#I was going to say they give me archer vibes but that show is inspired by 70s cop/spy stuff too isn't it

[cheeseknives]

The (fake) moustaches feel so blursed to me, though top ten things in Top Gear I'd like to rid-

[aptericia]

So! A while ago I made redesigns for some of my least favorite Three Houses outfits. With a lot of the female characters, it feels like the priority with their design is "show boobs and/or bare legs". Obviously, I don't claim to be better at character design than the original artists, but here's my take with the following priorities (in order):

Representing the character and making them easily identifiable. Basically, the design should serve as a "condensed" version of their personality, abilities, culture, etc.

An outfit that I find (with my 100% correct and objective opinion, of course) to be attractive

Being reasonably practical, at least enough that it doesn't break immersion. Considers the character's job, available resources, etc.

Ordinarily I'd design an outfit to go with the character's body type, but I was lazy here lol. If people are interested, I could draw nice versions on the actual characters sometime. Oh, BTW, the concept for this post was heavily inspired by looking through the @bikiniarmorbattledamage tumblr :))))

Below are detailed descriptions on how I went about designing them, if anyone's curious! I will be bashing the original designs quite a bit because I find it funny, but I hold absolutely no disrespect toward anyone who prefers them to my poorly-thought-out versions :)

Bernadetta – I feel like the designers were trying to combine the female archer class outfit, Bernie’s own girly/plushie aesthetic, and the “fancy noble lady” style and it didn’t quiiiiiite work out. I really like the color scheme & overall shapes, so I just went about changing the few things that ruined it for me.

First off, the huge bell sleeves. They’re just silly and don’t match the outfit imo. I turned them into an elaboration on her cute gloves.

Gave her pants instead of booty shorts. I don’t think Bernie would wear a long skirt that would keep her from running around, but the exposed legs give her a “vulnerable” look that I don’t think she’d appreciate. Plus, having the leg-pouch strapped to her bare skin looked really uncomfy ☹.

The boots didn’t work as well with her shiny new Pants, so I gave her knitted leg-warmer things inspired by this gorgeous cipher art.

I expanded her leg-pouch-thing and gave her a teeny little dagger. I just think she’d carry weapons on her person.

Constance – Honestly, credit to her for doing the best she could with the god-awful Dark Flier class design. I still think her outfit is pretty ugly and sexist, so I made some adjustments. I tried to evoke a “noble lady” feeling, but keep the muted color scheme and lack of patterns to imply that she’s actually dirt-poor. I took inspiration from people like Ferdie (noble vibe; armor purely for show not practicality) but with her personal “edgy steampunk vampire” aesthetic.

I changed her stupid boob-cup breastplate. I don’t even care about the dangers of wearing boobplate in realistic combat—it just looks ugly. Like why do you need to go to extra trouble to say “I have BOOBS! TWO of them!!”? It’s embarrassing. I mean it’s fine if you’re proud of your boobs, but then don’t cover them up with metal maybe???

I realized that the designers probably gave her boobplate because, without it, her outfit isn’t actually all that feminine. Coco is a pretty feminine lady, so I remedied this by giving her puffy sleeves (inspired by the Awakening Dark Flier design) and a skirt-thing (with an awkward slit that would allow her to sit on a horse). The skirt had the added bonus of being incompatible with the stupid butt-grabbing hip armor. Good riddance!

Traded in her bare legs for some silly suspender-sock-things. I just thought they worked better with the skirt and more “girly” outfit overall. Also gave her shin-guards to extend the pink color scheme throughout the whole outfit.

I also changed her dress into a stylish vest that, imo, looks nicer (and comfier) with the armor. I gave her some gold accents on the vest & armguards for a dash of color.

Her belt got a revamp to work better with the vest.

Lysithea – On to our favorite doily princess! Her design doesn’t reek as much of “boobs and/or legs priority”, but it’s still silly and looks pretty uncomfortable. I actually really like the aesthetic, so I tried to keep it as much as possible. I did end up having to introduce another color (silver), though.

I think her doily skirt looks extra silly because it’s so dwarfed by her sleeves. I lengthened it, made it puffier, and added another layer beneath it.

More drastically, I ended up changing the whole top of the dress so it was a shirt & skirt instead. I’m not sure I have a justification for this beyond “I don’t usually prefer dresses”, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out 😊 Also, what’s with the weird rows of ribbons(???) at her sides? Into the trash lol.

The ribbon attachment looks like it would be really cold on her bare chest ☹. I moved it down to the level of her shirt and attached it to her shoulders instead of her neck (for comfort).

Her shoes got boringer but less dumb-looking. What can I say, I’m not good at designing shoes.

Hapi – Hers is the least-bad of the Ashen Wolves’ timeskip designs, not that that’s saying much. I don’t really like gray and green as a color scheme, so I gave her a bit of brown and some more gold accents. Other than that, I feel like she has a sort of forest girl/witch/traveler look, which I tried to keep as much as possible.

Obviously, the silly boob-separator strap had to go. I have no problems with Hapi being sexy, but she’s much more the “forgot to put on my pants when I rolled out of bed at 1:00pm” type rather than the “put extra effort into showing that I have TWO BOOBS” type. Therefore, I kept a similar amount of skin showing but tried to make it easier to assemble.

Her new skirt was based on the Valkrie designs from other games (you’ll notice the similarity to the Mist-inspired outfit in this post). I think this version is both cuter and looks easier to move in. Also, I love giving everyone too many belts! Hers has a lil pouch for carrying random junk she finds.

Both her arms and legs looked a little boring imo, so I gave her some pretty bracelets and altered her shoes. Plus, her original boots looked hard to move in. Here, the actual boot is pretty loose but is tied below the knee with an extra laceable piece and above the knee with a brown strap.

Petra – Ho boy. I always felt like Petra’s design could be potentially problematic, although I’ve never done any research. Anywayyyy, it’s clear that the designers wanted something “exotic”-looking, but they had no ideas beyond “well she’s from a warm climate right” (In reality, someone from a warm climate would probably be unadjusted to the cold and bundle up… but that goes against the goal of “condensed character description” so I don’t really mind). Instead, I took a lot of inspiration from this awesome Cipher art! Her color scheme is a hot mess but not without potential, and personally I think I did okay with it!

Ok, ok, her design also does a decent job of indicating that she’s royalty from a hunting-focused nation. When re-doing her top I tried to keep that in mind, so I gave her some fancy jewelry and animal goods (i.e. fluff). I don’t feel like re-iterating the boobplate argument, so suffice to say that her breastplate suffered the same fate as Constance’s.

I adjusted her arm jewelry to be more to my liking. Not really any logic there.

Her miniskirt is pretty dumb, so I changed the shape and incorporated some hip armor (someone tell me the official name). I also took away the fluffy fringe, seeing as she already got some fluff around her neck. Instead, I added the pattern that was originally on her leg-band.

Do I need to explain giving her another pant leg? I know her outfit is based on the female thief class, but it doesn’t look good there either. And once again, I had no ideas for her shoes beyond not liking the old ones ☹.

[princessofgayskull]

Hi sunflower, what's your thoughts on T Swift's Betty being a catradora song???

Me, taking a break from spop to focus on my mental health and setting better boundaries:

Me, reading this ask:

This ask woke me up from like a deep, sleeping beauty type slumber, not joking. I don’t get asked to talk about Taylor Swift often, despite being a fan of hers since I was nine years old (I’m 22 now *wink*) and we are about to find out why. But I pride myself on taking any fiction piece of media I interact with and connecting it somehow to Taylor Swift. I can do so to varying degrees of success (usually depends on the ships and romance of the world) but there are so many songs of Taylor’s that have just fit Catradora so well for me, both in and out of canon. 

Some of my favorite examples: out of the woods (AND IT KEPT ME UP AT NIGHT WHEN NOELLE SAID THIS WAS HER TAYLOR SWIFT SONG FOR CATRADORA LIKE GAH CASUAL TS LISTENERS WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND) bad blood, lwymd, don’t blame, dancing with our hands tied, the archer, breathe, you’re not sorry, the way I loved you, forever & always, should’ve said no, safe & sound- I could go on.

But I won’t because I wanna stay on topic and talk about betty. Now I have a number of songs from the folklore/evermore series that are for me catradora songs (we’ll get to that in a minute) but this one is… challenging. Because I could be like “yes, because [insert casual reason here]” or “no, because [insert casual reason here]” but I can’t because Taylor feeds her children well and there’s several aspects of this song I feel like should be considered.

This biggest one to be considered, for me, is the love triangle aspect. Folklore features at length the betty/james/Augustine love triangle, each of them having one main song on the album from their POV. Betty's is cardigan, augustine’s is august, and james’ is betty. (also I’m going to throw out the gender component for a second; I know taylor says that Betty is about a guy’s apology and I totally vibe with her reasons why she wanted to write a song about a boy apologizing BECAUSE HOW GREAT WOULD THAT BE?) The love triangle makes the application of Catradora iffy at best. Because it’s like, who would be who? I am going to go out on a limb and assume that you’re seeing Catra as James? I think that personality wise, Adora as Betty and Catra as James is not a stone’s throw away from fitting actually really well. Adora’s canon journey is one of coming to realize “I know what I want and I know that it’s okay to want it” and a big part of Catra’s arc is her being like “Well shit… there goes my plans. Kind of feeling like a dumbass rn” especially in s4/s5. 

(That s4/s5 distinction is important; I’ll show why in a second) 

But for me, there’s no augustine. Or one that’s obvious anyway. I never imagined that either Catra or Adora dated or even had any inclinations with anyone else during the five season run- that’s just my personal opinion, people are completely welcome to feel free to disagree. I don’t think Catra acted even out of distraction with Scorpia or DT, and I think Adora was so focused on being She Ra that when she wasn’t thinking about failing/abandoning Catra when she alloted time to do so, she was thinking about the crushing weight of her responsibilities. So you know, not that much time to get back out there. So I rule out what causes James to apologize in the first place- cheating.

Side note about James cheating- I’m pretty sure Taylor confirmed this, in the long pond studio sessions doc, when she’s telling Jack Antonoff (MY BOY JACK) and Aaron Dessner ( GRAMMY AWARD WINNING KING) that James “was a fool!” And James did sleep with Augustine as confirmed in august, but cardigan makes it seem like he was definitely dating Betty before the summer. Maybe Taylor took inspiration from friends and they “were on break.” I also believe that the kiss in the Heart is the first kiss, that Catra and Adora were never ‘together’ together before Adora found the sword and defected (again, that’s just an opinion, but Adora just looks so wonderfully gobsmacked), so…

We can rule out cheating, and I think we can accomplish this and still reserve the essential meaning of the song of “I did something wrong, I see that now, I apologize for doing it, and I still love you” by widening the lens of what the “did something wrong” was (or “did something bad” you know *wink*). In that wider lens really you could fit either Catra or Adora into the song, but I’m still going to assume Catra is the James in this scenario based on how much of her redemption arc is formed around her refusal to say sorry and then eventually doing so. Of course there is no standing your porchlight but rather standing while wrestling a bunch of murderous clones…. Hmm….

But there are some stupid friends! I wholeheartedly believe Catra is James because of the dissing of Betty’s friends. That’s what Catra does to Bow, Glimmer and the rebellion et al., for most of the show and by the end of s4 she has no friends for Adora to even mock (terrible and cruel of me, I know, but it’s true). Also I know people are like “he called her friends stupid and then expected betty to take him back?” but I scream sing the line “WILL YOU KISS ME ON THE PORCH IN FRONT OF ALL YOUR STUPID FRIENDS?” every time. It brings me serotonin. 

Along those lines we can ask “Who’s Inez?” in this situation. When I think gossip no one from the show really comes to mind, well, expect for Double Trouble. But Double Trouble doesn’t ever speak to Adora about Catra. This happens vice-versa, and in Betty, James reveals that Inez told Betty he cheated on her. 

I want to say something controversial… Glimmer comes to mind when I think “who’s the Inez?” And this is based off of two things: 1) Inez’s closeness to Betty, and 2) Inez drags James out to dry, rightfully so. And when I think of that I think of Glimmer screaming “Do one good thing in your life!” directly in Catra’s face. James gives Inez a bad wrap in Betty. Not cool James. 

Of course there’s the pivotal, “would you tell me to go fuck myself?/ or lead me to the garden?” To me this a fun way of showing there’s vulnerability to what James is doing, so automatically I’m led to is the scene where Catra asks Adora to stay, or each time in s5 when Catra risks, basically an identity crisis to let Adora in how she really feels, but there’s always the potential that Adora could spurn her by not returning her feelings or rejecting her outright. 

I think the best argument that can be made for “is betty a catradora song” can really be encapsulated by the lyric(s): “the worst thing that I ever did is what I did to you” and “the only thing I wanna do is make it up to you.” That is what about the song SCREAMS Catra to me. And yeah, it could be argued that Adora hurt Catra pretty brutally (Shadow Weaver makes that point EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD NO RIGHT TO) that she messed up by abandoning Catra- but Adora feels guilt for... literally breathing. Adora is the quintessential embodiment of “pick your battles, no that’s too many battles, put some back,” but Catra picked one battle first and foremost (yes, she had a few others but this was the one) and that was Adora. Everything that motivated her was surrounded around a narrative of surpassing Adora for a multitude of reasons, and because of that she pretty much hurts Adora every chance she gets after Promise. Adora is really Catra’s first casualty, it makes sense that she has to be her first apology. And I think that after being vibed checked back to back by DT and Glimmer and realizing “oh hey fuck, I’m still in love with her” and then almost dying just to not die because Adora saves her, I think much of Catra’s motivation shifts to “how to do I get Adora to want to stay?” 

That’s my logic for how Betty could be a catradora song in canon. Now not all of my Taylor associations are with canon catradora, many of them do belong to uws catradora, because it’s a lot easier to apply the more modern details of Taylor’s songs to a modern au. The song Breathe is big that way. (it’s in Upper West Side, it’s the song Adora listens to and cries to after that first ride, I just never mentioned that it was taylor because my conditioned reaction to bringing up taylor is to have my head bit off with someone’s semi incorrect and slightly sexist opinion that I never, ever ask for) And this ask got me thinking about what it would look like if I applied not Catradora to Betty, but Betty to Catradora. What would it look like if Catra skateboarded and wore black lipstick, Adora wore a cardigan and they had homeroom together until Catra really messed up? What would it look like if they were seventeen when they admitted their feelings for each other instead of 21? What would it look like if they spent a summer fighting but dreaming of each other? What would their love story look like if Catra and Adora were in that town where Taylor envisioned this “same event that affected three people in different ways?”

I think it’d look something like this. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31141973/chapters/76952048

what do you guys think?

quick but INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT thank you to @gimme-tea-bitch for helping me with this, being my beta, and listening to me talk about folklore/evermore.

[middleofnowhere92]

Ranking all ATLA Villains/Antagonists from worst to best (by someone who loves villains)

This post was inspired by this ask 

Warning: I swear quite a bit in this post and I’m a dumbass, not an ATLA scholar, so take this with a grain of salt. Also I have no idea wtf my ranking criteria was. I assigned arbitrary and meaningless points like Dumbledore giving all the points to Gryffindor at the end of the year. 

Iroh

 I have a secret for you...Iroh is an antagonist.... Say it with me... Iroh is an antagonist. For the people in the back, IROH IS AN ANTAGONIST. He’s not particularly good at at it, but he belongs on this list. Primary reason being, his siege on Ba Sing Se, which was a major battle in the 100 year war and all the other things he did in the war to become a general. If he was good at being a villain, he would at least have the decency to conquer the city, but as Ozai points out, Iroh excels at tea and failure. When we see Iroh in Book 1, He’s a very chill antagonist for the same reason a lot of our other antagonists are (June, the Yuyan Archers, Combustion man etc)-they are helping a villain achieve their goal. In Iroh’s case, he does help Zuko in many ways ( like sneaking him onto Zhao’s ship) and these in turn help Zuko get closer to his goal of capturing Aang. I love Iroh as a character, but he’s not good at being an antagonist, which is why he is ranked the worst. 

Circus Trainer

This man is straight up, evil. I like villains, but I do not like this man. He’s cruel and not in a fun way, which is why he’s near the bottom of the list. The whole point of being a villain is to be cool and do bad things, but he’s not even a little fun to watch. He’s the least interesting to look at... 

Yon Rha

This man is a coward. Like how did he lead the Southern Raiders? He went soft when he got old. He was more savage back in the day. Like this man is a firebender, but he cowers from Zuko before Katara even pops up. He needs to grow a pair. Like Katara said man is pa-thet-ic. 

The Rough Rhinos (ignoring the comics)

They get points for creating my favorite antagonist, Jet. But the first time we see these clowns in the show, the gang just rides away on Appa, easily avoiding them. And then the gang easily defeats them in their next run in. These clowns are good at destroying things, but not really fighting or pursuing others. 

Ozai

I expected more from this man. He was hyped up for three seasons and I just didn’t feel like he was smart enough to be the bad guy for the whole ass show.  The man clearly doesn’t think for himself or show up throughout the series doing  menacing things. The final agni kai overshadowed Ozai and Aang’s showdown. That’s the theme, Azula outshines a grown man as the star villain of the show. He does get some points for his fashion and flair for the dramatic. 

Mai's Uncle (Boiling Rock Warden)

This man, is a dumbass with the reflexes of a sloth. Suki overpowered him in 2 seconds flat. How is this grown man getting defeated by a little nugget like Suki? She was only holding his wrist. He could have just kicked her? Like you are a prison warden, look alive man! And he should have captured Zuko’s little ass and sent him right over to Ozai to get some street cred, but instead he just gets pissed cause Zuko broke up with Mai? First lesson in being a villain/antagonist- power over everything (including family). He does get points for ordering them to cut the line. That’s straight savage. 

Xin Fu and Yu

Toph gets it right, these are two dunderheads. How did they not hear Toph bending metal? They react almost as slowly as the Boiling Rock Warden, letting Toph easily overtake them. They are two skilled benders and they didn’t even stand a chance. 

General Fong

This man gets points for being a bat shit crazy. And I think he’s one of the first non fire nation antagonists we see in the show, so points for him. He’s an underrated antagonist. He does cool bending and his emotional manipulation to get Aang into the Avatar state is A+ villain work. 

Azulon

Azulon gets villain points for keeping the war going. He didn’t fuck it up like Ozai. But Azulon gets his villainness handed to him on a platter, he didn’t really do much, besides maintain status quo. We do get the scene where Ozai asks for the throne. But I don’t think Azulon assumed Ozai was going to kill Zuko. Azulon was trying to make a point, that Ozai’s request was absurd, but he obviously didn’t know Ozai well enough...

Koh

Koh almost didn’t make the list. I don’t really consider him to be an antagonist. Aang came to him asking for information and Koh was trying to do what he does..steal faces. He was just vibing. I included him on this list, because he antagonized us (the viewers). Dude is easily the most terrifying part of the show. 

Ghashiun

He muzzled Appa! He’s not ranked high on this list, because he didn’t know Appa was Aang’s so he wasn’t intentionally trying to fuck with the Avatar. I do like the sandbenders as a whole. They just run around causing chaos with their cool bending. This character, however, loses points, because when he is confronted about stealing Appa, he gets defensive and tries to lie. If you do something bad, at least have the balls to own up to it. 

Wan Shi Tong

Gets points for his flair for the dramatic a la Ozai. I did like Wan Shi Tong’s logic around not giving the gaang information: “You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified?!” He had more brain cells than some of our other villains/antagonists, but was also dumb too? Sokka pretty easily outsmarted him. This Spirit has been alive forever, he shouldn’t be outsmarted by a child. 

The Old Man

Oooof. I almost put him in the number one spot tbh. He did us and Haru so dirty. Like he could have died,but he turned in the person that saved him??? He gets points for shock value and pettiness. I personally think Jet should take him out...

June

June gets points for being a bad bitch. I like her vibe. She’ll do anything as long as you’re paying her the right price and I can respect that. She isn’t higher on the list, because she is executing someone else’s plan, not her own. 

The Yuyan Archers

Speaking of bad bitches, the Yuyan Archers are so cool and I wish they got more screen time! We see very few antagonists that can keep up with Aang the way that this group does. They add a bit of spice and a different flavor to what we know about Fire Nation fighting styles, which I approve of. I hope we see more of them in future ATLA projects. They aren’t higher up, because they are still doing someone else’s bidding. If they had their own leader and their own agenda, that would be some cool shit. 

Combustion Man

This man gets points for giving the gaang a lot of trouble. As viewers, we really worry about whether they will be able to defeat him. I like that he has a different style of bending, which in and of itself is terrifying. He still doesn’t make it up higher on the list, because he’s still doing someone else’s (Zuko’s) bidding.

Rig Warden

On second thought, I may have him ranked a little too high. But oh well, fuck it. He gets many many points for being voiced by George Takei. This man also gets points for having general villain swag. He is sassy and I am here for it. He’s highly effective at crushing the souls of the Earthbenders on the rig. Also, he does not stutter when Haru throws those rocks at him.Came at him full force which is what all the other himbos on this list should have been doing when these children played them! He outright told Katara he was gonna kill her “You’re one mistake away from dying where you stand.” Loses points for begging as he’s dragged off the rig. Go down with some dignity!

The Southern Raiders

So the Southern Raiders get ranked separately from Yon Rha, because he led them towards the end of their conquest. I think they started under Sozin’s reign. This group gets ranked fairly high, because they were very effective at their task. They came, they saw, they decimated-leaving the SWT defenseless and barely able to sustain itself. 

Mai

I like Mai and wish I could rank her higher. I like her knives, they are very cool form of defense that was unique to her. I also love how she just immediately flung arrows at Aang, no hesitation. She does get style points, her aesthetic is everything. Her one liners are pretty funny, “You’re so colorful, you’re making me nauseous.”  She lacks in her commitment. Anytime anything inconveniences her she’s just like eh, no thanks. Hardcore antagonists need to be have some dedication to their cause, which Mai does not.  I feel like she would eventually run out of weapons in a longer battle, which would be a big issue for her. 

Long Feng

Gets instant points for villain swag, creepy vibe and sass. This man kept news of a whole war from Ba Sing Se, even though the city was filled with refugees? Long Feng had his work cut out for him. He loses points, because he lets the children get away with too much. He should have locked down Aaang and co immediately, because they were trouble as soon as they rolled up. Also, he should have fought Azula. He let a fourteen year old take his whole career away. He was never even a player.

Sozin

Sozin gets a  large amount of hypothetical points from being the one to start it all. He’s the one who initiated the 100 year war. He did not play around. He used that comet to its maximum potential. Also he has a dragon, which is fucking cool. He gets bad bitch points for leaving Roku on the exploding island. Like that’s a power move right there. He wiped out the air nomads and invaded the Southern Water Tribe, which is why his successors  are ranked much lower on the list. They really didn’t do shit.

Hama

Gets points for being a waterbender, which is something cool that we hadn’t seen in a villain yet. She also gets points for executing her own deranged agenda. I would love to see her and Jet link up, cause that would have been chaos. She also gets heaps of points for inventing bloodbending. Many of the villains of this list can barely think and homegirl has big brain energy. She is cunning and quick, like when she utilizes Sokka and Aang to attack Katara. I like her general bruja (witch) vibes. She gets more points because she does not motherfucking stutter when Katara figures her out, she just starts bloodbending immediately. She really enjoys her power and I can’t blame her for it. She’s a baddie and she knows it. More points for Hama, because she gets Katara to carry on her legacy (whether she wants to or not) and goes off to jail with her dignity. She’s an all-star villain and I love to see it. She loses a few points, because her bloodbending is limited to the full moon, but she still has her waterbending which is terrifying enough...

Dai Li

Like the rig warden, I probably ranked these himbos too high, but I love them as henchmen. Their bending is amazing, they are sneaky and they can brainwash you? Like fuck me up man. They really are just a joy to watch and their betrayal of Long Feng is so unexpected. This group really creates the creepy/ominous aesthetic the creators were going for in Ba Sing Se. Don’t think their bending is good? They one upped Toph and almost had her, but Jet saved her at the last second. 

Zhao

I feel like Zhao’s characterization is inconsistent (sometimes he has a bad temper, sometimes he doesn’t?) which makes him hard to rank, but let’s do it anyway. He gets points for being voiced by the guy that played Lucius Malfoy, like yaaas work that Slytherin aesthetic. Gets points for using the Yuyan Archers. Loses a lot of points in his fight with Aang, like that child was obviously baiting him. He has a lot of ambition and actually has to work to his rise to power, which he obviously relishes. He’s the perfect antagonist for Zuko. He accomplished his goal of frying the fish/moon and he actually captures Aang. I think the writers added in his hot temper later on, because they realized he was too competent and had to give him a flaw. 

Zuko

Ohhh my morally confused prince, Where do we even start? Zuko gets a lot of points for his sheer determination. I would love to see an unhinged Zuko without Iroh. Zuko’s tenacity and unpredictability make him a fantastic antagonist. Iroh and Azula try to control Zuko, but they never really know what he’s gonna do next and neither do we as the viewers. He’s near the top of the list, because even with so many struggles he kept Aang on the run for two seasons. I like that he actually struggled to be good. He obviously loses points for joining the good guys, but we still love him. 

Jet

Speaking of morally grey, cue up Jet’s theme music. He gets instant points for swag and cool swords. Like the Yuyan archers, Jet is one of the few antagonists we see that can keep up with Aang. Like Zuko, Jet’s dedication to his cause get him high on this list, because he will defeat the Fire Nation at any cause. The creators lose points for being cowards and killing him off. We saw plenty of other people (Sokka) get hit with similar rocks and not die. Jet is a fantastic antagonist with a backstory that the audience can sympathize with. He loses points for not being more versatile in his tactics. I’ve written more on this here. 

Ty Lee

Katara is terrified of her, do I need to elaborate? Ty Lee by far has the scariest skill set on the show. It’s too easy for people to underestimate her. Katara and Suki make that mistake once and then never do it again. Like Toph, Ty Lee knows to wait for the right time to strike, making her highly effective at taking out our favorite benders and whole groups of benders (The Terra Team). Her betrayal of Azula is ICONIC and unexpected, but as always, Ty Lee knows just the right time to strike. I think Ty and Mai were perfectly capable of getting away at the Boiling Rock and I’m disappointed they were captured so easily. 

Azula

Look down, you’re talking to your highness. Can’t see her? She’s the reason for your blindness. 

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Azula is the baddest bitch in the game. PERIODT. She is ruthless, cunning and powerful. Her lightning bending is at a whole other level. She is the smartest person on this list. She takes Ba Sing Se from the inside out, utilizes the Da Li perfectly and has antagonized Zuko from the beginning. As far as I’m concerned, she was made to be Firelord. 

[herefortayloronly]

folklore first impressions

i just want to preface this post with WHAT THE FUCK TAYLOR? For the past couple of months i’ve been trying to get back into the grooves of things after self-isolation and finding a new routine. Just when i thought things were getting back to normal (as normal as it can get with people still getting sick and things are still close down of course), taylor decides to say SURPRISE! i’m not gonna lie, when this annoucement was made, i was still in bed and asleep. my best friend texted me a picture with one “omg”. When i saw the picture i was like “oh no, what happened to taylor”. but then i read the caption and i woke the fuck right up. I feel like we all know how I feel, just like the rest of swifties. so I’m just gonna jump straight into the songs because this is going to be long.

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the 1 - this song is really interesting when you think of it as an introduction to all the characters you’re about to meet in the album and also the feelings you’re about to endure listening to the songs. 

cardigan - this song is easily my favorite song on the album. so the first listen, it didn’t really hit me but immediately listening to it the second time and watching the music video, i literally broke down. something about it is so hauntingly beautiful, it’s mature but also very classic taylor. something about it is so effortless and freeing. the use of piano (something that is gonna come up more in later songs) is so interesting and different for taylor. this one is definitely going to be on my top ten.

the last great american dynasty - as the song went along, i figured she was talking about her house in rhode island especially when she literally said rhode island lol. But when the line “and then it was bought by me“ hits. i literally got chills. it was such beautiful storytelling and songwriting. 

exile - i know there are people who don’t love it when taylor collaborates and have feature artists but when she has a feature artist that just works with her voice and create beautiful lyrics, magic happens! although i like all of collabs to different degrees, i can only say with my whole chest that The Last Time with Gary Lightbody is the best collab she has ever done. exile with Bon Iver is a close second. the back and forth between the two singers reminds me so much of The Last Time. the way their voice just balance each other out. it’s great.

my tears ricochet - i want this song play at my funeral. it is so haunting and tragic. but also full of anger and resentment. the way the song keeps building and building throughout gives me chills. another top favorites of mine. i’ve seen so many interpretations of this song and i think that’s why this song is so wonderful. it really hits in all different ways.

mirrorball - i feel like this song is so perfect for when you’re high or drunk. it is so groovy and chill and mellow. and while it sounds like a fun song, it’s also kinda taylor admitting that she has a problem with how she perceives herself. and the fact that she compares herself to a mirrorball because she knows that her own fault is trying to please everyone, trying to fit in. it’s a little sad but also comforting to know that she recognize that.

seven - another song that uses the piano so beautifully. this song reminds me so much of me and the group of girl friends i had in elementary school. something about that childhood nostalgia and how young friendships shape your childhood. i have a lot of love for them but i don’t talk to them anymore and i wouldn’t consider them close friends. but that’s okay because the memories and friendships were great. 

august - i just want to take a drive down the beach with the windows down while blasting this song! although the sound gives off a free and bright vibe, there’s also something bittersweet about it. it sounds like this person is yearning and hoping for something, and reminiscing on the nice memories and realizing that they are no more. it’s almost tragic.

this is me trying - The lyrics of this song is so sharp and tight but for some reason I can’t get into it. but i do love the imagery in the song. there’s a sense of desperation and eagerness and it’s also a little self-deprecating.

illicit affairs - i love the imagery in this song about a relationship that just ruins you. it didn’t just break your heart but it affects that way you see other parts of your life. 

invisible string - this song is so precious and sweet and whimsical. really reinforces her love for this person and i love that even with all the other songs this song is just a nice glimpse into their relationship. and i love this idea that fate is the reason why they are together. but not just fate, it’s also their past and their relationships with other people. 

mad woman - this song is fire!! another great use of the piano. i love this song is about women being mad and that’s okay and there’s a reason why women get mad. women being mad isn’t an irrational thing and she’s not overreacting. and when women do get bad, there’s passion there.

epiphany - i love the perspective of this song is of someone fighting because they are trying to protect the great good. i think this song is also a great tribute to all the essential workers and healthcare workers fighting in the frontline during the covid pandemic. 

betty - i love that this song is from the perspective of a person who cheated. i think taylor has been cheated on many times in her life and to see her step into the shoes of the cheater is really fascinating. this is another songs that proves taylor doesn’t have to know or feel a certain type of emotions to fully capture that perspective. she’s able to create a world and a narrative from just knowing how she wants to portray a certain emotion.

peace - so i said this song is similar to Dancing With Our Hands Tied and The Archer. it reminds me of taylor’s talking about her fears and troubles in a relationship. but also about how she has learned that she is okay with those fears now because she realized they don’t have to dictate her life and she’s not alone. in a way this song makes me happy and sad. it makes me happy because she’s in a place where she knows she wants to be with someone for the rest of her life and she found that forever love. it also makes me sad because she will always worry and be haunted by these past scars. and lets talk about the style of this song. this is the soft rock john mayer vibes that i always wanted taylor to do, so i love that she’s experimenting with that and i hope she does a rock album one day! i also think this is the first love song where she’s not just talking about how she felt but also how the other person feels. the other person also feels a sense of insecurities.

hoax - in the same vein as peace, i think this song is also about how two people in a relationship can be extremely hurt but still find ways to make sure to hold each other up. my favorite line in the song is “you have beaten my heart”. there is a really interesting double meaning to that line that i think holds so much weight. the person has beaten her heart as in he has hurt her in some way but he also has won her heart and also made it beat again.

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if you are here to see where i rank all of taylor’s album, you will be disappointed. i try my best not to rank her albums because i love all of her albums one way or another. they are all unique and hold a special place in my heart in different ways. i do have vague placements for them but at the end of the day, i love all of them. the best thing about taylor and being a fan of taylor is that i never have to pick one album to listen to and i don’t have to favor one over the other. if i am in the mood for a certain sound or style, i can choose from her catalog. i’m also not going to be insulting or trashing past albums because people have decided that folklore is her magnum opus. i can acknowledge that folklore is one of her best albums without bringing down other albums. i love each and every single album. it is impossible to rank and pick and choose among eight albums.

i’ve have the pleasure of witnessing taylor’s career for 10 years, since speak now. to see her go through so many changes, growth and hardships is really a sight to see. people are going to say this album is sad and tragic but i disagree. it isn’t the same sadness like how Red is sad. it’s more freeing and accepting. the sadness isn’t holding her back like in Red, it is actually pushing her to do and say things she probably wouldn’t have said before.

also this album isn’t meant to redefine a genre. It’s not meant to be something new, i’m sure there are plenty of artists doing something similar. taylor is just doing what she does best, incorporating all the best parts of her, her storytelling, songwriting, beautiful melodies, catchy hooks and putting a twist to it with a completely new production. i think that’s something very special about taylor. she’s just let music and ideas flow and always so open to experimentation. the fact that she’s arrived in this moment with this album is very special. 

the fact that she is able to create these characters and stories. this is why she’s an amazing writer, not because she writes about her own experience but because she can write about anything. goes to show how her mind works and how she operates. she doesn’t have to draw from her experience, she gets inspired by everything.

as for rankings. something really fun i did this time is keeping track of my rankings to see where each song moves. so i did a list for after 2 full listens, after 20 hours (this is friday 7/24 night) and 44 hours (saturday 7/25 night).  and because i didn’t finish this post saturday night i added in sunday’s 7/26 ranking as well. it’s really fun to see which song i was drawn to that day. 

as you can see, cardigan is a constant number one for me. it is the song of the album. i think a really good example of a song that grew on me after a while is peace. i think this song is definitely secured its spot among the top 5 of the album once it’s all said and done. in my opinion, anything after #10 i love them but it speaks to how really good this album is because it’s really hard after ranking 10 songs. the most notable thing is the recurring songs on the bottom, epiphany, mirrorball, illicit affairs, and this is me trying. now i actually love epiphany and illicit affairs, again speaks to how much i love the other songs and how great this album is. this is me trying is a song that i enjoy listening to but i don’t seek it out. i don’t crave listening to it but i do like it alot and i love the meaning of it. same with mirrorball, i love it but i’d have to be in the mood for it. all that said, right now i can say for 100% sure that cardigan, peace and my tears ricochet are my top favorites of the album. while the others are gonna keep moving with more listen and time. 

this album is really meant for taylor. she really is born to write an album like this. even though there are songs that aren’t personal and directly about taylor, she’s able to leave bits and pieces of herself, how she feels and her emotions in those songs. and i think that’s why not only is she a good writer but she’s also a good messenger. her voice and her delivery is one of my favorite things about her and the reason i love listening to her and her music. and this album emphasize that and highlight that talent. no other pop artists will be able to pull off an album like this and that’s why this album is made for taylor.

[ts1989fanatic]

TS7 is finally here!

If you’re like me or any of the millions of Swifties out there, the arrival of this next era is just as exciting as a brand-new bookshelf full of reads you get to experience for the first time.

After listening to the album on repeat all weekend, I decided to celebrate Lover with a book roundup inspired by each of the songs (since it’s the only thing I’ll be listening to for the foreseeable future, don’t @ me.).

ts1989fanatic an interesting perspective well written obviously a swiftie.

1. “I Forgot That You Existed” (Best Friends Forever, by Jennifer Weiner)

You heard it from Taylor first: indifference is the new vengeance. This solid album-opener is upbeat and poppy, a nice contrast with the lyrics about the (final?) end of a broken relationship, friendship (or feud), when you actually forget that the person you once had so much ire for still lives. She transitions from “Your name on my lips, tongue-tied/Free rent, living in my mind” to “forgot that you existed/and I thought that it would kill me, but it didn’t” with ease. But of course, insisting that you forget someone existed while singing about them would introduce interesting tension into any relationship. It reminded me of Jennifer Weiner’s Best Friends Forever, about what happens when a former friend shows up on your doorstep in a crisis, insisting you’re the only one who can help them out of a tight spot (when you’d rather do anything but).

2. “Cruel Summer” (Do You Want to Start a Scandal, by Tessa Dare)

Lyrically and sonically, this is one of my favorites on the entire album (it’s so good it should have been a single!) It’s got an Out of the Woods meets Getaway Car vibe in terms of the melody. Wistful, a bit haunting, but also a total bop. “So cut the headlights, summer’s a knife/I’m always waiting for you just to cut to the bone” describes a low point in Swift’s life (Summer 2016, ugh), juxtaposed with the high of discovering new love. There are so many books I could have picked for this, but “I don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you” reminded me of the Regency romance trope where the heroine has a secret, or finds herself in a situation where her reputation is at stake, but is still tempted by a handsome rogue who might lead her into temptation and true love. (Sound a bit familiar?) Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare feels like the perfect accompaniment to this song about a woman who must prove her innocence in the face of a sullied reputation or be forced to marry a man she doesn’t think she could ever love.

3. “Lover” (Roomies, by Christina Lauren)

The title track (and the one I’ve been singing in the shower for days) is a swoony daydream of a couple in complete harmony, as Swift spins wedding vow-like lyrics such as “With every guitar string scar on my hand/I take this magnetic force of a man to be my…lover/My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue/all’s well that end’s well to end up with you/swear to be overdramatic and true/to my…lover.” But Swift is all about balance in her songs, so imagery of keeping up the Christmas lights in “our place” is juxtaposed with suspicion that “everyone who sees you wants you.” This track reminded me of Roomies by Christina Lauren, with its musician main character and the trope of having to share a space while inevitably falling in love.

4. “The Man” (The Whisper Network, by Chandler Baker)

The double-standards between men and women have been explored in songs and novels since both art forms existed. Swift has already confronted the media’s perception of her as a victim, as a girl who goes on too many dates but can’t make them stay, etc. But in “The Man”, she more directly confronts how different she’d be treated if she were the opposite gender. How could I not think of the new thriller The Whisper Network, about a group of women who come forward about their male boss’ behavior of harassment in the workplace. Instead of continuing to suffer in silence, they tell the truth, resulting in an explosive conflict. I sort of saw the ending coming, but was very glad I was right.

5. “The Archer” (Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Another slower, lyric-driven track on the album with gut-punching truths about love, friendship, and holding on to the one who has your heart. “The Archer” is associated with being a Sagittarius (which Swift is), but also her dynamic with the world. “Who could ever leave me, darling?/But who could stay?” is self-aware in a new way for Swift, as is “I never grew up, it’s getting so old” or “I see right through me.” This is one of my favorite tracks on the album, as Swift confronts her cultivated image as both archer and prey of fame and of love. Listening to the rising energy of the track as it builds to a anti-fairy-tale crescendo plus Swift’s lyrics made me think of Pride and Prejudice: Elizabeth Bennet is forced to acknowledge how her own prejudices have made it difficult for others to love her, but that she is deserving of an imperfect love. (And how could “All of my enemies started out friends” not remind you of awful Mr. Wickham?)

6. “I Think He Knows” (The Duke and I, by Julia Quinn)

After a slower song, this heats things up a bit, describing the early sizzle of a relationship before it even starts. For an entire album that sings the praises of a man, I liked the moment in the pre-chorus where she says “He’s so obsessed with me, and boy, I understand.” Own your worth, girl! The bridge was my favorite part of this song (as it often is with Swift; girl knows how to bridge) as it played with tempo and rhyme. “Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh/We can follow the sparks, I’ll drive.” Swift explores the tension of the moment between seeing someone and initiating contact—songs like these always sting with a bit of danger, too, because the man knows she wants him but neither of them say anything in public about it. She’s whispering in the dark, which gives me serious secret romance vibes. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn is about Simon, who is planning to propose to his BFF’s sister even though he doesn’t actually love her. It’s an arrangement that suits them both, but before they both know it, Daphne is giving Simon serious “I Think he Knows” vibes.

7. “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” (The Cheerleaders, by Kara Thomas)

If you don’t get the oft-spoken adage that “politics is like high-school,” this song takes the metaphor to the next level. Subtly political but 100% heartbreaking, Swift reimagines the political sphere (and her role in it) as a high school romance, moving from “American glory, faded before me,” painting the democratic 2016 election loss as a ripped-up prom dress (from Miss Americana, who assumed she would win.) Oozing drama and storytelling the way only Swift can, I love the moody elements of the brokenhearted girl contrasted with the new riff on a cheerleading chant (Go Fight Win!). This song is about mourning loss and then finding the strength to say “I know we’re going to win,” but it’s haunting melody and lyrics led me to pick a Cheerleader-inspired thriller. The Cheerleaders is about a string of cheerleaders murdered in a small town five years ago… and just when everyone thinks it’s time to move on, one girl becomes the center of a mystery that never truly died.

8. “Paper Rings” (The Royal We, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan)

I’m on my fourth listen of the album and this might be my favorite track on it (though that changes minute by minute, with an album as dynamic as this—just to further accentuate the point, by the time of posting this piece, my new favorite might be I Think He Knows?). It’s a totally retro, ’60s style song—a totally fresh sound for Swift, and one that fits perfectly with her new aesthetic. (Makes me wonder why this wasn’t one of the singles released before the record.) It is a gold-mine for Swiftian lyricism, with so many gems I can’t possibly call them all out, and it moves so fast (like a good read) that you both want to cascade over them and pause to hear each line at least 5x before it passes you by. It’s an unabashed love song, relishing in the joy of knowing you’re with the one you love so much that “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings”. The line that stuck out the most was “I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this,” which made me think of when Bex Porter goes to Oxford in The Royal We and, completely by accident, falls in love with the heir to the throne.

9. “Cornelia Street” (Passion on Park Avenue, by Lauren Layne)

“Cornelia Street” is sort of the antithesis to I Think He knows. It’s about remembering the early days of a new relationship (“We were a fresh page on the desk/filling in the blanks as we go”) and being more than willing to give up all the good that comes with fresh starts in order to settle into something real. It aches with melancholy, because any time we give something up should be a little sad—but it brims with hope and Swift’s trademarked optimism about love. “I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends/I’d never walk Cornelia Street again/ That’s the kinda heartbreak time could never mend.” I had to pick an NYC-set story for this, like Lauren Layne’s Passion on Park Avenue. The city is another character in the romance between a successful jewelry-business owner and the son of the woman her mother used to work for.

10. “Death By a Thousand Cuts” (Please Don’t Go Before I Get Better, by Madisen Kuhn)

Inspired by the Netflix movie Something Great, this is one of the few sad songs on the record, about a girl going through a breakup who can’t help but linger in happier memories. (For the record: “I dress to kill my time” is genius, as are so many of these lyrics.) Only Swift is so good at pairing such devastating messaging with a pop beat you can’t help but want to sing. This song was the hardest one to pick a book for (especially because it’s already inspired by a movie) so I decided to go with a poetry collection! Please Don’t Go Before I Get Better is all about the aches and sun rays of growing up, told in a staggeringly relatable voice that will make you want to curl up on the couch and cry your eyes out.

11. “London Boy” (Red, White and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston)

This is 100% about Joe Alwyn, but also… Taylor dated at least two Brits that we know of before him, so this song is also about what we already knew (“the rumors are true”): she has a penchant for London Boys. Essentially a road map of her favorite places in the city, this indulgent ditty trades “Tennessee Whiskey” for “A gray sky, a rainy cab ride” and of course, her man by her side. Red, White, and Royal Blue is the perfect pick for this song, about two boys who fall in love (after a rough start where they were almost enemies) amidst those gray, rainy skies… but one of them happens to be the son of an American President, and the other, the current Prince of England.

12. “Soon You’ll Get Better (feat. Dixie Chicks)” (Swamplandia! by Karen Russell)

Of all the songs on the album, this one gave me the most vintage Swift vibes. There’s no denying that she is an astonishingly talented songwriter, especially when you listen to what is essentially her greatest fear laid bare on this track with just a bit of guitar and the Dixie Chicks harmonizing in the background. Here, the story shines: Swift’s mother has been sick for a number of years, and while they’ve mostly kept the details of that battle private, this is the most vulnerable moment of love for her mother on an album mostly about finding true love. “Holy orange bottles, each night I pray to you/Desperate people find faith, so now I pray to Jesus, too.” A friend of mine recently lost their mother just after getting married, and it made me marvel at how life often delivers us highs and lows to grapple with simultaneously. While all of this was going on—Kanye and Kim, Joe and London, another world tour, another album—in the background, Swift has been terrified of losing her mother. This song made me think of Swamplandia!, a novel about a young girl living in a gator-wrestling theme park where her mother used to be the main event, until she passed away. Now, in the wake of her death, the girl and her siblings must grapple with their mother’s legacy as a competing business rises up to swallow the success she built on the swamp.

13. “False God” (City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert)

Is that a saxophone in the background of a Taylor Swift song? This slow, jazzy number is all about love and desire—and how we come back to it even when the world around us (and sometimes we, ourselves) put it in jeopardy. “And I can’t talk to you when you’re like this/Staring out the window like I’m not your favorite town/I’m New York City” and other lyrics referencing New York seem to be the grounding force in an otherwise tumultuous relationship. Multiple times on this record Swift has alluded to rough patches in her current happiness, but connection is always the solution to fixing it. She seems to say that if you treat your relationship like it’s your religion, you can get through anything. This is one of the sexier songs on the album, but it’s also got serious NYC vibes, so I’m picking City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert: a novel all about relishing romance in the glitzy 1940’s New York Theater scene, but also how desire can either set us on the road to ruin, or redemption.

14. “You Need to Calm Down” (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid)

This song has done what Swift does best: inspire conversation and a bit of controversy. Acknowledging that it was past time for her to be an outspoken ally for the LGBTQIAP+ community, YNTCD tackles the various ways communities are pitted against one another (especially on the internet.) The first verse examines her personal haters (“Say it in the street, that’s a knock-out/But you say it in a Tweet, that’s a cop-out), the second calls out homophobes (“Shade never made anybody less gay”), and the third examines how her relationships with her female contemporaries have often been antagonistic, something she herself has been responsible perpetuating in the past with songs like “Bad Blood” and “Better Than Revenge” (“We all know now, we all got crowns/you need to calm down.”) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is about a famous actress who hid the great female love of her life behind multiple male partners and uses her platform to tell the truth (all while hiding one last devastating secret). While Taylor herself has not come out as part of the LGBTQ community, she has come out as an ally, and this book made me think about the issues of privacy, platform, allyship, and identity that the song also confronts. If there’s more to the story of Swift’s relationship to the LGBTQIAP+ community, she’s going to share it on her own terms.

15.“Afterglow” (Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams)

This song ranks high on my favorites from the album, and it’s a rare genre from Swift: the apology song. (The other famous one is Speak Now’s “Back to December.”) In this mid-tempo song with slamming drums and a breathy falsetto, Swift yearns for the partner she pushed away to meet her in the moments after the fight ends. “It’s all me, in my head/I’m the one who burned us down/ but it’s not what I meant,” she insists. There’s still hope here though, as opposed to earlier songs on the record that signal the doom of a friendship or a breakup after-the-fact. Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams, is a novel about a girl coming to terms with her role in a failed relationship, a career she can’t seem to succeed in, and friends she unknowingly betrays. “Why’d I have to break what I love so much?” is a question asked in this song’s chorus, and one Queenie must answer in order to find real, lasting happiness.

16. “ME! (feat. Brendon Urie)” (Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan)

This self-love anthem is bubblegum sweet and full of earworms: the “Shake it Off“ of the TS7 Era. It makes me think of lightning-fast beach reads that you can’t put down and that feel so good to read but also have a deeper meaning to them. Just because it’s not the most lyrically advanced of her songs doesn’t mean this bop doesn’t deserve to be celebrated— it reminded me of how romances constantly get a bad rep (lol, see what I did there?) as somehow lesser than other genres. I love that Taylor doesn’t care about what other people think and is 100% focused on being her authentic self— just like the heroine of Crazy Rich Asians, Rachel Chu. When confronted with the wealth and expectations of her boyfriend Nick’s family (who don’t think she’s good enough for him), she insists it’s her individuality that makes her the perfect partner for him.

17. “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” (This Love Story Will Self-Destruct, by Leslie Cohen)

This track might be my second favorite? It’s so different (Ukulele? Trombone? Is that what I’m hearing?) and such a contrast to the beginning of the album, the opener closes the door on a once meaningful friendship. It’s also a deceiving song, in that I’m still not 100% sure what it’s about. I think Swift is exploring the importance of friendship in all its forms: in childhood (“School bell rings, walk me home”) to adolescence “Something gave you the nerve/to touch my hand”) to romantic love (“Church bells ring, carry me home/rice on the ground looks like snow”). Ultimately, she may be saying that the most important thing about a romantic partner is that they make you feel like you have a friend—when you’re young, the thing that matters most is feeling seen by other people. If your lover is also your best friend, then you know they always have your back. A love story that takes place over two characters’ twenties, This Love Story Will Self-Destruct is about the missteps, betrayals, beautiful moments and connection that forms between two people over a decade.

18. “Daylight” (Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes)

“My love was as cruel as the cities I lived in.” What a way to begin this album closer. Swift’s last tracks have a tradition of being the ones that are most emblematic of her current state of mind, but they also have developed certain themes over time. Renewal, starting over, self-reflection, and hope are all subjects “Daylight” sheds a little light on. She acknowledges past failings (“I wounded the good and trusted the wicked”) and what she wants for the future (“I once believed love would be [burning red]/but it’s golden”). A book that feels like daylight on your skin is what’s needed for this song, and I think Evvie Drake Starts Over is the perfect pick: a story about a woman still grieving the loss of her husband but who finds herself moving on with a former major league baseball player. Both of them have pasts they are healing from, but together, they find hope for the future. “I’ve been sleeping so long in a twenty-year dark night/and now I see daylight.” And, unlike (I think?) any other song in her catalogue, she speaks in the end, not sings, in a direct appeal to her audience. Her very last words are “You are what you love.” Well, I love Taylor Swift. I love a good song lyric to sink my teeth into, or to sing. I love love. And I love a good story, whether it comes from a song or a book, and when you’re done with the album, I hope you find some here.

[goldenmusicmoments]

Taylor Swift - Lover (Album Review):

I Forgot That You Existed - This album opener serves as a palate cleanser. She is stating here that she is now moving on from the past and is ready for a fresh start. The head bopping beat that the track opens with is so infectious it guarantees the track being embedded in your memory. The laugh after the bridge provides the song with a really adorable moment along with the ‘so yeah’ at the end. It’s a track you’d want to play on a drive during the summer. A strong and catchy start to the album.

Cruel Summer - This follow up to the opener instantly grabs your attention with its interesting start which features a distorted repetition of ‘yeah’. Through the beat and Taylor’s vocals on the track you get a sense of urgency which mimics the feeling she gets from the relationship she’s in. The song is such an exhilarating track with its slick production and her vocals during the chorus are so beautiful. Not only that but the lyrical content of the track really captivates you and the growl moment where she sings ‘He looks so pretty like the devil’ at the end of the bridge provides the track with its most unexpected moment. 

Lover - After the fast pace of the previous track, Taylor calms things down with this stunning self-written love song. The nostalgic throwback vibe you get through the production, the lyrics and the vocal combination provides you with a perfectly crafted love song. The cleverly put together lyrics on the bridge make it seem as though they are wedding vows. You can tell that Taylor is truly in love. This surely will become a favourite for couples to use as their wedding song.

The Man - On this track Taylor sings about the double standards women face in comparison to their male counterparts. The tight production and the slick beat really hook your attention to the track. After hearing what the topic of the song was prior to its release, the way it turned wasn’t what was expected. It definitely exceeded expectations providing the album with a confident and powerful moment that makes a statement. On top of that the switch up for the outro provides for a smooth transition into the next track.

The Archer - This track starts in a really intimate way with her voice being the focal point as the track kicks in gradually. There is this sense of vulnerability in both her vocals and lyrics. The beautiful lyrics on this track feature Taylor singing about being on both ends of the situation as a predator and the prey. The unexpected combination of the gentle vocal with the urgency in the beating drum on the beat works really well. The bridge features a reinterpretation of the Humpty Dumpty rhyme which is quite the interesting moment on the track.

I Think He Knows - This song kickstarts with a finger clicking beat, where she sings about the guy knowing what she wants without the need for her to say it. The production is real slick and the upbeat track is infectious. The change up to a gentler moment on the bridge isn’t what you’d expect but it works, giving the track its most unique and beautiful quality. 

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince - The moment this track begins you are pulled in with its mysterious and dreamy feel. The storytelling through the lyrics captivate and hold your attention. On this song Taylor uses the high school as a metaphor to elude to the current political situation, but it can also be taken for its literal form. The lyrics make you think and try to figure out what Taylor is singing about. Again the production on the track is strong and she does draw some inspiration from Lana Del Rey with the feel of the track. The bridge features a cheerleader type chant and the twist in the lyrics at the end from ‘nobodies gonna win’ to ‘someday we’re gonna win’ brings the track to an end on a hopeful note. Taylor really showcases her talent as a songwriter and the clever ways in which she is able to put forward certain things without them feeling so heavy.

Paper Rings - The is track takes you back in time to somewhere in the 80s with its production on the track and vocal, which is also what makes it seem as the most out of place moment on the album. On this track Taylor sings about memories from her relationship and her wanting him over anything else that is materialistic. It makes you think of Christina Aguilera’s music video for ‘Candyman’ as the videos aesthetic would work really well with this track.

Cornelia Street - This stunning standout track showcases how far in love Taylor is and the pain their falling apart would cause her, as she swears she’ll never be able to return to the starting point of the relationship if they were to break-up. The production is stunning on this track particularly due to the echo like backing vocals taking it to another level and enhancing the feel of the track. You really get lost in its beauty and cosy feel.

Death By A Thousand Cuts - This track inspired by the movie ‘Someone Great’ showcases Taylor’s amazing ability to look through someone else’s prospective when writing. The intriguing opening to the track with the repetition of the word ‘my’ and what seems like piano keys being played in a frantic manner captivate you. The production and her vocal delivery in way give you a sense of anxiety. Her vocals really enable you to feel the emotions she wants you to feel. The wordy bridge gives you a sense of urgency through the vocal delivery. 

London Boy - The track starts with voice recording of Idris Elba’s interview from James Corden’s talk show, it’s a fun track revolving around her adventures around London with her lover. It is a lighthearted track that you can vibe to with its upbeat production.

Soon You’ll Get Better (Ft. Dixie Chicks) - This song is a beautiful stripped back track that draws out all your emotions leaving you on the verge of tears. A heartfelt track both due to its lyrical content and the instrumentation on the track. You can feel the sadness in her voice here. This song serves as a dedication to her mother and holds a universal message. Although the Dixie Chicks are credited as features they don’t have an allocated verse on the track, instead they provide with the harmonies on the track. Due to the nature and how personal the track is the features allow Taylor to remain as the main focus throughout, thus not distracting from the topic. 

False God - This track coming in right after the previous one is an odd placement on the tracklist. As you come from a heartbreakingly sad song to one that is sensual. The trumpet opening grabs your attention and the transition from that to the beat of the track is nice. The smooth and sensual vibe gets you lost in the track. An expected moment on the album, but one that after hearing it you feel that it was needed.

You Need To Calm Down - This track brings you out of the lost state the previous track leaves you in with its upbeat production. A sassy track with lyrics that take aim at the haters, social media trolls and those that seem to always have something negative to say. The vocal echo on certain moments really elevates the track. The message that people shouldn’t be comparing artists as all of them are equally as great as the other during the bridge is much needed. On top of that the background vocals during the final chorus are the highlight moments on the track, particularly when she sings ‘You’re being too loud’.

Afterglow - The drums kick-start this stellar track. On this track Taylor takes ownership over her actions and is standing up to say that she is aware that she is the cause of the downfall of this relationship. The vocals during the pre-chorus and chorus give the track this feeling of vastness. The feel of this track makes it perfectly suited for a live performance in a big stadium/arena setting and that experience is surely going to be magical. The tracks production is on point and when you listen to this using headphones you feel as though you are encapsulated by the track. A magical moment on the album.

ME! (Ft. Brendon Urie) - The lead single of the album that didn’t really give anything away in regards to what the rest of the album was going to sound like or its lyrical content. The track is a carefree and fun track. The verses really provide the track with its strongest moments and when it was first released the opening verse was a promising start to an okay track, the chorus is enjoyable and the bridge from which ‘kids spelling is fun’ has now been removed made the track seem as if it was catering to a very young audience. I was unsure about how Brendon’s vocal would work with Taylor’s at first but after hearing the track it was a pleasant combo.

It’s Nice To Have A Friend - This track is a really nice dedication to a friend and the value friendship has. The layout of the track is completely different to the usual way a song is constructed. As the track doesn’t really have a chorus, neither does it have a bridge. Although the saxophone moment you could say substitutes as the bridge. The song samples a track created by a musical school in Toronto. The tropical feel of the track makes you envision yourself laying in a sun chair on a sunny day lost deep in your thoughts. The lyrics really layout a picture for you and the way she puts forward the lyrics vocally adds to the storytelling.

Daylight - This final track provides the album with such a beautiful ending. In which she sings about coming into the daylight after meeting her lover. You can tell she’s found what she was always been looking for and she is certain she doesn’t want anyone else but him. The track has such a dreamy nature in which no matter what time you listen to it, it feels like you are basking in daylight. Again as always with Taylor her songwriting always shines so bright and this song is a perfect example. Her vocals on the track are magical and the production is stellar. The reference to her album ‘Red’ with the line ‘I once believed that love would be burning red’ is a full circle moment. The ending in which there is a voice recording of Taylor in which she shares such a universal message brings the track to a thought provoking close.

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of September 11th, 1019

Best of this Week: Gotham City Monsters #1 - Steve Orlando, Amancay Nahuelpan, Trish Mulvihill and Tom Napolitano

Who wanted this?

Serious, this is a strange team of characters to put together for a story, but it’s so jarring in a way that it makes me really interested to see what their team dynamic is like. This book carries so much of a Universal Monster movie vibe while mixed in with the superheroics of comic books in a manner that it’s already caught my eye.

The book begins with several haunting establishing shots of Monstertown, one of the few neighborhoods in Gotham that is doing well under the control of Bane. These shots set the tone for what the story will be; a grimy, dark outing where the only light to be found is in the darkness. Naheulpan does such an amazing job capturing the essence of Gotham, while at the same time making things feel so...40s and 80s right before we’re introduced to our first hero, Andrew Bennett aka. I, Vampire.

Bennett, having been hunting down vampires that choose to spill the blood of innocents, dispatches a large group of evil vampires and learns of a new vampire king that’s soon to be restored to life. Bennett tears out the lead vampires heart and tries to drink his blood to kill him, but finds that his blood is poisonous to him. He then vows to kill their new leader no matter what. Within only a few pages Bennett is established as a noble vampire unlike some of his kin and those who were previously unaware of him are given all that they need to know about the man. His scene also feels very reminiscent of The Crow or Queen of the Damned in terms of style and color palette.

Soon after, we cut to a newly freed Waylon Jones who’s very excited to leave his past life as a criminal behind to carve out a new life in Monstertown, but sadly he knows that people will still only ever see him as Killer Croc. I can see that his arc will be all about redemption as he tries to make things in his life right after all of the turmoil he’s been forced to go through. Part of me wonders if he’ll ever learn about Roy Harper and his death at Sanctuary, given that he acted as Roy’s sponsor when the archer was getting off of heroin. He’s not seen again after his two pages which does suck quite a bit as I thought he would have a larger role starting out.

Things start to heat up as we run into the actual lead character of the story, Frankenstein, former Agent of SHADE. It has been quite some time since Frankenstein has been seen in any book, I think the last one he was in was a Valentine’s Day special from 2018. Before he is even shown, we see patrons of a local bar running in fear of the chaos that the undead one has wreaked in search of one of the last open cases SHADE had before Leviathan destroyed them. Frankenstein is not here to play games, holding the throat of a man infected with a disease that turns him into a bull-man.

Naheulpan draws this scene with the dourness that Frankenstein is often known for as Orlando scripts him to say that “in a far world you would live, but now more than ever… the world is not fair.” Napolitano’s letting also helps to make this scene even more saddening with Frankenstein’s shaky word balloons even if Frank himself is anything but. He lights the man on fire after smacking him upside the head with a bottle of ”Damn Fine Whiskey”, totally not Jack Daniels’, and watches as the creature tries to crawl away in fear and pain, terror in his burning eyes.

After this short excursion, we are introduced to our last few cast members in The Orca and Lady Clay, the latter of whom I had no clue existed. While I have limited experience with Orca as a character, mostly from Nightwing: Rebirth and the Injustice 2 tie-in comic, I know her story (and have an attraction, don’t judge me) and it’ll be interesting to see if Steve Orlando plays into the romance angle from the latter comic to give Croc the strong beau that he’s been missing since Enchantress was taken from him. Lady Clay, however, is new and exciting to me because she doesn’t know who she is anymore and finds solace in taking on the appearances of others like a Faceless Person. I’m very interested in whether or not she’ll betray the team for a sense of understanding from the main villain.

Throughout the book there had been murmurings of an opera going on in the city. This plays as the hook that will cause all of the plot to go full steam ahead in the next issue. While the crowd thinks they’re watching an amazing show, they are soon sacrificed to bring back Melmoth, an immortal whose blood was used to help in Frankenstein’s creation. Melmoth’s entire motivation is to continue being what he considers the “Last King.” He wants to subjugate all beneath his feet and will kill as many as he needs to do so, yet his followers see him as some sort of savior.

Gotham City Monsters succeeds as a story in the vein of the cheesy horror movies I liked to watch at a younger age. The stories and motivations given for each individual hero are simple, much like to protagonists of those old movies and gives this comic a nice monster movie team up feel. Naheulpan’s art is grim and made even better by Mulvihill’s gritty coloring and great use of dark inks for the moments that need shadows. For a first issue, this one was a blast and I absolutely cannot wait for the next one!

---------------------------------------------------

Runner Up: Wonder Woman #78 - G. Willow Wilson, Tom Derenick, Trevor Scott, Norm Rapmund, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Pat Brosseau

Love is dead. Cheetah has killed her.

The fallout from Cheetah’s actions continue as Wonder Woman has lost her will to fight and is easily overpowered by her most deadly foe. Things begin in the most bleak way possible as illustrated by Tom Derenick. We cut back and forth from the immediate past to the current present as Cheetah wrests or destroys Wonder Woman’s armaments. 

Her sword is cut in half and her shield is demolished after swipes from Cheetah’s new Godkiller sword. Her tiara is broken and sent flying after a solid punch. The Lasso of Truth is snatched away as Cheetah mocks her, asking who is truly worthy. Even the Gauntlets of Submission are absolutely destroyed after being hit with the sword. 

Cheetah smiles with absolute glee as Diana is driven before her, helpless and unable to defeat her with her new and powerful weapon. She manages to escape into a nearby river and calls Atlantiades to help her. The demigoddess hears her call and with the help of Steve Trevor, they find Wonder Woman, broken and defeated without love.

Superman is commonly thought of as being the main hope in DC and there is a lot of merit to that, but at the same time, Wonder Woman is just as much of an inspiration to some if not more. She has almost never given up hope, even after killing Maxwell Lord in the past or losing her ability to see, hell even after fighting the Amazons after they invaded Man’s World she wasn’t at all fazed. Losing to Cheetah and feeling the crushing weight of the world on her shoulders now that she doesn’t have the hope of love to keep her head up high. It’s even worse when Steve Trevor is also suffering from this lack of love. Even while giving Diana a soothing bath for her injuries and trying to console her, his eyes are empty of the love they had and she can tell. 

Not only is love gone, but so is compassion as we see in a short scene shortly after the bath. A mail carrier on a bike accident hits a car and no one does anything to help him. It's telling that people just either drive around him or stand idly by seeing no reason to try to walk through traffic. We see even later on that people are far more willing to commit crime, especially after Lex has been offering people gifts and changing how they think, bringing out the darkness inside.

Eventually Wonder Woman is left with no other choice than to ask Veronica Cale for help. Veronica Cale, who has nothing but enmity for Wonder Woman, decides to help her as she doesn't even remember the feeling of dread that she had when her daughter was trapped in Themyscira and see this as an opportunity to show the Gods that mortals can see what they cannot.

In a way, Cale and Cheetah are similar in that regard. They have nothing but hate for the Gods and Wonder Woman and will do everything they can to tear them down, Cale with wit and guile and Cheetah with pure rage. 

G. Willow Wilson is absolute bringing out the bloodlust from Cheetah that we haven't seen in some time and is making her a pretty credible threat. If her trajectory continues the way that it jas, then there's no doubt in my mind that this entire run of Wonder Woman will end in one of their deaths and that is exciting.

[twdeadfanfic]

It might be Christmas (One-shot)

Daryl Dixon x Reader, Christmas inspired one-shot! I hope you all are having a good holiday if you celebrate it or just a good day!  Some holidays vibes in TWD word. English’s not my first language so maybe there’re some mistakes, I apologize in advance.

Masterlist

-

Tracking the pass of time without calendars or anything was hard, harder and harder as days, months, years passed by, but as you shivered and wrapped your fluffy coat tightly around you, there was no doubt winter must be there.

“I hate this place.” You muttered through chatting teeth.

You had been at the Sanctuary for months, half a year you’d dare to say if you could track the time better, and still you hadn’t found anything you liked about it. The place was ugly and creepy, as ugly and creepy as an old abandoned factory which had been inhabited by those murderers who had killed so many of your people could be. And on top of everything, now that winter seemed to be there, it was awfully cold.

There had been some attempts to make the place better, rebuild what had been broken at the war, take away everything Neganish, try to make it something better where people could thrive, even creating gardens with the seeds Maggie had reluctantly sent from Hilltop. You had your doubts it’d work, though. Or maybe Daryl’s wariness and dislike of the place had rubbed on you.

Admittedly, Daryl Dixon was the only reason you were in the Sanctuary at all. You couldn’t bear the idea of him having to live alone there, not only in a place that he hated but in which he had been tortured and traumatized. You couldn’t understand why Rick had sent Daryl there, how he couldn’t see how wrong it was.

When Rick had said he wanted Daryl to lead the Sanctuary, Daryl had made it clear he didn’t want to but had ultimately accepted as Rick kept insisting. You, though, had fought it with everything you had, arguing with Rick for days, to the point you two stopped talking for almost two weeks, until Michonne interceded and made you two ‘bury the hatchet’, so to speak. You still thought that send Daryl there had been a bad decision and couldn’t really forgive Rick for it, but Rick was family, after all. You just hoped he’d get to see how bad it had been to Daryl and he’d apologize eventually.

“There.”

A heavy blanket fell over you and you looked up to find Laura wrapped in another.  You two usually shared shifts up in the roof, watching the perimeter to make sure no threats would come. And said roof was damn cold, especially at night, no matter you had built some sort of lookout on it.

“And I also have this for the cold.” Laura waved a bottle of whiskey in front of you and you snorted.

“Very professional, drinking during our shift.”

“Just until we heat up.”

“Yeah sure.”

You chuckled, grabbing the bottle and taking a sip before passing it back to Laura. You were surprised you got along so good with her, and you were starting to wonder if maybe, maybe, you were becoming friends. You didn’t know if you liked it or not. When you had first arrived at the Sanctuary you had been mistrustful and wary of the ex-saviors…hell, you hated them to death for what they had done. Most of them were assholes, though they were behaving better than you had expected, for their own good. There had been some fights at the beginning, but it had been some saviors themselves who had put an end to that, keeping the most hostiles on bay.

Still, the Sanctuary was like a bomb about to go off most of the time. It was hard to keep it in control, it was hard to prevent fights from breaking, especially between ex-saviors and the people they had used more like slaves than like workers. It was hard to keep the Sanctuary going instead of crumbling down…sometimes you thought it’d be best if it fell, but probably Rick was right and that’d only create more problems and fights.

Having to lead the place was taking a toll on Daryl. He had never wanted to be a leader, he didn’t like it, you knew it. He always seemed stressed and tired. He hated the place and you were sure he was pretty much miserable there, no matter he didn’t complain that much. You hated Rick couldn’t see it…you rather think that Rick didn’t see it than that he actually didn’t care. He and Daryl were brothers after all. But hell, this was unfair and you’d yell it to Rick every chance you got.

So yes, your maybe friendship with Laura surprised you. But you had to admit that as months passed, you began to get along better with some of the lady ex-saviors, especially Laura. They weren’t that bad, you guessed. Sometimes it was hard to think that they had been some of the people who had done such hideous things to you under Negan’s lead.  And you were no fool, ladies like Laura or Arat had done terrible things, had been on Negan’s first line of action, no matter how niceish and on your side they seemed now. You weren’t sure if you could ever forget and forgive. But hell, you enjoyed your shifts with Laura.

People, even people who might seem nice, were able to do terrible, terrible things, under the right circumstances, you supposed. It was a depressing thought and you’d rather not think about it.

“I’ve always hated winter, spring can hurry up.” You grumbled.

“You gotta wait for a looong time,” Laura replied after taking a sip. “But hey, winter means Christmas.”

“Yeah, sure, like we celebrate Christmas anymore.” You rolled your eyes, the cold making you cranky. “We don’t even know in which day we are.”

“It doesn’t matter, you buzz kill. Actually, I’ve heard some people talking about exchanging gifts.”

“For real?” You couldn’t help it, the idea of celebrating Christmas anymore sounded a bit dumb.

“Can you blame people from wanting to enjoy life a bit?” Laure shrugged.

No, no you couldn’t. After everything you all had gone through in this wasted, deadly world, you all deserved to enjoy the little good things left in life. You guessed exchanging christmasish gifts with their loved ones was another way of enjoying life and showing people you cared for them, no matter the idea of Christmas in this world still sounded strange and a bit silly to you.

“Don’t think we’re getting Daryl to decorate this place for Christmas.” You said with half a smile, making Laura snort.

“No shit.”

“And are you getting someone a present or what?” You asked Laura.

“I brought you whiskey, didn’t I?”

“It seems to me you’re drinking my present.”

The more you thought about it, the more you liked the idea. It might be silly but it was also a little way to show your love to people. You weren’t very sure Daryl would be into it, but it might be the chance to give him that thing you’d found on a run and had made you think of him, and that you still hadn’t given to him, unsure if he’d like it or not.

“I might give someone a gift too then.” You decided.

“I wonder who that someone might be.” Laura mocked as if she didn’t know fully well who you were talking about. “I don’t know Daryl that much but he doesn’t seem into gifts.”

“He’s more thoughtful and attentive than he might seem.” You replied, though you were doubtful yourself. The thing you had in mind as a gift was nothing useful, and you weren’t sure if Daryl’d think it silly or not. You decided not to over think it, after all he had come back for runs with things for you a couple of times, like a book you had read a dozen times by now and a jasper you had turned into a pendant.

“Don’t tell anyone I told you or else she’d break my nose, but Arat’s making a bracelet for Rosita.” Laura gossiped.

“Really?!”

“Yep…but I think it’s more because she’s trying to get into her pants than because of Christmas.” Laura giggled.

“Pff… good luck with that.” It was hard for you to forgive the saviors, you didn’t think you’d ever do it, but Rosita was even harder than you on that, you couldn’t see her having anything with one of them, no matter how decent they seemed now…but who knew. “I don’t blame her, though, Rosita’s worth crushing on.”

“Now, now, something you want to tell me?”  Laura teased.

“What, that I had a little crush on Rosita? Yes, and I’m not embarrassed about it.” You shrugged, taking another sip of booze. “Have you seen her? I was really taken by her when I met her. She’s just so beautiful, and she’s so smart and resourceful, and such a badass…and I’m going to stop talking now.” You laughed.

“My, I’m going to tell all this to Daryl.” Laura joked, laughing with you.

“I let you know that he knows!” You announced triumphantly. “And he also knows that I love him, so.”

You always reminded him, though, especially now when he seemed to be having such a hard time living in the damn Sanctuary. You knew he needed to feel loved, now more than ever, even though he’d never say anything like that, and so you did your best to be there for him when he needed it the most. You knew he was grateful you were there with him, that he loved you too, he showed it in his own Daryl way.

“It’s just I thought you guys had been together since forever.” Laura shrugged.

“Not at all, but I’d been crushing on him since forever.” You chuckled quietly. “But I didn’t think he looked at me like that.”

Daryl had found you and taken you to the prison with his group, and it hadn’t taken you long to fall for the archer, but you didn’t think he was interested. You hadn’t gotten together until Alexandria, the worst timing in your opinion, with everything you all had gone through. You didn’t regret it, though, but it had been hard, challenging. You had been together for only a couple of months that cursed day when Negan showed up in your lives, killing your friends and taking Daryl away from you.

He wasn’t the same when he came back, which you could understand, it took him a slow, long while to go back to himself, but you knew he was still haunted by that night and his time in the Sanctuary. You tried to help him through it, but you knew it wasn’t easy. The war with the Saviors hadn’t helped your relationship either, but you were grateful you’d had Daryl and his support during all those challenging times. You loved him, and he loved you, and that was what mattered.

Oddly enough, during your time at the Sanctuary your relationship had settled, no matter the place was far from ideal.

“How did you two end up together, then?” Laura asked you and your wandering mind came back to the present.

“I’m not even sure myself…guess we just grew closer and closer. I knew I had feelings for him, and once Daryl admitted to both himself and myself that he had to, well, it happened. It was slow, you know…” You both had taken it slow, more for Daryl than for you, he didn’t seem used to having a relationship or to be so close with someone, and to that you had to add how hard it was for him to get used to Alexandria too, but you didn’t mind it, you had loved to follow his pace and you enjoyed every moment.

The first time he’d kissed you, when you both had barely talked about your feelings at all, since it made him uncomfortable and embarrassed, had been after that massive herd of walkers had ripped through Alexandria. Or rather, it was you who had kissed Daryl, relieved to find both of you were okay and that he was back, and then he had kissed you back.

You still remembered that kiss as if it had happened yesterday, the way in which your heart had started beating fast, fast, excited and elated, the feeling of his lips brushing yours and his arms around you, how insecure he had seemed when your lips parted until your smiled to him in bliss and he gave you his lovely crooked smile. You could feel yourself smiling like an idiot at the memories.

“I ain’t got time for slow no more, by this point I’ll just be happy to have a handsome face to warm me this cold, cold winter, you know,” Laura said and you both chuckled. “But you got the hottest one around.”

“I know, so hands off. You can look, though.”

“Not fair.”

When hours later your shift finished you went to your room, but Daryl wasn’t there even if it was late at night. Not that it surprised you. You went looking for him and found him in the garage, illuminated by the light of the bike he was tinkering with. Daryl took his knife when he heard someone approaching but sheathed it again when he saw it was you. You understood it, when you walked around the Sanctuary alone you always had your hand on the holster of your gun, still suspicious of saviors deciding to attack you no matter how many months had passed.

“Hey, handsome.” You wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek.

“Have you been drinking?” He could probably smell the whiskey.

“Just enough to warm up a bit…that lookout is damn cold.” Not that the garage was warm either, Daryl’s hand was cold as you laced your fingers together.

“A leader would lecture you about drinking during working hours.” Daryl arched an eyebrow at you, smirking.

“Leave that to Rick, you can write him a letter if you want.” You chuckled. “Why aren’t you sleeping? It’s late.”

“I ain’t tired.”

“You look tired.” You pointed out, the dark circles under his eyes permanent now.

Daryl barely let himself have proper rest and it worried you. He was always stressed or worried about something, always working on something at the Sanctuary or going out hunting or on runs when he couldn’t stand to be in there anymore. You tried to be there for him, but sometimes you wondered if it was enough.

“Come on, come with me to bed, please?” You tugged at his hand. “Or else I’d turn into an ice cube.”

Daryl rolled his eyes, murmuring how exaggerated you were, but he leaned over to kiss your forehead before wrapping an arm around you, and you leaned into his warmth as you both walked to your room.

Once in bed, curled up with Daryl under what he thought were too many blankets but you didn’t agree, you finally weren’t cold. You pulled back from the embraced to lean over Daryl, looking at him.

“You know, I was talking with Laura and she thinks it might be Christmas or around the time.” You began, wondering what Daryl might think about the whole thing.

“How can she know it? We have no calendars or nothing, I ain’t even sure if today is Tuesday or Wednesday, or what, no more.” Daryl frowned.

“It’s just a guess, cos we’re in winter, that for sure.” You explained. “So there are some people who are going to exchange holiday gifts and all that.”

“That’s stupid….” His frown had just deepened and you let out a sigh. It wasn’t going that well, but not worse than you expected.

“I know.”

You didn’t say anything else, you rested your head on Daryl’s chest and closed your eyes. You couldn’t sleep, though, feeling the nervous pitter-patter of his fingers over your arm. You didn’t ask him, waiting for him to speak when he felt like it.

“You want to celebrate it.” It didn’t sound like a question.

“It’s not that.”

“But you’re upset.”

“I’m not upset, Daryl.” You propped up your chin on his chest to look at him seriously.

“Okay…” He didn’t seem very convinced. You shifted to press a kiss on his cheek and curled up with him again.

“I’ve never celebrated Christmas or nothing,” Daryl said quietly after you both stayed silent for a little while. With the things Daryl had told you about his family and his life, it didn’t surprise you, though it still saddened you a bit.

“You could this year, maybe, if you want.” You offered softly.

“Not really…” Daryl looked at you as if he was afraid you’d be angry or upset. You reached out to stroke his cheek, smiling softly.

“Okay. I was never into Christmas that much, honestly.”

“Really?” Daryl seemed more relaxed now that he finally believed you weren’t angry, and he began to run his fingers through your hair, making you purr.

“It’s not that I hated it or anything, but I wasn’t too into it. I always ended up stressed during family gatherings. We were a big family, you know, and we always got together for the holidays, all of us.” So much time had passed and still your voice went tight with emotion as you spoke. “But my mother…she was really into Christmas, no matter how much she stressed about the food and what not. She started decorating the house the first week of December, we always had this big, big tree, full of red Christmas balls and lights, we’d spend a whole afternoon decorating it and then we’d drink hot chocolate, that was actually fun…” You tailed off, the memories were getting a bit too much.

Daryl didn’t say anything, you knew sometimes he still struggled trying to find the right words, but he cupped your cheek, lifting your face, and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to your lips that had you smiling again.

“You okay?” He asked you softly.

“Yeah, promise.” You smiled, pecking his lips again. “Let’s sleep, the sun’s coming up soon.”

Daryl shifted to curl on his side, his back against your chest, and pulled at your arm to wrap it around him. Smiling, you pressed a few kisses over his shoulder before holding him tightly to you. You closed your eyes and tried to sleep.

*

If you’d have paid close attention you’d probably had guessed Daryl was up to something, considering the way in which he was acting around you, even though he tried to hide it. The first clue must have been when the next night you walked into your room to find a tree branch in a bottle and a light-bulb painted red hanging off it, as some sort of Christmas ball. It was so thoughtful and lovely, you felt yourself warming despite the cold. When you asked Daryl he turned all adorably flustered, and so you decided to let him be.

A couple days after that Daryl came looking for you while you worked doing some food inventory.

“Turns out maybe you were right and it’s around Christmas…or at least that’s what everyone seems to think.” He passed you an envelope. “We got this from Alexandria.”

“You actually wrote Rick to tell him I was drinking while taking watch?” You joked, wondering why someone from Alexandria might have written you instead of just use the walkies.

“Open it.”

Inside the envelope, you found a handmade Christmas card. “Happy Holidays to uncle Daryl and aunt Y/N” was handwritten by Judith and also a bunch of colorful hearts. You opened it and inside it was one of Judith’s drawing of all you, Daryl, Rick, Michonne, Maggie…even Carl, everyone, though some of them you could only recognize them because they had their name under.

“How sweet is this?” You were smiling from ear to ear even though you were close to tears. Daryl wrapped his arms around you, pulling at you until your back hit his chest, holding you close, and he leaned to place a kiss to your cheek. “She’s the best little girl, isn’t she? We have to go visit her someday, she must be so big now.”

Daryl hummed a yes. He loved Judith, you knew it, and she loved her uncle Daryl. He was so good with her, it’d always warmed your heart seeing them together. Daryl was surprisingly good with all the kids, though, it wasn’t something you might not expect just by looking at him, but he was. Sometimes it made you want to have one of your own, Daryl’s and yours. But then you remembered the  kind of world you lived in. Not to mention how Daryl’d freak out if he knew.

You wondered when you could go to Alexandria to visit her, Rick didn’t like it when Daryl left the Sanctuary for too long and when he came to visit he wouldn’t bring Judith to such a place. You missed Alexandria, you missed your friends there, Michonne and Aaron, and missed Maggie too. You hadn’t even seen Maggie’s baby yet, you were dying to meet little Hershel, and you knew Daryl was too. You would never leave Daryl alone in the Sanctuary, though. You really needed to ask Rick to look for someone else, Daryl had had enough, he deserved to live somewhere else, a good place like Alexandria or Hilltop, with his family.

“We could wait until the weather is better, take the bike and ride to Alexandria for a quick visit,” Daryl told you.

“Sounds perfect.” You smiled at him, placing a hand on his neck and pulling his lips to yours.

*

Next day you saw Rosita wearing a new bracelet. You smirked, knowing how she had gotten it. It was actually quite nice, made from braided cord and leather, some metal strings here and there too.

“That’s a cute bracelet you got there…where you found it?”

“I didn’t find it.” Rosita blushed though he also seemed upset. “Seems that people had decided it’s Christmas and time to give gifys. It’s beyond stupid.”

“You sound worse than Daryl, congratulations.” You laughed. “Come on, whoever made it gave it a lot of thought and work, it’s sweet.”

“Yeah well…” Rosita let out a sigh. “A pretty bracelet doesn’t make everything right.”

That was true. You didn’t know what to say and so you just reached out to pat her shoulder and left her alone. Seeing her brand new bracelet, you decided maybe it was time to give Daryl his present. You couldn’t keep hiding it forever, you had taken it for him after all.

You found him alone in the garage. Now or never.

“Hey, can we talk?” You asked as you sat down next to him.

Daryl looked at you from the book he was reading. “There’s something wrong.”

“No, just…” You hated how awkward and shy you were feeling, but you couldn’t help it. “I’ve got something I want to give you…I know you’re not into Christmas but I found it on a run a little while ago…made me think of you…so…yeah…”

You decided to just stop babbling awkwardly and give it to him. You took it out of your pocket and dropped it onto his hand.

It was a tiny miniature of a chopper bike that you had found quite unexpectedly in a cabin where you’d been scavenging. It looked a bit like the bike Daryl used to have back at the prison when you met him, the one you learned had been his brother’s.

Daryl looked at it without saying anything and you began to fidget.

“It’s stilly, I know, it’s a just a toy but-”

“Thank you.” Daryl cut your awkward babbling.  It seemed he was at loss of what to say but the way in which he was looking from it to you was enough for you.

“You like it then?” You asked softly.

Daryl nodded, clutching the miniature on one hand while his other hand reached for you, pulling you closer. His lips found yours and you wrapped your arms around his neck, smiling into the kiss. “I love you.” He whispered against your lips, barely audible, as always, and as always it made your heart go crazy.

When your lips parted, Daryl stayed silent staring at the toy for a couple of minutes before looking at you again.

“I, erm…I got something too…got you something I mean…I don’t know if…” Daryl kept speaking and then trailing off and you couldn’t help your smile, he was just so cute sometimes. “Thought you might like…but I don’t know…didn’t know when…or if you…I…There.” He ended his rambling by rummaging into his pocket and dropping something onto your palm.

It was a bracelet similar to Rosita’s and hanging off it was a small, arrow charm made of wood.

“It’s perfect…” You whispered, brushing your thumb over the little charm.

“Yeah?” Daryl sounded unsure.

You nodded, not quite trusting your voice as you felt close to tears. It was so sweet. Daryl had been thoughtful enough to give you a ‘Christmas branch’ after you told him about Christmas with your family and your annual tree, you hadn’t been expecting a gift. And it was a perfect gift, you loved everything about it but especially the arrow. That was Daryl’s in every way, and you couldn’t wait to wear it.

“Arat helped me make it,” Daryl said when you still didn’t say anything. “Wasn’t sure if you were going to like it…”

“I love it.” You smiled, eyes wet. “I love you.”

Daryl grinned and your heart began beating like crazy again, he didn’t smile much lately and a smile like that was a rare sight. Daryl helped you tie the bracelet around your wrist and you leaned for another kiss.

“Thank you.”

*

That night you had to take watch and you were sharing your shift with Laura, so you made sure to show off your bracelet. You had thanked Arat for having helped Daryl to do that for you, and you had already shown it to Rosita and Eugine, barely able to contain your happiness, and you still smiled like an idiot every time you looked at your wrist.

You went to your room once your shift ended. You unlocked the door and walked into the dark room, making your way carefully to your nightstand to light up some candles and illuminate the place. You still had the ‘Christmas branch’ on it and also you had placed there Judith’s card, propped up against the wall.

Daryl wasn’t much for decoration, the only thing he kept on his nightstand were more candles and matches, and another knife. When you glanced at it now, though, you saw the miniature motorbike on it. Your silly small came back at it.

Maybe it wasn’t Christmas, maybe you were in January already or still in November, maybe celebrating the holidays made no sense any more, but at that moment you couldn’t be happier people had decided it was Christmas and you had gotten to exchange gifts with him. Not that you needed a special day to do so, but still, it was something to warm and bright your life in the dark Sanctuary, and something that’d keep you smiling for days.

-

Thank you all for reading! If you have time, please drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts about this!

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[polaroidofus-89]

‘Lover’ song-by-song breakdown [part 1]:

Long before @taylorswift joined Tumblr (and a billion thousand of Swifties with her), when this website was still unknown to most of mankind, I always made a post about my first thoughts on the album, writing down my opinion and rating each song at the end of release week. The first time I did this was with Speak Now and I created a chart to rate Lyrics, Chorus, Bridge and whether the song is a Skip or not. The only time I skipped this post was during the reputation era because of reasons I explained back then - if you want, I’ll send you the link to that post. 

This time, however, I must make this a two-part post because a) I just came back from my holiday today, b) I always listen to it three times before writing this post (right now I am on number 2) and c) this album is freaking long! 

So here’s the charts (chorus and bridge rated 1-5; lyrics rated 1-3): 

Chorus: 1- meh, nice; 2- good; 3- very good; 4- just magic; 5- PERFECTION

Bridge: 1- good, did better; 2- good; 3- quite perfect; 4- RIP ME. DEAD.; 5- BRIDGE CITY ALERT!!! (was previously BRIDGE HEAVEN... guess why it changed? lol)

 Lyrics: 1- good; 2- great; 3- AMAZING 

Also, since I have been more active lately and some very cute and amazing blogs started following me, I want you all to take part in this breakdown because I would love to read your thoughts and your ratings on each song!

So please, please, please join me in this adventure. Six months from this date (when we will all know the songs by heart), I’ll bring it back to see if anything has changed.

Anyway, here’s the first part of my breakdown... hope you enjoy it!

1. I Forgot That You Existed

Chorus: very good Bridge: good, did better Lyrics: good Skip? No Favorite lyrics: none in particular

Alright, say what you want but I am a sucker for sarcastic and provocative songs from Taylor; they always are filled with such irony and smart remarks… I just can’t help adoring them and memorize them from the first listen, going around humming the rhythm all day long. It happened with Mean, WANEGBT, Blank Space, Shake It Off, IDSB and TIWWCHNT… so it was obviously going to happen with this one too. I also think it would’ve made one hell of promo single – just sayin’. I am in awe of Taylor’s attitude towards people that hurt or badmouth her after being in some kind of relationship with her: she does not comment at first, letting them rant and have their little moment of glory. Then, when everything seems over and forgotten, she strikes back and I enjoy EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE. OF. IT. This one I had been waiting for a long time because a certain someone DEFINITELY deserved it. The way a person behaves towards somebody AFTER their relationship ends says a lot about them and this particular individual proved to be childish, petty, arrogant and very immature – not to mention awfully mean. You can’t act that way about someone you’ve been with for ONE ENTIRE YEAR, someone you were supposed to be in love with. I hate this post-breakup kind of behavior and I had hoped so freaking hard that reputation would’ve had a song like this. But we have it now and secret sessioners were right: it is the most amazing way to start an album. What I love most about this song is the entire second verse: got out some popcorns as soon as my rep started going down, down, down/laughed in the schoolyard as soon as I tripped and hit the ground, ground, ground/ and I would’ve stuck around for ya/ would’ve fought the whole town for ya/would’ve been right there front row, even if nobody came to your show. I just know that it will make feel the person who inspired this song ashamed and won’t allow them any kind of response because it isn't hate, it isn’t love… IT’S JUST INDIFFERENCE. And I’m so proud of her for this.

2. Cruel Summer***

10/10 Chorus: PERFECT Bridge: BRIDGE CITY ALERT!!!!! Lyrics: great Skip? HARD NO Favorite lyrics: “Devils roll their dice; Angels roll their eyes” “what doesn’t kill me makes me want you more” “I don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you”

Secret sessioners were onto something again: Out of The Woods stans would be suckers for Cruel Summer… I can confirm that is, indeed, true. This track feels like summer sunsets, road trips and a sequence of lovey-dovey moments straight out of a rom-com. I absolutely adored the lyrics on this one! I mean “what doesn’t kill me makes me want you more”, “no rules in breakable heaven”, “devils roll their dices, Angels roll their eyes”, “and if I bleed you’ll be the last to know” … what are we even talking about here? And don’t even get me started on the bridge: once again the Swift-Antonoff combination proved to be a winning choice. It’s Taylor Swift at her best and I have nothing more to add. This track is one of my favorites of the entire album and I am hoping it’ll be her next single.

3. Lover*****

10/10 Chorus: magic Bridge: RIP ME. I DIED. DEAD. Lyrics: AMAZING Skip? NEVER IN ANY LIFETIME Favorite lyrics: “have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?” “I’ve loved you three summers now honey but I want them all” “My heart’s been borrowed, yours has been blue all’s well that ends well to end up with you”

When Lover first came out, I asked my boyfriend ‘do you think this will be my favorite off of the album?’ and he said ‘no’. He was not wrong at all: Lover and Cornelia Street are battling in my head and in my heart for ‘favorite song’ on the album - I swear it has never been so difficult for me to decide! This track is just pure magic; every time I listen to it, I have a picture in my head of slow dancing during my wedding day and it always (always!) makes me emotional enough to shed a few tears. Honestly, it just gives me poetry vibes – it is that beautiful to me. I absolutely adore this one. This track is also one of my favorite songs – if not my favorite at all.

4. The Man***

10/10 Chorus: PERFECTION Bridge: very good Lyrics: AMAZING Skip? NEVER IN ANY LIFETIME Favorite Lyrics: “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man”

When I read the interview in which Taylor played this song and explained it to the journalist, my excitement multiplied infinite times. Whoever said Taylor Swift is not a feminist should now go and sit in the corner, thinking about how idiotic such a statement is. This track perfectly summarized what a woman pursuing her goals in life has to go through daily and how hard it is when the world thinks you were born with the wrong attribute in the lower part of your body. It is very provocative and sarcastic, a real national anthem for women. I’m so very proud of her for writing this song, you have no idea. Of course, it has quickly earned a spot on my ‘top favorites’.

5. The Archer***

10/10 Chorus: good (pre-chorus is what I really love) Bridge: BRIDGE CITY ALERT!!! Lyrics: AMAZING Skip? NEVER IN ANY LIFETIME Favorite Lyrics: “All the king’s horses, all the king’s men couldn’t put me together again” “awake in the night, I pace like a ghost, the room is on fire, invisible ghosts”

Ah, the power of number 5! This song is life! The thing I love the most about this track is the way it speaks so much on an emotional level, using very little actual words. With track 5 we always got a very descriptive song: she wanted to tell us about an extremely delicate, heartbreaking moment in her life and walked us through the entire story with the lyrics. The Archer doesn’t give us a story, doesn’t talk to us about a distressing moment in her life… it tells us about a feeling – more than that, it gives us that feeling. The anxiety you have when you suffered one too many bad knockouts in life and you are always ready for something bad to happen, always ready for someone to betray you or leave you alone again. It’s a paralyzing fear, almost like you can’t breathe and the fact that Taylor was capable of putting it all into words… I just love her so much, you guys! Though not my favorite Track 5, it does get both a spot on my top three Track 5 (All Too Well and White Horse are number 1 and 2) and on my ‘top favorites’ for this album.

6. I Think He Knows

Chorus: meh Bridge: good, did better Lyrics: AMAZING Skip? Sadly, yes.

Ugh, this is a moment I hate very much. This is one of the only two songs I didn’t particularly like on this album. It breaks my heart to say this because I love both the lyrics (which I think are some of the best on the entire record) and the concept behind this song. But the rhythm just doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t speak to me like all the other songs do… something is just off. That being said, it is still a very good song. Let’s just say, I wouldn’t mind at all if it didn’t make it on the Lover Tour setlist. I know a lot of you love this song and I tried very hard to change my mind about it, but I just know it will be a skip for me.

7. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

Chorus: very good

Bridge: magic

Lyrics: great

Skip? No

Favorite Lyrics:

“I’ll never let you (go), ‘cause I know this is a (fight), that someday we’re gonna (win)”

This one is absolutely incredible - also, my boyfriend’s favorite. It’s You belong with me older, more mature and melancholic sister. The bridge is what really made me fall in love with this track: one of the best she has ever written.

8. Paper Rings

Chorus: PERFECTION Bridge: quite perfect Lyrics: AMAZING Skip? Definitely no Favorite Lyrics: “I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this” “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings”

OMG THIS SONG! This song is so so so cute! I love it! It’s fun and catchy and makes you want to dance so hard! I’m really looking forward to seeing this song performed live. And don’t even get me started on the chorus: I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings… are you kidding me? Tell me this is not the most amazing declaration of love you have ever heard! Once again, I agree with secret sessioners: it does give Stay, Stay, Stay vibes and I’m totally here for it. These are the kind of songs that I missed the most during rep era and I’m so happy that we got Paper Rings, you have no idea!

9. Cornelia Street*****

10/10 Chorus: PERFECTION Bridge: quite perfect Lyrics: AMAZING Skip? NEVER IN ANY LIFETIME Favorite Lyrics: (too many to count) “I rent a place on Cornelia Street I say casually in the bar” “that’s the kind of heartbreak time could never mend” “as if the streetlights pointed in an arrowhead leading us home”

When the tracklist came out and we found out about the Cornelia flowers Easter eggs I just knew that this song was going to hit very hard in the feelings: it was the only Easter egg she has repeated plenty of times, ever since Me! Came out. When we found out that she had written this one by herself, my expectation flew to the moon and back. It did not disappoint in any way: I LOVE THIS SONG! It’s so soft and romantic, my heart can’t take it! I also very much liked the production on this one. Seriously, one of Taylor’s best song for me. The reason I can’t decide which one between this and Lover is my ultimate favorite is that whenever I am finally convinced about one being it, I listen to the other and I’m stuck again. I don’t know if that was clear enough for everyone to understand but… yeah, I’ll let you know if I ever make up my mind.

[all-at-once-you-are-the-one]

Stream of Consciousness Lover Album Reaction

I wrote out my first thoughts while listening to the album and put them in one big post. I hope you find them as funny as I do lmao

1. I Forget That You Existed

LOL so that’s what the drake Easter egg was about!

Who is this about????

NIIIIiiiiiiiiiIIIiiiiCE

SHE SOUNDS SO GOOD

I JUST FORGOT WHAT THEY WERE LMAOOO

HER LAUGH!! SO CUTE!!

This track is somehow savage and adorable at the same time

So......yeah.......

ShnfhKJHGKSHDKGHSKGHSJG

2. Cruel Summer

This is giving me Katy perry vibes

The devils roll their dice line is from this?? Didn’t expect that

This is maybe the catchiest song I’ve ever heard

Why is this not a single??????

STILL DONT KNOW WHAT SUMMERS A KNIFE MEANS

EXPLAIN TAYLOR

This also kind of gives me Jonas brothers vibes, why???

Again.....what is this about???

OooOOoooOooWhoooooAAAAhh i loveeee this

OOOH no you know what this gives me GETAWAY CAR vibes

Wait...do we think that at the beginning joe wanted to keep their relationship private and Taylor agreed but then changed her mind? WAIT NO.....is this about her having to keep her love for joe secret at first the summer they met because she was with someone else/it was too soon??

3. Lover

Ok SUPER WEIRD transition into lover but OK

As much as I love albums with a clear narrative like rep I also like being all over the place so this is fine

CAN I GO WHERE YOU GOOOOOO

FOR EVER AND EVER ANDIIIII

YOURE MY MY MY MYYYYY LOVER

I wonder what inspired her to use the term lover? Does she not know that normal people don’t speak like that?

WAIT IS THE REASON LOVER COMES AFTER CRUEL SUMMER because of the 3 summers line?? Like look how we started...now were here

Does the album begin with i forgot you existed because its like ok this Kanye situation happened...but now were gonna forget about that and talk about the realer real story of the past couple years of my life rather than seeing it through the lens of that story like on rep

4. The Man

THE ACCURACY

THE ACCURAACCCCYYYYYYYYY

IT HUUURRTTSSS

Honestly though i actually thought this one would be more savage, i thi

DID SHE JUST SAY BITCHES AND MODELSSSS?????

SLJGSHUKGHKDG

Never mind this is as savage as i wanted

I should know better than to judge a Taylor song before the bridge

Again why isn’t this a single.....it better be

5. The Archer

The emotional whiplash this album is giving me is insane.

It’s like RED but with synths

Is the archer placed here because part of her lack of self confidence comes from the things the media says about her (because she’s a woman not a man?) INTERESTING THOUGHT

Don’t have much else to say about this, we already know

.....

Wow the cake i bought for tonight is somehow way too sweet

6. I Think He Knows

Definitely didn’t think i think he knows was about being horny af

But this is so catchy

Why is everything so catchy?? Literally every song should be a single

BOY I UNDERSTAND the confidence!! After the archer!! I love that he makes her feel that way1!!

I THINK HE KNOOOOOOOWWWWSS

This gives me teenage dream vibes and i fucking love that song

7. Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince

Ok time for the one with the weird title

I love how she keeps comparing her current feelings to how she felt as a teenager!! How its the same and different....very good.

SHES A BAD BAD GIRL

More dice!

Is she imagining what it would be like if she was in this relationship in high school? Because I DO THAT ALL THE TIIIIME GIRL SAME

THATS MY WHOLE WORLD SOOOO CUUUUTE

YOU PLAY STUPID GAMES YOU WIN STUPID PRIZES

VOTED

MOST

LIKELY

TO

RUN

AWAY

WITH

YOU

I really like this one. I didn’t expect I would.

This should be a single.

8. Paper Rings

THE VOICE EFFECT

She’s singing so fast on these songs!!!! I CANT KEEP UPP

UH HUH

THATS RIGHT

This is so retro and i loooooooooooooooooooooove it

DIRTY DREAMS??????? TAYLOR PLEASE

OMG THE COLOUR WE PAINTED YOUR BROTHERS WALL

THE PICTURE

THE PICTURE

FROM THE REP MAGAZINES

SDIHGUSHGUKHDZRKUGHKUDZHGUHDZGHDKZHGYIDZJLGJLDJGJSDJGDHZGHLGHLSHGHDG

II LIKE SHINY THINGS

THIS SONG IS SO FUN! ALL THESE SONGS ARE SO FUN!!

Ok baby boy that’s kinda weird but you know what..

....

....

Ok its still weird but maybe it will grow on me

This should be a single.

9. Cornelia Street

HERE IT IS!!! THE FIRST TAYLOR PRODUCED SONG

I NEVER WANT CORNELIA STREET AGAIN?? WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?? THEIR WORST FIGHT? ANOTHER RELATIONSIP? QUESTIONS

The storytelling!

Wait......is this about before they ran away together in CIWYW?? Like she thought he didn’t really want her so she was gonna run away alone...but then he was like no i really do lets go

I totally thought that this was the one with the staring out the window like I’m not your favorite town line was from

She ended it with the line she started with (i think)? Ike she used to!

Kinda feel like people hyped this one up too much but i do like it

10. Death by a Thousand Cuts

The piano!!!!

Like a thousand notes a thousand cuts

Look through the windows of this love - like the heart on her eye! I get it I GET IT lmaoooo

If this song was on red it would have the saddest production but on this album its a bop

11. London Boy

IS THAT JOE??? OMG lmao

HER ACCENT LMAOOOOOOOOO

I don’t know if this song is supposed to be as hilarious as i think it is but i really do think its hilarious

What does like a Tennessee Stella McCartney even mean????

I kinda feel like this song is too specific to her life to be relatable so maybe that’s why i feel that way about it?

12. Soon You’ll Get Better

Ok great... so we went from that to the sad one

I have to prepare

I didn’t tell you i was scared....

Cause you have to...

The fact that this is the country song...

I cant

GOD NOW IM CRYING THIS IS SO SAD

That was the only song so far i had to actually stop typing for. God....I’m so sad for her and her family.

13. False God

I can barely take this song in because of what just came before.

But i really like it. And i really like the theme of religion on this album

14. You Need to Calm Down

NOW YNTCD IS PLAYING

??? IM LITERALLY SOO SAD FROM SOON YOULL GET BETTER STILL

I CANT

PROCESS

THIS

This album is literally all over the place, i keep trying to assign a narrative to it and its not working out so I’m just gonna give up

Sometimes albums are just collections of songs and not a coherent, linear story and that is ok! Even if its not what i prefer

It certainly didn’t bother me on her first few albums.

The one thing i take away from this is like...no wonder she’s so determined to be so overly positive, i think for her its that or break down crying in the face of what’s happening in her family

15. Afterglow

I really love this song!!! Hashtag relatable

......

Man..you can really tell even just from my typing that my heart isn’t in this anymore after that song

Like

Fuck

I think I’m just sad for me too, because i know that i will go through that too sooner rather than later and I already have friends dealing with losing a parent.

16. ME!

My only thought on this is god bless brendon Urie for injecting so much additional joy and energy into this song and making Taylor happy, i just get the vibe that she really needed that

ALSO WHAT THERES REALLY NO HEY KIDS SPELLING IS FUN

TAYLOR EXPLAAIAIIIIIIIAIAIIAN

We’ll see if its on my physical cd copies when they arrive...if not then maybe it was always planned to be a line only in the single version

17. It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Ok I don’t really like this song that much but i really like the messages she’s trying to send like...real love feels like hanging out with a childhood bestie, so comfortable

18. Daylight

I WAS LIKE MEH

BUT THE FUCKING BRIDGE

THE BRIDGE

IM EMOTIONALLY DESTROYED

Also something about the chorus reminds me of the chorus of starlight

STEP INTO THE DAYLIGHT AND LET IT GO

YES

I WAS LIKE NO IS THAT NOT A LYRIC??

BUT IT ISTHANK GOD

THE END

YOU ARE WHAT YOU LOVE

THAT WAS LIKE

MY MANTRA FOR A COUPLE YEARS A WHILE BACK

BECAUSE

I LOVED SO MANY PEOPLE BUT THEY DIDNT LOVE ME

AND I WANTED TO BE DEFINITED BY THE FACT THAT I LOVED THEM NOT THAT HTEY DIDNT LOVE ME

IIIIIIIIIIII

I

IN CONCLUSION:

My feelings are everywhere. Some songs disappointed me but some blew me away - soon you’ll get better is basically the new Never Grow Up for me which is saying a lot. Everything is catchy a hell though even the songs I didn’t like as much. Ultimately i would have liked more songs about varying subject matter esp. self love but as it is, it is still somehow so all over the place. It really just shows how many emotions and phases can be contained within one relationship (i mean I’m assuming every song about a relationship is about joe). I really think that the song about her mom maybe should have been placed somewhere else...I don’t know where I would have put it but that shit is HEAVY. I am so honored that she and her family would share that with us though. I have a million question about how Andrea is doing and if my theory on why tour hasn’t been announced is correct...maybe she will explain more in the interviews/secret session audio we’re getting in the next couple days. I think my favorite song is Lover but that may change. I don’t think any song on here tops my current all time favorite Taylor song though which is CIWYW. That’s a little disappointing but not every song or album has to be my fave! And this album will probably grow on me esp as i hear Taylor’s explanations of it. Rep did. I really did nooott feel good about most of rep at first, it took a few days.

[ganymedesclock]

So I recently checked our your We Hallowed Few fanfic and it's really interesting and enjoyable so far. If you don't mind, do you think you could tell me what each character is supposed to be (their race and such?)

Thank you very much for your time and interest in Hallowed! I’m not totally sure if I’m correctly interpreting their question but, here goes, talking about inspirations and motifs on the main characters.

As far as race goes I tried to keep that relatively standard to this fantasy world. So the characters’ names aren’t just legacies from canon. Shiro is still, functionally, Japanese. I say “functionally” because I’m not saying “in Hallowed, a world with fantasy everything else, there is just the entire unchanged nation of Japan and I just maybe changed the name”. I’ve never really liked the “fantasy nation just thinly veiled adaptation of [x] real-world country” since I feel like that can lead to bad roads. However, Shiro is canonically Japanese, and that, like him being canonically disabled, is something I wanted to retain, so I did.

More specific notes on Hallowedverse characters, their capabilities, and their sorta walks of life to follow under the cut.

Shiro

My concept on Shiro in Hallowed is that the Arusian crown was there for him sort of the way the Garrison seems to have been in canon. For one reason or another he didn’t really have parents, so he was trained as a page then a squire and became a knight because he wanted to do good in the kingdom. In Hallowed we’re shamelessly operating off high fantasy’s concept of knighthood rather than real feudal history so Shiro’s no landed noble, nor is he of particularly aristocratic background. Except for the whole “was mysteriously spirited away for a year of his life and might be undead now” thing, he’s a guy of pretty humble background.

That said, he has distinguished himself positively among his peers- in the chapter that debuts Allura and Thace I did have them discuss that he’s actually a knight captain in rank, so, modest leadership position. In contrast to canon he’s a little more stable but also a little more... prone to hiding his issues since again, the crown and the Order of the Lion was there to pick him back up again after his escape. This is a Shiro who wasn’t sprung from Garrison custody by the rest of the team the way he was in canon, so on the one hand he’s given a stabler environment to get his feet back under him, but on the other, missing hand, he also has gone a good while without any answers, so he boils out to still pretty stressed, but in different ways.

I’m honestly really amused that Monsters and Mana gave Shiro a sword-and-shield fighting style almost exactly like his Hallowed self because it just feels really vindicating, like, “I called it!” That said Hallowed Shiro is more of a horseback fighter. That gives him more mobility, a better vantage point, and, likewise, the ability to better coordinate a battlefield.

Ultimately for Shiro, at least, hollow Shiro- not the one Keith’s used to- I went for this very classic knightly vibe because it just fits him so well. This is exactly what Shiro would want to be. For a person of such a strict sense of morals and such a powerful drive to right wrongs, the Knight In Shining Armor is an incredibly powerful symbol and living in a world where that’s normal would be just as captivating to him as it’s shown to be in canon.

Keith

Keith is a lot more of a vagrant than his canon self and he’s a little more self-sufficient and withdrawn. Because of Shiro’s situation, Keith didn’t have nearly as much of that steadying presence but he was able to travel, and familiarize himself with the wilderness. It’s helped him hone his senses more but he’s also more of a defeatist about interactions and other people.

Especially because unlike in canon, this version of Keith has a much more refined sense of “otherness”. He’s known he’s not like most people, not quite like his father, not really like anyone around him. Honestly, certain amounts of Keith play into changeling lore, not that he was switched at birth but this sort of... nonhuman entities that live among humans and can “pass” but only mostly.

Hallowed Keith’s whole fighting style is basically that he goes ‘swhink’ real fast. That blood sword of his basically can punch right through most conventional metals and most things behind it, so the fact that he’s a malnourished kid with absolutely zero armor or even a healthy amount of body fat who the average well-fed adult could grab by the ankle and swing means that it’s a damn good thing he’s light on his feet.

Maybe, someday, this kid will get decent armor. Not shoes, though. He’s pretty obstinate about those.

Lance

It’s kinda fun that the guy who doesn’t really canonically have “destiny” powers most of the time be one of the only people with nonhuman lineage. Technically he’s still a pretty normal person, though; there’s a lot of people in the islands Lance calls home with mer ancestry so really all it is, is adding some fantastical color to his family which is already really important to him. In a setting where everyone’s bumping elbows in the same planet rather than separated by the expanse of space, there’s going to be a lot of interrelation and in some places, shared culture.

And Lance is an ideal person to explore that, since he’s kinda got that broader sociological lens as a Leg Pilot. He’s a good way to explore worldbuilding because his story is rooted a lot in who he is and where he comes from in a wider sense. In earlier drafts of the story he was a more conventional selkie-like merfolk who could shed his scale skin to grow legs, but I ended up focusing his nonhuman traits down to just his throat, just his voice.

I talked about this a bit in the replies on the work itself, but how Lance’s “charm” works is he’s able to encourage emotions in people. It’s not mind control, but influencing how people feel for a short duration. He uses this with his, Hunk, and Pidge’s show to have everybody on the edge of their seat, but ultimately if I was giving Lance a power, I wanted it to be a very social one, something very focused on other people.

Lance isn’t really a liar or a manipulator- we’ll see other people with similar powers who are a lot more exploitative with them, but in Lance’s case, he’s got a real art for positive emotions and persuasion because that’s just kinda what he likes and focuses on. He loves people and wants them to be happy.

Weapon-wise, Lance is a longbow archer. This is not only a reflection of his canon marksmanship, but the longbow is a weapon mastered over a long time and it speaks to something I don’t think people often appreciate quite enough in Lance’s character: that as someone who’s very pointedly not a prodigy and by his own admission makes a lot of mistakes, almost everything Lance is good at is a product of his diligence and hard work. 

Keith might be almost supernaturally light on his feet and the refinement of those skills snuck by without him paying attention, but Lance can drop someone he can barely see over the horizon with a well-placed arrow because he’s been running around with a child’s toy bow about as long as he’s been able to stand up straight and practiced until his fingers bled from the string.

Hunk

Hallowed Hunk I honestly didn’t plan as much as he was a natural product of his environment. In canon the team has a lot of conveniences born by the advanced technology around them but in Hallowed it’s a lot more low-tech. There’s food supplies to worry about, and someone’s got to cook it, and they need the tools to cook, and they need money, and someone needs to keep the cart in one piece and feed the horses and Blue.

Hunk is a practical problem-solver so he really kinda thrives in this. He starts out a little more obviously brash and assured as a result, but really, he’s in the same place his canon self starts, it’s just that Hallowed Hunk gets to feel like more things are in his area. He’s been traveling with Lance for a while, and while Lance is the furthest thing from helpless, Lance is also kind of a dreamer and very people focused and slightly inattentive, so Hunk might’ve started picking up slack to make things run smoothly but after a while he’s just kinda taken ownership of the operation.

I knew I wanted to conceptualize Hunk as an alchemist because I tend to in fantasy settings, but not so much as the aristocratic sage in the tower. Hunk’s alchemy is a product of him being, again, that practical person and also intensely personally curious, and he’s not a flirt like Lance, but he does like people. As he says himself, he’s running on a lot of old family recipes refined with self-taught tricks which sets a fun contrast between him and Pidge, where both are really knowledgeable, but Hunk’s knowledge is very much that of the working man’s, and since his working life has been more interesting than most’s, that’s a wide knowledge base.

While this wasn’t shown off much in the first fight the team got into, it’s worth noting that Hunk’s weapon of choice is a hooked staff. Again, Hunk is someone of practical problems and solutions, and roughly, the way he views a battle is as a series of problems that will happen very fast and need to be managed. He doesn’t have nearly as much focus on hurting his opponent as he does controlling the situation, and with his arm strength it’s very easy for him to use that hook to hoist around friend and foe alike.

The reach of his weapon and the explosives and incendiary devices he can pull off if he’s given the time to prepare make him a very daunting person to cross indeed, so he’s not exactly suffering from not having a sharpened edge on his weapon.

Pidge

People often make Pidge a full-tilt actualized wizard which isn’t awful but I think it often sort of overestimates her resources. Pidge, to me, is always this very clever but also very fifteen-year-old who’s running on just what she can carry with her, determined and ambitious but limited.

So in Hallowed, she’s got a lot of magical talent but not much training, she’s got a lot of formal studies that were very theory because in direct contrast to Hunk, Pidge has that aristocratic background. Her family wasn’t complacent, but, there’s a lot Pidge never learned to do because she never needed to. And leaving that comfortable life behind wasn’t something she regretted, but, there’s a reason she started traveling with Lance and Hunk.

Specifically I wanted to feature Pidge being kind of a chameleon, inspired directly by the Enola Holmes books with Nancy Springer. Originally I had her with this brooch that let her change her appearance but Pidge’s actual disguise magic is pretty minimal- she can change her eye colors, and the rest is makeup, wigs, fake teeth, costuming elements. She originally had a very specific practical reason for wanting to disguise herself, but, again, compared to canon she was doing this for a while- so it kind of became fun, and an exercise in self-expression.

That said, some of Pidge’s skills are a little odd for just a duchess’s daughter, which is why Hunk assumed Pidge was on the lam from some kind of criminal past. Let’s just say Pidge is not the average “runaway princess” narrative.

Other Shiro

The other Shiro was modeled first and foremost off s3e5 in canon. So he’s got the long hair, kind of ongoing fatigue problems, he’s quieter and more irritable than Knightly Shiro but a lot of that is just... he’s dealing with a lot. He’s constantly exhausted and while he feels, much like Knightly Shiro, called to do something important, he’s fighting uphill against his own body which is in a very fragile state.

Knight Shiro is kitted out by the crown, so he’s really well-equipped and has helpful things to keep him healthy and in good shape, while Other Shiro is using things that he took from the underground, and from the galra, which, while useful, were never designed with his comfort or even longevity much in mind, which is part of why he’s doing so badly.

I honestly thought it would be kind of fun to have two versions of Shiro who are both sympathetic but both, for different reasons, in different ways, seem sinister, and play on the fears or aspersions I saw people raise during clone theory. Knight Shiro is based on how, in s3e6 when Shiro “cleaned up” there were a lot of accusations about how he just. rebounded so easily and perceiving him as insincere or even creepy because he’s just, everything’s neat and tidy. Knightly Shiro is really straitlaced and friendly aesthetic and he went missing for a year, lost an arm, and was branded by practically demons but it’s fine, everything’s fine, he’s here to help, and it’s basically just a survival mantra for him because not being fine raises terrifying deep questions that he’s not really in a position to answer.

Ghost Shiro however, we’ve seen kind of an overly positive / accepting light of him through Keith but he is one freaky guy, I’ll tell you that. There’s a reason he avoids most people, and the snippet of his conversation with Lotor and the unnatural writhing of shadows, his black stone hand... Ghost Shiro was based a little off of “the champion” in canon and some of my personal meta / speculations around that. He was cast into the darkness and emerged, survived, because he made that darkness his own power. And part of that is his agreement with Lotor.

Lotor

There’s only so much I’ll say at this point about Hallowed Lotor because he’s rather deliberately kind of an enigma. There’s a good question if the person Shiro’s dealing with is actually who and what he claims to be, especially since he’s not claiming particularly much. The fun of dealing with shapeshifters who don’t appear to have any one particular default form- and he really doesn’t. Being a magpie is just his equivalent of slipping into comfy pants at the end of the day. Hitch a free ride on whoever you’re talking to and call it good.

Lotor and Shiro are shown in many regards to be able to kind of see eye to eye, and the idea of Ghost Shiro, who doesn’t really have a lot of resources since his Other is kinda taking up that narrative niche, turning to him for help struck me out of nowhere as the logical conclusion. Hallowed Lotor being a shapeshifter, he’s at both much greater and much lesser freedom than he is in canon. He and the generals don’t get to move together as a cohesive team very often, they’re more scattered, but instead he has this handful of people, Shiro included, who he can kind of draw a bead on and come back to. Ghost Shiro is pretty used to him popping up at odd intervals.

Which is fun, because it fits with Lotor’s modus operandi- Zarkon and Haggar tend to be rather obvious in the intensity of their assertions, but Lotor’s the little guy and he fights like a little guy, and in a more whimsical fantastical environment you can play with that. End result? Lotor is a lot of people’s shoulder devil. He likes to help and does appear to have some genuine sympathy for the people he bargains with, but he’s also got an agenda. And it’s not really super clear how much of either wins out in any given situation.

And poor Allura and Coran are still total mysteries at this point. We’ll get to them. Y’know. Eventually.

[smoaking-greenarrow]

Olicity Fanfic Review #2

Gaze

by @dreamsofolicity

Rating: Teen and Up // Warnings: None // Chapters: 1 // Words: 11665

Summary: Instead of taking five hostages to draw out the Hood, the Dark Archer just takes one. Felicity Smoak.

Hook: Kidnapped Felicity AND a season 1 AU. Need I say more!? It starts with the kidnapping which is a great hook, but it also covers the aftermath for Felicity and Oliver.

Why you should read it: It’s consistent with season 1′s characterizations of Olicity and it is realistic to how Oliver would react to Felicity being taken at this point in their lives. Honestly, this fic is exactly what should have happened in season 1 if the writers had planned for Felicity Smoak. This is the progression that their relationship should have taken if Olicity had been a plan from the beginning. Definitely worth the read because that is gold. 

Season 1 rewrites are special, and can be challenging to do in a believable way. @dreamsofolicity nails it with this fic!

Best Character Interaction: Aside from Olicity of course, Felicity and Quentin. This is season 1. I love suspicious detective Quentin. And it was a very smart choice to include him as it adds a little tension to the story.

MVP: Oliver Queen. We all know that Felicity was the first one that Oliver could see as a person when he came home. This story does a very good job of showing that compassionate side of Oliver, that soft spot that he had for Felicity despite how broken he was in season 1.

Favorite Moment: Oliver goes to Felicity’s apartment to talk about her place on the team. Sweet Oliver=swoon.

Favorite Line: “ The rest of his sentence was cut off by her hand over his mouth. Felicity could see the annoyance brewing in his eyes and knew that no one probably dared to handle either Oliver Queen or the Hood like this. It might have convinced someone else to remove their hand and accept his apology without complaint but clearly he didn’t realize exactly who he was dealing with.”

Music Vibe: I’m going to offer one of my favorites from my Olicity playlist for this: If I Be Wrong // Wolf Larsen

I can’t promise that the categories will be the same for all of these little reviews, but I’ll try to keep them consistent! I want to contribute to this crazy phenomenon happening where writers aren’t getting the recognition that they deserve. Fanfic authors spend a lot of time and effort on their stories. We get excited as we write, anticipating how people will react. We hit the refresh button waiting to see if anyone has left a comment. When you show enthusiasm for a story, we feel inspired to keep writing it.

Leave comments on fics you read, tell writers what you liked about it, ask questions if you’re curious about plot, give them your theories. Just show them that you’re paying attention and you hope they keep going!

There’s only three main points for these reviews:

1. The story must have less than 100 comments on AO3. I want to focus my time on fics that we feel deserve more recognition and attention. Please feel free to send recommendations to my inbox or message me (even if it’s your own work)! Of course I’ll be looking for fics myself too. There are plenty that fit into this though, so hit me up fam. Length and word count don’t matter!

2. Reblog the posts! Let your followers who may not follow the authors have a chance to see the review and decide if they want to read the story. They may not see it otherwise, and reblogs never hurt. Even if you’ve already read the fic, you don’t have time to read it, etc. Reblogging exposes more people to more awesome fanfics! Push the button. Do it.

3. Reblog and share the fic/give feedback. If you find a story that you love because of these posts, please make sure to reblog the fic itself if the writer has posted it on tumblr, leave a comment if you read it on AO3, share it with your friends, your mom, your dog, whoever you feel should also be reading it!

Okay, thems the rules.

Please also note that the reviews are MY (smoaking-greenarrow) opinions and interpretations as a reader, and not the writer’s intentions or meaning (such as the song choice being my own whim and not influential to the stories in any way). So really I’m just strapping myself in and going on a fanfiction joyride.

[the-master-cylinder]

SUMMARY A nuclear war breaks out in 1986, expending the world’s entire nuclear arsenal, except for one missile. Two children, Philip Chandler (John Stockwell) and Marlowe Hammer (Michael Dudikoff), are abandoned by their fathers in a fallout shelter cut into the side of a wooded mountain. The pair grow up in the shelter, with 1950s detective fiction and swing music as the guiding force in their learning. Fifteen years later Marlowe succeeds in digging out the cave entrance. The pair give each other haircuts, dress in suits, and go to rejoin the world.

Philip narrates their adventure on their first day out:

My name’s Philip, and this is going to be a yarn about me and my pal, Marlowe. About the day we got out of this shelter and went off into the post-nuclear world. Now, as excited as we were about leaving the shelter, it was still a joint that held fond memories. I mean, it was the only world we’d ever known. Where I practiced my magic, Marlowe, his dancing; where we both dreamed of becoming private eyes, just like the ones we’d read about.

Marlowe hopes to find their fathers, but Philip is disgruntled that they never returned, and presumes that they are dead. The mountain is now devoid of trees. The first people they find are a trio of radiation burned “mutants” chasing a beautiful woman, Miles Archer (Lisa Blount). They rescue Miles, who kisses Marlowe as a distraction and steals his gun. This backfires, as she drops the activation keys to the last nuclear missile. Miles leaves, and the pair are immediately attacked by a biker gang of bald women in red wigs. Afterwards the boys discover the activation keys, which bears their fathers’ names. This excites Marlowe, but disturbs Philip.

They rescue another young woman, Rusty Mars (Michele Little), from a group of armed children Philip nicknames “disco mutants”. She takes a liking to Philip, and leads the two of them to Edge City which is plagued by gang warfare. Rusty takes them to a dance club, where they are captured by cannibals. They want the nuclear keys, and to eat the young men, a rarity of uncontaminated meat. Although Rusty helps them escape and apologises, Philip doesn’t trust her. Just after they part ways the pair meets up with a friend of Miles’ who also wants the keys. After he is dispatched Miles shows up and takes them to her hideout. There she tells them about the purpose of the keys. Miles then threatens to kill them, but they escape.

Rusty has followed them to the hideout, but is attacked by the child gangsters. The pair chase them away, but Philip still doesn’t trust her. He wants to shoot her, but is out of bullets. After Rusty apologises again for lying to him and originally handing him over to the cannibals he says, “That was a million years ago, and I got a short memory. In fact, I don’t even remember who you are”.

The pair resolves to rid the city of the gangs and keep the keys. They go to an abandoned warehouse, using themselves as bait, in the hopes that the gangs will kill each other before killing them. For the most part, the plan works. However, the bosses of the child-gangsters are in fact Philip and Marlowe’s fathers. Before he dies, Philip’s father tells him that the past does not matter. In the end, the only gangster left standing is Miles, who has the keys. She shoots at them, and misses, but startles Marlowe into shooting and killing her.

The film ends with Philip letting go of the angst which he had nursed for 15 years. He adopts Marlowe’s “silver-lining look on life”. The two demonstrate Marlowe’s tap-inspired “post-nuke shuffle” to the crowds of the city. In the closing narration, Philip explains that they plan to set up shop as detectives, but that first he will find Rusty and see if he can repair his relationship with her. Of the keys, he says that he and Marlowe hid them in a secret location, because “you never know, in a tight jam a nuclear missile just might come in handy”.

PRODUCTION Albert Pyun’s first film, THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER, made box office waves and instantly established him as a hot property in Hollywood. If you haven’t heard much about the young director in the past two years, it’s because Pyun has been busy working on his next feature, a post-nuclear fantasy-adventure tale entitled RADIOACTIVE DREAMS. The film is scheduled for release later this year, though a distribution deal has not yet been finalized.

The long pre-production period was, in part, due to the challenge of acquiring financing (after THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER, Pyun had several offers, but wanted to work independently from the studio system and a six month talent search for the roles of Phillip and Marlowe. Pyun estimates that he saw over 600 young actors, striving to find two who weren’t too modern-looking, and could believably carry a 40’s attitude as part of their characters. During this time, Pyun and Karnowski wrote some 50 drafts of the script, began scouting locations, and dove head-long into the other crucial pre-production elements.

A visit to the production office at Laird International Studios reflects just how much work had already been done on the project which, in Pyun’s words, has a budget only “slightly larger than the $3.5 million spent to film THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER, the walls are covered with color storyboards by in-house illustrator Shawn Joyce (who will be preparing all the film’s matte paintings), character sketches, blueprints of sets, and even tabletop poster board miniatures of the hippie city square (modeled after San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district), and the bombshelter (which comes complete with a two-car garage). Mark Moses, a winner of several CLIO awards, serves as the film’s visual consultant, with Chester Kaczenski handling art direction.

Principal photography, by German cinematographer Thomas Mauck, who shot many of Werner Herzog’s films, began in March in Pyun’s native Hawaii, on the island of Hawaii. The remote locations-in the mountains and on the site of the Mauna Loa volcano, where an unexpected eruption occurred on the first day of shooting-generated some visually sensational dallies, according to publicist Scott Fields.

Interview with Albert Pyun

How did you come about writing Radioactive Dreams? Albert Pyun: I wanted to do something after “The Sword and the Sorcerer” that was distinctive and not like anything else. I think I felt that if I only got to make 2 movies in my life, the second had to be as imaginative as I could create. So that was the start of it and I had a lot of meetings with studios and what they liked about my first film was how it was imaginative, so I went that direction.

Did the 1980’s missile crisis have anything to do with what inspired you? Albert Pyun: Well, no, but growing up in the Col War years certainly did. I always was a fan  of Dr. Strangelove and i think that and “O Lucky Man” got me going on the idea of the last nuke left.

How long did it take for the guys to get the “Post Nuke Shuffle” down? Albert Pyun: Did they ever?? To be fair, we had to shoot it really fast as the sun was coming up and we were losing extras. So we had to shoot it fast and that was unfair to John and Michael because they did work hard on that dance. We shot most of the big music scenes and extras scenes in one night so that really made it a very rushed shoot night. I don’t know if John was as comfortable with the dance as Michael. I think it went against this sort of “cool” vibe John had. He was very dedicated to what we were doing but some of it i could tell unsettled him.

The dance looked pretty amazing. I’m surprised it isn’t a staple to dance to at weddings and birthdays. Any memories of when you filmed the big final scene? Albert Pyun: Just how fast we had to do it. I was disappointed we could do it with more takes and shots. It was pretty basic and FAST. And they had a costume change in the middle of it. I had actually shot several book end scenes which were set 40 years later and had a young mutant reporter interviewing Rusty about Philip and Marlowe. It talked about what eventually happened to them and how Marlowe was murdered by a gang trying to get the launch keys and how Phillip left rusty to destroy the keys once and for all but never returned. I think there was a small shot at the end showing Philip and Rusty’s son and a quick peek of Philip watching from afar to keep them safe.

The soundtrack to this film still remains very popular. Did you personalty pick any of the artist that made it into the movie? Albert Pyun: Yeah, I selected the songs used. My friend and co-producer John Stuckmeyer was into that LA music scene and got a lot of bands to submit cassette tapes of demos. He weeded out the most appropriate ones and he and I selected the final choices to be used. I think we had a couple written for the movie specifically when we couldn’t find exactly what we wanted.

How did you end up meeting John Stockwell and Michael Dudikoff? Albert Pyun: They came in  during the casting process. We saw a lot of great actors of that time, Judge Reinhold, Clancy Brown, Tim Van Patten, Harry Anderson, many really good actors. We even had a breakfast meeting with Tom Hanks, a tape submission from Ellen DeGeneres. All were young and at the start of their careers as was I.

As a special effects makeup artist, I found the mutants completely terrifying! Any memories of the makeup process on the actors? Albert Pyun: That was by Greg Cannom who would go on to win oscars for Dracula and more. He figured out the design and look. I was disappointed that I had to lose the surfing sequence in the film. We wanted to dye the ocean flourescent orange and have surfing mutants surf and rot I think but the Coastal Commission said no.

Do you think a film like that could be made today? Albert Pyun: No, Radioactive Dreams wouldn’t get made today. It’s way too eccentric and weird. Even in 1984 it was tough to get made. I raised the budget myself from a single investor. He was a real estate developer in San Bernadino California. I think he did it because he finally gave in to my dogged persistence for over a year. He said “no” many times, but I kept hearing “yes”. I’m an optimist I guess. I believed in the film and knew it would be a unique picture to follow up The Sword and the Sorcerer. Anyway halfway through production the funding disappeared.

A couple of Edge City’s best and brightest with costume designer Joseph Porro

SPECIAL EFFECTS Special prosthetic make-ups were created by Greg Cannom. His bizarre designs range from the mysterious repulse men to a wrinkled surf bunny (a girl whose excessive bathing in the post nuclear sun has given her the appearance of a 90 year-old woman) and his favorite, the mutant surfers: those who refused to give up their treasured pastime, even though the ocean has become radioactive.

The surfers’ skin, hanging loosely from their bones, is riddled with chemotherapy patches and permanently-affixed barnacles. their long. scorched, platinum blonde hair is missing entire sections. Josephine Turner, who did the intricate hair ventilating for THE HOWLING and THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING WOMAN, will create the wigs. Straight and extra make-ups will be provided by Ve Neil and Rick Schwartı.

Mutant Surfer

Special fire and mechanical effects will be handled by Joe Lombardi’s Special Effects Unlimited. The film’s extensive stunt work, under the direction of Alan Gibbs offers several cliff-hanging sequences: a chase on winding mountain roads involving female bikers, a high-speed helicopter pursuit, various gun battles and a warehouse explosion. Additionally, there will be a surfing sequence in a ‘radioactive’ ocean-a portion of the real ocean near the shoreline will be chemically dyed expressly for filming.

Cast and crew spent most of their final week of production in Los Angeles, working with a 14-foot high mechanical rat created by Charles and Steven Chiodo, with 22 separate functions and 12 operators-giving it head, arm, and body movement capabilities-said to be the most advanced pneumatically controlled robot ever constructed for a motion picture. Star Lisa Blount does a scene while standing in the rat’s mouth. Her stunt double Andre Gibbs, wife of the film’s stunt coordinator Alan Gibbs, takes over for Blount’s death scene in which she is eaten alive by the rat.

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Radioactive Dreams (1985) Soundtrack Most of the songs featured in the film are pop rock in the new wave vein. The exceptions are Zim Bim Zowie, a swing number, and also a tune in the American Songbook style, Daddy’s Gonna Boogie Tonight, played on a phonograph during the scene when Philip and Marlowe prepare to leave the fallout shelter. The latter and another track called All Talk were left out of the Australian and German soundtrack releases.[7]

Nightmare – Jill Jaxx – 5:10 Radioactive Dreams – Sue Saad – 5:18 She’ll Burn You – Maureen Steele – 4:13 Young Thing – Cherri Delight – 4:09 Tickin’ Of The Clock – The Monte Carlos – 2:07 Psychedelic Man – Shari Saba – 2:41 Eat You Alive – Lisa Lee – 2:40 Guilty Pleasures – Sue Saad – 3:44 (Performed by Saad on-screen) Turn Away – Mary Ellen Quinn – 2:13 She’s A Fire – Sue Saad – 2:07 When Lightning Strikes – Sue Saad – 6:51 Zim Bim Zowie – Darryl Phinessee – 2:20 Daddy’s Gonna Boogie Tonight B.J. Ward All Talk Lynn Carey

CAST/CREW Directed Albert Pyun Produced Moctesuma Esparza Written Albert Pyun

John Stockwell – Phillip Chandler Michael Dudikoff – Marlowe Hammer Michele Little – Rusty Mars Lisa Blount – Miles Archer Don Murray – Dash Hammer George Kennedy – Spade Chandler Norbert Weisser – Sternwood Christian Andrews – Brick Bardo Paul Keller Galan – Chester (as P.K. Galán) Demian Slade – Harold Hilary Shepard – Biker Leader (as Hilary Shapiro) Sue Saad – Punk District Singer Kimberly McKillip – Sadie – Hippie Chick Gulcin Gilbert – Greaser Chick (as Gulshin Gilbert) Mark Brown – Greaser Russell Price – Greaser

Makeup Department Greg Cannom    …  special makeup Ve Neill  …  makeup designer Brian Wade     …  additional makeup effects designer / additional makeup effects supervisor / special makeup effects artist Kevin Yagher   …  prosthetic makeup assistant

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Cinefantastique v15n01 La Cosa Cine Fantastico Issue #113, July, 2005 staystillreviews

Radioactive Dreams (1985) Retrospective SUMMARY A nuclear war breaks out in 1986, expending the world's entire nuclear arsenal, except for one missile.

[vileart]

What If The Dramaturgy Falls Out of The Sky?: Dr Anna Harpin @ Edfringe 2017

 …a show for anyone who has ever felt absolutely dreadful

IDIOT CHILD

WHAT IF THE PLANE FALLS OUT OF THE SKY?

AT THE PLEASANCE COURTYARD, EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

FROM 2 – 28 AUGUST 2017

Developed with support from Bristol Old Vic Ferment, Shoreditch Town Hall, and Arts Council England, Bristol-based theatre company Idiot Child are back at The Pleasance for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe with their new show, What if the plane falls out of the sky?, running from 2 – 28 August 2017.

The show explores fear, anxiety and the idiosyncratic and frankly absurd strategies we employ to manage our sense of impending doom. The audience join the residents of Fear Camp and together tackle their manifold neuroses with gleeful enthusiasm. Idiot Child likes to look after their audience.

LISTINGS

Venue:  Pleasance (Beneath)

Previews:  Aug 2-4 (£7)  

Dates:  Aug 5-8, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 (£12)

Aug 9-10, 16-17, 23-24 Aug 2017 (£11)

              Aug 15, 21-22, 28 Aug (£9)

  16:20 (1h 10min)

0131 556 6550 / www.pleasance.co.uk

BY DR ANNA HARPIN, WRITER OF WHAT IF THE PLANE FALLS OUT OF THE SKY? AND CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF IDIOT CHILD. 

What was the inspiration for this performance?

The primary inspiration, in truth, was my horrible experiences of anxiety and despair! I had struggled with a phobia of flying for a few years and eventually came to realise that I wasn’t really scared of flying at all. I was afraid of being alive. 

That probably sounds nonsensical but I think the fear of flying (and therefore dying) stemmed from a really tricky fear of not getting life ‘right’ and then dying feeling a bit like I had massively got it all wrong and wasted my chance. The show explores all these feelings and seems to have really resonated with lots of people so I don’t think I am alone in that experience. This makes the show sound horrifying! It’s not, I promise. If anything it is really life-affirming. 

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

I wouldn’t make any special claim that performance is the space to discuss ideas or want to claim that it has a special capacity that no other art form does. However, I think that it does do certain things well. As a form it is aware of its own unreality and I think that can be really useful insofar as it reminds us that realities and experiences are made with people (rather than just being fixed and ‘out there’) and thus are possible to change if things aren’t right. 

I also think that theatre, at its root, brings bodies in a room to think together. That’s a political action. Or at least has political potential. I think we need to hold on to these spaces for shared thinking and feeling. Part of this show is aiming to alter the ways in which we talk about mental health. The liveness and collectivity of the event amplifies this dynamic of the show. 

How did you become interested in making performance?

Idiot Child formed as a company a few years ago. We wanted to make work that celebrated those voices and experiences that are often pushed to the side. Our shows are populated by misfits and loners and people who are not strangers to feeling absolutely dreadful about themselves. 

Our work tries to celebrate these figures and make friends with feelings and experiences such as loneliness, failure, inadequacy and so forth. Again, this probably makes the show sound really bleak but it is curiously joyful! Audiences have left remarking how uplifted they feel. But crucially they feel uplifted in relation to being their own weird self. Too much therapy is aimed at making us ‘normal’. We are using art to help us feel more alright being abnormal. 

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

We work through a combination of writing and devising. I tend to bring a working draft of the script to rehearsals and then we set about devising from this and further developing the world and the characters. I will then go away and redevelop the script in light of what we have done as an ensemble and it goes back and forth like this. 

We work collaboratively and playfully but most importantly, because there is always a strong autobiographical element to the shows we are keen to involve the actors in the ensemble in the making so that they feel invested and their lives texture and enhance the work. 

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

It is certainly in a similar vein yes. Our work is often likened to other black comedy (usually TV) such as The League of Gentlemen, or The Mighty Boosh, and this piece is of a similar style. It doesn’t surprise me that we get compared to TV because many of my main influences are people like Vic and Bob, but also because our work is perhaps more of a hybrid form that mixes up theatre, live art, TV comedy styles and so on. 

Thematically too it is related to our previous work. However, I suppose it is perhaps a bolder, more ambitious piece than we have tried before. This is our third full length show and we are growing in confidence each time so this feels like a braver piece of work. 

We have started work on our next show – All I need is the air that you breathe – and this too is more ambitious again. So yes, it is aesthetically and thematically related but is pushing the form and ideas further. 

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

We hope that audiences experience two main things. Firstly, that they come to theatre and have a really fun and slightly weird experience. We want to make work that is joyful to be with so that is our first goal. The second aim is that the audience leave feeling just a smidge better about themselves and how hard it can be to be alive sometimes. 

We don’t stake any great claims that this show is therapeutic. That is absolutely not our goal. We just want to begin a playful conversation that invites an audience to think that, actually, they’re alright and that the shit stuff we all experience is common to us all. 

So, I suppose we hope the audience will experience joy and a bit of self-acceptance. And they get a free mojito so maybe they will also experience being a bit drunk at half four in the afternoon. Win win win. 

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

The audience is central to all of our work and we work extremely hard to make sure that they have a positive experience of the theatre. There is a lot of direct address and audience interaction and perhaps the thing that we are most proud of is that audience members often comment that they wish they had volunteered to join in with particular moments. 

We want to make joining in fun and exciting as opposed to the horror it can be! In this sense, we spend a lot of time thinking about how we craft the invitation to participate. The audience is very much the fourth character in the show and that means each performance is fascinatingly different depending on the vibe of the group we have in. 

The cast really love this dynamic and I think that is infectious. So I suppose our strategies are all geared towards the audience having a great time and feeling free to join in as much or as little as they want. We also have several treats for an audience so in this sense one strategy we use is good old fashioned blackmail. Frazzles anyone?

Everyone receives a Fear Party Bag and complimentary in-flight drinks & snacks during the show. Mojitos & Frazzles give everyone a boost. 

What if the plane falls out of the sky? is a funny, tender and unusual show about feelings we all recognise: 

‘What if how I feel about the world and myself at 4am, what if that is the truth? What if the only reason the plane is able to stay in the sky is because I am thinking really encouraging thoughts about the wings?

What if God does exist but I’m not allowed to go to heaven and everyone else is because they all hedged their bets and prayed in secret? What if I get killed in an avalanche and most people are just slightly relieved because now they don’t have to read my novel?’

The show has just completed an eight-venue tour including Bristol, London and the Brighton Fringe. James Pidgeon, Director of Shoreditch Town Hall, says of the show:

“Full of joy, hope, laughter and sadness, this is a very special return from the brilliantly inventive Idiot Child. What if the plane falls out of the sky? embraces all the messy, unpredictable and hilarious things that life chucks at us and whilst you’ll undoubtedly leave the performance with a light-hearted skip in your step, there’s also something deeply moving to take away from the experience”. 

Idiot Child is a theatre company based in Bristol who make playful and peculiar work about how hard it is to be alive sometimes. They create unusual stories based on autobiography and always place the audience at the centre of their work. 

Short-listed for a Total Theatre Award in category of Shows by an Emerging Company/Artist 2013

The co-artistic directors of Idiot Child are Dr Anna Harpin and Susie Riddell.  

Anna, who is the writer and director of the show, is Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance at Warwick University.  Her recent writing/directing credits with the company include I Could’ve Been Better, You’re Not Doing It Right, and Isle of Shame. 

Susie Riddell is a familiar name on BBC Radio 4, playing Tracy Horrobin in The Archers, and having been a member of the Radio Drama Company. Susie trained as an actor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Theatre includes Other Desert Cities (The Old Vic), Knife Act (Birmingham Rep/HEARTH), and You’re Not Doing It Right (Idiot Child/Tobacco Factory). For BBC Radio 3 and 4 Susie has played lead roles in Frankenstein, 1984, Mrs Dalloway, The Great Gatsby and Tamburlaine amongst many others. Television includes: Gavin & Stacey, Doctors, Emmerdale, Saxondale. She sings with the City of London Choir. Her other job is being mum to her 2 year old daughter.

Emma Keaveney-Roys is an actress, improviser and singer. She is an associate artist of the Wardrobe Theatre in Bristol, and has devised and performed in many of their shows including Rocky: A Horror Show and Goldilock, Stock and Three Smoking Bears. Emma will be sprinting between venues during the Festival as she is performing in Goldilock, Stock and Three Smoking Bears at 18.10 at Zoo Sanctuary -  What if the plane falls out of the sky?  finishes at 17.30 at Pleasance!

Adam Fuller is a widely experienced performer, puppeteer and director.  He works regularly with companies including Pickled Image, Soap Soup, Green Ginger, and Idiot Child. Adam is a co-founder and director of Open Attic Company and directed their first family show Much Ado About Puffin, which is currently touring the U.K.  Adam also helped devise and directed the hugely successful Goldilock, Stock and Three Smoking Bears for The Wardrobe Theatre.

What if the plane falls out of the sky? runs from 2 – 28 August (excl. 14 August) at the Pleasance Courtyard. Tickets, priced £9 - 12 (concessions and preview prices available) are available from The Pleasance Box Office online at www.pleasance.co.uk and by telephone: 0131 556 6550.

Website: idiotchild.com   Twitter: @Idiotchildco   Facebook: http://ift.tt/2tODg9Q

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