#guess again!

[ragnarockz]

Pspsps

What if 39 & 45 of this one list👀

Pretty please?

Tip Jar 💰

39. “you can barely speak, so cute”

45. “what if i just leave you here, wet and needy?”

something something the horrors we cannot escape nor the power we may have wished we owned at a younger time in our lives when maybe that power, would have set us free something something

tw for internalized homophobia and of course the lingering ghost of evanora because hey I mean...will our girl ever get over that? nope

Images infiltrated Agnes' minds eye as she stared Vidal down as her shape lingered in the door frame. She looked a little different; younger and innocent. Her hair was pulled back but not in her usual messy bun with a clip to hold it up. Her clothes were a little different; maybe a little dated and not entirely appropriate for her age now. Agnes bit her lip as she shifted a little higher onto the bed, felt the wetness between her legs as it clung to her skin and made her underwear do the same. They were white with a little pink bow sewed right in the middle of the hemline. Another image that was wasn't right for her now but once was.

This idea had crossed her mind and then came back looping around. She thought she needed to go talk to someone, a professional. Truly, this meant there was something deeply wrong with her and her sanity. She questioned herself for weeks until she snuck off during lunch one day at work and went to a store just on the outskirts of Westview to buy what she needed to fulfill out her fantasy.

Vidal had no idea until they got home that evening from work and Agnes tossed the shopping bag onto the bed and left it there for Vidal to go through as she left to shower. Vidal did go through the bag and found clothes that suited neither of them; outfits that weren't their way of dressing. A white cotton underwear set that was juvenile in a way and was Agnes' size. Vidal had an inkling of an idea but wasn't exactly sure; a nagging, gnawing thought blooming in her head as she stared at the clothes laid out on the bed and waited for Agnes to get out of the shower.

And Agnes did come back into their bedroom with her hair down which was also something she never, if ever, did. She stared Vidal the entire time as she scooped up the underwear off of the bed and put it on. Vidal could only stand and stare in silence as she knew, whatever this was, was Agnes' way of seeking catharsis.

The detective climbed onto their bed and laid herself down in a way that mimicked how Vidal would lay onto the bed. On her right side facing the door, one arm propping herself up and the other down in front of her chest. Her right leg on the bed while her left was crossed over on top. Seductive, provocative. She was displaying herself for Vidal in a way that was without a doubt the mere image of a feminine exhibition. Vidal thought she was going to swallow her own tongue.

But, the agent played along and got dressed with the other clothes that were left on the bed. They were in her size and were eerily close to something she would have worn in her late teens to early adulthood. She realized as she slipped on these vaguely familiar clothes that what Agnes had on, must have been vaguely familiar to her too.

Vidal stood there until Agnes asked her to go stand in the doorway and wait. Vidal grabbed the bag off of the bed, tossing it onto the floor before she took her order and did what Agnes asked of her to do. She stood there, one hand holding the door post as she peered into the room and let her eyes trace over the startling white fabric that covered her partner. It made Vidal's skin crawl.

"We should hurry...my Mom will be home soon..."

Vidal's eyes closed as if they were made of lead. She felt her heart hammer and sink in her chest as she gripped the door frame a little tighter at the sound of Agnes' words. She understood now. This was Agnes opening herself up in a way she could never with just words and a bottle of wine between them.

"...How much time do you think we have?"

Vidal merely whispered as her hand slid down the frame until she let go and took a step towards the bed. Agnes didn't move from her spot; laid there in wait for Vidal to come over her. Vidal could see that plea behind those intelligent blue eyes even in the dimness of their room.

"Not long...the store isn't that far away and she said she was only getting a few things..."

Another sinking of Vidal's heart as she closed the gap between herself and the bed. She pressed her palms down to throw her leg over and then brought her other up to join. She crawled across the bed until she was kneeling right beside Agnes. There was someone else laying there looking up at her; someone she hadn't had the chance to meet. Someone younger, more afraid. Someone who was innocent and gullible and someone who, was deathly afraid.

Vidal sucked in a breath as her hand came out to run her fingers up Agnes' leg. The agent could feel the detective's skin prickle under her touch and the muscles underneath tensing and then relaxing. It was like she had never been touched before; her reaction was something that elicited a newness to such a sensation. Vidal swore her heart was going to break.

"You can barely speak, so cute..."

Vidal whispered under her breath as her fingers moved up even further; daring to slip underneath the hemline of Agnes' underwear. She felt Agnes tense again as if she new this was a bad idea; as if she had been told countless times over and over again to never let anyone touch you this way and especially, not another woman. Vidal had to pull from herself within, somewhere deep and somewhere strong to allow herself to continue with this fantasy? Method of healing? A bigger fuck you towards Evanora in the comfort of their bedroom? Vidal let her fingers slip under and rake through the slightly course pubic hair she would have usually enjoyed if the circumstances were different.

Agnes' eyes widened before she used her forearm that was propping herself up to push away from the bed and fall over onto her back. She was allowing this all to unfold; allowing Vidal to take over as she surrendered herself without another word. Agnes was too chaste, too pure, too desperate in her need for love and affection to ever dream of pushing Vidal away even if her fingers moved in closer to a place she knew would bring her nothing but sin and the feeling of disgrace. Maybe she wanted it; to feel like she was worthless in some way. That would get someones' attention; especially from her mother.

"What if I just leave you here, wet and needy so when your...your mother gets home...she'll find you up here in your bed...just...soiled, ruined..."

Vidal did not expect to hear Agnes moan the way she did but that sound fell from her mouth as she slammed her eyes shut and bucked her hips upwards towards Vidal's fingers and silently begged for more.

Who was Vidal to deny any of this? There was something breaking open; right down the rotten seam and Vidal could only sit there now and pry it with her own fingers.

The juice inside was not rotten but sweet; warm and wet and welcoming as Vidal let her fingers slip easily into Agnes.

"What happens when your mother finds out your not good? What happens when she finds out...you brought me up here to sneak around with you while she's out? What would she say? What...what would she do...Agatha?"

Vidal had known; had always known.

She had known before she even started working at the Westview police station.

She had known when she got the news she was transferring and did her own homework about the people she would be working with.

She had found something that had been omitted a long time ago; something that had definitely been tossed aside a very, very long time ago that she concluded after she had found out more and more, that Alice probably hadn't ever even known.

But she did.

She saw Agnes.

Every inch of her.

Even the name that was given to her and the name she had taken instead.

Vidal saw it all even if Agnes kept it all locked away and closed off and kept her mouth and emotions and memories at bay.

Vidal couldn't stop herself, didn't dare as she continued to move her fingers inside of Agnes and hoped whatever she was doing was right.

"What would your mother say, Agatha...if she knew you had a girl in your bed with her fingers inside of you? What would she do?"

All in a hushed whisper as Vidal shifted closer; just enough that her face was hovering above Agnes'. It was up to her if she wanted to make the next move, the next step. Would she allow herself to fall deeper? Would she allow herself to sink to a level she was scared of? Could she? Was she allowed to fall so far from grace?

Of course she was. What was there to stop her as she clenched her muscles around Vidal's fingers and brought her hands up now to hold the sides of Vidal's face so she could lower it to her own and press her trembling lips to Vidal's?

There was nothing left to say that Vidal's fingers and Agnes' tongue couldn't spell out just on their own. Desperation and acceptance; the countless times that Vidal's fingers curled upwards as if they were saying sorry. The way Agnes sucked on Vidal's tongue as if to say thank you. The harrowing realization that once Vidal's fingers would slip away; coated and sticky with Agnes' orgasm and the string of saliva strung as their lips departed, they would never speak of this ever again.

[thebibliosphere]

We’re getting the initial pricing for the paperbacks in from KDP/Spark and haha, ah, dear.

[courtjestersanonymous]

just so everyone is clear, if one more person is weird to me I am going to wrap myself in bubble wrap and ship myself to the artic to live in a glacier where no one can be weird to me ever again

[thekingofgear]

Hi, I have a quick question about Thom Yorke's vocal effects on two songs. On the latest "5.17/That's How Horses Are" release, his vocal track has this unique doubled-up or double tracked effect, and I recall his vocals on the chorus of "Daily Battles" having a similar thing. Would you happen to know *exactly* what's going on here? Like beyond just double tracking, or a chorus effect, it sounds like there's some kind of unique compression thing going on. I lack the vocabulary to describe-- help?

Sing the "same" thing twice (taking plenty of liberties). Compress each take to bring out the sustain (1176 with slow attack and quick release). Pan both takes center. Apply a bit of stereo reverb to the main take, and a ton of stereo reverb to the other take. Side-band compress the reverby take so it ducks behind the main take. They’ve used similar techniques on several songs in the past, perhaps most notably on Spectre. But it’s rare to hear it for the entirety of a song. Usually the technique is used to accent certain words, such as on Guess Again! and Truth Ray (“thin thin thin”). And the more general idea, heard across Thom's discography, is to feed your delay/reverb effects with a secondary take. Sometimes we only hear the delay/reverb, which adds a really interesting character as the "echo" is different from the original. I suppose it's the same principle as adding modulation to a delay/reverb to make it feel unique from the original, but taken a step further. Daily Battles is a bit different, as it just has a second take of the main vocal panned right during the choruses. But that song does feature its own unusual vocal effect: a fast stereo delay that’s applied extremely briefly on certain sibilants, accenting the start of certain words.

[excuseme-howdareyou]

Red Hood, swinging into a fight and kicks a thug in the face: I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL! 🎶

Batman: *sigh* Well, at least this time he's using the actual lyrics

[masterofdeath]

Reminder: Jo Rowling ain’t shit. And David Yates can choke.

[thekingofgear]

Photos by @claylancasterphoto and @iskradavid respectively. Both are from the Oakland show.

Thom and Nigel’s 2017 TMB DJ Setup

This past week, Thom and Nigel played a set of “DJ” performances in support of the Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes re-issue. Their setup was mostly identical to that which they used for TMB DJ shows in 2015 and 2016, and most differences came down to choice of instrument (such as which poly-synth) rather than a change in work-flow.

Here’s a basic run-down of their setup:

Thom, Nigel, and Tarik Barri are all behind custom-fitted Traffic White Hoerboard Stereo.T tables. Nigel’s table is DJ-centered, consisting almost entirely of Native Instruments Traktor controllers for his Apple Macbook Pro, while Thom’s setup is more performance-centered, featuring guitars, a synth, and effects units. However, as at past DJ shows, Thom used a Pioneer 2-Channel Mixer to control the balance of his setup, while Nigel sometimes borrowed Thom’s Fender Jazzmaster or Mustang Bass for a number. Additionally, Thom spent more time manipulating his Elektron Analog Rytm than playing any of his “instruments”. As such, each performance was a challenge to the distinction between “DJ set” and “live performance”.

Here are some key differences from their past setups:

Thom is using a Dave Smith Instruments Prophet-6 in place of his Elektron Analog Keys. Thom’s use of the Prophet-6 at these solo shows confirms that he used the keyboard for his collaboration with Mark Pritchard on the track Beautiful People. Pritchard commented on the gearslutz forum that he thought Thom used a Prophet 6, but since Thom continued to use a Prophet 08 with Radiohead it seemed possible that Pritchard misremembered which Prophet (an easy mistake). However, it’s now clear that we had no reason to doubt Pritchard’s memory.

Thom is singing into a Shure SM58 rather than an SM57.

Thom has added an Electro-Harmonix Cathedral to his setup for vocal reverb.

Thom has added large new unit to his setup. It’s grey with wooden side panels. It also seems to have push-buttons and sliders, but no knobs, and may be connected to the Prophet-6.

Thom now plays his Fender Mustang bass guitar on Black Swan and Pink Section.

And here’s a full gear list:

Thom’s Hoerboard Stereo.T :

Elektron Analog Rytm (MKI) – almost certainly MIDI-synchronized with Nigel’s laptop. When Thom is adjusting stuff at his Hoerboard table, it’s usually to change patterns or settings on the Analog Rytm. Nigel seems to be supplying beats on some tracks, but most seem to have been supplied by the Analog Rytm (at least on TMB tracks).

Dave Smith Instruments Prophet-6 – possibly MIDI-synchronized with Nigel’s laptop. On songs like Brain In A Bottle or Default, it’s unclear if synth sounds are entirely samples on Nigel’s laptop, or if they’re sequenced by Nigel’s laptop and generated by Thom’s synth. Played by Thom on Cymbal Rush, Interference, I am a Very Rude Person (outro keyboard solo),

Pioneer DJM-250MK1 2-Channel Mixer – has white bottle caps on some knobs to prevent accidental adjustment (including master volume and input trim for both channels).

Electro-Harmonix 45000 4-Track Looper – used for vocal looping on Atoms for Peace, Brain in a Bottle, Nose Grows Some (outro), Not The News, Two Feet Off The Ground, I am a Very Rude Person, and probably more. Particularly notable for its use on I am a Very Rude Person, since Thom’s vocal loops are all that fill the harmonic space above Nigel’s bass-line.

Electro-Harmonix Cathedral – used for vocal reverb.

Unknown Grey Unit w/ Wood Side Panels

Yamaha Sustain Pedal – the type that comes with Yamaha keyboards, not the commercially available FC-5.

Nigel’s Hoerboard Stereo.T :

Apple Macbook Pro – w/ B SIDE LABEL “とびてぇなー” sticker, resting on a Hoerboard Laptop Clip

Native Instruments (NI) Traktor Kontrol S4

NI Traktor Kontrol F1 – he has two, one to either side of the S4.

NI Traktor Kontrol F1 – he has two, one to either side of the S4.

Pioneer DJM-850 Mixer – the pair’s main mixer since the 2013 Atoms for Peace DJ performances.

Boss Delay Machine DM100

Guitars+Amps:

Jazzmaster No1 (white) Brain In A Bottle (Thom)

Jazzmaster No2 (black) AMOK (Thom)

Fender Mustang Bass Black Swan (Thom, new arrangement) Atoms for Peace (Nigel) AMOK (Nigel) Interference (Nigel) Pink Section (Thom, new arrangement)

Vox AC30 – used in Oakland and Houston, probably rentals.

Vox AC30HW – used in Hollywood, probably a rental.

Radial J48 Active DI Box #1 – kept on top of the AC30, used to send a direct version of the guitar signal to the mixing desk.

Ampeg Classic Series SVT-VR

Ampeg SVT-810E Bass Enclosure 8x10″ Cabinet – laying on its side to avoid blocking the screens.

Radial J48 Active DI Box #2 – kept on top of the bass cabinet, used to send a direct version of the bass signal to the mixing desk.

Pedalboard:

RJM Music Mastermind GT/10 MIDI Controller – probably used so that Nigel can use his laptop to remotely mute the guitar or bass and activate Thom’s Hotcake.

BOSS TU2/3 – for guitar.

Crowther Hotcake – for guitar.

BOSS TU2/3 – for bass.

Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus – powers the three pedals.

? TL Audio Indigo Series 2051 Mono Valve Voice Processor – this rack unit may be the “riser” on which the pedals are placed. The unit was a part of Thom’s setup for the first DJ performance shows in 2013, and it seems odd that Thom would have entirely removed the vocal processor from his setup.

Here’s a closeup of Thom’s pedalboard (@claylancasterphoto):

You can read more about Thom and Nigel’s past DJ performance setups here, here, here, here, and here.

[maeganbobaegan]

thom yorke -- guess again!