Important Notes:

• I do my best to include every sale, but at the same time I focus on sales that are worth a mention, meaning sales start with at least 20% and up. I usually skip anything below that unless it's a worth while title.
  
• Click on the price to visit the store page for that game.
  
• The end date of the sale isn't mentioned, you can check the store page to see it.
  
• All of these sales are based on the US store front, so some sales may not be available depending on your country.
  

~ PSN ~

(On Mobile please Swipe left/right to see the prices and tags)

Game	Price/Link	Tags
Persona 5: Ultimate Edition	$16.99 $84.99	Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/School life simulatoMystery/Monster CollectoGreat Music
STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN PS4 & PS5	$31.99 $39.99	Action/Dark Fantasy setting/Expansive skill tree/Class mechanics/Nioh-like/Loot Tiers
Final Fantasy VII Remake	$29.99 $59.99	Action/Sci-fi setting
FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster	$12.49 $24.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Expansive skill tree
South Park™: The Stick of Truth™	$7.49 $29.99	Turn-based/Modern Day setting/Comedy/Mature/Dark HumoNudity/Fart Jokes
KINGDOM HEARTS III	$29.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
ONE PIECE World Seeker	$8.99 $59.99	Action/Anime Adaptation/Open World/Beat'em up
Yakuza Kiwami	$5.99 19.99	Action/Modern World setting/Organized Crime/Comedy heavy/Drama heavy/Mini-game Heavy/Beat'em up/Open World
Yakuza Kiwami 2	$5.99 19.99	Action/Modern World setting/Organized Crime/Comedy heavy/Drama heavy/Mini-game Heavy/Beat'em up/Open World
Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS4 & PS5	$14.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Contemporary Japan setting/Yakuza life/Open World/Heavy on Drama and Comedy/Heavy on Mini-games/Class Changing Mechanics
STAR OCEAN : INTEGRITY AND FAITHLESSNESS	$11.99 $29.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Space travel/Resource gathering & Crafting/Social link mechanic between party members
Dragon's Crown Pro	$3.99 $19.99	Action/Beat'em up/Fantasy setting/Online Multiplayer available/Loot focused
Tales of Zestiria	$5.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Local Co-Op/Fantasy Adventure
Wild Arms	$6.99 $9.99	Turn-based/Wild West Fantasy/Puzzle heavy
Wild Arms 2	$6.99 $9.99	Turn-based/Wild West Fantasy/Puzzle heavy
Sword Art Online: Lost Song	$8.99 $59.99	Action/MMORPG Setting/Online MultiplayeDating-sim/Tiered Loot/Dungeon Crawlers/Boss Raids/Kill & Fetch Quests heavy
Ys Origin	$4.99 $19.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Great Soundtrack
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA	$19.99 $39.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Base Building/Great Soundtrack
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered	$5.99 $19.99	Tactical Turn-based/World War Militar setting/Tactical mixed with real-time elements/Sketch or "Canvas" art style/Build your Army with character customization/Mission based story progression/Army management
Valkyria Chronicles 4	$5.99 $29.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy Sci-fi World War setting/Tactical mixed with real-time elements/Sketch or "Canvas" art style/Build your Army with character customization/Mission based story progression/Army management
Cris Tales	$7.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Time-travel setting and mechanics/Female Protagonist/Timed-presses combat mechanics
The Alliance Alive HD Remastered	$19.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Expansive Skill Tree/Character customization
Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia	$24.99 $49.99	Tactical turn-based/Grand Strategy/High Fantasy setting/Choose a Nation to play as/Conquering the world is the end goal
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure	$31.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Science Fantasy setting/Great Soundtrack/Police/Story and Lore heavy/War and Politics
Trails of Cold Steel III Digital Deluxe Edition	$35.99 $79.99	Turn-based/Great Soundtrack/Fantasy High school life setting/Dating Sim/Story and Lore heavy/Military and War
Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time	$14.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Beat 'em up, Anime series Original source material/Magic Academy
Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force	$5.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Comedy/Dark story/Good English dub/Power Ranger Transformation/Fan-service/Dating-sim
Demon Gaze II	$3.99 $39.99	Turn-based/First Person dungeon crawleDark Fantasy setting/Monster collection
Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy	$19.99 $24.99	Tactical Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy/Class changing mechanics
Omega Quintet	$9.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Modern Japanese Fantasy setting/Idol group manager life/Fan-service
Dodgeball Academia	$12.49 $24.99	Action/School Life Sim/Sports (Dodgeball)/2D Hand-drawn Cartoon Art style
Super Neptunia RPG	$11.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Side Scroller PlatformeFemale Protag/Comedy/Fan-service
The DioField Chronicle PS4 & PS5	$29.99 $59.99	Real Time Strategy/Medieval fantasy setting/Military & WaClass mechanics
Dusk Diver 2	$34.99 $34.99	Action/Modern Taipei Ximending setting/Female Protagonist/Beat'em up/Anime visual style
The Caligula Effect: Overdose	$19.99 $49.99	Turn-based unique combat/School Life setting/Persona-like/Great Soundtrack/Female and Male Protagonist choice
The Caligula Effect 2	$29.99 $49.99	Turn-based unique combat/School Life setting/Persona-like/Great Soundtrack/Female and Male Protagonist choice
Monster Crown	$11.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Monster collectoPixel Graphics/LGBTQ+
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising	$8.99 $14.99	Action/Medieval Fantasy setting/Character collectoCity BuildeSider-Scroller
GrimGrimoire OnceMore	$39.99 $49.99	Real-time Strategy/Medieval Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Magic School
Tactics Ogre: Reborn	$32.99 $49.99	Tactical turn-based/Medieval fantasy/Choices MatteMultiple story routes/Class system/Dark/Politics/Remake of the SNES original
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout	$29.99 $59.99	Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Mainly about crafting (Alchemy)/Chill and Relaxing/Wholesome/Heavy on Resource gathering/Heavy on Character Interactions
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy PS4 & PS5	$29.99 $59.99	Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Mainly about crafting (Alchemy)/Chill and Relaxing/Wholesome/Heavy on Resource gathering/Heavy on Character Interactions
CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION	$13.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Sci-fi Fantasy setting/Choices MatteMultiple Endings/2 Games in 1 bundle

~ Switch ~

Game	Price/Link	Tags
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition	$9.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Cyber World setting/Monster Collector & Raising sim/Combat heavy/Satisfying grinding loop/2 full games in 1 pack
CRISIS CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION	$34.99 $49.99	Action/Sci-fi setting
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT + A NEW POWER AWAKENS SET	$19.79 $59.99	Action Fantasy/Semi-Open World (zones)/Anime story adaptation/Beautiful animations
Megadimension Neptunia VII	$8.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Female Protagonist/Comedy/fan-service
Super Neptunia RPG	$7.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Valkyrie Profile-like combat/Sci-fi setting/Female Protagonist/Comedy/Parody/Fan-serivce
Children of Zodiarcs	$5.39 $17.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Card Based/Deck Building
CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION	$13.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Sci-fi Fantasy setting/Choices MatteMultiple Endings/2 Games in 1 bundle
Death end re;Quest	$11.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Cyber world setting/Female Protagonist/Dark Fantasy/Gore/Fan-service
Death end re;Quest 2	$14.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Cyber world setting/Female Protagonist/Dark Fantasy/Gore/Fan-service
Mary Skelter 2	$9.99 $39.99	Turn-based/First-Person View Dungeon CrawleDeep & Full party customization/Female Protagonist/Multiple Endings/Horror
Mary Skelter Finale	$19.99 $49.99	Turn-based/First-Person View Dungeon CrawleDeep & Full party customization/Female Protagonist/Multiple Endings/HorroFan-service
Astria Ascending	$21.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/PlatformeFemale Protagonist/Class system
Fairy Fencer F™: Advent Dark Force	$8.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Comedy/Dark/Good English dub/Fan-service/Dating-sim
Redemption Reapers	$29.99 $49.99	Tactical Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Dark Fantasy
Arc of Alchemist	$15.99 $39.99	Action/Fantasy/Female Protagonist/Fan-service/Base-Building
Shadows of Adam	$7.49 $14.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Retro Pixel Graphics
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout	$29.99 $59.99	Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Mainly about crafting (Alchemy)/Chill and Relaxing/Wholesome/Heavy on Resource gathering/Heavy on Character Interactions
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy	$29.99 $59.99	Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Mainly about crafting (Alchemy)/Chill and Relaxing/Wholesome/Heavy on Resource gathering/Heavy on Character Interactions

~ Xbox ~

Game	Price/Link	Tags
Child of Light®	$4.49 $14.99	Turn-based Fantasy/Female Protagonist/Beautiful Hand-drawn/Side Scroller
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling	$12.49 $24.99	Turn-based/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Adventure
Digimon Survive	$41.99 $59.99	Tactical turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Monster CollectoMostly VN/Multiple Routes & Endings/Anime style/Social Link system
ONE PIECE World Seeker Deluxe Edition	$8.99 89.99	Action/Anime Adaptation/Open World/Beat'em up
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT Deluxe Edition	$21.24 $84.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Semi-Open World (zones)/Anime story adaptation/Beautiful animations

~ Steam ~

If you want to check the games yourself:

~ Link to the JRPGs on Sale list ~

Steam Deck Icons (As explained by Steam itself):

🟦 Verified: Means that the game is fully compatible and works with built-in controls and display.
🟧 Playable: Means the game is Functional, but requires extra effort to interact with and configure .
"--" Unknown: Basically unconfirmed or still under-review.

Game	Price/Link	Tags	Steam Deck
ASTLIBRA Revision™	$19.99 $24.99	Action/Medieval Fantasy/Hack n Slash/Resource gathering/Expansive skill tree/Learn skills by mastering geaRewards grinding/Dark Story/Side-Scroller	🟦 Verified
Cosmic Star Heroine	$3.74 $14.99	Turn-based/Cyberpunk setting/Female Protagonist/Pixel Graphics	🟧 Playable
Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen	$47.99 $59.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Great World Building/Fan-serivce/Comedy/War & Politics/Lovable Characters/Mystery	🟦 Verified
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception	$31.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Great World Building/Fan-serivce/Comedy/War & Politics/Lovable Characters/Mystery	🟦 Verified
Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth	$31.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Great World Building/Fan-serivce/Comedy/War & Politics/Lovable Characters/Mystery	🟦 Verified
Septerra Core	$1.99 $4.99	Turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Female Protagonist/Isometric	🟧 Playable
Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom	$1.49 $9.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Martial arts/Puzzles/Anthropomorphic Characters	🟦 Verified
This Way Madness Lies	$7.49 $9.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Lovecraftian/Comedy/Pixel Graphics	🟧 Playable
Redemption Reapers	$29.99 $49.99	Tactical Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Dark Fantasy	--
ONE PIECE ODYSSEY	$38.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Anime Adaptation	🟧 Playable
Nexomon: Extinction	$7.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pokemon-like/Monster collector	🟧 Playable

​

~ General Recommendations (All Consoles) For Anyone Who Can't Decide ~

First off, I won't recommend big or famous games like Final Fantasy or Persona, this is more for lesser know, hidden gems, or just games where it's hard to find someone talking about them.
​

[Valkyria Chronicles]

[Valkyria Chronicles 4]

This one is really hard to explain through words alone, but just in case, the VC series is a World War 2 military setting story, where you act as the lead of a squad and take mission to drive back the enemy. The story is drama heavy and the gameplay is tactical turn-based, but it's mixed with real-time third person shooter.
You can also make your own army by recruiting different types of solders, training them and upgrading their gear. From rifles to tanks, this is a game you have to experience to understand.

[Wild Arms 1 & 2]

Great classics, and are now sold for dirt cheap, though even their full price is also a steal. If you're looking for great stories, and really interesting characters, combined with truly great puzzles, then don't miss on these 2 games. They started an entire series, and are classics for a reason.

[Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition]

2 full games in 1. If you're a fan of the series then this is a must play, it dives into the lore more than a lot of the previous games, and also has one of the biggest Digimon rosters till to day.
Even if you're not into the Digimon series, if you're looking for your next fix of Capture/Evolve/Fusion -> Grind -> Capture/Evolve/Fusion -> Grind while you listen to your favorite podcast/music, then no need to wait anymore, with hours upon hours you can easily spend just grinding and completing the game's various content from side-quests, rare monsters, arena, and even tamer team fights. The gameplay is simple, which is a great way to keep your brain off, yet it still has challenge battles now and then to make sure you're doing your job grinding and raising your Digimons.

[ASTLIBRA Revision]

If you are still itching for side-scroller action JRPGs with a good loot system and a good story and world that you can sink your teeth into, then look no further. A game that was 14 years in development and an extra year to work on this remastered version, was more than worth it. The action is meaty and satisfying, the loot is great with each item having the potential of changing your fighting style, and just so much content to explore and have fun with.
Then you add to that fantastic art work by Shigatake of Vanillaware, he worked on games like Odin Sphere, GrimGrimoire, Muramasa: The Demon Blade and others. Then you finally throw in a huge amazing soundtrack, and when I say huge I mean HUGE. With all of that together you have a really great title that any action JRPG fan shouldn't miss.

[Atelier Ryza]

Ryza can be considered a big turning point for the series, mainly because it threw out a lot of old gameplay and story elements that were trademarks of the Atelier series. For starters, the entire sub-series is about Ryza and her friends, instead of the usual way where each title in the sub-series had a different main character. Then as you have noticed, it doesn't use time limits, nor does it have multiple endings. Then add the fact that the battle system switched from turn-based like it was in the entire series until now, to now being Active Time Battle system. Finally, while the Alchemy mechanics always changed between sub-series and games, Ryza has the biggest change in crafting mechanics since Atelier Shallie.
All of these changes, plus being a game with almost no fan-service and the one with good graphics, animations, and so many new different methods being added in how you gather resources, makes it a great starting point for someone who wants to dip their toe into the series and be see if it's something they might like.

[Utawarerumono] series

This fantastic visual novel style tactical game is one hell of a ride from start to end. If you're looking for a fantasy JRPG with amazing world building and an epic of story that expands three whole games, there is no reason to not get this whole series. Drama, Comedy, Mystery, Action, Horror, Fan-service, Betrayal, Revenge, Adventure, etc... This is the whole package here when it comes to story, world, and characters. Just don't expect it to be heavy on gameplay and combat.
Prelude to the Fallen is the first game story-wise, the 2nd game is Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception and after that is Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth.

[Rune Factory 4 Special]

Don't even think too long about it, a fantastic game and a great port too, so much you play it easily with mouse and keyboard or controller.
The characters are fun and lovable, the story is interesting, and most of all, the loop is very varied and enjoyable. So much to do:

• Farming
• Cooking
• Monster Collection and Raising
• Dating and Marriage
• Dungeon Crawling
• Blacksmithing and a deep weapon upgrading system
• Fishing
• Festivals
• Town Management
• House decorating
• Resource gathering
• Monster Mounts
• Mastering different weapon styles
• Mastering Magic

And so much more. Not to mention that everything you do has a level and so no matter what you spend the day doing, you'll always be leveling something and getting better.
Do you want a game where you can cook horrible burnt food, then take said food and use it as a weapon to beat bosses, and even have said bosses then till your farm and water your crops while you're out riding cows and fighting giant chickens the same time you're on date with your favorite NPC ? Then yea, RF4 got you covered. The only thing you'll miss, is sleep while playing this gem.

As always, please do add your own recommendations, and let me know if there is mistake or if something was missing, and have a nice day.

Hi goise! Lf pwede ako samahan or let’s hang out sa rob magnolia this Wednesday. Let’s meet up and talk about anything or everything! No to creeps po hehehe more on hangout talaga hanap ko hehehe kaya tara malay mo maging co-marites ko kayo sa future✨ hihihihi
About me: • 5’4 • Chinita • Recent MTLE board passer (if gusto mo i’ll help you review ganun hihihi) • plus size • interests: more on gaming, watching anime and recently into tarot reading hehehe
Kita kits mga pare/chong/mare!

As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP
Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me out of some hang ups, you're the man!
First Prev. Next
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Sailor, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 26th, 2136 Early morning.
​
The written portions of the flight training were surprisingly easy; I had expected more of a challenge, honestly.
The way the Venlil set up their cockpits turned out to be pretty similar to some of the old space sims I’ve messed with so I got the button and function portions down pretty quickly. Although learning how to actually send and identify proper codes and requests was a lot more complicated than in the sims. It was mostly automated but by god there were still a lot of them. A day's study and another shot at it and I was qualified for the simulator training portion. Seems like most of the work is hands on, er paws on, in their case, which suited me just fine, always did learn better by doing.
Videk, my flight instructor, was pretty helpful, although a bit flighty. Any sudden movements or too loud of a voice and he was out the door as fast as it would open, bleating out something about ‘not letting it happen again.’ He should probably talk to someone.
Videk’s demeanor aside he’d cleared me for the sim training portion; if it’s anything like the written tests, it’ll be a piece of cake!
—
Memory Transcription Subject: Taisa, Venlil Starship Mechanic, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 26th, 2136, Early morning.
​
Oh yea, I’ve still got it.
Those written tests were too easy! Labeling parts, marking up maintenance procedures for errors, writing out steps for disassembly of standard ships systems… It was like being back in school, just with a little bit more on the line this time.
Even the practical portions were easy, tearing down mock drives and generators for routine maintenance work came and went within a paw!
Chris’ ability to just plow through a whole paw of study and testing was awe inspiring, if perhaps a little scary; the fact that a human could focus on one task for that long was almost haunting. After a claw or a claw and a half working on refresher packets, teardowns, and tests, I was spent and needed a break. Meanwhile the big Human would just keep reading away while jotting down notes on his pad.
Bamen, one of the station's engineers, had administered my review testing. He had seemed impressed, only having a pawful of comments and corrections. I made it on the fast track to the practical test with Chris in the simulator!
During university the sim trials were just to give you experience dealing with problems as they appeared on the fly, at least for the engineers. I wasn’t sure what Chris would have to deal with, but I was sure he could handle it.
If this goes as well as the sims in university we’ll be cleared in no time!
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Videk, Venlil Flight instructor, Space Corps Veteran
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 26th, 2136 Mid Morning.
​
Humans, apparently, have a tendency to disrupt anything they touch. Not by intention, just by their very being and… temperament. It’s like the Protector-abandoned things enjoy danger, although I suppose it wouldn’t be much of a surprise.
The first simulator scenario went as expected, take off, fly straight and level on a predetermined course to another landing zone, land, done. The engineer was just there to monitor output, observe the standard gauges and gain familiarity with the space; not even any randomized failures. Easy! The Human managed the route just fine, albeit a bit fast for its first time behind the stick.
The second simulator scenario I put the Human and it’s Venlil “companion” through what was meant to be a standard shuttle run between two stations, crossing a slow moving asteroid field. Get from point A to point B with the possibility of a random minor failure while also avoiding slowly moving predictable asteroids. Also easy!
The Human, on the other paw, seemed to think that simple task to be boring, considering its insistence on pushing the limits of the simulated shuttle to their break points.
Takeoff was fine. A bit rough but the Human was still learning, practice would eventually even that out.
First the simulated failure, the alarm for the drives reserve coolant reservoir fill sensor sounds off. Grating and attention grabbing, the engineer jumps on it immediately.
Good, quick reaction and diagnosis. I mark a note for review on my pad.
She’s quick and efficient, the problem is fixed nearly immediately and she’s already getting ready to top the tank back off.
Then I hear it. The simulated groan of the shuttles frame, protesting extreme maneuvers. A quick and repetitive boop-bwawp alarm sounds from the control console, signaling that the dampeners are nearing their limits. As I turn an eye to look at the cockpit and that Protector-abandoned Human I notice 4 things:

1. It's weaving through the asteroids like there’s an entire flight of Arxur fighters gnashing at our tail.
2. The throttle is pinned to its maximum setting.
3. It is preparing to pull even harder into the next maneuver.
4. It is laughing. A deep growling sound that sets my wool on end.

A flash of panic runs through me, memories and horrors I force back down. My instincts scream at me to bolt for the nearest exit, to get away from the feral predator. But something far more pressing roots me in place.
The tone of the alarm changes, informing us that the dampeners have been ‘overloaded’. I see it coming and I manage to brace, staying upright through the crushing weight. The engineer, on the other paw, is not so lucky. A crash and loud splash is followed by a long string of curses directed at the Human.
Protector help me.
—
Memory Transcription Subject: Taisa, Venlil Starship Mechanic, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 26th, 2136, Mid-afternoon.
​
Stars, I hate getting drive coolant out of my wool. What possessed that man to fly like that? It’s a shuttle sim, not a brahking fighter! I have half a mind to make him help me get this gunk brushed out later.
At the very least the sim training was going well, once Chris realized that the dampeners weren’t omnipotent, of course. The flight's simulated onboard failure had been pretty simple: one of the drive’s reserve coolant lines had come loose, just needed to re-attach the errant line and top off the tank. Unfortunately someone hadn’t thought that forcing the sim-rig through a [Human scale conversion: 15G] turn, overloading the dampeners by [Human scale conversion: 3G] was a generally poor decision and made me tumble tail over snout while holding an open bottle of coolant.
And it’s dried into my wool now, even better.
—
Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Sailor, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 26th, 2136 Mid-afternoon.
​
That was, in fact, not a piece of cake. Sure I was doing alright with flying and the sim was surprisingly similar to the ones I had played around with back home, although a fair bit more realistic. The ones at home didn’t use artificial gravity to simulate overloading your dampeners… dumping your engineer, and her payload, on the deck because of it.
Taisa’s still a bit upset about that one, I think. Luckily her wool is brown; if it was white or grey I think she’d be blue right now.
Otherwise I seemed to be doing well! Videk said he was ‘surprised a predator would take to something non violent so quickly’, granted that was between his panic attacks. Guy definitely needs to go talk to someone about that
Videk says he thinks another ‘paw’ or two of sim trials and we’ll be ready for the real deal!
—-
Memory Transcription Subject: Videk, Venlil Flight instructor, Space Corps Veteran
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 28th, 2136, Noon.
​
Three paws.
Three paws of terror and the unending scream of my instincts to flee every time that Protector-abandoned Human took the stick, moved too fast, laughed or spoke too loudly.
I was a member of the Corps! Now I'm a disgrace. A coward.
I stood snout to snout against the Arxur and lived, when my compatriots fell… when they were eaten… I escaped. I lived. Every rest it played through my mind: their screams, the Arxur’s bellowing grinding laughter, the revelry of their slaughter… the sound of their deaths. Sick, wet popping horror as they died, it was all I could do to run, to flee… to live.
And here I was, stuck in a shuttle sim with a predator for the third paw in a row, waiting to die. All because I thought the money was too good to turn down.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Sure the Human hadn’t actually tried to do anything to me, sure the empathy tests painted a pretty picture but I knew. I’d seen the heart of their kind before and it was black as the night.
AND IT’S INSISTENCE ON MAKING EVERY ALARM IN THE SIMULATOR PROTEST IT’S EVERY ACTION DOESN’T BRAHKING HELP EITHER!!!
Every alarm on the console, engineering and pilot’s, was lit up like the stars. Alarms wailing and blasting their warnings into the cockpit. That Engineer scampered around every surface, paws like lightning fixing fault after failure, a shockingly calm display of her competence.
The Human, on the other paw, was bellowing out that laugh again, wild and feral, as it fought the stick to keep the sim on course and out of harm's way. Like it was doing everything in its power to assert its dominance over a simple machine.
It was all too much. Everything fell away, every crutch, every wall, every little method and action I used to keep myself together crumbled beneath the situation and the weight of them fell on me harder than any dampener failure.
Panicked and nearly feral bleats ripped themselves past my lips, the names of my old crew, the ones I had watched falter and die… the ones I had left behind. Pleas for safety, prayers to the Protector that I would survive again, begging the Human not to kill me. The alarms of the simulator kept trilling, beeping and screaming over me. The wails compounding in my mind, driving me further into my instincts. Further into the panic.
The alarms die out, the simulated groaning of the frame and that Human’s infernal laughter fall away, replaced by the hum of a functional shuttle. I am still trapped in my own mind, the horror anchoring me to the floor, the images and their screams still roaring behind my closed eyes. The simulator bounces lightly, signifying that the shuttle has landed, a soft chime indicating a successful completion, rings throughout the cabin.
A heavy footstep on my left, a soft tail touches me on my shoulder to the right, snapping me from my panic. The Human looms over me, staring down at me through that reflective visor, showing the sniveling, despicable, weak thing I’ve become. Cowering on the floor like an animal.
Death has finally come for me, bearing the visage of my shame, of my failures.
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Sailor, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 28th, 2136 Early afternoon.
​
Videk was in rough shape, sobbing on the floor bleating about ‘Bidor, Heren, and Perets’ and how he’d failed them. Screaming that he’d be coming to join them in the Protector’s embrace, begging for safety.
I couldn’t just let the guy flounder, this was painful to watch. As much as Videk may not have liked me, I quite liked him! He reminded me of my Uncle when I was younger, minus the existential terror at my mere existence, of course; PTSD sucks in every race, I suppose. I don’t know what happened to him but it was obvious the man needed help, needed someone to at least talk to about whatever happened to him. But first he needed to not be on the floor.
I reached down, trying to gently pick him up by the shoulders and place him into one of the jump seats on the wall. He did not like that. A rain of kicks, claws and terrified bleats forced me to let go of him.
Taisa quickly bounded up beside me, speaking with concern in her voice, “Chris, I think he needs a bit to get himself together. Why don’t you go on ahead and get us a spot for Second-Meal, I’ll keep an eye on him.”
I nodded before stepping out, she was right, I wasn’t helping the situation. Hell, from the looks of things I’m pretty sure I was the situation. That hurt more than I thought it would. I didn’t like causing problems, especially not like that.
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Taisa, Venlil Starship Mechanic, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 28th, 2136, Mid-afternoon.
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This was not the paw I had thought I would be having.
Videk was obviously having issues. If I had to guess it came from something that happened in the Corps, or he was just really afraid of Humans which certainly wouldn’t be surprising as a devotee of the protector.
I need to do something.
“Videk,” I beep, softly, getting the older Venlils attention, gently putting my tail back on his shoulder. “It’s alright, no-one's going to hurt you, you’re safe. Why don’t you sit down here and take a breather?”
I helped him stagger to his paws before he collapsed back into the folding seat mounted to the wall; his paws kneading into the sides of his legs as his ears swivel about erratically. He was still panicking, it seemed.
After several moments of slowly steadying his breathing he rasped his question, “How… How do you feel so safe around it? That protector-abandoned thing could snap at any second!”
I bite my tongue for a moment, keeping myself from saying anything too harsh, although I’m sure my lashing tail does more than enough to give my feelings away. “I don’t think he has a harmful bone in his body. I’ve seen him put himself in harm's way to help others, heard him speak of peace, of phil-“
“But he’s a Predator!” Videk cut me off, a crazed look in his eyes as his tail flailed about in confusion. “All he wants is to destroy! To consume! To kill! How can you even trust a being like that?”
Perhaps a different approach would work better, then. I let out a heavy sigh, sitting in the seat next to Videk, focusing my ears on him. “Chris is… complicated. I trust him because he’s one of the only people I’ve ever met that didn’t judge me immediately. That talked to me and actually listened. I trust him because he didn’t bolt. I trust him because I believe he, and the rest of his species with him, want to help, and want to be friends.”
Videk was quiet, he just stared at me. Guess I’ve got more to say then.
“Chris talks… a lot about a lot of things. One paw he wanted to talk about spirituality.” I said, waving my paws in the air in front of me, mockingly gesturing to nothing in particular. “Not necessarily Human spirituality as a whole, since apparently none of them seem able to agree on any of it, but his views on it, his spirituality, as he put it. He says that he ‘believes that the universe has a tendency to put people where they need to be, when they need to be there. Sometimes things fall through the cracks; you end up in the wrong place, at the wrong time and things don’t go well. But most of the time when you’re hurting, when you’re searching for something to reach out and hold on to, it’ll be there.’”
His eyes searched me, looking for the lie that wasn't there, “Do you believe that?” He asked, voice small, his ears and kneading paws slowing down a little.
I thought for a moment. Did I? How could I not?
“Yes, yes I do. After all that’s happened in the last orbit… going from planting hundreds of seeds for jobs and having not a single one sprout, to talking with a predator over a chat app, to meeting him in person and then getting approval to not only start a job but to actually co-own the ship I would work on? All because I clicked the ad for the exchange program?”
I took in a breath, my tail setting itself in my lap as I thought about how quickly everything had changed.
Videk spoke up, still kneading at the sides of his legs, at least his ears had stopped and focused on me, that was an improvement. “Why are you telling me, then? What do you think I’m going to get from some Human’s philosophy?”
“That this happened for a reason. Maybe it was to show you that even at your lowest a Human won’t attack you. Maybe to show you that a Venlil and a ‘big scary predator’ can be friends. Or maybe it was to tell you that you should try. I’ve not been through what you have, but what I have been through wasn’t great. Chris, for all his scariness… he helps. Having someone I can talk to, that doesn’t judge, is a good feeling.”
“So you’re suggesting I talk with the Human about… what, life? About their favorite meats?!” He sighed, his paws stopping.
I whistle in amusement, “Maybe not him… ” That one's mine.
I was taken aback for a moment at the errant thought, before shaking my head and continuing.
“But the exchange program is still open, and actively looking for volunteers. There’s no requirement to meet your partner in person if you don’t feel comfortable with it. But having someone who’ll listen really does help. You don’t have to, but I think you should try, Videk. They might just surprise you.”
He seemed to genuinely think it over, his ears swiveling in thought as he put his paw to his chin. At least the panic seemed to have passed for now. “I’ll… I’ll think about it. For now I need to review the logs from the simulator, you should catch up to…” He sighed before taking in a deep breath. “Christopher.”
It wasn’t much but it was the start of progress. I hoped he did genuinely consider it, I didn’t know anything about his personal life but he seemed lonely. Talking about his problems or not, having someone to talk to that wasn’t a student would be good for him; and Humans loved to talk.
I stood, finding my way out of the door and off to the cafeteria to find Chris. After a full claw and a half of simulations, I was starving!
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Videk, Venlil Flight instructor, Space Corps Veteran
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 28th, 2136, Early afternoon.
​
By the protector, that Human flew like a dayside wind. He’d broken half of the time records in the system for the final simulation! He hadn’t struck any debris and had maintained relative course control when the failures started piling up.
It- He passed. With flying colors at that! A lump stuck in my throat as I realized the next step of the flight training.
Oh protector I can’t be stuck in an actual shuttle with him for that long.
Then an idea, a plan, flashed through my mind. Remote training, the Human gets his stick time and all I have to do is monitor the shuttle from a comfy desk at home in Shadetree, answer any questions that might come up and keep tabs on their diagnostic reports. Easy, simple, safe.
I tapped away at my pad, sending a message to the both of them.
Congratulations, you’ve passed the simulator portion of your training regimen. You will begin on-stick flight training with remote monitoring next paw, at which time your assignment will be given to you. I will be getting the shuttle ready for your departure promptly.
---
First Prev. Next

Watched June 4 2023 in theaters - Started May 15 2023
Synopsis/Review
Miles Morales learns of a multidimensional society of Spider-People tasked with protecting the multiverse
I usually leave these kind of comments at the end, but I need to bring this up first: See this movie and see it on the biggest screen possible.
Across the Spider-Verse takes place about a year after the events of the first movie, with Miles Morales (voiced my Shameik Moore) mostly settled into his role as Brooklyn’s one and only Spider-Man. A run-in with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), who herself is from another universe, has him stumble upon a society of Spider-men/women/animals who are tasked with protecting every reality where a Spider-Person exists. This society is run by a Spider-Man by the name of Miguel O’Hara (voiced by an incredible Oscar Isaac) who is hellbent on protecting the canon of every Spider-Man universe - the very events that make the varying versions of Spider-Man exist. If you know anything about the lore of Spider-Man, you could see how an adolescent version of this hero like Miles would be hesitant to follow the canon to the letter.
The first film was well regarded for its visual style, art, acting, and writing. I’m so very happy to say that everything that made the first one great is intact and expanded on. Every universe visited in this movie still has its own unique art style, the framing of the shots and cinematography make everything look and feel like a comic book come to life, and there are genuine emotional moments that had me misty eyed in my seat.
I can’t really talk about the entire cast without spoiling some really cool surprises for folks like me who avoided trailers like the plague. The characters you did see in some of the trailers, namely Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy and Miguel O’Hara, all do great in their roles. What I can say about the other characters that show up is that they were all perfectly cast, and everyone knows exactly what they need to do to really sell their roles and scenarios.
A movie like this is going to have tons of easter eggs and winks to the fans of Spider-Man where if you blink you miss them. For the sake of making them all as awesome as possible, I will not be talking about any of them specifically, but by god they brought so much joy to my nerdy little heart. If it’s a Spider-Man property, it’s probably referenced somewhere in this movie.
My favorite performance is, unfortunately, one I can’t talk about here. But I will say that this version of Spider-Man was one that I found the funniest and most surprising when I saw the end credits roll. He perfectly adapts to the absurdity of the role, and steals the scenes he’s in, while leaving the main plot just early enough that you’ll be left wanting more, and more we will get, as we are told “Miles Morales will return in Beyond The Spider-verse.” 2024 can’t get here fast enough.
I’m going to be blunt here: This is the best Spider-Man movie I have ever seen. It may even be the best superhero movie I’ve ever seen. And the fact of the matter is, I will be watching this one multiple times to take in more of the art, the colors and visuals ripped straight from the comics, the acting, everything.
I cannot recommend this movie enough. It’s better than the first Miles Morales movie. It’s better than Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004). I dare say this movie is better than the MCU’s No Way Home (2021). If you are able to, find this movie and watch it on the biggest screen you possibly can, and then watch it again because chances are you will catch something new on a second viewing.
5/5

Hello everyone,
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Imagine being trapped in a destructive cycle for eight long years, knowing you need to escape but feeling utterly powerless to do so. That was my reality. I'm a 26-year-old man who, from the tender age of 12, found himself caught in the relentless grip of pornography and masturbation addiction.
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By 18, I was painfully aware of the damage it was causing and desperate to break free. I tried everything – NoFap, meditation, sports, cold showers, even punishing myself, but to no avail. It felt like my addiction was an unshakeable opponent. But then, something changed. I discovered a strategy that changed my life. If you're struggling, I want to share this with you...
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Caught in the grip of this addiction, I would spend an average of seven hours per day, even peaking at thirteen hours sometimes. The toll of this habit was heavy, affecting my personal, professional, and social life severely. Yet everything changed when I discovered Jack Trimpey's Rational Recovery method.
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While his book provided me with crucial insights, it was his comprehensive AVRT Demonstration, where Trimpey guided an alcohol addict towards permanent abstinence, that truly filled the missing pieces in my fight against addiction. The Rational Recovery method fundamentally shifted my perspective towards addiction, helping me to recognize and silence the voice of my brain (the Beast) pushing me to consume. Today, I want to share my experience, hoping it could be an effective solution for many of you. You can access the entire demonstration at the end in the 'Useful Resources' section.
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Understanding Addiction and Navigating this Guide
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Let's talk about what addiction really is. Addiction isn't about the behavior itself, but rather the desire to escape pain and seek a better life. It is marked by ambivalence, a feeling of being torn between two minds. Overcoming addiction involves breaking free from the grip of pleasure and reclaiming control over oneself.
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Before I delve into how I applied the Rational Recovery method and the results I got, I want to pose a simple but powerful question: If I placed a big red button in front of you that, when pressed, would instantly eradicate your addiction, would you press it?
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If your answer is 'yes', then you have all the reasons you need to quit. I've been where you are now, writing pages upon pages of reasons to stop, yet relapsing despite knowing how harmful it was. It's important to recognize when a pattern becomes harmful, it's time to stop.
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As you explore this guide, remember the importance of keeping an open mind. Let's borrow some wisdom from Mark Twain, who once said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” It's a nod to the importance of being receptive to new ideas and methods. This guide may offer a different approach, but embracing it might bring about the change you're seeking.
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What is AVRT?

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AVRT (Addictive Voice Recognition Technique) is a transformative strategy that I've found invaluable in my journey to overcoming addiction. This technique helps you recognize and differentiate yourself from the 'addictive voice', the part of your primitive brain structure that fuels your addiction.
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Think of AVRT as your personal defense mechanism that works under any circumstance, regardless of your emotional state – be it sadness, anger,boredom, loneliness, or stress. The aim here isn't to suppress these emotions, but rather to stay in control of your actions, no matter what you're feeling.
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The 'addictive voice' – which we'll call the 'beast' – is a sneaky internal saboteur. It's the part of you that wants to continue with the harmful habit, despite you consciously knowing it's not beneficial. AVRT is about learning to separate this beast from your own true will, thus empowering you to reclaim your life.
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The power of AVRT lies in this distinction between you and the beast. Once you master this technique, you'll learn to reject the rationalizations and temptations that originate from the beast. The dissociation from the beast is what makes it possible to make a firm, irrevocable commitment to quit your addiction. By not identifying with the beast, you can prevent yourself from suffering commonly associated with resisting addiction.
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In essence, AVRT isn't about fighting or resisting; it's about recognizing, dissociating, and reclaiming control of your life.
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What is the "beast"?

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The "beast" is a term coined by the Rational Recovery method to denote the part of your brain pushing you towards your addiction. We call it the Beast because, like a wild, uncontrollable animal, it cares about nothing but fulfilling its need. It is a cunning inner voice, whispering that you need to engage in porn and masturbation to feel satisfied, relieved, or happy. This voice, often referred to as the Addictive Voice (AV), can be quite deceptive. It might paint you a picture of an enticing scene, produce alluring sounds, offer a moment of relief, or even present a false promise of control—"Just be more careful next time."
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This beast manipulates you with excuses, deceptive emotions, and outright lies to make you succumb to your addiction. But let's make one thing clear: the beast is not your friend. It's your worst enemy. It's a parasitic entity that has latched onto your life, thriving on your addictive behavior. Like every living thing, it fears its end, and that end comes when you stop feeding the addiction. It has no regard for your well-being, your relationships, your life goals, or your health. Only its survival matters.
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As you read through this guide, it's crucial to remain aware of the Beast's interference. Remember, the Beast manifests as a voice in your head or as an emotion, pushing you towards addictive thoughts and actions. You might experience feelings of resistance, discomfort, anger, fear, anxiety, or even a cringe reaction. These are the Beast's attempts to disrupt your progress.
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While the Beast can attempt to manipulate your thoughts and emotions, it does not and cannot control your actions. It's your survival instincts that the Beast taps into, but your ability to make decisions, to govern your actions, thoughts, and emotions is uniquely yours.
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The Beast may present itself in thoughts like, "This is too difficult to understand," "This won't work for me," or "I'm an exception to this method." Understand that these thoughts are not your own, but the Beast's desperate attempts to maintain control.
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In its relentless quest for satisfaction, the beast views everything, including you, as expendable. It's the embodiment of your addiction, caring for nothing but its next fix. It's deaf to reason, blind to consequences, and immune to remorse.
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If this description resonates with you, don't panic. You're not 'sick.' It's merely an error of association made by your body - an error in the script, so to speak. It mistakenly believes that this addictive behavior is as vital for your survival as breathing or eating.
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Take these moments of resistance as signs that you are on the right track. You're threatening the Beast's existence, and it's trying to fight back. Recognize these voices for what they are, continue moving forward, and know that each step brings you closer to reaffirming your control and freedom from addiction.
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[How to Proceed]
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Recognition Technique

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Let me share an effective exercise, adapted from the Rational Recovery book, that could help you end your porn and masturbation addiction right now.
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Start by observing your thoughts and feelings about watching porn or masturbating, both positive and negative. The thoughts and feelings that encourage continued use represent your Addictive Voice (AV), while those advocating for abstinence represent the real you.
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When you learn to identify and understand your AV, it becomes an easily defeated foe causing you to indulge. All it craves is pleasure. The main tactic of the Beast is to seize control of the pronoun 'I'. It will try to convince you by saying things like "I want to watch porn" or "I need pornography ".
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However, you can effectively counter this strategy. By simply adding a 't' and shifting the 'I' to 'It', you can remind yourself that these thoughts are not truly yours, but are the Beast's manipulations. So the sentences become, "It wants to watch porn" or "It needs pornography ".
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By changing "I" to "It", you dissociate from the discomfort or distress. Yes, it's that simple, placing it squarely on the Beast instead of yourself. It's crucial to recognize that these feelings are the Beast's attempts to coerce you back into addiction.
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Now, tell yourself, "I will never consume porn or masturbate again", and listen for any negative reactions – this is your AV responding. Conversely, if you think, "I will consume porn or masturbate whenever I please," any pleasant feelings that arise are also your AV asserting control.
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This recognition technique dispels short-term desire, making abstinence effortless. Complete separation of 'you' from 'it' results in complete recovery and hope for a better life.
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Picture the AVRT technique as a form of gardening. The Addictive Voice is the weed trying to overtake your garden and sapping nutrients from the other plants. Recognizing the weed for what it is and uprooting it preserves your garden's health. Similarly, identifying and acting against your Addictive Voice safeguards a healthy and fulfilling life free from addiction.
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Shifting Technique

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Shifting is another powerful technique to help you dissociate from the beast of addiction. The idea is to alternate between viewing your addiction from the perspective of the beast and your own.
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When viewing addiction through the Beast's eyes, you visualize what it craves the most about the addictive behavior and imagine the associated pleasure for a few minutes. It will express sentiments like "I want this now!" or "Please give it to me!", and you may start to feel the beast getting excited, happy, or impatient.
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Then, shift to your perspective and reflect on the pain and negative impact the addiction has on you and those around you. Allow yourself feelings of disgust. Let your own feelings now take over, and you will find that your Beast withdraws and you feel either neutral or put off. This back-and-forth process allows you to dissociate from the Beast.
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Think of Shifting as toggling between two TV channels: one projects a seductive yet distorted image of addiction, while the other reveals the harsh reality of its damage.
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Introducing the "Big Plan"

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The idea of the Big Plan in Rational Recovery is to make a personal commitment to lifelong abstinence from addiction. This commitment, for me, took the form of the decisive statement, "I will never consume porn or masturbate again". It involves pinpointing a day and an hour for your turning point. For me, that was a Sunday at 12am. This moment represents a clear and definitive end to your addictive behavior and the start of a new chapter in your life. You can decide to commit either immediately after going through this post or by specifying your day and hour. It's entirely your choice, and we'll discuss this in more depth later.
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Your Power Over the Beast

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The Beast, despite its intimidating name, is in fact harmless. It may try to coerce, manipulate, and instill fear, but it is important to remember that it is powerless without your consent. It cannot force you to return to the addictive behavior; only you can make that decision. In fact, you are the main authority, the one in charge, and it's the Beast that fears you.
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The Beast is aware of your power and control, and it's terrified of it. It knows that you can shatter its illusions in a snap, without any difficulty. You're the one who makes the call, not the Beast, and it fears your unyielding decision to quit the addiction forever.
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Its tactics may often involve fear. It's like the Beast is pointing a gun at you, but the truth is, its gun is empty. It's just a bluff, an illusion. You know it, and the Beast knows it too. It's simply trying to maintain its influence by resorting to fear tactics, but you can see through its lies.
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"Don't trust yourself in tempting situations...you're not strong enough yet." – The Beast's voice:
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The Beast tries to maintain control by suggesting certain places, events, or people will trigger a relapse. You might hear it whisper, "You can't go to that event, you might relapse," or "Avoid that location, it's too risky." This is simply the Beast's tactic to keep a hold on you, aiming to make you believe you're not completely in control.
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By simply recognizing it for what it is - a tactic of the Beast to undermine your confidence - you can dismiss these fear tactics and reaffirm your control.
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What if I Lose Control?

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The Beast within you is a cunning entity, ever ready to exploit your moments of doubt and vulnerability. It whispers falsehoods, instilling fear and shaking your confidence. But don't be swayed, for you have always held the reins. The Beast may inhabit a corner of your mind, but it lacks the power to control your actions.
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Not convinced? Try this: Extend your finger in front of your eyes and move it, then ask the Beast to do the same. The Beast can't because it doesn't hold sway over your physical actions.
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The truth is, you've never truly "failed" in your endeavor against addiction. You've always had the choice, and sometimes you've elected to surrender to the Beast's desires. But that doesn't equate to losing control. It merely shows you gave in, momentarily, to the Beast's whisperings.
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Expectations

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Recovery from addiction isn't about becoming a superhero or uncovering the universe's hidden secrets. It's about realizing that we don't have control over every aspect of life. However, we do have control over our actions, our reactions, and how we choose to face life's unpredictable events.
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Do you choose the path of self-discovery and freedom from addiction? Or do you prefer to remain confined by the restrictions that addiction imposes? Be cautious: the Beast may distort your perspective, asking, "Where are the benefits?" or suggesting, "You haven't gained anything," and even instigating impatience by incessantly asking, "How long until I see the benefits?"
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But don't fall prey to these distortions. Escaping addiction isn't about immediate gain or fixing all your life's problems. Recovery isn't a magic solution; it's a step towards personal empowerment. It's about gaining freedom and unlocking your potential, not just as a person in recovery, but as an individual capable of resilience and authenticity.
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Concentrate on the liberation that breaking free from addiction brings. Let's choose this path towards a life where addiction no longer controls us, allowing us to genuinely live and experience life to its fullest.
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Understanding the Real Reason You're Engaging in This

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Engaging in this addiction is solely for pleasure and nothing more. Every other justification is a fabrication of the Beast. It's designed to make you believe that giving in to your addiction is the only route to happiness or relief when you're feeling depressed, bored, lonely, stressed, or miserable.
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Speaking from personal experience, I used to think that I turned to pornography and masturbation because I was lonely, stressed, or had a rough day. I thought that because I spent my entire day working alone on a computer, my environment or lifestyle was to blame for my addiction. These were excuses, a way to avoid taking responsibility for my actions, guided by the Beast's narrative.
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The key to recognizing the Beast is noticing that the conversation always bends towards indulgence in your addiction.
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Imagine you're having a tough day, and you begin to feel down. Instead of recognizing this as a passing mood, the Beast seizes this opportunity. It will amplify your negative emotions by saying things like, "You're always unhappy, aren't you? You know what would make you feel better... just one quick session won't hurt." Or, "You're so lonely, this is unbearable. Just indulge, it's your only comfort." These harsh whispers are the Beast's attempts to deepen your feeling of depression and nudge you towards the addictive behavior. Depression doesn't create addiction; addiction does.
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The Beast's goal? To make you feel so low that resorting to your addiction seems like the only way out. Conversely, when you're content and joyful, the Beast will persuade you to give in, arguing it will amplify your satisfaction. Just think about it. If you're living what you perceive as a perfect life, the Beast will still argue you could feel even better with pornography and masturbation. It's a never-ending, destructive cycle.
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Understanding and Separating Desire

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Desire, in its essence, is not a negative emotion; it's a natural human condition. It propels us toward achievement, drives creativity, and gives meaning to our experiences. It also plays a crucial role in our relationships and our sexuality. The key in overcoming addiction is not to extinguish desire altogether, but to discern between healthy desires and those manipulated by the Beast.
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Imagine your desires as a beautiful, roaring river. It's full of life, movement, and potential. This river represents your natural, healthy desires - things like connecting with others, pursuing your hobbies, personal growth, and even your sexual desires. These are your desires, part of who you are.
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Then, there's the Beast's desire - a poisonous stream trying to merge into your river, attempting to hijack your natural flow. This stream carries the pull of addiction, steering you away from your authentic path, manipulating your thoughts, and distorting your perceptions.
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Recognize this poisonous stream and refuse to let it merge with your river. This is not about damming the entire river or stifling your desires, but about rejecting the poisonous stream that the Beast introduces. It's about retaining your authentic desires and letting them guide you.
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Identify that any thought associated with the desire to indulge in the addiction is coming from the Beast. By doing so, you begin to differentiate between what you truly want and what the Beast wants. This understanding will empower you, helping you keep your river clean, vibrant, and true to its course.
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In the whirlwind of addiction, it can be easy to confuse the Beast's desires with our own. I, too, was lost in this confusion. I believed I was drawn to endless layers of perversion, thinking that I was attracted to the limitless exploration of perversion. But deep down, this wasn't me, it was the Beast's influence, its relentless push for more and more. Upon reflection, I realized my true desire was much simpler and profoundly more meaningful: to love and be loved. To have a wife, to raise children together, to share in the mundane and the magical moments of life. That's my authentic desire, not the empty promises of temporary pleasure the Beast kept pushing. This profound clarity is a stark contrast to the Beast's corruption, a beacon that can guide you back to your true self.
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The goal is not to eliminate desire, but to reclaim it, to keep it authentic and personal. Desire is a part of your humanity; it's the Beast's manipulation of it that leads to addiction.

The Myth of Relapse and the Power of Perfection.

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The Beast might sometimes whisper, "It's okay to relapse. You'll do better next time." This is a shrewd strategy designed to maintain its hold on you by normalizing relapse as a part of the recovery journey. It uses these tactics to sow seeds of doubt in your mind, aiming to eventually lead you to relapse. Rational Recovery, however, views this differently: the key is making a definitive decision—your Big Plan—to abstain from the addictive behavior and sticking to it under any circumstances.
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Human beings are perfectly capable of achieving perfection in certain aspects of life. Consider the professional athlete who plays a perfect game or the musician who delivers a flawless performance. They do so by making a firm commitment to their goal and adhering to it diligently, without allowing any room for mistakes.
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Similarly, your recovery journey can be perfect too. Once you make your Big Plan to abstain from addictive behavior, you can stick to it perfectly, without any relapses. This is the ideal that Rational Recovery promotes—not "try, fail, and try again," but "decide and stick to your decision perfectly."
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Your Beast wants you to believe that perfection is unachievable, as this gives it room to persuade you to relapse. But don't let it fool you. You have the power to make a perfect decision and stick to it.
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What if it's too Difficult or Painful?

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Instead of pondering over this, consider a different question: 'For whom is it too painful or difficult?' Any discomfort or difficulty associated with ceasing the addiction stems from the Beast, not you. Observing the Beast's distress is a positive sign - it shows you're successfully dissociating from it.
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Remember that humans can only fully experience one feeling at a time. When you start feeling discomfort from abstaining, it's crucial to recognize that this isn't your discomfort. It's the Beast that suffering. The Beast is protesting because it's not getting what it wants. This suffering isn't negative for you; in fact, it's a positive sign. It means you're successfully asserting control over your decisions, as the Beast's discomfort indicates that it's losing its influence over you.
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Most importantly, remember: you are safe. You risk nothing by quitting this addiction. Every feeling of discomfort or fear is from the Beast, not you. Your well-being and safety are never in jeopardy by choosing to stop. By rejecting the Beast's influence and asserting your control, you reclaim your freedom from addiction.
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How would I know what I will do in the future?

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While predicting your future actions may be impossible, you can certainly define what you would never do. Consider the activities that you find disturbing, unhealthy, and reprehensible - those that you would never engage in.
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Now, add porn and masturbation addiction to that list. As you do this, pay attention to your Beast. It might try to concoct far-fetched scenarios that seem to justify succumbing to the addiction. Recognize these for what they are: desperate attempts by the Beast to manipulate your thoughts. By doing so, you can effectively disregard its interference and remain true to your values.
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I'm scared to relapse, what should I do?

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Relapse anxiety is a common pitfall many encounter on their NoFap journey. You may be confidently progressing, then suddenly a thought creeps in: "What if I relapse tomorrow?" This thought triggers anxiety, shaking your belief in your commitment.
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From the Rational Recovery standpoint, relapse anxiety is the Beast's deceptive voice trying to manipulate you. It incites fear and uncertainty, making you feel as if relapse is imminent. The Beast attempts to shake your confidence and sense of control. But here's the truth: relapse anxiety is an illusion, a tactic used by the Beast to tighten its grip.
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Combat this by distancing yourself from the Beast and recognizing that relapse anxiety is a deceptive tactic used by the Beast to instill fear and weaken your resolve. Remember, you risk nothing by quitting this addiction; you are safe. Any discomfort you experience stems from the Beast, not you.
​
Reiterate your Big Plan: "I will never consume porn or masturbate again." By affirming your decision and distancing yourself from the Beast's influence, you can dispel the anxiety and stay firmly on your path. Remember, you are in control, and you will always stay in control, the fears conjured by the Beast hold no sway over you.
​

The Beast's Attack on the Dreamscape

​
The Beast's intrusion into your dreams should not be a source of fear. This isn't a situation that requires extensive concern, this is just a sign of the Beast's distress.
​
There are generally two types of dreams where the Beast tries to assert its influence. The first type are explicit sex dreams, designed to reignite the desires and cravings associated with your addiction. The second type are dreams where you see yourself relapsing, which can be distressing and seem all too real.
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When your neocortex (the real you) goes to sleep, the Beast sees an opportunity to attack and tries to regain influence over you through these dreams. This is evidence that you are on the right track. Your progress towards your goal of freedom from addiction is causing this panicked response from the Beast.
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Remember, no matter what happens in your dreams, you are in control in reality. These dreams are just dreams, and they do not have the power to make you do anything.
​

Understanding 'Blue Balls' and Nocturnal Emissions in Recovery

​
Experiencing discomfort or an aching in the testicles, often referred to as 'blue balls,' is something that some individuals might encounter during their decision to quit their porn and masturbation addiction. Similarly, you may also experience nocturnal emissions or 'wet dreams' during your journey to recovery.
​
These phenomena aren't signs of harm, danger, or relapse, but rather physical manifestations of your body adjusting to your firm decision to quit the addiction.
​
While your body is adapting to a new, healthier state, not reliant on constant sexual stimulation, the Beast might attempt to distort these occurrences into negative experiences. It might tell you that nocturnal emissions are relapses, causing unwarranted fear and anxiety. But remember, you're in control.
​
Consider these sensations and events as physical signs of your transformation, a testament to the changes happening within you. It's important to remember that not everyone experiences this, and even if you do, it's not something to be overly concerned about. These adjustments are something you are more than capable of handling. As your body adjusts to your new lifestyle, such events will likely decrease and eventually stop. Don't let the Beast use these natural bodily responses as a scare tactic.
​

Gradual Reduction: A Beast's Strategy

​
In your journey of breaking free from addiction, you might be tempted to adopt a "gradual reduction" approach - cutting back little by little rather than quitting outright. This strategy, while seemingly logical, is often a ploy from the Beast, setting you up for failure.
​
During my own journey, for many months, I was enticed by the concept of gradually reducing my addictive behaviors. The approach felt less abrupt, seemingly offering a smoother transition. Even the Beast within me suggested compromises such as, "Let's start by indulging only in the afternoon," or "How about we limit it to weekends?".However, I discovered through experience that this gradual reduction strategy often creates more problems than it resolves. Let me tell you why.
​
Firstly, by not making a clean break, you're continually feeding the addiction, keeping the Beast alive and active. It's akin to trying to put out a fire while still pouring small amounts of gasoline on it - it keeps the flames going, never fully extinguishing the fire.
​
Secondly, when you set specific times or days for indulging, you're not freeing your mind from the addiction; instead, you're refocusing it. You find yourself constantly counting down the hours or days until your next 'allowed' session. This fixation lead to a persistent preoccupation with the addiction, turning the process into something torturous and counterproductive.
​
Lastly, even on the days where you've decided not to indulge, the Beast is still at work. It doesn't take breaks. It try to convince you to deviate from your plan, asserting things like, "You're going to do it in a couple of days anyway, so why not just do it today? Why wait?" This becomes a recurring battle with the Beast, undermining your resolve.
​
The gradual reduction method keeps the addiction in focus, maintains the Beast's influence, and undermines your resolve. It's far more effective to make a clean break and assert your decision to quit outright. Remember, you're not losing anything by quitting - you're freeing yourself from the Beast's control.
​

Counting Days

​
Why should you spend energy on counting days for an activity you've resolved never to engage in? The Beast excels at setting goals and then weaponizing them against us.
​
Here's how the Beast use day counting against you:
​
Making a big deal of milestones: The Beast lead you to focus excessively on reaching a certain number of days, weeks, or months. While milestones can be motivational, the Beast use them to create unnecessary stress and pressure, saying things like "What if you don't make it?" or "Imagine how bad it would feel to start over."
​
Justifying a lapse: "You've made it 100 days, you deserve a reward!" or "One slip after so many days won't hurt." The Beast use the number of days as an excuse to suggest that it would be "safe" or "earned" to indulge in the addictive behavior.
​
Creating a false sense of security: The Beast suggest that after a certain number of days without indulging in the addiction, you're "cured" and could safely return to the behavior without becoming addicted again.
​
Undermining early progress: In the initial stages, the Beast belittle the small number of days you've been free from the addiction, making statements like "You've only managed two days, you'll never make it a week."
​
Leveraging bad days: If you're having a tough day, the Beast say, "You're miserable even after 30 days clean. See, quitting doesn't make things better. Might as well go back."
​
Remember, these are all tricks of the Beast trying to manipulate you into returning to the addictive behavior. The Beast will use anything, including the count of days, to try to get what it wants. The best way to deal with this is to remain steadfast in your decision and continue dissociating from the Beast.
​
So, instead of getting trapped in the Beast's game of counting days, surrender this act to it. We can concentrate on the broader scope - liberating ourselves from the Beast's clutches, embracing enduring change, and regaining our freedom. Day counting becomes insignificant because it no longer illustrates our path. Our chosen journey is one where the Beast's urges hold no power, and our authentic liberation takes the limelight. Let the Beast obsess over counting days, while we commit to a life of emancipation and self-discovery.
​

Why Punishment Doesn't Work

​
Self-punishment is a common response to addiction, yet it often proves ineffective. This can take many forms, from physical discomfort to emotional torment. In my own battle against addiction, I tried various self-punishment strategies. On the physical side, I would resort to self-harm. Emotionally, I burdened myself with negative self-talk, depression, feelings of hopelessness, anger, sadness, and even thoughts of death. It's important to note, however, that these intense feelings of guilt and self-condemnation were amplified by the Beast. The Beast utilizes such negative emotions to paint addiction as the only respite, the only 'good thing' left in life. It is a manipulative trick to keep you chained to the addiction.
​
Yet, over time, these painful memories have faded, while the seductive pull of the addictive behavior has remained vivid in my mind. It's a compelling illustration of the human condition: we often forget pain and remember pleasure.
​
Consider individuals who struggle with drug addiction. They might end up in a hospital after an overdose, experiencing immense physical pain. But as time passes, the memory of this pain dissipates, while the allure of the drug, the pleasure it brought, remains clear and tempting. This imbalance often leads them back into the cycle of addiction.
​
This became evident to me during the last week leading up to my final decision to quit - my Big Plan. It was the most challenging week of my life; I was counting the days until my liberation. Now that I'm free, when I think back to that week, the Beast tries to rewrite the narrative, calling it the "best week of all time!"
​
This disparity between the memory of pain and pleasure underscores why self-punishment is an ineffective strategy for long-term addiction recovery. Rational Recovery offers a different approach. Rather than relying on the fleeting memory of pain, it focuses on recognizing and dissociating from the addictive voice—the Beast.
​

Arguing with the beast

​
Let's clarify something: arguing with the Beast is futile. The Beast is single-minded, craving only the satisfaction of its addiction. Moreover, it's cunning, capable of playing both sides of an argument.
​
For instance, the Beast might implant thoughts such as, "You could indulge now, it's not a big deal." Then, to create confusion and feign agreement, it might echo that very idea, saying, "Yes, I could indulge now." It's essential to recognize that both these sentiments are from the Beast. It is a clear demonstration of how it can promote the idea of indulgence while also pretending to be 'you' to create an illusion of consent.
​
In the Rational Recovery technique, every thought or feeling associated with the indulgence in the addiction is identified as coming from the Beast, including its attempts to take possession of the pronoun "I".
​
You are the decision-maker here, you are in control. Your will is what truly matters, and the Beast must inevitably conform to your decisions.
​

Dealing with White-Knuckling and Intense Urges

​
Feeling urges, cravings, or hunger sensations is a natural part of the recovery journey. In fact, it's a positive sign, an indication that you are making progress. However, these feelings can turn into white-knuckling when you identify with the Beast's thoughts and feelings. When you start saying things like "I'm so horny" or "I need a relief ASAP," you're identifying with the beast voice. When you find yourself arguing with the Beast or doubting your decision to quit, you're in the grip of white-knuckling.
​
In my own journey to recovery, I experienced these urges, cravings, and sensations. But rather than identifying with them and turning them into a struggle, I recognized them as signs of the Beast's distress, not mine. It was the Beast who was desperate and frustrated, not me. This recognition made these moments not just bearable but even satisfying, as they signaled that I was on the right track in my recovery.
​
The power of these urges and cravings diminished with my Big Plan, my absolute decision to never indulge in the addictive behavior again. Even if you find yourself in a white-knuckling situation, remember that you can shift your perspective. Recognize that every thought encouraging the addictive behavior is coming from the Beast, and use the Recognition or Shifting techniques to help you dissociate from these thoughts and feelings. After that, reaffirm your Big Plan, stating firmly and clearly, "I will never consume porn or masturbate again." This firm commitment to your Big Plan will dispel all doubt, releasing you from the grip of white-knuckling.
​

The Big Plan: Your Commitment to Freedom

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Taking a firm decision is a critical step in overcoming addiction, and this is what making a Big Plan entails. This plan is a complete commitment, devoid of room for negotiation or compromise. When you formulate a Big Plan, you're making a promise to yourself to never indulge in your addiction again, under any circumstances.
​
Choosing a specific day for your Big Plan can help add a sense of occasion and finality to your decision. For instance, I personally chose a Sunday at 12am. Your Beast will likely agree to this arrangement, looking forward to a "last hurrah."
​
But as you approach your chosen day to initiate your Big Plan, the Beast may start getting anxious. It may whisper, "I can't let this go!" or "Let's postpone the Big Plan, and enjoy this for now!" This is not your voice. It's the voice of the Beast, trying to make you delay your decision and panicking at the impending loss of its control.
​
Your declaration for the Big Plan could be: "I will never consume porn or masturbate again." This phrase embodies the essence of the Big Plan — a firm, unyielding decision that signifies your commitment to stay addiction-free.
​
In your journey to overcome addiction, the video I am about to share will be invaluable. It features Jack Trimpey, the founder of Rational Recovery, directly guiding you through the process of making a Big Plan. Although Trimpey focuses on alcohol and drug addiction in the video, his guidance applies to any addiction, including pornography and masturbation. Carefully absorb his words, understanding their relevance to your personal struggle.
​
watch this video, skip to 33:39 for the Big Plan section: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n2YH8RLd_4&list=PLazOJVze5_z3BdcDSF3uPtN8Vu9VDqVJl&index=3where

Conclusion

I've spent a month compiling my experiences and sharing the tools that aided me on my journey. You are free to ask questions while I'm around, but please note that I'm not a regular Reddit user and won't be able to answer indefinitely. For those interested in Rational Recovery, all the information you need is in the "Useful Resources" section. If you found this post helpful, please consider upvoting or sharing it with friends who might benefit from it. Always remember to dissociate from the Beast and stand firm in your Big Plan. Holding unwavering trust in your decision is the key to defeating the Beast. May you embrace your journey to freedom and experience the liberation you've been longing for. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Useful Resources

Rational Recovery Book : https://www.amazon.fRational-Recovery-Cure-Substance-Addiction/dp/0671528580/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=rational+recovery&sr=8-1
AVRT Demonstration (AVRT Live Vol 1-5) : https://www.youtube.com/@DeborahSpringborn/videos

Previous thread
This is the weekly translation status update thread. Use this thread to discuss translation news, issues, titles you're looking forward to, etc.
Note: This is simply a mirror from 4chan's weekly thread on the /jp/ board. All credit goes to the user VNTS there. I'm simply copying and pasting for discussion sake here since some people can't access 4chan.
Entries in Bold have had changes since last week
Entries in itallics denote my own changes

Fan Translations

• Aiyoku No Eustia - 100% Translated and edited and TLC
• Akatsuki no Goei ~Principal-tachi no Kyuujitsu~ - 100% translated, 48.28% edited, 25.29% through QA
• Akatsuki no Goei ~Tsumibukaki Shuumatsuron~ - "15/169 Total scripts. Act 1 finished. Working on Act 2."
• Amagami - 3rd public Beta patch released
• Aonatsu Line - Translation starting
• Baku Ane 2 - Prologue, Ritsuka Fully translated, Wakana 8/8 Lessons, 5% route, Mashiro 5/8 lessions, Miran 2/5 events and Sayaka 1/3 events translated, Ritsuka patch released
• Bishoujo Mangekyou -Kami ga Tsukuritamouta Shoujo-tachi- - 30% translated
• Caucasus - 100% translated, image editing complete, editing, QC/TLC , and playtesting remain
• CHAOS;HEAD Love Chu Chu! - 65.04% translated, 6.17% edited
• CHAOS;CHILD Love Chu Chu - Being translated
• Chicchakunai Mon - 100% translated and 39.5% edited
• Chusingura 46+1 - 21227/82770 (25.65) lines translated, Kuranosuke route partial patch released
• Clearworld - Translation starting
• Deatte 5-fun wa Ore no Mono! Jikan Teishi to Atropos - Common Route patch released
• Dragon Knight 4 - 57% translated
• Fate/Extra CCC - 100% translated, 225/2499 main scripts edited
• GinIro Haruka - Mizuha route released, Mizuha edits finished, Yuzuki route fully translated and ~50% edited
• H2O √ after and another Complete story Edition - 100% translated, 64.2% edited
• Hakuchuumu no Aojashin - Restoration patch focused on Case 1 released, work being done on the rest of the untranslated scenes
• Haruka na Sora - Sora and Yahiro routes translated, Kozue 29% translated, overall TL 70% TLC 70% ED 26%
• Houma Hunter Lime - Patch in development
• If My Heart Had Wings: Snow Presents - 23% translated
• Junketsu Megami-Sama - 2nd Alpha patch released, Astarotte route finishing up
• Kareshi Inai Reki = Nenrei - Translated 19442 / 58264 text lines (33.37%)
• Koukan no Toriko-Tachi - Prologue, common, and Cuckold Play route translated, Swinging Route 35%, Yukari POV 40%
• Kud Wafter - 23,835 / 31,579 (73.5%) lines translated
• Kusarihime ~Euthanasia~ - "Translation finished. Rest of the processes ongoing."
• Lover Able - 100% translated and edited, 2928/34467 lines approved (8.49%)
• Lucky Star ~Ryouou Gakuen Outousai~ - episode 1 patch released
• Maji Koi A-5 - 85% translated
• Manakashi no Yuri wa Akaku Somaru - 66% translated
• Miagete Goran, Yozora no Hoshi o - 1 of 4 routes translation finished for the restoration patch, Houkiboshi Hika 2 of 4 H-scenes translated
• Nursery Rhyme - 100% translated and edited, text insertion 100% complete, testing ongoing
• Ore to Omae ga Ai ni Tsuite Kataru dake - Released
• Otogirisou - 100% translated
• Planetarian Snow Globe - Editing and proofreading finished, finishing up images and technical work
• Pure Pure - 100% translated, needs proofreading, partial patch released, all routes have been inserted
• Rewrite Harvest festa! - Partial patch released of all heroine routes and part of Rewrite Quest
• Rui wa Tomo o Yobu - 19.51% translated, 4.20% edited
• Sakura Wars 2 - Being translated, demo patch released
• Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki - 100% translated, 100.00% edited
• Shabura Rental - 26995/33358 lines (80.9%) translated
• Shangrlia 2 - Menu patch released, patch in development
• Shin Hayarigami - 48% translated
• Shirotsume Yubiwa - 100% translated, 50% beta patch released
• Tenshi no Inai 12-gatsu - 100% translated, TLC and Editing upcoming
• Tokimeki Memorial 2 - Being translated
• Tsukihime - A piece of blue glass moon - Arcueid route patch released, Ciel route 100% translated, days 3 through 14 edited and days 3 through 13 finalized
• Tsuma Netori - 35% translated, 25% edited
• Umi kara Kuru Mono - 85/138 scripts translated
• Watashi wa Kyou Koko de Shinimasu - 100% translated, 99% (2254/2265) lines edited, 36% (826/2265) lines QC
• Walkure Romanze - Common + Celia + Lisa + Mio routes patch released
• Yosuga no Sora - Translation finished, editing and TLC ongoing, Total: TL 100% TLC 71% ED 55%, Common/Kazuha/Motoka routes fully edited

Official work

MangaGamer

• Shiei no Sona-Nyl - In Beta
• The Pillagers of Raillore - About to enter Beta
• Ciconia - Phase 1 Released
• Hadaka Shitsuji fandisc - Picked up
• Rance 03 - 48% translated, 29% edited
• Rance X - 56% translated, 5% edited
• Luckydog1 - Translation nearly complete
• Funbag Fantasy 4 - 51% translated, 49% edited
• Eve of the 12th Month - 91% translated and 8% edited

JAST

• Sumaga- Slow progress ongoing
• Katahane - Progress being made again
• Django - Not actively making progress
• Gears of Dragoon: Fragments of a New Era - In Testing
• Tokyo Hero Project - Translation finished
• Machine Child - Still being developed
• Onigokko! Fandisc - Fully translated

Age titles

• Kiminozo - Kickstarter for English release planned pending success of JP Crowdfunding

Spike Chunsoft

• Anonymous;Code - September 8th release

Sekai/Denpa

• Amairo Chocolate 2 - Through QA, awaiting approvals
• Harumade Kururu - Waiting on build
• Rewrite+ Harvest Festa - 100% translated, 20% edited
• Hoshizora no Memoria (retranslation) - In QA
• Subete no Koi ni, Hanabata o. - 100% translated
• Sumire - Picked up
• Sanarara R - 100% translated and edited, waiting on build
• Glass - Picked up
• New Glass - Picked up
• Karakara 3 - 100% translated and edited
• Yume to Iro de Dekiteiru - 90% translated, 30% edited
• Zutto Mae Kara Joshi Deshita - 100% translated, in editing
• Gakkou no Seiiki - 100% translated and edited, Waiting on build
• Imouto no Seiiki - 100% translated and edited, Waiting on build
• Chiisana Kanojo no Serenade - 50% translated, 20% edited
• Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi 10% translated
• Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi AA - Announced
• Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka - 40% translated
• Re;Lord 3 - In QA
• Marshmallow Imouto Succubus - In QA
• Hamidashi Creative - Announced
• Happy Saint Sheol - 100% translated, 25% edited
• Inupara - In Development
• Nekopara After La Vraie Familie - In Development
• Nie no Hakoniwa - 90% translated, 10% edited
• Parfait Remake - In translation
• Raspberry Cube - Announced
• Uso Kara Hajimaru Koi no Natsu - 50% translated, 30% edited
• Animal Trail Girlish Square 2 - 100% translated and edited, waiting on build
• Animal Trail Girlish Square LOVE+PLUS - 100% translated and edited, waiting on build

VisualArts

• LUNARiA -Virtualized Moonchild- - 2023 release
• Tsui no Stella - 2023 release
• Summer Pockets Reflection Blue - 2024 release

Nekonyan

• Clover Days - Rejected by Steam, "Additional image editing in progress"
• My Klutzy Cupid - 100% translated, 60% edited, Image Editing in Process, Through Steam Approvals
• Dracu Riot - "Waiting on Warmsoft for a QA Build"
• Melty Moment - 80% translated
• Aoi Tori - "Porting work is still ongoing"
• Fureraba Complete edition - Vita exclusive content to be added to Fureraba a couple months after the fandisc release
• Secret Agent of the Knight Academy - "Image editing complete, Engine work wrapping up, Nearly ready for QA"
• Floral Flowlove - 100% translated, 60% edited
• Kakenuke Seishun Sparking - 15% translated, 5% edited
• A Colorful World - 100% translated and edited "Image editing/integration of HD assets in progress"
• Love, Elections, & Chocolate - 100% translated, 17% edited, "Unity port in-progress"
• Love Love Love, Burning in my Heart! - 100% translated and 74% edited
• Ready or Not: The Deadline is Coming! - 100% translated, 17% edited, "Image editing complete, Engine work in progress"
• Mysteries of the Heart: The Psychic Detective Case Files - 100% translated and edited, "Image editing in progress" working with developer on engine work
• Tenshi Souzou "Angelic Chaos" RE-BOOT - 10% translated
• Secret Project 2 - 100% translated and edited, queued for Unity port
• Secret Project 3 - 100% translated and edited, image editing complete, waiting on QA build

Frontwing

• Sharin no Kuni - August release
• Grisaia Chronos Rebellion - Announced

LoveLab

• Sugar Sweet Temptation - Through Steam review, finalizing the build

Aksys

• Jack Jeanne - June 15th release
• Radiant Tale - July 27th release
• Norn9 ~Norn + Nonette~ Last Era - August 24th release
• Virche Evermore: Error Salvation - 2023 release - Fall 2023 release
• Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II - Fall 2023 release
• Tengoku Struggle -Strayside- - 2024 release

Shiravune

• Nukitashi - June 23rd release
• Queen of the Otaku: THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE - July 18th release
• Succubus Sessions: Mami Mamiya’s Sweet Slice of Hell - July 21st release
• Kara no Shoujo I - July 28th release
• ONE. - December 22nd release
• WHITE ALBUM - 2023 release
• Kara no Shoujo II - Announced
• Kara no Shoujo III - Announced
• Sacrifice Villains - Announced

Kagura Games

• Samurai Vandalism - Upcoming release

Other

• Nikushoku Gal wa Seijun Ha!? ~Innocent Stuck-up Girls!~ - Released
• Charade Maniacs - June 27th release
• Venus Blood -Gaia- - Kickstarted succeeded, July 28th release
• I want to have your babies! ~Long-awaited reunion! My childhood friend got sexy and horny~ - Announced
• Monkeys! - English release planned
• Haunted Obachestra Vol.1 Awaking - Upcoming release
• NarKarma EngineA - Announced, in development
• Taimanin Asagi - Page for the Trial of episode 1 back on Steam
• Fault Milestone 2 - Side Below - Upcoming release

Sorry if it's long or hard to read, I just don't know who to tell this to.
February 18th, 2022
I don't know how to start this, but I've had urges of killing myself for almost a week now, I don't know why, I have everything I love, I love my plants, I love my family, even though I don't show it, I love my dogs and I love my birds. I know they love me too but i just feel sad, sadder and sadder, yet I don't show it. I'm slowly failing school. A last chance school, if I completely flunk it, it's over, done. I want to complete my schooling, I want to graduate, but I just can't, no reason why, I don't hate school, I don't hate getting up at 7 in the morning, and I don't hate the people there. I know I'm mostly lonely in real life, no matter how much I try to mask it with the internet, and talking to people who don't even know what I look like. It's like a reassurance that I know some random stranger would listen to me ramble, or until we stop talking. It's not working though like how it used to, back when I first semi dropped out of school, and now, I have my family, and who else? I feel lonely, I'm gonna flunk school so hard I know it, and then what? I don't know what happened, but after I dropped out I became a different person, racist, bitterness that awoke into me, why, I have no idea. This brings me to last week, where I moved my laptop to a desk, instead of sleeping with it on my bed, listening to rain and some random videos in the back. I was alone with my own thoughts for once, in my own house. And I keep dreaming of shooting myself in the head in the middle of a river, I can't get it out of my head, and it's been fucking with me for almost a week now, I want it to end, I want to live, but man, it's just taking over me slowly. I want to wake up and listen to the birds, I want to see the most beautiful place I know of, and I want to shoot my brains out in the middle of it, away from people, away from my family, so they won't know what really happened. I want them to know that I don't want them to find my body, and I'll Finally be at peace. I'm crazy I know I am I'm fucking crazy but I am losing it, I can't help myself I want this to end. What's the point of being alive if I know no one outside of my family really likes me, I know I won't be able to have kids, and even if I do, I know I won't be able to take care of them, I can't work because ill just quit like in 4 days, I can't keep myself busy, and I'm God awful at communicating with others. I want to be alive, but there's no point, If I flunk school I'm fucking killing myself, no questions asked. If I kill my future fish, then I know that what I love will never be able to be in my hands, because I ruin it, I ruin everything. I just want to sleep, and never wake up, I want to be in my own paradise with my own thoughts, or no thoughts, Nothing. I might go piss now and go to sleep, I'm too fucking lazy to finish this.
June 16th, 2022
I'm probably just gonna kms I have no good reason to keep going. I suck at almost everything, I can't keep myself entertained with anything anymore, I barely have 1 friend, who I don't even know what they look like (they showed me their thighs for some reason), I just don't want to go to school anymore, like it matters anyway. No one's gonna Hire me, why would they anyway when there's like 20 people who are more suited for the job? The only thing I enjoy is being slowly ripped apart by people because everyone keeps fucking up the earth, and even then I can't make money off of it, I would never have a family of my own, hell I wouldn't even have a child anyway. Who tf would want to fuck me lmao. I give up on life, I fucked everything up and am completely unmotivated to continue, I just want to pass out and never wake up again. I've done some horrible things to people that I've known, and I refuse to tell anyone it because it would completely ruin their interpretation of me, like it's good anyway. I completely forgot how to socialize with people, and it's not worth the effort of relearning, but at the same time it sucks just being in a group of people and they just talk and talk to eachother and pretend like you don't exist. I really just lost who I used to be, and I never really grew up past 11 mentally. I feel like a burden to everyone in my family. Like the one people acknowledge but doesn't associate with. Everyone has done better than me, Everyone in my family is better than me, all I fucking do is just sit in front of a pc all day, jack off at night, shower, and sleep, and have been doing so for almost 3 years now, with some breaks in between. I'm such a failure compared to everyone around me. What the hell is the point of living anymore if I do nothing and won't do anything about it. Idk I'm probably just gonna jump in a river or something and drown. I'm just the worst person in existence and I didn't deserve anything. Probably should've died at birth honestly.
November 11th, 2022
Why am I like this? I really just feel like killing myself more than I ever did before. Every minute I constantly think about how much nicer I would look with my face shredded to bits or with my brain splattered all over the wall. When we were driving back home, nearly all I though was, "jump out jump out kys kys kys kys kys kys jump out open the door open it". I imagined my body getting grinded by the asphalt and I didn't even feel anything, just emptiness. Hell, even when we were making the Nashville hot chicken I saw myself in the oil, with my skin peeling off and my flesh cooking, how much pain I would be in. I didn't feel anything, just emptier.
It's much harder to enjoy the things I enjoy, I don't even know why. I'm looking at the pictures that we took in Arizona, and I feel angry. I hate them so much, they don't make me happy. I dislike my hobbies now for some reason.
I realized that I really haven't properly socialized with someone around my age for nearly 6 years, and that just makes me feel worse.
I don't even know what to do in public anymore, I don't know exactly why I act the way I do.
I'm addicted to caffeine, every time I'm not drinking caffeinated drinks I feel like shit and want to kms even more.
I realized that both of my sisters have kinda figured out their lives, and know what to do, but here I am, still stuck at 10, haven't really grown much mentally from then, and I'm nearly 18, what the fuck am I supposed to do? I have no idea how "real life" works, I have zero idea what to do, and I'm supposed to figure it out in a year???
Idk anymore, probably gonna wait until my dad dies and then shoot myself in the head, not like anyone is gonna care too much about it anyways.
February 12th, 2023
I'm not sure how I'm gonna word this, I'm not even sure if I want to write this. I can't stop feeling awful about myself so maybe this might help.
I haven't noticed much positive change since the first note I wrote, and now I think I might be getting worse. My chest constantly hurts with the pain of depression, yet I don't feel depressed, I have no reason to. I just chalk it up to me being a pathetic attention seeker, because that's what I was for nearly 5 years. I've stopped that behavior, yet I still feel miserable. I lack any sort of motivation, because my brain makes me see any sort of motivator as a negative thing, which I try to avoid to make myself not feel worse. My room is filthy, covered with spit, snot, spilt soda, piss, and mold, yet It's the only place I feel some comfort. I don't want to care for my animals, yet I know I'll feel worse about myself if I let them die. I don't care about myself. My gums are rotting, I could care less. My masturbation issue has gotten worse, yet I feel no pleasure from it. I feel like I'm becoming more and more of an issue for my parents to care for. I feel like I annoy everyone I talk to. I can't survive without leeching off of somebody, but once my dad dies, who do I have to leech off from? I don't know anything, yet I have no motivation to go to school. I don't feel like it's a waste of time, I know it's important, but I just can't make myself go. I think my shitty attitude fucked me up so much, I fucked up my life and there's nothing I can do about it now. There's nothing anyone can do about it now. Either I let life take me down or I take myself down on my own. I probably
Welp, I never finished that, but I still feel incredibly depressed. I lost everyone I was friends with basically overnight because I'm an unbearable piece of shit that justs exists to ruin other people's lives slowly. Fucking spent 1 year which is the longest I've been friends with someone just to have them hate me in 15 minutes. I'm such an unbearable person that someone who's the exact same as me can't tolerate me. I can't even tolerate myself.
I know I'm probably overreacting, but I honestly feel like shit. Arizona didn't make me feel any better, then the second we get home I lose my entire social life, so now I'm back to being lonely again. I've never felt like this but I started at my sleeping and nausea pills and thought about swallowing all of them hoping it would just fucking kill me. I get no enjoyment out of my animals but I can't give them to anyone, so they're being slowly neglected while I feel more like shit because I can't bring myself to do anything for them. (I now take pretty good care for them 6/4/2023) I don't care about my plants anymore, I don't want to do anything anymore, since I don't help anyone and just exist to get in the way of people. I fucking hate this life but it's the only one I know and can't get myself to change it.
It's not their fault everyone left me, I'm such a shit person, I've always been since I can remember. I just exist to make other people's lives slightly worse and there's nothing I can do about it. I just want everything to stop, yet I can't tell anyone what the fuck is wrong with me
I'm probably overreacting, I'll probably bully myself into not feeling anything at all again, maybe I might make someone else's live slightly worse again, I don't know, but all I do know is that now I'm pretty suicidal and I'm probably gonna have to be put back on some sort of antidepressant again or something. Idk what the fuck to do and it feels like I have no one to go to anymore.
I'm fucked
I'm probably gonna end up being another shut in again
I want to die.

Please note that the ticket links are usually for general admission; for VIP tickets, if available, you may have to go to the band's website.
Monday, Jun 5, 2023

Rhapsody on Fire, Wind Rose, Seven Kingdoms	Conduit - Winter Park

Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023

Dying Whale, Dead Register, Moth Bite, The Path	Born Free Pub & Grill - Tampa
Heart Attack Man, Super American, Arm's Length	The Abbey - Orlando

Wednesday, Jun 7, 2023

Mike's Dead, The Haunt	Level 13 - Orlando
Within Chaos, Eyes Sewn Shut, Automatik Fit	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville
Jameson Tank, Parks & Razz, Outer Edge Band	1904 Music Hall - Jacksonville

Thursday, Jun 8, 2023

Subhumans, UpChuck, gilt	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville

Friday, Jun 9, 2023

Grass is Dead, The Coppertones	Underbelly - Jacksonville

Saturday, Jun 10, 2023

Halo Scars, Mind Virus, Cypher Machine, Re-Birth	Brass Mug - Tampa
Maul, Tombstoner, Plasmodulated	Conduit - Winter Park
Downswing, Falsifier, Bottomfeeders	Manna Tea & Kava Bar - Sarasota

Sunday, Jun 11, 2023

My Children My Bride, Extortionist, No Cure	Conduit - Winter Park
Bury Your Dead, Thirst, Edict	Tipsy Tiki - Fort Pierce

Monday, Jun 12, 2023

Maul, Tombstoner	Brass Mug - Tampa
Spotlights, Skyliner, The Darling Fire	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville

Tuesday, Jun 13, 2023

Halocene, Lauren Babic, Alphamega	Hooch & Hive - Tampa

Wednesday, Jun 14, 2023

Drain, Drug Church, Magnitude, Gel	Brass Mug - Tampa
Halocene, Lauren Babic, Alphamega	Level 13 - Orlando
The Convalescence, Summoner's Circle	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville
pulses., With Sails Ahead, I Met A Yeti	Will's Pub - Orlando

Thursday, Jun 15, 2023

Halocene, Lauren Babic, Alphamega	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville

Friday, Jun 16, 2023

Roxx, Re-Birth, Cyber Machine, Haloscars	Conduit - Winter Park
Hollow Leg, Clamfight, Moat Cobra	Will's Pub - Orlando
Every Avenue, Makeout, Say We Can Fly	Orpheum - Tampa

Saturday, Jun 17, 2023

Crossbreed, Cultus Black, Cypher machine, Davey Partain	Orpheum - Tampa
Defy the Tyrant, Losing Daylight, Shadow the Earth	Kona Skate Park - Jacksonville
Breed, Gillian Carter, Audible Parts	Will's Pub - Orlando

Sunday, Jun 18, 2023

Crossbreed, Cultus Black, NoSelf, The Dev	Level 13 - Orlando
Bodybox, No Zodiac, High Pressure	Conduit - Winter Park
Dikembe, Camp Trash, Glazed	Will's Pub - Orlando

Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023

Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, Animals As Leaders	Ruth Eckerd Hall - Clearwater

Thursday, Jun 22, 2023

Garbage, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Metric	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa

Friday, Jun 23, 2023

Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, Animals As Leaders	Hard Rock Live - Orlando

Saturday, Jun 24, 2023

Misfits, Megadeth, Fear	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater - Tampa
Intoxicated, Vacuous Depths, Ebullition	Conduit - Winter Park
black midi, YHWH Nailgun	Orpheum - Tampa

Sunday, Jun 25, 2023

No/Mas, Knoll, Shock	Conduit - Winter Park

Monday, June 26, 2023

We Are the Union, Kill Lincoln, Catbite	The Social - Orlando
No/Mas, Knoll	Orpheum - Tampa

Tuesday, Jun 27, 2023

Yungblud, The Regrettes, Caspr	Jannus - St. Petersburg

Wednesday, Jun 28, 2023

D.R.I., Metalriser	Underbelly - Jacksonville
Peter Frampton	St. Augustine Amphitheatre

Thursday, Jun 29, 2023

The Cure	Amalie Arena - Tampa
D.R.I., Metalriser	Will's Pub - Orlando

Saturday, Jul 1, 2023

D.R.I., Metalriser	Brass Mug - Tampa
Liliac, Fortune Child	The Twisted Fork - Port Charlotte

Sunday, Jul 2, 2023

Godflesh	Conduit - Winter Park

Thursday, Jul 6, 2023

Sad Summer Festival	Daily's Place Amphitheatre - Jacksonville

Friday, Jul 7, 2023

Sad Summer Festival	Coachman Park - Clearwater
Subdivisions, Violence System, The Fallen Sons	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville
Days Of Summer festival	Conduit - Winter Park

Saturday, Jul 8, 2023

Memphis May Fire, Norma Jean, Secrets	The Beacham - Orlando
Days Of Summer festival	Conduit - Winter Park

Sunday, Jul 9, 2023

Memphis May Fire, Norma Jean, Secrets	High Dive - Gainesville
Crown The Empire, Varials	Orpheum - Tampa

Monday, Jul 10, 2023

blink-182, Turnstile	Amalie Arena - Tampa
Orthodox, Cell, Chamber	Crowbar - Tampa

Tuesday, Jul 11, 2023

Analepsy, Cognitive, Wormhole, Nectoricgorebeast	Conduit - Winter Park

Wednesday, Jul 12, 2023

Analepsy, Cognitive, Wormhole, Nectoricgorebeast	Crowbar - Tampa

Thursday, Jul 13, 2023

Staind	Seminole Hard Rock - Tampa

Friday, Jul 14, 2023

Staind	Hard Rock Live - Orlando

Saturday, Jul 15, 2023

Obituary	Brass Mug - Tampa
Flag On Fire, Scatter Shot, Backslide, Regions	O'Malley's Alley - Ocala

Monday, Jul 17, 2023

Cenotaph, Horrific Visions, Architectural Genocide	Conduit - Winter Park

Tuesday, Jul 18, 2023

Agents of Chaos, Black Clash	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville
Buckcherry	Underbelly - Jacksonville

Friday, Jul 21, 2023

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Bryan Adams	Amalie Arena - Tampa
Mudvayne, Coal Chamber, Gwar, Nonpoint, Butcher Babies	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa
The Final Sound, Abbey Death, Layne Lyre	New World Music Hall - Tampa
Yosemite In Black, Endbringer, Murder Afloat	Orpheum - Tampa

Saturday, Jul 22, 2023

Yellowcard, Mayday Parade, Story of the Year	Daily's Place Amphitheatre - Jacksonville
Less Than Jake, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Devon Kay & the Solutions	House of Blues - Orlando
Rising Up Angry, Tragic, Legions Blind	Kona Skate Park - Jacksonville

Sunday, Jul 23, 2023

Yellowcard, Mayday Parade, Story of the Year	Yuengling Center - Tampa
Endbringer, Yosemite In Black, Heavy Hitter	1904 Music Hall - Jacksonville

Tuesday, Jul 25, 2023

Fall Out Boy, Bring Me The Horizon, Royal & The Serpent	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa

Thursday, Jul 27, 2023

Havok, Toxic Holocaust, I AM, Hammerhedd	Conduit - Winter Park

Friday, Jul 28, 2023

Between the Buried and Me, Rivers of Nihil, Thank you Scientist	Jannus - St. Petersburg
Round Eye, No Fraud, Caffiends	Will's Pub - Orlando

Saturday, Jul 29, 2023

Between the Buried and Me, Rivers of Nihil, Thank you Scientist	Beacham - Orlando
Southpaw, Highest Crown, Fortitude, Dead Mirrors	Born Free - Tampa

Sunday, Jul 30, 2023

Crobot, Rickshaw, Billie's Burger Patrol	Orpheum - Tampa

Thursday, Aug 3, 2023

Underoath, The Ghost Inside, We Came As Romans	Yuengling Center - Tampa

Saturday, Aug 5, 2023

Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa
Underoath, The Ghost Inside, We Came As Romans	St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Sanguisugabogg, Kruelty, Vomit Forth	Conduit - Winter Park

Sunday, Aug 6, 2023

The Queers, The Radio Buzzkills, The Jasons	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville

Wednesday, Aug 9, 2023

Pyrexia, Cerebral Incubation, Atoll	Conduit - Winter Park

Friday, Aug 11, 2023

The All-American Rejects, New Found Glory, The Starting Line	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa
Black Flag	High Dive - Gainesville

Sunday, Aug 13, 2023

Alesana, Vampires Everywhere, Limbs	Level 13 - Orlando

Wednesday, Aug 16, 2023

The Offspring, Sum 41, Simple Plan	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa
hed p.e., Lydia can't Breathe, Razorz Edge	Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville

Saturday, Aug 19, 2023

Left to Suffer, Distant, Justice for the Damned	Conduit - Winter Park

Sunday, Aug 20, 2023

The Smashing Pumpkins, Interpol, Rival Sons	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa

Tuesday, Aug 22, 2023

The Mezingers	Underbelly - Jacksonville

Wednesday, Aug 23, 2023

Bless The Fall, Caskets, Kingdom of Giants	Orpheum - Tampa

Thursday, Aug 24, 2023

Clutch, Giovanni & The Hired Guns, Mike Dillon	Jannus - St. Petersburg

Saturday, Aug 26, 2023

Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Ministry	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa

Wednesday, Aug 30, 2023

Ghost, Amon Amarth	Daily's Place Amphitheatre - Jacksonville

Thursday, Aug 31, 2023

Ghost, Amon Amarth	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa

Saturday, Sep 2, 2023

Baby Metal, Dethklok, Jason Richardson	Orlando Amphitheater

Sunday, Sep 3, 2023

Spitalfield, Rookie of the Year, The Future Perfect	Conduit - Winter Park

Tuesday, Sep 5, 2023

Bad Omens, ERRA, I See Stars	Jannus - St. Petersburg

Wednesday, Sep 6, 2023

Bad Omens, ERRA, I See Stars	House of Blues - Orlando

Friday, Sep 8, 2023

The Waning Moon, Palace of Tears, Rux Vendetta	Hooch & Hive - Tampa

Saturday, Sep 9, 2023

Kamelot, Battle Beast, Xandria	Hard Rock Live - Orlando

Sunday, Sep 10, 2023

Angelmaker, Vulvodynia, Flasifier	Conduit - Orlando

Tuesday, Sep 12, 2023

Black Veil Brides, VV, Dark Divine	Jannus - St. Petersburg

Wednesday, Sep 13, 2023

3 Doors Down, Candlebox	Daily's Place Amphitheatre - Jacksonville
Dance Gavin Dance, SiM, Rain City Drive	Hard Rock Live - Orlando

Friday, Sep 15, 2023

3 Doors Down, Candlebox	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa

Saturday, Sep 16, 2023

Movements, Mannequin Pussy, Softcult	The Ritz - Tampa

Sunday, Sep 17, 2023

Avenged Sevenfold, Falling in Reverse	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa
Wave to Earth, slchld	Orpheum - Tampa

Tuesday, Sep 19, 2023

Scowl, Militarie Gun, MSPAINT	Conduit - Winter Park

Thursday, Sep 21, 2023

Scowl, Militarie Gun, MSPAINT	1904 Music Hall - Jacksonville

Friday, Sep 22, 2023

Cavalera Conspiracy, Exhumed, Incite	Beacham - Orlando

Saturday, Sep 24, 2023

Boys Like Girls, State Champs, Four Year Strong	House Of Blues - Orlando

Sunday, Sep 25, 2023

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus	High Dive - Gainesville

Friday, Sep 29, 2023

CIRCLE JERKS, TSOL, Negative Approach	Underbelly - Jacksonville
Shinedown, Papa Roach, Spiritbox	MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa

Saturday, Sep 30, 2023

NOFX	Vinoy Park - St. Petersburg
Flogging Molly, The Bronx	House Of Blues - Orlando

Thursday, Oct 5-7, 2023

Absolution Fest	Crowbar - Tampa

Tuesday, Oct 10, 2023

Ne Obliviscaris, Beyond Creation, Persefone	Orpheum - Tampa

Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023

Ne Obliviscaris, Beyond Creation, Persefone	Conduit - Winter Park
Fit For a King, The Devil Wears Prada, Counterparts, Landmvrks	The Ritz - Tampa

Thursday, Oct 12, 2023

Dawn of Ouroboros, Fires in the Distance, Somnent	Conduit - Winter Park

Saturday, Oct 14, 2023

Beast in Black, Dance with the Dead	Orpheum - Tampa
Fame on Fire, Kingdom Collapse	The Social - Orlando

Sunday, Oct 15, 2023

Beast in Black, Dance with the Dead	Conduit - Winter Park
Motionless In White, Knocked Loose, After the Burial, Alpha Wolf	Hard Rock Live - Orlando

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023

Atilla, Gideon, Until I Wake, Ten56	Underbelly - Jacksonville

Wednesday, Oct 18, 2023

Atilla, Gideon, Until I Wake, Ten56	Orpheum - Tampa

Friday, Oct 27-29, 2023

The Fest	Gainesville

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023

Protest the Hero, Moontooth	The Abbey - Orlando

Wednesday, Nov 8, 2023

Protest the Hero, Moontooth	Orpheum - Tampa

Friday, Jan 24, 2024

Kansas	Florida Theatre - Jacksonville

​

I've time-traveled to Halloween to enjoy the joy of spooky day in advance 🎃 all are welcome to join!!
Things to do:

• Reactions!! If u don't already have the two spooky day reactions (scare & haunt) you can talk to any villager or jack and at some point they will teach u 1 new reaction at a time.
  
• Trick or treating!! Visit my villager's houses (all redecorated :3) and each villager will give you a piece of candy. You give the candy to jack & villagers who are out & about (usually around the plaza) to get the spooky DIYs, pumpkins, and other spooky stuff. HOWEVER you must be in costume. To the villagers this looks like any of the mage clothing or the skeleton outfit, the impish horns, animal costumes, that kind of stuff. If you don't have costume items you can buy them from able's. If you have no bells I would b happy to give u some. I just want everyone to get to play :•)
  
• Explore Nosferatu!! My island is fully decorated & one of a kind. A dichotomy of pretty rainbows (happy pride 🌈👹✨) and burning corpses fill every corner 😹 i also have a ton of Tim Burton references, for instance, every room in kawaii's house is a reference to a Tim Burton film!
  
• Hang out with ppl who love the spooky!! My island is built for groups of ppl to play. So bring ur friends (plz do not give out the dodo w/o my permission tho) or make some new ones!! We are a playful & friendly crew always looking to meet new ACNH players ^{_^} u can follow us around the island & play with us if u want :3
  
• PLZ TAKE THE BELLS!!! In the weirdest flex/troll move I've ever seen, someone filled my island w bells 😹 I don't need them plz take them.
  

DM me for the dodo code!!

I've time-traveled to Halloween to enjoy the joy of spooky day in advance 🎃 all are welcome to join!!
Things to do:

• Reactions!! If u don't already have the two spooky day reactions (scare & haunt) you can talk to any villager or jack and at some point they will teach u 1 new reaction at a time.
  
• Trick or treating!! Visit my villager's houses (all redecorated :3) and each villager will give you a piece of candy. You give the candy to jack & villagers who are out & about (usually around the plaza) to get the spooky DIYs, pumpkins, and other spooky stuff. HOWEVER you must be in costume. To the villagers this looks like any of the mage clothing or the skeleton outfit, the impish horns, animal costumes, that kind of stuff. If you don't have costume items you can buy them from able's. If you have no bells I would b happy to give u some. I just want everyone to get to play :•)
  
• Explore Nosferatu!! My island is fully decorated & one of a kind. A dichotomy of pretty rainbows (happy pride 🌈👹✨) and burning corpses fill every corner 😹 i also have a ton of Tim Burton references, for instance, every room in kawaii's house is a reference to a Tim Burton film!
  
• Hang out with ppl who love the spooky!! My island is built for groups of ppl to play. So bring ur friends (plz do not give out the dodo w/o my permission tho) or make some new ones!! We are a playful & friendly crew always looking to meet new ACNH players ^{_^} u can follow us around the island & play with us if u want :3
  
• PLZ TAKE THE BELLS!!! In the weirdest flex/troll move I've ever seen, someone filled my island w bells 😹 I don't need them plz take them.
  

DM me for the dodo code!!

I've time-traveled to Halloween to enjoy the joy of spooky day in advance 🎃 all are welcome to join!!
Things to do:

• Reactions!! If u don't already have the two spooky day reactions (scare & haunt) you can talk to any villager or jack and at some point they will teach u 1 new reaction at a time.
  
• Trick or treating!! Visit my villager's houses (all redecorated :3) and each villager will give you a piece of candy. You give the candy to jack & villagers who are out & about (usually around the plaza) to get the spooky DIYs, pumpkins, and other spooky stuff. HOWEVER you must be in costume. To the villagers this looks like any of the mage clothing or the skeleton outfit, the impish horns, animal costumes, that kind of stuff. If you don't have costume items you can buy them from able's. If you have no bells I would b happy to give u some. I just want everyone to get to play :•)
  
• Explore Nosferatu!! My island is fully decorated & one of a kind. A dichotomy of pretty rainbows (happy pride 🌈👹✨) and burning corpses fill every corner 😹 i also have a ton of Tim Burton references, for instance, every room in kawaii's house is a reference to a Tim Burton film!
  
• Hang out with ppl who love the spooky!! My island is built for groups of ppl to play. So bring ur friends (plz do not give out the dodo w/o my permission tho) or make some new ones!! We are a playful & friendly crew always looking to meet new ACNH players ^{_^} u can follow us around the island & play with us if u want :3
  
• PLZ TAKE THE BELLS!!! In the weirdest flex/troll move I've ever seen, someone filled my island w bells 😹 I don't need them plz take them.
  

DM me for the dodo code!!

Hello, kpopthoughts! Originally this was posted in twice but one of my friends said I should crosspost it here — so here this album review is.
​

Intro

To preface the review, I just need to say that this is going to be a very long read. Going through it myself for the fun of it takes around 30 minutes — it's almost 7k words, including lyrical references. So for the best experience, listen to the album beforehand to understand what the hell I was thinking when I wrote this, play the album while reading, and set a good amount of time aside.
And yes, this is 9 months late 😭 I'm not sorry — when I find an album review online it's always around a paragraph per song or even shorter. It makes sense from a journalistic perspective, but I want to do this album justice, hence taking 7 months to write out all my thoughts.
This shit is comprehensive and definitely overanalyzed, especially in Talk that Talk and Trouble. Each song review will compose of my commentary, noting the details I noticed through months of listening, then a conclusion. Also, mild swearing warning, I like implementing a touch of "French" when I'm very emotional about something. Anyway, onto the review!
​
​
​

Between 1&2 💞

Album Review
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​
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TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
​
​
​

Talk that Talk 🎙

Producers by collapsedone and MRCH
​
One of the most perfect TWICE songs.
I think this is one of TWICE’s best-sounding title tracks. Warm modulated synths, a thrumming bass line, distant bells, shimmering synths — the purpose of this song is to be fun and my god is it excellent at it, like, Sana and Chaeyoung are saying knock-knock-knock and beep-beep-beep as if they’re some kind of car. So much fun.
Further along in the verse, Dahyun’s voice sounds so full and smooth with that layered harmony. Tzuyu coming with the Yes or Yes, Push & Pull, and 1 to 10 references — these are 5 years of song references. And Jeongyeon closes the pre-chorus accompanied by a rising synth to drop into chorus one. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
The drums accelerate, the synths start blasting, and Jihyo opens to that party of a chorus with her godly vocals,
​

Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
A to Z da malhaebwa
But shijageun ireoke have
Talk that Talk ttak han madi
Talk that Talk L-O-V-E
deullyeojweo ooh
Now now now now now yeah~

​
During Sana's Talk that Talk~ lines there’s this gentle ascending synth bell that rings with the descending melody and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. And the choreography during that part of the chorus is so so so so fun: the talking hands bit, spelling L-O-V-E, concluding with the deullyeojweo ooh! Oh my Jihyo the deullyeojweo ooh…
Have I mentioned this song is fun?
Speeding through verse 2; Chaeyoung’s part with the cat ears popping in the music video is adorable; Momo her stretching her arms out looks so damn cool; and Dahyun with her replay part sounds so lovely — although I think it sonically sounds a touch random, it makes sense thematically.
And now for this pre-chorus. Mina and Jihyo leading into it sound great BUT JEONGYEON… Now, she is my ult bias, and this pre-chorus sounds almost identical to the first one, but the way she holds that final note, inflecting and holding that now~ for one more beat before the chorus drops sounds so perfect — the song teeters on a cliff edge. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
Dropping into the second chorus and man the way Nayeon delivers it just hits different. She has this indescribable “pop” voice (I promise this wasn't on purpose) that shouts out loud that this is THE chorus. This is especially apparent in how both lead their choruses where Jihyo starts at 120% power while Nayeon waits until [Tell me] WHAT YOU WANT to full-send it. The production also helps with this effect, cutting out during what you to emphasize Nayeon's voice before crashing back down, double the pause at Jihyo's intro.
Another deullyeojweo ooh! Nayeon travels to Narnia, and Mina the engineer strikes again in this heavenly, underwater-esque bridge,
​

The simple words “I love you”
That’s all I wanna hear
Without hesitation, I’ll go up to you
I’ll make it simple
And just tell you I love you

​
The word “love” is said for the first time in the song. There’s a funky keyboard instrument behind Chaeyoung’s part. Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Nayeon take the initiative in their lyrics, professing their love before closing the bridge.
And now for the pièce-de-résistance: this final double chorus is exceptional — 40 seconds of crack-laced euphoria; Jihyo switches up the chorus and the choreo, Dahyun chimes in with her fluttery Talk that Talk, Momo comes out of nowhere with oh yeah it sounds so good! — you’re damn right it does, and this is where the song SOARS.
​

han beon deo~ haejweo
geurae banggeum geu mal~

​
Nayeon outright shouts Tell me what you need and then Jeongyeon sings the above lines in such an ethereal, warm way where the first line ascends while the second descends, causing a lull in the song before the finale with Tzuyu and Nayeon, finishing off the song with the final deullyeojweo ooh!
What a party. What a song.
​
THE GOOD

• The synths of all time
• The chimes during Talk-that-talk~
• Jeongyeon’s pre-chorus going into Nayeon’s chorus
• Rich harmonies and fun ad-libs
• The entirety of that magical final chorus and outro

Needs Work

• The opening hook (Tell me what you want) and accompanying choreography could be “catchier”

Core Memory

• Singing (and dancing) my heart out when this song played at a K-pop club

​
Lyrics and theme-wise, if this were to have been TWICE’s last comeback, they’ve once again built upon the theme they've been doing since debut: a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story.
This song’s chorus is honest yet simple; it asks the listener, in this case, the other half of the relationship, to be more upfront and open with their love (never be scared of love), that before the relationship can continue and flourish, there has to be a foundation and commitment of love between each other.
TWICE debuted with a song about making your crush go ooh ahh. Years later, they started pondering What is Love? and imagining their crush responding with Yes when asking them out — and now concluding with the phrase Talk that Talk, [Talk that] L-O-V-E, being upfront with the relationship, wishing their partner to also be happy, to commit to them, to feel the love that they want to impart on them. From gawking like ooh-ahh to talking out your shared love like adults — to having a true relationship between (one and) two.
And can I just say before finishing off Talk that Talk's review that this is such a fun and repeatable song with many little intricacies hidden in the nonet’s vocals and the song's production. This is the third draft I’m writing about Talk that Talk and its original word count pretty much quadrupled.
Harkening back to TWICE’s roots by combining mature thinking with youthful character, an incredible ending to look forward to, and just simply being a club-banger that’s easy to listen to, TTT is an easy 10/10.
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WATCH ME GO WATCH ME GO
RULE THE WORLD
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Queen of Hearts 👑

Produced by LDN Noise
​
If there was one B-side to promote in a live clip, this was a solid choice.
Helmed by LDN Noise going headlong into the Western boy-group rock-band aesthetic, Queen of Hearts is a boom-boom-clap song through and through. The drums are very prominent throughout the song, only giving room to riffs of electric guitar in the chorus to drive and continue the momentum of the music.
And speaking of the chorus, vocal line each got a chorus to flex and they did not fuck around,
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You ain’t ready for it
Watch me go~ watch me go~
Rule the world
Know you never doubted baby
I’mma go run the whole universe~

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Cymbals crashing, drums booming, and 3MIX belting all just so sound so good.
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Baby I was born to rule~~
Yeah I’m the Queen, I’m the Queen
And it’s all because of you~~
That I’m the Queen of Hearts

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These long, held-out notes performed by Jihyo and Nayeon are simply exquisite. Along with the shredding guitar, the drum set coming in full, and the interludes by Dahyun, Momo, and Chaeyoung, this is the part of the song that always, always, gives me goosebumps — it sounds so visceral, so energetic, so fun, so triumphant. Boom-boom-clap songs can be hit or miss with people, but there's no denying the payoff from the first part of the chorus to the second part is worth the wait.
The theme of the song so far has been kind of spread around the song. The chorus alludes to it with the line And it’s all because of you. But Mina shows more sides of it in the second verse, especially with the phrase,
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And now that I’m surrounded by all my girls
We be shining bright like diamonds and pearls

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It sounds really lovely — in a very cheesy and affectionate kind of way, as it rightfully should — the song is about the girls and their fans. But the bridge is where the song indeed shows its colours
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Screaming out my name
See it in the stage lights
Feel so lucky just to have ya
Cause I know deep down I was meant for something bigger! Greater!
I know you’re seeing what I see
Yeah I’ll be everything you need
I know I’m gonna walk the walk
And talk the talk to be~ [the Queen of Hearts]

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This is a song CONCEIVED TO BE PERFORMED FOR THE FANS. It’s meant to be loud. It’s meant to be unapologetic. It’s meant to be sappy. And it’s all the more wonderful for it.
This is the TWICEiest shit ever.
Like Talk that Talk, Queen of Hearts also has a killer closer. The production already started to grow from the bridge, but now the guitarist finally went Super Saiyan and instead of supporting the drums, they both take the centre stage in tandem.
Then finally, the closing moments of the song even manage to squeeze in some more sappiness.
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So thank you for the memories
You’re all the ones who made me~
So thank you for the memories
That I’m the Queen of Hearts

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I still can’t believe that this banger is a FAN SONG out of all things. Truly, the TWICEiest shit ever.
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THE GOOD

• Adorable fucking lyrics
• Unrelenting, roaring chorus
• English and vocal flex
• Intoxicating guitar riffs

Needs Work

• Chaeyoung rapping in English in their Korean songs somehow slaps harder than her English rapping in their English songs, nonetheless, in QoH, it fits with the sound of the song

Core Memory

• Walking home from a K-pop festival with this song playing, felt like a Queen of Hearts

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I love these types of rock songs with how grunge and head-bang-able they are, there is just a certain nostalgic and cheesy quality to them that feels so cozy. I don’t love putting them on repeat, because in this case, I do believe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Perhaps more shredding, maybe a guitar solo to rock out to, or an accompaniment(!) of ad-libs from 3MIX to support Jihyo’s final chorus? A ONCE can dream of a truly bombastic rock song from TWICE. But then again that distracts from the core of what this song is: a fan song disguised as a rock song.
Queen of Hearts has so much sweetness in its lyrics and message that it's overflowing. The drums, guitar, and vocals can be as loud and intricate as they can, but the theme of this song is what makes it special from TWICE’s other rock songs — it’s a 9/10 for me.
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I WANNA WANNA WANNA
TAKE YOU TO THE BASICS
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Basics 🌈

Lyrics by Chaeyoung
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Quite possibly the jammiest (pun intended) song of the album.
A song written by the Strawberry Princess herself — an event similar in frequency to other artists' releases with her last song being 2020’s silky Handle It — Basics first starts with an understated and dreamy delivery. After the first stanza, however, a bouncy Miami bass line emerges, revealing the true nature of the song: this is a classic summer bop! Especially in the first rap,
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dareun aedeulgwaneun dalla
Ain’t beggin’ for love
nappeun geon anijana ige naraseo
eodiro twilji molla
Like rainbow bubble gum
geureoni nal kkwak butjabadweo

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Syllables are pronounced in a relaxed nature, bars often starting with an "ah" sound, flirty lines in English — this rap features a production full of pop with R&B flourishes and, in my opinion, this is Chaeyoung’s bag. Also, the line rainbow bubblegum is so adorable and so Chaeyoung.
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I wanna wanna wanna take it to the Basics
da weonhae weonhae weonhae? seodureuji ma Baby
ppeonhae ppeonhae malhae mweohae da al tende
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah

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That chorus is pure pop with a Miami bass backing; you better be bopping your head to the melody, if not booty poppin' to the bassline. Chaeyoung loves rhyming in the first half of the chorus to enhance its catchiness and it's damn incredible: wanna, weonhae, and ppeonhae all create these imperfect rhymes that continue momentum without feeling repetitive.
After the very Boy With Luv-sounding ah yeah ah yeah, ah yeah ah yeah comes an 8-bar split half and half between Chaeyoung and Momo. Coming from the chorus, the production completely cuts out for the first 2 bars. This adds tension; the song yearns to have that bass beat thumping again and all we have in the audio space in those 2 bars is Chaeyoung spittin' and she delivered.
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taneun deut tteugeoun samak wie
yeppeuge pieonan jangmi gata
joshimseure naege dagaol ttae
nado moreuge jjilleobeoril tende

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Translating to:
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Above the hot, burning desert
It’s like a rose that bloomed beautifully
When you come to me slowly
I will prick you unconsciously

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The rap feels slick, effortless, and confident. Her diction remains sharp when enunciating each syllable but she doesn’t let the flow of her rap waver or build as her 4 bars go by, it’s just smooth consistency throughout. Even the lyrics possess an aura of laid-back collectedness that is just so her. The things Chaeyoung can do when given her pen.
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THE GOOD

• That sweet summer vibe of a chorus
• The spaceship post-chorus is killer
• Chaeyoung devoured this song
• Sure-footed, confident lyrics

Needs Work

• Perhaps an alteration of that ah yeah ah yeah line
• The way Jihyo did her pre-chorus line is good, but Mina’s is great

Core Memory

• After donating my hair, walking down the rainbow-coloured areas of downtown Toronto with this song playing was very… fitting

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This song is summer bliss distilled into 2:56. It’s dreamy, the raps are satisfying, and the ending is charming. I will say that although the second half of the song adds the stunning spaceship post-choruses and a floaty bridge with an incredible drumbeat drop into the final chorus, the raps of the song make it feel a bit front-loaded. And in an album stacked with awesome finishers, it feels more apparent.
With that said, it’s an 8/10 bop for me. This song is so easy to put on and it feels exactly what Chaeyoung would make if given the reins to produce a pop song all on her own. The lyrics are nonchalant but full of conviction, the wordplay is intricate, and the production playful but not too bombastic — it's just a nice vibe. Songs like Basics are the standard for good, simple, repeatable pop music and I’m happy that Chaeyoung got to test her pen in this genre.
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BABY WE’RE IN
TROUBLE TROUBLE
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Trouble 💃

Lyrics, vocal direction, and background vocals by Jihyo
Produced by Jihyo and earattack
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One of the most enjoyable songs I’ve heard in a while.
There is an underlying tension within the first 4 bars of the song, Jihyo and Nayeon confidently open it to a nondescript array of synths and then the stanza ends, Momo announces Let’s go, the beat drops and it hits you: this is a club song.
Dahyun's relaxed delivery contrasting with Jeongyeon's staccato flow, the wobbly synth beat mixed with a sprinkle of house piano, Sana dramatically slowing down the song only for Tzuyu to build it back up until the chorus drops,
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• Nayeon opens it using a breathy tone, with vocal chops serving as harmonies
• The blooming of the house piano takes centre stage and the song ascends into euphoria
• A random drum roll capped off by a cymbal crash
• Jeongyeon’s growling pronunciation of the word Trouble
• Chaeyoung slyly admitting I like this Trouble
• The entirety of Tzuyu’s tro~oh~oh~ouble yeah~
• Sana using her deep voice for the na~na~na~na
• Jihyo leading the vocals during the synchronized T W I C E chant

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This chorus is perfect. Toronto’s residential market needs this song injected into its veins because god damn this song has SO much house in it. And then, ANOTHER KILLING PART: this rap fucking slaps.
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gamchweo bwatja geugeon Fake
ppajin hamjeongeun Sweet cake

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During the first 2 bars, Chaeyoung is keeping it calm because that trip of a chorus just ended and the song needs a breather, but I don't think anyone expected her to SNAP this hard afterwards:
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You cannot resist this
Cannot miss this, such a bliss
Ima put it down down
Oh yeah, better kiss kiss

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Below is the structure of her this portion of the rap, I’m not that well versed in this technical aspect of music theory but I digress, this is all in the span of around 5 seconds where it’s:
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Triplet-triplet
Quadruplet-triplet
Quadruplet-doublet
Doublet-quadruplet

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Now, 25/5 = 5 syllables per second isn’t groundbreaking, but goddamn it these 2 bars sound so nice — if there is one part in this album that I always repeat, it’s this. The addition of that first quadruplet for cannot miss this in the midst of the triplets sticks out and accelerates the flow of the rap while the following doublets and quadruplets destabilize and slow the rap down as the verse closes. And can I just point out:
THE MAIN VOCALIST WROTE, DIRECTED, AND COMPOSED THIS SONG ‼
Chaeyoung of course delivered the fuck out of her verse but THIS is what you get when you have a member not only write the words they’re saying but also the melody and flow with which they sing it, when that member knows the others so well that when they write a song they know how to make the group exceed. This is what you get when the artists you stan love doing artist shit.
And. AND. That's not all — with how much I mentioned I love a good outro to close a song, this outro slaps as well:
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Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble be-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble bay-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble bay-beh
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trou-ble

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Like, come on, Nayeon’s imitating a police siren for crying out loud. And this is all after her ad-libs in the final post-chorus; after the pianist going full tilt and playing that piano as if it was their last chance to ever play; after that final T W I C E chant by all the members come these blissful 20 seconds at the very end. What a song.
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THE GOOD

• The theme of relishing in an uncontrolled love
• Sana and Mina’s melody in the pre-chorus
• Whole neighbourhoods full of house
• You cannot resist this, cannot miss this, such a bliss
• Wees and woos

Needs Work

• Mina’s line of falling down, falling down, falling down low in verse 2 feels a bit too abrupt of a change

Core Memory

• While writing Trouble's review I had this song on repeat for my whole subway commute and I must've been so distracting, just head-bopping and being so invested in my enjoyment

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Need I say more, easy 9/10. The only reason I place Talk that Talk above Trouble is because of what that song represents but besides that, this is one of the best “international” sounds they’ve put out. Actually, I haven’t listened to Eyes wide open in a while but this song is up there with one of the most sonically pleasing pieces of work they’ve done.
Clubbing TWICE has always been a thing since TT was birthed in 2016, and has been a staple of their discography since 2019’s Fancy You and Feel Special mini albums, but Trouble unapologetically dives into and fits the house genre so well you’d think that this is TWICE’s bread and butter sound.
Trouble is Jihyo’s magnum opus. What a song.
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BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE
FOR YOU
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Brave 💖

Produced by Slow Rabbit
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I first thought this was just a good song, then I read the lyrics.
Gentle guitar plucks, shimmering synths, a distant keyboard in the right ear, in the left a glockenspiel, the melodic oohs from the members — this song is PRETTY.
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The night that was unusually dark
Above this terrifying world, felt so lonely
The world has grown in the time of wandering
So hard to breathe

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Mina and Chaeyoung open the song with how they feel lonely, that it's hard to breathe and now suddenly the song feels bittersweet — I was not expecting the song to become this emotional. Brave describes a situation where the singer is in a darker place in life and it isn't until another person gives them hope by calling them Brave that they find the drive to keep going.
Once the chorus hits, the melodies pick up, more guitars get added — there’s even an electric guitar hidden in the mix somewhere, and the song drops the emotional front to reveal a mid-tempo pop song to dance to while crying in the club. The song as a whole still carries this melancholy feeling, but now with the added support of the chorus, acting as a light amongst the gloom.
Continuing on in the second verse there's this gorgeous, well-placed break in the song that just lets it settle after that chorus. Only a seasoned producer would risk this much empty space in a song and Slow Rabbit went to fill those shoes.
Back to the chorus, I'll take this moment to once again commend Slow Rabbit with the mixing of the song, because 4MIX undoubtedly sounds good in the chorus, and the interludes from Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Mina also sound really good, but the clear highlight of the choruses are these lines:
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Oh na na na neon nal naige hae
On and on and on
Brave Brave Brave for ya
Oh na na na neon nal sum shwige hae
On and on and on oh trust me babe

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Momo, Sana, and Tzuyu form this beautiful, surprisingly catchy, second half of the chorus accompanied by a guitar drop. It should not turn out this well with how conflicting the "na"s are with the guitar melody but it creates this gentle bopping ebb and flow that feels so lush and mellow.
Diving into the bridge reveals that the listener of the song is revealed not only capable of supporting the singer through direct words but also through their thoughts and dreams. As can be discerned, this can be a song interpreted to be about ONCEs, about how they push TWICE to be their best selves despite the breathless hardships they face. It's a very sweet and touching song.
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THE GOOD

• Special lyrics
• Pleasant sound to vibe out to
• That gentle break after the first chorus
• 3MIX poppin' off at the end
• Just very pretty vocals throughout

Needs Work

• Potentially hard to comprehend without translating the Korean lyrics

Core Memory

• Form of Therapy’s life motto revolves around the word “brave” — I don’t know where I got that from, but I remembered it right before watching his album reaction (yes, this is very random)

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I’m actually spoiled with the TWICE members’ easy-to-understand songwriting that when a song like this pops up where it's not written by a member and the thematic bits are mostly in Korean, I tend to put it aside in favour of the other songs on the album. And, especially for a song focusing on a theme like this where the English phrases don’t do the Korean lyrics enough justice, it does place a bit of a barrier on the listening experience, dropping it down to a 7/10 from an 8/10.
With that anecdote out of the way, this song is just such a vibe, man. I know that sounds super hippy to say but Brave is so mellow and smooth that I can’t help but sway a little when that chorus hits. And then I remember what the lyrics say and I tear up a bit on the inside. This song is so pure, raw, and full of heart — we need more songs like these where they just reminisce about life while putting up an upbeat front. Don't mind me just crying while dancing the night away.
With that said, this isn't the first time this theme has been sung by TWICE either, they've long trodden this path of supportive, confiding, up-lifting songs with Young & Wild, Rainbow, Queen, Go Hard, Depend on You, even this album's Queen of Hearts, and, of course, Feel Special. Brave just adds another on top of an already stacked lineup, unique with its mellow somberness.
Also now feels like a good time to get into my rating system:

• 7/10s are songs are ones that are simply good throughout or great songs with apparent flaws
• 8/10s are great songs with distinct killing parts
• 9/10s are borderline perfect songs where I sometimes can't comprehend how great they are
• And 10/10s are the best of an artist's discography, songs that encapsulate their ethos perfectly or expand upon them in a meaningful way

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I SEE THE LIES
ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE
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Gone 💨

Lyrics by Dahyun
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Who the fuck pissed off Dubu this time??
It’s getting quite rare to see TWICE pull off brand new sounds because, with now 190 original songs under their belt as of this review, they’ve done so many genres and sub-genres varying from hyper pop, to bossa nova, to whatever 2020’s Go Hard is. So it’s surprising to see they’ve still got tricks up their sleeves and Gone is one of them.
The song starts with strings swinging back and forth and vocal chops dancing from ear to ear, teasing what’s yet to come. Jihyo enters the song with a whisper and the song sets its pace. A stagnant drum pad moves the song along and typical song progression would have Mina continue the build, but — it doesn’t. The song simmers, adding a hint of high hat to the pot. And then Sana and Tzuyu come on and surely the buildup must boil over right?
Silence, until…
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I see the LIES on the top of your tongue

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The strings emerge again on full blast, the simmer rolls to a boil, and the anger of the song is revealed,
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All the fate I had towards you
Fades like a fog, Gone, Gone
Your flipping mind of doing this and that
I’m tired of it, it’s meaningless
In the beginning, it was hard to believe
With that, hatred increases

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The singer is so scorned and burned from this relationship that they reminisce about all the effort they’ve put in since the beginning, but their “partner” is so unconcerned that they’ve just about had enough of the relationship altogether.
This has been Dahyun’s thing since 2020’s Bring It Back, 2021’s Cruel, 2022’s That’s all I’m saying, and even 2023's Don't Blame It On Me — emotionally charged breakup songs that make you feel as if she’s survived through a dozen bad relationships. Dispatch, do try to do your job better.
Another highlight of the song is the post-chorus going into the bridge. This segment reiterates the structure from the first post-chorus — a barrage of drums supported by the rhythmic strumming of a bass guitar along with a consistent synth filling out the soundscape. But this time, it’s Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the rap:
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I can’t stand it anymore
My patience, invisible
I can’t find it, it’s all Gone
Even if I try to turn back, it’s too late
There’s no use anymore
It has left, it’s long Gone
You, with flipping mind, you are out
I know that you know what I’m talking about
Nothing you could say that could turn this around
I’m Gone

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Building upon the disrespected theme of the song, Dahyun notes that she’s finally had enough with Chaeyoung adding that there’s no point salvaging what love was once there. Momo and Dahyun round it off by telling the listener that there’s no point trying to reason with them or playing naive, they fucked up and there’s no coming back.
Can I just say, it's a bit of a shame that Chaeyoung’s rapping popped off in this album while Dahyun only has this one verse that she shares with Chaeyoung, but it just sounds so good how Dahyun eases in after the chorus with her light rapping tone transitioning into her singing. She even holds the Gone in a little crescendo for some added pizzazz.
And, there’s no way I’m not going to talk about Momo’s vocals in this bridge. Damned if she only got 1 line to use it in, her lower register is incredible. She sounds so smooth singing in this tone. All of TWICE do in particular and there is nary a weak vocal performance in this album.
To close the song off, a wash of synths gets to have their shine in the spotlight, showered with Nayeon’s belting, signifying the dramatic and drawn-out conclusion of this partnership.
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THE GOOD

• They’ve still got their surprises
• Thundering chorus
• 2nd rap and bridge combo
• A bitter, crumbling relationship theme

Needs Work

• I’m not a huge fan of the mixing during the first post-chorus, where Momo's vocals were fighting with the production, which is disappointing because Momo is capable of an insane flow
• The post-chorus in general, specifically the first one, can be a bit tiring on repeat listens

Core Memory

• Actually, I think this song sounds like a mix between GOT7's Not By The Moon, BLACKPINK’s Love To Hate Me, and Dahyun’s Bring It Back. I don’t know where I got this thought came from, but it stuck

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Going back to that point about the first post-chorus as a whole; songs that have the production continue unchanged into the post-chorus/2nd verse are very hit or miss for me — see TWICE's Don't Call Me Again for an overbearing example. The post-chorus going into the bridge contrasts Dahyun’s light tone nicely with the hard-hitting production, continuing the energy until it slowly fades into silence at the end of the bridge.
Back to the song as a whole, as much as TWICE has been experimenting with their sound for the past 4 years now, I’m happy they’re still finding new ways to explore what they’re capable of. And for that alone, even though I’m not a big fan of songs like these where they rely on sounding “big”, Dahyun’s lyricism and the thrill I receive every time I indulge myself in this song elevates it to an 8/10. Keep on breaking hearts, Dubu.
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INVINCIBLE
SUPERHEROES
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When We Were Kids 🧸

Lyrics by Dahyun
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Press play to reminisce, pull up lyrics to cry.
This song is so beautiful. I’m totally not writing this song review, crying on the bus reminiscing about my childhood, while just having turned 21. I don’t know if these are happy or sad tears but this song is so beautiful either way.
Warm synths, muted piano, a gentle high hat, the younger members starting off the song — this has to be up there for one of the softest TWICE songs ever. And as it should, it’s one of the TWICEiest songs ever. And then Nayeon comes in:
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Invincible superheroes, we wanted to be adults
To the higher, clearer world

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The chords start swelling, the high hat keeps pace, and the harmonies pour in.
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Remember When We Were Kids
When We Were Kids, we didn’t know
If we could go back
I will love it even more
Remember When We Were Kids

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Jihyo takes up the second half of the chorus as it drops, trading the strings for an almost R&B synth production — if choir R&B takes off, this song started it. The song relishes in this cacophony of warm sounds until returning to its sparse and peaceful verses.
This time, the hints of piano are louder, little twinkling synths begin to shimmer, the drum buildup comes and Jeongyeon drives the song straight into the chorus. No time for the strings to build like in Nayeon’s — this song loves its chorus so much.
And I'll just take this time to appreciate the amount and range of Jeongyeon vocals in this album. Her voice is so textured, stable, and projected — but also more tender and soft compared to the more pronounced tones of Nayeon and Jihyo.
The bridge comes in, repeating the phrase:
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I wish that I could meet
Could meet the younger me

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Giving the song time to rest, before building back up to the last chorus — this time led by Jihyo, completing the 3MIX trifecta. And interestingly enough, Chaeyoung follows up in the second half of the chorus, rather than another member of the vocal line. She really did pop off in this album.
As the last chorus begins to close, the percussion at its strongest, the harmonies on blast, the background vocals cranked up to their Sunday best, is the song going to end? Of course not! This is an album full of banger endings as if the songs don’t want to end, and When We Were Kids being the album closer very much indulges in that feeling.
After a brief refrain, accented by Nayeon’s high note with a touch of vibrato, the song almost dives back into a fourth chorus. Nayeon and Jeongyeon harmonize — a rare and heavenly moment. And the song repeats the bridge, reiterating that they want to meet their younger selves, this time with the lush chorus production before closing with silence, a few piano notes, and Tzuyu singing the last line of the song:
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Oh, we were kids

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Reflection, acceptance, hope. What a song.
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THE GOOD

• Heavenly vocals throughout
• Relatable, heartfelt lyrics
• Euphoric chorus
• Great closer to the album

Needs Work

• Refrain after the last chorus, Back When We Were Kids, could’ve been executed better

Core Memory

• For an album titled Between 1&2, I don’t think anything hits harder than finishing the song reviews, with this song in particular, during your 21st birthday

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I wrote the first part of this review in November 2022. Then university, life, and other things got in the way of my headspace for me to feel confident about wrapping all of this up. In a way, I felt like I just didn’t want this review to end because of the joy that writing gives me — I didn’t want the happiness to end. And then it hit me, after watching a YouTuber rank animated movies and them placing Spirited Away at the top and explaining 'why' reminded me of just how important growing up is, and by extension this song.
This theme is important for both the rookie TWICE members in 2015 and the teenagers who would follow their journey and grow up with them, facing life’s obstacles along the way. Hardships that used to only involve family, crushes, and social media, evolve into work, commitments and all the struggles that adult life brings. Being a kid and enjoying the simple things in life is one of the most sought-after moments we want to relive because we took growing up for granted. The only thing we can do now is look back on ourselves with fondness and rose-tinted lenses.
TWICE’s original meaning was to resonate with people through their senses and their hearts. That was during their debut, and I think it still holds up today. In my opinion, touching people through their emotions is what TWICE does best and makes them one of K-pop’s all-time greats. It was never about having the best numbers — it was about being the best idols. And to think that this journey of maturation and growth would occur from 2015 all the way to this song, being a fitting nod to TWICE’s 7th anniversary, I don’t think anyone at the company nor the group would ever imagine that they would get this far. It’s these nine women or none — 9/10.
This song honestly deserves a 10/10 with how much I noticed other people reminiscing their childhoods after I heard this song, it is such a widely-relatable message, but I am determined to limit myself to one 10/10 song per album and if I were to pick between TTT and WWWK, I'd give it to the one's that's more repeatable — Talk that Talk just has this electric energy about it.
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Epilogue

And finally here is the end. If you made it in one sitting then I commend you, because I could not write this mess in one sitting. As alluded to, I started writing this album review sometime in October, after a series of edits the first draft was finished in March, and now here's the final draft in June.
I love this album. It got me through some important parts of my life, both good and bad, and it's just a wonderful listen throughout. Reliving this album again before finally completing the review has been an exciting journey. Brave hit me harder this time, after being overshadowed by the other gems of this album, and WWWK finally got me to tear up and not just be emotionally satisfied.
I feel like there's something for everyone on this album. From the exhilarating thrills of TTT to the anthemic euphoria of QoH, the clubbing dichotomy of Trouble and Brave to the blissful glee of Basics, and the sweet reminiscence of WWWK to the thundering anger that is Gone. Like Eyes wide open, I liken Between 1&2 to a pop music taste platter — there's such an eclectic mix of pop music in this album that there's bound to be a song that someone will love, like, and dislike.
Is this album perfect? I don't think so, but it's close — it was certainly my 2022 AOTY. Was this review biased? Absolutely. I've been a fan since 2019 and with the themes in this album, I also feel like it was biased towards me as a ONCE. And how would I rank the album in TWICE's catalogue? It's honestly at the top, at least with EPs — I also felt that way towards Feel Special but then this album was birthed so I'm excited for TWICE's future.
Ready To Be was also a stunning album and Eyes wide open frankly also deserved the spotlight that Formula of Love received so I might hit those next but no promises; this album took long enough to bake.
As for the performances, I've only seen Twitter clips (no fancams to not spoil myself) and I am SO EXCITED to finally see them in July. QoH was as glorious as expected, Brave was a delightful surprise, and WWWK, while not being the concert closer everyone expected it to be, paired up nicely with Crazy Stupid Love. And of course the bombastic addition of the dance break to TTT. But, this is not a concert review, and here is where this album review ends.
Feel free to comment with any thoughts regarding the album, other TWICE albums, and any suggestions for my writing in general. Congrats again on making it this far!
God, I love this album.

In Sharp Entertainemnt’s latest prod-uction, the only show with less self-control and more unrequited trauma than Gary Busey with a flamethrower, 90-Day Fiance: Before the 90-Days, we see our protagonists, introducing themselves to the world, and making a tri-, a return, will their love last, is it real, or, wait, are they talking to this person?
Amanda and Razvan
Amanda is a widow, her husband died of cancer, her children are half-orphans- and she is dating a year after losing her husband, she is fine, she is ready. Does Sharp Entertainment take Shriners Kids to bars and give them Cocaine because that’s what this, the death stuff is very sad, and the children but this.
Did Matt Sharp murder somebody, they are really trying to distract us with sympathy, you sociopath, the children's tears, I know, I know, but do you trust this, from Sharp Entertainment? I trust a raccoon in a whorehouse more than I do Sharp Entertainment eliciting sympathy.
Oh, they met on TikTok well, that, see, and he’s an actor and model, actors and models have a great track record, roll that beautiful disaster footage! Yep, they’re going to- stop beating up on a widow, I’m not, I’m beating up on the world.
Amanda goes to get a spray tan so she doesn’t get off the plane and look like a ghost, which honestly is a good idea, people kill ghosts in Romania, they are vampires. Amanda’s sister is also smart, she thinks Amanda is moving too fast and this relationship is a trainwreck, they are no Jack and Sally. She’s just trying to cover a void- she is totally being a Darcey, which makes her- where is her Florian? Is he also a wealth of wisdom and memes?
Amanda takes her two children to the park, to ignore them like Darcey, Aniko is currently climbing the trees with raccoons, her true family, mother abandoned me for two weeks, look that one is going for three, when are we going to raid a dumpster and film it for a Tiktok?
Amanda calls Ravan, and he has big romantic plans- that include shooting his music video, for his song, about her, also he did a porn, how many 90-Day Fiance Bingo categories does this cover?
Not David Murphey: Bawkawk!
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: My board needs to go to rehab.
Not David Murphey: Bawakawk!
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: Jump on that square, we need that toaster.
Signature bathtub toaster, enjoy breakfast and bathing in the most popular room- Natalie Wood commemorative life raft.
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: Come on Possessed Nespresso Machine!
Amanda buys her children some presents to bribe-
Not David Murphey: Bawkwak!
Cortney: What’s an asexual vibrator?
Amanda’s children have questions, along with the dad box which is a touching gesture but might become a meme, if it was the mom box it would be…mother boxes would be worse, trust me. Do they bring it everywhere? When they’re teenagers and, doing activities will they still have the dad box around? Serious question, I miss grandma but I don’t have a grandma box that I take into the bathroom with me, you’d be so proud of me grandpa, I had Taco Bell, I’m losing 10 pounds, so anyway how was your day?
Still dead? You’ve gotta get out more.
Gino and Jasmine
Jasmine has needs- $350 needs, $1750, Gino isn’t a gift guy but he likes sex. Which sex slave did these extensions come off of? That’s not funny, you’re right, it’s probably true. Want to know where the sparkles come from in makeup? Child labor. I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that, I, people need to have real problems man. If Darcey enlisted in the army she would grow as a person.
Gino is going to go visit Jasmine in Panama, and show off his new clothes, and hats, and argue about sex and money. That Jasmine is spending at the doctor, for a tighter p****, did you know that Gino also has sex problems doctor? I’m going to tell the world about it! I’d like to teach Gino to c**, inside of me! This trip is their last chance, to get a pay raise, plastic surgery isn’t cheap. Is my rose chilled yet?
She’s getting drunk and doing a 90-Day Fiance review? Trust me, most people do. Most people also work, which upsets Jasmine, because she can’t talk to Gino as much, and spy on him, and hear his lies of approval, why won’t the US government let them be together?
Do they not believe in our love, or did Gino, who did the Visa Application by himself- Jasmine’s not stupid that might be it, she deserves a nice apartment, with their own bedroom, for sex, which starts a really sexy argument about fighting, and sex, and- I understand why the US Government doesn’t want them to be together.
This rose was not chilled yet, if you want to get drunk with me I am drinking Love Drunk Rose by Garage D’Or, Oregone, “When reality is better than your dreams!”, it’s quite good and very appropriate for the occasion.
Jasmine meets her totally platonic friend Dane at Coffee Max, she surprises him with the news that she’s hsi new neighbor, also, they used to date, you can’t bring enough autistic neurodivergent trans women into this to make this- might have just spoiled something for you, the violin is growing.
Jasmine and Gino’s trust issues definitely won’t- flash forwards to my favorite promo, it’ll be fine, if not, Dane and his muscular, good advice, is here, for you, in the same apartment building.
Riley and Violet
Riley is a big Jazz fan, and Elton John, also, he’s an elderly Luke Cage, who can’t dance, and is paranoid about life! Which is understandable given his history, is Elton John single? He’s very pretty, and rich. Is Riley the problem? A woman literally ran away from him.
Riley specifically downloaded a Vietnamese dating app, and found the youngest looking 43 year old woman in the world. Who is also smart, and clever, and so good Riley learned SOME Vietnamese, also, if you flip on your woman in Vietnam that means you love her, this is fine. Violet understands him.
Riley goes to help his friends with their Juneteenth celebration, where they will.
A Bless this relationship
B Sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya
C Sell some Boombod
D Doubt this entire relationship and bring up evidence supporting their case
Did you pick D? How did you know, he’s bringing a ring, are they done doubting this, no, Violet does sound a little sus, they might- are they having food? God I love cornbread, it’s better to learn that your fiance is Evil Rose over cornbread. My grandma could die, again, but if you told me that over Honey Cake, I, I might be a sociopath, or hungry.
Tyray and Carmella
Is he playing an instrument and singing, this is his first, oh no, at least he isn’t on a boat. Tyray take care of his sick mother, his father was murdered- how many people did Matt Sharp kill? When will the tables turn on this one? Tyray is in love with Carmella, a woman who is real, whose face he has- the table just yeeted itself into a wall, yep, this, and his family doesn’t-
Satan: When did we get train tracks?
When- dodge! Ah, there it, I can’t stop looking at it, is that a car? No, that was Not David Murphey’s Taco Bell dinner- who gave him Taco Bell?
The producers also have bad news, and they tell Tyray in person, which-
Archangel Gabriel: Let me the f*** in your house!
Get off my lawn!
Archangel Gabriel: You are witnessing a miracle, one of your solar-powered lights is out.
Tyray has been messaging a man. So that’s-
Archangel Gabriel: I’m watering your flowers, you’re welcome!
This is going to be fun next week.
David and Sheila
A deaf guy, Matt Sharp is just a serial killer now, and he has multiple minimum-wage jobs? Subbed anime is really the best. Boarding school, and not being able to connect with people- is David Matt Sharp’s accomplice? There’s the music, here comes the wom- nope, it’s his ex-wah-man, here comes the new one, who is learning sign language!
What a- and he’s sending her money, which she does need, and $3,000 isn’t much, Caesar pocket change. But someone has to be suspicious.
I give this episode ⅘ stars, the highlight was Gino and Jasmine sticking to the traditional script, they’re not doing any of this sympathy bullshit, no, they, how many people did Matt Sharp murder? More representation and tragedy is coming next week, was Matt Sharp Jack the Ripper?
At least they'll start arguing next week, the one thing they’re supposed to be doing, and bangin’, that is also, sometimes it’s their job. Is that possessed Nespresso machine still up there? I never go swimming, I wouldn’t use the life raft.

nilagay ko na lahat HAHA
Hi! Trying again my luck hehe feel ko naman ready na ko makipag-date (sana)
Abt me:
-21
-premed student from UP
-5'6, normal BMI
-loves to watch movies (has a letterboxd, faves are La La Land, EEAAO, Her, Parasite, and In the Mood for Love), anime (Haikyuu!, AOT), manga, sports (f1, football, basketball, chess), and kdramas (Our Beloved Summer recent fave)
-classical music are my go-to music while studying (listening to Debussy rn as he is my fave composer hehe)
-loves to write movie reviews and ramblings either sa letterboxd or sa blog hehe
-Music faves: Zild, Unique, Sufjan Stevens, Shirebound and Busking (still diversifying!)
-nerdy-looking, pero the kind na pwedeng pwede introduce sa parents mo (can send pics)
-Residing in Manila
Abt you:
-20-23
-college
-5'3 and lower
-normal bmi (petite to medium build)
-has probably the same interests as mine, if not sige go still chat me we can talk abt it!
-residing within NCR
-good conversationalist and just be decent!
Exchange pics tayo!

Follow-up to my last post:
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An Attenborough documentary on dinosaurs with the same CGI that made The Jungle Book so lifelike? I couldn't think of a greater sell. But was it worth it? Would it give me the same sense of wonder that I felt when Walking with Dinosaurs came out 22 years earlier?
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The first episode, "Coasts", is overall the strongest episode of season 1. Starting immediately with a swimming t-rex (Tyrannosaurus rex) leading his children to an island where he smelled a dead archelon (species unknown, as no Maastrichtian-age archelon was ever found in the fossil record), that first scene showed the promise of the show as a whole. Seeing CG baby t-rexes interacting with live-action baby turtles is both concerning (as sea turtles are currently endangered) and entertaining, as they are demonstrated pretty goofily. But after that, we are done with dinosaurs for the rest of the episode.
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We cut to the one scene that, while endearing with a riveting soundtrack by power couple Anže Rozman and Kara Talve, does give me pause. The pterosaurs featured in that episode were based on bones so fragmentary that they couldn't be diagnosed. How can we be sure that Barbaridactylus was a member of the antlerwing family, Phosphatodraco a member of the simurgh family, or even Tethydraco a member of the pteranodon family? How do we even know what Alcione even looked like? Also, the score doesn't really match the slower, less urgent movements of the pterosaurs.
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The next scene was described as "the sunken continent of Zealandia", which is a refresher to see the lost continent bearing recognition for a change. Here, a family of plesiosaurs (Tuarangisaurus keyesi) comes to the coast to gulp themselves on anti-buoyant rocks, while the males ceremoniously poke their long, heavy necks up to the surface, the only good moment in an otherwise generic sequence.
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After a quick focus on coral, we get treated to a Hoffmann's mosasaur (Mosasaurus hoffmanni) relying on fish and shrimp to give him a good, proper scratch, only to be pushed out of turn by a younger male. This sequence sticks out to me because it shows mosasaurs being portrayed as animals, not as monsters to shadow Nigel Marven or kaijuified Blackfish bootlegs.
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The next scene shows a dazzling, mesmerizing mating ceremony of ammonites ("scaphitids", they were called, but that doesn't determine specific species, as it was a very huge family). They glow in the dark and mate very particularly. If the male's flashes don't sync with those of the female, he'd be rejected. Complimenting this alien but still soothing scene is Rozman and Talve's equally alien and soothing score.
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Back in Zealandia, we end with plesiosaur pod mentality, as the whole group defends a pregnant mother from a kaika taniwha (Kaikaifilu hervei). As with the previous plesiosaur scene, it wasn't a scene that I got too crazy about.
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The next episode, "Deserts", isn't really as impactful as the Planet Earth episode of the same name, both in regards to execution and the musical score, and it was riddled with confusing scene decisions. The first scene demonstrates a lek of dreadnoughts (Dreadnoughtus schrani) acting like a combination of elephant seals and frigatebirds, right down to the pops on their necks. The score in that sequence is definitely memorable, as it (literally) highlights the weights that the males take to demonstrate their fitness to attract the gaggle of girls in the audience. Though I'm left wondering--did the upstart beat the veteran because he was stronger, or because he popped one of the veteran's neck balloons, as male frigatebirds would do to ditch the competish?
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Once the sauropod show is over, we now move to what was presumed to be Nemegtia, but it was portrayed to be as dry as Djadochta, which leads to the next problem. While there was evidence of Maastrichtian-age velos in Central Asia, calling them "Velociraptor" is just wrong. I grew up watching Walking with Dinosaurs, which means I watched "Giant of the Skies", which featured Utahraptor in the wrong place at the wrong time. And while the American cut justifies this with a demonstration of a land bridge that connected North America to Europe, I don't know how much water that holds, and that doesn't seem to be relevant anyway, for the damage has already been done. So having in Velociraptor, a genus of velos that went extinct 71 million years ago, in Nemegtia, which was set 66 million years ago, is just a rehash of that previous mistake. In short, Prehistoric Planet has Utahraptor'd the Velociraptor. And besides, hasn't the picture of pack-hunting raptors already been discarded?
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The next scene, the one with the Nemegtian mononych (Mononykus olecranus), is cute but not top-notch memorable, and its color choice is teetering way close to the point of plagiarism.
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Afterwards, the brief but violent rains have created a watering hole in the middle of the desert, luring in dinosaurs and pterosaurs from miles around, including a wandering khan (Tarbosaurus bataar). The reason that scene is so low was that it was just a near-identical rotoscope of the Water Truce sequence from The Jungle Book, right down to the herbivores making a clearing for the khan.
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Then we go high up to see more Barbaridactylus. This scene I wasn't aware was a problem until Unnatural History Channel brought it up in his video, but the females were shown to be oddly consensual towards the similar-looking sneaky males, who use their feminine appearances to sneak past the larger, more impressive males. This is a problem, apparently, because the more extreme the sexual dimorphism, the more likely the sneaky male will be rejected and therefore resort to assaulting the females.
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The last scene is an interesting one, albeit one that suffered an unmemorable score in the soundtrack. Apparently, salty southern duckbills (Secernosaurus koerneri) can thrive on dunes of gypsum, but when rains hit the coast, they rely on both their tenacity and their know-how of the sky to get to more productive grazing. This scene stands out to me because I question why any large animal would choose to thrive on such a taxing environment. It'd make sense for an animal as small as the cryptile, the scrofa and the gryken from The Future is Wild, but not for a duckbill bigger than 16 feet long.
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It is unanimously agreed upon that "Freshwater" is the weakest episode in the first season. Apart from the humpbacked false duckbill (Deinocheirus mirificus) getting a scratch in the swamps of a more accurate Nemegtia and the devil frog (Beelzebufo ampinga) making a snack out of a baby whacktooth (Masiaksaurus knoplferi), the habitat itself has been relegated to the backseat, which is why the mating scene of the t-rex and the laying magnificent simurgh (Quetzalcoatlus northropi) are on the C tier, good scenes that have been damaged by simply being in the wrong episode. Speaking of the latter, memes have popped up in which the faces of dinosaurs have been pasted over two shots of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with either Masiakasaurus or the Planet Dinosaur model of Majungasaurus being Galahad and the Quetzalcoatlus being the French taunter ("What are you doing in Africa?" "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!") when, really, that meme is more applicable to Velociraptor being in the Maastrichtian. On that topic, not only is it STILL in the wrong time, there is another problem, one I didn't pay attention to until Unnatural History Channel brought it up on his video. Instead of showing audiences raptor prey restraint (or "RPR"), the storytellers relied instead on mountain cats to show the velos hunting the pterosaurs (species unknown). Like the Deserts episode, Planet Earth has a far stronger "Freshwater" episode.
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"Ice Worlds" didn't excite me as much as "Spirits of the Ice Forest" did, which is a shame, because dinosaurs in the snow is a refresher by default. We start at Prince Creek, which I couldn't ask for a worse place to start because the cast list is very fragmentary. In the opening scene, a pack of raptors (species unknown, though modeled after the pitbull raptor), shadows a herd of ugrunaaluk (Edmontosaurus sp.) for a long-delayed meal. Again, the picture of raptors hunting in packs has been debunked for a very long time now. Why insist on resorting to old cliches?
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The Ornithomimus scene (can't think of a vernacular for them), while the designs look cool and add distinction to overall character, is still just a rotoscope of the Adelie penguin sequence from "Frozen Planet". Next.
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The sequence with the swanneck (Olorotitan arharensis) is even less impressive. Are horsetails really more nutritious than grass? If so, then why have grasslands been the dominant plains since the Miocene?
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The reason the scene with the tro-o is relatively low on the tier list is that it should have been longer, because a dinosaur with the intellect of a fire hawk is a very interesting prospect. But the final scene was just too short and too bland to show off any real gold.
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We have spent so much time in the north that I question the necessity of a quick detour to Antarctica, rendering the scene with the polar macahutiul (Antarctopelta oliveroi) my least favorite of the series.
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The final scene demonstrates the predator-prey dynamic between the northern boss (Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum) and the nanook (Nanuqsaurus hoglundi). The scene is great, the score has some very rhythmic moments, but what puts it low on the B tier are the nanooks themselves. From a distance, they look as good as most of the others. But in closeup, they look kind of fake, especially when they're running. Which brings up to the next problem--the story is based on fossil footprints of different lines pointing in the same direction. But how do we know that those parallel tracks were made at the same time and not separated within hours, days or even weeks of each other? And while it is true that nanooks were smaller than t-rexes, their portrayals in the show were just too small. More recent consensus shows that one nanook could easily match a boss in size, if not overtop it.
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"Forests" is an everywhere kind of episode. The opening scene with the austroposeidon (Austroposeidon magnificus) is not long enough to get me invested.
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Then a herd of trikes (Triceratops, species unknown) visits a cave to visit a clay lick to neutralize the poisons from their plant food. But why clay? Why not salt? Herbivores can clearly deal with poisonous plants without problem, but plants lack sodium, which is why the elephants of Mount Elgon (the inspiration behind that scene) scrape the caves not for clay, but for salt.
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This next scene has gotten everyone talking. A male minotaur (Carnotaurus sastrei) clears the stage to wave his arms around to impress an impossibly stoic female. Everything about that scene--from the choreography to the score--is very goofy, and that is what makes it work so well.
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While it is nice to finally see the Pinocchio-rex (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) in the flesh, its hunt for bright blue corythoraptors (Corythoraptor jacobsi) is not a scene I'd be in a hurry to revisit.
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The fire scene is oddly slow, the only memorable moment in the whole sequence being my first official introduction to Atrociraptor marshalli...literally just one short week before Jurassic World: Dominion predictably ruined it.
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The scene with the baby Therizinosaurus is passable. While it is cute to imagine babies having a taste for honey, it just wasn't executed memorably.
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The final scene, the one set on Hateg Island, slogs on in pace, with the greatest focus being a bunch of odd-looking baby zalmos (Zalmoxes robustus) running and hiding from the real star of the episode, the robust simurgh (Hatzegopteryx thambena), looking more proper than how it looked in Planet Dinosaur. One question, though--weren't pterosaur wings supposed to be rounded at the tip? Sure, they've got the hands pointing backwards, but the pointed wingtips is now believed to be an outdated picture.
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So it goes without saying that years of watching a moderate quantity of Attenborough documentaries has made the watching experience of Prehistoric Planet, at least in comparison to the original Walking with Dinosaurs, a bit numb. The creature designs are good, the CGI has not faltered in its photorealism from The Jungle Book, and even the soundtrack has enough of a score to make it memorable. But it's the stories that amount to the overall numbness of the first season. They hadn't opened my eyes in the way that Walking with Dinosaurs did.
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When season 2 was announced literally one year after season 1, I had my doubts. Planet Earth 2 came out literally a decade after the first Planet Earth, and the differences in filming technology and musical score clearly show that. Same for the 16 years that separate The Blue Planet from Blue Planet 2. Dynasties 2, by contrast, came way too soon after the first Dynasties, and the end result is sloppy, from the stories being set at the tedious start rather than at the steady prime to the score from the first Dynasties being reused so often that the only episode to have any new music was "Meerkat". So to find Prehistoric Planet 2 come out literally one year after Prehistoric Planet, I was concerned that it'd be as shorthanded as Dynasties 2 was. The opening episode, "Islands", kind of suffered that, but it thankfully wasn't as severe a problem.
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The first segment of that episode struck me as odd because the adult zalmo looks weirdly identical to the baby model from last episode.
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While it is cool to see the robust simurgh being expanded upon, I personally wish we'd stayed at Hateg Island, where they'd hunt the Transylvanian dwarf duckbill (Telmatosaurus transylvanicus) and not the funky combbill (Tethyshadros insularis).
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One of season 1's most recurring complaints is "no crocodiles", which is pretty apt when you consider how diverse they were during the Cretaceous period. So to see the Malagasy armadillo (Simosuchus clarki) at all, let alone stand up against a mahjong (Majungasaurus crenatissimus), is one to remember for the ages.
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This next scene is actually pretty interesting, in which we see Adalatherium, which wasn't a true mammal, but rather something hovering closely outside the taxonomic boundaries. It's a long sequence, which is just as well, because this is as new a clade to me now as the cynodont was when Walking with Dinosaurs came out.
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As with in "Ice Worlds", a quick detour to Antarctica doesn't seem necessary to me, as the hunt between the Imperobator and the Morrosaurus feels more like a skim.
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The last scene in the episode is my personal favorite, in which a male robust simugh stands on a sandbar to do whatever it takes to impress a mate.
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"Badlands" stands out in that there are only two settings. The first one is the strongest because of how the Deccan Traps, long reputed to be the co-culprit to the fall of the dinosaur empire, has been repurposed into prime nesting estate for a herd of sauropods (Isisaurus colberti). The journey seems reckless, but volcanic sand is hot and toasty, something that a modern species of dinosaur, the megapode, also exploits as it lays its egg in the hot volcanic sand of the Solomons.
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The next scene hasn't fixed on last year's problems, in which Velociraptor is still there and it still hasn't performed RPR--it just kicks an herbivore off a cliff, and that was that.
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The nesting Corythoraptor scene didn't interest me, but what really bugged me was that the antagonist of that sequence was a kuru (Kuru kulla), a raptor who, like the pterosaurs on the "Coasts" episode, was based on incomplete, fragmentary specimens.
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The sequence with the tarchias (Tarchia, species unknown), is a refreshing detour from the previous sequence because we have a better idea as to what they would have looked like. And to see them slog around for an oasis is a second highlight (next to the Deccan nursery).
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This next scene has nothing new added from either "Time of the Titans" or "Alpha's Egg", in which a herd of baby sauropods gets picked on by larger predators on their way to the safety of the forest.
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The majority of the "Freshwater" sequences I feel fit better in "Swamps". The same unnamed pterosaurs from "Freshwater" have reappeared, this time trying to fly past an approaching population of alligators (Shamosuchus djadochtaensis).
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The next episode features a grizzly bear gathering of austroraptors (Austroraptor cabazai) hunting gar. It stands out as highly as it does because it shows a species of raptor that looks and acts differently from the usual velo or nych. Plus, we know many miles more about austroraptors than we do about Spinosaurus, so that is a relieving plus.
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The devil frog stands out in this episode, and to see a grumpy male try to fight off a herd of goavambe (Rapetosaurus krausei) is humorous. It also deviates from the usual picture of "the frog that eats dinosaurs".
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This next sequence I was very concerned the moment I saw it in the ads. Thanks to Jack Horner, the poorly-known family Pachycephalosauridae has been under very hot fire with the notion of bone sponginess being a taxonomically viable method of identification, which it really isn't because all amniotes have spongy bones in their teens. But very thankfully, this sequence does not resort to Hornerism. It shows that older males do get longer horns on the backs of their heads, not the other way around. Also, new evidence has shown that the domes may have been covered in shiny skin, so this has me asking--is the dome a boys-only trait? Could that dracorex (Pachycephalosaurus hogwartsia) skull that I saw at the Black Hills Museum just be a girl entering her sweet 16 when she died? Could those stygimoloch (Pachycephalosaurus spinifer) skulls just be those of high school footballers?
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"Swamps" ended on a high note with a couple of t-rexes hunting an anatotitan (Edmontosaurus annectens) in the dark. One just walks to the duckbill, and the animal, in its panic, goes right in the direction of the other t-rex in hiding. This perfectly reflects the current understanding that t-rexes exchanged fast running for better walking. Now can we see some duckbills fighting back, please?
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On May 26, The Little Mermaid came out in theaters. A day earlier, "Oceans" came out. If I were to choose, I'd stick to the latter, simply because we're treated to fresh new stories with a wider variety of mosasaurs and ammonites than any of the Walking with programs ever did. The scene with the hesperorns chasing bait fish only to have themselves be chased by bulldog fish (Xiphactinus) is a classic, but a good one. However, "X-fish"? What's wrong with "bulldog fish"? But the highlight, no doubt, is the final sequence, in which a Hoffmann's mosasaur killed a juvenile plesiosaur simply by ramming it great white style.
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"Freshwater" was weak due to being sorely unfocused. "North America", by contrast, is even weaker for being too rushed. Also, the "scars make the man" narrative with the trikes bugs me the most. What justification is there for that?
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This has been a very exhaustive review of Prehistoric Planet, and it's way too early for me to worry about a season 3 coming out, if there is going to be one.

Hi. I'm looking to talk to new people, maybe make a friend
They are:
History, especially the 19th-20th century but with more broad and general knowedge in other time periods. I'm not an expert or anything but I am pretty passionate about it and tend to read/listen about one event or the other on a pretty regular basis.
Literature, especially old novels. I recently read Demian (my all time favourite book), Day of the Oprichnik, Heart of Darkness, the Perfume and Little Prince. Some of my other favourite works would include: "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Faust part I" (need to get to part II) and "No Longer Human". I also like to write short stories and book reviews. I'd also really like to read the same book with someone and discuss it. I just started reading Grimm's fairy tales.
Languages. I know three, with one being a bit rusty. I'm currently working to scrape off the rust and then when I'm finished with that will begin to learn a fourth language. It's fun to go through different works in multiple languages. For example, I read the aforementioned Faust part I in all three.
Games. I recently played Cyberpunk 2077. Now that the dust has settled and the bugs mostly removed...It's not that bad! The main questline at least, Fallout 76 (Very average, I'm dissapointed with what they made the "RPG" system) and will try out Deus Ex Manking Divided again ( Got inspired since it's somewhat similar to Cyberpunk). I was waiting to play Elden Ring but it ended being too stressful for me. Go here and get beaten up go there and get beaten up, repeat...Besides that I'm a big fan of Paradox strategy games...like EU IV and HoI IV (also thinking of making my own project for HoI IV). I am definitely looking forward to try out Victoria III, after they add more content to it. I also got Modern Warfare 2, since the first MW had great multiplayer gameplay.
Anime and Manga. In recent times my interest has waned but I still watch the occasional series here and there. Like Cyberpunk Edgerunners (Which I found to be rather mediocre) and the very good new season of Bleach. Some other favourites include: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Death Note, Fate;Zero, Psycho Pass , Higurashi (season 2 is a bit weak but the first one is a masterpiece of horror), Code Geass, Attack on Titan and others. My favourite Manga is Berserk...I hope it gets a good ending..the first couple of new chapters were...a bit rough but the new author seems to have got his footing.
Anyway, that should be enough information to give you a good picture... Before I go, I would like to ask for you to include the title of the last book you read in your reply. A small request, I feel. I'll be ignoring those that don't.

Chapter 1: A Scary Surprise:
Everyone wakes up all over Hope’s Pinnacle, although they have no memory of the place, but they do remember being classmates. It’s the standard DR intro sequence complete with everyone assembling at the auditorium to meet the headmaster and learn the rules.
Nagisa is the first victim and is found the morning after a dinner party all 24 students attended. She is caught in a net-and-wire trap, strangled to death. The class trial reveals that Miiko is the killer, having created the trap as a prank for Haruna, although she swears that there was supposed to be a safety feature installed that prevented strangulation.
Her execution is "Happy Adventure Queen!!!'s Last Hike" and involves her being grabbed by the throat by Monochio's tail and thrown out of the trial room onto a landing strip. She outruns a plane by jumping into the sea at the end of the strip only to be slammed back out of the water by an approaching submarine designed to look like a shark. She lands in a forest of cute woodland creatures smiling down at her, but then they turn into zombie animals and eat her alive until only bones remain.
One DR trope in this chapter is the important connection between the first victim and another important character. My AU doesn't technically have a main protagonist, since it rotates around the entire D4 cast, but Nagisa is of course very important to Hiiro, but that significance is not revealed until Hiiro is outed as one of Junko's masterminds at the end of the saga.
I took her quote from the Indigo Bullet event as to why she would want to lure Nagisa to her death so early on. Not only did she view it as romantic to be the one that got to kill Nagisa, even if indirectly, it also spared Nagisa the horror of living through the rest of the game.
Also, during the first trial, I had it in mind that the closest there could be to a protagonist would be Saki. Her Synesthesia allows her to see color when people sing or speak, which is exactly what happens in class trials as the player must shoot at the proper statements and phrases, often of which are color-coded.
Plus, DR is heavy on gun visuals and I remember thinking about 4 Challenges the first time I imagined Saki as a DR protag in a class trial.
Chapter 2: In Heaven Hell, and in Hell Heaven:
Saki’s Synesthesia is deemed a threat by Monochio and she is slated for execution. It changes the motive by giving everyone videos from Hope’s Peak, incentivizing everyone to look for more memories that Monochio left around the school’s basement, hidden inside flashback lights. Saki finds one that shows her time as a Despair and, without thinking, she breaks into a locked room in the basement and that is what she is punished for. Her execution is the D4V4 Blastoff!!!! Inspired by DR’s three rocket executions (Jin, Junko, Kaito).
After Saki is executed, Kurumi reveals some of her own plans, one of which includes sneaking into the same room Saki did because Kurumi also wants to see the extra flashback lights. Her motivation is seeing more of Miiko, and more of Miiko’s memories, having defended her as fiercely as Taka defended Mondo in the first trial.
Thanks to her Prank Talent, Kurumi is able to create a device that allows her to steal the spare flashback lights without technically entering the locked room, thus avoiding punishment. But not long after, Kurumi is ambushed by two of the masterminds when they spot her with all the spare FBLs. They attack her with a poison meant to lobotomize her, but Haruna and Miyu find her and attempt to save her.
For once, Miyu’s luck works in reverse and the first antidote-medicine she grabs is something made by Monochio with the specific condition that it fixes ailments and ails “fixed things”. As such, because the poison Kurumi was injected with was not technically lethal, Miyu’s medicine actually poisons her.
She and Haruna use the trial to try to figure out who attacked Kurumi, but they run out of time and Miyu is forced to confess. Haruna, however, interjects and reveals that she is the true killer. After Miyu injected Kurumi with the poison, Haruna sent her to fetch another antidote and in the two minutes Miyu was gone, Haruna smothered Kurumi to death to protect Miyu from execution.
Kurumi consents to this and her final words are wishing Haruna luck, calling her “Chairman” one last time. The fact that only Haruna knows Kurumi’s final word is what condemns her and her execution is called “After School Detention with the Chairman”. It involves her standing in front of robotic replicas of her classmates, reading to them from the Bible, but they throw things at her of increasing danger. For example, at first, it’s just pencils and erasers. Then it’s desks and scissors.
Haruna is finally beaten to death by the robot students, the exact fatal blow coming from the Kurumiiko bots, which are wearing Kurumi and Miiko’s skin. They attack Haruna with chairs.
One DR trope in this chapter is a secret revealed. In this case, it’s Towa’s true Talent. In a side-debate, it is discovered that she is not the Ult. Idol, rather, the Ult. Idol Enthusiast. Another DR trope in this chapter is serial killer talk, segueing from Miiko to Genocide Jack, who makes another link to the D4-verse by being the headcanoned mascot of the D4 game "Dance 4 Dangerous/Deadly Jack".

6/2/23

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
TOR	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	8	1	6
NYM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	5

Box Score

NYM		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
CF	Nimmo	4	0	0	0	0	2	.290
SS	Lindor	4	0	0	0	0	2	.216
2B	McNeil	4	0	1	0	0	0	.286
1B	Alonso	4	0	1	0	0	0	.235
3B	Baty	4	0	0	0	0	3	.232
RF	Marte, S	3	0	1	0	0	1	.245
DH	Vientos	3	0	0	0	0	2	.172
LF	Canha	3	0	1	0	0	0	.247
C	Alvarez	3	0	0	0	0	0	.246

NYM	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Verlander	6.0	5	1	1	3	8	117-77	4.25
Leone	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	9-6	4.50
Smith, Dr	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	7-6	3.66
Brigham	1.0	2	2	2	0	1	15-9	3.98

TOR		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
RF	Springer	4	1	1	1	0	2	.259
SS	Bichette	4	0	2	0	0	0	.335
1B	Guerrero Jr.	3	0	1	0	1	1	.286
DH	Belt	2	0	0	0	2	1	.252
3B	Chapman, M	4	0	0	0	0	3	.284
2B	Merrifield	4	1	2	0	0	0	.299
LF	Varsho	4	1	1	2	0	2	.214
C	Kirk	4	0	1	0	0	0	.254
CF	Kiermaier	4	0	0	0	0	1	.303

TOR	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Bassitt	7.2	3	0	0	0	8	101-64	3.41
Mayza	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	5-3	1.80
Romano	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	10-8	3.13

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
T1	George Springer homers (8) on a fly ball to center field.	0-1
T9	Daulton Varsho homers (9) on a fly ball to right field. Whit Merrifield scores.	0-3

Highlights

Description	Length	Video
Bullpen availability for Toronto, June 2 vs Mets	0:07	Video
Bullpen availability for New York, June 2 vs Blue Jays	0:07	Video
Fielding alignment for New York, June 2 vs Blue Jays	0:11	Video
Fielding alignment for Toronto, June 2 vs Mets	0:11	Video
Starting lineups for Blue Jays at Mets - June 2, 2023	0:09	Video
Breaking down George Springer's home run	0:13	Video
A deep dive into George Springer's home run	0:09	Video
Breaking down Justin Verlander's pitches	0:08	Video
Justin Verlander's outing against the Blue Jays	0:22	Video
Breaking down Chris Bassitt's pitches	0:08	Video
Chris Bassitt's outing against the Mets	0:25	Video
Daulton Varsho: Home Run Statcast Analysis	0:10	Video
Sarah Langs discusses her long battle with ALS	4:43	Video
George Springer hits solo homer to center in the 1st	0:37	Video
Justin Verlander talks dominant year after Tommy John	13:40	Video
Sarah Langs is honored during the pregame ceremony	0:16	Video
Justin Verlander strikes out Varsho in the 6th	0:23	Video
Justin Verlander fans eight against the Blue Jays	2:08	Video
George Springer robs Pete Alonso of a base hit	0:29	Video
Daulton Varsho hits homer to right field in the 9th	0:27	Video

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Bassitt (6-4, 3.41 ERA)	Verlander (2-3, 4.25 ERA)	Romano (14 SV, 3.13 ERA)

6/3/23

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
TOR	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	10	1	11
NYM	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0	9

Box Score

NYM		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
CF	Nimmo	5	0	2	0	0	2	.292
SS	Lindor	4	0	0	0	0	3	.212
2B	McNeil	3	0	1	0	1	0	.287
1B	Alonso	4	0	0	0	0	0	.231
3B	Baty	3	0	0	0	1	3	.227
RF	Marte, S	4	1	1	0	0	1	.245
DH	Vogelbach	4	0	1	1	0	0	.216
LF	Canha	3	0	1	0	1	1	.248
PR	Pham	0	0	0	0	0	0	.222
C	Nido	2	0	0	0	0	1	.125
PH	Alvarez	1	0	0	0	0	0	.243

NYM	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Megill	5.1	5	1	1	5	5	103-58	4.40
Raley, B	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	13-8	2.75
Ottavino	1.2	1	0	0	0	1	16-11	3.91
Robertson	1.1	3	1	1	0	3	28-20	1.75

TOR		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
RF	Springer	5	1	2	0	0	1	.262
SS	Bichette	5	0	2	0	0	2	.336
1B	Guerrero Jr.	4	0	1	1	1	0	.285
DH	Belt	3	1	2	0	1	1	.262
DH	Biggio	1	0	0	0	0	1	.179
3B	Chapman, M	3	0	0	0	1	1	.280
2B	Merrifield	4	0	0	0	0	0	.293
LF	Varsho	3	0	1	0	1	1	.216
C	Kirk	3	0	2	1	1	1	.262
CF	Kiermaier	4	0	0	0	0	1	.295

TOR	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Berríos	6.0	4	1	1	3	6	86-58	3.66
Richards, T	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	16-11	3.24
Pearson	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	16-11	1.59
Swanson, E	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	16-10	2.93

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B2	Daniel Vogelbach doubles (5) on a sharp line drive to center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. Starling Marte scores.	1-0
T6	Alejandro Kirk singles on a ground ball to shortstop Francisco Lindor. Brandon Belt scores. Matt Chapman to 2nd.	1-1
T9	Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubles (13) on a ground ball to left fielder Mark Canha. George Springer scores.	1-2

Highlights

Description	Length	Video
Bullpen availability for New York, June 3 vs Blue Jays	0:07	Video
Bullpen availability for Toronto, June 3 vs Mets	0:07	Video
Fielding alignment for Toronto, June 3 vs Mets	0:11	Video
Fielding alignment for New York, June 3 vs Blue Jays	0:11	Video
Starting lineups for Blue Jays at Mets - June 3, 2023	0:09	Video
Breaking down Tylor Megill's pitches	0:08	Video
Tylor Megill's outing against the Blue Jays	0:22	Video
José Berríos' outing against the Mets	0:23	Video
Breaking down José Berríos' pitches	0:08	Video
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. steals second base	0:08	Video
Daniel Vogelbach hits an RBI double, scoring Marte	0:28	Video
The Mets catch Daulton Varsho in a rundown	0:42	Video
Leiter, Johnson more inducted into Mets 2023 HOF	2:02	Video
José Berríos strikes out Brett Baty in the 4th	0:08	Video
Gary Cohen discusses joining the Mets Hall of Fame	1:18	Video
Tylor Megill strikes out Brandon Belt looking	0:07	Video
Alejandro Kirk lines an RBI single, tying the game	0:40	Video
Tylor Megill strikes out five in 5 1/3 innings	0:35	Video
José Berríos strikes out six in his quality start	0:46	Video
Starling Marte strikes out swinging.	0:08	Video
David Robertson recovers and makes the shovel pass	0:18	Video
Vladimir Guerrero lines an RBI double for the lead	0:30	Video

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Pearson (2-0, 1.59 ERA)	Robertson (2-1, 1.75 ERA)	Swanson, E (1 SV, 2.93 ERA)

6/4/23

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
TOR	0	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	6	7	0	7
NYM	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	4	7	1	3

Box Score

NYM		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
CF	Pham	4	2	2	2	0	1	.234
LF	Canha	3	0	0	0	1	1	.244
SS	Lindor	4	0	1	0	0	3	.213
1B	Alonso	4	1	1	1	0	0	.231
3B	Escobar, Edu	4	0	0	0	0	2	.234
RF	Marte, S	4	1	2	1	0	1	.250
2B	McNeil	4	0	0	0	0	1	.282
DH	Vientos	3	0	1	0	0	1	.188
C	Alvarez	3	0	0	0	0	1	.237

NYM	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Senga	2.2	4	4	3	5	3	68-34	3.75
Nogosek	3.0	1	0	0	1	4	47-30	5.55
Leone	1.1	2	2	2	0	0	18-11	5.40
Smith, Dr	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	18-11	3.48
Brigham	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	11-7	3.80

TOR		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
RF	Springer	5	0	0	0	0	0	.257
SS	Bichette	5	0	0	0	0	3	.329
DH	Guerrero Jr.	4	2	2	1	1	0	.289
1B	Belt	5	1	1	2	0	4	.259
3B	Chapman, M	3	2	1	0	1	1	.281
LF	Varsho	3	1	1	0	1	0	.217
2B	Merrifield	3	0	2	2	1	0	.299
2B	Biggio	3	0	0	0	1	1	.172
CF	Kiermaier	0	0	0	0	0	0	.295
C	Heineman	2	0	0	0	1	1	.133
C	Kirk	1	0	0	0	0	1	.261

TOR	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Kikuchi	5.0	4	2	2	1	8	89-62	4.40
Pearson	1.0	2	2	2	0	1	15-9	2.50
Cimber	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	11-7	3.94
Swanson, E	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	8-7	2.83
Romano	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	6-6	3.00

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
T2	Whit Merrifield doubles (12) on a line drive to center fielder Tommy Pham. Matt Chapman scores. Daulton Varsho scores.	0-2
T3	Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homers (9) on a fly ball to left field.	0-3
T3	Mets challenged (tag play), call on the field was upheld: Daulton Varsho walks. Matt Chapman scores. Daulton Varsho to 2nd. Throwing error by catcher Francisco Alvarez.	0-4
B3	Tommy Pham homers (4) on a fly ball to right field.	1-4
B5	Tommy Pham homers (5) on a fly ball to left field.	2-4
B6	Umpire reviewed (home run), call on the field was upheld: Pete Alonso homers (21) on a fly ball to left field.	3-4
B6	Starling Marte homers (3) on a fly ball to left field.	4-4
T7	Brandon Belt homers (3) on a fly ball to center field. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scores.	4-6

Highlights

Description	Length	Video
Bullpen availability for New York, June 4 vs Blue Jays	0:07	Video
Bullpen availability for Toronto, June 4 vs Mets	0:07	Video
Fielding alignment for Toronto, June 4 vs Mets	0:11	Video
Fielding alignment for New York, June 4 vs Blue Jays	0:11	Video
Starting lineups for Blue Jays at Mets - June 4, 2023	0:09	Video
Breaking down Kodai Senga's pitches	0:08	Video
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Home Run Statcast Analysis	0:11	Video
Visualizing Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s swing using bat tracking technology	0:09	Video
Measuring the stats on Tommy Pham's home run	0:09	Video
An animated look at Tommy Pham's home run	0:09	Video
Measuring the stats on Tommy Pham's home run	0:12	Video
Visualizing Tommy Pham's swing using bat tracking technology	0:09	Video
Breaking down Yusei Kikuchi's pitches	0:08	Video
Breaking down Starling Marte's home run	0:12	Video
Pete Alonso: Home Run Statcast Analysis	0:15	Video
Yusei Kikuchi's outing against the Mets	0:22	Video
A deep dive into Starling Marte's home run	0:09	Video
Brandon Belt: Home Run Statcast Analysis	0:14	Video
Analyzing Brandon Belt's home run through bat tracking	0:09	Video
Francisco Alvarez nabs Vlad Jr. at first after review	0:26	Video
Whit Merrifield hits a 2-run double in the 2nd	0:29	Video
Francisco Lindor makes the diving play for the out	0:16	Video
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smokes a solo home run (9)	0:29	Video
Matt Chapman scores on an error	0:28	Video
Tommy Pham hits a solo home run (4) to right field	0:28	Video
After a Mets challenge, Matt Chapman is safe at home	0:29	Video
Kodai Senga fans three batters in 2 2/3 innings	0:41	Video
Tommy Pham goes deep for his second home run (5)	0:28	Video
Pete Alonso lines a solo home run (21) to left	0:34	Video
Pete Alonso makes the diving stop at first base	0:22	Video
Starling Marte smacks a solo home run (3) for the tie	0:26	Video
Dominic Leone In play, no out to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	0:14	Video
Pete Alonso's home run through bat tracking data	0:09	Video
Brandon Belt crushes a go-ahead homer (3) to center	0:30	Video
Yusei Kikuchi strikes out Mark Canha in the 5th	0:08	Video
Alonso's league-leading homer stands after review	0:29	Video
Pete Alonso's solo home run - Creator Cuts	0:17	Video
Belt gives the Blue Jays the lead - Creator Cuts	0:27	Video

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Pearson (3-0, 2.50 ERA)	Leone (0-2, 5.40 ERA)	Romano (15 SV, 3.00 ERA)