#// and i can't see him sounding good singing their music if i'm honest.

[ferromagnetiic]

Fuck wonderwall, play Anarchy in the UK

          【 UNPROMPTED ASK. 】       « Modern verse. »      « Continued. »                     【 ANONYMOUS. 】

          ❝ I said I ain't takin' requests, piss off. It ain't part of the set. ❞

Somebody can't perform a decent sounding cover of John Lydon's vocals when he's got a deep-ass voice and a falsetto with a time limit.

...Besides, he prefers Discharge and Misfits. Just because he doesn't want to play Wonderwall doesn't mean he'll settle for songs by any punk band; especially not one that comes with so much baggage.

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

Hi! Finally able to request. I really enjoy your work!

Can you try a creator who use their power through music (like singing or playing instrument) in an Imposter-AU with the Archons? (The voice of the Creator is heard as the sound of nature like wind or water, though. No one knows their true voice)

Thank you so much.

🎄Merry Christmas🎄

Welcome @peaceindreams ! I'll see what I can do with Your Request :D

Also VERY LATE Merry Christmas—I'm writing this a few days after Christmas.

Archons Realize Reader is a MUSICIAN WOAHHH

To be honest, you were kinda just minding your business when the Archons found you and your ever-singing glory.

They SHOOKETH so good job! Let's nitpick at their reactions! >:)

(Warning: Might be OOC!)

Venti

Wisp boi HELLA SHOOKETH. But he also happi boi so good job!

Wants to hear your voice sing and not the wind just continues to gently smack his face. Don't get him wrong, he's probably the only one who can actually listen and understand and compute with what you're singing, but like he really wants to hear your actual voice. He thinks it'll be such a treat!

"Your Graceee...Is there a way to let these humble gods hear your voice? Pleaseee? This bard will make a ballad about it and the world shall start spewing about it right after!~ Hehe, it'll be a big hit, one as grand as your visage!"

He really wants to hear you sing now. Good luck explaining that you got no control over dis :)

Zhongli

GRANDPA ABSOLUTELY SHOOKETH. But he finds it pleasant to see that you're having fun and enjoying your time in Teyvat.

Unlike the airhead beside him, he cannot understand what you are singing, and he feels kinda disappointed that he can't enjoy it too. He would share the memory—

Ahem, anyways. Loves it, 100%. Bro's a huge supporter even though he legit has, like, zero comprehension of the situation. He's also giving Venti some bombasic side-eyes.

"Your Grace, please do not be pressured by this wind god. While it would be a stunning blessing, do NOT feel like you owe us anything." You know those memes where like, one person is forcing someone's head to bow while they bow to apologize to whoever got offended? Yeah, it's that one meme except it's Zhongli making Venti bow for his idiocy.

Grandpa wants to hear your voice fr this time, but bro's not gonna force it upon you. Grandpa will, nevertheless, share the memory over osmanthus wine, because "Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I—"

Ei

Raiden Ei, Raiden Ei...I honestly think she feels like she doesn't DESERVE to hear you sing. Like, she feels like she just intruded on your personal space and she crossed some sort of line.

But the wind's pleasant and all of the surrounding area is practically glowing as you sing. Your voice practically carries throughout the place, becoming the nature, the water, the wind, everything.

"Your Grace, you need not heed to the request at all. We are more blessed to be in your presence enough." As much as she's getting more and more used to the present times of Teyvat, she's still kinda stuck in her ways a little. She still thinks of you highly and does not let her beliefs falter.

She really doesn't think she deserves to hear your voice, but she is also very curious. Never wants to push though because she's old-school.

Puppet Shogun looking at this and going "This will be forever engraved in eternity" as Ei is shaking the Puppet Shogun by the shoulders like "NO, WE SHOULD NOT BE HEARING THIS WHAT KIND OF PROGRAM ARE YOU ON I DID NOT PROGRAM YOU LIKE THIS—"

All in all? Mental crisis! :D

Nahida

Cute god loves you! She loves how the flowers bloom, how the wind flows, how the water speaks—not even analogies can describe the amazingness of it all!

She's grinning so wide with such wholesome-wide eyes, like an actual child discovering music for the first time or smth ykwim? IT'S ADORABLE IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.

"Your Grace...is it possible if we could see this more? You don't have to, of course, but this is really amazing!" She's practically GLOWING with excitement and nervousness. While Nahida wants to hear you sing and see you enjoying your time, she doesn't want to push boundaries!

Safe to say, she'll support whatever your answer will be!

Furina

Girl's flabbergasted. She thinks she might have been sent to both celestia and hell because it was hard to compute whether she was trespassing or if she was being blessed.

Furina is utterly speechless to how your voice alone commands presence and power without even needing to try so hard. Anyone, absolutely anyone, can tell you are truly the Almighty Creator.

Though she's retired from being the Hydro Archon, she still has the slight dramatic flare she has had for 500 years. And she's got to say, she absolutely loved your performance!

"Your Grace, if I could humbly suggest a request on the behest of the follow archons beside me." Furina dramatically bows a little. "May we be humbled by your presence, and continue to gaze upon our unfathomed eyes of what a real god can truly do in the likes of the world? I'm sure this will bring many beautiful pieces of art—be it music, visual arts, dramatic arts, and so on!" Girlie doesn't realize she made a beautiful monologue about your singing on the spot, but one thing's for sure—she loves you and you singing, even if her ears can't understand it. It was still a beautiful piece.

After all, she was the All-Powerful Hydro Archon before she retired. She knows power and art when she sees it, and you bypass all forms of mortal concepts. You're practically her favorite musician!

Please grace her—I mean them—with your singing! It's too beautiful to miss!

Ghost Rebel Side Notes: I am SAD I couldn't finish this when it was still AROUND CHRISTMAS SOBBING, but I hope y'all like this post, though! Hopefully my next post won't take too long—but I'm not gonna say anything because rn I'm EATING those words up like it's for breakfast lol—I'll see you all next time :)

✦ Check out The Ghost Rebel’s Blog Description & Info Page to See if Their Mailbox is Open! ✦

[steddieas-shegoes]

stumbling into you

for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt 'meet-cute at work' rated: M wc: 999 cw: sexual innuendo, semi-public handsy making out tags: making out, getting together, rock star Eddie Munson, modern au

a/n: let me just say getting this under 1000 words took longer than it took to write the original 1484 words it was 🙁

🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢

Steve's first day was going better than expected.

He'd admittedly lied about his skills to get this job, but how hard could it be to run errands?

A metal band in need of throat lozenges and hot tea was in the studio now.

Easy enough task to do.

When he walked into the control room, it seemed empty.

He looked back and checked the room number on the door.

"Let me help."

Steve turned to see the hottest guy he'd ever seen standing by the mixing board starting to walk over to him.

"Oh. Okay," Steve stuttered out.

"Let me grab the teas," the man said, his hand brushing against Steve's.

"I can just-" Steve let him, flushing when he smiled at him. "I could have set them on the table."

"It's okay, you've got your hands full..." he looked at the badge hanging off his lanyard. "Steve?"

"Yeah, sorry. First day."

"Really?" The man took the pack of throat lozenges from him, opening the bag and popping one in his mouth. "Welcome then. I'm sure we'll see a lot of each other over the next month or so."

"Do you record here a lot?"

"Yeah. We've got this studio booked solid for the next three weeks. Album needs to be perfect and we always get the best quality here."

"So do you sing?"

"I sing. Lead guitar, too."

"Is it a band I know?"

The man looked him over, taking in his business casual appearance, glasses slipping down his nose.

"I don't think we play anything you've listened to. Corroded Coffin?"

"My little brother listens to you! His mom never let him go to a concert though, said it would be too rough on him. He's kinda small for his age and she worries." Steve bit his lip. "Sorry, rambling."

"Cute, Stevie."

Steve blushed.

"I'm Eddie."

"Steve."

"Yeah, Stevie, I got that. You like any metal?" Eddie was clearly trying to have a real conversation with him, but Steve was drawing a blank on what the English language was.

"Never listened to any."

"You wanna listen? Something's off, but I can't put my finger on what. Maybe you could give me an idea."

"M-me?" Steve's eyes went wide.

"Yes, you," Eddie nudged him and tipped his head towards the mixing board. "C'mon, honest opinion."

"I-"

"Pleeeease?" Eddie pouted.

"Okay, but I don't really know what good is supposed to sound like," Steve agreed, walking to the board.

"Good is relative. If you think it sounds like metal music should, that's at least on the right track," Eddie pushed a couple of buttons and flipped a switch.

A surprisingly soft guitar melody filled the room, followed by a husky voice singing.

"This sounds..."

"Sounds?"

"You sound sad."

"Well, that's kind of what I was going for, so I guess that's a good thing."

The music cut off and Steve immediately wished he could hear more.

"Do you have other stuff recorded?" Steve suddenly needed to hear more of Eddie's voice.

"You wanna hear more?"

"If you want?"

Eddie flipped another switch, pressed a button, and a much faster guitar started playing, followed by heavy drums.

"This one doesn't have vocals."

Steve wouldn't listen to this regularly, but he could admit when people were talented, and it was very clear that Eddie and his band were talented.

"You're really good," Steve smiled at him.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

Eddie shut off the music and stood up.

He leaned closer to Steve, playful smirk on his face.

"You wanna go in the booth?"

"I'm not allowed."

"I'm allowed and I'm asking, so." Eddie wiggled his eyebrows, making Steve giggle.

"Okay, sure."

Once in the small booth, Steve felt overwhelmed with Eddie's presence.

His body heat was enough to make Steve sweat.

"You do all the lead vocals?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. Since day one," Eddie said from right behind him, so close his breath hit the back of Steve's neck.

Steve shivered, closing his eyes as he felt Eddie's hand rest on his lower back.

"Tell me to stop if you want me to," Eddie whispered against his shoulder.

"I don't," Steve gasped.

Eddie turned him, pushing him against the wall behind him.

"Can I kiss you?" Eddie breathed against his lips.

Steve nodded, a whimper escaping his mouth as Eddie's lips touched his.

Eddie was a soft chorus, a soft kiss.

A soft moan when Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie's neck.

Eddie's fingers gripped Steve's hips, tugging him forward so their hips met, both already half hard.

"Wait," Steve said when Eddie started kissing down his neck. "When will they be back?"

"Don't know." Eddie nipped at one of Steve's freckles. "Don't care."

Steve moaned again when Eddie's hand found the front of his pants.

"What if-"

"Don't know. Don't care."

Steve threw his head back as Eddie's hand cupped him over his pants.

"Fuck, feels good."

"How fast can you come?" Eddie's hand squeezed, almost making Steve's legs buckle.

"I-"

"Eddie! Thought you were joining us!" A voice yelled.

"Be there in a few! Just wanted to check something!" Eddie yelled back.

"You're a workaholic!"

Eddie checked through the crack in the door to make sure the person left before he turned back to Steve with a sad smile.

"I probably should join them." Eddie cupped the side of Steve's face in his hand. "Maybe after your shift we can meet up?"

"Really?"

"Really, sweetheart."

"Oh. Um, I guess. I mean, it's probably against the rules, but I can give you my number?"

"I won't let them fire you. I made the move, right?" Eddie dipped his thumb into Steve's mouth for just a second, teasing.

Eddie may have made the first move, but Steve was quick to make the next one that night, not giving Eddie a second to say hi before he was in his lap in the backseat of a hired car.

Steve's job had a lot of perks, but gaining a boyfriend was definitely the best one.

[igglemouse]

It's Monday which is kind of the start of the week? It usually feels like it at least and I'm not exactly sure what might happen this Monday but I'll be starting it in the shower. Washing off the last of yesterday, you could say, because one must smell good in show business. Just imagine me showing up for my audition with a stench? 'Sorry, you're acting was impeccable but but you stink, no literally, you stink!'

By the by, I'm not much of a chef and so you'll see me munching on whatever I can get my hands on and this morning its a very plain sandwich. I hope it'll be good enough for breakfast because it is the best I can do right now.

OH! Some news that you might not expect but I've decided to join a book club! I'm not sure exactly why buuuuuut, I did? Look, I saw an opportunity and I took it and besides, acting includes a lot of reading. Imagine being an A-lister and having countless scripts sent your way? Exactly. So I plan on being an avid reader!

ANY WAYS! Off to my first audition! Wish me luck!

After a successful audition (I won the part!) I head out to the park to clear my mind and just enjoy the day. A good day. A happy day because my career is beginning. Sure, it's just a commercial but one, it adds to my currently blanke resume and two, I make simoleons. So, we all have to start somewhere and I look forward to shooting it.

ANYWAYS! So I'm at the park and feeling the vibes until the sound of a clearly practicing and amateur musician hits my ears. I'm not going to lie, most of it was horrible, but for whatever reason it catches my attention and interest.

I'm not new here. Like I've said, I'm DSV for life, born and raised, so I'm used to seeing people out in the street begging for the right pair of eyes or ears to give them their big chance so this is nothing new, but the man certainly has a unique sound to him...

It's his voice. That's what it was. It has a tenderness to it that grabs you, that makes you wonder about his story, but then you hear his fingers carelessly pluck at a guitar and it ruins whatever comes from his throat.

I stare at him for a moment and wonder what his game is. Does he realize that he can't play the guitar or is this some new genre I know nothing about? I'll be honest, if it's not a musical I don't vibe with it so it is entirely possible that maybe he this is what you kids listen to nowadays? Anyways, the man seems satisfied with himself.

He finishes and puts his guitar down, satisfied with himself for whatever reason and looking at me as if he expects some applause. "Ummm, congrats!" is all I can offer for lack of not knowing what else to say. I don't want to put him down because he's so very proud of his performance. Actually, he should be, at least half of it? don't know what else to say, he seems so proud of himself.

"Ah, thank you, thank you!" Yep, definitely proud of himself.

"Your voice is very unique, in a good way!" Always focus on the positive, right?!

"Thanks! I'm new to the guitar but it's like they say, practice makes perfect, right?"

"Umm, is it a good idea to practice in the public?" I ask the obvious question because why practice in front of others? It would be like me performing my script out here in front of others.

"I figure if people see my rawness and see the growth over time that they might connect with me more, y'know?"

"Oh, yeah..." hmm, that is an interesting outlook on it, I guess he's thinking long term? "So, whats your vibe, what's your style? What kind of music are you trying to create?"

"All I have is my voice and my word, so I kind of mix things up, you know? A little melodic singing over music is what I tend to do. I don't have a genre, I want to transcend genres."

"Hmm, yeah," Yep, definitely a musician. I know us artists get flack for being odd but that's not on us, not on us thespians I should clarify. It's mainly the painters and musicians that are out there. Maybe you can include writers, if you can find them, they like to hide under rocks after all. "I think you definitely have the talent, at least with your voice, so yeah I can see that!"

"Yep, now it's just about finding someone with simoleons to believe in me I guess."

"Well, you might not get it playing like that in this park!" I joke, but he does laugh with me and seems to understand my point.

"I'm persistent, I'll be here everyday until someone gets tired of it."

"I get it! I'm the same way, I guess we are both here chasing dreams," and this is the city of dreams, isn't it? A city of stars is probably more apt.

"Oh, you too huh!? Derrick, by the way," and he gives me that smile, maybe you know the one? The one that tells me he'd like to see me again but in a different setting. Right now, I'm not exactly opposed to that.

"Teresa! Maybe one day our names will be on the front page of a magazine!"

Derrick was well met especially because his story feels similar to mines. He's out there grinding with the hopes that someone, anyone, will give him a shot. That's how this whole thing works, doesn't it? You do all you can for that one shot, that one moment that will launch you into stardom and once you are there? Once you are there it's hard to get you down. For him, it's one song that can transform his career and for me it's one performance.

So I find myself back home in front of my mirror and the script firmly in hand. It's a commercial so my lines are few, two sentences, but I'll put my entire soul into those two lines.

But commercials are not my end goal of course as they are just a stepping stone to bigger and better things. I don't have any connections but I do have a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend that thinks she can get me into an upcoming sitcom that is specifically looking for someone that looks just like me but this is an opportunity for another day so let's not think too much on it right now.

Alright, I think I've done enough for the day. I cook some friend plantains, which I do alright with, and get ready for bed. I'll need a full day of rest for my performance tomorrow. Do they give awards for commercials, by the way?

Teresa Tejedor - Next Episode 1.3

[samsspambox]

hello and welcome back to sam's rambles, a series in which i shall ramble

let's take todays (and, every days if i'm being completely honest) subject: sir artem wing

now, canonically, artem is pretty good at singing. hes had classical training and he's been a pretty big fan of dramas, so let me pose to you some non canonical yet probable scenarios:

1. Artem Wing being Really Into Musicals

I mean, if you're immersed in learning things about music and drama, i'm pretty sure you'll stumble into musicals eventually. so aside from being kind of a loner in high school, he was most likely a theater kid. and i can see him putting on little musicals in his room.

2. He sings while he cooks/showers

I feel like this one is very mundane and domestic but please think about this: imagine any artem ship, your pick idc it just has to include artem, have the character(s) you picked coming through the front door, about to shout that they're home, when they hear some humming. hm? what could that be? so they walk over, and it's artem cooking and singing softly.

or, hear me out:

artem wing singing in the shower. now, avid singers-in-showers will tell you, the acoustics in a bathroom can't be matched. you sound like a god in there. so just imagine artem wing in the shower (obligatory *bonk* of horny placed here, think of that later) starting off humming but at the end of the shower he's full on planning a show. remember the character(s) you picked in the first scenario? i want you to imagine them sitting by the door of the bathroom, listening to their beloved sing, because what is artem without being embarrassed over having a habit and the reassurance that he's wonderful for having said habit?

thanks for reading!

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

All the fling posse song snippets are out !!!

👀 The Fling Posse snippets are all out now!! :D Ramuda sounds so happy I cry TwT

Hey! Any thoughts on the Fling Posse solo previews? Love hearing your opinions on the trailers and getting some neat tidbits of insight into the lyrics/motifs.

Thanks for the messages! Let's go check 'em out.

One and Only

(8 seconds in) Ramuda's saying "Let's go" too

(41 seconds in) Ahh!

(48 seconds in) Jesus, Shirai is really pushing his range in this one

(50 seconds in) Self love for Ramuda, hell yeah. Good on him

(End of video) Not a lot to say; I feel like this one was pretty straight-forward. It's Ramuda embracing his personal identity as a unique human being-- LOVE to see it-- which is the culmination of his arc through the series so far. The music itself didn't capture me. I might warm up to it later like I usually do, but Shirai's singing on its own isn't usually my cup of tea. Which is chill; I hope other people like it. The wordplay on "clap your hands (te wo tataite); I want to celebrate [being alive] (tataeteitai)" was neat.

Lies

(Title note) I'm intrigued that the title is in kana instead of kanji, giving it a simple and almost "honest" feel in its simplicity. It's been a hot sec since I've seen Gentarou use that word in writing but iirc he usually uses kanji for it.

(5 seconds in) Loving this piano.

(15 seconds in) A boku-using Gentarou? Bruh.

(35 seconds in) Ohhh I see the point of the kana. The title is the same as a famous Shuntarou Tanikawa poem narrated by a little boy (hence the lack of kanji). Since the song lyrics reference it, here's a quick 'n dirty TL of the poem: Lies I think I'll always tell lies. My mother doesn't, but she's done so before. I think that because I know lying is painful. Even if the things I say are lies, the lying feeling is the truth. There are some truths that can only be told in lies. Even dogs--if they could talk, I think they'd tell lies as well. Even when I tell lies, even when my lies get caught, I don't apologize. I never tell lies just to get out of trouble. (*) Even if no one knows that, I know that, and so here I am, living with my lies. Until I just can't bear to lie any longer, I know I'll lie again and again and all the while long for the truth. (*) Literally, "resolve [the trouble] with apologies" which is why the narrator says he doesn't apologize Anyway, the "Even when I tell lies..." verse sans "and so..." is the opening of this song. Gentarou stops at "Even if no one knows that" and sighs in his second repetition of the verse.

(end of song) Wait, the whole thing is just verses of this poem? This is really cool and artistic (I dig it) but wow, what a choice! Saitou Souma's performance is incredible, and the background music is cool. I don't know how well this would go on a playlist, but I am here for it! ...I'm also wondering what the rights acquisition must have been like. This poem isn't in the JPN public domain yet, right? Hahaha.

God in the Dice

(title note) Fwiw I usually say Dice has "spirits" in his dice; calling them gods is just as valid. That seems to be what this is referring to.

(15 seconds in) Man I love Nozuyama's rapping chops. He delivers every time

(23 seconds in) Going to take this "I don't care" and make it a reaction image. Can't adequately express how much the phrase "Thog don't care" gets me through the day; this is right up there with that

(29 seconds in) It's very, very funny that Gentarou always teases Dice about his lack of vocab when you compare these two songs back to back. Hahaha.

(50 seconds in) Call back to Scramble Gamble with a more positive outlook. I can fuck with that.

(end of song) This one seems very similar to Ramuda's in terms of message (once again, I'm inappropriately amused at the notion of Ramuda and Dice living it up in the booth like "Love yourself...! Respect yourself! Love yourse--" and then it cuts to Gentarou who's got a piano and a Dramatic Poetry Reading and Angst. Well, that's Gentarou's way of loving himself, I suppose) and on the one hand, I am very happy for Dice deciding to live his life his own way, even if it goes against societal values... but I don't know how I feel about indulging in a gambling addiction as a way to explore that. You know? Maybe I'm just going "You don't have to follow societal expectations, but you should follow MY expectations, dammit!" Hahaha. Well....... Do what you gotta do, homie.... I'm reminded of how very 20 Dice is. Very, very 20 y.o. leaving a bad home life. Do what you gotta do....

Well, that's Fling Posse! Very much their usual Fling Posse selves.

[misc-obeyme]

for the drabble thing kinda 👉👈 (mostly be rambling per usual but could be an idea). I've been listening to music non stop at work and favorite record by fall out boy came on today

and there's a lyric that goes "and I confessed, confessed to you riding shotgun, underneath purple skies" and it screams mammon and mc to me. ALSO the rest of the song makes it sound like past tense/lost love/one that got away...angst potential too. Like reminiscing? Mc moved on but he never did.

I just like thinking about different ways he may confess, and if he'd just blurt it out without thinking? Or maybe he's hyped himself up, he's driving mc up to a hilltop to stargaze, he's got it all planned - and something mc does just makes him blurt it out

if it was something silly like turning on the A/C before he could finish asking them to, because MC just knows him that well, that would be hilarious

Mammon: hey uh, can you-

mc, already turning the dial: i got you

Mammon: i am in love with you.

- ✨ anon

also, partially related but Flu Game by the same band reminds me so much of nightbringer!mc and I could go on forever about it

Yes this feels very Mammon to me... blurting it out before he means to lol! I do like the angst of MC moving on, but he never did, too! That's some good potential right there.

BUT I did a drabble based on the rest of the idea, that he's taking MC to a hilltop to confess but doesn't quite make it lol.

Mammon knows he has to tell you. It's been stewing inside him for a while, brought to his attention every time you meet his eyes, every time you say his name, every time you touch him or hug him or do something before he even asks. He's nervous to say it, but he won't risk losing you because he was too afraid.

He has it all planned out. What better way than to take you for a drive? Up onto the highest hilltop in the Devildom. Thinking about it makes his pulse race. He's on high alert all day, not able to focus on anything except the moment when those words pass his lips.

Mammon rehearses what he'll say. He thought about getting poetic, but in the end he decides it's better to just be straightforward. To be honest, to be true, to tell you exactly what he needs you to know, so there is no possibility of miscommunication. He chants it in his head all day. I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you.

You settle into the passenger seat of his Demonio like you belong there, riding shotgun beside him. He wants to say it right then, before he's even started the car.

I'm in love with you.

Mammon holds it in as you click in your seat belt and smile at him before turning on the music. It's a playlist you made together of all the songs you both love most. As you start singing along to the chorus, he wants to say it again.

I'm in love with you.

Mammon's eyes are on the road, but you are all encompassing. Despite this, he doesn't let his attention wander from the task of driving. He cares too much about you to be reckless.

He hasn't said much because he doesn't trust himself to speak. The road gets tricky as he starts up the winding cliff side to get to the highest hilltop. He can't look away from it, but he's sweating. He wipes quickly at his forehead.

"Hey, MC, can ya-"

"I got you," you say, already turning the dial.

His heart skips. And the words he's been repeating in his mind all day come bursting out. "I'm in love with you."

For a moment, the only sound is a soft song that has begun to play. Mammon's mind is buzzing, full of static at the shock of what he's just done, what he's said. He didn't even make it up to the hilltop.

"Er- I mean-" he starts to say, but it's too late.

He sees you reaching toward him in his periphery. He takes your outstretched hand without even thinking about it.

"I love you, too," you say, simply.

Mammon holds your hand like it's the only thing keeping him alive as he finally makes it to his destination. He stops the car and turns to you, taking in the way your eyes are shining brighter than all the stars and city lights streaming in through the windshield. He leans over to kiss you and the current between you is like lightning, brighter and more intense than any other light could hope to be. Wild, unpredictable, full of passion - just like him.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[melkintoyou]

pleas write more stoner mark... im begging on my knees 🙏🙏

Mmm imagine Mark on tour and he calls you late at night, voice all groggy, audibility baked and needy. PART TWO

"YOU LOOK LIKE A FOOL TO MEEEEEE,

TELL MEEE,

WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO AND MAKE THINGS SO COMPLICATED?"

You and Mark yell out in unison, singing Avril Lavigne through the phone. After a long, cold day at work, this is exactly what you needed.

It has been exactly two months since, your best friend kissed you and left for this tour. Nobody could've prepared you both, for this impulsive act of breaking down the bridge between friendship and love. You both agreed that, time apart would allow you to think about the next step... Except, you both couldn't go a second without talking to one another. You shared selfies and photos throughout the day, and ended nights with a facetime call. Even if it was 2 minutes, just to say good night. Mark made sure to hear your voice before he slept. Tonight was no different.

You had been on the phone for 20 minutes now. Your rooms dimly lit by led lights, both blue because you share a favourite colour. The coziness of your fluffy bedding and Mark's voice had every atom in your body relaxed. "And I met so many new people! It's crazy to see so many people fuck with the music over here" he rambled on about his experiences on tour. He talked about the feeling of being on stage and how comfortable he feels, like he can let go of everything. He describes it feeling as though the whole world disappears and the only thing matters is the stage and audience. Mark was born to do this. "I'm telling you dude, it's has all played out so cosmically. It feels like fate but also so unreal..." You listened intently by adding validating hums in between his sentences. Suddenly, you noticed the volume of his voice slowly fade into a silence, as he looked at you and smiled.

"But... man.. dude, I miss you" he pouted his lips, half smiling and looked away. "I mean.. It's whatever, just wish you were here you know"

"It all means nothing, if I can't share it with you" he said, coyly.

"AWWWWWW someone's obsessed with me" you teased him, making his face flush with a warm, red colour.

"Shut up, you're stupid y/n" he laughed, before clearing his throat.

"Also! Look what I got" he rummaged through his bag to pull out what seemed to be a small glass bottle, with a pipette dropper. "It's straight thc oil babe..It's so strong dude, so good." He went on, as he dropped some under his tongue.

"Yoo that sounds so good, I want to try!" You sat up, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a sip. Maintaining eyes on Mark, you refused to miss every moment of him gradually getting high. He looked so cute.

"Yeah for sure, I'll bring it with me when I come back. You're gonna love it.. It gives you such a body high" He said, now with his voice a bit deeper and eyes, a little lower. He let out a soft giggle. "Like, I feel so sensitive right now dude, this bed feels amazing..." He ran his hands up and down his torso. Eyes zoomed into you, with lips curling into a smirk. "We're gonna take this when I see you next..." "Yeah I'm down 100%" You say in between sips.

"Then I'm gonna touch you." He dead panned, as his eyes fixed on you, making you choke on the water and widen your eyes.

"Uh.." You lose all coherent thoughts as your heart starts beating in your ears and you felt your body slowly get hot. Mark chuckled, watching you get flustered over his comment.

"I'm just being honest.. I think about it a lot.. you know touching you" his voice was lower and raspier. Shifting his bed, he put his phone on his night stand and turned on his side. Propping himself up on his left arm. He ran his right hand through his hair. "All the pretty noises, you'd make." He continued, "Under me, on top of me.. You would be so sensitive to my touch, my fingers... my tongue. I want to kiss you everywhere y/n.. Can I do that? When I see you?" His eyes now sincere and big, yet filled with lust. It made you nervous.

"Urm.. yeah, I'd like that" you whispered, feeling his words go straight to your core. You slowly rubbed your thighs together, for some sort of relief, to your now steadily, growing dampened spot between your legs. You bit onto your lower lip. "Mark..."

"Yeah baby?" He licked his lips, moving closer to the camera.

"I miss you" you whine, almost needy at the use of a pet name.

"And I miss you."

You hummed, smiling at him. Head spinning with desire.

"Wanna make you cum when I see you next." He looked down at his bulge, now growing underneath the covers. "I can't wait to see you.. feel you around me" Mark palmed himself through his pyjamas.

"Can you uh do something for me?" Whisper fell from his mouth, trying to hold himself together.

"Mhmmm" you bit your lip and nodded.

"Can you be a good girl and touch yourself for me?"

____________________________________________________

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 1, Match 8 TRIAGE vs. I LOVE YOU

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for TRIAGE:

1. THE VOCALS!!!! TRIAGE REALLY GAVE A CHANCE TO LET SHIDOU'S VA SHINE BECAUSE HOLY SHIT!!! THAT FINAL CHORUS??? SO GOOD!!

2. SPEAKING OF THE FINAL CHORUS, THAT SLOWED DOWN PART???? STUNNING

3. THE LYRICS OH MY GOD I'M CRYING!!! "If the voices crying out in pain, can be saved by me Allow it to be my charge and mission"??? "I want to be INNOCENT, I want to live"??? PURE GOLD!!

3.25. OH AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE "extract that fang" LINE. IT'S SO GOOD!!!!

3.5. THE WAY THE LYRICS PERFECTLY REPRESENT HIS INTERNAL CONFLICT AND HIS ARC??? SO GOOD!!!

4. THE MV??? CATCH ME CRYING

To conclude: Triage is in my top 3 Milgram songs, I love it so much!! It turned Shidou from a character I didn't care about to one of my favorites!!!!!

---

-The scene with Shidou and his family… yeah don’t talk to me I’m so emo about it.

-The arc Shidou goes through during the song?? It starts with “why did you vote me innocent I don’t deserve it” to “I’m going to do my best with what you’ve given me.” Is really cool and I don’t think it’s talked about enough!!

-The final “I want to live!” Enough said. Shidou’s voice in general just fits this song really well.

-It gives a really good motive for Shidou, and helps you feel sorry for him. (Easiest inno vote of my life!)

Propaganda for I LOVE YOU:

mappi’s spitting bars 🔥🔥🔥🗣️🗣️🗣️

ok but i, as the iloveyoucountdown person before it released, waited 89 days for ily and SHE DID NOT DISAPPOINT‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥 go vote ily now bc its peak music

---

the acoustic section where it just feels so raw and emotional it's crazy also we love to see mappi/miho okasaki rapping again and good lord mahiru delivered hadauwd, like you think about it a lot? like "Ishokujuu plus ai Miss you Raishuu aemasuka no Cadence Yurusarenai ikigai mou iki mo dekinai" it's also so catchy just "Dai- dai- dai- datte suki suki! Dai- dai- dai- datte daisuki."

it's such a quick song but it delivers and it DELIVERS WELL there's so much in the instrumental you can also miss, like sirens and such! again guitar section it's crazy!! i didn't even touch on the visuals, like the visuals are absolutely amazing and really touch on the toxic cycle of mahiru's relationship for example, the carousel turning into a forest! and also they were still able to implement some of tihtbilwy in the beginning of the song! we got to see mahiru's boyfriend as well!! additionally, RATS AND CAKE. HOLY SHIT we all know the absolute shock that appeared on everyone's faces the second that cake turned into a rat (to be honest, I was absolutely sick with shock for the rest of the day) It's really amazing as a song and MV, plus it did help give some more information on Mahiru!

---

miho okasaki's vocals are so powerful. it sounds like mahiru is screaming because of not being forgiven and because of what happened to her boyfriend and because "she can't just do it right".

THE LYRICS ARE SO. "clothes food shelter + love and miss you"?? "my lethal weapon is how to be in love with you"?? "kiss goodbye to this feeling cuz it's too heavy"?? again, the "why can't i just do it right" line?? SO GOOD.

MAHIRU RAPPING. THIS SONG STARTS WITH HER RAPPING. LITERAL CHILLS

i've heard the i love you chorus once and now it's in my head forever. i wake up, i sing the i love you chorus. i go to sleep, i sing the i love you chorus.

the lyrics are so sad when you start thinking about them more. "saying i love you but doing what i did, i know i have no right, crossed and covered in sin"?? please, don't you want to give mappi a hug. please she deserves it. she needs it

the "DIE-suki" pun.

the mv is so. i can talk about it for hours. it literally starts with showing us what happened to her bf. i've watched it live, i knew about this part and i still was shocked. mahiru's boyfriend is dead. mahiru is also rapping. also, the lyrics. this scene is terrifying to me and i mean it in the best way possible.

the cake symbolism. mahiru refusing to accept her reality and the true nature of her relationship with her bf and still seeing everything around her as cute and soft and pink. her feeling guilty and not knowing how to express love properly and still choosing to continue to love in this way. i don't know, something about it is so.. it's so sad and so realistic and so heartbreaking

i love how we can say so much about her relationship with her boyfriend based on mv and the lyrics. this is more of a theory and i probably shouldn't talk about it but i like the fact that mappi and her bf's relationship wasn't just abusive or one-sided love or anything like that. it's like they loved each other, they just.. didn't know how to show it or express it in a healthy way (or maybe mahiru's bf did know, but he was okay with going through all of this for her). like this scene when they're both riding the carousel and looking happy at first and even when both of them look like a mess, mahiru's face expression is still pretty much the same while her boyfriend looks much more tired, but he's still smiling. something about that part breaks me.

the instrumental is so fun and chaotic and creepy please listen to it. all milgram instrumentals are great but ily instrumental is definitely one of my fav ones.

[adamsvanrhijn]

Ok wicked thoughts for real. Spoilers somewhat

re: performances

Ariana Grande-Butera (as she is credited)'s soprano is very light, and they did lean into the pop sound when opportunities arose. Which you will be used to if you have seen any professional/equity circuit musical with a prominent soprano role in the last 15 years but if you've been listening to the cast recording a lot leading up to this I expect you'll notice it more than I did the first time around. I really enjoyed her performance personally!! (and frankly if you're expecting an og wicked performance you would have been disappointed anyway because They Do Not Make Them Like That anymore—but if you are a megafan who has seen multiple casts I think you will have heard Glindas who are not perceived as stunt casts who are less pleasant to listen to.)

Cynthia Erivo was great. I don't really have notes, I think everyone expected she would be good and she was.

Peter Dinklage did a good job. No notes

Jonathan Bailey.... Fantastic though I wish they let him be a little more legit. I assume he has it in him based on his resume but they went primarily pop rock for Fiyero. The vast majority of stage directors do this unless/even if they get a sparkling talent though; I'm not like mad about it at all. I actually think it's great that my main Thoughts capital t about the movie are the same ones I have about stage productions. (Also he has chemistry with everyone but I do legitimately think stage junkies expecting Fiyero eye candy may be disappointed with the costuming and choreography. This doesn't make it bad just something to be aware of.)

They split Morrible into two characters which was an inspired choice that improved the impact of the plot imo. Michelle Yeoh is not a singer but that role is frequently not a strong vocalist anyway. I didn't mind the speak singing for her like 2 total verses

Jeff Goldblum also not being a singer.... they cut down sentimental man and I am simply not complaining. Also a role that frequently doesn't have a strong vocalist.

Marissa Bode killed it, no notes

Ditto Ethan Slater

Big cameo was a little long but you can't hate it. It's The Big Cameo. Zero issues with the actual performances

Ensemble slapped. Incredibly strong dancing and singing. I haven't looked at the whole ensemble cast but I assume they pulled from the theater circuit. There were little cameos which were IYKYK and cute

Glinda's bestie situation was great, they did such a good job

Speaking of cast recording disappointment. The wizard will see you now 😐

everything else

I am going to be honest I don't remember what was in the book vs what they made up wholesale

Pacing was really good and it was difficult to notice in the moment what could be making it be double the length of the original. Arguably better than the stage show's pacing.

Lack of compromise of vocal quality despite resonant acting and live singing... 👌🏻

I think almost everything they added or changed worked! Exceptions.... Yellow brick road 😐 Cameo a little long as I said. A couple others but nothing that big a deal. I hope we get Glinda blue dress at some point in part 2 😔

I didn't mind how they broke up Defying Gravity but I do wonder if it could have been better if they hadn't? I didn't mind though.

Dancing Through Life was broken up in a way that made it work for the film medium in the way that a direct transfer wouldn't have been successful with imo. Also a phenomenal sequence.

I've seen a couple people say it's overchoreographed.... I thought the dancing was perfect personally.

I really appreciated that they actually treated it as a musical, where it doesn't really matter what is and isn't diegetic music and dancing and you don't need to pay attention to that, because it's a musical.

Use of montage and split screen was good!!

I think on the whole one of my big takeaways is disappointment about other musical movies of late, but also hope that things will be different moving forward... The bar is high now both for on screen performers with traditional stage worthy talent and for production style and value. This movie was obviously very expensive but I am referring more to the actual techniques and like, literal camera angles. It felt like they wanted to expand the reach of the musical and bring it to new audiences, as opposed to needing to Fix it to make it appeal to the mass market. There should be no question moving forward that a musical movie can be cast, filmed, and produced with special care and attention to the fact that it is a musical and be successful.

I think that sums it up but I could be misremembering things out forgetting stuff... I want to go see it again with a better sound system than the theater I was in lol and maybe feeling better than I was yesterday and maybe I will have additional nuance to my takes!

[gloomysoup]

a thought while i'm in my post-concert depression/steddie writing brain mode...

this could possibly fit several different fic ideas i have, but the main piece i'm connecting this to right now is my one omegaverse fic where eddie leaves to go make music w his band and steve keeps his pregnancy a secret. and the thought is that song on fire by nickelback would absolutely be something early career rockstar eddie would have written about steve.

like just picture this with me for a second:

eddie is in love w steve. he wants nothing more than to tell steve how he feels, but he worries that steve won't feel the same. he's afraid of rejection. he's afraid of ruining the good thing they have going. he doesn't want anything to change. and then the band gets a record deal. they have to move to a different city, hours away. he wants to ask steve to come w him, but he knows he won't. steve can't leave hawkins. at least, eddie doesn't think so. he never asks. he just leaves.

he doesn't know that steve is pregnant. steve doesn't even know until like at least a few weeks, maybe longer. who's to say? steve never tells him. he doesn't keep up with anything corroded coffin is doing. it hurts too much. he doesn't want to think about eddie being out there like that. it just made the pain worse any time he tried, so he stopped trying.

eddie is struggling to write new music. everything he writes is about steve. it's about pain and heartbreak and losing the best thing you've ever had. it's all about grieving something he never had and living with the consequences of his own actions. the band knows. they understand. the label doesn't. it's not what they signed up for. it's not what they think is gonna sell. they threaten to replace eddie, or drop the band altogether, if he doesn't give them what they want. he needs to get this out of his system. so he sits down and writes a song.

the pre-chorus comes first. it's the easiest. the simplest. it's what he's been trying to say all along.

i write lines down, then rip them up / describing love can't be this tough

the first verse is easy too. it's honest. painfully so.

the first words that come out / and i can see this song will be about you / i can't believe that i can breathe without you / but all i need to do is carry on / the next line i write down / but there's a tear that falls between the pages / i know that pain's supposed to heal in stages / but it depends which one i'm standing on

the chorus and bridge are his strongest, but they're also the hardest for him to write. Which every word, with every page ripped out and crumpled in a pile on the floor of the shitty apartment they're all crammed into, he's closer and closer to an epic breakdown.

i could set this song on fire, send it up in smoke if / i could throw it in the river and watch it sinking slowly / tie the pages to a plane and send it to the moon / play it for the world, but it won't mean much / unless i sing this song for you

light this old guitar on fire, i'd still hear the notes / drown the melody in water, i'd still hear its ghost / sing it with somebody else, but we'd be out of tune / play it for the world, but it won't mean much

he doesn't expect much to come from it. he just needed to get it out. he needed to channel his energy into something. he doesn't even intend for anyone else to see it. He write it on his acoustic, barely even considers what it would sound like with any other instruments. he is fully prepared to rip it out of his notebook, lock it in a box, and never look at it again. and then gareth finds it. maybe gareth likes the lyrics, or maybe he just thought eddie needed to do more with it. maybe he tries to convince eddie to call steve. i think eventually he shows it to jeff and freak. they like it. they think it's good. they ask eddie to play it. he's reluctant, but i don't think he can hold out on them for long. i think they're persuasive, at least with eddie. he has a hard time saying no.

they make it a whole production. they write the rest of the music. they show it to the execs. they like it, at least a little bit. enough to give the song a spot on the next album, if they can tweak it and record it in the studio, mix some sounds. so they do. it gets a spot on the album, at the very end. it's the second to last song. it's not very popular among the general public, but it becomes a relatively well-known fan favorite. it's liked enough. they rarely play it live. eddie can't bear playing that song, a song he wrote for steve, live in front of any sized audience.

i think somewhere down the line, long after eddie comes back to hawkins for the first time since he left, long after he finds out about the pregnancy that everyone hid from him, and after he and steve finally work things out, he does play it.

the first time he plays the song, it's sitting on the couch in his house right outside Indianapolis. the house he bought for steve, so they could stay close to everyone they loved. eddie had enough pull by then, maybe they changed labels or got a new manager. the band is doing well. they have a nice following, big headlining tours, money. they a couple platinum records. the song falls through the cracks early on. it never gains any real traction in the industry. it's a small song on an early album that most people don't pay much mind to. but eddie needs steve to hear it.

so he sits on their couch with an acoustic in his lap. steve sits beside him, watching with so much love and adoration in his eyes. the pups have long since gone to bed. it's just them. eddie plays. he doesn't look at steve once, not until he strums the last chords and the vibrations fade out. and when he does, steve's eyes are shiny with tears. there's a small smile on his face. he tells eddie he loves him. eddie thinks maybe he can play the song without it hurting so much now.

the song gets added to the setlist for their next tour. and it's only because eddie knows steve is going to be there. their pups are going to be there. his family will be watching, safe on the sidelines. he doesn't have to worry about them. he no longer feels the same deep-rooted sadness that he used over this song. and as the song starts, the stadium quiets. the crowd is no longer screaming. at least, not as loudly. and not that eddie can tell anyway. he's not paying attention to them. he looks over and finds steve, standing in a sectioned off space with security blocking them from the rest of the crowd. he hand one pup on his shoulders, the other clinging to his leg. Eddie smiled at them as he steps up to the mic and begins singing.

he doesn't look away until about halfway through the song. it was only going to be a quick glance, gauge the crowd's reactions, and then he realizes that it's brighter than he thought it was before. the stadium is lit up with lighters from almost every hand. so many voices song the words back at him. his eyes land back on steve, who is smiling and singing with him.

everything is perfect. it doesn't hurt anymore. he's found his way back home again.

so anyway that was WAY longer than i intended it to be but it's there. the thoughts have escaped. now you have to live with this too. you're welcome.

(also if i started a permanent tag list for like all my little bits and bobs now that i'm kind of posting semi-regularly ish?? would anyone wanna be on that? lemme know ig idk)

[theflyingfeeling]

thoughts from last night's St. Aurora show 🖤

2 seconds into the warm-up act and suddenly I'm living in an alternate universe in which Joonas Porko is the lead singer of a rock band (more under the cut but I just need to share this first because I just can't get over this lol):

then he took his jacket off and I was like ??????? if not Porko, then why so Porko-shaped 😭

(I'll post one more video I took of their set so you can see it for yourselves, because he kinda also sounds a bit like Joonas at times 😂😭)

Joonas Porko doppelgängers aside, Delta Enigma was actually pretty good and I hope I'll remember to check out more of their stuff at some point! I had my picture taken with the lead singer but didn't get to chat with him properly as the last band of the evening just started to play when I got to him, so hopefully next time

St. Aurora was so much fun!! 😭 They were really just a group of friends playing some songs and having fun 🥺💕 although if I'm being completely honest it did feel a little weird to be there, as I only got into their music literally three weeks ago, and even though I have tried my best to do my homework and listen to their music a lot, I was not able to sing and jam along like I would at a BC show for example (and they didn't play the only song I already know the lyrics to 😔), but they were super fun to watch, both the music and the banter in between songs was top tier entertainment 👌

and then after the show they were hanging out by the merch stall. I've been looking for a cap to wear at summer festivals but none of the bands were selling any, so I asked Nile how much he wants for his own, but he wouldn't sell it lol, although he appreciated that I was brave enough to ask 😅 so I bought a totebag instead (the one they had on display, which apparently was the only one they had 😂), and I got to meet all the band members and have the totebag signed as @johnnyporko quite literally dragged me around and pushed me to them one by one like "Now there's Petja. Go!" and !!!!!!!! they were all so ridiculously sweet, gentlemen through and through, each and every one of them, from Nile who texted everyone backstage to come back so that I could get my totebag signed, to Eemi who seemed so grateful that we had come (as a side note the crowd was very sparse that night) and when we were saying our goodbyes and he and @johnnyporko were hugging, I was all prepared to be on my merry way when they'd be finished, but then Eemi turned to me and hugged me too, even though I hadn't even initiated a hug as I was feeling a bit shy 😭💗💕💞💖💗💘 honestly, already during the show I kept thinking Eemi seems like such a sweet person, because whereas Nile and the others were bantering away and talking "whatever their spit brings to their mouth" as we say in Finland lol, there was Eemi thanking everyone for coming and giving shout-outs to members of crew and just being an angel in general, and in person he's even a bigger sweetheart 🥺 my interactions with Vallu, Petja and Osku were somewhat briefer but I assure you they were all incredibly nice as well and seemed very down-to-earth. ngl I'm kinda bummed I forgot to show Osku some pictures of our old man Osku the dachshund lol, but maybe next time, because there definitely will be a next time!! 🖤

huge huge thanks to @johnnyporko for not only being my company last night but also for introducing me to St. Aurora, both to their music and to the individuals playing in the band 🫶

edit. oh, and Luna Kills was fun too! I listened to some of their songs earlier this week and really liked them 👍

[roo-bastmoon]

Let's get into the Angel Pt 1 controversy

Summary of Roo's Point: Please follow your conscience but do not bash Jimin for other people's crimes.

More in-depth analysis of the underlying issues:

Let me start by saying I'm a musical theater geek so I have no idea who any of the other artists on the Angel Pt 1 track are, I don't know their music, I don't know their backstories, and frankly, I don't really care to. But yesterday a full kerfuffle kicked off on Twitter with many people ready to cancel Jimin (and by extension, ARMY) for working on a song with someone called Kodak Black.

Who is Kodak Black?

Well, apparently he's a rapper who brought a high schooler back to his hotel from a concert and then ripped her clothes off and bit her and raped her but he entered a plea deal and got probation for it. Not to be confused for the times he had illegal fire arms, committed armed robbery, possessed marijuana, and tried to evade police. Or the time he punched and kicked a woman at a strip club. By all accounts he sounds like a total asshole, and not someone whose pockets I want to line with my hard-earned money, even if I weren't a survivor, myself.

I think we can all agree that Kodak Black is not the kind of person ARMY would ever want to support.

So if at any point you feel like you cannot get behind the Fast X movie or soundtrack because Universal chose to employ that man? Please feel free to boycott and sleep easy at night. That's your value-based decision and I respect it. Don't let anyone call you an anti for it.

However.

There is another legitimate take on this with regard to Park Jimin, and it's a bit more nuanced than simply "don't work with bad people."

For a decade, we've gotten to know who Park Jimin is. He is kind. He is considerate. He is gentle. He has excellent manners. He gives to charity. He obeys and honors his parents and elder members. He has never been violent. He has never broken the law. He respects women deeply. He is a hard worker. He is a good human being.

I can't help but recall how Jimin had absolutely no idea that the song he made was going to be in Eternals. Like, he didn't believe it at first.

Clearly, this company has some serious issues with communication and the handling of Jimin's releases. I could say more but we don't have all day for that.

It is therefore plausible to me that Jimin was approached for this song, possibly by Jvke. Jimin has said he's seen all the movies so we know he likes the franchise. Maybe he said sure, he'd love to sing for Angel Pt 1. So he recorded his parts and moved on to the next amazing groundbreaking industry-shattering piece of work on his schedule. And then Universal brought in other artists and no one said a thing to him about it.

And you might think there's NO WAY Hollywood wouldn't tell you who all you're working with. Listen, I never worked on any big productions, but I lived in LA for years and worked in entertainment long enough to know you could make something and months later find out it's a whole other thing with people you've never heard of, and you signed off your work and likeness so it is what it is and you gotta live with it and not make waves, especially if you ever wanna work in that town again.

Then again, maybe Jimin met the rest of the artists during the filming of the music video. Maybe he knew Kodak Black was on this song. Maybe he, like me, had no idea of that man's past and never once imagined someone with a rap sheet that long would be in such a large-scale production in the first place.

Or maybe he did know, because it appears Kodak Black is billed as a "creator" of the song, but as an industry professional, he also knows nothing is ever totally clean or pure in this business. So oftentimes in entertainment, you will see people mentally separate the art from the business.

(Side note: To be honest, nothing is ever clean or pure that you pay to consume. The wage slaves sweating in the shops that make the clothes on your back or the device you're reading this post off of. The migrant workers toiling for pennies and living in communal shacks for the veggies in your salad. The animals crammed into horrific crates and slaughtered inhumanely that end up on your plate. The earth that's raped every time you write on a sheet of paper or put gas in your car. The plastics in all of our products are also in our landfills, our oceans, our blood streams. We all of us live and consume off the suffering of others. Doesn't mean we shouldn't fight for a better world--of course we should--I'm just saying, none of us consume anything that's "perfect" and cancel culture fails to acknowledge that.)

Which brings me back to the point about boycotting. If you feel like you just cannot support the business of employing someone like Kodak Black, that is a worthy choice and no one should bully you for it or label you an anti. But please do not consider Jimin "tainted by association." Because everyone is associated in one way or another with harmful people and practices. You'd never get to consume anything ever, if you could only consume things made by "good" people.

For my part, I don't believe Universal will see people refusing to stream or buy Angel Pt 1 and think "Gosh, we shouldn't have hired a man who batters and abuses women, it will hurt our bottom line on this soundtrack, we were very mistaken, let's do better." Maybe they will, but probably they won't. They have yet to even witness the buying power of ARMY anyway so they have no results to compare a boycott to. It's already a done deal and they will likely pull this shit again if it's expedient to do so.

On the other hand, this is Jimin's first OST for a major motion picture and I intend to support the hell out of it. I think it's a good song and I want Jimin to be seen by the industry as a safe bet to bring in numbers. I think the more projects he has, the more opportunities he has to promote good people and good music as alternatives. I say this AS A SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL ASSAULT who is no way making light of sexual assault. It frankly galls me that by association, Kodak Black (and numerous other unknown assholes) will benefit. But I'd rather that than, by association, Park Jimin suffer.

And I'll square with you: I think Justin Bieber, Charlie Puth, Park Jay, and others are opportunistic assholes problematic and it galls me that they will benefit by association with BTS members. But on a case by case basis, I will choose whether to support BTS members' collaborations. So far, I'm still all in. That's what feels right for me, according to MY conscience.

I cannot dictate to you what your conscience should tell you. That's between you and your soul, and it's no one else's business. Do your will and harm none. Trust yourself and honor your limits.

So if at any point you feel like you cannot support JK's Dreamers because of the horrible inhuman treatment of the World Cup stadium workers, abstain. If you cannot support Jimin with Angel Pt 1 because of Kodak Black's inexcusable violence, abstain.

But please do not lay the crimes of others at BTS' feet. They are responsible only for themselves, and we have seen they are sometimes not given complete information around their projects. I'm certain they do their best. When it's clear that a collaboration would go against their values (such as playing for their current president's inauguration), they decline. When they have the opportunity to make informed decisions, they usually decide well. But not always, because the members are human too.

I guess my point of this ramble is... human beings will be human. They are flawed. They inevitably make mistakes. Intention goes a long way. I can make a pretty clear-cut case that Kodak Black intentionally caused harm. So I'm happy to not support his art or business ventures and I hope after a lot of soul searching he becomes a better person but I'm not holding my breath. However, I cannot make a clear-cut case that Park Jimin endorses the harm Kodak Black caused just because he lent his voice to a song Kodak Black is also now a part of. Not yet, not without Park Jimin making a statement defending Kodak Black.

Until he does, I'm not going to hold Jimin responsible for anyone's choices except his own. I trust Jimin. He's earned it. So I'm going to support Jimin.

If you very strongly feel like I'm choosing to do harm here, that I'm anti-feminist, or a rape apologist, or a fan girl making light of serious crimes, please protect yourself and block me. You go ahead and do what you need to do to police your own experience. But I worry that eventually you are going to find yourself in a very lonely, very sparse and dull echo chamber, because that sad truth is... nothing and no one is pure. Certainly not in business, and rarely in art. Considering one out of four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, it's a safe bet that almost every song or movie you've heard of is somehow benefitting a man who was part of it and who has also abused a woman. I know k-pop idol culture heavily manufactures this PG13 image of artists but the truth is the world of entertainment is a cesspool and a viper pit, and we are very lucky to stan seven artists who are, by and large, truly good people. That's super rare.

My unsolicited advice is to take everything on a case-by-case basis and listen to your gut. Support Angel Pt 1. Don't support Angel Pt 1. It's a deeply personal choice what you endorse with your money.

But please miss me with trying to cancel Jimin, or any of the members, for other people's crimes.

Shunning, dogpiling, mobbing, shaming--cancelling people--those are Mean Girl tactics, designed to make people afraid to work with the "unworthy" and it doesn't work in the long run. (Extended, organized boycotts do work because money talks loud. So feel free to boycott if you want to.) But ruining people's reputations because of who their coworkers happen to be is in no way helping solve the actual problem.

If your goal is to make it so big studios don't employ rapists, keep the heat on the rapist and call out Universal and Kodak Black.

If your goal is to support Jimin, then trust and support Jimin and his songs.

Where those two goals conflict, trust your gut. That's all anyone can ask of you.

For my part, I choose Jimin.

Whatever choice you make--as long as you aren't bashing Jimin--I can respect it.

That's pretty much all I have to say about that. Feel free to disagree but keep it kind and respectful in the comments, please...

Love,

Roo

[happysaddca]

Defying Gravity sounds tinny coming from the substandard speakers of your phone, but it doesn't stop your eyes from tearing up as the pixelated blobs of Glinda and Elphaba share their goodbyes and Oz's men storm onto stage to take the women into custody. You sniffle, and the arm wrapped around you tightens with a mechanical whine.

"Are you okay?" Sun's rays brush against your hair before withdrawing, allowing him to press his faceplate against you in a pantomime of a kiss.

You fumble to pause the video, nodding quickly. "Yeah, sorry. It's just a lot, you know?"

"I think so. Elphaba's lost everything, hasn't she?" Sun's faceplate remains in your hair, even when you nod. "It's her lowest moment."

"And her highest." It doesn't sound complete. "I think... maybe the worst part is she loses Glinda here."

"Ah."

When Sun goes quiet like this, you're not sure what to think, listening to the mechanicals working instead. A fan kicks on shortly before you are pulled wholesale into his lap. "Sun?"

"Was just thinking together." You can't see his face like this. His nose presses a hard line against the top of your head. "If we lost each other... or you. What it would feel like."

"That's not going to happen." You are squeezed, but you manage to free your arms enough to squeeze back. "You won't lose Moon, and you're both stuck with me."

"Even when you graduate?"

"Especially when I graduate." The tears are back, if for a different reason now. "I'm not going to leave you both here with nobody to properly take care of you except the DJ."

There's a chuckle that's decidedly more Moon than Sun. "Will you steal us away?"

"Yes," you say without hesitation. "If I have to leave, I will take you with me. The DJ too if I can."

"He'll be hard to hide."

"We'll figure it out." You manage to wriggle in his arms to hug him tightly, his chassis warm from your body heat. "I love you."

"We love you too."

---*---*---*---

"You're gonna love this movie. It's based off the musical based off the book that's just fancy fanfiction of The Wizard of Oz." You're tired and you know you smell kind of like lemon and buttercream icing. It'd gotten in your hair and you're not sure you'd gotten it all out, even with Sunny's help. "Sun -- Nova and I would sing it all the time."

"Not Lune?" Sunny sounds amused, helping you set up the pillowfort in his room. You ignore him at first, choosing to crawl inside and check your phone's battery life.

"He would've preferred Beetlejuice if I'm honest." You have to hold yourself close so Sunny can join you in the fort. He's careful to avoid the cushions that make up the walls, withdrawing his rays with an audible click that makes you frown. "Are you okay?"

"Of course. The rays adjust and the one clicks again. He catches your stare and touches over the offending ray, adjusting it slightly. "A kid got scared and grabbed on. It just needs to be put back on the right track."

"Let me see." You ignore his hesitation, making grabby hands until he leans forward. The ray is loose, and it's easy to rock back into place. Sunny still makes a noise when it retracts from your grip with ease. "There. Better?"

"Better."

"Good." You settle against his side, pulling his arm over your shoulder as you open your phone. "Should still get it double checked later."

"Much later. This movie is nearly... three hours long? Are you sure you'll be up by the end?" Teasing you as you yawn. You're tempted to shove him right into the couch, but it'd take too long to rebuild the fort. So you just snuggle into him further, hitting play on the video.

It takes you a minute to realize when Idina Menzil and Kristin Chenowith are in the Emerald City, singing as the ancient wise ones. As actresses pretending to be the ancient wise ones. It's a note Menzil hits, the way that Chenowith speaks with the new Glinda. And the arm wrapped loosely over your shoulder, Sunny comfortable with you in his space, and this isn't the pillow fort in Ohio.

You blink back a tear and refocus on Elphaba and Glinda's journey into Oz's room, the massive mask, the... is that the life finds a way guy from Jurassic Park? His sleight of hand is so obvious, but you realize it's supposed to be. The audience knows he's a shame, but it's a distraction from the thoughts lingering in the back of your head.

And then Cynthia Erivo sings. "Something has changed within me--"

"Hey -- hey, are you okay?"

The phone's not in your hands anymore, held lightly in oversized yellow fingers with the accompanying stylus pressed lightly into the screen. Sunny's other hand is pressed against your cheek, pulling you up to face him. You can't really make out what he's looking at exactly. You blink hard instead, pulling away and rubbing at your eyes.

"I'm... I'm o... Oh." You have to rub harder, willing the tears to go away. But they won't stop; they just overwhelm in a way that's not happened since you first saw Sunny's face. You drop your head, hiding your face even if you can't muffle the soft, snotty sounds of your sobs without also losing the ability to breathe. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right." Sunny pulls you into his arms, and you have to duck your chin to avoid smearing his poor ruffle with your gross bodily fluids.

"I'm sorry," you whisper into his chest, the painted metal fogging under your breath."

"It's okay." He responds each time you apologize with same the quiet patience he gives a child who has scraped their knee. And it works, or maybe you're just worn out from work and from grief and from the chronic pan that's mirrored in the off-kilter spin in Sunny's fans. A spin that you've only noticed from listening to the Attendant's internal functions for years.

Your Attendant. Your Sun, Nova, and Moon -- Lune.

You sag in Sunny's arms, flinching when a finger brushes against your false eye. "Should we finish the movie?"

"We'd actually gotten to the end. Do Elphaba and Galinda ever see each other again?" When you lift your head, Sunny returns to cupping your cheek. His rays are partially retracted, and his concern is palpable. For you? No... no, he's used to this by now.

"They... they do." You smile as his touch softens on your face. "Yeah, they do. Do you want to hear the rest of the songs?"

The click-cluck of Sunny's fan answers for him, and you can't help but giggle. "Okay. Gimme the phone. I got some good animatics downloaded in one of those old folders."

You settle back into Sunny's side, taking a breath as you dig into your old email's drive. It takes a minute, but Sunny's arm returns across your shoulders. You rub at the scars under your false eye. Just a phantom itch. You can't actually feel anything there anymore.

[atlas-the-clockwork-weirdo]

Important Lyrics

The Spine x OC (Atlas)

They're in the library, The Spine is perched at one of the desks, heaps of papers on it and an overflowing waste basket sitting on the floor beside said desk.

Atlas is perched on an armchair nearby, a copy of White Fang in his hands as he slowly reads through it.

The Spine just wanted an extra person to be in the vicinity while he works, so Atlas just relaxed in his peripheral. Body doubling wasn't uncommon for the two of them, nor was the low humming of the Spine's voice mumbling the lyrics he's testing out as he writes.

The Spine pushed his chair back a foot and picks up his guitar from where it rested next to the desk. He plucks a couple chords, adjusts the strings and tests a couple more chords, humming all the while.

The Spine perks his head up towards his boyfriend, "Atlas?" He asks. Atlas rests the book in his hands on his legs and turns to face The Spine. "Yes?"

"I'm stuck on some lyrics, would you mind helping me out?" The Spine asks, looking a little sheepish. Atlas shrugs, "Well, I'm not a writer and I'm not as good with music as you and your siblings, but I'll try." Atlas says, making The Spine smile at him.

The Spine starts strumming his guitar and humming, then turns to singing, "But you don't like that way that I feel...It's the way that makes you feel worse all of the time...And I know that it's not okay for you...And it's not for me and is for you...So sorry about all of these things that you didn't sign up for..." For a moment, Atlas got lost in The Spine's voice. It's only when he stops that Atlas realises this is where he's hit a metaphorical wall.

Atlas hums the tune again, taking a moment to think. "Didn't sign up for..." He sings, trying to copy The Spine's tone. "How about..." He pitches his voice to the note, then sings, "And I don't wish the pain on you." His voice wavers slightly but he gets the point across.

The Spine perks up again, "I like that! Then... It's so sore. I've been honest to fault..." He sings, adding new lyrics, then waiting for Atlas' input once again.

Atlas hums once again, then sings, "But it doesn't help... I know that it hurts..." He tries and can see a light flicker on in The Spine's mind. "And it hurts and it keeps on hurting..." The Spine continues, a bright smile on his face making Atlas smile as well.

The Spine keeps strumming, then says, "then the chorus once again." And continues on to the chorus. "All the little pieces make up so much sense in the distance... fragmented to the point..." Atlas adds a second voice as they sing together, "...Of is it possible..."

Their eyes meet as they continue together on the chorus, "Hot on the trail of a real fine life...this could be what it means to be alive...can't be too sure, but it feels the right way...love is infinite like sun rays!" Their voices mesh together beautifully and they can't help the giggles they let out afterwards.

The Spine smiles gently, "That sounds great... Thank you, love." Atlas smiles back before The Spine turns to write down what they had just come up with.

Walter Worker Chelsea walks by them at that exact moment, "You two sound great together!" She comments, making Atlas vent extra steam from fluster. He didn't know there was anyone else in the library and now he feels a little embarrassed for trying to sing.

The Spine just smiles from his desk, looking relaxed.

[4townlove]

4⭐ Town Headcanons : Song for Each Member's Solo Career

Now im sure im not the only one that considers 4Town ever disbanding to be a nightmare that should never come true, but, in the hypothetical that it did (WHICH IT WONT EVER) these are the songs I think each would write and perform:

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⭐Robaire : Leave The Door Open by Bruno Mars, Anderson.Paak & Silk Sonic

Robaire fully embodies the charm and velvetine swagger of this song to a degree where its almost annoying, but I can't deny he's perfect for this vibe. I can just see that stupid perfect smile of his as he sings it. UGH !!! no matter how many times i hear this song, i cant help but get carried up in its energy and that is exactly the effect Robaire has always had on 4Town fans and the new ones who will enjoy his more mature turn at music.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

⭐ Jesse : Stick Season by Noah Kahan

Ok maybe I'm a little biased because Jesse is my man and I've been obsessed with this album lately but i really think Jesse would strip everything back and become a really homey, heartfelt to the point it breaks, tender and honest music. I just love the image of him in a flannel with a guitar just strummin away and sat on the hood of his old car, singing about whats on his mind and in his heart. gosh i love my sweet man (and go check out this artists whole album its soulcrushingly good)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

⭐Taeyoung : Promise by Jimin

i know its very on the nose to say that Taeyoung would do kpop after 4Town disbands, but i have a theory about this. I think after 4Town ends, Taeyoung would "retire" as an artist, bidding his farewells to the limelight and settling into a normal life where he can focus on his passion for animal rescue, maybe even setting up his own sanctuary and going to school to learn more about caring for and studying animals. but then, after maybe a decade of nothing, Tae would drop one final song, maybe on the 10 year anniversary of 4Towns end and it would flood the world. and this song i think is perfect for how he would feel if he made a song alone.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

⭐Aaron T : In The Heights

Now, maybe I'm jumping a bit but this kind of Lin Manuel Miranda style broadway, started with his take on Hamilton, where its got alot of hiphop influence just SCREAMS Aaron T to me. his energy, expressiveness and being known for being the fast-talking, bounce off the walls member i think lends to modern broadway so damn well, and for this song especially, he would be Usnavi obviously, and would have so much personality that he carries the whole show by himself.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

⭐Aaron Z : Cracker Island by Gorillaz

okok hear me out on this one, similar yo Taeyoung, i think Z would take a break from performing after 4Town splits up just to have some downtime and fihure out life outside the band, but then, he'd come back not to sing but to PRODUCE songs. he'd be one of those artists who releases a song once every 4-5 years and it takes the world by storm so hard the hype lasts til he comes back. anf for me, this electric synth-punk is something i could see him making. very grungy and dirty electro/retrowave sound that would set the world on fire. he's got the same cool and funky swag that this song especially i think just glows with.