#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THoaM Issue 10 PAGE 59

← Previous page | Next page →

the cue under that scene is built from the emotional architecture of longing, not friendship, not nostalgia, not “supportive bestie energy.” you can hear it in the slow, legato phrasing: those extended melodic lines that feel like they’re reaching for something just out of grasp. that’s a classic romantic device. friendship cues tend to be lighter, more rhythmic, more grounded. this one floats. it aches. it suspends itself in midair the way a character suspends a confession they’re terrified to voice.

and then there’s the dynamic swell, which is where the scene becomes impossible to misread. the swell doesn’t rise on dialogue, exposition, or plot mechanics. it rises on shots of mike and will separately, two isolated emotional POVs, each framed in their own moment of tension, and the music lifts for both of them. that’s not accidental. that’s not random. that’s the score acknowledging the emotional charge between them from both sides. in film scoring, you don’t sync your emotional peak to two separate character shots unless you want the audience to feel the connection that neither character can articulate. it’s one of the oldest romance codes we have.

the harmony underneath is warm, enveloping, intimate in its softness. that’s not the palette you use for “we’re such good friends.” that’s the palette you use when you want the audience to feel the stakes tightening, when you want them to understand that something tender, something vulnerable, something dangerously honest is happening beneath the surface. it’s the same harmonic language used in countless cinematic love confession scenes, especially the ones where the confession never actually gets spoken.

and here’s the part people consistently overlook: sound is point of view. the score in that scene is aligned with will’s internal world, it rises with his restraint, his hope, his attempt to hold himself together. but the fact that the swell also hits on mike’s shot means the music is acknowledging his emotional shift too. the score is bridging their separate frames, tying their emotional beats together even when the dialogue refuses to. when a score is that tightly married to two characters internal states, it’s not background. it’s narrative. it’s the emotional thesis of the scene.

on top of that, the show has already established this specific sonic texture as its “emotional vulnerability” palette. you hear it in moments of confession, revelation, and emotional exposure throughout the seasons. leitmotifs aren’t random; they’re a contract with the audience. so when that same texture appears under two boys in a field, one pouring his heart out in metaphor and the other looking at him like gravity just shifted, the show isn’t being coy. it’s being consistent.

and this is the thing people need to grasp: the score can’t lie. dialogue can dodge. blocking can misdirect. characters can repress. but the music is where the show tells you what’s actually happening. you don’t use aching, swelling, romantically coded music unless you want the audience to feel the ache of something unspoken. you don’t build a cue that mirrors the emotional structure of a love confession, and time it to two separate shots of the two characters involved, unless that’s the emotional reading you’re inviting.

So ive been following you for a few years now- AND IVE ALWAYS REALLY REALLY ADMIRED AND LOOKED UP TO YOUR ART AND I STILL DO!!! Like youre one of the artists whose inspired my current art style (even if it isn't obvious) and I always get so excited when i see you post art hehe!

ANYWAYS I JUST SAW YOU FOLLOW ME ON MY ART ACCOUNT AND SORRY IF THIS IS REALLY WEIRD AND YOU DIDNT EVEN MEAN TO FOLLOW ME OR SMTH BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY HOW HONORED I AM IF NOT!!! AHHHHHHH

ty for reading this just felt like i had to say smth 😭😭

hi hi hI HELLO! worry not, you haven't been weird at all!!

not only did i, indeed, click the follow button intentionally, of my own -not accidental- free will, i was actually surprised i WASNT already following you given how fully familiar ive been with your username due to being, at the time, in the same fandom... """neighbourhood"""?? fandom school hallway?? "curse of kokichi ouma: the fanclub"?? ...vague fandom reblog network thingy! so! uh! yeah! hey there hello mutual!! >:D

anyway,

....THATS SO SWEET???? EXTREMELY FLATTERING????? WHAT THE HELL??????????? you have no idea how honored *i* am to hear that my art has been a positive influence (.......I HOPE? LMAO) on your art to the point that you still carry the inspiration with you to current date after a couple years?? that's WILD to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's AWESOME!!! FUCK YEAH!!! ART!!!!!!!

your message has gotten me quite giddy and rather emo, full of Feels™, bashfully kicking my hair and twirling my feet and everything ehehehehehe- i wish you many many many years of future art fun!!! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!!

inspired by my friend who mentioned i should do this in 2024