#AND THE LYRICAL REFERENCES TO OTHER SONGS

[mumblingsage]

I'm no expert, but some options for titles:

-Instead of a song lyric, use a quote from your story (as a reader I love these! They give a flavor of the writing and highlight what the author finds important, plus when I then read the title quote in the story I get to shout "Title Drop!" like the excited little nerd I am)

-Use a quote from the canon you're writing fic for (ditto)

-Use a line from poetry, a famous speech, a play, or other source. Maybe start a file where you jot down phrases that catch your fancy + their origins so you can easily pick one (and cite it) the next time you're stuck.

-Take a page from Friends and try "The One Where [fic premise]." Bonus round: shave off "the one where" and just use the premise title.

-A phrase that refers to the central conflict of the story (a la Pride and Prejudice)

-A phrase that refers to the role of a character in the story (I know we all knocked book titles along the lines of The Watch-Winder's Daughter, but it at least gives you a noun to work with)

-A phrase or word that refers to the theme of the story

-A descriptive image or sensory detail from the story

-Stealing a technique from poets: Make the title the first line of your fic/vice versa.

-Use a Word-A-Day Calendar or SAT vocabulary guide or random page in a dictionary to grab a term which you then try to fit into your title

-Consider a pun

-When a title isn't working, try radically remixing it. Harlan Ellison once (in the writing advice anthology Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror) recommended coming up with 3 alternative titles for a current project, including one that's very short and one that's very long (focusing on length rather than other considerations might quiet your inner critic). In the end, none of the 3 titles might be the right choice, but it'll get creative juices flowing.

me: *writes fic*

me: great! time to post to ao3-

ao3 summary box: *exists*

me: 

ao3 summary box:

me:

ao3 summary box: 

me:

[siilent-wanderer]

dynamics with aespa

A/N: just aespa 5th member! reader’s dynamics with the rest of the members (excluding jimin)

Aeri

as the fluent English speakers in the group, they bond over inside jokes and cultural references that sometimes go over the others’ heads

once, a MY asked something in English, and Y/N confidently answered

“Wow, Y/N-ya so fluent”

side eyes

while traveling abroad, they always pair up, taking turns to translate for the group

Aeri and Y/N often partner up during practice, vibing naturally when going over rap or choreo sections

they always team up to playfully tease the other members, but especially Jimin, since Aeri picked up on Y/N’s feelings early on (and Jimin is just always in denial)

music is their love language — they constantly recommend songs to each other and have impromptu jam sessions

Aeri once introduced Y/N to an obscure indie artist, and it’s now Y/N’s favorite

one night, Aeri discovers Y/N editing a song on her laptop. Intrigued, she offers to help and spends the evening suggesting beats and lyrics

that unfinished project becomes their little secret

Aeri and Y/N love going shopping together

Aeri is great at picking outfits for Y/N, often saying, “This will look so good on you,” while Y/N playfully teases her with over-the-top accessories

they always love going on unplanned adventures together

one rainy day, they went for a walk despite the weather, splashing in puddles and getting completely soaked

they returned to the dorm drenched but laughing uncontrollably, earning a scolding from Jimin

Minjeong

Y/N and Minjeong once attempted to bake cookies for the group but ended up burning half of them. They spent the night laughing while trying to salvage the batch

Minjeong constantly teases Y/N about being the younger one

“You better listen to your unnie,” she says with a mock-serious tone, pointing a spatula during their chaotic cooking nights

Y/N rolls her eyes but secretly loves their playful dynamic

they often lie on Minjeong’s bed, sharing funny or embarrassing stories about their trainee days. Minjeong always starts the conversation with, “Okay, spill!”

Minjeong notices Y/N retreating into herself one evening and quietly joins her on her bed, handing her a stuffed animal

“You don’t have to talk, but I’m here”

Y/N loves taking care of Minjeong too

during a hectic schedule, Y/N noticed Minjeong looking pale and dragged her to a quiet corner. She handed her a water bottle and said, “Unnie, don’t push yourself too hard.”

Minjeong never argues, knowing Y/N’s concern cones from a place of care

they have a running bet to see who can stay awake longest during movie marathons

Y/N usually wins, but only because Minjeong secretly lets her because she loves watching Y/N’s smug victory dance

they often stay up late talking about random things, from conspiracy theories to what they’d do in a zombie apocalypse

“I’d probably sacrifice myself for you guys”

"The zombies have nothing to eat, unnie"

"mWO????"

Yizhuo

Y/N and Yizhuo’s rivalry often shows in group activities

whether it’s who can dance better during warm-ups or who can guess the most trivia questions, their (chaotic) competitiveness keeps the group entertained

despite being a few months older, Y/N often loses to Yizhuo who gloats endlessly about her victories (the unnies find it cute tho)

Y/N and Yizhuo occasionally sit on the dorm floor, experimenting with harmonies for random songs

their impromptu duets usually end with giggles when one of them misses a note

"Stop laughing!"

"Your face is just too funny, I can't even remember when to sing anymore"

during a group outing, Yizhuo dares Y/N to sneak an extra dessert onto Jimin’s plate without her noticing. When Jimin finally catches on, she shakes her head at the two maknaes’ antics

despite being younger, Yizhuo sometimes cheekily calls Y/N “baby unnie,” poking fun at their close age

Y/N responds by dramatically calling Yizhuo “our precious baby,” which never fails to make the other members laugh

Yizhuo once demanded Y/N carry her on her back after a long day,

“It’s the unnie’s job to take care of me.”

Y/N groaned but obliged, grumbling, “You’re so spoiled,” while secretly smiling at Yizhuo’s giggles

[axiian19-art]

A rambling analysis of Ivan's "Nowhere"

I'll start with my thoughts on the song itself, then break down some of the lyrics.

So, "Nowhere" is quite a bit different from Ivan's other songs, mostly in regards to the melody and his singing. His voice is a lot more... flat, and the pitch and length of the notes vary a lot less. In "Cure" and "Black Sorrow," there's a lot more variance: Ivan's voice goes from soft and low, singing shorter notes, to louder and higher, holding long notes, et cetera.

In Nowhere, the notes are typically shorter, and tend to stay in the same general area on the scale. Ivan's tone stays very consistent; in his other songs, it goes from calm and collected to full of emotion and feelings. He sounds a lot more monotone in Nowhere, and not just because he's singing quietly. He's not entirely apathetic; there's still a lot of emotion in his voice. But it's muted. Numb.

The only line that lacks this somewhat monotone, apathetic tone is "In love with you, when you were mine." This line is EVERYWHERE, and plays in the background of the ENTIRE TRACK.

And all of this kind of makes sense. "Black Sorrow" and "Cure" were both declarations of Ivan's love, and his feelings for Till. They were meant to be heard; they were meant to have an audience in Till. Ivan was projecting his emotions outwards.

"Nowhere" was not meant to be heard by anyone but Ivan himself—not even Till. It represented Ivan's internal thoughts, ones he would never say to anyone else—sort of how like someone might find certain things about a friend or significant other annoying, but choose not to say anything despite thinking it. Ivan is tired, and perhaps even a bit annoyed. He's wondering why Till doesn't return his feelings, and likely, wondering why he himself continues to love Till despite that.

Now, onto the lyrics (English translation b/c my Korean is awful):

That's just the kind of kid he is, so laugh Laugh, because he can't do anything No one cares about someone like him There's nowhere in the world for him to rest

It's been stated (see image below) that Ivan feels like he cannot be loved—that he's undeserving of it, or just doesn't have the qualifications. These lyrics are Ivan speaking about himself. Ivan is unable to get Till to return his feelings ("no one cares about someone like him"), and he is also, ultimately, unable to save Till ("Laugh, because he can't do anything"). To make this second thing worse, it happened not once, but TWICE: first when Ivan couldn't get Till to leave with him, and then when his actions in Round 6 ended up seemingly being for nothing in Round 7.

Another bit of the lyrics is as such:

Worse and worse this painful wound I become more and more numb

Ivan is slowly becoming more and more apathetic, and resigned to his fate, saying that "this always happens to me." Even the song's title is a reference to this: there's nowhere for Ivan to find solace, and all of "this" is going nowhere—"this" being Ivan's relationship with Till. Ivan is resigned to his fate of loving Till—almost certainly more than he loves himself—un"till" the end: until death.

[blinkycravesviolence]

OBSESSED OVER HOW NURSE PARALLEL'S CHORUS SHARES THE SAME MELODY AS MACHINE GIRL

[yuseirra]

I've a feeling that Mr Akasaka believes they're really clever and they think they’ve given us all the necessary hints already but no one gets it

If you search for "Aratate Shrine," it's an information that comes up right away!

I opened the volumes again after a long time for reference, since I was planning to draw a fan comic.

At the end of Volume 8? Or the last part of Chapter 80? When all the characters went to make their wishes? Page 189??

There’s a narration there that says, "Was it because their prayers were answered, or was it someone’s guidance?"

And on page 186, it even confirms that the location is Aratate Shrine!!!

Now, look at the description on the tourist guide website! It says this:

A shrine that is often visited by celebrities, Aratate shrine is said to bring good fortune in show business and marriage. This shrine is dedicated to Sarutahikono-mikoto and his wife Amenouzume no-mikoto who gave directions to Ninigino-mikoto the grandson of the sun goddess(Amaterasu) upon his descension from the heavens. While walking through the grounds of the shrine, you will see ancient trees called sakagi which are said to grant wishes. One of these trees called Shichi-fukutoku-jyubangi is said to grant 7 wishes to those who hit the tree 7 times. Take your best shot and stock up on good fortune!

I feel like I already brought this up a long time ago when I was researching and linked it back then!!!!

Kamiki, that guy, is a guiding deity!!!! Sarutahiko is a god of guidance and also a god of light!!! That’s his identity!!!

The one who granted the wishes there was him!!!! If there's ANYONE in this comic who is that Sarutahiko god, it's Kamiki!! He helped Ruby’s career, later granted the twins’ wishes, and even helped them find him. The hint is in the "Mephisto" lyrics—it’s like he’s saying, "Come find me." He granted their wish to come to him and kept supporting the twins. In his own way, he thinks of himself as their father. Even near the end, there’s a mention of wishes again, right? It seemed like he wanted to grant them. It’s like he wanted to do something for them.

He’s a god who guides the way and leads people’s futures in a good direction!!! He’s the black star, and Ai is the white star.

Right now, all the wishes have been fulfilled in strange, distorted ways, haven’t they? That’s because this guiding god’s power has been corrupted and is now malfunctioning... It’s Kamiki’s fault. He's the selfish giant star that's been ruining people's lives as said in the song Fatal. But I’m not sure if this is something intentional or not.

For wishes to be properly fulfilled, Ai has to be with him. The two of them need to be together to make it happen. The wishes end up being granted with flaws because he's incomplete without his wife regarding that ability!!! He's wishing upon a star in Mephisto to have Ai come back to life, isn't he? He needs her to complete him and function! That's why he'a been looking for her and her love ever since she passed!!!

I don’t really check Japanese fandoms or other people’s reactions, but is there no talk about this in Japan??? This is the answer, isn’t it???? Has no one figured it out? I’ve been talking about this since July or August, but people won’t believe me. Then I just casually opened the volumes to reference the art, and I saw that. Now I have a headache. This is correct. If this isn’t right, then what is it? What’s the explanation? The story doesn’t make sense otherwise.

Why else would his name include references to a god and light? And I’m telling you, Ame-no-Uzume is Ai!! After Ame-no-Uzume married her husband, she started blessing love too. It’s said she’s the reincarnation of the morning star!!! Seriously!!!

Kamiki is a god, but it seems like his power has been distorted somehow, and it doesn’t even seem to be entirely intentional.

If you analyze the lyrics, they mention a flaw arising. That flaw came after he lost Ai (love).

His ability to guide the future got all twisted, and as a result, everyone around him started becoming miserable and dying.

Why isn’t this addressed properly in the story??? Because it’s not mentioned, no one gets it, but I’ve been saying for months that this must be it~~ This must be it~~ It’s so frustrating!! But since this is what's beyond logic and too fantasy, even if I think it is, it just isn't convincing, is it?; I understand, I feel stupid myself too but,

There are way too many traits of Kamiki that align perfectly with that god for this to be a coincidence. And why else would there be references to him being noble, or him drowning??? Ugh!!! Seriously!!

Isn’t it possible that things just didn’t work out the way he wanted them to? He probably never wanted anyone to get hurt, at least not until Ai’s death. This person seems to have the ability to influence the future, but if everything had gone the way he wanted, would his life have ended up like this? The fact that both Aqua and this person ended up drowning is proof of it—they can make wishes come true, but everything gets twisted in the process.

What if this person fell apart because of it? What if even he didn’t want these results? At the very least, some of the things that happened don’t seem like they were his intention. Ai’s death, for instance—there’s no way he wanted that. He probably really just meant to send her flowers. But because of the darkness in the entertainment industry or whatever, everything about him was already so broken that it unintentionally spiraled into the worst outcome due to his broken powers.

That’s why he completely lost it… He’s searching for Ai (Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto), isn’t he? There’s even that line about him wandering in search of love (Ai). I think it’s from Chapter 160 or so. He wants to get his wife back. Collecting the white stars probably had a real connection to that goal—it seems like it actually worked in some way.

Then what about all the other incidents? The deaths of so many people? After he "died" (?), didn’t people start acting like they were breaking out of some kind of trance, with a bunch of them suddenly confessing and turning themselves in? This isn’t something a normal human could do. Is it that he passively exerts influence just by existing, or did he actively use his abilities to make all that happen later on?

Anyway, he is a god!!! But what if he really meant it when he said he never intended to hurt anyone? What if that’s true? No way, right? Isn’t this all just him spiraling out of control in his desperation to bring his late wife back?

I really think this interpretation is correct, but shouldn’t the story have addressed this explicitly?!

If you’re Japanese, is this something you would’ve known? Do people get it? Is it common sense?; Do they understand what’s happening in this story? Does everyone know? Shouldn’t this have been explained? Without researching separately, you might get the feeling that something’s off, but there’s no way to uncover the full story just from the work itself. And yet, these kinds of clues exist, don’t they? I’m telling you, my interpretation is correct. Why don’t they clarify this? For a story to work, you need to at least tell us what it’s about.

I really think this is the answer… No matter how much I think about it, there’s no other coherent way to interpret it.

That’s why it’s so frustrating. No one takes it seriously and I get that because even I feel ridiculous insisting that a character is a god!! but there’s no other explanation for it, right? I thought the story would address this before it ended. Isn’t this such an irresponsible piece of work? At the very least, they should’ve wrapped it up so that we could understand what was happening. Why didn’t they?

I’ve never tried to feel something intentionally.

But what this character feels... it’s just too overwhelming. The emotions of suffering are so vivid that I can’t help but think there’s something more to it, and it keeps bothering me.

For a character accused of being a psychopathic serial killer who supposedly murdered his girlfriend, I couldn’t help but think, he doesn’t seem like someone who’d do that. That thought bothered me so much my head hurt.

But in this case, isn’t he grieving? The song conveys sorrow and pain, doesn’t it?

This kind of emotion doesn’t feel like something someone who hurt their loved one would express. It’s grief, longing, and an unbearable desire to see them again. And it’s not entirely one-sided—it feels like it stems from a mutual bond that once existed. The more I look at it, the clearer this becomes. If I couldn’t see it, I wouldn’t bother putting my heart into this. But once I do see it, there’s no way to ignore it.

It feels like the emotions are so strong because there was a time when they loved each other deeply, got along so well, and were happy together.

Am I the only one who feels this way? I don’t think so.

I don't think he ever wanted nor attempted on things to turn out this way. There IS something about the guy that influences those around him into disaster.

This darn manga… It hits so hard, and yet, look at what it’s become. But it seems to follow mythology, so I can sort of understand why it turned out this way, and that makes it slightly forgivable. But do people get this? Do they know why it happened like this? No way. You can’t know unless you look up the mythology. If you’re going to incorporate mythology into the manga, at least explain it! This manga isn’t entirely grounded in reality anyway—there are gods, reincarnation, wishes, star eyes, and some kind of mission or destiny!

I'm not trying to defend Kamiki, either way he seems to have become a hazard of some sort.

And before that, Ai passed because Kamiki is guiding god whose powers-the power of Michihiraki-which brings out the best in people-, got distorted into being the opposite of what it was meant to be due to the darkness of the industry?

So people like Ryosuke had their worst sides coming out and that influenced him to murder Ai. In that case, Kamiki would feel a sense of responsibility for it and try to reverse it (if he's figured out his destiny-or what he is-)because even if it were to be unintentional, it'd still be his fault in a sense. That's why he has this bizzare behavior of blaming himself continuously for things.

I'm not sure if everything about this is solely what he's brought upon himself. If he has those kinds of powers, maybe people just die and end up misforunate from him wishing to feel Ai?

(Yeah then we had him thinking killing Ruby would have helped him to feel her. But he didn't do it. Was it only because Aqua tried to stop him? What is going on?)

Well, when someone dies, they’re no longer by your side, so their presence begins to fade.

I think this person… just couldn’t bear that. If you look at the lyrics of the songs, they convey those types of emotions.

From what I feel, his feelings towards Ai isn’t about worship either—it’s just pure longing towards what he regarded as his other half. But I bet a lot of people won’t see it that way. The story doesn’t make it easy to interpret it like that, does it? Ha… it’s frustrating.

Sure, a character who’s a clingy psychopath has its own charm. But if someone who isn’t like that is written to look that way, shouldn’t the story take responsibility for it? Either say it isn’t true, or confirm that it is. Why do I feel like I’ve figured out the answer, only to constantly doubt myself, wondering if I’m spouting nonsense?

The narrative and abilities of the god of entertainment couple align way too closely with Ai and Kamiki. Not just on a similar level—it feels like they are them. Was that not important? I think it’s an essential element for explaining why the story unfolded the way it did. They SHOULD have touched this before they go.

You know, I wonder if there's a way to tie up Hikaru's characterization between 155 and post 160.

Like in another version of onk where there's more time and effort put into it. The end result is Aqua and Hikaru falling into the ocean but the process is different, do you think it's possible to do that with the same amount of chapters?

I think I said this ... ? somewhere ?? in my tag previously but I think a really low effort easy way to make this make even a moderate amount of sense is just to alter Tsukuyomi's little monologue at the start of 161 and have her state that the Jokerfied Kamiki of post-160 is the direct result of having his worldview shattered by realizing that Ai had loved him all along and that he killed her for nothing. Like, as an exercise to prove this, I bullshitted this together in a few minutes;

please be nice about this dialogue i came up with it in 10 seconds

Is this good? Eeeeeeeeehhhhh. I think having Kamiki be the final boss after 154 is just so mid and such a boring way to end his arc, but I do think something like this would be an improvement. At the very least, it makes the sudden, jarring shift between the seemingly defeated and remorseful Hikaru of 154-5 and the Anime Supervillain Hikaru of 160+ actually motivated by something in-story other than "GO CRAZY GO STUPID" but I also think it makes the bitter tragedy of Aqua's death hit a lot harder. Now it's not just Kamiki being arbitrarily ontologically evil in the way that most conveniently puts him in conflict with Aqua - this is now a tragedy that Aqua brought on himself by continuing to pursue getting revenge on Kamiki and rubbing his nose in his mistakes.

Obviously this is still messy as hell and it doesn't solve all the dumb shit with Aqua's ""reason for existing"", but I do think the Kamiki we get on page in OnK is not unsalvageable as a character and it legit would've taken very little to make him internally consistent in a way that was engaging.

Oh uh, we're cutting the serial killer cult bullshit though. That's just dumb.

[hairmetal666]

Eddie's supposed to be writing. The guys, they all agreed they'd each come to practice armed with two whole new songs they could pick from to add to their set list at the Hideout. And he's got his pen, and he's got his most recent trusty Composition Book, and all his lyrics are fucking bullshit about golden tanned skin and honeyed eyes and tracing constellations in freckles and moles, pathetic lines about being twisted in bed sheets, and the hopeless love he found himself in.

For the fifth time in an hour, he rips out the offending page, crunches it into a tight ball, and throws it across the room.

He can't write about Steve Harrington for the rest of his life; spend his nights aching for the boy who established himself as a fixture in Eddie's life and then just disappeared.

The worst of it--the very worst--is that Eddie knew better. Steve was never his, not in any real way, no matter how many times they fucked. He's Steve Harrington. Straightest guy in Hawkins. Popular. Rich. Whole fucking life laid out for him on a silver platter. And Eddie fell for him. It's the Munson curse, he supposes; always wanting what you can't have.

It started the way these things usually do, "got any weed?" and "come back to my place, Harrington" and "I got this stupid job at the mall, meet me there?" and lying "hey, guys, can't make band practice, gotta help Uncle Wayne" and "Munson, I really want--can I kiss you?"

In every other fantasy Eddie's ever had, it ends there. Steve gets his kiss and they never see each other again. But Steve Harrington--he's full of surprises. It catches Eddie off guard, makes him want, makes him trust. Because it's not just kisses. It's hands and mouths and "anything you want, Eddie. Let me make you feel good."

Maybe it wouldn't have hit so hard--maybe Eddie could've stopped from falling--if Steve hadn't been so good. Bitchy, sure, but genuine and kind. Had this whole gaggle of junior high kids he babysat, like what the fuck. Would hang out with Wayne and shoot the shit about whatever sports nonsense was on tv. Harrington never was as mean, as spoiled, as superficial as Eddie suspected.

Then Starcourt. That's when it all changes. Steve stops coming around then, in the aftermath. It hurts, but Eddie tells himself it's for the best. Now, he knows it would have been.

Two weeks with no contact, and Steve shows up at his door in the middle of the night. Eddie winces at the healing bruises and cuts on his face, can't imagine how much worse they were to start. He steps aside, lets Steve in, plans to say that he can't be whatever they are anymore.

Steve kisses him. It's a hot, needy thing, wild with teeth and tongue, nothing like before. Eddie is helpless to it, helpless to the way Steve grinds against him, already hard. He should slow it down, check-in that Steve is in the right headspace for this, but Steve is moaning low in his throat and Eddie can't think.

They're in Eddie's bed and Steve says, "fuck me, Eddie?" and Eddie says "are you sure" because he can't stop himself. Steve rolls his eyes (beautifuly bitchy), says, "I need to feel you inside me, baby."

How can Eddie say no?

Eddie's never done this before, but it doesn't matter. It's everything--Steve is everything--he could ask for.

The next morning, he expects Steve to be gone. Thinks they'll never see each other again. But he finds Steve in the kitchen, in his boxers and Eddie's Iron Maiden shirt, making eggs and talking to Wayne like it's the most normal thing in the world.

The next month and a half are the best of Eddie's life. He and Steve spend more time together than they do apart. Nights at Eddie's trailer, in Eddie's bed. Days lounging at the Harrington pool and driving around the nothing that surrounds Hawkins. Sometimes they'll stop in the middle of nowhere, climb on top of the van, and just--be. Steve takes his shirt off, and Eddie traces their names in the sun-soaked freckles, thinking maybe he really gets to have this, have Steve.

It ends as quickly as it started. One morning in September, Steve is cupping Eddie's neck, pulling him in for a goodbye kiss, saying, "sorry, baby, gotta get home for my parents. I'll see you later tonight, yeah?"

Except Eddie doesn't. Eddie doesn't see Steve that night, or the night after, or the night after that. He stops coming around and all Eddie is left with is a broken heart and these piss poor excuses for songs.

He rips out the latest page, waxing lyrical about the wonders of August, and time slipping away, and the boy he'll never forget. Crumples it into a ball and bats it into a pile of junk accumulated in the corner of his room.

Eddie needs a break.

He flies into the living room, snatches up his keys from the floor by the coffee table, and flees his house and all those memories of Steve. It's not like he has anywhere specific to go, so he drives around town, with his windows down and his music up.

His tires screech as he rounds the corner to the video store and arcade. He's not planning on stopping, but honestly, maybe a few rounds of Space Invaders is exactly what he needs.

The van hasn't even come to a stop in the parking spot when his eyes fall on Steve Harrington. He's standing in the middle of the parking lot surrounded by a gang of kids (including some of Eddie's new little sheepies) and Robin Buckley. Steve wears a sunny yellow sweatshirt, tight jeans, and his hair is perfectly coifed, falling in an elegant wave. His hands are on his hips, mouth and brows pinched stern. He's gorgeous, perfect.

It's an assault, an attack, Eddie's entire body shakes as the months they spent together crash over him. He has the van in reverse before he consciously thinks to do so, flooring it out of the space hard enough to burn rubber.

The noise, the speed, it draws the entire group's attention to him.

His eyes meet Steve's.

Time stops and so does he, idling in the middle of the parking lot. For a second, one moment in time, Steve's face falls. His mouth loses that grumpy pinch, his eyebrows drop, his beauty transformed by grief, by fucking longing.

Steve takes a step forward, and Eddie hits the gas, van screaming out of the parking lot. He watches the group shrink in his rearview mirror, sure that he imagined the sorrow in Steve's face, anyway.

They're nothing to each other.

Never were.

By popular request: Part Two

[tee-dohrnii]

Until We Wake - WIP

Will I finish this? I mean, I hope so. I'll switch between digital and traditional to get the ideas out - depending on which works best for me for certain scenes :)

(Also I did the text digitally)

Based on this post of mine

[akantorrr]

The Ballad Of Blind Love

I've had this one song stuck in my head for literal weeks, so here's art (2 versions cause I couldn't decide on the colors)

Fellow italians, I'm sorry for turning a 60's song gay

(song's "La Ballata Dell'Amore Cieco" by Fabrizio De André btw)

More details and variants here

[edwinisms]

hey jayden? yeah can we talk about how lyrics like this are in your charles playlist? hello???

[smalltownduck]

picture: millow (lesbyler) and el at rink-o-mania in 4x02 but the song that plays from the moment they enter the skating rink and until willow sees el and michelle skate away is I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) instead of Tarzan Boy.

plus the first lines being 'clock strikes upon the hour and the sun (the light, willow) begins to fade' to keep up with the clock motif and even birthdaygate as a treat.

[whollyjoly]

in those heavy days in june, when love became an act of defiance

song - june by florence + the machine

special thanks to @xxluckystrike for getting me back into f+tm and to @panzershrike-pretz @ronald-speirs for giving me feedback/hearing my rambling brain thoughts as i made this!

[sp1resong]

thylacine song. yeah. uh. i think i'll want to do some sort of instrumental for this one eventually, at which point i would like to upload it to youtube, however for the moment i do not feel like battling my keyboard and thus. instrumen't

(lyrics under the cut)

benjamin

i hope you know we're sorry though that cannot make it right i hope you know, we miss you so; your eyes, your jaws, your stripes

we eulogize your lot in life as though we did not hold the knife we have realized our sins, our lies too late to make it right

we are heir to our selfishness, our violence of old and you? you will never have any heirs at all.

our heart becomes a cemetery (guess i'll see you around) i leave to thee my ghost to carry (in memoriam; aloud) and all my hallowed bones to bury (somewhere deep underground) as once we buried all thy kin alive

thy memory in black-and-white is all that's left to see how is it i can meet thy gaze? a ghost behind the screen

i wish I could apologize for this bitter tragedy i hear thee scream in patterned light, "there are none after me."

our souls become a cemetery (blood spilt on hallowed ground) i gift to thee my heart to carry (one last meal in your mouth) and all my hollow bones to bury (never to be found) as once we buried thy legacy alive

can you hear me where you are? somewhere high above the stars or in the furthest corners of national parks are you so close, and yet so far? are you, then, lost forevermore? a century separates us two and yet, some still believe in you and god, i really hope it's true - but as it stands, when there's no proof…

i swear to thee, thy heart i'll carry (no memory, no sound) and all thy weary bones i'll bury (where you never need be found) with just enough to pay the ferry… (your pelt becomes a shroud) i'm sorry, my old friend, goodnight, goodbye

so rest now, all alone you are, here at your end of days there's nothing you or i can do- too little, too late!

and when your ghost has gone to ground i'll sit down by your grave and pray when they pen your eumony they'll mourn, they'll speak your name

[velvetjune]

the chapter songs in Alan Wake 2,, flawless

[mikeywayfuctup]

me casting a spell over the west to make you think of me the same way i think of you

[creaturefeaster]

Ship name for Michael and Gary?

Ooooh, I've never gotten asked this about my characters before!!!

If we're going oldschool "just try and guess which characters this is about" type ship naming, I think I'd call it Rebel Yell. Or Godpunk. (*)

Otherwise as a name mashup, no combination sounds pleasant in my opinion lol, but maybe something like Haullafranca with their last names mashed together. Just sounds cooler than like, Gichael.

👻💀

[spidey-bie]

Look at me. Everybody look at me right now. They don't kiss they don't have sex they don't do anything inherently sexual or romantic in any way.

Y'know what they do to show affection?

They sing together.

Even with Hobie's terrible voice (he's so off key) there is no one in the world that Ansi would rather duet with than Hobie.

No matter where they are whether it's Ansi's apartment, Hobie's boat, or Aunt May's house, if the radio's playing and a song they both know comes on they're both about to be belting out the lyrics.

Ansi sings Hobie love ballads as gifts because he knows how much Hobie loves his singing voice. (And she honestly just loves to sing so much.)

Hobie snagged parts to put together a karaoke set up on his boat with a personalized mic for Ansi. (It's orange and it has her spider symbol on it.)

Singing is the one thing in Ansi's life that hasn't been exploited. It's not something that he wants to share with the world. But singing with Hobie puts him at ease. She gets to do something that she loves with someone who means everything to her. And nobody can take that away from her.