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chaneltae · 5 years

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BTS reaction to you confessing to them [drabble]

Genre: fluff ☁️

↳ ksj ◦ myg ◦ jhs ◦ knj ◦ pjm ◦ kth ◦ jjk

Min Yoongi

Ever since you started hanging out with the boys Yoongi spent most of the time in his studio and you didn’t think much of it since you’re aware he likes to be alone just as much as you like to withdraw from everyone from time to time as well. However, recently you’d catch him being with the others more and more often as he joins conversations and games freely, laughing along. Although you’d like to get to know him better you can’t bring yourself to speak much when he’s around. Yoongi might look short and cute in comparison to the other boys, but his radiance is confident and somewhat intimidating. While his gummy smile is the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen, his voice is deep and rough. Truly a human of great contrast and you can’t help but be fascinated by his diversity, his mind, him. Just now as you are hanging out at the boy’s dorm thinking about Yoongi while lounging on the couch watching the maknaes play a video game, your crush walks right up to you, scratching his head “Seems like you have nothing to do right now, so why don’t you come to my studio? I promised to show you anyway.” Slightly startled you look at him quickly responding “Sure!” before your brain malfunctions at the thought of this actually happening. Of course you remember the very exact moment he promised you to show you his studio one day but by now you thought he had forgotten about it and you never wanted to ask about it, knowing how precious this is to him.

To make it short, it’s awesome. You look around, admiring the huge screen on the wall, the expensive music equipment, cute figurines decorating every corner and a sign reading ‘GENIUS LAB’, spreading a smile across your lips. “So, how do you like it?” Yoongi asks as he mindlessly takes place on his desk chair. Even though you can hear your heartbeat drumming in your ears you keep a calm composure, locking your eyes on something in the right corner of the room “I really like it. It’s really…you.”. You can hear him chuckle as you step up to the piano, gently stroking over the keys with your fingertips as you look up to him and continue “To be honest, I’d love to see you play”. Yoongi can’t help but shyly smile for a moment as he moves his chair to be in front of the instrument “I mean, if you want me to…” he trails of, his fingers already in place for him to press down in familiar movements. His expression seems peaceful with his eyes closed and slightly parted lips as you watch him in awe, taking in the moment. Seeing him like that in addition to beautiful but bittersweet melody makes you fall for him even more and you can feel your heart aching, getting emotional. As soon has Yoongi’s fingers leave the keys he opens his eyes to see your reaction, just to realize you’re barely holding back tears, crooking his head to the side “You look like you’re about to cry”. Embarrassed you start to fan yourself with your hands and laugh, trying to cover your nerves “I don’t know what to say. You can handle the piano very well I would say.” A smirk appears on Yoongi’s face right before he points to the sofa in the corner “By the way, you can sit there if you want. Get comfy and I can show you even more, okay?”. You raise your brows in surprise and quickly take a seat in anticipation, waiting for him to continue. And as Yoongi starts hitting the keys once again, you wish you could stay like this forever, slowly drifting off listening to the melody filling the room. Soon after what felt like way too short of a time, Yoongi moves his hands away from the piano and looks over to you with a satisfied smile playing on his lips. His eyes lock with yours and you can’t help but lose yourself in the soft cat shaped orbs, his lashes framing them so beautifully as you feel your heart beating faster and faster at the intensity of the gaze. “Can we do this again?” you hear yourself asking, unsure how you even formed the words that just left your mouth and quickly drop your gaze “Uhm, I mean, if you’re comfortable with it. I don’t want to intrude, knowing your studio is your save space and I’m probably a burden.” You start to ramble, vaguely gesturing your hands through the air, avoiding eye contact trying to calm your nerves. Suddenly you hear Yoongi bursting out with laughter as he gets up from his chair to approach you on the couch “Don’t worry Y/N, you’re not a burden. You really liked it that much?”. Shyly nodding your head and biting your lip you try to gather all your confidence “Yeah, I really like it.” A short pause, a deep inhale “I really like you, Yoongi.” With your gaze fixated on your unmoving feet the silence after your confession weighs more and more every passing second before you decide to abruptly get up and turn to leave “Sorry if this made things awkward, I didn’t think properly, please just forget what I just said.” Shaking your head at your stupid actions you just want to escape as fast as possible as you feel Yoongi’s hand around your wrist, holding you in place. Surprised you lift your head just to be met with the softest smile tugging on Yoongi’s lips as he turns to take a hold of both your hands to link his fingers with yours “Let’s make it a date next time you come over to my studio, hm?”.

#bts reaction #bts drabble #bts x reader #yoongi x reader #bts reactions #bts fanfic #bts fluff #min yoongi #chanel;reaction #chanel;drabble

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anime-grimmy · 4 years

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Favourite Gaming Soundtracks of the 2010s

It’s the end of another decade and what a decade it’s been. So much has changed in “just” 10 years, so many cool things have happened, so many amazing games have been released. Since it’s the end of the year I thought I could talk about some things that are dear to my heart. I love music and with so many dope games came just as amazing soundtracks. So, I just wanna let out my thoughts for my favourites. This is not really ranked, but I’ll tell you which my favs are from my favs.

But first, some “honorable mentions” for soundtracks I really enjoy, even though I’ve never played these games.

- Dark Souls / Bloodborne Mystic and gritty, but strangely calming from time to time

- Hollow Knight It came coming on with YT Autoplay and to be honest, I can’t complain. All in all a great soundtrack

- Persona 5 Dude, talk about style. It’s not quite my type of game, but holy fuck, the music is my JAM

- God of War (2018) I DID play this game and I loved it, but the soundtrack didn’t really stick out to me THAT much. Some tracks are downright bone-chilling and epic, but it didn’t have such a big impact on me all in all.

Anyways, on with my list.

Pokemon Sword and Shield

I’m gonna start with a recent one since it’s still fresh in my mind.

I always liked the Pokemon Soundtracks. Though most of the time simplistic, some tracks just have such iconic melodies. However, from Sinnoh onwards, I started liking single tracks more than the soundtrack as a whole. For example. even though most people say Cynthia has the best Champion theme, I can agree an the melody being amazing, but for me, the theme is so loaded, I don’t like it (best Champion theme is still Lance). Alola, for me, started having an upcurve on the soundtrack. I liked it as a whole, though I can’t really remember what exactly stood out to me.

Now Sword and Shield. Dudes, keep going on that route, your OST is amazing. I’ll be honest, the BEST thing of this game is the soundtrack. All have this kinda sporty/cheery sound and even though, let’s say, the normal battle theme isn’t that of a banger, the number of amazing single themes is just so high. Bede’s theme is basically the only thing I like about him, Marnie’s has such a cool tune (and all the metal covers on YT, BRO) and even if many people don’t like Hop’s theme, I really dig it. Some parts remind me of Mirror B.s theme, I dunno why.

And then you have my fav tracks, Rose’s Final Fantasy theme, Toby’s amazing Battle Tower theme AND THE GYM BATTLE MUSIC. I really didn’t like the gym leader theme at first but while playing the game, after each gym leader, it got me more and more stoked when the battle began.

All in all, Pokemon Sword and Shield has an overall enjoyable soundtrack. Filled with bangers, for me it made the game itself so much better.

Animal Crossing

Though I haven’t played the game in a long time, I still listen to the music.

Animal Crossing is just laid out to be this chill and calming ensemble of melodies. And it works. When I’m stressed or have to work on stuff I don’t want to, I usually just put on Animal Crossing music. It calms me and just gives me this warm and fuzzy feeling. It also helps when I have problems sleeping.

A soundtrack to just lie back, close your eyes and just enjoy life.

Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild

Continuing with calm music, let’s talk about my favourite Switch title.

This game often gets flag for “having no music” or too little of it. I know where you’re coming from, but I just think the limited use of the soundtrack makes you appreciate it even more. The moments when the music is used is carefully chosen and that makes it special. Be it the few piano notes that play while the day goes on, the little notification that you’ve entered a new area, the unexpected high energy when you’re fighting (most of all bosses) or the indescribable fear you feel when a Guardian spots you.

There are a few favourite moments I have of the game.

First is the start, when you first leave the cave, run out and this vast landscape opens before you. Just those few piano notes made me all excited for this new adventure. Like dawn is breaking.

The first time I rode on a horse over this wide field and suddenly, the music starts swelling. It was almost magical, the music rising just like my excitement.

The last thing I love is the difference between being in villages and outside. When I noticed that you always have some kind of melody playing when you’re in a settlement it dawned on me how quiet it was outside of them. I love this contrast between being alone in the wilderness with all the quiet and the sudden swell in music when you’re with other people.

This OST amazes me with how much emotion it can convey with often just the smallest amount of notes. An amazing soundtrack for just as an amazing game.

Super Mario Odyssey

So, last Nintendo game on this list, I swear.

This one is a small surprise, but at the same time, it really isn’t. I’ve never really been a fan of the main Mario games, they just aren’t really my thing. (the spin-offs are my jam). However, I’ve always enjoyed Mario’s music. The upbeat tunes really get stuck in your head and the melodies are always so recognizable. Heck, my favourite OST was from Super Mario Sunshine back in the day!

With Odyssey, I really enjoyed both the game and the soundtrack aspect. The worlds are colourful and the gameplay is super fun. Combine that with the stellar soundtrack and the game was such a fun experience, it’s definitely in my top 10. But what I really enjoyed is the diversity of the track. When you listen to the soundtrack on Youtube and you just click on two different parts of the video, I can guarantee that they’ll probably sound completely different but at the same time somehow coherent. The best tracks, in my opinion, are the upbeat ones for sure. The feeling of excitement and adventure just swells so much it’s amazing.

Then you’ve got “Jump up Superstar”. I fucking love this song. It’s so much fun, has such a great tune which gets stuck in your head and the lyrics are so easy to sing along. All things I love in a song. I actually listened to the song on repeat before I even got the game and I couldn’t wait to get to New Donk City to LIVE the song. And I wasn’t disappointed, it was one if not the best moments in the game.

Great game, great soundtrack, 100% fun.

Bravely Default / Bravely Second

(technically on a Nintendo Console, but whatev) I’m just gonna lump this two together, since BS’s the sequel.

Now, JRPGs aren’t really my thing. They often take too long for my tastes, I can’t for the life of me concentrate on the story and characters and after some time they just get stale for me. But now and then, I pick up a series I actually finish and that was Bravely Default and Second. I think I just have such a huge soft spot for the series cause of the art style/atmosphere and the fact that I played 8 hours straight of BD on a flight from Canada home.

I haven’t played the games in forever but when I think about what I like about them, there are 3 things I always think about: characters, art style and soundtrack. The songs might sound generic to most, but to me, with my little knowledge of JRPGs, find them quiet unique. It does at some points remind me of Final Fantasy but I think something just makes the tracks just sound like Bravely, though I can’t put my finger on it.

I don’t know the names of the themes, but even now there are just certain tracks which I link to a certain reaction. Like “oh no, not them again” or “Now shit is getting down”. Or every time the main theme plays, I get absolutely pumped.

Haven’t played the games in forever, but the soundtrack’s still in my mind.

Kingdom Hearts

From one RPG to the next, here’s a very special soundtrack. Kingdom Hearts is a franchise near and dear to my heart. It’s one of the first, if not THE first, RPG I ever played. I just get so nostalgic with this game. I can just remember watching my brother playing KH2, seeing two characters from my favourite franchise run around with this spiky haired boy with this stupidly big key. So much stuff happened I didn’t even understand back then, but just seeing these animated characters laugh and cry and go on this grand adventure, little me was mesmerized.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too happy with KH3. I’ve waited so long for it, just like hundreds of other people, but the end product just, I dunno, lacked the heart it used to. One thing however didn’t, the soundtrack. As sad I was to not enjoy the game as a whole as much as I wanted to, the soundtrack became one of my instant favourites. It sounds grandiose and has so much emotion. Each track sounds amazing but the OST really shines in its more calm and beautiful themes and its epic ones.

My favourite songs are the serene ones, however. “Sincerely Beloved” and the other Utada songs are some of my favourite songs ever and I can’t tell you how close I came to crying with the Sea Salt Icecream Trios themes. Heck, I played Xion’s theme back in the day on the piano and I still can play it now.

As much as KH has gone down in heart, the soundtrack stands up there as one of the best, much thanks to Utada Hikaru as well. It will always be important to me and just reminds me of my childhood. Some very fond memories.

Undertale

Well, let’s get outta the nostalgia feel and turn it up a bit!

Ah, Toby Fox, you madlad. Creating such a great game and subverting so many expectations. Undertale really had a big impact on the gaming scene but for me, the soundtrack really lasted. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the characters and story very much, but I still listen to the soundtrack regularly.

Undertale’s OST is comprised of sad, melancholic, upbeat and downright hype tunes. It has a wide spectrum but Toby Fox really does know how to push Leitmotif. All themes kind of flow great into each other but still manage to stand out and are recognizable. Each character theme fits the character perfectly and I love how their themes usually have some melodies/instruments from the area they’re in. And speaking of areas, as much as I love the character themes I just might prefer the atmosphere tracks even more. I mean, “Snowdin” just sounds like this super laid back, cute little town, “Home” is such a calming song and “It’s raining somewhere else” has such mystique. And, of course, the fact that the tracks have character/plot relevance is just amazing.

Not to mention, Toby Fox created one of the best Meme songs in existence.

Love the game, love the soundtrack even more and I’ll listen to “Death by Glamour” til I die.

Horizon Zero Dawn

I’m so happy I picked up this game. I never bought it cos A, I feel overwhelmed by open world games, and B, it COSTS SO MUCH. But I found it for half the prise and I bought it right before exam week. I know, smart move.

But anyways, the soundtrack. There aren’t any tracks that really stand out to me but I just like it as a whole. It’s such an atmospheric OST and when listening to it as BG music you just HEAR where you are, which tribe you’re in, what you probably did in the game when it played.

And that’s actually a big factor. All in all, I don’t think it’s such a special OST. It sounds great, most tracks are solid, but what really makes it shine is how much it enhances the experience of the game. The gameplay and story are great, but the OST just makes everything so much better, with setting the tone and atmosphere and all that.

I could go on and on about this game, but the soundtrack can be shaved down to a few words. Solid, great and atmospheric.

Monster Hunter World / Iceborne

So, I’ll drop this to second to last because I already made a super long analysis of the soundtrack. I’ll link it here.

https://anime-grimmy.tumblr.com/post/188601659768/some-monster-hunter-ramblings-possible-spoilers

But to put it simply, this is probably my favourite soundtrack at the moment. I just haven’t experienced so many emotions while listening to an OST since a certain game that’s next on the list. I still can’t listen to “Succession of Light” without almost crying (who am I kidding, I cry every time). I dunno why, but so many tracks make me feel such a barrage of emotions, be it excitement for adventure, hype for the hunt or just simply a childlike wonder.

Simply a great soundtrack that will be on top for a long time.

Okami

Technically a game from 2006, but the PS4 version came out like 2017 and I REALLY WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS GAME.

This is my absolute favourite game of all time. Since I played it first when I was about 9 years old, I just really loved this game. I replayed it more times than I can count and dude, I speedrun this game in record time.

For people who don’t know this game, you play as the Sun God Amaterasu, who has been summoned in the body of a white wolf. You job is to banish the evil from Nippon. To say this game awakened my fondness of Japanese culture is, well, spot on. I’ve played this game before I even knew what anime was. The atmosphere, style, themes and mostly the music mesmerized me. It was all so, well, foreign. Even nowadays it stands out from anything else I’ve played.

But on to the OST. Next to it being just amazing in general, it just is so Japanese and that’s what has always stuck out to me. I grew up with very traditional and classical music, back then I didn’t even listen to English/American music. So to hear these melodies and instruments that just sound so unfamiliar was very intriguing. And that just topped of the already amazing tracks. Okami does a great job of having super epic, exciting but also sombre and atmospheric music. It’s also very animated and comedic with it’s use of music. So, the mix of foreign sounds and great timing of amazing tracks just makes the experience all so much more memorable.

Even after 10+ years, Okami never gets boring and no matter how much I play it, the moment I face a boss and the epic music swells, or the moment a calm scene passes and the melody slows, my heart fills with emotion and I’m so glad I played it again.

Well, that’s that! I know it probably often sounds kind of sappy, but music is very special and important to me. If music doesn’t evoke emotions in me, I don’t care about it, even if it sounds great. For me it’s important that, when I listen to a soundtrack, I can remember the game or the scene it played in and the emotions I felt in that moment.

Soundtracks are supposed to make a emotional connection between you and the game and that’s why they are essential. At least that’s how I see it.

Anyways, if you made it this far, I bow my head to you. Thanks for reading and I hope you could somehow share my perspective of these games’ soundtrack. Feel free to tell me about your fav tracks!

It’s been a nice decade, enjoy the rest of 2019!

#favourite gaming soundtracks #2010s #pokemon #pokemon sword and shield #animal crossing #legend of zelda #mario oddesy #bravely default #undertale #kingdom hearts #monster hunter world #monster hunter iceborne #okami #horizon zero dawn #rambling

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dustedmagazine · 6 years

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The Dusted Mid-Year Exchange: 2018 Edition, Part 1

In our fifth annual switcheroo, Dusted writers review each other’s favorite records, venturing out of the genres where they feel most comfortable to wrestle with excellence outside their frame of reference. As always, assignments were made at random with the only rules being: a) you can’t review your own pick and b) you can’t review something you’ve already written about for Dusted.

Unlike in past years, there was no clear favorite in 2018, although artists including Marisa Anderson, Olden Yolk, DJ Koze and Kacey Musgraves made multiple lists. And perhaps most heartening, a number of writers amended their mid-year favorites after listening to other writers’ picks. We hope you’ll also be able to find some new favorites among the artists we highlight.

Today, we’ll run the first half of the mid-year blurbs (alphabetically) from Marisa Anderson to Joelle Leandre & Elisabeth Harnik. We’ll cover the second half of the alphabet tomorrow, then close our feature with individual writers’ best of lists through the first half.

Marisa Anderson — Cloud Corner (Thrill Jockey)

Cloud Corner by Marisa Anderson

Who recommended it? Eric McDowell

Did we review it? Not yet, but it’s assigned.

Ben Donnelly’s take:

"Slow Ascent" is one of the titles in Anderson's latest batch of profound electric guitar explorations. It's a good phrase to summarize her career and style, hiking higher with each release, wandering further from the trails. For the second time, she's tracking a few extra instruments into her miniatures without disrupting the solitude, keyboards and acoustic strings mostly matching the cracks and chime of her main axe. Her fingerpicking has a fractal aspect, where intricate and rapid patterns can create a cycle that's relaxed and gradual, as on the title track and other lilting numbers. "Lament," a slide blues with a dissipating tempo and skeletal keyboard notes is forceful in its minimalism. She's becoming a master of small contrasts. Nowhere better than the closer "Lift,” where folks sounds step aside for a plucky scale that spirals up, offset by sweeps that sound like brushing the harp of an open-lidded grand piano, but take focus as a harmonized electric. Her brilliance is ever more in focus.

The Armed — Only Love (Throatruiner)

ONLY LOVE by The Armed

Who recommended it? Jonathan Shaw

Did we review it? Yes. Jonathan Shaw said, “The Armed will likely be delighted by the divisive responses Only Love generates.”

Ian Mathers’ take:

You almost wish for anyone who’s potentially up for the Armed’s pummelling, exuberant, often frantic, tremendously maximalist take on hardcore and assorted associated genres to come to the record totally blind, and not just because “Witness” comes leaping out of the gates so forcefully. It can be fun to start digging around and register all the distancing tactics, purposeful obfuscation, sense of play, and weird links (to everything from Converge to, err, Rubicam and Young), but the visceral impact of Only Love is powerful enough that all that context should be saved for later. It’s one thing to start filling in context, it’s another thing to hear something as ferocious and compelling as “Role Models” (“NO INS! NO OUTS!” yell-chanted in a way I’m pretty sure even little kids would find appealing, if you could sneak this synth-spiked bomb past their parents) in the context of trying to figure out the game, if there is indeed a game here. After the roiling chaos of the first few listens subsides the sheer number of hooks packed inside these songs really settle in your mind, anchored by Ben Koller’s incredible drumming (possibly commissioned on false pretences) and just as adept at etching out a multi-part climax like the seething “On Jupiter” as just full-on sprinting on the likes of “Heavily Lined.” And then there’s “Fortune’s Daughter,” maybe the strongest earworm I’ve encountered yet in 2018. Who are the Armed and what are they up to? It’s not that I’m not interested in the answer to that kind of question, it’s more that as long as they keep making records as good as Only Love I’m happy to believe whatever they tell us (or don’t).

Bardo Pond — Volume 8 (Fire)

Volume 8 by Bardo Pond

Who recommended it? Jennifer Kelly

Did we review it? Yes, Jennifer said, “The sound, vast and muscularly monolithic as ever, seems more like a demon summoned periodically from a ring of fire than the product of any sort of linear development.”

Isaac Cooper’s take:

Like fellow travelers Yo La Tengo’s There’s A Riot Going On, Bardo Pond’s Volume 8 is stitched together from jam excerpts and spare parts, but unlike Riot, Volume 8 is remarkably cohesive and propulsive. Even at its droniest and spaciest, there is no shortage of momentum or sense that Volume 8 is a collection of barrel scrapings to tide over the diehards; it stands with any of Bardo Pond’s releases. The guitars on “Kailash” and “Flayed Wish” howl and wail like Lear on the heath, while the rhythm section pushes on, determined as Sisyphus. Two shorter pieces, “Power Children” and the gorgeous solo guitar piece “Cud,” act as a brief respite before the entropic and monstrously heavy closer, “And I Will”. Musical improvisation is one of the best means we have of tapping into the murky world of the unconscious, and Volume 8 demonstrates that while there’s plenty of chaos and darkness down there, it’s also the source of inspiration and transcendence.

Cut Worms — Hollow Ground (Jagjaguwar)

Hollow Ground by Cut Worms

Who recommended it? Ben Donnelly

Did we review it? Not yet...

Patrick Masterson’s take:

“Amid all the noise nowadays, there’s precious little that still makes me feel the way those peoples’ songs do, and aspiring to reach that level is a big part of what makes me do this to begin with.” This is Cut Worms’ Max Clarke in a charmingly earnest Medium interview last fall on some of his biggest influences – John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed. Maybe you’ve heard of them; maybe you’ve heard of the level of cultural influence they have exerted on us all. And if you’ve heard the Alien Sunset EP that was released just after the interview ran, you’ll easily be able to see where Clarke was coming from in the time that he spent putting the homespun eight-track wonder together, splitting halves between Chicago and his current Brooklyn home. It’s a beautiful record that doesn’t overplay its hand, choosing instead to let the simplicity of his natural ear for a melody do the talking despite the humble recording quality. He was never going to reach the mythical heights of his influences plying away at that trade forever, of course, but his art was all the better for sounding so self-assured in its limitations.

Hollow Ground, however, is a Trojan Horse of the most exhausting variety. Those same reference points – the Beatles, Dylan, solo Reed – still apply, only here they spring forth in an aggressively augmented form with a backing band and a more fleshed-out sound that’s like saying, “Alexa, give me every pop music trend of the 60s at once” or, more accurately, like listening to someone too young to have experienced the decade but old enough to be familiar with its most basic cultural signifiers play an album’s worth of icons. How do we know? Check the new versions of Alien Sunset’s “Don’t Want to Say Good-Bye” and “Like Going Down Sideways”; they’re wholly different, coldly unlovable remakes of the intimate originals. Even his lyrics feel unconvincing; Clarke uses the pet name “baby” on 60% of the songs here, which, look: I don’t need to stare into a wordless void with Bill Basinski to feel something and there’s an evident surplus of genuinely touching heartache present, but that’s an affectation of the most irritatingly trite variety.

For a certain kind of person, Max Clarke is the perfect person; for that person, Hollow Ground will resonate simply, perfectly. I am not that person. I will never listen to this again – likely not individual songs, certainly not in full. Does that seem unduly harsh? Does it feel too personal? Does the cut worm forgive the plow? Guess we’ll see. Ask again when there’s a follow-up.

Sarah Davachi— Let Night Come on Bells End the Day (Recital)

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Who recommended it? Bryan Daly

Did we review it? No

Bill Meyer’s take:

Sarah Davachi puts out albums often enough that it’s hard to catch up, so please cut Dusted some slack for not getting to Let Night Come on Bells End the Day until now. The Canadian composer and multi-instrumentalist has followed All My Circles Run, an all-acoustic minimalist chamber piece, with an overdubbed solo recording for electric organ, acoustic piano, Mellotron and synthesizers. Like some ecclesiastic initiate, she has followed a solitary path to arrive at a place that is one with the cosmos. Her slow-morphing tones, incremental melodies, and exquisitely voiced harmonies don’t just sound like they should be played in a chapel; they erect a virtual space around the listener that only lets the ineffable through. If Andrei Tarkovsky was still around, he might be writing a movie to wrap around these sounds.

DJ Koze — Knock Knock (Pampa Records)

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Who recommended it? Patrick Masterson

Did we review it? Yes. Jennifer Kelly said it “has a humid, organic air, even its most rigorously electronic tracks seething with jungle-y vitality and caressing warmth.”

Ian Mathers’ take:

Like a lot of his peers, DJ Koze has been active and prolific for years without ever putting out that much in the way of “proper” albums, which probably goes some way towards explaining why Knock Knock, only his third, sounds so relaxed, confident and casually accomplished. With stellar vocal turns by everyone from Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner to folkie José González to Róisín Murphy (who’s rarely put her imperious purr to better effect than on the two perfectly-matched tracks she’s on here), 16 tracks in total and a lengthy running time, Knock Knock feels like a bit of a Statement from the producer. Which makes it maybe even more impressive that some of the best stuff here (like the sad jam “Pick Up” with its perfectly deployed vocal sample, or the almost-Avalanches style “Baby (How Much I LFO You)”) is just Koze without a high-profile guest vocalist. The whole thing has a friendly warmth and subtle propulsiveness that makes for compulsive listening; if this isn’t Koze at the peak of his powers, it sure feels like it could be.

Tashi Dorji and Tyler Damon — Leave No Trace: Live in St. Louis (Family Vineyard)

Leave No Trace: Live In St. Louis by Tashi Dorji & Tyler Damon

Who recommended it? Isaac Olson

Did we review it? Yes, Isaac said, "While these performances are undoubtedly chaotic, they never feel purposeless.”

Justin Cober-Lake's take:

That guitarist Tashi Dorji and percussionist Tyler Damon have a limitless supply of ideas isn't surprising, but it's remarkable how well they've organized them into sensible packages on Leave No Trace: Live in St. Louis. Neither of the quarter-hour tracks here are exactly linear, but they do progress both coherently and unhaltingly. “Leave No Trace” offers the most noise, with the first half of the piece continuously crescendoing. The disappearance of one artist or the other simply means the soloist has more volume to cover. The pair spend the last two minutes together, Damon crashing away while Dorji sounds like two guitarists fitting blips together.

“Calm the Shadows” works differently. While not a suite, the song comes in sections, with Dorji and Damon filling in an outline as they go. The pair respond to each other, and work mutually on an unpredictable but discernable path. The slow build to the noisy section lets the chaos function as a thesis statement with the back half of the track the understanding of what to do with it. Dorji's pointed playing through that section answers the early rumble without making anything easier. Damon's sounds complete the thought. When “Leave No Trace” works so hard to slowly heap sounds before smashing through it all, the effect is amplified but the control of its predecessor. Dorji and Damon are a few albums in now and, while there wasn't much doubt from the start, they seem to be working in a rare place right now.

Holland/Parker/Taborn/Smith—Uncharted Territories (Dare2 Records)

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Who recommended it? Derek Taylor

Did we review it? Not yet.

Jennifer Kelly’s take:

It feels like a math puzzle. How many distinct ensembles including duos, trios and quartets can be formed out of four musicians? But hearing it in practice as master bassist Dave Holland, free jazz titan Evan Parker, pianist Craig Taborn and drummer-vibe-ist Ches Smith assemble and disassemble into improvisatory groups is quite another thing. “Trio No Tenor” on disc one takes a luminous shimmer from jangling metallic percussion, abstract interpolations of piano and the shape-shifting tone of plucked, hanging bass tones. “Duo Bass Tenor” on disc two is far more fluid and contemplative, as long bowed bass notes underline the fluttering explorations of sax; its two old friends finding space in each other’s musings, darting in to challenge and interject and locating points of agreement even in occasional dissonance. The quartets, though, are the most astonishing, (I like #5 from Disc 2), as extraordinary, unruly energies careen off one another, extemporizing, reacting, reaching over and in between each other in a dense mesh of sound that seems, nonetheless, uncrowded and precisely choreographed. Only three cuts were composed ahead, the rest worked out in two days of live improvisation. Uncharted indeed.

Quin Kirchner — The Other Side of Time (Astral Spirits)

The Other Side of Time by Quin Kirchner

Who recommended it? Bill Meyer

Did we review it? Yes, Eric McDowell said: “ Kirchner sidesteps novelty and navel-gazing by putting pyrotechnics second to, well, music.”

Jennifer Kelly’s take:

Kirchner leads from behind on this sprawling two LP solo debut, his drumming feverishly hot but held in check so that others — saxophonist Nate Lepine, bass clarinet player Jason Stein, trombonist Nick Broste and Matt Ulery — can take the spotlight. Interplay between the two reed players is intricately, acrobatically fine. In opener “Ritual,” Lepine jets off with Stein in hot, asynchronous pursuit, Kirchner executing a furiously syncopated undertow, part samba shuffle, part continually exploding roll. “Brainville,” the Sun Ra cover, swings and swaggers, bass and drums in arch, stylized conversation. Kirchner is, maybe a drummer’s drummer, but this is not a drummer’s record, except on two lovely, timbrally varied “Drums & Tines” tracks, where layers of kit rhythms and kalimba intersect in fascinating geometric patterns. Kirchner clearly reveres another band leader whose instrument didn’t always occupy the top of the mix; Mingus’ “Self-Portrait Three Colors” cuts the drums to brush-on-snares, while giving Broste a chance to wail, the two reedists to evoke lush dance-hall sensualism, the bassist to pluck out dark blots of body-moving tone. Kirchner is not the façade, but the architect and also the guy who holds up the building.

Joelle Leandre & Elisabeth Harnik — Tender Music (Trost Records)

Tender Music by Joelle Leandre / Elisabeth Harnik

Who recommended it? Eric McDowell

Did we review it? No

Isaac Olson’s take:

The best part of listening to improvised music is hearing the moment when the musicians lock in and the music takes on a life of its own, when the thrill of discovery dissolves the boundaries between performer and audience. There are many such moments on Tender Music, an improvised set from bassist Joelle Leandre and pianist Elisabeth Harnik. A few examples: the swelling tension that emerges at the one and a half minute mark of “Ear Area I,” the rising anxiety and tentative conclusion of “Ear Area IV”’s final minute, and the march that closes out “Ear Area VI”. Between these peaks, Leandre and Harnik evoke Cecil Taylor, Morton Feldman, blues, bop, classical and more, sometimes all within the space of two or three minutes. Fortunately, Leandre and Harnik are attentive enough players that their restlessness never comes at the cost of coherence. Leandre and Harnik are formidable soloists whose use of extended techniques coax ear-tickling, unexpected timbres from their instruments, but it is when they’re playing together, and more or less “normally,” that Tender Music is at its best, that the melodic and rhythmic invention of both players shines brightest, and that they’re able to speak to each other, and to us, most clearly.

#marisa anderson #the armed #bardo pond #cutworms #sarah davachi #dusted magazine #mid-year 2018 #dj koze #tashi dorji #tyler damon #dave holland #evan parker #craig taborn #ches smith #quin kirchner #joelle leandre #elisabeth harnik #midyear

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peerless-soshi · 6 years

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Hearts in reflection (Ch. 2)

Title: Hearts in reflection Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia Relationship: Momo Yaoyorozu/Shouto Todoroki Setting: Snow Queen AU Genre: Romance/fairy tale retelling Rating: T (elements of domestic abuse, death themes) All chapters: Prologue/Chapter One Word count: 3,345 Links: AO3, FFN Summary: “…And so the castle turned into a mirror; if a good heart looked at the lustrous surface of frozen walls, then they would see the Snow Queen and nobody else, forever and ever…”

Being raised among books, Momo remembers these words by heart. Every year, along with the arrival of first frosts, the girl was forbidden to look in the mirror for fear of the Snow Queen. But her childhood days have finally come to an end. Momo goes to celebrate the Winter Solstice, but instead of the queen in the white sleighs, she meets a boy with ice powers who turns the town into ashes. The line between tales and reality becomes less clear as Momo delves deeper into the books and notices inaccuracies in popular interpretations.

Does the Snow Queen kidnap children? And does the boy really have a shard of mirror in his heart? To find answers, Momo is walking on very thin ice.

Chapter Two: The tale of the fountain

"The next day it was a sharp frost--and then the spring came; the sun shone, the green leaves appeared, the swallows built their nests, the windows were opened, and the little children again sat in their pretty garden, high up on the leads at the top of the house."

Momo didn't go to the river. She didn't step on the bridge with the red railing.

Not yet.

After the piano lesson flowed like a broken melody, Momo snuck out of house and hid under the shadow of the small garden fountain. The illustrated book of fairy tales was lying on her lap. A childish thing... and such a helpful thing. Reading books, even those she knew by heart, was the best way to get her thoughts in order, to move all the possibilities and words between her fingers like water, again and again. Momo felt at home.

The fountain was one of the few not-beautiful things in the mansion. Brittle and covered with the embroidery of cracks, it was splashing water as often as fragments of the stone flowers decorating it. Once Momo's mother had dreamed of a real fountain. Of a royal charm. However, the winding garden paths and the hedges shaped like fluffy scarves had sent the fountain away, under the fence. Mother had been disappointed until she had learned that garden sculptures were movable and toddled as ordered. Then Momo took the fountain for herself.

It was old. Destroyed. And Momo loved it.

She was sitting on the fountain for a long time, gazing at the water which was beginning to get a skin of ice. The surface was so beautiful now; smooth and shiny.

Like ice. Like a mirror.

Momo thought about her coffin again. It was also smooth, slippery and flawless; it looked like the freshly polished floor at home. There was no crevice letting her climb and escape. Momo's entire house was made of the same transparent glass; the sun seemed to shine through the glazed walls of wood.

The house-palace Momo and her parents lived in was old, elegant and orderly. The countless cozy rooms distinguished it from the Snow Queen's castle and Momo’s mother loved it. Momo would be vain if she denied – she also adored the smell of furniture trapped in the amber of old times and the huge, canopy bed where she was sleeping. But from the moment Jirou has mentioned the festival – when Momo saw herself knocking in the glass coffin – she couldn’t stop thinking about the residence differently. Coldly. She found herself imagining how it would be to look through that boy's eyes, through the eyes of ice. It felt as if she was standing at the door with him by her side. Momo looked at the large bookshelves, the comfortable sofas, the fireplace in the living room. He followed her. Everything was beautiful, beautiful like a picture hanging on the wall, untouchable and untrue in its beauty.

If she had brought the boy to her home – brought Todoroki, Momo corrected herself – took his hand and walked with him down the hall, would he have seen that the wide, wooden staircase led to her room and to the tower where princesses were kept, and the red curtains sometimes turned into bars? Or would he have been charmed by their beauty, like everyone?

Again, she caught herself thinking what others would do in her place. Momo always thought a lot about other people and decisions they would make. Somehow, everything others did seemed more valuable. She shook her head, as if she could get rid of unwanted thoughts like of water from the ear - splash, and it's done! She tried to stay serious and shake the festival out of her head: its crowd, violins, Jirou's singing voice carried by the winds together with the scent of mulled wine, the ice rink and sleighs, the white dress, the white fur, the white crown... So many thoughts, so much light in the dark.

Her piano lesson went terribly today. Momo had blamed it on the bandage and the wound, and Jirou's mother, the woman whose strict governess's face contrasted with the caring nature, had let her finish earlier. But in fact, Momo couldn't focus; her finger hurt, the Winter Solstice came and Momo wanted to play something else, a silent and irregular sound, something more scratchy and unruly: the bells of sleigh.

She failed. She hated those days when she was helpless.

Uncertainty glided through her veins. She reached toward the shallow water and tapped it with the broken fingernail, then heard a soft crack, a pop, and her bandage permeated with the icy moisture. "You break as easily as a mirror, my fountain," she whispered. "I've broke her mirror today."

The memory returned immediately. She froze. Momo remembered everything; the child, winter, the roses. The snowstorm had fallen on her shoulders like a silk scarf. She had had the same book in her hands, and later... The gale - the white, blinding gale: bright lashes of the wind, waves of snow, a fiery warm hand squeezing her small gloved hand.

"Are you cold?" the little boy asked.

"No, I don't even feel cold," the little girl lied.

She stood calmly. She did not have the courage to move. It was like a walk on a frozen lake: admiring the cobwebs of cracks, or the colors of ice shimmering over the water like in a kaleidoscope. And watching if the ice would not break.

The path was wide, but thick snow has somehow built white walls around them. The little girl was walking, holding the little boy's hand.

"Would you like to die?" the little boy asked.

She shook her small head. He nodded his small head.

"I see. Come, we have two flames."

And the kiss had been so cold that it got to Momo's bones and warmed her up at the same time. From that moment on, winter would last forever in her heart.

Now Momo hunched, hid her face in her hands and felt another kiss, the kiss of the icy fingers on her cheeks. Her heart began to beat faster. "What should I do? What would a wise character do in my place? Was I doomed to fail from the beginning?"

Why did you fail? the fountain asked.

My efforts. The festival. The coffin.

It is not the end.

A lie. I've been locked in the coffin, forced to listen to the bells from a distance.

You are too harsh for yourself, the fountain seemed to say, calm down, not everything is lost yet.

But I promised. Back then, in that snowstorm. I promised her something. And today I have broken the mirror of the Snow Queen, and one of the fragments cut my finger.

It's not too late to keep the promise, my child. Don't be afraid. Fear is the killer of life. Little by little... it brings death in small doses, so you don't notice. Until life passes by. Raise your head. Look into the fear's eyes. You are the creator of life, so do not destroy future.

And then the fountain laughed, like a waterfall, and it was a pleasant laugh. It gave Momo courage. She took a breath. Calm down…

To her left, at the end of the path, the freezing earth creaked.

"Hey, Yaomomo... Why are you reading in a place like this?! The fireplace would be better, right?" Jirou asked, kicking a small pebble.

"Sometimes it's nice to feel coldness on your tongue. I like winter. And I don't like fire."

"I noticed."

She never sat near the fire.

Jirou nodded and crossed her legs next to Momo. The stone framing of the fountain was narrow, so she almost lost her balance. Jirou hissed under her breath and Momo laughed softly. Suddenly she remembered the times they had walked and jumped on the edge of the fountain, checking which one would fall to the water. Momo had usually lost and dried dresses. Back then the fountain hadn't been so old, and the stone had been more stable.

They hadn’t been so old, too.

"Yaomomo? What are you thinking about?"

"About our childhood," Momo admitted. Her voice trembled slightly. "Life was much easier. Even terrible things, really scary things like the Snow Queen, seemed less dangerous... Sometimes I wish we could go back to the days when I didn't understand a thing."

"What exactly do you mean?" Jirou asked and printed her lips together.

"I don’t know," Momo replied, taking her eyes off the water, "Was it strange?"

"Not strange, but... not like you? Are you okay, Yaomomo? You're always so confident, smart... an answer to every question.” Jirou leaned forward and peered at Momo. Her eyes were clever, deep purple. Like her hair. Not blue, not gray. Not like ice.

And if Momo had looked through those eyes, would she have seen herself the same way Jirou saw her? Courageous, confident, winning?

They were lies. Fragile lies made of glass.

"You are wrong, Jirou. I…"

"Besides," Jirou pointed her finger at Momo. "There’s no reason to think about it. About the past, I mean. You’re still a big and very serious child, Yaomomo. You've just never been as stupid as our boys, so nobody noticed it." She winked at her. There was forcefulness to her voice that surprised Momo. It was like singing - a clear and sincere song. Jirou was not afraid to shout out what kept her mind busy, but she didn't like to talk about her feelings, too, so she learned to lock half of her thoughts inside. Only in music she let it all out, and the words flowed from her diaphragm, through her heart.

"Am I childish?" The reproach in Momo's voice was only half-pretended.

"You have a childish soul, it's something completely different!"

Jirou reached out and took the book without question. Though she opened it on a random page, Momo saw the watercolor illustration of the Snow Queen, pale and frightening with the rose-shaped ice crown on her head, hugging the small, flushed boy in her sleigh. Momo shuddered; she knew it was a coincidence, but perhaps Jirou didn't just randomly open the book. Or the fate guided her hand. The lousy, arrogant fate laughing in her face.

"You always had... I don't know." Jirou run her finger across the illustration and smiled. "That wise heart and childish creativity? A child's heart and an adult's mind? I have no idea how to describe it – you are the girl of words, not me – but that's why I think you shouldn't close this book, Yaomomo. You read between the lines…"

And then, to Momo's surprise, Jirou rested her head on Momo's shoulder. Jirou, her Jirou, her distant Jirou.

"I'm acting strange?" Momo asked, smiling. "It's you who is behaving a little different than usually."

"I've learned to be strange with you, girl."

They were sitting in silence, disturbed only by rustle of the pages tickled by the wind.

"Listen, Yaomomo," Jirou whispered, her face in Momo's hair. "I want to apologize for earlier."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was too pushy. Don't deny it, please. I'm not a coward, I know when I must apologize,” Jirou was talking faster and faster. “I warn you: even if you're not angry, it doesn't change anything. I got it all wrong. I messed up, ok? I know that you and I are different, that you can't dance in the streets when you feel like it. I know everything depends on your parents. I know it, and yet I tried to convince you to go with me. Like you don't have enough doubts."

Momo shuddered. "I'd never say anything like that."

"Sure. But there is one more thing I know; I know you want to go to the festival," Jirou said with a smile and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Couldn't she sit without playing with her hair? Momo decided that maybe one day she would buy her friend a gift: earrings, long and thin, so that she could play with them, tinkle while turning her head, like she turned now to look at Momo. "It annoys me. If you want to go, it means you should be there. Yaomomo... I still remember the day when you read this story for the first time. How old were we?"

"Seven," Momo replied. "I was seven. And given common belief in the veracity of this story, it can be called a legend."

Even so, she felt a kind of relief since everyone said it was a fairy tale. Words had powers.

"See? That is so like you. But listen, Yaomomo... that day something has changed."

"Changed?"

Jirou frowned. "Wasn't it shortly after that big snowstorm?"

This time Momo couldn’t say a word. Her throat was tight, like a closed flower bud bereft of light. She only nodded. Jirou was staring at her for a moment longer than necessary.

"After that day, I noticed something like spark lighting up your eyes," she said. "As if ice could start a fire – sounds like a song title, right? And what I'm about to tell you may be strange – it will be strange…" she paused, looked the other way, "but it seems that something connects you with the Snow Queen...”

“Jirou…”

“What, don't make that face! It's true! This fairy tale and you...! Yaomomo, if you go to the festival, the Snow Queen will show up. This has to happen. So I promised myself that when we're fifteen, I'll take you to the city. Even if I have to steal you."

"You made a promise?" Momo bit her lip.

"With myself, yeah."

She looked over Jirou's head at her home, at the Christmas roses growing under the windows and blooming on the first day of winter. At the dollhouse. At the icehouse. If she squinted, she might be able to render the houses invisible and see the main square beyond. It was a question of creativity. A question of sheer determination. And maybe, if she tried really hard, she could soften the walls and go to the festival. What was holding her back? Her fear? The glass coffin had closed around Momo, but Jirou was right, as always. This morning something has changed. The fire was melting the ice from the inside.

Jirou hid her head between her shoulders. "That was before. And now... I wonder if the festival is a good idea?"

Momo blinked. "Why the change of mind?"

"Because of that boy from the garden."

"Todoroki?"

Jirou looked at her, surprise in her eyes. It was clear she didn't expect Momo to call him by his name. The surprise was reflected in her gaze, then retreated behind the purple, as if embarrassed by this fierce reaction, as if asking: forget about me

"He introduced himself, right?" Momo hurried with an answer to the unasked question.

"Sure, I remember. But you said his name as if you were talking about a friend."

"I wanted... It's not like that."

She didn't feel like going through with it. Definitely. All her thoughts were still tangled – she couldn't understand them herself, let alone explain to Jirou. But now… She wanted to keep that name in her memory. The boy from the garden and his long coat with hood made her think of a lonely spirit, wandering through the gray fields. The grim reaper. Momo could almost see him knocking on the door and taking souls. She was afraid of him. But the name 'Todoroki' seemed close, reminded her of the face she had seen.

Jirou took a deep breath. "Don't you think he was suspicious?"

Momo nodded. "Of course. Very suspicious. Peculiar, but he didn't seem dangerous. He left the garden when we asked him, right? He didn't steal anything and didn't behave aggressively…”

"A surprisingly naive attitude. Did you really believe he admired the flowers?"

"What do you think about it?" Momo asked, her voice quieter than necessary.

Jirou shrugged, and it was obvious that she had a detailed theory. "Let's face it: you're rich, Yaomomo. Rich as hell. And suddenly a guy is hanging around your garden and talking to you?"

"From a logical point of view, he couldn't know that I would be in the living room. The fact that we talked is a pure coincidence."

"Yes, it seems so..." Jirou tilted her head back. "Maybe you're right. But what if you're wrong? If he knew you were at home and tried to do some research? Maybe he's a hijacker?"

"In that case, he is really bad at this job. He was noticed and showed me his face..."

"Or maybe he wanted to gain your trust?" Jirou added. "Come on, think this way: he hopes you will let him in on your own. How easy it would be to abduct you from the festival!"

"I don’t think it's his purpose," Momo replied, her hand on her lips. All suspicions began to spin, moved by Jirou’s arguments. "If you're right, why did he advise me not to go?"

Jirou rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know. He could make sure you will stay at home so he can kidnap you from here. Or he decided that we are 'good people' and told you to stay away from the festival because he felt sorry for you. Because someone is waiting there for you.”

“So wouldn’t we be safer at the squarer? If he thinks that I won’t come?”

“It's just that… everything is weird and I'm worried about you. I have a bad feeling. So even if you won't come… I know all the lyrics, I can sing alone. I choose it, and I will always choose you before anything else," Jirou said and smiled. She smiled... The smile couldn’t speak, but Momo heard the most beautiful melody; it didn’t have a scent, but Momo felt spring in the air. The spring melted her walls. That was when Momo made her decision – it was an impulse, barely a push, but somehow it lifted her up. She stood in front of Jirou.

"Eh? What’s going on?"

"People like you are harder to meet than the Snow Queen."

Jirou believed in her, she believed more than Momo could ever believe in herself. That faith made Momo feel something... Can it be wasted? Wasted on a coward? As the sun has never told flowers that they own it, just illuminated their petals for love, so Momo was growing thanks to Jirou’s light.

She had to try. She would try. If the only way to meet the Snow Queen was the festival, Momo was going to take part in it.

She also felt that behind the glass she would learn something about mysterious Todoroki: his visit, the Christmas roses called hellebores, the person he couldn't meet.

The tale of the Snow Queen began with a broken mirror.

Momo’s tale began with a mirror, too. Back then and now.

She did something that surprised her no less than Jirou. Not giving her friend a chance to move or retreat, she pulled her hand and hugged her tightly. The book fell to the ground, hiding the image of the Snow Queen.

"Yaomomo! That's enough! "Jirou screamed, her ears red.

Momo laughed and touched her forehead. "Never say you are less intelligent than me, Jirou. You noticed more than anyone else. But I decided. Thank you. At six, in the square, where they keep the sleighs?"

And before Jirou could say something, Momo run toward the house.

Today we had some doubts and emotions with a glimpse of backstory, in the next chapter you will learn more about the world and then... we sink into the romance.

I'm not sure how many versions this chapter had. I finished it last week but I wasn't happy with the result so I rewrote it several times... Time for an unpopular opinion: I don't really like Jirou, I think that despite many chapters, her personality stayed very unremarkable. Since she is important to Momo, I felt like giving their friendship a special meaning, but at the same time I struggled a lot writing them together. I hope the product of my efforts is satisfying and I was able to give Jirou's character a justice!

If you like it - or didn't like it, obviously - don't forget to leave a comment and share your thoughts. Thank you in advance!

#my writing #hearts in reflection #todomomo

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otomesweetheart · 7 years

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Review: A Foretold Affair

A Foretold Affair is a commercial release otome game by GB Patch Games. You can play the demo or purchase the full game for $12.99USD either at itch.io or Steam.

Game Links: itch.io | Steam | LSF

Developer Links: Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook | Website

Synopsis: Buffalo Seer is finally allowed to use their Abnormal gift to see their own future! What they see excites them so much that they rush right out of the Sanctuary and into Normal Society to find their future spouse. However, the future isn’t always what it looks like. And sometimes the journey there is something you never see coming.

From start to finish, A Foretold Affair is one of the most unique games I’ve played. From the diversity of the cast to the personality of the MC to the gameplay system, everything presents a fresh and often unexpected experience. It’s not without faults, and for an otome game there is minimal romance, but A Foretold Affair results in a story that is likely to appeal to more than just fans of romance games.

One of the more unique aspects of AFA is the concept of choosing a route and how involved the main character is in the development of the romance. Instead of choosing a love interest and watching the romance develop from the MC’s POV, Buffalo Seer begins their journey already knowing exactly who they will marry. They fall in love at first sight, or rather “sight”. Rarely do we get to see the protagonist already in love and pursing the love interest with such determination.

And Buffalo Seer does just that. Their love interest is nothing but perfect in their eyes, and no amount of compliments or flattery can be enough. It doesn’t take long to realize that they are clearly biased and single-minded. For anyone other than their love interest, they have no patience. Their comments are short, blunt, and often rude. However, despite their self-centered attitude, there is something endearing about Buffalo Seer. Their obliviousness is often humorous, and their devotion, though without logic, is heartfelt. Additionally, through gradual and major character development, they prove that they are able to learn and adapt.

Buffalo Seer is not the only unique character in AFA. The love interests are just as dynamic and flawed. Piper is rational and intelligent, but she is distant (even her sprite for the text box has her back turned). She brushes off Buffalo Seer’s advances and rarely shares what she’s feeling. Similarly, Kea’s immediate reaction is to deny them. Kea’s main focus is doing their job correctly. However, they are more open and reactive to Buffalo Seer’s professions. In contrast, Jeremy readily accepts their vision of the future. His problem is that he may be too anxious and nervous to develop it.

The first choice, which occurs at the very beginning, determines who Buffalo Seer sees as their future spouse. If you don’t look closely, it’s almost like choosing at random. However, each picture contains a visual representative of each character, cluing the player in to who they may be choosing.

I recommend starting with Piper, because her route is the least romantic. I also recommend saving January for last. His route is the most romantic, and his beginning is more humorous if you’ve played at least one route before his. In fact, I wonder if January is the canon route, either on purpose or unconsciously. Much of the story already has scenes with him built in, and you learn more about Normal and Abnormal culture in his route.

After the player chooses a love interest (and then a name and pronouns), the rest of the choices fall into one of four types. Some choices determine the conversation with the love interest, some determine how open Buffalo Seer is as a character, and some determine miscellaneous things. There are also choices pertaining to a side story of a prominent side character. The Itch.io version includes a Choice System Guide word document, which further explains the different types of choices and what type each choice is. If you purchase the steam version, you can find the guide here.

But no matter your choices, the story is essentially the same. The order of events remain intact, while dialogue and specific scenes change based on who the love interest is. Though your choices will have some impact, there is really only one end with three different versions of the conversation. I’d recommend getting the Steam version of the game, because you get an achievement once you have viewed all three versions.

AFA is labeled as an otome game, but besides knowing marriage is in the future, there is little romance. What the game lacks in that area though, it makes up in others. Various themes like knowing the future and its value, becoming friends with various types of people, and learning to compromise with others are explored. There is a lot to consider and learn from this game, but it is never heavy handed with the wisdom.

AFA is however a long game. Rather than covering a large span of time and focusing on bigger events, the story takes place within four days and focuses on more mundane activities. Not many games go into that much minute detail. However, this style of narrative parallels the intent of the story. It’s not always the larger events that shape a character. Sometimes it’s the minor things that really show what a person is like.

Though AFA has a lot of great things going for it, there are a few things that could be improved upon. First, there are a number of typos and comma issues. They never obstruct the meaning of the text, but additional proofing would be worth the time, especially since it’s a commercial game. Second, I was unsure about the use of pronouns. Because the player can choose Buffalo Seer’s pronouns, the other characters are aware of what to use. However, it’s never explained how everyone knows to use “they” for Kea. Piper even mentions that Kea is a “they”, but it’s not elaborated on. I’d be interested in knowing how everyone knew. Is it an aspect of the world or the society or the character? Or is it just an accepted aspect of the game.

Even though AFA has room for improvement, it’s a strong and enjoyable first release from GB Patch Games. And considering the length, it’s well worth the price. In addition to the characters and the story, I liked a lot of other aspects that I didn’t elaborate on, like the quality and consistency of the art and the GUI or the subtle and calming nature of the piano BGM. What made this game so charming for me though is the humor. I laughed out loud, especially at Buffalo Seer’s irrational optimism. And when replaying, it was even more humorous to see them either insult or praise someone for the exact characteristics they insulted or praised in another route. Like Buffalo Seer and their vision, perspective can be everything!

EDIT: I just heard from the creators, and I misunderstood the usage of pronouns. In Normal society, the way you dress determines what pronouns people use. In the Sanctuary, everyone is referred to as "they" and their clothes don't indicate pronouns. Because Seer is pretending to be in Normal society, Kea asks what pronouns to use because they can't tell by the way they are dressed. Thanks to @gb-patch for letting me know!

#A Foretold Affair #GB Patch Games #Tomey plays AFA #Tomey plays A Foretold Affair #Tomey reviews

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