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concealeddarkness13 · 1 year

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WHG 20 Prompt 6 - Triel

This one is a little out of order, but I wrote this one first, so I’ll post this first. Triel’s scene with Asher makes more sense with this post! Tagging: @ratracechronicler (thanks for Atwater!), @maple-writes (thanks for Asher!), @pen-of-roses (thanks for Din and Silver!), @drabbleitout, @grailfish (thanks for Yuen and Razz!), @forthesanityofsome, and @pied-piper-of-hamlet! 4,800 words.

It was time to really start recruiting. I watched tributes for a while, and Yuen and Razz, District 2, caught my eyes. They seemed to be arguing, so of course, I walked over to listen closer.

They were both over by the knives, and I got to hear a bit first, since they were talking loud enough, lol.

Razz was trying to whisper. “Can you STOP fucking doing that?”

“Doing what?” Yuen looked unimpressed about it.

“You know what you’re doing.”

Yuen’s eyes went back to the dummy. “My aim is too good. I keep hitting the target.” Even though he hadn’t even thrown a knife.

“Well aim somewhere else then, shitwizz!”

I had heard rumors of what Yuen could do, and that Razz could see the timeloops, which fucking sucked for them. I wanted to get them both out and even see if Yuen could help with the plan.

I walked closer so I wouldn’t be talking too loud. “Do you need a chaperone, you two?” I smirked.

Razz stiffened, but Yuen just looked over at me, narrowing his eyes slightly. He snapped his fingers down by his side. Interesting.

“What’s it to you?” Razz snapped. Their eyes kept darting, and they couldn’t seem to stand still.

Yuen just turned back to the dummies and threw his knife way off target, having it clatter uselessly against the wall and down to the floor. “Well, I guess I suck at knives.” He was speaking too loudly. “Time to move on to something else.”

He started to leave, as if I wasn’t worth his time, so I had to let him know I knew more about him than I should. “You’d know all about time, wouldn’t you, Yuen? How many times have you looped just today?”

He tilted his head at me, and there was just a glimmer that he might have been impressed with me. “You have any idea how fucking crazy you sound right now, Triel Reeves?” Annoying, but I could hound him until he admitted it. He shoulder-checked me as he left, but he leaned in close. “Save the chat for later.”

Fine, I’d find him tonight. Razz looked pissed off, but they also left, so I just wandered off to look around again and check out the survival stations.

And just my luck, Din was at the fire-starting station! The Capitol desperately wanted to take her back, so I had to try to recruit her before they could take her back. I sat next to her and started working.

I glanced over at her. “The chariots were fun last night, right?”

“There is definitely an amount of joy to be had at disrupting the Capitol’s plans, yes.” She smiled and straightened, looking over at me.

“It truly is. And I have another way to disrupt their plans even more.” I eyed her, and she looked interested.

“Oh, that sounds exciting. By the looks of the way you’ve approached, you seem to already have an interest in me. I prefer Din to the full name they’re using. But I’m afraid I didn’t catch yours?”

I held out my hand to her. “My name is Triel. It’s nice to meet you, Din. I’ve heard you’ve been defying the Capitol, and I have a special interest in helping people who are running from the Capitol.”

“It’s lovely to meet you as well.” She shook my hand. “And well, my efforts have been less than successful.” She motioned around. “So if you have a better plan, I’m all ears.”

“I have led an escape before, and I feel more confident about my plans this time. I want to get as many out as I can.” I leaned in closer to whisper. “I have a teleportation device to help us get out, after I put on a distraction for the Capitol.”

She raised her eyebrows, staring at me in surprise. She stepped back, looking me over. “That’s a dragon of a claim.” Her eyes flashed gold, and I tilted my head at that. “This isn’t some trick is it?” She crossed her arms, setting her jaw. “I’m not going back to the temple to be their doll, I’ll take them all to the abyss myself first.”

Fuck that temple. “I can show you, if you’d like! I hate the Capitol, and they would want me dead if they knew my secret. I would never bring anyone back to them.”

“Show me then.” She still looked skeptical, but hopefully, this would help.

“Let’s go somewhere a little more private first, if that’s okay with you. I’d rather not show it off where everyone can see.”

“Only makes sense after all, lead the way. If you please.” She smiled and bowed her head slightly.

Wonderful! I led her up to the roof, where there was a nice garden and absolutely no cameras. The best place in the fucking Capitol. I touched my ear, and the teleporter grew into a small computer. Damn, Shine was the best. “Is there any place in particular you’d like to see?”

She stared at me with surprise and took a bit before she responded. “What are the limits on that?”

“This continent. That’s the only limit.”

“A library. A real one with books a records, and not one of the Capitol’s digital equivalents with everything censored to the abyss and back.”

I nodded. District 10. They had an underground library. I typed in the information. “It’s ready. Do you want to take my hand? We have to be touching so I can bring you too.”

She took my hand, and I hit the button, and here we were. Inside the underground library.

The guards stared at me, but they recognized me, so they didn’t say anything.

Din stared, but soon she hurried over to the books and looking through them. I let her look at them, not wanting to interrupt her joy. She eventually looked over at me. “This is incredible. How did you…where did you even get this technology? Why not just get everyone out now if you have that capability? Abyss, there’s so many ways that could be implemented to help the districts if you could make more. If you keep it out of the Capitol’s hands, they wouldn’t even stand a chance.”

Valid points. “I’m working on it. My engineer didn’t even figure out how to make it until this year, and they will be making more. If I let everyone out now, the Capitol would hunt us even worse than they will after the Games, and they would just take more victims into the arena in our places. That’s not any better.”

She sighed, not saying something for a while. “I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right. Still, this is simply incredible. And this place is practically a scholar’s dream in this time. Most of these were thought to be lost and others they weren’t even records of. Promise me you can bring me back here and I’ll help you however I can.”

Of course. I nodded, saving the library in the teleporter. “I certainly will bring you back.”

Her eyes brightened. “Thank you!”

I nodded again. “And we can stay for a while too. They won’t miss us.”

Din laughed, her eyes wide. “I’d say you were sent by the veyrit if I didn’t know any better! Do you know this place well? Are there any discussions of magic or powerful beings? Oh, I wish I had brought a notebook with me this morning,” she mumbled the last part, searching her pockets.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have paper or pen. I smiled. “No, no gods sent me. There are discussions, but very sporadically, so as not to let the Peacekeepers know.”

“That’s fine, even just a few would be helpful as it is, given how limited the Capitol kept everything.” She kept reading books, and I just relaxed and chatted with the guards as we stayed away from the Capitol. Probably the best time I’d have today.

That night, Shine told me that Yuen and Razz left their suite and headed to the training area. The perfect time to talk to them!

I headed down to the training area, and of course they were arguing again. So, I just walked towards them and interrupted. “Is it a good time to talk now?”

Razz’s arms were crossed, looking like they wanted to be anywhere else, but Yuen looked over at me with a small smile. “About time you showed up. So you’re the mastermind, huh? I’ve seen your work, was looking forward to meeting the face behind it.” He was acting a lot different from this morning. “Thought you might have better luck with me there, though.” Razz snorted and rolled their eyes.

I hummed, looking him over. He didn’t look like much, but if the rumors were true… “The offer to escape the arena is for both of you.” I looked over at Razz pointedly. “I want to get as many people out as possible.”

“Yeah, well, I shouldn’t even be here in the place,” Razz snapped. “You can go ahead and let me die in there.”

Yuen shot them a glare and spoke before I could. “I imagine the offer stands for more than just an escape plan.” He kept his voice quiet.

I first responded to Razz, shaking my head. “I won’t give up on you that easily.” Then I turned to Yuen. “I won’t require anything from you. I do have some plans to mess with the Capitol afterwards, if that’s what you’re talking about.”

His smile was too giddy. “It’s the whole reason I’m here. But I’ll do what I can to make sure your plan for the arena goes as smoothly as possible. And that this asshole won’t try to fuck it up.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Razz said. “King of do-overs.”

“It’s called utilizing your assets.”

“It’s called ruining my fucking life, you shitstain.”

“Some things are more important than one person’s comfort.”

“You think this is about comfort?! You are the entire reason that—”

Ok. This was not going to end any time soon. I stepped between them. “Can you explain what you can do? I’ve only heard rumors.”

They both looked back at me with wide eyes. Razz crossed their arms again and leaned against the wall, blowing hair out of their face.

“I’m a Looper,” Yuen said. “I an create a time loop at will, jumping back to any point in my life, and the rest of the world jumps with me. Can’t prove it to you, cause you’d never know.” He sounded like he had said it many times before. “My family was gifted by Father Time, our deity. My grandmother was a Hopper, and her great uncle before her was another Looper.”

He glanced at Razz, who was rubbing their temples. “Razzle over there is the only one in the world who can remember the time loops for some reason. I think they may come from a family that used to be connected to mine, but they were thought to be lost long ago so the teachings aren’t very clear.” He turned back to me. “Anyway, that’s why they hate me. We hadn’t even met before the reaping.”

But they had known the effects of what Yuen did, when no one else did. I understood their hatred. I nodded. “So you can make sure it goes perfectly?”

“Perfect is hard to come by, but I’ll make sure it’s as good as it can be. This time it’ll be more than five that make it out with you.”

The cocky little bastard. I blinked at that. “Huh. I would like to hope all my plans are better than that.” I sighed. “I will appreciate the help though.”

“You can’t help when the deck is stacked against you.” He looked up at the ceiling. “I can.”

I hummed, watching him carefully. How would he choose what was a mistake to fucking fix? He was strong, but if he just chose on his own, he could fuck up something that I wanted to happen! “You will tell me before you change anything. Just because it doesn’t look good doesn’t mean it’s not part of the plan.”

Yuen looked offended, but he was perfectly fine insulting me. He didn’t fucking look at me though, as if I was not worth his attention. “I don’t reset on a whim.” Razz snorted loudly. “Not when it’s important,” he added. “It’s better for intel to let a shitty situation play out for a little while. Unless my life is in danger. No loops if I’m dead.”

I shook my head. “You need to promise me. I need to be informed of any decision you want to make before you fuck with time.”

He nodded. “I don’t plan to do anything that’ll fuck up your mission. That’s not why I came here.”

“Yeah, you came here to fuck up my life,” Razz muttered.

“They can vouch,” Yuen continued without missing a beat. “Tell her how many times I reset the reaping to be here.”

Razz stayed quiet for a while, thinking. “Thirty-two, at least that I was sober enough to remember.”

What the fuck? And how many times would he loop the Games? But it would be better to have him on my side. I nodded. “Fine. I’ll trust you. Thank you for wanting to help.”

He smiled too giddily again. “Happy to help. Capitol is going to send in scouts in 2 and a half minutes, so better clear out if you don’t want to get questioned.” He headed toward the door, but Razz stayed behind.

They looked over at me. “You should’ve asked instead how many times you’ve had the conversation,” they said quietly. They started to follow Yuen out, but they showed me a three behind their back. Fuck. What had I gotten myself into?

The next morning, Chess saw Asher and mentioned that she had challenged him to a fight, and he had said some awful things to her. I had heard that Asher was a good person who tried to help others, and I wanted to recruit him, but Chess was scared of him. So I had to make sure he stayed away from her. But first, recruiting.

I found him at the edge of the training area, and I put on my best friendly smile and walked over to him. “Hello! How has your day been so far?”

He nodded, looking tired. “It’s…Well, it could be better right?” He held out a hand. “My name’s Asher.”

I shook his hand. “I’m Triel. A pleasure. Maybe I can make your day a little bit better.” I paused. He didn’t seem to be as awful as Chess described him, but I wasn’t about to not believe her about that. “There’s a plan to escape the arena without the Capitol’s permission.”

“Oh, really?” His hand fell to his side. “That’s possible?”

I nodded. “I’ve already done it before, and I have even better plans this time.”

“Oh, you’re that Triel.” He nodded. “I think I’ve heard of you. Why did you come back?”

I grinned wider. “To fuck with the Capitol even more by getting even more tributes out alive and to rescue someone I failed. Are you interested?”

He nodded. “If I can, I’d like to.”

Perfect! Now on to what I was here for. “Wonderful!” I clapped my hands. “I just have one requirement.” My smile fell, and I glared at him. “Stay the fuck away from Chess.”

He cowered back, ducking his head. What the fuck? Was I really that threatening? “I will.” He swallowed. “Is she okay?”

I sniffed, crossing my arms. “Why do you care? I heard what you said to her. I know she picked the fight, but you should have never said those things to her.”

He nodded. “I know, and I know nothing I do will take it back.” He swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

Then what had happened? And from what he had said, it sounded like he knew her before, and knowing anything more about her would help, since she didn’t remember. “You need to tell her that. When she’s comfortable being around you.” I sighed. “How did you even know all that about her? Have you met her before?”

“I will, and I’ll let her decide when, or if, she wants to speak to me.” He paused. “I haven’t met her before though, no.”

I frowned at him. How had he known about her insecurities then? But it wasn’t worth it to pursue that line of questioning. “She might punch you before she feels better.”

He nodded. “That’s…fair.” He paused. “I didn’t mean any of it, what I said. It…happens sometimes.” He looked up quickly. “Which doesn’t make it better, of course.”

So it was something that he couldn’t control? I glanced back at him. “Is that going to be a liability in the arena? I need to know so I can make plans against it.”

His shoulders fell. “I…I don’t know. I can’t say it won’t.” He sighed. “It snuck up on me this time, I haven’t been that way in a while but I can’t see the stress of the arena helping at all.”

“Then what can I do to help so it won’t happen? I want everyone possible to escape the arena. I won’t leave you behind, but I need to know how to protect the entire group and keep them together.”

He took a while to respond. “I don’t know if there is anything you can do, and you shouldn’t have to.” He swallowed, looking down. “I wouldn’t want everything to fail because of me. If something happens I won’t fault you for leaving me.”

I shook my head. No fucking way would I do that. “Shit, I just recruited you and you’re already telling me to leave you behind? I’m not doing that.”

He swallowed again, not able to speak right away. “I, I really hope I can keep it together.”

I would figure out how to help him. No matter what. I sighed, relaxing a little. “Let me know if you feel close to it. I’ll do what I can to calm you down. I’m not leaving anyone behind. Not again.”

He nodded. “That I can do. I’m usually better than this, so I hope I can manage.”

“I hope so too. I’ll warn Chess that you’ll be with us so she can avoid you if she wants to.”

“I won’t speak a word to her unless she says otherwise.”

She nodded. “Thank you. I need to go talk to some others, so I’ll see you around. I’ll find you in the arena.”

“Thank you, Triel.” He spoke quietly. “Good luck.”

For a dramatic exit, I smiled. “I don’t like relying on luck.” And I headed off to find my next recruit.

After lunch, I found Atwater alone and headed over to him with a smile. He was looking bored, as usual, and it would be a good time to explain the plan. And it was more fun to not really explain. “Hi! I know a good place to talk, if you’d like.”

“Alright. Damn this place here, then.” He followed me, so this was going great already!

I brought him up to the roof and turned to him dramatically with a smile. “Do you have any questions, or should I start explaining the plan?”

“I have many questions.” He smiled. “I don’t think any of them are relevant right now, or at least you don’t know what the weather’s like over the west coast right now, probably, so by all means, proceed.” He clasped his hands behind his back.

Ooh. That comment was perfect. I tilted my head. “Well, this would be a good demonstration for the plan. I have some teleporters, one of which will be with my crew just in case something happens. We’ll be using those to get out. But I can use one trip to check out the weather of the west coast. Would you like to come?” I held out my hand.

His eyebrows rose up, and he stared at me for a bit. “Alright, you’ve talked me into it.” He glanced at my hand. “Do you want me to hold that? You have no idea where mine’s been.”

“We have to be in contact to have you teleported too.” I shrugged. “You can hold my coat instead, if you want to.”

“Better than nothing,” he muttered and poked my shoulder. “Okay, now what?”

I touched my ear to expand the teleporter, and I put in a destination for Calloway Bay. We ended up on a nice beach with the ocean crashing just a few feet away. I gestured dramatically out at the ocean. “Here is the west coast.”

And he stared, blinking and turning in a circle and taking it all in. He actually looked surprised, and I couldn’t help but feel some pride from that. “Holy shit, this—this is Calloway Bay!” he yelled, and then laughed. Genuinely laughed. He stumbled over to the water line, grinning as the water hit his boots. After a while, he turned back to me. Both of our coats were blowing in the wind, and I couldn’t help but appreciate how dramatic it looked. “Remind me why this isn’t the extent of the plan? I mean. We’re miles from civilization. Free. That’s it.” He gestured to everything.

And damn, I would love to get back to the ocean, but this was more important. I stared at the ocean with a sigh. “If all the tributes just left now, there’d be no safe place for us from the Capitol. And they’d just take more innocents to die in the arena. And there are some who can’t leave yet.”

He sighed and hummed in response, nodding after a while. “How come?” I supposed about my last sentence.

“There’s a mentor I have to get out too, and the best time to do that will be after the Games. And some tributes will be safer to pretend that they’re dead so the Capitol won’t go after them as harshly as they normally would.” Like Chess and Ares and Din.

He whistled. “This is amounting to quite the shoplifting list. But faking deaths—that’s an oldie and a goodie.”

I nodded. “I’ve found the best way is cutting out the trackers and hacking or destroying the cameras around us.”

He scratched his beard. “I’m seeing it. Now, dead cameras can hide what you’re doing in a certain area, but then that gives the keyboard jockeys a pretty good hunch you’re in that area, so how will that work?”

“I have a hacker who will mess with the other cameras. Or we could just destroy as many of them as we can. And they’ll be focusing on something else. I have a plan to distract them.”

He crouched down and ran his fingers through the water. “Is there a subscription fee for VIP access to this level of the plan or is it more of an admin-only thing?”

I laughed. “I can tell you. I’ll be using the teleporter to show up in various places in the Capitol, when I should be inside the arena. Distract them from what’s going on in the arena. If you want in on the teleporting with me and causing chaos.” I grinned.

He made a face. “Starting to sound like effort again…” He paused. “Oh, speaking of me helping as little as possible, that tributes with the green hair’s coming with us, by the way.”

Chess. She had talked a little more to me, but she hadn’t agreed to the plan yet. I nodded. “I’d like to, but she doesn’t trust me yet.”

He pulled some seaweed out of the water and examined it. “Oh, my apologies—it wasn’t a suggestion. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t really have much of a choice in the matter either.” He paused. “She’s coming with me.”

That was perfect. I had seen her following Atwater around like a puppy. She seemed to think he was amazing. “I’m glad. She needs protection. I bet she likes you.”

“And hell if I know why. We’ll work on her standards after I finish teaching her to kill a man with her bare hands.” Said in such a pleasant voice. He was amazing.

I nodded and laughed. “That sounds like a good plan.” I knelt down, running my hands through the sand. I missed the beach and the ocean. “Do you want to stay here for a while?”

He looked longingly out at the sea. “If we’re not destroying the timespace continuum by doing so, then I don’t see why not…” I could feel his eyes begging me to stay.

I smiled and nodded. “We aren’t. Let’s stay here for a while.”

He nodded and wandered off to where the sand met the dirt and sat down, just staring out at the ocean, and I sat down too. It was so peaceful here. A nice break from stressing about this escape plan.

Shine helped Chess with her prosthetics and magic that night, and she agreed to be a part of the escape, so at least I would be able to make sure that she was safe. Everything was going well, but I knew by now that things never went to plan. I stayed up late, trying to make safeguards and back-up plans until Nesri finally pulled me away to sleep.

The next morning, there were a few more people I could convince. Asher had told Ares and Chess was talking with Steele, so we had a lot of tributes. From what I could tell, Silver still needed someone to talk to them, so I would!

I walked up to them early in the morning and got their attention and waved. They used sign a lot, so I would too. “Hi! How has your day been so far?” I signed.

They looked confused. “Loud. Everyone is too loud, especially the escort.”

Very true. The garden was a lot quieter. “Ah, yes. Do you want to go somewhere quieter?” I gestured for them to follow me and started walking towards the roof.

They followed me, thankfully. I turned back to them and waited until they looked at me after watching the garden with enchantment before I signed. “I also have a proposition for you. I am planning an escape from the arena, if you would be interested.”

They narrowed their eyes. “And the catch?”

“No catch. I just want to help as many tributes escape as possible. For spiting the Capitol.”

The nodded, relaxing slightly. “Do you have a plan for after as well? I-” They faltered. “I have people that I don’t want getting used or hurt because of my defiance.”

“There is a safe place I have that will keep everyone safe, and anyone you want to bring too. Or if that will not work, we can discuss different options.”

They nodded again, biting their lip. “Sorry if it seems I don’t trust you, but I want to know you have thought this through well first. And well, the nature of this place doesn’t lend itself to trust.” They shrugged. “What’s the chance of them finding out about this?”

“Not very high. I have a genius engineer and hacker who will keep them from learning any plans we have. And they will keep them from figuring things out in the arena. And I have a distraction to help too.”

“Have you told many others about this yet?”

I nodded. “Not everyone, but a few others I trust.”

The didn’t sign right away. They gave me a serious look, standing up straighter. “I’d like to help you, however I can then.”

“Recruiting is the most important, and I’ll let you know what else I might need. I have already come up with many plans for this, so hopefully I won’t need help, because that would mean all my plans have failed.”

They blew out a breath. “I don’t know how well I could help with recruiting, to be honest. But I can try. At the very least, I’ll keep people safe until you can get us out.” They smiled and held out their hand.

I smiled back. “I appreciate that. I want us all to get out safely.” I shook their hand once I was done signing.

“That’d be a nice change.”

I nodded. “It would. I have led an escape before, and I will do it again.”

They relaxed more. “That does ease my mind a little more.”

“Glad I can help.” I grinned. “You want to stay up here for a while?”

“Please? It reminds me of-” They faltered, smile slipping. “Something. I think.”

I nodded. “There are no cameras up here. We are safe.”

“Thank you. Really.”

I nodded and spent the time up in the garden with Silver, just trying to think through everything.

Later, no one else was interested in talking as the tension was getting worse the closer it got to the Games, so I didn’t have the chance to talk more. I could only hope that I could convince others in the arena.

#writeblr hunger games #whg #writeblr #also didn't write the Chess and Shine and Triel scene because it'll be better from Chess's perspective #no editing

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arcanalogue · 4 years

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Music For Diviners - ‘Fracking Fluid Injection’

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Two installments of Music For Diviners in less than a week? You must think I’ve gone insane.

Reader, I have. Gone and back again, and already packing a bigger bag for next time.

I’ve also been doing a lot of readings, and purifying my living space, and crying at the crossroads, and watching old episodes of Melrose Place. You know, the world didn’t turn out to be the way I thought it would! But as I told my mother recently: we don’t get to choose which world we live in. All we can really hope to do is look for ways to transform it, or transform ourselves (or as I recommend, both).

Or we can resign to hovering in place and merely complaining about it, while waiting for things to improve on their own.

(This I do not recommend.)

For the time being I’m stuck trying to find inspiration in a too-small living space. We’ve been rehabilitating these few rooms into something like the set of a stage play, with sliding panels and rotating platforms and lighting that can appear to wildly alter the dimensions of the space. We can’t change the reality of our situation, but we can appeal to the imagination in a way that mines reality for greater potential.

This metaphor brought to you by The Knife’s “Fracking Fluid Injection,” another perfect 10-minute departure from your default mental state into a pulsing, color-shifting, sparsely-populated void. To enjoy this quietly is to participate in a ritual of primeval simplicity and dystopian complexity, in which hunger is married to satiety, birth to death, sorrow to ecstasy.

I’ve seen it described variously in reviews as “industrial noise” and “the sound of geomorphic distress” and “a tormenting slice of improv.” So why do I find this track so... soothing? In a cathartic way, like watching a sunset transform one horizon into an apocalyptic hellscape while behind us the night quietly drapes everything in a starry cloak? There is no contradiction between these states, no tension. This, we realize from within the coils of the serpent that’s devouring us, is simply how it all works.

Try leaving this track on endless repeat while you cast a dipper deep into the well of whatever magicks you’re currently siphoning out of the earth. Dare yourself to drink whatever you manage to pull back up, even if it has things swimming in it.

An in case you aren’t familiar with The Knife’s album Shaking The Habitual, I’ll include one more track below: “Raging Lung,” which I used to listen to on a loop while biking home in the evenings through New York City, until I was certain I could actually hear the future bearing down on us, Pied Pipering us into its clutches by approximating the sound of our instruments.

And now here it is, apparently inescapable. What shall we do? Ask it to dance?

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#music for diviners #the knife

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wreckthelist · 3 years

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on ‘BE’ing here: part i

rambling of sorts on Grammy nominated artist Bangtan Sonyeondan

(note 1: I was planning to complete this the day of the nomination, but judging from the state of how things are - this right here is the opportune moment to, as my friend Mint had put it, clear out whatever I’ve been wanting to do but didn’t get the time to)

When Spotify announced, loud and clear, on that 2020 Year-End summary instagram story, Dynamite was the song that helped me through 2020 (this fuck-up of a year), that wasn’t an understatement.

I’ve seen Bangtan before, heard of them in passing, even (slightly, really slightly - when you’re hanging out in film-dom or western doms, I doubt you’d come in contact with a full-fledged Korean dom as it is, or perhaps my circles were small and quite closed in on themselves. Regardless!) - and opened that Boy With Luv SNL performance for my parents on the TV in the living room, not long after they went on the show. But it took that one song, one full English song, for me to listen.

(sorry and thank you Namjoon for that diss. Yes, the song’s message’s definitely digestible and easy to consume - for foreign, western audiences. No one much had to care what you guys had to say way back when and they were wrong for it.)

Dynamite pretty much saved my life. (Still waiting for that damn vinyl, BigHit. Think I’ll get it come new year’s.)

The first time I started listening, I couldn’t really stop. I think I played and replayed and replayed the song 20++ times as I did mundane household chores which were asked of me in the morning. Sunday August 24th, my life was transformed (and my digital and physical wallets along with it. Sobs.)

I had no idea who was singing which part, no idea which boy was which, but what got me in, locked and loaded and in place, were the beats, the uplifting sounds that got me dancing again after a messy heartbreak caused by a personification of immaturity who had refused to let go. I was only one week into my new job (old job again now. Such is the way of life - and we lead separate ones now, no reason to cry over invisible lives and imagined smiles or smirks of satisfactions I am not in any current position privy to - or will ever be. Thank God.)

Then there were the messages - the lyrics - “I’m diamond, you know I glow up.” - I mean, Yes, Fucking YES - Kim Seokjin, of course I’m a piece of precious Jewel. Of course I am one and whole of myself and one of a kind (apologies for being cliches, felt good to type out loud right). Asked on Twitter who the “other black-haired” guy was and learned that it was Hobi. Spent time watching a couple of interviews, took 3 hours to tell the boys apart (”You had a lot of free time,” Shareef said, amused, and I quite abashedly admitted to him yes.), and picked him as my bias (little did I know).

I was attracted (still am) to sunshine. I needed smiles and laughters like his in my life. He stood out to me in almost every interview, beaming with his heart-shaped lips and his eternal catchphrase - “I’m your hope.” I was exactly at that point in my life when I needed to hear that. From him, in that voice, from those lips, with those eyes.

And I thought, dear god. I’m always attracted to guys who bring smiles to my face. Of course it has to be him.

(Natalie replied “You’ve joined the party!” in a reply to my screencap of Taehyung wearing those adorable black-rimmed glasses on Stephen Colbert not long after.

That Beatles-Boy With Luv performance remains one of my favorites.)

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Bangtan has since performed and performed and performed Dynamite, and to this day I and the rest of the fandom have witnessed and seen about 30++ performances of Dynamite, and it has yet to grow old on us. (Well.) I swear I can still play the song at least once a day, and that irresistible bubble of hope in Jungkook’s voice in the opening simply shines through. The rest of the song just does its magic - every single time.

I mean, “Life is sweet as honey,” “I’m in the stars tonight,”? Talk about hope, about confidence, looking forward. Straight and simple as that. I had yet to discover what BTS truly has in store.

Note 2: My favorite dance move in the performance itself is Hoseok’s, for the Japanese taping (FNS Music Festival) right here.

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After Dynamite, I burned through the usual favorites, seeing as there was a literal treasure trove of Bangtan songs to discover and listen to, thanks also to this chart.

Go Go and Pied Piper are fun teases to listen to every now and then. Their Halloween dance practice and MNet countdown (I could die over Tae’s clear-rimmed glasses) are bundles of colorful energy. (Until I came across Lotte 2018 Jungkook?! Adding Best of Me here because it’s become a recent favorite. Dance moves are impeccable. There was a stint in my life where I was watching the Airplane Pt. 2 MV almost every day because of how in love I was over Taehyung’s whole look - pink hair, flowing robes, and how the boys pull off their outfits. )

I proceeded mainly through the orange branch, bought myself a few Love Yourself albums along the way, and the day I saw this Min Yoongi in In the Soop, my Bangtan life took a turn.

Yep. Simplicity.

What’s not to fall in love with?

One of my current, low-ranking regrets may include having forgotten the exact moment I first listened to Trivia: 轉 Seesaw, but I fell hard and deep. To that point of no return when I read the lyrics and that analogy Yoongi had penned.

I mean, add Autumn Leaves (the complexity of layered notes, beats, and resulting emotions... ah) and you’ve got this king of breakup songs right here.

What beautiful words, what gorgeous language. I wish I could learn Korean just to fully appreciate the message.

Another friend recommended me Butterfly and I lost my shit realizing they referenced Murakami.

More obscure songs like 134340, Paradise and Sea I didn’t get to till much later. Whalien 52 could make me cry just with the lyrics alone (I doubt my exes had ever felt that level of emotional toward me - the more tragic thing is that the doubt would always exist). Just One Day was that track I had on loop this one afternoon I had to go into town for a dinner party, and Miss Right was an accidental discovery that had me grinning and blushing to the boys’ voices alone, same as 21st Century Girl (’Cause you’re my only girl, oh yea. If you love me, just say it straight. We love a confident but committed guy.)

*Dope is that one MV I waited to watch because of my love of uniforms and managed to get to on a day I could not recall.

*This MIC Drop MAMA performance is the hottest clothes-on, turn on performance I’ve ever watched.

Coffee was the track I first listened to on a drive back from a rather unsuccessful and uneventful beach (bitch?!) trip, and the bitter nostalgia cut me deep. Jungkook’s voice could string up my soul any day of the week. Yes, baby, I still drink Caramel Macchiato every time I think of you - the song, not the person, or any person at all.

I discovered HOME because of this comfy Kimmel performance and died over the camaraderie and obvious ties they have as a family.

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Plus a blue-themed home, uh, have you seen my bedroom, sir?

Boy With Luv will cheer me up any time of day - no thoughts but blue haired Tae and bubblegum pink haired #Jimim, indeed. (That mirroring of a glow-up from the 상 남자 of Boy In Luv is genius. Girl, ‘m not begging for you no more, but letting you know that I’m whole and ready and intent on keeping you safe.)

Spring Day I listened to on an off day in October and wrenched my own heart over the lyrics, even starting off a chapter in one of my fics with the verses that hit me most in particular.

The ON:E concert re-introduced me properly to Filter, My Time (sexy personified as a performance), Persona, Interlude: Shadow, Ego, UGH!, Moon (Prince Kim Seokjin - you have my heart, and my light, always), and 00:00 (picked up through Twitter that it was the song for personal therapy and reminded me of that quote - nothing good ever happens between midnight and 2am, go to sleep. Add 2!3!, which I’d properly listened to after viewing the ON:E exhibit, to this and we are done.)

It wasn’t until I listened to Blood, Sweat, and Tears that I went full-blown head over heels (more than I was before). I’m a musical theater kid, have always been at heart, and those boys dancing in the suits and literature and arts references. You could have just plunged that knife a bit deeper into my heart.

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Needless to say that I bought Demian couple of days after (my 3rd Herman Hesse! Regrettably not my favorite.)

Blood, Sweat and Tears joins my own mini self-compilation of songs on the attraction and sublime relishing of a toxic relationship. That sweet temptation that’s so lush in theory yet acidic in real life.

You’re willing to give it all to this person, this passion, this love, this lure of attraction, imprisonment, and just lose yourself.

You’re begging to be hurt, even when you know it.

You’re asking to stay bathed in acid, drown yourself in punishment, and you’re okay. As long as the “you” in the lyrics is ok - to have you.

You’ve signed over your mind, your body and soul - “I know well they’re all yours” - what sinful admittance, what a delicious way to say you’re under the other’s spell. Not like I haven’t been there before (fitting to think of Jimin holding that apple. God.)

“Peaches and Cream/Sweeter than Sweet/Chocolate Cheeks and Chocolate Wings” - talk about dessert, about diabetic, diabolical sweetness that both indulge and burn your soul. These are saccharine metaphors and goddamn if I wasn’t and am all over them.

Sweet as they are, they melt - they expire, they’re tangible but transient, and you’ve chosen to have them anyway, just to taste them, just to know, to satisfy your sense and just to possess.

“There is a ‘bitter’ next to your ‘sweet’“ - this is my kind of writing. My kind of getting your sweet now and being punished for it later, the kind my friend had commented before of living for today and choosing to forgo the punishments of tomorrow that you’re all too aware of.

And here comes Hoseok!

Kiss me, it's okay if it hurts Just make it as tight As that I can't feel the pain anymore

Goddamn. That Blade Runner 2049 phrase about how pain makes you human - this is next level of hurting just so you could feel. This is hurting to know that it’s real - that the ‘you’ exists - and this “tightness”, this tense sensation, is only reminding you that the lover(?) is worth the pain (grit your teeth and continue!)

Baby, it's okay if I get drunk I'll drink you in deep now Deep into my throat The whiskey that is you

Intoxication - another one of my favorite topics sprouting a platitude of interpretations. Aside from being a sucker (and loving it myself) of saying “baby,” (signaling intimacy, no less) - this is an artful, eloquent way to sketch another version of “love is the/a drug,” which the lover/”you” is consciously consuming with consent.

There’s a repeat in the “d’s” that definitely conjures an imagery of diving deeper and deeper into a bottomless abyss, or of drinking your bottles dry - but this is a translation so that’s that.

But where we have been (or were) in love, we could feel the other person intoxicating, consuming us, consuming our senses, straying our conscience, blurring the lines among reality, reasoning and our own thoughts and what they may have driven us to think or view, just like alcohol or drugs would lead you to do. That inebriated state would be just a self-enriching cycle of docile submission and self-driven continuance.

It doesn't matter if it hurts Tie me up so I can't escape Hold me tight and shake me up So that I can't come to my senses

Like Jimin with the cloth over his eyes in the MV, this is another conscious decision to be held imprisoned, bounded, senses so disrupted you’re choosing to stay. I don’t know about you, but there’s an inkling of weakness in me when I’d chosen to do that, to opt for that choice and stay in something I was fully aware from experience wasn’t going to last (’can’t come to my senses’) but choosing to blind myself to indulge in the fleeting sweetness anyway.

When you’re making that firm and persistent decision to beg for pain and consciously choosing to numb your senses so you could feel nothing else but what you may have thought you desire to feel - you’ve got it bad, baby. That absinth’s hit you hard.

(And we love it.)

Kiss me on the lips A secret just between the two of us Deeply poisoned by the jail of you I cannot worship anyone but you and I knew The grail was poisoned but I drank it anyway

Yoongi’s “Kiss me”, like his “불타오르네” (and obviously “용서해줄게“) in Fire may as well linger in my ears as my personal on-demand whisper sounds. His voice is that sexy as fuck ASMR I never knew I needed (and queue Ben Whishaw’s...)

Here we see “poisoned” harking back to intoxication, and “jail of you,” calling back to the whole verse I’d interpreted above before. What interested me here was the couplet - “Kiss me on the lips/a secret just between the two of us” - kissing as an act of sealing a deal or secret reminds me of age old love songs, of promises made between lovers before they part. Not to mention, this is that sexy, 섹시한 way of “sealing the deal” you may have heard about.

“I cannot worship anyone but you...” holds the lover up high, almost godlike, maybe on a pedestal. It’s that everest, that peak point when you’re more than head over heels in love, when you’re able to see no one but this person. “Worship” is that word signaling holy, direct, and submissive devotion - just powerful.

“...and I knew/The grail was poisoned but I drank it anyway” - again the voice of submission in line with above verses, submitting yourself to temptation, same as biting into that apple despite knowing consequences. “Grail” embodies the whole MV image of the classics.

Close my eyes with your caress I can't resist it anyway I can't even escape anymore

You are too sweet, too sweet Because you are too sweet

“Close my eyes” is the same as asking to be blinded (see above). Adding “with your caress” only enhances the intensity of the speaker’s desire, of the intimate and physical nature - you know full well what that person does to you, your heart, conscience, and senses with just one simple touch or the trace of a finger on your skin - especially someone as addicted to skinship as I am. The repetition “You are too sweet...” brings us back full circle to Namjoon’s dessert verses, intoxication, indulgence, and submission.

What a delicious song. I fall in love every time I listen.

Second song in my trilogy is Love Maze - an intoxication of a different, lighter flavor yet still an an intoxication nevertheless.

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Trapped in a maze of decisions Exhausted by all the different chaos We’ve wandered around, looking for the answer Lost in the maze, in the darkness

Jimin’s first verse traverses over the trials and tribulations of every day life - naturally we’re caught in decision-making from the moment we open our eyes (ah, sigh. my major. what the hell), and that, in extreme cases, can escalate to choice paralysis). Life is a mess, to say simply. At times you can feel (and you are) lost in some sort of maze which seems impossible to escape from.

[Verse 2: Jungkook] We ran and ran endlessly But all the fake noise Can’t tear us apart It’s true baby [Refrain: Jimin, Jin] We must believe only in ourselves Can’t let go of each other’s hands We need to be together forever

And now this is just asking your partner to hold your hand throughout the darkness, holding hands while the walls come tumbling down type of way.

[Verse 3: RM] People say That I’ll end up a fool But I don’t wanna use my head I don’t wanna calculate Love ain’t a business Rather like a fitness I’ve never been in a calculating love I know it’ll be cold like winter But I still wanna try

Yup, sure. Love isn’t logical, and we feel it when we feel it. This is a more considered version of love or succumbing to temptation/infatuation, compared to Blood, Sweat, and Tears, see here:

If you push me, I’ll fall, just raise me up again Even if I pull, you don’t have to come

Upon a close look, this is the more confident, the more ‘out-there’ you - like a rocking doll, a full human ready to get back up on its own once fallen, not a blind follower or submissive slave. What I find particularly captivating is the bottom verse - “Even if I pull, you don’t have to come” - this is a show and declaration of independence at its finest. I’ll woo you, I’ll say I want you, and I’ll grab you toward me, but you “don’t have to” be with me, [if you don’t want to.] (Plays I’m Fine)

No matter what others say, don’t listen Just let’em talk, whatever they say The more they do, the more I’m sure

Honestly this reminded me of a past relationship, where figurative hand-holding was the emphasized union to help us make it through. Would have been half the fight if it was that aspect alone, though.

Baby just don’t give a damn

This is the sentence I sing to every single time I play this aloud. The sentence.

I always think, even if eternity is hard I wanna try it, let’s be forever

My ex once asked, “How long is forever?” just ripping off that sign in a mall we walked past, and yes, that’s what I do remember about us. Part of it. Since then, mentions of eternity like this has always hit me.

And forever doesn’t exist, guys. COVID does.

(Bad joke, sorry.)

The song that completes the trilogy is one I discovered only last week. My last BTS x Steve Aoki crossover: Waste It On Me.

Queue neon club lights and bad decision drinks. Kook being Kook, his voice in songs like these, House of Cards, and Savage Love slices you right through, like a young, impressionable boy asking you to give this love a try, to forget yourself in being attracted to him, and to waste the time you aware you’re willing to waste on him:

[Verse 1: Jungkook] You say love is messed up You say that it don't work But, you don't wanna try, no, no (You don't wanna try, no, no) And baby, I'm no stranger To heartbreak and the pain of Always being let go (Always being let go)

This verse, man. When your heart’s rusty and battered and beaten and broken enough, “Baby, I’m no stranger/to heartbreak and the pain of always being let go,” is that overwhelming elixir to slosh it altogether, like soaking your lone damn heart in warm bathwater, and with Jungkook’s inviting voice, you may have added your favorite flavor of Lush bathbomb.

[Pre-Chorus: Jungkook, RM & Jimin] And I know there's no making this right, this right (This right) And I know there's no changing your mind, your mind (Your mind) But we both found each other tonight, tonight (Oh yeah) So if love is nothing more than just a waste of your time

It’s that exact moment when it’s the night of your birthday, you’re all dressed up with only one place to go in a town where you knew a handful of people, and the guy at the bar had bought you a shot of mysterious substance to drink. So you’re here. So he’s here. And the drink’s here, between you two, and you’ve downed it in. And you’re here.

So why not?

‘Waste it on me’ is a sexy invitation in itself, that momentarily grasp for pleasure. Ok, yea. I’m all yours.

Tonight.

[Verse 2: RM] So we don't gotta go there Past lovers and warfare It's just you and me now (Yeah, yeah) I don't know your secrets But I'll pick up the pieces Pull you close to me now (Yeah, yeah)

Namjoon’s voice has always been sexy to me. Masculine, dominating, in control, in the same way that Yoongi’s raspy, gravelly voice grabs you and stubbornly holds you close.

Maybe this guy you’d just met in a club’s blabbering away to pierce who you may have been or who you’re presenting yourself to be just for you to be with him, and takes ahold of your waist before you could say no.

What do you say?

Yay, don't you think there must be a reason? Yeah, like we had our names Don't you think we got another season That come after spring? I wanna be your summer I wanna be your wave Treat me like a comma I'll take you to a new phrase Yeah, come just eat me and throw me away If I'm not your taste, babe, waste Waste it on me

I’m speechless over the “Treat me like a comma, I’ll take you to a new phrase,” wordplay. Most of all, it illustrated my past relationship in that all too on-the-nose way, for me and him both. English is sexy, man, please don’t ever say it isn’t.

“Yeah, come just eat me and throw me away/If I’m not your taste, babe.” I’m partial to babe as much as baby, let’s be real. Haha. The whole “come just eat me” paints that picture of the speaker being “consumed,” just devoured whole (echoing the earlier image of being “washed over” from “I wanna be your wave”) by the to-be-lover, without a care, a giving-himself-away submission reminiscent of Blood, Sweat, and Tears’ intoxication and blind bondage. The speaker here doesn’t even care if he’s not tailored to the ‘lover’s’ desire, ready to be discarded, treating himself here as disposable, even worse than Love Maze’s partnered hopefulness and teamwork or Blood, Sweat and Tears’ irresistible, spellbound attraction.

Aaand there you have it, my ramblings on Bangtan (as of now). There’s just so, so much - I’ve recently received my HYYH Pt.1 (RIMBAUD! SEXY CONVERSE!!! BOYZ with FUN!) and YNWA albums, not to mention my rap line songs, vocal line, In the Soop, Performance details, Run BTS (source of joy and laughter, more than any man has ever affected me), Premiums, and the whole “Love Yourself” concept + B.E. Itself.

I’ll be sure to pop back in very, very soon!

#BTS

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airadam · 3 years

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Episode 138 : Learned From The Best

Very sadly, my father passed away at the start of this month, after suffering with a serious illness for some time. While I'm devastated to see him leave, I feel lucky to have had him as long as I did. The show this month is a departure from the normal format, and after a short intro you'll get an uninterrupted selection of records that I either learned about from him and his collection, that he played in the car, or that I'd put him up on in a couple of cases. I hope you enjoy it.

Peace, Dad.

Twitter : @airadam13

Twitch : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Tracy Chapman : Mountains o' Things

This 1988 album was on loop in the car when my dad had it on cassette! Nowadays, I don't know if it's one where everyone just knows the singles, or the kind of album that everyone else knows front-to-back too. I could have chosen pretty much any track to start the show, but this one is as good as any and sets a nice tempo for some of the other important records I wanted to include.

Pharcyde : Runnin'

This was on a compilation tape - I don't know which - but you'll know it best as part of the "Labcabincalifornia" album. The beat is of course an early-career classic from the great J Dilla.

Mariah Carey : Long Ago

Dad was a big Mariah Carey fan - as am I - and this was definitely his favourite track from the "Daydream" album, which was in very heavy rotation when it came out! She produced this one alongside Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal.

Busta Rhymes : Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check

One time I tried to slide the radio edit of Tim Dog's "F*ck Compton" by in the car, after taping it off the radio. It did not go well. I would never have categorised my father as a Hip-Hop fan, and he wasn't, but when he came to pick me up at the end of the first year of university and this (granted, as part of a compilation) was playing on the tape deck? Colour me surprised :) "The Coming" was one heavy solo debut, and gave us this undeniably classic track.

Platinum Pied Pipers : Fever

Detroit flavour right here. I did one of my Fathers' Day mixtapes in 2007 and had to include this 2005 cut from the "Triple P" album, which you should definitely check out if it passed you by. Waajeed and Saadiq are the producers in charge, with Zeno taking the lead vocal.

Terri Walker ft. Mos Def : Guess You Didn't Love Me

Another track that I introduced to him on a Fathers' Day mixtape, it was a then-new track with the smoothness and sophistication of soul singers a decade preceding. A great track from Ms. Walker's debut "Untitled" album, which was just the start of her highly-respected career.

The Modulations : Rough Out Here

I used to see this album cover as a kid and think their outfits were kind of funny - but then, they were from a different place and era, and I now know that those flares and big lapels were no indicator of any kind of sucker-dom! It took me a long time to get round to actually listening to and appreciating the "It's Rough Out Here" LP, but I have to say that they killed it with this opening track.

Rasputin Stash : Middle Man

The cartoon-style front cover of this album, with the names of many of the tracks incorporated into the artwork, always used to draw me in, and the name of the band was a curious one too. Coming out of Chicago, this band had a hard road but still put out great music, such as 1974's "Devil Made Me Do It" which this track is drawn from.

Chic : (Funny) Bone

The "C'est Chic" album, which I remember well from the crates in the house, contains the famous "Le Freak", of course, but the whole LP is well worth listening through. Tucked away at the very end of side B is this mostly-instrumental groove workout, which fit perfectly here.

Assagai : Telephone Girl

I used to see this LP in the house and be amazed at just how raw and in-your-face the front cover was - a man dressed like a Southern African warrior, with arms raised in triumph, and text so bold it looked like it was about to jump right off the sleeve. I didn't actually hear the album for many years, but when I did, I discovered that this London-based group of African expats had the heat!

Stevie Wonder : Boogie On Reggae Woman

I can 100% remember the first time I heard this record, with my dad playing it in my childhood bedroom on a music centre (bet you haven't heard that term in a while!) which transformed out of a suitcase! I don't hear it as much as some of the other Stevie dancefloor tunes, but while this track from "Fulfillingness' First Finale" might not be a favourite for everyone, it'll always be special to me.

B.T. Express : Once You Get It

When I found this LP in the house and started playing it as a teen, I was amazed at how much of it I recognised - it must be one of the most heavily sampled albums of all time! The "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" LP from this Brooklyn band is an absolute must-own for all lovers of the funk.

James Brown : Ain't It Funky Now (Part 1)

I didn't realise for ages that my dad actually had two copies of this, which was a surprise since as far as I know, he didn't invent beat-juggling back in the 70s :) The actual vinyl is the compilation "James Brown Soul Classics Volume 3", which, because it was one of the only things around that we had two of, was actually the record I learned to loop doubles of when I started the road of learning to DJ!

Harry J Allstars : Reach For The Sky

This instrumental reggae album ("Liquidator") is a classic - I think I pulled it out from my dad's stuff because of the front cover with a young woman having just shot someone down with a Tommy gun, but had no idea what to expect musically. Amongst other things, there's a Stevie Wonder cover, a track sampled by the UK artist Rebel MC (now Congo Natty), and this great tune. I always loved it, right down to the way it ends - and so, I thought I'd play it all the way through as the closer to the episode.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!

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soulcomposer · 7 years

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~BTS Comeback ^o^

It’s finally here!

So instead of writing out my thoughts on every song I’d like to focus on specific parts from each that I really love and that have really inspired me to possible write some pieces (of fic ;)) for them later on.

Intro: Serendipity: the initial mv release for this came out during a really stressful week for me. I was literally just feeling stress and exhaustion. But thanks to Namjoon’s amazing writing and Jimin’s sweet voice, combined with the beautiful color palettes it had me feeling eternally soft. “I am your calico cat” ...just wow I’m forever thankful.

DNA: So after the second break from 2:49-3:08 with V and the little sparkling electronic effects. This part really had me feeling some nostalgia for Utada Hikaru’s “Keep Trying” + gave off an espionage vibe that I’d have 0 idea how to write into a fic but damn I’d love to read it.

Best of Me: despite all the controversy with the Chainsmokers collaborating for this song they really came out with an edm gem.

"you are like the entire world to me hold me so much tighter it hurts" these are my favorite lyrics out of the ones I’ve been able to read thus far. They just really resonate with me emotionally because of the loneliness I’ve personally been dealing with since moving to a new country ://

It’s also probably the only way I’d ever remember “day by day” “summer winter” in Korean.

dimple: 2:03-2:30 Tae, Jungkook, and I think Jin?? (don’t quote me on that I’m bad with pointing out line distributions @.@) really stole the show here. It’s so sweet and as the title implies it just has to be an ode to Namjoon (& probably Hoseok)

Pied Piper: SO this one along with Go Go are the 2 songs that really stood out to me outside from the intro/title track. Initially when Namjoon (being the tease that he is) posted a picture of all the files on twitter everyone was pretty curious to see that Pied Piper was a whole 9.3mb. BUT NOW I UNDERSTAND and you’ll really have to give it multiple listens to understand. There are so many BEAUTIFUL LAYERS OF SOUND in this song. From the very beginning chords and funky bass lines and the ethereal undertones. The bright background vocals ahhh these are the times I wish I had more musical terminologies under my belt because there is just so much going on and I LOVE IT. It could legit belong in a GOTG film from how funky it is. And I can already see Jungkook leading the gang as the Pied Piper. Even though its basically a callout to Army’s LOL. So savage. I love it.

Skit: Billboard Music Awards Speech: Utterly destroyed when I saw this was a part of the tracklist. Was literally gross sobbing reliving these very moments on the videos I had taken with @defendkimseokjin that day because you know BTS included this for US (Army) because we were the ones that helped get them that award and it just makes me so...emotional and proud. I love them so much :’c

MIC Drop: THIS SONG FRICKIN BANGS. As it should! Because rap line is back at it again to fuck. shit. up. The whole song is just an awesome build but it all amounts from 3:40 to the end that just sounds SO DAMN EPIC and makes me want to write/read a Fast&Furious AU starring rap line just having their way, ruling the world nbd.

Outro: Her: Back to the roots and ofc Yoongi is revealed as the writer who said was written throughout their Chicago concert stop :’)

“I don’t know what is my real self either, after meeting you, will you know that I’m like a book? If not will you become my bookshelf? damn” Damn is right Yoongi. You know how to thread thoughts that I feel so well. This is how I’m constantly reminded that you truly are my bias. You feel so many things that I do and I damn love you for it.

Go Go: Okay here we are. I actually left this song to write about last because I had to have the song looping. That intro hits me so hard. And everyone probably knows by now, this song is probably the most lacking lyrically. But where it really shines to me is in the instrumentation; a loop of wooden flute and marimbas. When I first heard it I teared up and let some slip from my eyes because it just hit me straight in the Latin American feels. I’m pretty sure this was not BTS’ intention but instead to carry on with the ‘Caribbean’ feel that has become popular in music lately. So, I’m U.S. born but Nicaragua is as close to a second home as Japan will be because of my family. Despite the poverty and many social/environmental debate it’s a country I’m proud to have heritage. And it’s a heritage that despite knowing poverty really knows how to have a good time. So what is one of the traditional instruments they use in Nicaragua? It’s marimba and those marimba sounds are just dispersed throughout the song along with one of the repeating lyrics being “where the party yah” which honestly would be such a Nicaraguan thing to say and I LOVE IT SO MUCH. It just makes me want to write and imagine the possibility of BTS coming to tour or just adventure in Nicaragua (which I’ve already sort of written a BTS fic low key set in Nicaragua before so...it could def be done again) and again...the possibility makes me a damn emotional mess when I hear those marimba bits in the intro ;^; I’m so attached to instrumentation ugh I love BTS thank you so much for this song. It would be a dream to be able to attend one of your fanmeets and share these thoughts with you guys. This song truly means so much to me right now and you don’t even know how. Thank you thank you thank you for this gem.

And with that, congratulations on yet another amazing release! It was worth the wait ! Your hard work really shines and I can’t wait to support you through all your comeback performances ! :)) <3

#bts #dna #comeback #jungkook #jimin #jin #taehyung #yoongi #hoseok #namjoon #instrumentation #nicaragua

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