any distractions if I want to stand a chance of collecting all the threads of red string I’m going to need for this show! I really love the theme music and am very excited for more! 

♦️ The Grotto continues to be an absolutely WILD delight. I caved and listened to two episodes this week but it’s okay because I still have ep 4 in my back pocket. I love the music, the sound design, the fact that it is literally impossible to work out what the hell is going to happen next. Go listen to The Grotto!! 

Thanks to everyone making art - it makes things better 💓 I’m so excited for @camlannpod next week!!  

#audiodramasunday #audio drama sunday #tell no tales #malevolent spoilers #tsv spoilers #the amelia project #travelling light #the mistholme museum of mystery morbidity and mortality #finding pattersby #the white vault #the grotto #soul operator #the department of variance of somewhere ohio

[ashironie]

spoilers for tmagp ep 12. im making this on tuesday then relistening and adding more thursday.

i’ll be doing 2 in front of every thought i had on my second listen

Alex doing the title card? maybe a norris case? mayhaps?

2 Is getting of in relation to the bonzo lap dance turned dismemberment?

oh god.. first ep without a transcript… what the actual fuck are they saying

2 Oh thank god i have the transcript… sam actually got some rizz

celia and sam in the off room? i assume that’s why it’s so FUCKING ECHOY

2 Panting? man this guy is out of shape

2 awwww i kinda heard this part my first listen through </3. Alice unrequitedly loves Sam and Sam unrequitedly love Celia who unrequitedly loves Lena who unrequitedly loves Gwen who unrequitedly loves Alice (i don’t ship half these but it is funny to joke about imo)

2 SAM IS SUCH A CHARMER I NO LONGER WANT HIM TO DIE FIRST (sorry colin, looks like your up, and so is your time)

awwww, celam fans are gonna eat good with this one

my headphones are also broke so i can’t hear jack

ALICE YAY!!!!

2 something about alice makes tmagp 10x more understandable

aw but you love him for it :7

SHE IS JEALOUS!!!

he is so not over the institute, sam and alice are alike like that, he’s not over tmi she’s not over him

awwww alice stop being such a pessimist! like please do say it, i want sam to get out of this bullshit alive as much as you but like… yk

2 OH MY GOD “im sure celia would just love that” SALT IN THE WOUND SAM SALT IN THE WOUND!!! SHES IN LOVE WITH YOU YOU IDIOT DONT TALK ABOUT YOUR CRUSH IN FRONT OF HER!!!!

NORRIS!!! I WAS RIGHT!

norris sounds so robotic, i think i even heard him skip a bit. it’s either jonny is too much of a theater kid, or this is actually important to the lore. norris being less human, sounding less emotive, maybe a bit sad? hm? maybe a bit lonely?

2 the skip is on the words “Policy Number: 548651-656” and on “2024” or more specifically the numbers, which isn’t important in don’t think, but really does remind me of tts

fraud?? ooooooOooooOOOOooooo

ha “acting in good faith”

2 love the way Alex says dickheads, it’s so specific and so pointed

hey i know what a stag is!! i watch a british bitch give one to a 70yo! (its a bachelor(ette) party, im pretty sure)

a lunch box? OH MY GOD BONZO! IS IT BONZO OH MY GOD BONZO?

2 don’t you DARE insult my dear dear comic sans

YES BONZO!!! MR BONZOS ON HIS WAY HE WANTS TO STAY HE WANT TO PLAY!!!

wait why does lena want him murdered?

YES IT WONT TURN OFF!!!

wait cheer?

ew, i hate bonzo

ew…

HUG IT WHY ARE YOU HUGGING IT?

ohhhhh it looks not bad

JOEYS BOOTS????

OH MY GOD IS THAT WHO LENA WANTS DEAD?

OR THAT GUY WHOS STAG IT IS

2 “Just then the googly eyes turned to me,” im sorry but that will never not be funny. i am both disgusted by bonzo and think everything he does is hilarious.

oh god

ewwwwww

WHY ARE THEY LAUGHING? oh they didn’t know

wow dude i feel like that’s overkill bonbon

dut do

why is this SO visiral?

2 ugghhh i love the voice acting

His teeth are not soft

alex saying “bonzo…? bonzo bonzo?” is absolutely hilarious (although i don’t think it can top jonny’s “baaaaa”)

“none of us were left whole” WOW DUDE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKIN HAND?

AW SHIT

YEAH SUE EM! SUE EM TO HELL!

GWEN!

HAHA ALICE YES

AHHHH DYHARD MOMENT DYHARD MOMENT!!!

ALICE WAS SERIOUS!!!!

ALICE IS TRYING TO COMFORT GWEN AWWWWWWWW!!!

SERIOUS TALK!

THAT LITTLE GWEN LAUGH!!!!!

I WAS SO SCARED WE WOULDNT SEE GWEN

awww gwen getting her hopes up that alice isn’t fucking with her, so cute

YES!

#tmagp #the magnus protocol #tmagp spoilers

[looking-to-rattle-the-stars]

thinking abt gillion but i think for my 3am thoughts post i actually wanna talk about the ferins

like there’s so much we still don’t know about ava and the ferins have such rich lore and it makes me want to explode i would fucking kill a man for an episode just where jay and drey just like talk or some shit and we get to hear more about the ferins. cause like ?? jays the girl with “special blood” and also her family (at least dads side) has that whole thing with the sun and then their eye(s) turning golden ?? and then fucking may with the tree !?!?? god i circle back to this one ferin art post on the patreon because just god I WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM !! they’re such an interesting family and i feel like their stories might go back to the small beginnings of mana but who knows! not i! oh my god and jays grandma too i need to know more about that woman because look at her sons !!! and circling back i would love to hear more about ava. just grrr i cant think cause im tired but i would love to know everything there is to know about the ferins and their role in mana. i seriously gotta listen to the fucking uhh hole in the sea oneshot especially with the recent shit going on good god.

erm anyways cause i love siblings do you think there was a period of time where jay maybe blamed herself for ava’s death. like maybe she felt that if she has stayed with the navy that what happened to ava wouldn’t have occurred or that she could have been there to do something, maybe taken her place? HOLY ??? DO YOU THINK AVA AND JAY COULDVE BEEN PARALLELS TO JAYSON AND DREY??? i gotta relisten to fucking uhhh 101 or find a supercut of times ava was mentioned.. i know jayson is incredibly fucked up but do you think maybe he was part of the navy with the hope to make a difference and then his mother fucking twisted that ideal away from him and maybe that’s why he is now? do you think maybe he encouraged ava to join with the purpose of changing the navy for the better? also while i’m here i feel like grandma ferin may have had a role in ava’s death because like there’s no way in my mind, as fucked up as jayson is, that his first born child and one of his captains he could just watch die like that. but anyways yeah thinks about ava and jay i want to know more about their relationship :( cause jay loved her dearly, enough to go looking for answers in relation to her death, i just ough i would kill just to hear about a childhood memory of hers with ava. i wonder if may has flowers at the tavern in ava’s memory :( like maybe tiger lilies perhaps? or like maybe small bundles of baby’s breath and forget-me-nots,, sighs also thinks abt jayson and drey cause like OUGGGHHH fucked up brothers holds them in my hands i want to know their in depth story too i just really love the ferins and their lore

okay it’s fucking uhh 3:40am and i got class at 9:30am so hopefully i don’t miss that lmaoo anyways i leave you with

albatrio to mars by sleeping at last

okay nighttt

#jrwi riptide #ava ferin #jay ferin #drey ferin #jayson ferin #jay jrwi #jrwi jay #jrwi ava #jrwi drey #jrwi #jrwi spoilers

[music-my-beloved]

Please Please Me: A 16yo's (horrible) album review

I Saw Her Standing There 🧍: She was just 17 apparently! Honestly I reallyyyy like the song !! She's electric and vibrant. Uber catchy and is kinda adorbs ! I'm not 17 but I shall imagine that this song captures what it's like to be 17 in some way, shape, or form ( hopefully, maybe not idk ).

Misery 💧: uh, babe it's giving break up !!! If I made a song like this all I'd hear is "God stop wallowing in self pity and get yourself back up there !!" But sometimes people need a little time to rot in their feels and I think this song is great for that !!! It's not super catchy but overall I didn't hate it. Music doesn't need to be catchy to be good >:3

Anna (Go To Him) 💍: I LOVE ITTTTTT. Man, Anna's a meanie girl ! What she did was dirttyyyyyy 😭😭 but good on the guy for letting her go and be happy even tho he couldn't be,,,, it was so sweet !! Uh anyway yeah this song is so good. I love how longing and sad it sounds. It's like if Misery and I Saw Her Standing There had a baby. It totally fits the 60's I can see it playing at a dinner or something !! Also, Anna girl, give that ring back !! 😭

Chains ⛓️: Honestly I can see myself liking this song in the future (two or three weeks from now) and it's honestly a really unique take on love that I really like. His girl's got him chained down with the chains of love !!! Not in an oppressive and controlling way but she's got him locked in !!! He loves her so much, they're connected 😣

Boys 🤷: Erm. Gay Anthem?? Don't know what to think about this one I really don't know 😭😭 talks about 'em all the time I guess??

Ask Me Why ❓: It's so cute !! I can also see this one being played at an old diner. The do-wop sound is like, addictive and supperrrr catchy. Really like this song. Kinda reminds me of A World Without Love by Peter and Gordon !!

Please Please Me 🫵: Honestly kinda forgot about her ?? After the first listen it was like I just had a fever dream. But also that might have been because I was in the car with my parents talking and I could hear them through my headphones so idk you tell me :/ but now that I've relistened to the album while writing the reviews I love this one!

Love Me Do ❤️: Don't really jive with this one :/ it's not a bad sing but it just wasn't my cup of tea !! I feel bad saying that 'cause I don't wanna be the typical teen that "only listens to catchy, simple songs" but this one just wasn't there for me the way Please Please Me and Anna were 😭😭

P.S. I Love You 💌: ITS SO CUTTTEEEEE !!!!! Was this song a precursor to All My Loving like, directly ??? If it wasn't I probably look stupid saying that but whatevs. This song is like, old and faded is a really lovely way like,,, who writes letters anymore, it's so romantic!!! The simple guitar is like, really bleeding through to me for some reason idk good job George !!!

Baby It's You 💕: 60s came through with this one. She is PUNGENT. It's giving Runaround Sue !! This one just feels like a classic.

Do You Want To Know A Secret 🫠: Elementary school yard ramped up!!! I can almost hear the children playing and yelling in the background it's so cutesy. Overall a pretty good track. Wouldn't mind hearing it again !!

A Taste of Honey 🍯: Reminds me of a song i'd hear in Rango.. hmm. I don't like this song as much as I feel I should?? Didn't quite give with me, it's just another track I guess (idk this review felt mean 😭😭)

There's a Place 🏩: Its like an amalgamation of all of the songs in the album. I'm hearing baby it's you, please please me, and literally everything else idk it's so strange

Twist and Shout 🌀: This song is iconic. There's nothing I cans at that will add or take anything away. Might be a bit overrated idk it's just me . But it's uber high energy and I like it !!

More Reviews Later, Next Up: With The Beatles ..

#guys pls dont grill me i have literally no musical talent #im doing this for fun #dont hate me 😭 #the beatles #george harrison #john lennon #paul mccartney #ringo starr #album review

[mildiva]

So I’ve Decided To Start A Blog About Music And Parties

the idea came to me on a break at work after leaving my phone at home, my mind never clearer… i should be blogging about music. pitchfork is dead, first of all, and third of all it’s something i cannot live without, so why not?

I’m not sure of the “” format “” this will take but right now i’ll just write things as they come?? and part of my love for music is of course parties. they’re still so life giving to me and i still think nothing is better than dancing with gay ppl some of whom are my friends and hearing them dj. some of them are even good! it’s just spaces of eternal and endless flowing love. anyways.

arianka is back!! when i first heard yes, and?, i thought “alright miss grande this is cute!” and it’s grown on me ever since. I’ve been anticipating this album, seeing what direction she would go. i’ve been listening to sweetener every day for the last few weeks mostly because the eating 4 free series on ariana recontextualized her… everything, i guess?? i’d always seen her as just like a Nickelodeon product industry plant which as a certified quirky-not-like-other-girl syndrome haver did not interest me. i was still listening ofc but i wasn’t invested like i was in say lady gaga (and oh how the tables have turned on stefani the pharmacy tech but i digress!) anyways the five part e4f series on her, how she got started with looping covers of imogen heap on youtube, her serious involvement in the production of all her albums, really digging into the pain and scrutiny she’s been through from her time with The TV Producer Who Shall Not Be Named to the donut incident (which i always thought was a slay) to the literal Manchester bombing, her relationships especially with mac miller… not gonna call myself an arianator or w/e but i am a fan now, especially after relistening.

before i get into the album i just want to say this: the music video for we can’t be friends was adorable! it’s very sad that we don’t get music videos anymore because they’re not profitable or useful for marketing. still haven’t seen the yes and video but i’ll get to it. my main point is that give evan peters a stingy little mustache, grow his hair out a little longer, and he could pass for spongebob slater! so many people on twitter are mocking him for his looks/ariana for being with him but gassing up evan. look, ethan is… not a guy i would approach in a bar let’s say, but i’d let him buy me a drink, you know? and if we’re to believe ariana on supernatural and ordinary things, they have something special! tweets will go viral about “every hot girl needs a medium ugly bf” but she’s not allowed to do it? anyways.

if you detect a pivot in tone here, it’s because i’m no longer blogging with a sour cream donut and 3/4 of a dunkin latte with oatmilk and nothing else fueling my body, sun glowing through the clouds and full of optimism.. there’s a harried blogging now while i try and finish this before i hop in the shower to get ready for a hookup tonight. also, i’ve been thinking and listening to eternal sunshine again, reading and digesting lyrics and of course many many stan tweets about it.

first, i’d like to amend something i stated earlier that i refuse to edit: evan peters represents dalton her ex(?) husband, not ethan. (side note: i wonder if she’s thought back to the line in thank u, next where she says she hopes she’ll only get married once. either way the song is still a smash!) i of course forgive my confusion because, for reasons unknown even to myself, i assumed the majority of this album was about the forbidden romance that soon overflowed into her public relationship with spongebob, but it’s not! this is very much a breakup album and nobody is bored in it.

i’m really fascinated by this because ariana took such a turn in disappearing from the public eye after getting together with dalton (which was certainly aided by the pandemic). as a non-stan, i couldn’t tell you what little she HAS been putting out, but if the inimitable joan summers couldn’t find pictures of her for a two year period, it’s safe to say she was lying low. and yes there have been jokes and supposition about “ariana wasn’t allowed to talk about the divorce as per their agreement but she sang about it~~” BUT! if we take that into consideration (and also rely on the journalistic analysis of e4f), most of the negative press and comments came from dalton and his camp. divorce agreements and technicalities of speech aside, i think she chose a much kinder way to speak about their relationship. even she says she wishes she hated him (knowing very little about their relationship, I’m happy to hate him off of the line about him turning the tv up on her crying) but she doesn’t! even with songs like the boy is mine, supernatural, and ordinary things, she really details a story of a relationship disintegrating with both her and dalton finding other people. it’s certainly not the cheating homewrecker story everybody was running with months ago. even if the arianators turn on dalton, he’s still spared any real damage to his reputation because she doesn’t paint him as a monster, scoundrel, narcissist, etc. not to get too “a man can laugh but a woman can only chortle” about it, but i hope people who wrote ariana off listen and reconsider that despite the tabloids and the lyrics, none of us know what went down in that marriage.

okay but what about the music? this will maybe be the shortest part of this blog (oops!), but I’m really fascinated with the narrative around and in the album. the music, I’ll probably need to listen for another week before i have anything worthwhile to say (i need to go full geek on it). keeping it brief, it felt very airy. sonically it sounds like the imaginary room the cover was shot in: spacious and full of sunbeams. something about some of the songs (wait for your love and yes, and?) felt very 80s to me, but i’d need a psychoanalyst to explain that to me. you still hear an rnb influence throughout, but why wouldn’t you? obviously the boy is mine, but true story as well with the bass straight out of “pony” by ginuwine and a drum pattern (pattern, not sample, don’t get it twisted) similarly to “don’t hurt yourself” by beyoncé. my personal favorite of the album was imperfect for you, but i’m a sucker for a pedal tone that creates dissonance, what can i say?

if you’ve actually read this far thank you? im amazed that you read a 20 mile long blog that frankly, is not even well written yet. xoxo 🐇

#music #blogpost #eternal sunshine #ariana grande

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 191 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: mowing the lawn.

Does anyone understand what Martin is mumbling in his sleep? I've listened to this part so many times now, I feel like I'm at work...

MARTIN: "You were sleeping with your eyes open again." You know who else sleeps with their eyes open? Cats! Jon is a cat, confirmed!

JON: "What was I like at Salesa’s?" MARTIN: "Oh, you’d just completely conk out. Eyes open, obviously, cos god forbid the creepy ever stops entirely, heh, but –" JON: "Thank you." MARTIN: "– you’d just be dead to the world. I actually got a bit worried, once or twice, but you always woke up fine. You said you didn’t dream. Sounded pretty happy about it too." Aww, finally some fluffy fan service again! That "Thank you", so amused, so fond!

MARTIN: "Hey, I meant to ask. Do you recognise that woman, Celia?" Hehe, Martin already reacted to her name last episode^^ Lynne Hammond is her pre-Change name.

UNNAMED: "Names are how they see you; they’re how they find you in the files. You can hide all you want, but if they know your name, they can see you. And take you away." Oh, that sounds like some conspiracy bullshit...

I feel Jon so much, I also can't shut up if I hear someone obviously getting things wrong...

MARTIN: "Do you need to make a statement?" JON: "Actually no. I haven’t since we got down here. I suppose it must be the tunnels. Nice to be a bit more in control, although it does feel… odd." That's so good to hear, Jon enjoying just being Jon.

ARUN: "You don’t believe in them, do you? In their power?" OMG, the way he taunts Martin!!! I really can’t with religious fanatics..

I'm with the tape recorder/Web on this one. I think it was very important to record Martin and Arun fighting xD

JON: "I don’t know. I know how Georgie gets about people in her care. If she thinks helping us will endanger them…" That... is really sad to hear. Those are random people Georgie has known for, what, half a year tops? Georgie and Jon used to date. Even if they got into a bad fight when they parted, there has been affection there once. They seemed like halfway decent friend when Jon lived at her place... And these people are now more important to her than Jon? And later it is actually Melanie suggesting to help them in their cause..

JON: "If, however, we find a way to somehow destroy or, uh, eliminate the powers… I’m not going to be okay. There’s too much of me that’s part of The Eye now. I don’t… know what would be left of me without it. Maybe I just die. Maybe I survive, but I lose… something. My identity. My mind. My… memories. I don’t know." We hear later from Annabelle that Jon would survive this and stay more or less the person he thinks himself to be (whatever that means), and I kind of can see that this works... Right now, the Fears exist, the Eye takes up a big part of Jon, and while the Fears exist in this world, in general even if blocked out - sometimes more, sometimes less - that part becomes hollow and can't keep Jon structurally upright and he threatens to collapse. But if the Fears completely vanish, that void goes with them and the empty space can be filled with Jon again and support is once again given. (Also yeah, the tragedy part, he could have been okay and so forth...)

JON: "Martin, when the time comes, I need you to promise me that you won’t try to stop me." MARTIN: "I promise. I love you, Jon." JON: "I love you too." MARTIN: "But I’m not going to doom the world over it." This is super important! I mean, Jon will bring it up again, when the time comes, but this is the origin of their promises and how each of them will think the other one didn't keep his.

MARTIN: "And you have to promise me you’re going to do everything in your power to live. That you’re not going to sacrifice yourself at the first opportunity, just because you feel guilty about what happened" JON: "… I promise." Both of them don't really believe it will come to it, that's why they promise. Martin is so sure, that there is another way and that he never gets in the situation of having to let Jon go. And Jon thinks, in his infinite knowledge, that there's no way this could possibly end good for him..

GEORGIE: "And it’s not like the tunnels have gotten any safer with them hanging around." Wow... How she emphasises "them"... Another thing to throw on the I-don't-like-Georgie pile...

MELANIE: "It feels crap, you know, just doing nothing." GEORGIE: "We’re surviving. And trying to help others do the same. That’s not nothing." I mean on the scale of "trying to save the world" and "doing nothing" that's pretty far on the "doing nothing" side... And this will be Georgie's suggestion in MAG 199...

MELANIE: "and I’m sick of people acting like I should feel so super-sympathetic towards him, just because he’s had a rough time of it. I’ve had a rough time of it from the second I met him!" You can have had a rough time yourself and still show empathy...? This isn't a competition. I get not liking people, you don't have to like everyone, that's simply not possibly. But a bit of empathy for others also isn't like the hardest thing in the world...

Bit sad that Melanie ended up still hating Jon. I felt like she did have character progression at the end of S4. What happened to "He's welcome as a friend"?

GEORGIE: "Well, we’re not going up the tower, but… yeah. I want my cat back." Finally something we can agree on!

Oh and just last episode I was wondering if the recorders ever clicked on themselves without either Jon or Martin being present? Well, at least after the change I can say they do! xD

@a-mag-a-day

#a-mag-a-day #mag 191 #tma #tma spoilers

[humanmorph]

C/W (01-05) thoughts

Finished the first C/W arc + first faction game (which really took me a while. I'm blaming PALISADE and also the bad weather and ALSO getting obsessed with finishing a bigass drawing in 2 weeks)!

I've said this in a different post already when I had just started listening, but I had like, way lower expectations on this, which seems silly in hindsight. I think I just have a tougher time relistening to podcasts (it's not an issue with rereading books or rewatching movies, really), and often stop about halfway... But it's just really fun to look at C/W again having listened to the rest of the Divine Cycle (and also the other seasons, because it's fun to look at the different player characters throughout). And like. They've gotten better at this over the years so by comparison C/W is 'worse' but it's still fucking good. When it hits it hits, and it honestly hasn't even really started hitting yet (though there's some good moments already for sure. Mako buying a bunch of robots was exactly as funny as I remembered it being)! I'm pretty much just excited for everything, but the Kingdom Game expecially. Something else I'm enjoying (and he'll always continue to do this, but it's so Present in C/W) is how Austin describes scenes. He uses film making language SO much (Counter/WEIGHT is an anime, right)! It's good stuff. I'm trying to not get too used to the system because I know they'll switch. I know WHY they switched and stuff & agree with that decision but I still think it's a cool system & am enjoying the time with it, even if some scenes do drag on quite a bit (which isn't only because of the system, but it also isn't helping).

Some character stuff, I guess: AuDy: They were my favourite at the start last time I listened and I think that pretty much holds up. They're just good. They don't even do that much in this first arc (although dropping from the ceiling as a distraction is pretty fucking great), & I think most of the really good AuDy moments are still coming up, so it speaks to the fact that it's just a good concept for a character that I immediately enjoy. I'm pretty sure they continued to be my favourite pretty much until September? I guess l'll can talk more on it when I get there, though.

Mako: I'm gonna be honest I remembered Mako as way more annoying than he is. At least in this beginning arc. He's literally fine. His whole fogging robots deal is kind of weird to listen to now, since it's something they'd either not do now or actively adress in the story since it's a kind of way to take away agency that's pretty uncomfortable when you look at it longer. I wonder if there's a way that'll come up in the first Chime mission mini-arc? Their hands are a bit tied there since it's a prequel I guess, but there's probably a way to do it. Anyways, Mako ends up as my favourite by the end of the season, and I actually don't quite remember how he got there? But same with AuDy, I'll talk more on it when I get to September (it's possible it was the clone reveal. I love those).

Cass & Aria: They have to share a paragraph because I don't have an extremely strong opinion on them either from my last listen at this point in the story, nor do I now. I'm excited for Aria stuff expecially though. I've mentioned this before, but I'm definitly better at listening and actually processing information now, and it's extremely possible that I just missed things about both Aria and Cass that were just kind of mentioned in a sentence but are actually very important to their characters. (Looking back, I listened to C/W right after I had covid, so some sort of brainfog might also be at fault.) Expecially because Ali isn't very. I can't think of the right word now. But she's just quieter in play (not audio! that's Art.). It's nice seeing everyone get better at this, but for Ali expecially I'm super excited to see her go back to Aria for that mini-arc.

Re: the faction game - it's really good that I know that they cut back on factions later / consolidate them because it is. Not overwhelming necessarily but it's easy to get confused? I feel like I need to take notes on what factions do or like, also have a list of all of them to check to keep track. It's probably a good idea to check out the summaries on the wiki after I listen to these & see if I missed anything. (I keep zoning out because I'm thinking about different, later Counter/WEIGHT stuff, usually related to something they just mentioned.)

All that aside: with the scenes and also just ideas generally they are pretty much immediately crushing it. Like oh my god that first Snowtrak scene just rules so much. That's critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends right there.

I definitly didn't draw fanart when I was listening in 2020, and I don't know if I will now, but I'm at least in more of a mindset to even want to do it. (& actually, there is ONE scene I was extremely wanting to draw even back then, I just thought I couldn't do it. I do think I can do it now! And I will at the very least try.) But speaking of art, here's a Hudson Thorne for your troubles if you read to the end:

#i should take more notes while listening im so sure i forgot something i was thinking about mentioning. whatever itll come back to me. #or not #counterweightposting

[nako-doodles]

i need your thesis on all the songs in the album i'm being so serious rn 😭 i'll rb it once a day for months and months don't deprive me like this of things i didn't even know i needed

ioaefjerjgioajo ill try my best aiofjoerjgiojao i was so annoying to my friends over my first impressions over all the songs so im gonna try my best to summarize my thoughts on these songs

joonie said this entire album was a recollection of everything hes done in his 20s aka the transformative years of his life and you can ABSOLUTELY hear the member influences (at first i heard the sope influences bc they have the biggest body of work so their style is most distinct but upon relistens its really a love album to his younger self (you can really tell its an evolution from rm and mono) and his members. ALSO i love how he modulates and changes his style and timbre to fit the style and quirks of his featuring artist? hes so fucking cool????? oh my GOD?????? anyways heres the impressions by song:

track one: yun ft. erykah badu very hot of him to start the entire album w 'FUCK THE TRENDSETTERS' the bassline the restraint of a laidback soundscape the reverb set to max the lines 'I wanna be a human / ‘Fore I do some art / It’s a cruel world / But there’s gon’ be my part' is so fucking insane? fuck. this song lyrically is all about uncertainty and the soundscape has a lot of space for growth and white space for art to be exhibited dare i say, its like the debut group's first stage? full of promises and expectations and uncertainty, but you march ahead regardless......what a sexy first song on the track track two: still life ft. anderson paak

BRING IN THE FUNK HELLS YEA VHOPE IS VIBING SO HARD RN I JUST KNOW IT now the empty space and reverb bassline is given some direction and happiness here. still life is a form of art and thus begins rm's first piece of art here in his lil art collection and joon accepting that things will come as they are and ppl will try to reduce him down to one thing, but hes still a fully realized human moving forwards like us all

track three: all day ft. tablo

ok this bassline and instrumental SCREAMS yoongi to me. the lil kick between verses the beats w the bassline the high melody line the bridge that sick transition from verse to chorus like no wonder tablo is here. i know yoongi draws lots of inspiration from epik high so it makes sense. sonically speaking this song takes the funky sounds of the previous track and condenses it and brings a hint of melancholy just in time for our next track. speaking on less fun notes, tablo is really the only other person who survived such vicious tonguelashing and emerged more powerful and a better person and im just glad joonie has someone to look up to.

track four: forgetful ft. kim sawol oh our queen of folk here to deliver some nice kindie chill vibes thank you i need it for our coming song mwah. here we slowly start to hear the funky bright poppy merge to a chill sound this song was for tae i just know it!!! sonically theres some fun stuff going on but it feels like a cooldown piece for the rest of the album. joonie really said i can pull off ALLLLLLLL genres.

track five: closer ft. paul blanco mahalia

the rnb influences the syncopation the pop beats i bet jk is having the time of his life singing to the chorus. the guitar and the beat and the piano makes me an immediate fan. also they modulated the message beep to be in the same key??? as the song?????? AND it gives us a diving board into the electronica of the next song and then the sound expands when joonie comes in???? i love it.

track six: change pt. 2

OOF KIM NAMJOON DID SUM NASTY WORK ON THIS SONG ITS SO GOOD ok ok ok so this sudden electronica synthpop isnt jarring bc joonie did a fantastic job ordering this album BUT you know whats the fucking kicker???? the way he arranged this song. on paper this song should NOT fucking work but it does bc they used the same chord from the synths as the piano that comes in later even tho it turns to double time half way thru the song and it would be amazing at there BUT(dont quote me on this) change and change pt 2 are either in the same key or are on relative keys AND if you listen to change ft wale which starts on the piano and goes to electronica, he does the exact opposite here???? fuck and the lyrics mirror each other as well????? fuckK

track seven: lonely

this is the love song to mono the reverb on that guitar the upbeat melancholy the tokyo forever rain vibes are THERE BUTTTTT hes added more complex transitions and layering? like even in this short amount of time hes grown exponentially fuck kim namjoon ur so sexy track eight: hectic ft colde

THIS IS THE HOBI SONG OF THE ALBUM YES KING GIVE ME THAT BOUNCY BASS AND HIGH AIRY SYNTH CITYPOP VIBES YES KING i NEEDD someone to give me a just dance x seesaw x hectic remix asap it would sound SO good. also as someone who listens to a lot of colde/offonoff, this collab is SO FUCKING good bc you can hear coldes influences as well? its so good my god the sax the lil touches the production FUCK. ANNNDDDDD they switched to double time again for this outro so the next song doesnt come in too jarring??? mr kim how did you fit so many genres into this album and yet they all belong together????? im in so much fucking awe man!!!!!

track nine: wildflower ft. youjeen

ive told you pretty much everything i wanted but fuck the production on this song is just so fucking good. the details. the expert control of the soundscape. the arrangement. i cant wait to hear vocal line sing youjeen's lines. i also love that he put his title song at the end bc hes at the end of his 20s. this is him currently. hes still growing and growing roots and stretching to the sun fuck man i cant believe this song took over my most played joonie song forever rain in a week.

track ten: no 2 ft. park jiyoon

and here we are returned to the starting spot but slightly to the left, like when you've walked thru the museum exhibition and am spat out the exit right where you started, but w the new insights and experiences that the you from an hour ago didnt have. joonie is a masterful curator and this song ouroboroses us right back to listen to this album again. the tongue in cheek of ending w 'no looking back' when im ready to replay this album again like you literally inviting me to replay this album youve made it a point to end like this?????? lmfao kim namjoon who do you take me for hmmm?????

if youve made it to the end here i love you nothing makes sense anymore i only know that i love kim namjoon and that ive had this album on loop and i STILL hear new things in it i have no words for how much respect and awe and love i have for this man. and when he said 'fuck the trendsetters' he really did it. he dabbled in ALL of the most popular sounds and genres you hear in the music industry, pulled it off w aplomb, and moved on. anyways i love kim namjoon.

#im sorry i ranted at you this is a nightmare to read 😔 i hope this makes sense #anna i hope youre ready for th moost rambly thing to have ever existed im not proofreading any of this im sorry #ans #muwutuals #i just noticed i didnt mention jinmin but in my defense neither of them have had.....a style to them yet? #theyre both musical chameleons bc everything works for them but they havent had the time to explore their specific sound if that makes sens #theyre both still developing their own vibes and musical quirks but i cant wait to hear how they grow

[babacontainsmultitudes]

hello!!! hope you are well!!!!! asking all the dndads folks this .. what are your hopes / predictions for next episode

Hi you!!! Hope you’re doing well too :]

Hopes and predictions huh? Hmmm…

Haven’t put too much thought into the realm of actual predictions for this one, truthfully! I’m *hoping* it’ll be a pretty Linc-centric episode (well, Linc and Grant!), which feels reasonable enough to expect?

Very excited for whatever Matt is gonna bring to the table more generally, really. Aside from Lincoln just being the bestest fucking boy, I think Matt more than all the other players (granted Beth excels here as well) just does a phenomenal job at remembering the core themes of the show (“Family!!!” I scream from the rooftops, “This is a show about family!”) and accordingly pays a lot of attention not just to the arc of his own character but to that of Grant as well (and of course all the intricate ways in which the two are intertwined)- a fact that I think is obvious just by looking at how many of Matt’s dad and teen facts revolve around Grant actually! But that’s another post lol. But yeah, even in last week’s teen talk he stated:

“I’m sure Scary won’t be happy with Grant but like, I think, the thing I’m more concerned [with] is obviously Grant- is gonna be how Grant feels about himself. Him screaming “no” after he did it is like, that’s rough”

Which is just- ugh it’s everything to me. That to say, I’m really pumped for what’s to come on that front, since I have a lot of faith in Matt to steer things in a direction that is narratively satisfying for both Lincoln and Grant. Also, it’s such a small thing relative to all that’s going on but, I really do hope that Anthony remembers that Grant hasn’t heard Lincoln’s new voice yet lol, I don’t want that to go unaddressed! Ugh I almost wanna go and relisten to “The Staircase” just thinking about all of this- I’ve been waiting for Grant and Linc to confront each other for *SO LONGGG* hahaha. As a final note on Grant, cause if not I could go on forever, in the teen talk Anthony stated:

“(…) I’ve already had some thoughts as to what he [Willy] wrote onto Grant’s collar”

Which seems to imply that the kiddads don’t all have the same thing written on their collars, which is very interesting! Makes me wonder about Lark and Sparrow as well (<- this got me thinking: “what if Lark and Sparrow’s collars had things written on them that forced them to be apart from each other” or something to that effect OUGH that’d be so rad anyways anyways total tangent loool).

*Otherwise*, FUCK ANTHONY BETTER REMEMBER NICKY. Lmaooo he better parachute in at some point in this episode or else!!! I’d love to see him have to confront Terry’s death, I’d LOOOVE to see him confront/interact with Grant, and I really hope that his reactions to either of those things isn’t just “fuck this shit I’m out” and then he poofs away as he is one to do. Especially now that Anthony decided for convenience’ sake that Nicky can’t make portals anymore- at least keep that consistent lmao. If he *did* try to just dip though, my hope would be that Taylor steps in and actually confronts his dad about that trend of his. Because really, ever since Waterdeep when you think about it we’ve seen that Nick has this bad habit of running away from his problems rather than confronting them (granted his behavior is I think pretty understandable in a good chunk of those cases) and so… Well I guess now that Taylor has become more attached to his dad I would like to see him actually call Nicky out on those behaviors and how it affects him as his son and let his dad know that, well, he doesn’t want Nick to walk out of his life again, y’know?

Hopefully that makes some sense haha, didn’t mean for this ramble to be so long! But yeah, I guess those are the main things running through my head atm (I’ve also been thinking about Scary and Terry and how all that shit is gonna play out ofc, but nothing concrete to say on the matter as it stands).

:3 Wbu???

#SORRY THIS CAME OUT SO LONG LOL #dndads #thanks for the ask this helped me put together some thoughts that'd been running through my head that I was too lazy to make a post about #grant wilson #lincoln li wilson #dungeons and daddies #nick foster #nicky freeman #taylor swift dndads #taylor swift #tags tags tags... #But yeah I'm really just along for the ride with this one however it goes I know it's gonna be good I feel it in me bones

[broken-clover]

*poke poke* okay your turn lets hear some music takes! (no need for a long list like i did you can just tell me your top and bottom picks if you wanna)

Iiiiiii spent way too much time trying to analyze these. It felt like a good excuse to look at them all, your analyses were really fun to read! And I like making lists! Unfortunately I am way less knowledgeable about rock genres and music in general so this'll be less smartly analytical as opposed to me just screaming. Also I found out that I was way more opinionated on some songs than on others. Not surprising I guess but man looking between my thoughts on Chipp's vs Faust's was a little embarrassing.

Find Your One Way- Likewise I absolutely got the title confused. Tbh I think it'd make more sense if it was 'own.' I feel like this song sums up Sol well in terms of being edgy and rocking but mechanically pretty straightforward. Not bad, just kind of basic. It's serviceable. Just…not much else

Roar of the Spark- I fully maintain that Ky has not had a single clunker or flop theme, not even in the original vocal tracks. Tonally and lyrically it's an absolute gem. I adore how the sparkly keyboard gives it a bit of a 'holy' vibe. Not a second of it doesn't absolutely go hard. This is one that I regularly relisten to not even as a video game theme but just a song I love banging my head to

The Disaster of Passion- A little basic? Sure. Absolute bop? OH BOY IS IT. Utterly bursting with energy, but it never comes off as exhausting or cloying. For the most part I really love AISHA's themes, and it's another one I listen to for fun a lot

Out of the Box- I appreciate that even if I'm not a huge fan of the theme it still very clearly reflects who it belongs to. A very offbeat and leisurely feel, fits Axl perfectly. I love the drum kicks, but the high pitched parts are a little silly. At least it knows how to a decent chant, unlike some themes.

Play the Hero- ….man, it really is an anime theme, huh. The sudden sweep of energy going into the first chorus does do a great job of pumping you up. I wish I had more to say. It's good, it does its job.

Armor-Clad Faith- I don't know about 'underrated,' but I feel like the low, grinding, industrial vibe really fits Potemkin and creates a really powerful atmosphere that gets a bit overlooked. You can feel Potemkin, but you can feel the mechanical nature of Zepp surrounding him too. As much as I love Engage I'm tied between them, they both create really good atmosphere

Alone Infection- (Prepare for a long-winded mess)

It's been a hot second since I listened to this one, at least before Another Story, and not to read too into stuff, but I feel like the whole thing is an abridged version of Faust's entire plot arc. The first portion is growling and harsh and whispering with fretful undertones, which fits really well with his original snap as Baldhead, psychologically he was all over the place, unable to process the grief and self-loathing, and even after stopping with the killing and trying to atone, he had nobody to connect with or to talk to in order to help him understand and process his psychological damage. It constantly hangs over him, but nobody else can see it's there aside from him.

The sort of goofy vaudeville/circus-esque section could be a lot of the 'Faust' persona, but I'd lean towards Xrd and maybe the tail end of the XX-series. He's happy! He's fun! Don't focus on the undertones! He's the happy silly doctor man, everything is fine! Everything is fine!! But it's temporary, because it's just a band-aid on a stab wound, making everything look good on the outside. As soon as you prod it, it's obvious that barely anything has changed, and we're back to the chorus

And just as quickly, it all cuts out into a gentle guitar piece. I think this could be Another Story. It's finally quiet, no distractions for him to use to ignore what he hasn't been able to address. He recognizes that he's been running from his past and the trauma that comes with it, and is able to see 'eye to eye' with himself. It's difficult, and it's something he hasn't wanted to look at, but it's what he had to do in order to accept what happened and finally let it go.

While the final section is basically the same lyrics at first, it's much more grand and sweeping, soulful and dare I say it, hopeful. Positive things are mixed into the line about grief, and the final round of the chorus gives off the impression that he's come to terms with the fact that his trauma is something that he still is the only one that can see the full depths of it, but it's something he's accepted as a part of himself and can allow to coexist with the rest of him rather than overshadowing everything like it has for years.

Love the Subhuman Self- Ough Millia sweetie I'm so sorry I overlooked your theme it's fabulous. Tbh in general I love whenever they go for a more electronic sound, and the opener does give off a slightly lopsided vibe, like Millia herself isn't psychologically solid. But the low, grinding sound it veers into not long afterwards also works really well for her tonally, it remids me of a Metal Gear track, and offers up a mental image of her masking her uneasiness and discomforts with the rigid assassin duties she's given. The growl in the chorus also feels like a pretty obvious nod to Zato, and how even in a song that's supposed to be about Millia and who she is, he still seeps in. Even if she tries to move on, he's still there.

One thing I hadn't noticed the first couple of times that there's a sense of…almost childishness in some of the lyrics. The repeated mention of lullabies, throwing rocks into a lake like children would do, specifically the mention of looking 'cute' rather than something like pretty or beautiful that an adult would use. Could be overanalyzing but I like the suggestion it gives off that her upbringing left Millia psychologically stunted in some ways, and part of the reason leaving the assassin lifestyle is so difficult

Let Me Carve Your Way- Okay. Yes. The opening and the ending do worm into my skull and do indeed slap monumentally. However, I think the middle of the sandwich is just…decent. Basic in the same way that Sol's is, and I don't think it flows into the ending well, it just kinda stops and starts as a new song. Front half is a solid C tier, back is an A

Necessary Discrepancy- MORE ELECTRONIC SOUNDS YIPPIE. It plus the usage of Esperanto fits really well for an artificial girl. I know this one is a little divisive, but I love the chorus. The turn into standard guitar and vocals after the first chorus could make sense from a narrative POV, but it feels a little like playing it safe after getting experimental with the beginning. Did I mention I like the chorus? I like the chorus.

Hellfire- Cool opening! Can we please send Leo to therapy now. It's a good song but genuinely I don't think any of the themes are so transparently about self-hatred and intentionally suicidal recklessness born from it and it's legitimately hard to get into it like the others because I just keep side-eyeing the lyrics uncomfortably. Small aside but the sitar-esque twangs are a fun addition even if I'm not sure if it fits him well.

What do you Fight For- Still amazed they went for a Beatles homage in the intro. Like with Zato's though, the different parts don't so much flow into each other as they are stapled together. I like the radio segment but I still don't get what relevance it has to Nago. Thankfully he wasn't stuck with just the one

Trigger- She gets a really good and distinct sound, shame they don't do much with it. Nothing wrong with a song that just sounds fun, and while I know it's sort of the point of the lyrics, but given how much they were used for telling a story or going deeper on a character, hers is so surface level and uncomplicated that I wonder what the point is of having lyrics at all for her theme.

Rock Parade- Still eternally mad about the 'it's about wanting to have sex with Baiken' interpretation that is still so prevalent despite it not making a shred of sense. Nonetheless, terrific song. The shifts between parts actually feel natural. The usage of an intentionally more 'Japanese' sound in the later parts is both a fun way of tying into Anji's background and gives the emotions more of a sense of earnestness, which is especially punchy for someone who's known for their dishonesty

Requiem- It really stands out that so far, this is the first song that opens with lyrics. While I can't say this theme is my favorite for a couple of reasons, maybe in part due to listening again after Strive's release this one did bring my mood down. The post-chorus is getting stuck in my head though.

Crawl- BANGS BANGS BANGS BANGS THE THEME NAGO DESERVES. Perfect followup to I-no's theme honestly because the contrast of 'I'm not going to give up in the face of this suffering and I will literally crawl out of it if I have to' is all the more impactful. I adore the last round of the chorus and the concept of the 'freedom of calm' is so good that I can gladly overlook it being a touch cheesy

The Kiss of Death- Like with Axl's, I love how a theme can so resemble a character just in terms of its sound. Mechanical thrumming like heavy machinery and a slow, rocking beat? That's our peepaw! I wish the title had a bit more explanation behind it but that's a minor nitpick

Perfection Can't Please Me- Huh. It's just like Jack-O. Cute and boring. I get what they were going for, but this is the cloying energy that May's theme skirted. The 'this is it' refrain was fun and them playing around with piano was a nice touch, but like with Giovanna's the lyrics are so surface level comparable to others and the themes it's trying to go over feel like they were done better and more creatively in other themes

Drift- Playing with the piano again! Like with Ram's, opening with something cool and unique before shifting into the standard guitar feels like you're playing it safe. Hokey or not the Disney segment almost got me feeling something earnest before they gave up again. Dammit Happy you almost had something.

Mirror of the World- Like with Anji's I appreciate deliberately including more clearly Japanese elements, in this case the actual language. So much of this becomes more heartwarming since we got Another Story, relistening was worth it just for that

Like a Weed- I am ashamed to admit I had yet to hear this one in full. I say with shame because wow I sure have been missing out. Some of the lyrics feel a little forced, including the title drop, but I appreciate Naoki doing something different with his voice. The theme of 'life is simple and unremarkable yet beautiful and full of the meaning I choose to give it' is similar to Jack-O's except good and well done. The string outtro was unexpected but gleefully welcomed

The Town Inside Me- Similarly to May, a little basic? A little poppier? Yes, but if you're going in that direction, go whole hog, and this one totally does. Own it! In that way, it ties into Bridget even more. Use that energy to be joyful and confident. There's no shame to be had in being so bright

The Hourglass- Another song I hadn't gotten around to. Unlike Testament's though, I don't think I missed too much. It ties nicely into Sol's theme by being relatively basic. Not bad, just not anything stunningly original. The piano gave it some energy, but I don't think there was anything to make it have a clear identity of its own. Like you said, fun but simple in the way that Sin himself is. The fact that I've only heard it twice now probably doesn't help but I couldn't tell you any of the lyrics, it's that dry. Interested by the return of the radio/vaudeville voice, I hope it isn't meant to have the same implications as Faust's use of it.

The Circle- I'm starting to believe the crack theories that Happy and the bed siblings have something to do with each other because they both have themes with a lot of slapdash elements that don't mesh together. And, again, it's possible that was intentional, but by this point not even the mishmash is original. I still don't get why the chant is there, it adds nothing and feels like they're trying to fill space. Talk-singing is a staple with a lot of these, but this one feels the most egregious. I've warmed to it a tiny bit, I like a couple parts of it, but I think this feels less like a proper song and more like slam poetry. I want to like it. I really do. But when it came around to listening to this one again it felt more like a task to endure rather than be a song I genuinely enjoyed looking up and listening to for fun. I'm just confused how at how Does the Sheep Count the Sheep manages to do so much better at indicating who Bedman is as a character without having any words whatsoever and still having a good melody that flows well. I'm sorry for both of them, it's just such a nothing song to me.

#wooooo this got long damn #ask #guilty gear #everyone #Bedman and Sin go together again because they both have mediocre themes #is it obvious I'm writing this close to midnight

[found--family]

i finally finished Bridgewater season 2!

(i know i'm way behind but i was listening on my drive to and from work but then i lost my job and suddenly listening at home felt weird but i binged the last handful of eps this long weekend so now i wanna share some thoughts..) 

best finale bits: 

- realising francine was spn alumn/battlestar galactica's tricia helfer (wish I'd realised this sooner bc i think i would've enjoyed her character more) 

- jeremy becoming an unexpected father to a time travelling kid he spent the whole season vocally not giving a shit about (serious s13!grieving!dean vibes here) 

- the setup for season 3! would love to get some pov from folks in the fae realm! 

best s2 bits: 

- aside from misha, soni has been my fave thing about this series (his voice acting is So Good) and this season we got more vippin and more of him interacting with other characters! 

- learning more about jeremy: he visited fairyland as a kid! he was a teen wiccan! he just wants a friend! he's happy without a partner and kids! (the phonecall to his british colleague was a fave scene) 

- peyton! wish we'd gotten more of her, hope she returns next season. 

- more hillary! she's not in it much but we got a few long scenes with her and it was great to hear her flex her voice acting chops. 

- tudyk! i was sceptical at first (i'd really been looking forward to fillion) but he was stellar. his distinct voice is perfect for voice acting and his vocal control and timing was really superb. his and misha's scenes were a highlight but there were also a few delightful and emotional scenes with other characters (including a makeover!) 

- MONSTERS. one of the huge draws of this podcast for me was the supernatural element. this season had a bunch of different creatures appear and there were mentions of way more that had me googling and learning so much (yay fic fodder!) 

a few s2 cons (imho): 

- this season is a lot compared to season 1. more characters, more plot, more at stake. it was hard to keep up with what was going on specifically with all the fae stuff. i had to relisten to numerous scenes multiple times to grasp what was happening.

- it kinda feels like season 1 was written not knowing how everything would play out bc all the fae stuff feels shoehorned into the relevant parts of the s1 narrative. they make it work but some explanations seemed like a bit of a stretch. 

- as much as i love her on-screen, i didn't really enjoy helfer in this. i don't know whether it's because i found her character annoying from the jump or if it was her vocal style being a little too overdramatic and on the nose (that could've been a director's decision in which case it makes sense, but i really didn't enjoy her personality as the legend tripper or her almost comical portrayal as fae) 

- the finale was a lot of exposition, and it got very convoluted with different characters wanting to sacrifice themselves over each other, and the whole fae deal thing was still unclear and confusing despite being explained. tbh i was bored for most of it. 

- the first 19 minutes of the finale was an uninterrupted convo between jeremy and francine. that's too long, it's half the damn episode. and francine was doing most of the talking (almost monologuing) and since she's the badguy of the season it felt like a poor choice (or maybe that's just my bias for not liking her portrayal?) 

- anne and thomas going through the portal made total sense and I'm glad that's what happened bc thomas was sick and anne had missed her life BUT that made all the arguments over who should go that much more pointless. the arguments felt like filler, going round in circles with people ignoring each other's sound reasoning. 

- there were quite a few noticeable editing mistakes this season: chopped dialogue poorly stitched together, misspoken words, and dead air that did nothing to set the tone but instead felt like they hadn't bothered fixing. 

closing thoughts: 

i preferred the mystery of season 1. this season was a lot of focus on the how's and why's of all the monster and fae stuff with character studies crammed between, whereas season 1 was more concise in the investigation and character focus and there was always room to wonder what was going on (i preferred that) but there was also room for the narrative to breathe; season 2 is crowded. it's a lot of fast dialogue and info dumping, a lot of characters - some interesting, some annoying, a few pointless. I'd listen again for clarity and enjoyment of particular scenes and dynamics, but more often than not i found myself confused, left with more questions than answers, and therefore not being able to enjoy the journey. there were definite high points, including the many monster cameos, but it lost that eery feel that season 1 did so well; this season felt like multiple genres rolled into one with all of them fighting for dominance - horror, fantasy, drama, mystery - whereas season 1 melded themes and genres effortlessly. season 2 also didn't have the emotional chords that season 1 played so beautifully (I'm looking at you, emotional jeremy realising his whole life was a lie) the finale should've been a tear-jerker, it wasn't. 

it's always hard to follow the success of a first season, especially when the second decides to explain all the mysteries season 1 set up - and given how season 1 ended there was a lot that needed explaining. unfortunately (for me) the story felt caught up in the details and yet it explained things without explaining things leaving me wanting for clarity that never came. often it didn't bother setting the tone (or an intriguing tone) and more characters meant less misha which is always disheartening. 

i'm looking forward to season 3 with papa!jeremy(?) and fae realm content (I'd love more fae) i just hope they can recapture the thematic feel of season 1 (it can be a different vibe but it has to permeate the narrative) and refocus on our main folk (jeremy, vippin, anne, thomas, olivia) instead of introducing too many new characters and elements that will steal more scene time. 

#Bridgewater #thoughts #spoilers #honest review

[starlitangels]

hello! i've been seeing soo much of my favorite artists get into redacted audio and i just wanted to know where can i start listening or what character should be a good start for me to get into redacted?? i've been wanting to listen to him but idk where to start! thank u 😊

Hello friend! I've answered this before but I'll go ahead and do it again since my answer has changed just a little teeny tiny bit

I would recommend Freelancer Season 1 to start! There are a lot of posts on this website about everyone's recommendations, but I'd say probably Freelancer Season 1 because the main listener character is also just as new to the rest of the shared universe as a new audience member, and gets the basics of the mechanics explained pretty well.

Normally I'd also recommend Sovereign State Season 1 as a good starter too, but its finale episode(s) need a lot of context to really have the proper impact...

Unless of course you have plenty of time and don't mind a lot of information being dumped on you. In which case I recommend grabbing the "Everything" playlist! It's every narrative video he's made in the order of release, so the exposition is in the order that he gave it in. Which, honestly, can be very helpful, because watching things out of order can be confusing because some information will be casually mentioned like it's common knowledge while you're sitting there confused like "Wat?!" because that exposition was in a different series

But if the "Everything" playlist seems too long and daunting, character playlists for David, Asher, Milo, and Vincent (before the Inversion series) are a little easier to digest.

Also an important thing to note: everything is connected. Even if you don't think a certain storyline is connected to the rest of the universe for [reasons] when you first listen to it, I guarantee you, it's connected in some way.

Redacted also has a website with an official timeline but I don't recommend reading it until you've watched most (if not all) of the videos because reading a timeline is honestly more overwhelming and a lot less fun and interesting than just listening to the videos. Go to the timeline afterward for specific dates if you need them.

Also bear in mind that he deals with some heavy subjects sometimes and applicable content warnings will always be in the YouTube video description. If you're more sensitive to certain subjects, read the descriptions and make a judgment call from there. If you can handle pretty much anything, that's more than fine, but if not, this is your friendly advice from me to keep an eye on the video descriptions for any subjects you'd rather not hear about

I love the Imperium AU and Inversion but they can be too dark for some people and that's okay

I'm not trying to scare you off, I promise. I love this channel and its stories dearly and could not recommend his storytelling more highly. I just want you to be aware that heavy subjects can pop up

Redacted is an adult and writes stories mostly about adults, so mature topics and "spice" (as a euphemism) will pop up alongside the aforementioned "heavy" subjects

Another thing: trust in Redacted's storytelling. If something seems "bad," it is most definitely there to serve a greater purpose later down the line. Trust that he's going to service his story and the things that you may not like will lead to something so satisfying when its time comes

Anyway. TL;DR, start with either the "Everything" playlist and go in order of release for the "true experience" of having a seemingly random barrage of characters thrown your way, or start with Freelancer Season 1 for a decent rundown of the universe's rules and mechanics and magic system

Don't do what I did. Which was hop around randomly, cherry picking whomever's "title" seemed the most interesting at the time until I'd heard the whole channel and had to go relisten to things in some semblance of the right order in order to figure out wtf was going on. I ended up watching Elliott's playlist as the first playlist I watched and let me tell you, I was confused as hell. Don't do that. Freelancer Season 1, and the "Everything" playlist are my top recommendations for understanding the lore in the order it was released so you need fewer context clues on wtf is going on

#answered #hi i was busy this morning and just got a sec to sit down with my laptop #Redacted ASMR #Redacted Audio

[aflyingcontradiction]

The Magnus Archives Relisten: Episode 195 - Adrift

Down in the depths, there is a cold beyond cold. An icy, liquid chill that surrounds you, embraces you, pierces every inch of your naked gooseflesh skin with its needling touch, and gets inside your bones, the marrow frozen into nothing but agony.

Okay, now I want a cup of hot tea.

You can feel its titanic bulk moving past, just below you.

Yeah, that's terrifying. I've always had a thing about giant creatures lurking in the deep.

Deep down, in the icy depths, you could imagine… you could hope. The darkness hides terrible things, but it could also hide salvation. You cannot know what is down there, but up here it is laid out in such terrible stark detail that there is nothing.

AAAAAH!

Basira: Jon?

I really didn't expect Basira to be the person to emerge from the ocean of nothingness! (Somehow I never do seem to expect the turns the TMA plot takes, do I?)

Basira: So I’m guessing it represents academic isolation or something? Maybe something to do with ‘the dangerous unknown’, skimming the surface, that kind of thing?

I kinda like the lampshading here. Nope, not everything has to be a metaphor for a real-world situation.

Basira: Bit late for self-discovery though, right? After the world’s ended? Jon: We’re still here.

This is oddly inspirational. Never too late for self-discovery until you're actually dead!

Jon: They all seemed fairly normal given the circumstances. Bit of a let-down in some ways.

Was Jon hoping for white robes and blood rituals?

Jon on tape: ‘MR. SPIDER WANTS MORE.’

Oh, I love the ominous nature of ending this episode on that old line from that old statement in particular.

My impression of this episode

There's so much vivid imagery in this, I kind of started shivering halfway through the episode. Just, the sheer vast nothingness - and as I said above, I've always had a fascination-tinged-with-fear for things lurking in the depths of the ocean. Weirdly enough then, this statement didn't stick in my mind half as much as other Vast statements (the phrase "Enjoy sky blue" still makes me yelp, tbh). I'm really not sure why. It's a very good statement! The conversation Basira and Jon have feels mostly just like recapping previous events and setting up the next episode, though.

#tma relisten #the magnus archives

[morning-softness]

So I’ve been relistening to TMA Season 2 because I’m writing a fic set in that time. And I’d kind of forgotten how much stuff happens that even at the end of the season doesn’t really get explained clearly.

Like the web table. How much does it even do to bind the Not!Them? The Not!Sasha said it had Breekon and Hope bring the table around so it could still get people—like Graham and later Sasha—so does it just limit how far from the table this thing can travel without taking someone? Obviously after it’s taken someone it can travel a good distance, like going to Madame Tussaud’s on a lunch break. So at that point what was the table even doing to bind it?

And what was the Not!Them even at the Institute for in the first place? The Not!Sasha said it “was sent there to steal all its secrets,” but that means what exactly? To spy on Jon? On Elias? (I can’t imagine Jonah Magnus would have let it run around unchecked if he really thought it was a threat to him.) To find Leitner? (It was certainly looking for something in the tunnels.) To see how far along the team was in trying to stop the Unknowing? (Not far at all, they’d barely heard the term.) And was the Not!Sasha leaving chalk arrows to confuse Jon, or was it just using them to navigate the tunnels and confused Jon incidentally?

Also, I kind of get from a “collecting marks” perspective that bringing the table into the Institute could have resulted in a Stranger mark for Jon. But I don’t know that it actually did. In what way did having the Not!Sasha there mark Jon? It never physically hurt him, and he wasn’t the one who could see that Sasha had been replaced. (Did digging the dead worms out of him while he was unconscious count?) Or did he get his mark from the Stranger later, during his kidnapping in Season 3? If anything, Jon’s paranoia in Season 2 drove him into the Spiral (both figuratively, and literally in the sense that he went through Michael’s door to try to escape the Not!Sasha), but the table wasn’t really necessary for that; Michael was already hanging around, and I imagine Jon would have been marked when Micheal stabbed him in their argument after Helen’s statement.

And had Leitner been regularly coming up into the Institute to look for Gertrude’s file ever since her death? And just nobody noticed before? (I mean, I guess Jonah was chill with someone skulking around the tunnels as long as it didn’t actually interfere with his plans, but Martin was living in the Archives.) Or did he only start after Prentiss’s attack for some reason?

And why did Jonah hide a bunch of Gertrude’s important tapes with her body in the tunnels, when he knew someone who had been helping Gertrude was living down there? (At least, from the way he talks about it in episode 80 it sounds like he knew someone was down there, just not that it was Leitner.) Why not hide them anywhere else that would have been easy for him to access but not for Gertrude’s secret helper to stumble on and steal? (Did Leitner never stumble on the room with Gertrude’s body in all the time he was down there? Or did he, and was Leitner the one who hid the tapes there, and not Jonah? Or was that orchestrated by the Web somehow since the tapes are kind of their thing?)

Anyway, for all the fandom discourse I’ve seen about Jon not figuring out everything in Season 2, I’d like to say that even with my knowledge from having listened to the full series, I’m still not entirely sure what the heck was going on.

#im just so confused #and it makes it really hard to figure out the butterfly effect of the changes i want to make in my fic #because im not entirely sure why some of the things that did happen happened that way to begin with #tma #the magnus archives #tma season 2 #tma spoilers

[mongreldyke]

dhole relistens to pasithea powder s1 teasers thru e2 (spoilers for a few later eps in the season)

s1 teasers:

god elinor lopez is so fucking girlboss (slash derogatory) CAPTAIN SOPHIE GREEN ITS MY BEST FRIEND CAPTAIN SOPHIE GREEEEEEN HGH. i missed her jane gonzalez you are sooo <333 i am endlessly enamored with you and a little in love with you also GOD the voice acting in this show is so good

e1:

sophie's "i had to ask somebody for this" the fucking. the fucking contrast in even just a few episodes! she doesn't actually hate her, really :((( she hates herself most of all even if she doesn't know why :((( i'm so mentally normal about this podcast <3 (i was able to mouth sophie's whole rant almost Word For Word! yeah) "this is sophie btw. sophie green. call me back." "captain green! i'm afraid you're mistaken." two of the most iconic lines of ALL TIME i'm so gay about the whole "sophie yelling drunkenly into the comm link" bit its not even funny I AM SO GAY ABOUT THE WHOLE "JANE BEING PATRONIZING AND EXPLAINING EVERYTHING" BIT ITS NOT EVEN FUNNYYY ewwww blanc. murder death kill "its funny but, whenever you call my captain green i actually believe it" that whole bit runs through my mind rent freeeee. i think i recorded myself saying it at some point "and will gut you. kidding?" the way jackie hedeman does the delivery on these is so insane hrgh she shook his hand so hard she scared him! shes what kept him from cracking up! h. some cute old euphemism for no easy way home :((( :((((((

the lettuce monologue. awful.

e2:

sophie's immediate reaction that is almost childlike and realizing they arent kids anymore. god i'd be one of those kids with weird hair fawning over u sorry sophie green anders li <3333 i love u anders li <33333333 girlboss sophie, drugging people with baking soda. fr me when janes vocal fry. im very gay! jane in the closet joke jane in the closet joke no one wants to see what they do out of the public eye! god knowing sophi doesnt believe her for another three episodes. :((( "what, no? what? SPEAK UP. forgive me im not in jail, im in holding. i'm being held, it's very romantic" sophie green woozy face emoji. i am so enraptured by u sophie ball kicker green she said she doesn't know when to turn it off :(( "like shush, please, say no more. i said no more. she said, "i know you see them too." then she gave me the smallest, saddest smile and left. i nearly burst out crying right there, i- i can't handle this anymore, jane." no comments. im just sobbing YOU MUST SO YOU CAN SO YOU WILL. HGH. jane sounding like a giddy high school boy with "you got into a fight with alegros" i love her "or was he afraid to give his secrets away to the military?" heugauheugauegh jane's actual worry seeping in while she talks about her cover story ahagahagahgah. she has gone through so much i will say that "these two guards are working together" could just mean theyre both buds who wanted a cut of the funds but also jane definitely has experience with government conspiracies so i do get it! PEOPLE FROM THE SKY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME COLOR AS THEY ARE ON THE GROUND UNTIL THEY GET HIT BY WHATEVERS RAINING DOWN ON THEM AND THEN THEY ARENT ANYMORE. sophie you are SO full of guilt. hurgles. black bean burgers, are you making plans to kill yourself. i think the guy i was partnered with giggled the whole time i think i did too. (said so flatly. said so matter of factly because she knows its real now. she does she's seen it) im going to chew glass sometimes i think about mia and lia very hard theyre something alright effite, debauched. etc etc etc. im fucking sick of it. i want to crack skulls over it but all the skulls are most likely long dissolved and it wouldnt make any difference anyway!! "Yes, obviously, I wanted to drain the bar. It's been a while since I did that and this was looking like the night for it. I was already thinking of how I could layer all that liquor. Sunsets and Blue Giants, so much color, and you don't even have to fly to ship to see it." <- most inconsequential line to make me insane AGENT CULLEN TIME! he is so mildly offputting in these next few episodes <3 sophie's voice cracks make me feel emotions fr. cullen time!!!!

#the pasithea powder #dhole relistens to pasithea