#ppbr

[jesterthejesterrr]

[farshootingstar]

Guess it didn’t take as long as I was thinking. I really wanted to draw Ashton. So yeah, another Picture Perfect Boyfriend playlist and cover image.

Here’s the Ashton playlist for my fellow simps out there! Like with the Ashino playlist, I tried to make it a bit of a mix of stuff he’d listen to and songs that otherwise fit his vibe, though this list is a bit more structured since this guy has more of a character arc and I have more to say about that.

Obviously, we have to start off strong with this list, so Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance was a no-brainer. Kind of a similar deal with the second song, I Will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab for Cutie (albeit the Radio Edit, since the album version is like 8 minutes long).

Spoiler cut below that pertains to both Picture Perfect Boyfriend and Picture Perfect Boyfriend REBOOT, even if I assume that Ashton’s nature is pretty generally known by this point in the fandom.

Coffee Bar by Yung Dark is next and probably doesn’t come off as super notable aside from being the most atmospheric song on the playlists so far. I just thought it would be fun to toss in to represent some chill coffee dates at Café Rose, since things will escalate quickly. Weird little aside, but I kind of like how audible the hand movements are on the guitar strings for the fret work, so I guess we can stretch that to Ashton pulling the strings on these dates? :p

Lightning round, sort of, Alien Boy and Feel Good Inc. are mostly for the sense of isolation, if that makes any sense. Smooth Criminal (covered by Alien Ant Farm) and Kill All Your Friends also come off as… pretty apt for what happens in the events of the first game.

I’ll admit that Reptilia could also really fit for Ashino, but they are more similar than they’d care to admit, so I put it on Ashton’s list since the genre’s more of a fit for him. Besides, we’re in his smug winner phase starting with that song! It definitely continues with Ava Adore and particularly The Glow (especially the line “making light of it, when you’re winning”, but also the general sentiment of the song that the anonymity afforded by the internet makes some people feel secure in their cruelty towards others).

I like to think that Dark Red is the smallest hint of faltering, since Ashton tried really hard to brush off the fact that he murdered his friends just to be assured closeness to the player. From there we head into Take Me Out for the iconic garden confrontation and Thnks fr th Mmrs for the fallout.

I consider the next handful of songs to generally be Ashton’s musings between the two games: regret over causing that whole shitshow, still loving the player, wanting to be better, etc. Bossa Nova Corps by Origami Angel is probably my favorite song selection for this playlist because it feels especially tuned into those sorts of sentiments and is about where we’re hitting sequel territory.

I think Nevermind can be used bluntly for the search for Ashton and You’re On being once he’s back in, after Ashino’s blocked off the Bureau and the kill switch isn’t working as intended.

While I try to kind of have an array of songs to give the vibes some wiggle room for how the player feels about characters, I’ll admit these last few are simp territory. Bad Habit is a pretty good “nerd wins love” sort of song, got Maybe Chocolate Chips for mutually assuring over looks and expectations, Honey for the obvious reason of the title and that the lyrics are about resolving to be better than before, and we finish on Death of a Bachelor. We can ask Ashton a particular question on one of the REBOOT dates that makes the last song feel right, if you chose to ask it.

But yeah! That’s the general thought process in this playlist. If I ever go back and add some more songs in, I really should add some more grunge. I totally forgot for a while that I had wanted to add in Black Hole Sun, so traded it with a kind of redundant choice I had in there before (for now, I’m trying to have the playlists reach the hour thirty mark and might expand on them at a later point, since I wanted to keep things fair).

[farshootingstar]

Sorry this took so long! Had the playlist itself ready for a good while, but hadn't gotten to the cover art.

Oh, boy. I thought I had things to explain before, but I went absolute clown mode on this one. I'm pretty glad I have things to say about this list, since John can feel a bit overlooked despite being just as interesting of a character as the rest. It's probably a mixture of him being the outdoorsy guy and his backstory, buuut...

Here's the John playlist for all the sunny sweethearts! Expect some bumps in the road, though. There's also some long songs in this one, including one I mentally wrestled over for a good while before even putting this list together (the opera one, in case anyone's curious).

Wellerman, covered by The Longest Johns, is my choice for the first song. John's listed favorite genres are sea shanties and celtic music, so it had to be one or the other. I guess it was sort of a good thing people lost their minds during the pandemic and returned to sea shanties (actually the pandemic was genuinely terrible, even if the shanties were fine). I think that this is the only a capella song in the playlists.

The second song is Mountain Sound by Of Monsters and Men. I wanted something kind of upbeat and I liked the theme of running from your past, for reasons. If you know, you know. Spoiler cut below for Picture Perfect Boyfriend's bonus word doc, as well as Picture Perfect Boyfriend REBOOT.

Bust Your Knee Caps by Pomplamoose is an option I was mentally eyeballing for a while for John's old identity, Max. That dude has major gangster vibes, so I had to put this in. He almost beats the player with brass knuckles, so I feel secure in this assessment.

Each and Every One is a song I decided to add in for the Glory version of Lily, someone that Max held a flame for. Needless to say, she couldn't bear how miserable things had become around him and I think this is a good song to reflect that. While Max did seem to have a soft spot for her, he doesn't seem adept at hiding his general nature and low opinion of other people around him.

This next song is like 12 minutes long and I can't believe I'm subjecting you guys to this. You have to understand, though: At heart, I'm old-school Final Fantasy garbage. So, yeah, we have a Distant Worlds concert recording of Opera "Maria and Draco" (from Final Fantasy VI). If there was a trimmed down version, maybe I could have gone for that. I chose this for the Lily, Eislied, and Max love triangle (who, in the song, would be Maria the mezzo-soprano, Draco the tenor, and Ralse the baritone, respectively). It seemed like Max would have taken losing a tad more gracefully (like Ralse respecting the results of the duel) if not for Lily's tragically young death, which leads us to...

Bitch Better Have My Money by Rihanna and I'd pretty self-explanitory, with how Max extorted Vincent's father. While Max had gotten worse to people after Lily left him, taking it out on everyone under him more and more, I get the feeling something well and truly snapped when she died. Maybe he could have learned to cope in time (not that it would be any consolation to the people he tormented), but I doubt he saw any value in self-improvement once Lily was gone. Really foolish, since his vile behavior was what pushed her away in the first place, but grief's not always rational.

Oak & Ash & Thorn is the transition between the absurdly cruel Max to the gentle protector John. That amnesia was practically like a spell on him. The Morning Dew is next and that one's some classic celtic music to chill or dance to.

Next up is Apple Green by Mother Earth because I have to inflict acid jazz upon everyone once again. I think it's safe to say that John wasn't some type of nature enjoyer in his previous life as Max, but that's behind him now. He definitely appreciates the beauty and color of the world around him now and I wanted to put this song in to reflect that.

The Mariner's Revenge Song by The Decemberists is also pretty long, so I'm feeling kind of silly in retrospect for worrying about song length back in Ashton's playlist. Then again, both the opera song and this one are both story songs, so I find it a bit easier to justify their lengths. This is a special choice, in that there's a side story (the word doc I mentioned before) about Vincent first meeting John and realizing right away that this was Max with amnesia.

Autumn's Song is here to represent John's favorite season. The nostalgic nature of it can hint at those old memories simmering inside of him, something that he understandably fears.

I wouldn't blame you guys if you clowned the hell out of me for this next one, but I chose Rainbow Connection by Kermit, from The Muppet Movie. It's just such a simple and sweet song. I feel like it really fits in with John being a kind and romantic person, seeing beauty and mystery in life when he hadn't before. I imagine John's flights of fancy also probably irritate Ashino a bit, which is funny with him having a crush on Kadsey. Wildflower Jigs is another song in here for the good vibes. Who doesn't enjoy a good jig, right? It kind of makes me miss ren fairs, since I haven't been to any since the pandemic.

Blackbird/Yesterday is an interesting Beatles mashup that was made for the Cirque du Soleil show, Love, and I think the sentiments of both songs really fit with John in general. Yesterday, the song that the lyrics are from, is a classic about the pain of being left behind by an important woman while Blackbird, which the guitar is taken from, is a song that's a little more abstract (to a degree) but always feels to me like moving past the pain life can bring. Both of the songs Stardust (Vocal Version) by Hoagy Carmichael and Happy to Be Here by Wookiefoot are for John's recovered memories. I feel like a crooner song fits Max (or at least his old-timey gangster vibes, since it's hard for me to imagine Max actually enjoying any particular genre) more while something somewhat more contemporary fits John, at least in that John is the here and now. In general, John seems like a very "happy to be here" sort of guy, even if things can be tough.

Bonny Portmore by Loreena McKennitt and In the Woods Somewhere by Hozier are to reflect the danger to the woods that John has called home for a while and the animals he's resolved to protect. If it weren't for that and Vincent's troubles, I have a feeling that John would've willfully stayed in the dark about his past for longer. I was also wondering while listening to In the Woods Somewhere if John ever has small recollections of being murdered, though he didn't really have time to process what happened. This leads us into Hello My Old Heart by The Oh Hellos, where John finally admits aloud that he's Max. I like the theme of this song, that you can't grow if you hide your heart away.

Remember when I chose a song in Vincent's playlist to acknowledge the yandere ends? Here's round 2: electric-boogaloo with the song Honeybee by Steam Powered Giraffe. Harmonizing singing groups (like barbershop quartets and such) seem like something that John could really appreciate. Also, very convenient title, considering one of the consistent particular details between the yandere ends. Again, I have speculations about what that all means and those make me pretty pleased that this recording is also an ensemble sort of song instead of a solo. I think it's a solo when played live, but I'll admit that I've never seen these guys perform despite some overlap in convention visits.

Thus Always To Tyrants feels like a good song for acknowledging that Max is John's past, but it's not who he needs to be in every way despite reclaiming that identity. That's kind of a given, but I feel for him and his fear to never become such a horrendous person again. Now that I think about it, he and Ashton could make a support group. Maybe they could drag Ashino in early, too, to save us all some grief.

Closing things off with the classic John Denver song Take Me Home, Country Roads. While John has to fit into his old life to some extent, he's taking all that he's become with him and being a better person for it. That's another great ending that I hope can stick.

[farshootingstar]

I realized it might take a little longer to make the other Spotify playlist covers for the Picture Perfect Boyfriend playlists I've been chugging along on, so I'll just post this one here as well already.

Got a playlist for the Ashino fans out there! I tried to make it generally a mix of songs he'd enjoy and ones that inform his vibe in some way.

For each character, I specifically start the list on something they'd listen to, so he gets Wannabe by Spice Girls. The second song is more about the character, so I chose Leave the Door Open by Silk Sonic, since it's a fun retro throwback love song, but can come off braggadocious to the point of smugness.

Aside from that, I'll make a cut below for game spoilers for Picture Perfect Boyfriend REBOOT. I suppose you can consider the playlist itself also a spoiler, but I hope people at least played some of Ashino's route before deciding to listen to this thing. :p

After that is a small string of fairly innocuous love songs. I thought that would be a fun way to sort of imitate the first date. Things are going fine (aside from some perceived self-centeredness) right up until it's really not fine. Arguably, the song Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi is a small warning, since it's about empty and unfulfilling flings, but I set Dangerous by Big Data and Joywave as the moment the other shoe drops. (Fun Fact: Ashton gets a song from the same album as Dangerous.)

After that, the playlist mostly vascillates between sweet, bitter, and a couple of anime themes (if you know, you know). I specifically chose Rondo Revolution from Revolutionary Girl Utena (they didn't have the actual soundtrack version, so I chose a cover by Shokotan), as well as Morning Grace from Princess Tutu. Considering his tastes, I would so twist Ashino's arm into watching Princess Tutu, if he hasn't.

Aside from that, I think the most notable detail was that I added two songs regarding summer, namely because of a certain someone that canonically loves summer the best. Specifically, I chose to end on summertime by cinnamons and evening cinema for a sweet note, despite the fact that the game isn't finished, so what happens with Ashino is very open-ended at the moment. I just want to end each playlist on some sort of positive note.

I think one of my personal favorite choices for this playlist was the very bubblegum cover of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by The Cardigans. It's a really good match for Ashino's feelings towards the Bureau as well as the existential nightmare that is his life (similar to Ghost in the Machine by SZA and Phoebe Bridgers but with absurdly sweet production) and I think it can also vaguely work for his constant attempts to gaslight Kadsey (something I really wish I could berate him for).

Guess I had more to say than I expected, but there you go! Next up for a cover image and post like this will be Ashton.

[farshootingstar]

This one was kind of a doozy for me.

Here's the Vincent playlist for all the playtesters of culture out there! He's going to get some longer songs than usual in here as a treat (classical music can be like that, so yeah). I'll also admit right now that I'm not especially knowledgeable in the classical music scene, so I may not always pick out what's considered the best interpretations of the pieces at large. I feel like I should have something to say on why I chose some of these so, like the Kadsey playlist notes, this is long.

We're starting off strong with Chopin's 12 Études, Op. 10: No. 12 in C Minor as performed by Murray Parahia. Op. 10: No. 12 is the piece that Vincent performed in his route, which is the most obvious choice yet when it comes to these playlists. The reason I chose Murray Parahia's interpretation specifically is because of the way I chose a piece later on.

Next song is a swing into the macabre with The Séance by Blackbriar. I felt like referencing Vincent's interests in the supernatural early on. Seeing a ghost was definitely a formative experience for this guy.

Cut for spoilers below, just in case.

I don't want all of the classical selections to be "oops, all piano" even if that's Vincent's instrument of choice, so I'm also sprinkling in some other stuff. This one is Ernst's The Last Rose of Summer "Étude No. 6" as performed by Midori on violin, the same instrument as Vincent's father. I'm no expert, but the bow work sounds insane in this. I also like to think Vincent is a character that has a fondness for roses, since he tends to wear a purple rose boutonierre on his jacket.

I know someone that's a big fan of the v-kei group Versailles, so I slipped a little of their music in, since I think it's symphonic metal-adjacent. First up from them is Sympathia. I think it fits well with the fact that Vincent has some complicated relationships to deal with in his life (especially with how he views his deceased parents). That theme somewhat continues with La Maritza by Therion, with the singer reminiscing about her father.

I'm not really sure if Vincent's really into Impressionism when it comes to classical music, but I like to think he has some fondness for more emotionally-driven pieces, to contrast Ashino's soulless approach to art if nothing else. So, we're going to have some Debussy. 12 Études, L. 136: 2. Pour les Tierces (I'm so sorry for these titles; I sure don't pick for classical music to be organized this way) as performed by Mitsuko Uchida caught my attention. Apparently, Debussy said in his time that his études are "a warning to pianists not to take up the musical profession unless they have remarkable hands", so yeah. This piece and the set it's from are supposed to be major skill checks and I respect that.

Dark Venus Persephone is something I chose to somewhat reference the Glory version of Vincent's mother, Lily (I specify the Glory version, since there will also be references to the Bureau version that's pulling the strings on the whole AI project). Basically, she's a beautiful and tragic figure that was gone before her time, fitting with this sort of song. METAL KINGDOM is next to amp up the energy a bit more, along with giving us some power of friendship vibes, since Vincent could really use that kind of positivity. I, Don Quixote as covered by Chrisopher Lee (yes, the actor that played Saruman in LotR, among other iconic roles; he was also a metal enthusiast and occasional opera singer) is next because no one can tell me that Vincent wouldn't have had some admiration for Sir Christopher Lee as a fascinating gentleman.

A Villain's Monologue and The Rapture (but it's Pink) are songs that I think could fit for either the true Lily in the Bureau or Ashton, since both of them have plans for Vincent and aren't interested in giving him any say in the matters (and some bits of each song kind of fit each character more). Hell, Ashino can count in this chaos, too, since he thinks Vincent's rigged to be chosen by us and plans to circumvent that himself (albeit without killing Vincent, which is a bit of a step up from Ashton's attitude).

This next one is very basic of me, but come on. Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: Sequence: VI. Lacrimosa dies illa is such an iconic piece. If someone asks me what a requiem mass sounds like, I'd point to this. Death is Not the End comes next because death is practically a slap on the wrist for the AI characters in this story (as well as the player's avatar within the game, for that matter, since getting killed boots us back to the date selection screen with no lost progress). There also seems to be some reanimation stuff in there, so we could link that to Lily and the Bureau's plans.

Ghost is probably the weirdest song in this playlist, from a genre perspective, but it still feels on theme with the possibly supernatural aspect (especially if you take the music video into account, but this isn't about music videos) and the pessimistic doubt to it. Let's face it: Vincent's not exactly in the best situation in REBOOT, the game where we can finally get to know him. He's reluctant to reach out to his friends for help and his attempts to ask what's wrong with John and Kadsey lately have been brushed off in turn.

Next up is Chopin's 12 Études, Op. 25: No. 12 in C Minor as performed by Murray Parahia and I had decided to play a bit of a game in choosing that pianist. Usually, I look up a recommended artist for the solo pieces and pick something. For this one, I chose the piece and listened to several interpretations, picking out the one that spoke to me. This piece tends to also be called the Ocean étude and I assume it's from all of the arpeggios evoking rolling waves. Something about this specific interpretation sounds like an outpouring of grief to me, though I'm not sure if that was the intention from either Chopin's composition or Parahia's playing. Whatever the case is, this is the only version that nearly made me cry, so I knew this was the one. This was a fun little experiment and I'd recommend trying it, since interpretation in performance is very important to classical pieces. Also, this one ended up making me feel slightly more confident in my tastes, since I decided to look up info on Parahia and apparently his interpretations are extremely well-regarded in general.

Our Truth by Lacuna Coil us a song that gives me the vibe of "I reject your reality and I replace it with my own.", though I think we can hope for something more positive than what characters that have tried to change things have done so far.

Next is Beethoven's Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight" on C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2: I. Adagio sostenuto as performed by Paul Lewis. Moonlight Sonata is the other piece that Vincent plays in his route, but that one is if you reject his date. Of course, trying to reject him only ends up bringing us closer to him by some strange events and we get some delicious lore on top of that.

The Rabbit of the Moon by Moonlight Haze is next and I'll admit I chose that for Vincent's fondness for rabbits. It's about the Chinese fairytale of the jade rabbit, which I admit I only originally knew about since someone gave me a book about the Chinese zodiac that included that story. Not going to tell the whole thing here, but basically the rabbit is rewarded for the kindness of their attempted self-sacrifice to help a stranger.

This next one's actually pretty scandalous and would probably embarrass Vincent to no end: Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Yes, I know the title of the version I put on the playlist is in French, but I thought putting the translation would be convenient here. This feels like it could be a decent nod to the yandere end, since I haven't even really mentioned the REBOOT yandere ends in any playlists. They all play out pretty similarly (something I have speculations about), so I thought I'd just slip in something extra spicy for that. I imagine some of you may be confused by me saying that about this song, since it mostly sounds dreamlike, sweeping, and a bit romantic, but you'll know what I mean if you know either the poem it's based on or the ballet made later on to accompany the song (especially the ballet, honestly; that ending is bold, is how I choose to put it, and I'm not at all surprised that reactions to it had been mixed, since that was the same sort of audience that literally rioted at the premiere of Rites of Spring). This piece is something called a symphonic poem, which basically means it was made to evoke the feeling from some other piece of art- stuff like poems or paintings.

The other Versailles song I slipped into this is DRY ICE SCREAM!! [Remove Silence] and I like the energy in this one. This one comes off to me as a bit of a tragic love song and it's hard not to see everyone stuck in Glory as a bit tragic with what they're all going through, even if Vincent and John are less aware of the details.

The final song is Shared Hearts by Snow White Blood and Lilly Seth. It's a fairytale-themed song about an inseparable bond between sisters, but I chose it because of Vincent's found family: his friends and the player. Considering that in his true end, even if that's not the truest ending of the game, he finally reaches out for help and has renewed direction in his life, I really wanted something to reflect the bonds that support him. I hope that his ending stays happy.

Next time will be John. I thought his list would be the most difficult, but it really wasn't.

[farshootingstar]

I don't think I ever pointed out this thing in Picture Perfect Boyfriend (or maybe I had but forgot), so little cut for spoilers.

When we got to pick a favorite color, I always found the choices a bit strange- and not because not all of them were capitalized on the list, which made it look a bit janky.

The full range of colors you can pick as your favorite in the first game are pink, red, orange, yellow, white, and purple. You may notice that not having blue or green are particularly large gaps; maybe also black and brown if you really dig neutrals.

What do all of the chosen colors have in common, though? They're all naturally occurring colors for roses. Ashton tweaked the game for more icebreaker options in the garden section of his date.

[farshootingstar]

The silliest boy is finally done and we finally get a cover of a guy without creepy eyes going on. I thought I would get some sleep before finishing this cover and stuff, but my body said no and Bear (my cat) is judging me hard over it.

Here's Kadsey's playlist for all the Main Squeezies! I'm not going to lie, this particular playlist is a weird one and I won't blame anyone for questioning my tastes here. I did what I could and certain biases are showing. You'll definitely notice I feel a stronger need to explain myself on this playlist, so buckle in for the long haul if you want to understand these weird choices I've made.

When I saw dubstep was listed as a favorite genre of Kadsey's (complete with a pic of Skrillex), I knew without question what the first song would be. It just had to be Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites by Skrillex.

The second song, the one that tends to be more about character vibes, sort of is and isn't when it comes to Kadsey. I gave him the song Spoiled little brat by underscores, since I liked the hyperpop vibe of it and that it definitely has references to e-celeb culture. Also, I can't help clowning on Kadsey just a little bit because of certain events in REBOOT (well, one specific one, but no spoilers in this section). Incredibly, I think this is the first song in one of the playlists to mention taking a picture. Took long enough! :p

Spoiler cut below, as usual.

The next couple of songs are some bangers to dance to. Also, the starting example of my Jamiroquai bias, since I think Kadsey would also like some acid jazz on occasion. Yeah, though: Canned Heat, Eat Sleep Dance, and Move Your Feet are all a ton of fun. I particularly have fond memories of Move Your Feet as a song I would sometimes play on Dance Dance Revolution.

One of the distinctly odd ones is next and I absolutely feel like I need to justify myself on why I put the song Skiptracing by Mild High Club in here. It's very chill, so I think it makes a good breather in general, but also I couldn't help thinking of this song for Kadsey chilling with Ashton. Don't know why I get that mental image, but I feel like this song could fit for Kadsey realizing he loves the guy. Is that kind of weird? I mentally debated over this inclusion for a while, but ultimately put it in the playlist. I can just sort of imagine they were hanging out, generally vibing, and Kadsey had a spark of realization. Also, it's interesting that the song is called Skiptracing when there's no actual mention of skiptracing to be had (skiptracing is basically tracking down someone's whereabouts, particularly when it's someone on the run, if I recall right). I guess I should trust my instincts, since I picked up on the crush in the first game but brushed it off by thinking that was stupidly presumptuous. Clearly, I was Boo-Boo the Fool all along. The next song, Mine by Slayyyter, kind of piggybacks off of that crush aspect I mentioned.

Since I kind of think the crush stuff in general probably started before the whole "discovering the code" business, I put in Virtual Insanity next to somewhat cover that event. I don't think Kadsey would feel so condemning towards the whole thing- since he was always more moderate with messing with the code for pranks and so just saw it as a little fun- but things do start going downhill sometime after that. It doesn't seem to right away, though, so I tossed in Bangarang next for some extra fun.

Digital Love and Meet Her at the Loveparade are the selections kind of around where things start going wrong and the player makes an entrance. I feel like Digital Love can be especially apt for Kadsey's awkward position in the weird love polygon going on, since he has an unrequited crush on Ashton, Ashino has an unrequited crush on Kadsey, and how the player feels can be a bit of a mystery (personally, I'm cool with being Main Squeezie Numero Dos). On a side note, I recommend checking out Interstella 5555 (an anime movie/music video that was made for Daft Punk's Discovery album, which Digital Love is from). And hey, Meet Her at the Loveparade is our second Radio Edit version song and instrumental track in the playlists, two things that both showed up in Ashton's playlist previously. Does it mean anything? No, but it's kind of fun to note.

I'll admit, when I saw there was a Skrillex Remix of the song SICKO MODE, I was just like "YES" and slapped it in. I just think it's neat. The energy kind of fits in around the time Ashton starts murking everyone and leads us into a strange little choice...

Yes, I did put in an EDM cover of Total Eclipse of the Heart in this playlist. Consider it my own little jape.

The next one has a title and artist name that I can't type at all. I mean, just look at the playlist. That's a nightmare to puzzle out. Anyway, it's an atmospheric song I chose for when Kadsey's stuck out in the void that is the recycle bin after Ashton got the drop on him in the first game. Poor guy had a really bad time.

Luckily, he at least gets back out of that particular situation soon enough, leading us to World's end Rhapsody and Hysterical Us. Little side trivia, but I decided to try looking up what lyrics were in World's end Rhapsody and what I found didn't look like what I was hearing, so I carefully listened to it for a while and I think it changes part of the way through and people tend not to notice because of how repetitive it is. It sounds like it starts as "Check it out, baby. You're gonna find, that I love you." and changes after the instrumental break to "Oh, baby. (Don't tease me.) Check it out, baby. You don't know why, I love you." and then back again. I found that interesting and I'll fully admit I put this song in because I really miss Nujabes (gone too soon). I feel like Hysterical Us is a bit more straightforward in terms of being "Wow, that was terrible and we're all kind of traumatized, huh?"

D.A.N.C.E. is when we start getting into more stuff to dance to, though I can never shake the feeling that this song sounds a bit desperate. Hence it being in the general area it is.

Give Me Back My Man- Party Mix is another one I knew I'd have to include. I always had a feeling I'd stick in a B-52's song somewhere, though I could totally imagine someone predicting something like Love Shack, Rock Lobster, or maybe something like Your Own Private Idaho. Nope, though. When I saw there was a Party Mix of a song as tragic as Give Me Back My Man, I knew it would be the pick. Also, I like the slightly more aggressive guitar in this version. Fortunately, Kadsey's not stuck with futile efforts in the search of someone lost and very likely dead (the song heavily hints that the man in question is at the bottom of the sea), so there's more coming.

Next up is Space Cowboy both because I wanted something chill but fun and also because it's totally a weed anthem. I headcanon that Kadsey occasionally tries a little and I will hear nothing to the contrary. Skiptracing also had one little mention of marijuana in it. I guess we can also take the whole song being about the return of the space cowboy to also potentially reference getting Ashton back, especially with the line "Everything is good, oh, and green. Say, I'm red again." Come on, it may be a weed reference, but it also fits.

And, if we need something more straightforward, then there's About Damn Time. I really wanted a happy song in there about getting through some shit and this felt right. We could all use some more Lizzo positivity, please and thanks.

Last of my Jamiroquai bias shows up with the song Seven Sunny Days in June, the other song regarding Kadsey's crush. They've been friends too long for it to be a thing, but it is some closure. Also, I just realized that so far, Kadsey has the most songs with references to drinking. That's kind of funny since, in an answer to a fan question on everyone's favorite alcoholic drinks, it's pointed out that Kadsey has been banned from drinking by the entire group.

Next up is Sandstorm and DARE, both as a fun little treat. Besides, if you're going to have EDM in a playlist, then Sandstorm is one of the most obvious picks to go for. I am not immune to the practical meme that is Darude Sandstorm.

Interestingly enough, Skiptracing has a very short and even softer cover by Luna Li called skiptracing lullaby and I decided to stick that in at the end as a fun reprise. Never really had the opportunity to put in some form of reprise in the playlists. So far, what happens at the end of REBOOT is still unknown, but I really hope things turn alright for Kadsey. That dude's been through a lot.

Next up will be Vincent and, surprisingly, I have even more to say on that one since several songs are classical pieces.

[farshootingstar]

Decided to post this a little early for fun, since I’ll be plugging away at a little side thing for a bit between some other stuff I’m working on. I thought it would be fun to do a little comic based on a scene from Picture Perfect Boyfriend REBOOT by @espoirduvide. Namely, it’s one of Kadsey’s endings, hence trying to draw him.

I actually realized part of the way through that I… have no clue what sort of shoes he wears or what his natural hair color is, so I guess we’re getting extra headcanon stuff from me. He strikes me as a “canvas shoes or flip-flops” sort of guy and I know which is better for a carnival date. Making him blond was mostly an act of mercy because hair bleaching to dye sucks. Simplified his hair as well, since the comic is going to be black and white and drawing individual hair sections that distinctly every time would probably kill me.

(EDIT: I saw his shoes now in some old art and I did surprisingly well for not knowing what the heck he was wearing.)

The other character on here is my interpretation of the MC, who goes by Star in my playthrough. Since there’s a degree of separation between the player and the presence they have in the game, I decided it would be fun to sprinkle some accessory choices of mine into the design. Probably the easiest to pick out is the sunflower-shaped wooden hair fork I added. Also, despite not being the biggest fan of drawing devices, they need a camera for the scene (and since MC is regarded as a photographer in several character routes).