If you have aphantasia, please reply with books or authors you have read (not listened to) and enjoyed.
Here are some of mine, with brief descriptions cribbed from Wikipedia or Goodreads. These are mostly books & authors that I've read recently.

• Jorge Luis Borges: His best-known books, Ficciones (Fictions) and El Aleph) (The Aleph), published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories exploring themes of dreams, labyrinths, chance, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers and mythology.
• Haruki Murakami: Most of Haruki Murakami's works use first-person narrative in the tradition of the Japanese I-novel. He states that because family plays a significant role in traditional Japanese literature, any main character who is independent becomes a man who values freedom and solitude over intimacy. A notable feature of Murakami's stories are the comments that come from the main characters as to how strange the story presents itself. Murakami explains that his characters experience what he experiences as he writes, which could be compared to a movie set where the walls and props are all fake.[36] He has further compared the process of writing to movies: "That is one of the joys of writing fiction—I'm making my own film made just for myself."[57]
• R A Lafferty: Lafferty's quirky prose drew from traditional storytelling styles, largely from the Irish and Native American, and his shaggy-dog characters and tall tales are unique in science fiction. Little of Lafferty's writing is considered typical of the genre. His stories are closer to tall tales than traditional science fiction and are deeply influenced by his Catholic beliefs; Fourth Mansions, for example, draws on The Interior Mansions of Teresa of Avila.
• The Southern Reach Trilogy, by Jeff VanderMeer: Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.
• Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke: Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.
• Parables and Paradoxes, by Franz Kafka: The pieces here were posthumously gathered from Kafka's notebooks, diaries, letters, and short fictional works. Though generally short, they do seem to go remarkably well together. The pieces are arranged in 4 broad sections: the imperial area including the Great Wall and The Tower of Babel. ("If it had been possible to build the Tower of Babel without ascending it, the work would have been permitted."). There is a section that is Midrashic on the Older testament ("We are fashioned to live in Paradise, and Paradise was destined to serve us)". A favorite of mine was "The Animal in the Synagogue", though what the animal may symbolize is open for discussion. The section on the Greeks, introduces Poseidon, who has become a bureaucrat, checking "the last row of figures." And "Leopards in the Temple" presents another animal in another temple ... and "becomes part of the ceremony". The final section includes unrelated fragments such as "The invention of the devil" and "The truth about Sancho Panza".
• Moby Dick, by Herman Melville: The book is the sailor Ishmael)'s narrative of the maniacal quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod), for vengeance against Moby Dick), the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship's previous voyage.
• I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman: Thirty-nine women and a girl are being held prisoner in a cage underground. The guards are all male, and never speak to them. The girl is the only one of the prisoners who has no memory of the outside world; none of them know why they are being held prisoner, or why there is one child among thirty-nine adults. One day, an alarm sounds, and the guards flee; the prisoners are subsequently able to escape. They find themselves on an immense barren plain, with no other people anywhere, and no clue as to what has happened to the world.

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I was really scared to even post this.
I've been writing stories for my fictional fantasy universe (multiverse at this point) ive been building (through unknowingly maladaptive daydreaming) since i was in 5th grade. I always been afraid to publish it. Because I feel it's cringy, fanfic-ish.
It does have characters from copyright things that I grew up with. They have been changed in some way. The topics and ideas are dark with messed up themes. R rated sensitive themes. But I feel like some people will like it. But some things people won't like it. The things that happen in them I feel people will question them like Wtf in a bad way. I also feel like I'm shit at writing in general.
Topic it deals with
Suicide
Tormenting
Abuse multiple forms
The people aren't human, they are humans with animal parts and traits, exmp scales, wings, tails, fur,
Almost anime like tropes, teenage highschool in a world full of heroes/fighters. Characters with unnecessary sexualised.
Murder
Polyamorous relationships being a normal thing for certain speieces
Different world standards.

Just saw a post on worldjerking and it got me thinking: do you categorize your species independently (I.e. “lionfolk” are separate from “tigerfolk”), do you lump them all together (“beastmen” or something similar), or do you do something different entirely?
I personally group my anthro species by mirroring the modern taxonomy we use to group animals already. So, my ungulates or “hooved-folk” have a name for their overall species. However, the culture and beliefs of my goat-people will be different from the beliefs and culture of my bison-people and so on.

It's been a minute since I've talked about GCW, but it's time again for me to do that. So this time, instead of asking for everyone's favorite perks from Generic Cartoon World, I wanted to ask about items.
The items in GCW are often underrated, especially early on for baby jumpers or just in general when it comes to themed jumpers. There are a lot of GOLDEN items in this jump, and as one of the main cheerleaders of this bad boy, I don't often get to gush about the neat STUFF you can get here.

General Items:

The undiscounted items are actually some of my favorites. We start off with some baby-level quality of life items that are just fun, like Chester: a good boi hammerspace chest you can put goodies in, and Jeeves, a skilled butler & administrative buddy who can run a household as skillfully as any professional butler can.
As the undiscounted price for the items begins to hike you start to see the FUN stuff. From the largest movie theater in-setting, to a colony of microscopic toons who help you think *better*, the 200-400 CP items are starting to be a bit more drastically powerful & recognizable.
My personal favorite item in this jump... and possibly ever, in any jump, is the 800 CP theme park item. This absolute unit of an item is phenomenally powerful hence its GIGANTIC price tag (and it's not even the most expensive undiscounted item!).
This bad boy confers ownership over a hilarious number of massive theme parks that spread across the settings you visit, and the theme parks are both profitable and self-sustaining. They come with all sorts of world-class amenities, rides, and resources, and are honestly just so good that a jumper could, in the right setting, spend a WHOLE jump in the theme parks and not be bored. Also, a really sick aspect of this item, for baby jumpers who don't have super speed or infinite money yet, is the fact that you can easily take advantage of the infrastructure that connects the different parks, especially if they are on different continents.
In a modern setting, such as any of the mundane generic jumps, Chronicle, Levage, or the big sitcom jump, this is potentially world-shaking technology (especially since it's said, in-jump, that the infrastructure can be opened to the public, even though it doesn't start off that way by default). This is an incredible, world-class item. It's also actually something you can get FOR FREE if you do one of the scenarios.
The silver screen item is really cool, and if you aren't into its esoteric items it makes for a great personal home theater movie screen and a sick-ass shield. It's just neat.

Toon Items:

Two of my favorite items in the whole jump are in the toon line, but all of these items are bangers. Everything from the gloves to the assorted toon items & endless explosives are great, but if you purchase the half-toon perk "Not so funny anymore", associated toon items & endless explosives TREMENDOUSLY shoot upwards in power. They become NASTY strong, which is the best kind of strong. Lots of people will have a bad time dealing with a jumper who can make cartoon antics decidedly deadly, and infinite, human-scale explosives or a homing, flying safe that hits with all of the power of a mundane safe, are not jokes.
That said, probably the best QoL item in the whole jump, partially due to its low cost (there's an item in the Human origin that's this, but with SLIGHT modifications that are usually improvements), is A-Hole-in-the-Wall (AHitW). This portable apartment is fantastic. It's just REALLY good. I think this item REALLY shines in barebones survival worlds, like Minecraft, or post-apocalypse jumps, but honestly, it's so tremendously good ANYWHERE that I can easily picture jumpers, especially baby jumpers, living in this item full time. The Toon Medical Kit item is also extremely good and is a fantastic basic medical item that's a handy catch-all.
The three big boys of this origin's items are all powerfully unique items. Touch The Toon Sky(scraper) is a massive skyscraper that is, effectively, the skyscraper version of the monstrous movie theater item from the undiscounted line of items. It's a big building, and if you want to know what you could do with a big building here's a link to the website of the real-life Woolworth Building. This item is chonky, it's alive, and it's just neat.
The context-sensitive bag is just a little thing that lets you grab funny stuff. If you're in a situation that's life or death but saving your skin would be funny, well... This bag's probably got your back.
The capstone item for Toons is a personal Acme Acres pocket dimension and this item is SICK. I always go for the upgraded version of this item (which requires the Hammerspace Specialist toon perk), but even the base item is incredible. This is one of those pocket dimension items that, in the right hands, can save entire species and/or civilizations, but is also just really fun. This is a great purchase, that's also potentially free if you do a scenario. There's lots of uses for this one and really maximizing it will take creativity on your part, but it's cool as heck.

Human Items:

The first four of these items are neat, career-based, items. There's a toon-gun that fires... slighty-toonier bullet-bills, and writing & art items. And when you hit the 200 CP tier you get the one QoL item that's almost on par, and actually in some ways, better than AHitW; the Toon Vehicle.
The Toon Vehicle is exceptional, it's true that it's more expensive than AHitW, and doesn't have a portable mailing address, but in every other respect this item is the bigger, better brother of AHitW. This is a living vehicle that is, externally, potentially the same size as a mundane, real-world car, but can fit hundreds of people, and has multiple bedrooms & two bathrooms. If you're not into LIVING items that's a mark on this one that isn't present on AHitW, but other than that, and a lack of a mailing address, this really is just an improvement on AHitW. It can even drive itself! This is dope.
The 400 CP item is interesting but weird. It's Joe's. Ah, Joe's. This is a neat item. Basically, this is a QoL item that gives you some money, but the way it works is weird. Until you find Joe's, in-jump, or create an entrance to it, this just gives you the ability to make entrances to a massive greasy-spoon restaurant. Once you've made an entrance to Joe's, which you do by seemingly just finding an appropriate place and WILLING it to happen, the area you've targeted with this power becomes the newest entrance to the restaurant. You can live in the employee section of the restaurant (in a nice, condo-style apartment), and you passively get paid by Joe. Presumably how much you get paid depends in part on how actively you do, and how good you are, at your job, but you'll always get paid a little.
Tall Tale Heart is a nice little booster to your physical abilities that hits harder if your human but is still not bad if you're a toon or half-toon. If you're a baby jumper and take the human origin in this jump this is great for physical stuff.
Acme Studio Factory Lot is the animation studio version of the monstrous movie theater or skyscraper items. Which means it's really fucking good. And also that it's alive. But if you want to have an artsy jumper who makes a living doing entertainment stuff, this is the item for you.

Half-Toon Items:

If for whatever reason you are reading this and have never seen the half-toon perks in this jump... They are decidedly less comedy based than the toon perks are, and among other things can let your jumper do things like bring objects to life, de-humode-funny toon abilities, and even do long-range only-slightly-slower-than-instant teleportation! The half-toon items, in keeping with that trend, are also not quite as focused on comedy though there's plenty of funny stuff about them.
The baby tier items, the 50 & 100 CP items, are amusingly diverse. From a catalog of items you can order that will be instantly delivered to you (and the ability to buy stuff from PAST JUMPS! That's crazy! It's only stuff that would be sold in stores and restaurants, but god can you imagine going to a prehistoric jump and ordering one hundred rifles and bucket loads of bullets?!), to an eraser that at a glance looks mostly comedic until you remember the "Not so funny anymore" half toon perk and realize you can suffocate people by erasing their mouths with that perk's effects active, this is a RANGE of items that can be endlessly amusing.
The ink pen item confers some of the effects of the human perk "Eraser Immunity" and is a good, permanent ink pen. Ink & Paint Job lets you do what acme acres does to buildings in it (immediately, not what it does to them over long periods of time), anywhere you want, so long as its an inanimate object you want to hit.
The Spanner in the Works is a really, really solid creation & destruction item. In the context of creation using this and working on making something is about the same as having twelve people work on something. Where it really shines, though, is destruction. When you hit a building or a piece of complex machinery with this it breaks apart. No limits are stated on this, by the way, so someone could imagine that this would work on the Death Star, a space station and superweapon, which is certainly complex. That said, this part of this item is JUST powerful. It's a VERY good destruction item.
Now for the capstone item for Half-Toons... Congratulations on your Rule-Of-Funny item. This is an item run by the rule-of-funny, which can ABSOLUTELY be weaponized, so long as you attempt to be funny about it first. It's great, and I mean that unironically. The Rule(r) of funny is a size-expander, a funny super-device, and a ruler all in one. It expands the internal dimensions of stuff its put in, it helps make jokes, and you know the dimensions of stuff you see when you're using it.
The Rule(r) of funny is a weird item because to REALLY maximize its use you'd need something like the capstone from the trickster origin over in Germanic Norse Mythology (which makes it so that you get three of any item purchased with CP), because its three uses are so different from each other that it often feels like using it one way prohibits it from being used in other ways, at least simultaneously. If you use it outside of a place you want to make bigger (say, AHitW's actual square footage), then it's not making the place bigger, even though it can be great for dealing with an enemy with an annoying immunity, as you can temporarily shut off the immunity so long as you use the ruler and make a joke. But if you have more than one... Well, you can do the neat stuff you want to do, while keeping one in the space you want to make bigger.
What are your favorite Generic Cartoon World items? I love all of them, but some of these babies are just... they are just magical, gang.

https://imgur.com/a/a0oiBu4
Original Post

Welcome to our latest fortnightly Narita(verse) Friday thread! Here, you can discuss Durarara!!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, and Wednesdays Smiling with Otsuberu, the four other works by Ryohgo Narita that share a universe with Baccano!—i.e. the Naritaverse.
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As biweekly threads, Naritaverse Fridays are active throughout the entire fortnight duration at minimum. Participation, in other words, isn't limited to Fridays! On that note, thank you for participating! Meta feedback on Narita(verse) Fridays is always welcome.
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LAST EXILE

Episode 17 Making Material

← Previous Episode Index Next Episode→
MAL Anilist Kitsu AniDB ANN
Crunchyroll Funimation VRV Apple TV Amazon Prime Video
*VRV offered Last Exile with advertisements, but shut down May 3.
Screenshot of the Day Chess Term of the Day: Material -- pawns and other pieces, ranked by point value OST of the Day: Prayer for Love

Discussion Prompts

Permanent Question: Meaning of the episode title?
1) What does it mean, to recall the units? 2) Surprise Bonus Question: The waves the dye the land gold....
Tomorrow's Questions Today
[Q 1)]Will Sophia make a good war Emperess? [Q 2)]Will the two halves of the Alliance get along? [Q 3)]Do you like roses?

Characters Introduced / Updated

• Michael Wednesday -- Ralf Wednesday's older brother
• Nestor Messina -- Commander of the Disith expeditionary force (never named)

Intro

To preface this review, I just need to say that this is going to be a very, very long read. Going through it myself just for the fun of it takes around 15 minutes — it's around 6k words of text, including references to the lyrics. So for the best experience, listen to the album beforehand to understand what the hell I was thinking when I wrote this review and set a good amount of time aside.
Another thing to get out of the way: yes, this is 9 months late

Between 1&2 💞

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

Talk that Talk 🎙

One of the most perfect TWICE songs.
I think this is one of TWICE’s best sounding title tracks. 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.
Dahyun, Tzuyu, and Jeongyeon’s vocals sound incredible in this intro. Dahyun’s voice sounds so full and smooth with that harmony layered on top. Tzuyu coming in with the Yes or Yes, Push & Pull, and 1 to 10 references — these are 5 years of song references in one line. And Jeongyeon closes the prechorus accompanied by a rising synth to drop into chorus one. Jeongyeon slays prechoruses.
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 hae Talk that talk ttak han madi Talk that talk L-O-V-E deullyeojweo ooh Now now now now now yeah~
This song’s chorus is so honest yet so 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.
Now, back to this banger of a song. Beneath the Talk that Talk~ lines there’s this ascending synth bell that gently rings with each syllable and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. And the choreography during that part of the chorus is so so so so fun: from pretending that hands are talking, to that synergetic head bop and hand shuffle, to the deullyeojweo ooh! Oh my god Jihyo the deullyeojweo ooh…
Have I mentioned this song is fun?
Speeding through verse 2; Chaeyoung’s little part with the cat ears popping in the music video is adorable; Momo’s part with her solo choreography stretching 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 prechorus. Mina and Jihyo leading into it sound great BUT JEONGYEON… Now I am freaking out because she’s my ult bias, and this prechorus sounds almost identical to the first one, but the way she holds that final note, inflecting and enunciating the now~ for one more beat sounds so god damn perfect — the song almost teeters on a cliff edge, moments before diving into the chorus. Jeongyeon slays prechoruses.
Dropping into the second chorus and man, Jihyo killed that first chorus, but the way Nayeon delivers it just hits a bit different. She has an indescribable “pop” voice that stands out and shouts out loud this-is-THE-chorus. Jihyo’s voice brings the power, Jeongyeon has the allure, and Nayeon brings the energy. I think this is especially apparent in how she leads into the chorus and her A to Z da malhaebwa line: Jihyo starts the “tell” at 120% power whereas Nayeon waits until “what” to full-send the chorus; later in the chorus, she then highlights “malhaebwa” in a more pronounced and dynamic way before softening her voice again for her next line.
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-like instrument behind Chaeyoung’s part. Then Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Nayeon take initiative in their lyrics, professing their love before closing the bridge.
And can I just say before finishing the song off with the part that makes it exceptional, 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 second time I’m writing about Talk that Talk and it’s word count pretty much quadrupled.
And now for the pièce-de-résistance: this final double chorus is exceptional — 40 seconds of crack-laced euphoria; Jihyo switches up the chorus, Dahyun comes in with her airy “Talk that Talk”, Momo coming out of nowhere with “oh yeah it sounds so good!” — you’re damn right it does.
The second half continues; Nayeon belting out “tell me what you need!”, about what I said earlier with Nayeon’s chorus where she plays with her vocal delivery, contrasting a really powerful line with a softer one, Jeongyeon does it too with her
han beon deo~ haejweo
geurae banggeum geu mal~
From Momo’s part onwards, this song SOARS. Nayeon brings the song to even higher highs and Jeongyeon continues it still with her melody before smoothly slowing it down for Tzuyu’s line, closing the song off 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 prechorus going into Nayeon’s chorus
- The entire, double-shot, last chorus
- Solid line distribution
Needs Work
- Hook (Tell me what you want) and accompanying choreography could be “catchier”
Life Highlight
- Singing (and dancing) my heart out when this song played during a K-pop club
​
This song feels like that bubbly, excited feeling right before, or during, a party, or any event that you really wanted to go to. It simply feels like unadulterated, pure, unbridled joy and elation and escapism. The synths and instrumentation really have to be commended alongside TWICE’s vocals. There’s just a warmth and happiness to this gosh darn song that feels so very TWICE.
Lyrics and theme-wise, if this were to have been TWICE’s last comeback, they’ve done the thing: they’ve done a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story.
TWICE debuted with a song about making your crush go ooh ahh. Years later, they started maturing after asking “what is love?” by 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 real adults — to have a true relationship between one and two. I think there’s something poetic in that.
Harkening back to TWICE’s roots by combining mature thinking with youthful character, an incredible ending to look forward, 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 👑

If there was one b-side to promote in a live clip, this was a solid choice.
Main producer: LDN Noise of SM
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 song.
And speaking of the chorus, vocal line each got a chorus to flex and they did not fuck around
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~
The cymbals crash, drums start booming, and the vocals… 3MIX all just so sound so equally good. And then followed by
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
These looong held out notes performed by Jihyo and Nayeon are simply exquisite. Along with the shredding guitar, the drum set coming in full, the interludes by Dahyun, Momo, and Chaeyoung. This is the part of the song that always, always, give me goosebumps — it sounds so visceral, so energetic, so fun, so triumphant. Subjectively, boom boom clap songs can be hit or miss with people, but there is no denying that the pay off from the first part of the chorus to this 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
Mina and Chaeyoung show more sides of it in the second verse, especially with Mina’s phrase
And now that I’m surrounded by all my girls
We be shining bright like diamonds and pearls
It sounds really lovely — in a very cheesy and affectionate kind of way, as it rightfully should — song is about the girls and their fans. But the bridge is where the song truly shows it’s colours
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]
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. During the bridge, the production starts from a hushed guitar and bass drum duet with a touch a high hat, growing in intensity with a riser and harmonies at the end. The guitarist evolves in the background until finally going Super Saiyan and instead of supporting the drums, they take the centrepiece in tandem — eventually overtaking them with a little shred at the end of the chorus.
Then finally, the closing moments of the song even manages to squeeze in some more sappiness.
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
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
- Addicting guitar riffs
Needs Work
- Chaeyoung rapping in English in Korean songs somehow slaps harder than her English rapping in English songs
Life Highlight
- 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 appropriate and 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 even a guitar solo to rock out to, or more gusto from the drums, cymbals, bass guitar, or an accompaniment(!) of ad-libs from TWICE’s vocal line to support Jihyo’s chorus time? A ONCE can dream for a truly bombastic rock song from TWICE. But then again that distracts from the core of what this song is and that is a fan song undercover as a rock song.
Queen of Hearts has so much sweetness in its lyrics and message that its 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. And with a good combination of attitude and heart to make it a surprisingly incredible song, especially for fans of this type of sound — 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 🌈

Quite possibly the jammiest (pun intended) song of the album.
Sole lyric-writing credit: Chaeyoung
A song written by the Strawberry Princess herself — an event similar in frequency to Blackpink’s 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!
The song stretches back and forth with which attitude it wants to showcase but that chorus knows for sure what it wants to be. If you’re not bopping your head to the bassline, you better be bopping your head to the melody. Chaeyoung loves rhyming in the first half the chorus to enhance its catchiness and she is damn good at it:
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
The “wanna”, “weonhae”, and “ppeonhae” all combine to create these slant (imperfect) rhymes that continue momentum without feeling repetitive, iteration by derivation for the nerds.
Another characteristic of Chaeyoung’s songwriting is her unapologetic liberties with the song’s line distribution when displaying what she wants to showcase: her rap. She ate the first rap, then she ATE THE SECOND RAP. Those are her only two parts in the song yet she’s still sitting on top of the (fair, imo) line distribution.
The first rap after the intro is, like already mentioned, very dreamy and bouncy, it’s pop with R&B flourishes and, in my opinion, this is Chaeyoung’s bag. Her tone is very sing-songy and laid back, fitting the buildup to the pre-chorus. Syllables are pronounced at a triplet pace with a quarter at the end of each bar to give the rap room to breathe, further adding to the relaxed nature of this verse. Also, the line rainbow bubblegum is so adorable and so Chaeyoung.
That second rap on the other half… sheesh.
taneun deut tteugeoun samak wie
yeppeuge pieonan jangmi gata
joshimseure naege dagaol ttae
nado moreuge jjilleobeoril tende
Translating to:
Above the hot, burning desert
It’s like a rose that bloomed beautifully
When you come to me slowly
I will prick you unconsciously
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 same triplet-triplet-triplet-quarter structure is repeated across most of the verses, however 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 spitting — and she damn delivered:
The rap feels slick, effortless, 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 and consistent 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
- Strawberries with some spicy raps
- 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, Mina’s is great
Life Highlight
- 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 of MP3. It’s dreamy, the raps are satisfying, and the ending is very cute. I will say that although the second half of the song adds the crack-laced “spaceship” post-choruses and a floaty bridge with an incredible transition to the final chorus, the climax and killing parts of the song make it feel a bit front-loaded. And in an album stacked with incredible finishers, it feels more apparent.
With that said, it’s an 8/10 bop for me. This song is so radio-friendly and easy to put on and it feels exactly what Chaeyoung would make if she were given the reins to produce a pop song all on her own. The lyrics are non-chalant but full of meaning, the wordplay is intricate, the production is playful, and it’s not too in-your-face with the caliber of song that it is. Songs like Basics are the gold 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 💃

One of the most enjoyable songs I’ve heard in a while.
Sole lyricist credit: Jihyo
Background vocals: Jihyo
Vocal director credit: Jihyo
Lead composer credit: Jihyo
There is an underlying tension within the first 4 bars of the song, Jihyo and Nayeon 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.
Toronto’s residential market needs this song injected into its veins because god damn this song has so so so much house in it.
The wobbly synth beat, the sprinkle of that house piano in the pre-chorus where the percussion is just about ready to explode, the ascension into this Cloud9 level chorus where
* Nayeon opens it using a breathy tone, with vocal chops serving as harmonies
* The blooming of the house piano to take centre stage
* Jeongyeon’s pronunciation of the word “trouble” almost sounding like a growl
* Chaeyoung slyly admitting “I like this trouble”
* The entirety of Tzuyu’s tro~oh~oh~ouble yeah~
* The descending melody of that house piano as the song ascends into euphoria
* Sana using her deep voice for the na~na~na~na
* Jihyo leading the vocals during the group synchronized T.W.I.C.E chant
This chorus is perfect.
And then.
AND THEN.
ANOTHER KILLING PART.
This rap fucking slaps.
During the first 2 bars, Chaeyoung is keeping it calm because that endorphin trip of a chorus just ended but ayo, no-one, and I mean no-one on the whole damn Earth expected her to snap that hard in the last 2 bars:
You cannot resist this
I - I - I I - I - I
Cannot miss this, such a bliss
I - I - I - I I - I - I
Ima put it down down
I-I - I - I I - I
Oh yeah, better kiss kiss
I - I I - I - I - I
The lines below the lyrics are the notes.
Note: I’m not that well versed in this technical aspect of music theory but I digress.
This is all in the span of 2 bars where it’s
Triplet-triplet-quadruplet-triplet,
Quadruplet-doublet-doublet-quadruplet.
This is all in the span of 5 seconds.
Now, 25 syllables/5 seconds = 5 syllables per second isn’t groundbreaking, but god damn it these 2 bars sound so nice — if there is one part in this album I always repeat, it’s this.
The addition of that first quadruplet for “cannot miss this” in the midst of all the triplets sticks out and accelerates the flow of the rap while the following doublets and quadruplets help to 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 in. This is what you get when a member knows the other members so well that when they write a song, they know how to make the group as a whole exceed. This is what you get when the artists you stan love doing artist shit.
And.
AND.
THAT’S NOT ALL.
For all the ranting I wrote on how much I love a damn good outro to close a song,
This outro slaps as well.
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this trouble be-be by Momo
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this trouble bay-be by Sana
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this trouble bay-beh by Chaeyoung
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this trou-ble by Jihyo
What an outro.
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 day on Earth, after the final T.W.I.C.E chant by all the members, comes these blissful 20 seconds at the very end.
What a song.
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THE GOOD
- Theme of relishing in an uncontrolled love
- Mina and Sana’s melody in the pre-chorus
- Chorus
- Post-chorus
- Rap
- Outro
- 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 — a bit out of place
Life Highlight
- After clubbing, I have a newfound appreciation for songs like these #noclubbingnolife
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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 other than that, this song is the best “international” sound 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 music 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 💖

I first thought this was just a good song, then I read the lyrics.
Main producer: Slow Rabbit of HYBE
Gentle guitar plucks, shimmering synths, a distant keyboard in the right ear, in the left an occasional glockenspiel, the melodic oohs from the members — this song is PRETTY.
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 evolves from a song with good vibes, to a song to dance to while crying in the club. And that’s without even delving into the lyrics.
The song describes a situation where the singer is in a darker place in life:
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
It isn’t until another person gives them hope by calling them brave that they find the drive to keep on going, to keep on reaching higher highs, to try to be their truest self. Where has this theme been done before? Uhm…
THIS SONG IS FEEL SPECIAL AS A B-SIDE ‼️
Notable lyrics include:
A voice was heard makes me alive again
I was an endless maze, you became my sign
I’m never alone, so I’m never alone
My only believer
A dreamer that made me run further
This is such an emo song, oh my god. What makes it hurt even more that apparently, like how Feel Special can be interpreted, this song is centred around ONCE, which, again, is the TWICEiest shit ever. This group is so sappy and full of love, they deserve the whole world.
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THE GOOD
- Special lyrics
- Pleasant sound to vibe out to
- That gentle break after the first chorus
- Jihyo’s high note at the end
- A Nayeon Jeongyeon joint high note ⁉️
- Just pretty vocals throughout
Needs Work
- Potentially hard to read without translating the Korean lyrics
Life Moment
- 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
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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 isn’t written by a member and the thematic bits are mostly in Korean I just tend to forget about it 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 barrier the listening experience a bit, dropping it down to an 7/10.
With that anecdote out of the way, this song is just such a vibe, man. I know that sounds incredibly 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 stop and cry 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. Crying while dancing the night away as they say, or something along those lines.
Also now feels like a good time to get into my rating system. A 10/10 song for me is one of the best of an artist’s discography, songs that encapsulate their ideas perfectly or expand upon them in a meaningful way. 9/10s are borderline perfect songs where I sometimes have trouble comprehending how excellent they are. 8/10s are great songs with standout characteristics, and 7/10s are songs where I feel the flaws are too apparent or are simply just great songs that I’m less attracted to.
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I SEE THE LIES
ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE
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Gone 💨

Who the fuck pissed off Dubu this time??
Sole lyricist credit: Dahyun
It’s getting quite rare to see TWICE pull off brand new sounds because, with 218 songs under their belt, 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 know 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 convention would have Mina continuing the build but — it doesn’t. The song continues to simmer, adding a hint of high hat to the pot. And then, Sana and Tzuyu come on and surely the buildup has to bear fruit right?
Silence, until…
I see the lies on the top of your tongue
The strings emerge again on full blast, the simmer turns into a rolling boil, and the anger of the song is revealed.
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
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 and unfaithful that they’ve just about had enough of the relationship altogether.
This has been Dahyun’s thing coming from 2020’s Bring It Back, 2021’s Cruel, and 2022’s That’s all I’m saying — emotionally charged breakup songs that make you feel as if she’s gone through a dozen bad relationships. Dispatch, do your job better, or don’t, I don’t really know.
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 in the back along with a consistent synth filling out the soundscape. But this time, it’s Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the rap:
My limit, can’t stand it anymore
My patience, invisible
It’s lost, can’t find it, oh, it’s all gone
Even if I try to turn back, it’s too late
There’s no use for you anymore
All free, no tears, none left, it’s long Gone
Followed by Momo and Dahyun holding down the bridge
With your flipping mind, you’re on the way out
I know that you know what I’m talking ‘bout
Nothing you could say
That could turn this ‘round
I’m Gone
[English translation adjusted to fit the cadence of the Korean syllables.]
Continuing the disrespected theme of the song, Dahyun notes that she’s finally had enough; instead of reasoning and pondering to herself the mistake that this relationship was, she concludes that it’s time to pack her bags and go. Chaeyoung adding on that there’s no point salvaging what was once there for all of it is long gone.
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 is a bit of a shame that Chaeyoung’s rapping popped off in this album whilst 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 and transitioning into 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 but there is nary a weak vocal performance in this album.
To close the song off, a wash of synths get to have their shine in the spotlight, showered with Nayeon’s belting, signifying the dramatic and drawn out conclusion of this partnership. As an aside, I think this outro sounds like a GOT7 song.
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THE GOOD
- They’ve still got a few surprises left
- Thundering chorus
- 2nd rap and bridge combo
- Bitter, crumbling relationship theme
Needs Work
- I’m not a huge fan of Momo’s delivery in the 1st rap — she may have the best tone of the rap line but she has less experience
- The post-chorus in general, specifically the first one, can be a bit tiring on repeat listens
Life Highlight
- Actually, I think this song sounds like a mix between a GOT7 song, BLACKPINK’s Love To Hate Me, and Dahyun’s Bring It Back. I don’t know where I got this thought synthesized from, but it stuck
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Going back to that point about the first rap, or, more accurately, that 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. And with a chorus as powerful as this, I’m expecting what follows to either contrast or “snap” into place right after the chorus. The post-chorus going into the bridge contrasts Dahyun’s light tone with the hard-hitting production, continuing the energy until it slowly fades into silence at the end of the bridge.
I guess how I view the first post-chorus is that it’s somewhere in the middle. Momo’s rap is trying to match the intensity of the production while Chaeyoung slows it down to lead into verse 2, but Momo’s delivery isn’t as clean as Dahyun’s. That could be attributed in part to the amount of lyrics, the vocal director, the melody constructed for that specific part, or just how loud the production is compared to the vocal mix — it could be any one of those factors because Momo, as proven by Hello, is capable of an insane flow.
Either or, as much as TWICE have 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 when I listen to it in the first time in a while elevates it to a 8/10. Keep on breaking hearts, Dubu.
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INVINCIBLE
SUPERHEROES
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When We Were Kids 🧸

Press play to reminisce, pull up lyrics to cry
Sole lyricist credit: Dahyun
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
Invincible superheroes, we wanted to be adults
To the higher, clearer world
The chords start swelling, the high hat keeps pace, and then the harmonies come in
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
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 going back into 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 can I just take this time to appreciate the amount of Jeongyeon vocals in this album. Her voice is so clean, 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
I wish that I could meet
Could meet the younger me
Giving the song time to rest, before building back up to the last chorus — this time lead by Jihyo, transitioning from the bridge with her own unique lead-in, 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 as prolific as they can get, the background choir 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 actually end, and When We Were Kids being the album closer very much indulges in that feeling.
After a brief refrain, supported by Nayeon’s high note with a touch of vibrato, the song almost dives back into a fourth chorus. Nayeon and Jeongyeon harmonize — an especially rare and heavenly moment. And the song repeats the bridge, reiterating that they want to meet their younger selves, this time with the more lush R&B production before closing with silence, a few piano notes, and Tzuyu singing the last line of the song
Oh, we were kids
Reflection, acceptance, hope.
What a song.
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THE GOOD
- Heavenly vocals throughout
- Generous harmonies
- Relatable, heartfelt lyrics
- Euphoric chorus
- Great closer to the album
Needs Work
- Refrain after the last chorus could’ve been executed better
Life Moment
- 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 during the beginning of November. Then school, 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 sheer 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, hell, even what my next Instagram story should look like, evolve into working and 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 marketing message was originally to resonate with people through their senses and their hearts. That was during their debut, and I think it still holds up today. Touching people through their emotions is what TWICE, in my opinion, does best and is what makes them one of K-pop’s all time greats. It was never about having the best numbers, it was always 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 could get this far. It’s these nine women or none — 10/10.
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Epilogue

Didn’t find anything with the search function. But do you guys think an animal horn trumpet would be useful for SHTF, especially a longer term one? Like the Harad guy on the mumakil in LotR at the battle of Minas tirith.
Thinking it would be a good way like used in history to signal attack, retreat, regroup, alarm, morale boost, etc. without radios; and the range is a few miles radius so everyone in your group in the area can hear it even if they don’t have radios? And you don’t have to scream your lungs out 0.o
Finally figured out how to blow one correctly maybe I’ll be the signal guy of my group… xD

I was thinking about this recently, because I noticed a post here from this subreddit that shows that bathrooms and washrooms in the world of Inkopolis are genderless.:https://www.reddit.com/splatoon/comments/13ygf6splatoon_has_canonical_genderless_bathrooms/
In addition to that, Inklings and Octolings seem to not really have a specific gender, and in the character design screen, they appear to be gender non-conforming. So it seems that the squid world is very progressive in relation to social issues, like LGBTQ+ rights, and their is no real mention in the games of gender discrimination, and recently Octolings have been incorporated into Squid society, where they live peacefully with the other species of sea creatures in the game. So with that, we can rule out the world of Splatoon as being a Fascist, Ultraconservative, or Theocratic society, as it seems to be pretty inclusive towards all different groups of animals.
But we can also rule out Splatoon as being a Socialist, Communist, or Anarchist Society as well! This is because corporate bosses like Mr. Grizz exist. In either one of these types of societies listed before, there would be no bosses, as workers would collectively own and manage the factories and workplaces through Workplace Democracy, and Mr. Grizz bosses around his workers in a very autocratic way.
We can even rule out Splatoon as being the typical type of Liberal Democracy like what the United States has, as the world the Inklings live in uses a form of Electrical Energy to avoid pollution, in the form of the Zapfish and the Great Zapfish that powers their society. Most Liberal Democracies throughout the world seem to be pretty reliant on fossil fuels and methods of energy production that cause harm to the environment, and Splatoon seems to for the most part, avoid this by using electricity to power their cities (yes, I am aware of the green polluted water that exist near the dams in the Salmon Run stages, but I am just talking about the MAIN type of energy they use to keep their houses warm and their gaming systems on).
After looking through all of this, there are only one type of society that I can say that Splatoon is: Splatoon is a Social Democracy, that seems to be culturally Center-Left to Solid Left in regards to protecting and caring for its gender non-conforming citizens and a lack of gender discrimination in the society(?), and economically Centre-Right to Solid Right in regards to forms of energy that they use to power their cities. In other words, it is a capitalist society, but one that tries its best to reign in the more destructive elements of Capitalism to make it less harmful for the good of society, and is very accepting and open towards many different groups of the population, like its gender non-conforming citizens.
What do y'all think? Let me know in the comments, and if I missed anything important that confirms my suspicions.

Hi! Thanks to everyone on here. I’ve enjoyed watching (and been inspired by) many of your posts over the last couple years.
I have an existing phoenix and peony nukibori sleeve (see post) that I am very happy with. This was my first tattoo and, as is the way, I am now considering getting something on the other arm.
Any ideas as to what subject or animal goes well with a phoenix… besides a dragon? Note that I would probably want to continue with the peonies on the other arm as a floral accompaniment.