#busts out the all star lyrics

[gray-doestheart]

Fed to the rules and I hit the ground runnin’!

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Dom amab reader taking Blade (Honkai Star Rail) going to an Halloween party together and bangs him in a closest 🎃

Author's Note: This is my first time writing Blade, so hopefully this won't be too OOC!

Pairings: Blade x male reader

Warnings: Male!reader, dom/top!reader, sub/bottom!Blade, risky sex, light choking, Blade calls you 'my heart' because I think that pet name is so precious 💞

Blaring music, bright flashing lights, loud people, and slutty costumes weren't exactly Blade's scene — so… why was he even here right now?

You. The answer is: you.

Only you, his adoring partner, could turn this wretched hellscape into something tolerable.

Holding Blade's hand firmly, you knocked on the door. The host—one of your friends—greeted the two of you before inviting you in. Just as he expected; there's already a sea of people, all chatting loudly and drinking. An array of costumes��ranging from cheap and slutty, to impressive (and sometimes still slutty) flood his vision.

You give Blade's hand a little squeeze, letting his grip linger for a bit more before you spot some other friends and strike up a conversation. He opts for standing a few steps behind you while they talk your ear off.

Finally — after several stories about people that Blade doesn't know nor particularly care about — your friends depart to join the crowd busting some moves on the dance floor. You declined their invitation to join them, instead turning back to your partner and offering to grab some drinks together.

Extending your hand towards him, Blade immediately accepts, lacing his fingers with yours as you lead him into the kitchen.

The music is slightly quieter here — there's less people too, allowing an opportunity to talk with him without yelling over the rest of the noise.

“How are you feeling?” you ask as you pass along some "bloody" punch with spooky ice cubes.

“Fine.”

“Just fine? You're not overwhelmed or uncomfortable, are you?”

Blade stared into his cup before answering. “No. I do not care for this large crowd though.”

Suppressing a laugh, you reply, “Yeah, I know. There are way more people than I expected tonight.” your partner grumbles in agreement. “Maybe some dancing will help loosen you up.” you suggest.

…really? His eyes narrow a bit—only you would notice the change in expression. “I do not dance.”

“Aw, c'mon! We can stand off to the side, or in a corner. Just you and me…our hands on each other, if you want.”

He ponders your proposal for a moment. It would be an excuse to have all of your attention on him. Plus, people would be less likely to steal you away for more idle chitchat if they noticed you were busy dancing with someone.

Setting his half empty cup down, Blade exhales through his nose. “Let's go, then.”

—

While he didn't feel strongly for the music selection either way, your darling did make an effort to 'dance' with you. If you can really call what he was doing dancing.

It was mainly Blade standing there and tapping his foot while you danced around him, singing along to the Halloween hits blaring in his eardrums. Though, he will admit that the way your body moves is attractive… it doesn't help whenever your hands slide underneath his top, or when your nails rake through the hairs on the nape of his neck.

If he didn't know any better, he'd swear you were putting a spell on him. The way Blade's body grew warm — bordering on uncomfortable. His hands would twitch after you whispered some lyrics right into his ear. Then you'd blow on his ear after that, like you knew it drove him mad.

A familiar feeling stirred in his stomach; Blade decided that it must be dealt with before anyone noticed his very obvious reaction.

“Blade, hey where are we going?” you laugh as your partner hastily drags you into a less occupied hallway.

When he finally stops and you get a good look at his face, his cheeks are a little flushed, and his pupils are obviously dilated.

“Whoa, are you feeling ok, you look a little–”

“I… I need you.” he blurts out.

You're a bit taken aback, though you recover and ask, “What do you mean?”

A frustrated groan crawls its way out of Blade's throat. And he repeats “I need you– my heart, I need to be with you.”

The way Blade is leaning back against the wall with his lips parted like this—so unfocused on anything other than you—gives you a hint as to what he's talking about. So, once you catch on, you smirk—which sends a shiver up your darling's spine.

“I see. Damn, all of this just from a little dancing?” you brush your knuckles against his cheek and lean in closer. “Honey, I didn't even grind on you or anything. Are you really this riled up?”

The dissatisfied noise that he makes answers your question. Blade was usually so composed, but the way he was acting tonight… perhaps you haven't given him the attention he needs recently.

“Alright. If my baby is truly so desperate, then I'll take care of you. Come on.” you step next to him, opening the door next to the wall he was leaning on, and guide him inside. You know your friend's house like the back of your hand—this is the closet with the most space. It should be big enough to fit Blade and yourself without being cramped.

You waste no time — pressing his cheek against the cold wall and whispering promises of a very good time. Your hands travel up his chest, unbuttoning the shirt of his costume while your lips find their place on his neck.

There's not exactly a need for foreplay here; Blade is already weak in the knees, so you make his prep quick. Once your cock is in, he relaxes a bit. If it weren't for you holding his leg up, Blade may have sunk into a happy little puddle by now.

As you're fucking him, your darling becomes more demanding. “Kiss me again, I am all yours.” he'll say in a breathless tone that makes your knees feel weak. “There–! That feels… amazing!” he sings, pushing his ass back, which causes you to thrust in deeper. “Mmhm~ My heart, ooh~ Do not stop, please…!” he moans in such a way that makes your heart melt.

Between your body heat, Blade's nonstop panting, and the heat coming from between your legs—the closet is muggy, and condensation clings to your exposed skin.

Blade groans, wracked by a tight sensation in his stomach, “We… we can get closer–” And how can you not oblige when your partner is behaving so well?

“Yeah? Is this better?” you pull Blade flush to your chest, keeping his leg held up, and loosely wrap your other hand around his throat. The sound of skin hitting skin permeates through the air, mixing with the sound of your lips on Blade's shoulder. His hands reach up — one clasps over the hand around his neck, while the other holds on to your bicep for dear life as you speed up even more.

He tried so hard to keep quiet up until this point, but his efforts have slipped away with every passing minute. Your cock has easily coaxed sluttier and sluttier noises out of Blade's mouth. Not that you're complaining though. This hallway is usually empty during these parties, so Blade's moaning shouldn't alert anyone unless he becomes truly loud.

His pretty voice sings for you; moaning obscenities as your climaxes draw near. You chase your own first — letting your pace become uneven before emptying a surge of cum inside of your partner. Which in turn tips him over the edge, and Blade arches his back as he spills onto the closet floor.

“So good for me…” you whisper between kisses all down Blade's cheek and jawline. You're both panting as you recover. Neither one of you wants to move yet—you simply want to enjoy this feeling for a while longer. Perhaps, once you return home, after the party is over, you can continue your Halloween fun~

[poniesart]

[Image description: A series of images depicting a song-based comic about Stanley and Stanford Pines from Gravity Falls.

Image 1: The top panel shows Stan, a grey-haired older man in a suit, breaking out of handcuffs in an interrogation room. Lyrics to the left read "They tried the handcuffs, but they won't lock."

The bottom panel shows Ford, a similar man with less grey in his hair, wearing a sweater and jacket. He has a shock collar on that emits blue electricity. Lyrics to the right read "electrical courses, but they won't shock."

Image 2: The top panel shows Ford holding a gun, looking behind him and running. There is a "Wanted" poster of him, on the wall beside him. Lyrics to the left read "You pulled the fire alarm."

The bottom panel shows Stan holding a suitcase of money, looking behind him and running. Behind him is a police car with its lights on, and a cop laying on the sidewalk. Lyrics to the right read "You tried punching a cop."

At the bottom of the image, six busts of Stan and Ford show them aging over thirty years. Lyrics above them read "You're just too tired to stop."

Image 3: An all-black background. White text shows the lyrics "You old pine box." Below is a white outline of a coffin.

Image 4: The left panel shows Stan in a basement, looking down at a journal with his head in his hands. The top of his head is breaking open, and flower pot shards drift away. A plant with a few leaves grows out of his head. Lyrics atop the panel read "You old pine box, with your head full of rocks, sharp like a cracked flower pot."

The right panel shows Ford at a cooking fire, drawing plans for a weapon called a "quantum destabilizer" as he glances suspiciously behind him. Eyeballs with bat wings fly out of an open portion of his head. Lyrics atop the panel read "You old paper head, on your skull full of bats, there's no percentage in that."

Image 5: The top panel shows a younger Ford in the foreground clutching a journal. Behind him, Fiddleford, a man wearing circle glasses and a cultist robe, is walking away from Ford. Further back is Caryn Pines, a dark-haired woman reaching out to Ford. In the very back is Filbrick Pines, a man with sunglasses and a mustache. Lyrics to the right read "They called relations, but they declined. They called the fanclub, but they'd resigned."

The bottom panel shows a younger Stan in the foreground with a grim look on his face. He is walking away from a crashed car on fire in the background. Lyrics to the left read "Left your car in a field and some questions behind."

Image 6: A night view of the second stories of some buildings. In the middle building, Caryn is leaning outside the right-hand window. She has grey in her hair, and is smoking a cigarette and looking up at the stars. Text in the sky reads "Your mom thinks you're out of your mind."

End ID.]

Song: They Might Be Giants - Old Pine Box. Again, I recommend reading with the song playing!

Another year, another Gravity Falls lyric comic, because I am always in my feelings about it!! I could froth at the mouth for ages about Stan and Ford being more similar than they might think - self-isolating, determined, desperate - but instead I drew this.

This is another one I had cooking in the back of my head for, probably, years, because my brain makes so many connections between TMBG songs and GF. I hope you like it!!

[n3ptoonz]

OMG OKAY SO I JUST READ YOUR RECENT HEADCANONS WITH EARTHREALM BOYS AND HOW THEY'D REACT TO READER RIDING THEM AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH AND IT GOT ME THINKING

How would they react to reader pegging them HEHEHE 👁️👁️🙏

mk1 hcs: how the earthrealm guys react to pegging

sorry i took so long to get to this anon! life is on my asssss and kept getting random spurts of writers block but WE HERE

warnings: explicit, smut elements, fluff elements, sub men obviously, sphinx might have favs idk tho😹

Scorpion

When you suggested pegging for the first time, it intrigued him. He'd always been down to try something new, especially if you bring it to him since he does it more

Y'all would be reeallll slow in the beginning. Luckily you knew all about preparation and making sure he was relaxed and okay the whole time. It didn't take long for him to get used to it, and even take a liking

He'd prefer for it to be a regular thing after his looonngggg days after work. There's nothing he needs more than to either be treated with tender, love, and care or just straight filthy coitus with him seeing stars and his hair tangled to all hell

The first few times he was a shy boy, cute lil whimpers here and there. Now? Doesn't give a damn, he will be as vocal as he feels like. You're gonna be the one who wakes up with claw marks and bite marks in the morning

Sub-Zero

Huh? You want to what? Were you inside of his head or something? How'd you know he wanted you to absolutely mix his guts whenever he gives you attitude? Something ain't right

He only acts reluctant because he didn't wanna look eager, but the man was waiting for this moment. The second you suggested it he was like "okay i'll say yes after like the third time i gotta look cool." when whole time he wanted to fall to his knees and hug your thighs in agreement

Don't try to go slow the first few times. His patience is shorter than his temper, this mf is the most power bottom individual in the bedroom. After he's gotten used to it he'll 'allow' you to go the romantic route (he's such a lil bitch for it we love it)

He barks orders at you like you won't grab his face and give him a taste of his own medicine. One good time where you're hovering over him, a thumb on the inside of his cheek while he drools and you fuck him like your life depended on it. Mission success!

Smoke

He's the one who brought it to you. Any objections? I think tf not. He isn't saying it aloud, but his eyes are silently begging you to treat him like the town's whore

He likes both the romance and the pure filth. It's entirely up to you; he will never say no to anything you suggest. Fuck him like you're mad at him or go slow and steady while you kiss his jaw and play with his hair and sing his praises

Any and all positions available. If you can somehow prone this big boy, DO IT. He'd totally ride you too if you really down for the count. We are troopers around this bitch!

Sometimes it would concern you how rarely he tapped out, especially when shit was getting intense and didn't calm down for a while. If you were absolutely demolishing his ass, you'd see a pool of drool escaping his lips, his eyes glossed over, his whines and moans gradually getting louder, and when you asked if he was okay, he would nod and give you a thumbs up like he didn't just bust 3 times in a row

Johnny Cage

Every time I do any sexual hcs of this mf, I will continue to say he's a brat. I do not care. He's a fucking diva and will dare to bark orders at you too like you're not the one who brought it up

Y'all know that Meg the stallion lyric where she's like "no don't fuck me like that fuck me like this"? THATS HIS ASS. He KNOWS it'll piss you off but go one of two ways: you indeed do fuck him like that but added aggression, OR! you stop completely and pretend like you're gonna leave the room. Works every time

He thoroughly enjoys straight up sex over romantic sex, but every once in a while he indulges in popping champagne, throwing down rose petals, and playing sexy music in the back to set the mood. Ol dramatic ass

Remember how I said in my riding hcs that he records everything? Yeah. Even as far as come to you and be like "okay so like what if we sold these? i could cut your face out if you want-" and you're like !1!2? HOWEVER ik some of yall are FREEKIE FUCKS. If you say "fuck that leave my face in it", prepare to never need a job ever again

Kenshi Takahashi

Surprisingly is down with it. That's what #love does to a mf. He's like Kuai, anything you want you shall receive. If you wanna play around in that ass, say no more!

97% of the time wants to go slow and steady. He just loves looking at your face with the power of Sento while making love. Tell him how much you love and appreciate him and how he's doing so good for you and he'll instantly become the butter to your bread (like melting- ok y'all get it cool)

That 3%?? He would be on his knees and begging you to fuck the stress out of him. He's had such a tough week, just shove his head into the pillow and get to work!

If it's missionary just grip his neck, get real close to his face so he can feel your breath, and welcome him to pound town. All aboard the slut-Kenshi-out train

Raiden

Secretly a whore. The first green light into pegging territory, you could see his pearly browns sparkle in excitement and eagerness. He's relatively chill and calm about it at first because he didn't want to scare you away, but that's gone in an instant when you actually do the deed

Walks up to microphone Raiden...enjoys the prepping damn near more than the actual pegging. This pretty boy sure loves to see you break out the lubricant and gloves just so you can get him ready. Bro is on the edge of the bed swinging his feet while you have the most devious look in your eye

He's 50/50 on sensual nights vs getting down and dirty. Literally has zero preference, just spread him!

Back to how I said he's secretly a whore, sometimes he does subtle things that get you riled up throughout the day so you can take it out on him later. It's kinda funny sometimes cause he can be vocal but he's more shy than ever, but he'll break soon, trust

Liu Kang

Out of everyone he'd probably enjoy it the most. Now hear me out, he's not used to something like this, so it may take some convincing, but it's very little. It's good that he was mortal before so this level of intimacy isn't completely out of bounds

Once you get the stamp of approval and you try it for the first time, he's in love. It's like all he wants to do. Like holy fuck, where has this been for all these eons? This is the ultimate relaxation and he gets to forget his worries for a few hours??

He's so fascinated that he'd be the one introducing YOU to different types of straps all the way down to the patterns. "A dragon one... have you heard of this one?" like damn bro we get it you fw dragons (literally 😹)

Given how calm he is he prefers slow and sensual. It's only when he's truly curious that he'd be like hmm...it certainly wouldn't hurt to try (prepare for his godly stamina to have you on the brink of death btw). also, there's no way he wouldn't request for his hair to be pulled 😮‍💨

Kung Lao

Kung Lao my beloved. Morphs into alpha with huge muscles and impeccable imagination. Kung Lao, the egotistical and prideful man he is would think he has the up on you simply because he brought it up before you did. This fine ass man can and will come prepared on his own, case full of toys and all

And if I said he likes to be tooted up with music in the back and you pulling his hair while being used like a barracks bunny, would you arrest me?? For speaking TRUTH? He's a whore your honor

He don't give a damn about slow and steady but he'll do it if you want to. Just know it will never end in slow and steady, the pace always seems to be picked up and all of a sudden he's strap-warming you as a punishment (he literally wanted this to happen)

Idek what more to say Kung Lao is a slut and I need him in a way that's concerning to women's suffrage. I will make that hat chucking dimple having sexy ass man a fucking mother, just you wait. [he is one of the first I will breed]

[happy-hokkyokugitsune]

Tendou broke his phone and instead of buying a new one he just got his teammates walkie talkies.

- Semi huffs and accepts the walkie talkie with an eye roll. But, after the first week, pure childhood nostalgia has him in it's grips. It has him and Tendou routinely staying up till three chatting together.

He'll whip out his guitar when inspiration strikes and strum a new tune just to get everyone's reactions.

He had to use it for an emergency, he didn't have service at a party that got busted and luckily the walkie talkie worked. Reon went and got him out of there. The others were seen carrying theirs more often after that.

- Ushijima gives the team a morning announcement every day around six to tell them of the volleyball agenda.

He uses it when he can't find his phone, which happens more often than one would think, but his teammates are the only people he really needs to speak with so it works.

He doesn't converse much, but he enjoys hearing the others talk. Sometimes he lays in the dark, the walkie talkie resting on his pillow, his ear pressed against it, just listening to the comforting sound of Semi and Tendou talking until three am.

- Hayato grinned wildly when he received his, held it in the air, and cackled maniacally.

He always says the word "over" when using it and has given everyone code names. According to him, it's a crime not to do so.

He's constantly telling them puns he thought up and laughing afterwards without pause.

He is the resident gossip and information hub, many a conversation from him is started with "Guys! Guys! You'll never guess what just happened!"

- Reon tapes the button down around seven so they can all listen to his new morning mix together as he gets ready for the day.

He's known for trying out new restaurants on the fly so he'll shoot a quick message out to see if any of them want to join an impromptu meal with him.

Sometimes he leaves the volume up too loud, it can get really embarrassing, especially when Hayato says his puns and cackles like a hyena over the line.

Reon always wishes everyone a good night.

- Goshiki is excited, but he doesn't want to seem childish. It's only after Ushijima accepts his with a nod that he lets the stars fill his eyes as Tendou hands him one as well.

Semi doesn't know, but sometimes Goshiki will make up song lyrics for his tunes.

His first year friends are quite jealous that he has a direct line to Ushijima through a walkie talkie.

Goshiki loves his so much that he made a special spot for it on his bed side table and covered the back in stickers.

He even named it.

- Kawanishi leaves his off for the first three days before he gets an idea. His teammates aren't aware, but Kawanishi is amazing at impersonations. He strategically uses this ability to pull pranks on the others as he perfectly copies their voices.

Shirabu and him also use it for studying when they don't want to leave their dorm rooms. But they use a private channel. They aren't sure why they use it instead of their phones, but neither is willing to ask the question first.

He would never in person, but alone in his room he laughs hysterically at Hayato's puns and Tendou's ridiculous stories.

- Shirabu thinks its stupid. At first he just diligently listened to Ushijima's announcements. He started listening to Reon's morning mix. Then he learned that he felt less drained studying with Kawanishi this way. Now he actively absorbs all of Hayatos juciy gossip and always pauses if he can to fully focus on Semi's music. He even finds himself listening to Tendou and Semi talk till late into the night as well.

Shirabu ends up loving the damn thing. He really hates whoever is impersonating him though.

He's one hundred percent sure it's Tendou.

Eighty year old Shirabu finds the walkie talkie in a box in his attic.

[thesinglesjukebox]

LADY GAGA AND BRUNO MARS - "DIE WITH A SMILE"

14 years after "Grenade," Bruno finally found someone who would do the same...

[5.70]

Kayla Beardslee: Hey, when is that Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars collab being released? [5]

Ian Mathers: Mars and Gaga are both skilled at their craft in a way that often seems like a throwback to an earlier era of the art/industry, taking the biggest swings possible in terms of seeking mass appeal without feeling like they're compromising or calculated, talented mimics and style chameleons when they want to be. Working together on a big, heartfelt, suitable-for-all-occasions ballad actually feels perfect along those lines. The result is the kind of sturdily good (or "good," depending on your sensibilities) song that, if it catches you at the right moment in your life, might make you bust out crying. [7]

Joshua Lu: This collaboration would've been unthinkable in 2010; now that their careers have somehow converged, the outcome feels weirdly predictable. The emotional heft, vocal runs, and vague nostalgia are there, even if all it does is fill that "Perfect Duet"-sized hole in pop radio. "Die With a Smile" can't help but feel underwhelming in the context of their career trajectories — the kind of corny balladry that Bruno's outgrown and that Gaga mostly uses just to recapture the general public — but it's impossible to wholly reject when it's this nicely crafted. [6]

Grace Robins-Somerville: Most Obamacore song of 2024, hands down. "Die with a Smile" is this very specific meld of the era when you couldn't go to the supermarket without hearing a Bruno Mars ballad and when Gaga was doing a country pivot (although this is far blander than anything on Joanne). It's been a while since I've heard such blatant Grammy bait. [3]

Jackie Powell: Entertainment Weekly's Joey Nolfi wrote that “Die with a Smile” is a song that recalls “the emotional bravado” of “Shallow,” the Grammy- and Oscar-winning smash from Lady Gaga’s A Star Is Born. He’s correct. “Die With a Smile” thrives upon accented and intentional dynamics while making vague and simple lyrics mean more than it they do on the page. That’s also what made “Shallow” so convincing. The difference on “Die With A Smile” is that Bruno Mars is more Lady Gaga’s equal than Bradley Cooper ever was. Mars has more to sing on a song that has Gaga’s name billed first, but both artists shine without the other having to sacrifice. Gaga’s part, which begins at around a minute and a half until the song's end, transforms this from a Silk Sonic B-side into something that’s much more memorable, emotionally resonant and cinematic. It's a song that makes me wish I had someone to sing it to.  [9]

Katherine St. Asaph: So old-fashioned that YouTube's preroll ad recommended me Botox, and so definitively a Bruno Mars song that I'm genuinely unsure why the credits are in the order they're in. It works, albeit in an unexciting way, because Bruno and Gaga have practiced melodrama for years -- see "I'd take a bullet straight to my brain" and "not even the Gods above can separate the two of us," respectively -- and have also practiced singing pretty then belting big. [7]

Jeffrey Brister: When it comes to Bruno Mars, I want immaculately executed genre pastiche, something that sounds like the past but keeps a thrilling modern affect. Gaga, for all of her artsy subversion and slight avant-garde leanings, has just as much of a traditionalist impulse, if not stronger; under the right circumstances, the results can be explosive. That alchemy is present here: two artists synced up and bringing out the best in each other’s performances. There is absolutely nothing new here, but it’s polished and perfectly executed. I’m a mark for that sort of thing. [7]

Jonathan Bradley: It's not right to say Bruno Mars is so adept with pastiche that he transcends it; pastiche is his artform, his milieu, the genre that this genre artist seeks to perfect. "Die With a Smile" has two ideas: the first being the familiar terrain of the Bruno Mars ballad, and the second being "What if a Bruno Mars ballad was Jeff Buckley?" Even a few years after the 1994 release of Grace, pop music seemed like it only had room in its past for an artist like Buckley: a soulful and beautiful singer-songwriter who leaned toward rock-god charisma rather than folkish introspection. Mars has Buckley's swooning fragility as well as his stormy squalls of guitar, but for all that Buckley represented the last of something, he never sounded like he was going over someone else's territory. That fundamentally does not work for Mars's attempt to recreate the sound; navigating someone else's territory is Mars's entire point. If "Die With a Smile" has a third idea, it's the addition of Lady Gaga, who is herself no stranger to pastiche (see the Madonna-isms of "Born This Way," the heartland rock of "You and I," or the way she slipped effortlessly into the Hollywood prestige turn that was "Shallow"). Here, she delivers only competence, as if she'd been asked to sing backup on a new recording of "When I Was Your Man" and found out at the last moment that the assignment had changed. [5]

Harlan Talib Ockey: Once you get past the surprise of "Die With a Smile" being a Jeff Buckley impression, it's remarkably insubstantial. "If the world was ending I'd wanna be next to you" sounds clunky and hyper-literal next to, say, "I'd catch a grenade for you". At least the harmonies are nice. [4]

Iain Mew: Bruno Mars's progression makes it a fruitful idea to go back and invert "Grenade" from a distance. Back then, he took the prospect of death as an opportunity to bitterly prove his unmatched love. Now he meets no less than the end of the world with smooth certainty that it's a chance for mutual togetherness. Lady Gaga's way with projecting intensity and sincerity in the most extreme contexts makes her the perfect foil, and for two lines after she comes in, it's transcendent. Then Mars comes back in, and not only is there not enough space for Gaga to shine, there's barely any space at all. Maybe the old anxiety hadn't gone away completely after all. [7]

Alfred Soto: Bruno Mars hasn't sounded this convincing a love man in years, if ever. Too convincing: Gaga is a backup singer on her own single. Mars sure would fuck himself if he could. [5]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: Someone pointed out recently how absurd it is that Lady Gaga's Twitter bio is literally advertising for the HBO Chromatica Ball special, Haus Labs cosmetics, Joker: Folie à Deux, and now "Die with a Smile." That sums up my feelings toward this entry into the Gaga canon: random and indicating a certain directionlessness—or perhaps overdirection?—in her career. She sounds great, and the bridge is perfect TikTok fodder, but she and Bruno Mars sound like they have as much sexual chemistry as brother and sister.  [4]

TA Inskeep: Mars and Gaga sound nice enough together, but there’s no frisson, no spark; they’re just two famous singers, singing a duet for you to stream and buy.  [5]

Scott Mildenhall: To the song's great benefit, the annihilatory proposition is underblown. Instead, its precise lilt is folded and finessed throughout, heading hither and thither without over-accelerating or escalating. It's a fine balance between ostentation and undulation. There's minimal vocal chemistry, but the blend is happening elsewhere. [7]

Hannah Jocelyn: I was with family over the weekend, and my brother asked “who is this??” like it was two stunning new artists on their debut single. Upon learning it was Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, his excitement dissipated. Only Andrew Watt could make two of pop’s best vocalists sound anonymous (don’t get me started on that weightless drum sound he's inexplicably made his signature). I can’t tell where Gaga ends and Bruno begins, which is a horrible mental image. [5]

Taylor Alatorre: The drums treat every other measure like it's a climax because the entire song, or more precisely its billing, is one undifferentiated climax. Which means no build-up, no peaks or valleys, no memorable grooves or meaningful sense of release. It's just those two names together on a lighted marquee, a chart-watcher fanfic straight out of 2012, What Could Be measuring short against What Must Be, which in this case is the greatest common denominator of softer-than-talcum piano balladry. At least "Grenade" had cartoon bloodletting on its side, and "Shallow" had the benefit of context. "Die with a Smile" reaches for that old doomsday rhetoric out of sheer reflex, even when the prophesized end is painted in washed-out watercolors, like a dream whose outlines dissipate five seconds after waking. Andrew Watt's approach to retromania is less playful than the Smeezingtons' was, but also strangely less reverent, since if you truly revere the music of the past then you don't try to half-seriously Mandela effect yourself into its hit parade. [2]

Nortey Dowuona: Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga getting to coast by cornering the market on having both vocal talent and a modicum of charisma -- you know, the old-fashioned model -- would be frustrating, but at least Watt's patient hand is keeping this over there next to the white Broadway crowd. Anything but more Bruno funk. [7]

Mark Sinker: Obviously I want to claim I’m only onboard with Bruno as a project at last thanks to Gaga’s in-video cigarette — casually centred, disgustingly compelling — but I have to admit it’s something entirely more wholesome: the actual topic, the actual melody, the actual delivery! He got me in the end! (Also, I like thinking of him as a little monster. He is a little monster….)  [8]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Would be a [6] with flipped Mars-Gaga ratio, but even then this would not quite get to the force of melodrama that would allow it to reach exit velocity and escape the great and depressing middle ground of tasteful 20th-century pop pastiche. These two have taken enough stabs at staid, boring pop songs for all occasions that they have become the legacy acts they once aspired toward and collaborated with. Good for them; bad for us. [4]

Kristen S. Hé: As much as I wish this Venn diagram had produced something more adventurous, it's arguably harder to write a song like this -- one that'll probably be on radio rotation for decades, and that I'll never object to hearing in any context. I've often found Bruno's schtick cloying and insincere, but here, I'd believe it even without Gaga's added star power. Bruno, please stay in this lane forever. (Gaga, please don't!) [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[magadauthan]

Ep 25: Live Through

@trigun98watchparty My time has come.

I watched "Live Through" in Japanese and English for this recap. For science. It's not because this is my favorite episode, no. That has nothing to do with anything.

--How did Milly and Meryl get Vash away from LR? Does 1 ile = 1 mile? Did they swipe Legato's Cinderella coach?

--that floppy hair *swoon*

--Some have criticized Meryl for ducking outside as soon as Vash begins to talk. Perhaps that is merited, and she does carry a good measure of guilt for following him, but it felt to me more like she wanted to give him space and / or privacy. Having loud emotions all over the place is frowned on in Japanese culture, and Meryl is very, very polite. Maybe she just doesn't know what to do and panics (Vash has not always been encouraging in terms of having her around, in general). Either way, it tears her up inside to hear him wailing in despair.

--Obviously Meryl has been home tending to Vash while Milly works. It's nice to see Meryl recognize that Milly is busting her butt, but she doesn't know how to address Milly's feelings, either.

--Vash should not be up and about - he's weak and feverish and not a little delirious. Good thing Milly can carry him.

--Get in there, big sis, and tell Meryl it's okay that she loves him. She's absolutely right in that Legato would have found a way to make Vash shoot him whether or not the two of them were involved. Never hold back in matters of the heart.

--My favorite scene. Meryl, alone in the light of the fifth moon, diligently mending Vash's coat. She wants to put him back together and make him whole again, even if she gets hurt in the process. She's desperately in love with him, and she holds the kind person he is close to her heart... but he was the one who put the hole in the moon. How can she reconcile that?

--Vash does look happier.

--He tries to pet the kitty, and Kuroneko gives him a swat, which some interpret as the Trigun Goddess telling Vash to get it in gear. This is incorrect. Cats are just assholes.

--It didn't stop with Legato, now, did it. Knives is pressing harder.

--"Sound Life" must be a song they teach in NML kindergarten. Many people seem to know it, including Kaite and Meryl. (the lyrics really need to scan better, it's so awkwardly phrased)

--This scene is such a tough one. It's lovely - two lovers out under the stars, right? And Meryl is so happy that Vash is considering staying with them. But it's also plain to see that he might have given up. It would be easy, wouldn't it? Let the girls take care of him while he hides. Don't do anything, and wait for an answer.

--What were you doing up so late, Meryl? (we had some ideas)

--There's no way that the townspeople could have captured someone like Vash if he hadn't let them do it. He's so broken that he won't fight back. He's a sinner now, like Knives, like Legato, beyond redemption.

Except...

...Knives assumes that Vash would sacrifice himself for everyone else. Someone else sacrificing herself for him had never been part of the equation.

--So many have stopped believing in Vash, or he thinks they have. They turn their backs on him and he accepts it as the normal course of things. Jessica's crush was childish (I was gonna marry Luke Skywalker when I was four, just saying) but even she ran away after what happened to the ship. That's why it's so important that Meryl loves him. She has made her decision, and she's steadfast in it.

--Maybe Vash doesn't realize how much she loves him until she puts herself between him and the gun, and he hears Rem's words from Meryl's mouth and sees Rem one more time. If Meryl still loves him, then Rem can still love him too. Mistakes happen but you can learn from them, and if you have the right people in your life, they will love you through your mistakes and help you to make it better.

--And finally, Vash realizes that Rem's words apply to him, too, and that he is no less deserving of a second chance and a future than any of the others he's impressed those words on. Does that make Meryl the analogue to Alex? I think it does.

--Awww, such a sweet snuggle. And then Vash has to go doof it up like normal and Meryl has to freak out like normal. It's their love language. (TBH I'd punch my husband too if he rubbed his stubbly face on me like that.)

--What happened after that? (we have some ideas)

--Vash gets ready to go. Seeing him wash up and shave is oddly pleasing, a reminder that despite his Plant-ness, he's a regular dude who has to wash his face and brush his teeth and get haircuts and have breakfast and do all that human stuff.

--Meryl wants to say something to Vash, but she's gotten wiser too. She recognizes that even though there might be a lot that she wants to tell him (and, I think, he might want to tell her too), stating her feelings in the open would be a distraction (or even a burden) he doesn't need right then. Milly is right. There will be time when he gets back.

It doesn't come through in English, but he's so gentle with her in Japanese. He knows what she wants to say. In his own way, at that time, he's saying I love you too.

--Vash takes WW with him, with Milly's love and blessing. May you go with God's protection.

[mydarlingdearestdead]

The Things We Do For Love: Chapter Two

Apollo’s presence lingered in the palace halls and Hyacinth’s mind all the same. The West Wind’s absence had made for a pleasurable change in Hyacinth’s opinion, despite Argalus’ pleading and moaning. Hyacinth had even arranged for the treasured bust to find a new home among the lush countryside of Sparta. Reports came by the hour of the monumental improvement made by the previous royal advisors.

Hyacinth, content to accept the light god’s gifts without further repercussion, took vain-minded precautions against Apollo’s power. He decreed that anyone daring enough to pluck a lyre in his presence should swiftly find the courage to hang, that any fool who may think to recite poetry would hastily find himself unable to utter another word. That is, unless the gods granted him the ability to speak without a tongue.

Polyboea, having heard word of these absurd measures, took it upon herself to prove Hyacinth’s sure madness.

She took Hyacinth by the arm, guiding him under a blanket of stars. She led her brother, ignorant still, to the resting place of their sister. To the laurel tree which sat upon the banks of the river.

Hyacinth’s eyes widened, viewing both the laurel and the figure perched upon its gnarled roots in the same frantic motion. Hurriedly, he draw Polyboea to the opening in the wood where they had came.

Apollo stood, that same maliciously majestic silhouette, highlighted in such a mythical manner in the moon’s silver light. He stepped between the pair.

The sun dawned the following morning as a mere after thought.

Hyacinth looked to Apollo. Eagerly, he sought the briefest glance of the god’s real self, even persevering through his sleep-laden haze. Apollo, ever unfazed, spoke of nothing of importance. Anecdotes and jokes. Poems and lyrical ramblings.

Hyacinth chided himself at the slightest inkling of fondness.

He knew, you see, that a god such as Apollo would simply expect his fondness, never appreciate it.

“No mortal is truly worthy of love.” Apollo continued, “It is merely Aphrodite’s gift to mankind. So few exceptions have been found… Odysseus. Orpheus. Achilles.”

“Achilles wasn’t married.” Hyacinth voiced the thought before caution could make itself known. He bit the inside of his cheek.

“No,” Apollo agreed, “He was not. Odysseus had Penelope, whom he fought wars and gods to return to. Orpheus had Eurydice, whom he ventured into the depths of the underworld for and lost at the pivotal moment. Achilles had Patroclus, whose loss drove him to the very fringes of mortality and sanity.”

Hyacinth bobbed his head.

“I… It sounds familiar.”

Apollo took his face in his hands. His thumb brushed Hyacinth’s upper lip.

“Daunting would be my word.”

Apollo lay sprawled across clean, white linen, thoughtlessly plucking the strings of the lyre which lay across his toned chest. His bow lay by his feet with his quiver in a similar fashion by the crown of his head.

He spared Hyacinth the barest of glances, "The muses wish to make your acquaintance."

Hyacinth paused.

"All of them?"

Apollo replied in the vague affirmative, now plucking out a distinct melody. Hyacinth recognised it in a queer, hallow sense, like he had heard it once before in Hypnos' land of dreams. Regardless, it sent a shiver down his spine.

He expressed this notion to the god before him, who chucked, "A dream, once experienced, can never truly be felt again." Apollo mused, "That would make a wonderful poem, don’t you think?”

"Do you dream?" Hyacinth inquired, curious despite his previous caution.

Apollo laughed, as always, with a certain boisterous melody, "No, dear. I am spared that cruelty." He cast his lyre aside and rose, matching Hyacinth’s brooding stature.

Once more, his laughter filled the air.

“What were you playing?” Hyacinth had not the courage to demand an answer from Apollo, yet he thought his words conveyed a certain authority nonetheless. “Where have I heard it?”

Apollo dismissed him with a simple, familiar motion. A hand waved through the air, seeking the neck of his bow.

“Perhaps you haven’t yet.” He jested, bow in hand, quiver slung across his back, “Who is there to dictate just how I deliver my prophecies?”

Low in his throat, Hyacinth scoffed.

“So you just know everything that’ll happen, then?”

That same boisterous melody.

“No.” Apollo told him simply, “I see mere fragments. Moments plucked from time. Glimpses. Images. Tastes. Music notes… There is no difference to me, I fear. It’s all a language of its own.”

“Any glimpses about me?” His question lay between them, suspended by an invisible noose. Apollo remained, comfortable as a priest during sermon. Hyacinth’s heart lurched against his ribcage, seeking release at any cost. His relieved smile merely highlighted the cracks in his delicate facade.

“My apologies, Lord Apollo. I will continue on the path carved for me by the fates without complaint or hesitation.”

“You been practising that in the mirror?” Any hint of Apollo’s usual poetic manner dissipated. His grin was youthful, sophomoric.

Hyacinth made an immediate point of committing the intricate tiling of his bedroom floor to memory.

Masterlist

Ao3

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Transmission Transition

Yeah buddy, I'd want some time alone too after that full-blown verbal holy war Kendrick Lamar dragged your ass with. Kinda shit that makes you need to stop and reflect on your life choices. Drake is back and he is straight-up pulling a Crane Wife hot on the heels of Stussy putting words to some interesting concepts we've seen.

It's been a while, so for a refresher I care a lot about X Drake coming back around because we dangled his report on Wano as a Chekov's Gun way back at the start of Egghead. If he's the one to open up a reinterpretation of Wano...Drake's scenes overlap with Kiku/Izo's a fair amount. So once again, hot on the heels of Stussy speaking that potential baggage aloud here's Drake playing very nice as a followup. Drake, Stussy, Marco. That was the trio I was looking for in this pseudo-anthology's third side story. Speaking of...

It's been a while. Always had nascent ideas about the idea Zoro busts out an attack called Rashomon with Kuma way back when. Of course I've made plenty of mentions of the film reference. Even if you haven't seen it you've seen the story structure. Three POVs on the same event, the real magic is in stitching the truth together out of three unreliable narrators. Marco's perfect to spell it all out as the sorta "framing device" between Wano & Egghead.

It's hard to tell week-to-week what we'll do with this one, but I think we can see what our trio is for Egghead:

First we step away to see a collection of side stories, end on filing in the truth of Sabo/Vivi in Reverie. This though obscured what happened in the lab.

Next we give Bonney a whirl through her backstory with Kuma, where he'll both be a bit of an unreliable narrator and also rewrite some events we've seen prior through giving his POV. When we return we reiterate last night was a gap and add the mystery pile of food for Luffy.

Vegapunk's Broadcast, duh. It was more of a distraction while we saw some relation to the main plot but it still fits the bill. We've done Stussy, we're getting Drake, if you do loop Marco in than it's a way to complete the ASL theme with an Ace connection too. And don't sleep on the York focus here either.

Of course, we'll need to see the next few chapters to really evaluate that. Each one have had their content that raises questions, unreliable narrators and oddball tropes like that. But let's get back to this chapter, there was a cool running line in there I liked:

I could riff on Koby, Grus, & Kujaku getting a bit meta here but I'll save that until I know the next few steps. Kujaku gets to shine a lil more in this SWORD segment as the one checking on Drake but her line here gets a lot more interesting when Bluegrass & Doll have a similar mindset attacking the giants. Bluegrass especially encouraging the young ones to step up and become a star. Makes me think a lot about our OP for the anime adaptation The end of the dream, the end of the sea...but first we have to make a shining legend of ourselves.

It's just funny to me one could interpret the lyrics to "Us" as a threat this arc maybe will break the direction I've long hoped it would is all I'm saying. Let's bring this all home with the main highlight of the chapter though.

It's not just the stinger, the Gorosei seemed a little shocked their first hits on Robonosuke stopped everything. York is relieved but recall last time we talked about her theory that's where the antenna snail was hiding was just that, a theory.

Type of thing that could go either way and either option could have a lot of ways of unfolding. That said...this is a perfect ending if some unknown force is about to take advantage of these gaps to justify being in prime position to hijack the broadcast. Kinda feels like it'd be a cop out to have Robonosuke hanging around this whole time just to get smacked around a little. Still very, very excited for this next stint.

[thatorigamiguy]

WHAT IS THE SAUCE?!

Blake glared at the man tied up to the table below her, a deep scowl set on her face as she ladled more water on the cloth covering his face. The reaction was instant: the man coughed and gagged on the water as he had no way of dispelling it from his throat, but Blake held nothing but cold contempt as she watched the man choke. The only regret that she had was that she had used the last ladle and had a feeling that she was going to need another bucket. The gagging continued for minutes, before finally subsiding as the man tried his best to draw in deep breaths through the soaked cloth. At this, Blake pulled the cloth off the mans face, revealing it to be one Jaune Arc.

Blake: "You've proven yourself strong Jaune, I'll give you that. But you can only last so long before you either break or drown! But all of this? All of this can end and we can go about our lives as if none of this had happened-"

Blake's gentle tone quickly went harsh as she all but shoved a piece of paper into his face.

Blake: "-IF YOU STOP BEING STUBBORN AND JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN SAUCE!"

the picture in question was what appeared to be two women, and rather bust mother and daughter duo, as they stood breathing heavily over a man laying down with a towel over his crotch area. They seemed very interested in him, and if the raging bulge that was just barely being hidden suggested anything, he was very much interested in them too.

But instead of answering her question and ending the suffering right then and there, Jaune glared up at her with smoldering blue eyes and and a sneer on his face.

Jaune: "FUCK YOU BLAKE! I'LL NEVER TELL YOU A DAMN THING, SO YOU CAN GO AND KISS MY ASS!"

Jaune all but snarled out, before spitting into Blake's face. Blake flinched at the saliva making contact with her face, barely concealed rage flashed through her amber eyes before she was overcome with a sudden calm. She pulled a cloth form her pocket and quickly wiped the spit off her face, before suddenly snapping with an aura infused palm as she slapped Jaune in the face.

A deafening crack filled the air as flesh met flesh, and Jaune's cheek exploded into pain and left him disoriented. While Jaune tried to shake the stars out of his eyes, Blake turned to her assistant with a cold look, before she uttered out an order.

Blake: "Ruby, go and fill up a new bucket for me, and turn the music up louder! Looks like Jaune here has earned himself another three hours of sensory torture before his next waterboarding session."

Ruby met Blake hard look with reluctance, looking back and forth between her and the heavily breathing jaune as she wasn't really sure if this was really the best way to go about this.

Ruby: "Look Blake, I know that we both really want to know what doujin this is from, but do we really need to go through with this? I'm sure that if we asked Jaune nicely-"

Blake: "ABSOLUTELY NOT! We're through with playing nice Ruby! Jaune wanted to play games and refuse to tell us what the source was? Then he gets the prize he deserves! Now I won't say it again Ruby: FILL A FRESH BUCKET AND TURN THE VOLUME UP!"

Ruby winced at Blakes tone, before she mumbled an apology to Jaune as she reached down and hooked the speaker up to her Scroll. Jaune could only stare in horror, unable to break his bonds to get away from the awful noise he was about to be subjected to as Ruby put the speaker to max volume.

Jaune: "No, not that! Anything but that! Ruby, please, I'm begging you don't-!"

But it was too late, for as Jaune was cut off as the lyrics began blaring out of speaker.

Speaker: WHATCHA KNOW ABOUT ROLLING DOWN IN THE DEEP-

Jaune: "NOOOOOOOOOO-!!!"

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

Assigning Every Fall Out Boy Song to The Life Series

because i'm a normal person with normal person feelings about fall out boy's discography and the life series. trust me.

“every” is a strong word here because fall out boy's discography is Literally Like 150+ Songs so i’m only doing the songs off their main 8 albums in this post. if enough people ask (which i seriously doubt will happen), i’ll do the eps+remixes as well.

sorry if there is an overabundance of certain characters/a lack of certain characters. i tried to include people are frequently as possible but a: i am inherently biased (though some of my faves are pretty underrepresented), b: not everyone has the same amount of content to draw from because they haven't all been in every season and c: some of these guys are simply not fall out boy characters to me. it's just how it is.

so, under the cut will be, in release order, every fall out boy song assigned to a life series character/event+the lyric that i think best represents why i assigned it.

TAKE THIS TO YOUR GRAVE

Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today: DL!Pearl

To my favorite liar, to my favorite scar (to my favorite scar!)/I could have died with you/I hope you choke on those words that kiss that bottle/Confess (so bury me in memory)

Dead on Arrival: SL!Gem and Pearl (Gem POV)

This is side one, flip me over/I know I'm not your favorite record/The songs you grow to like never stick at first/So I'm writing you a chorus, and here is your verse/No, it's not the last time, 'cause I'd never say no to you/This conversation's still dead on arrival/And there's no way to talk to you/When you're dead on

Grand Theft Autumn / Where Is Your Boy: DL!Etho (JUST TRUST ME. AND ALSO GO WATCH THE BIT WHERE FINDS OUT BDUBS+IMPULSE ARE SOULMATES)

When I wake up/I'm willing to take my chances on/The hope I'd forget that you hate him more than you notice/I wrote this for you (for you, so…)/You need him, I could be him/I could be an accident, but I'm still trying/And that's more than I can say for him/Where is your boy tonight?/I hope he is a gentleman

Saturday: SL!Gem

Pete and I attacked the laws of Astoria with promise and precision/And mess of youthful innocence/And I read about the afterlife, but I never really lived/More than an hour (More than an hour)/When I say/Two more weeks, my foot is in the door, yeah/I can't sleep, in the wake of Saturday

Homesick at Space Camp: Post 3L!Skizz

Tonight is all about "We miss you" now/These friends are, new friends are golden

Sending Postcards From a Plane Crash (Wish You Were Here): Post DL!Joel

Every friend we ever had in common/I will sever the tie, sever the tie with you/You can thank your lucky stars/Everything I wish for will never come true/When you go, I will forget everything about you

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago: LimL!Martyn

You want apologies, girl, you might hold your breath/Until your breathing stops forever, forever/The only thing you'll get is this curse on your lips/I hope they taste of me forever

The Pros and Cons of Breathing: DL!Pearl

Woah, I want to hate you half as much as I hate myself/You know that I could crush you with my voice/Stood on my roof and tried to see you/Forgetting about me/Hide the details/I don't want to know a thing

Grenade Jumper: The Heart Foundation

They'll say it's not worth it, so we'll leave this town in ruin/Living like life's going out of style, and you came to watch us play/Like a "big shot talent", but at the end of the day you know/Woah, those busted lips we take back home

Calm Before The Storm: DL!Ren

You said/Between your smiles and regrets/"Don't say it's over"/Dead and gone, dead and gone, yeah

Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over: DL!Jimmy and Tango

I can't wake up to these reminders of who I am/A failure at everything, 18 going on extinct/I know my place, it's nowhere you should roam

The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes: SL!Jimmy

I'm all ears and I'm all scars/To hear you tell me, "Boys like you, you try too hard/To look not quite as desperate," I'm hanging on/But I still know the way to make your makeup run/So, and when it all goes to Hell, will you be able to tell/Me "sorry" with a straight face?

FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE

Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued: 3L!Impulse

We're only liars but we're the best (We're the best)/We're only good for the latest trends/We're only good 'cause you can have almost famous friends/Besides, we've got such good fashion sense

Of All The Gin Joints In All The World: 3L!Ren and Martyn

You only hold me up like this/'Cause you don't know who I really am/Sometimes I just want to know what it's like to be you

Dance, Dance: DL!Bigb and Ren (Ren perspective, also this is specifically applicable most antagonistic moments of their relationship we get, to be clear. This is not the usual approach I take to them.)

You always fold just before you're found out/Drink up it's last call/Last resort, but only the first mistake, and I/I'm two quarters and a heart down/And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds/These words are all I have so I'll write them/So you need them just to get by/Why don't you show me a little bit of spine/You've been saving for his mattress, love

Sugar, We’re Goin Down: Martyn

We're going down, down in an earlier round (Take aim at myself)/And sugar, we're going down swingin' (Take back what you said)/I'll be your number one with a bullet (Take aim at myself)/A loaded God complex, cock it and pull it

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner: LL!Cleo

I keep my jealousy close/'Cause it's all mine/And if you say this makes you happy, then I'm not the only one/Lyin'

I’ve Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Songs): Joel

Joke me something awful just like kisses on the necks of "best friends"/We're the kids who feel like dead ends/And I want to be known for my hits, not just my misses/I took a shot and didn't even come close

7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen): LimL!Grian

Sitting out dances on the wall/Trying to forget everything that isn't you/I'm not going home alone/'Cause I don't do too well on my own

Sophomore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year: SL!Skizz

We're the therapists pumping through your speakers/Delivering just what you need/We're well-read and poised/We're the best boys/We're the chemists who've found the formula/To make your heart swell and burst/No matter what they say/Don't believe a word

Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends: DL!Joel and Etho

Strike us like matches, 'cause everyone deserves the flames/We only do it for the scars and stories, not the fame/At least everyone is trying, everyone is shining/Everyone deserves the flames but it's such a shame, such a shame

I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me: Scott

I'm the first kid to write of hearts, lies, and friends/And I am sorry my conscience called in sick again/And I've got arrogance down to a science/Oh, and I'm the first kid to write of hearts, lies, and friends, now

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More “Touch Me”: LL!BigB

I confess, I messed up/Dropping "I'm sorry" like you're still around/And I know you dressed up/"Hey, kid, you'll never live this down"/And you're just the girl all the boys wanna dance with/And I'm just the boy who's had too many chances/I'm sleepin' on your folks' porch again, dreamin'/She said, she said, she said, "Why don't you just drop dead?"

Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save The Scene And Stop Going To Shows): DL!Grian and Scar (Scar POV)

I know this hurts, it was meant to (it was meant to)/Your secret's out and the best part is it isn't even a good one/And it's mind over you don't, don't matter

XO: LL!Mumbo (Look, this is a stretch, I'll be real, but this song was giving me so much fucking trouble. Let me live.)

To the "love," I left my conscience/Pressed between the pages of/The Bible in the drawer, "What did it ever do for me"/I say/It never calls me when I'm down/Love never wanted me, but I took it anyway/Put your ear to the speaker and choose love or sympathy/But never both, love never wanted me

Snitches and Talkers Get Stitches And Walkers: SL!Tango

Here's a picture with a note, "No, don't turn out like me"/It's only for your own good/No-oh, oh, oh/And haven't you heard, the word on the street is/"I lost it, called it quits," get out into the sun

The Music Or The Misery: LL!Bdubs and Etho (Etho perspective)

I got your love letters, corrected the grammar and sent them back/It's true, romance is dead, I shot it in the chest then in the head/And if you wanna go down in history then I'm your friend/Because they've got me in a band where I've never seen a heart I couldn't break

INFINITY ON HIGH

Thriller: SL!Scar

Last summer, we took threes across the board/But by fall, we were a cover story, "Now in stores"/Make us poster boys for your scene/But we are not making an acceptance speech

“The Take Over, The Breaks Over”: LimL!Cleo

Wouldn't you rather be a widow than a divorcee?/Style your wake for fashion magazines, oh-oh-oh/Widow or a divorcee?/Don't pretend, d-d-d-don't pretend/We do it in the dark with smiles on our faces/We're trapped and well concealed in secret places/We don't fight fair

This Ain’t A Scene. It’s An Arms Race: SL!Scar

I am an arms dealer/Fitting you with weapons in the form of words/And don't really care which side wins/Long as the room keeps singing/That's just the business I'm in

I’m Like A Lawyer With The Way I’m Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You): SL!Jimmy and Martyn

We're the new face of failure/Prettier and younger, but not any better off/Bulletproof loneliness/At best, at best

Hum Hallelujah: LL!Cleo

I thought I loved you, it was just how you looked in the light/A teenage vow in a parking lot/'Til tonight do us part/I sing the blues and you swallow them too/My words are my faith, to hell with our good name

Golden: Joel (LimL especially, but also just in general)

How cruel is the golden rule/When the lives we lived are only golden-plated?/And I knew that the lights of the city were too heavy for me/Though I carried carats for everyone to see/And I saw God cry in the reflection of my enemies/And all the lovers with no time for me/And all of the mothers raise their babies/To stay away from me

Thnks fr th Mmrs: LimL!BigB and Pearl

Been looking forward to the future/But my eyesight is going bad/And this crystal ball…/It's always cloudy except for (Except for…)/When you look into the past (Look into the past…)/One night stand…/One night stand off!

Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am?: LimL!Skizz

They say quitters never win/But we walk the plank on a sinking ship/There's a world outside of my front door/That gets off on being down/Oh-oh, oh-oh/I could learn to pity fools as I'm the worst of all/And I can't stop feeling sorry for myself, whoa-oh

The (After) Life Of The Party: Scar, again. I don't know what to tell you, this is a very Scar album.

I'm a stitch away from making it/And a scar away from falling apart, apart/Blood cells pixelate and eyes dilate/And the full moon pills got me out on the street at night

The Carpal Tunnel Of Love: LL!Mumbo and Jimmy

Tired yawns for fawns on hunter's lawns/We're the has-beens of husbands/Sharpening the knives of young wives/Take two years and call me when you're better

Bang The Doldrums: DL+LimL!Jimmy and Tango

The tombstones were waiting, they were half-engraved/They knew it was over, they just didn't know the date…/And I cast a spell over the west to make you think of me/The same way I think of you/This is a love song in my own way/Happily ever after below the waist/Best friends, ex-friends 'til the end/Better off as lovers

Fame > Infamy: LL!Joel

I am God's gift, but why would he bless me with/Such wit without a conscience equipped/I'm addicted to the way I feel when I think of you, whoa/There's too much green to feel blue

You’re Crashing, But You’re No Wave: This is far from the only FOB song about a sensitive topic but it's one of the like... two that I don't feel comfortable assigning to something.

I’ve Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers: DL!BigB

You're a canary, I'm a coal mine/'Cause sorrow is just all the rage/Take one for the team/You all know what I mean/And I'm so sorry but not really/Tell the boys where to find my body

G.I.N.A.S.F.S.: DL!Impulse and Bdubs

Trade baby blues for wide eyed browns/I sleep with your old shirts and walk through this house in your shoes/You know, it's strange/It's a strange way of saying that I know I'm supposed to love you/I'm supposed to love you/I've already given up on myself twice/Third time is the charm, third time is the charm/Threw caution to the wind, but I've got a/Lousy arm

It’s Hard To Say “I Do”, When I Don’t: Am I allowed to say this is a Watchers song? I don't care I'm saying it.

I speak fast and I'm not gonna repeat myself, no/So listen carefully to every word I say/I'm the only one who's gonna get away/With making excuses today/You're appealing to emotions that I simply do not have

FOLIE A DEUX

Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes: Impulse

Oh, I'm a loose bolt of a complete machine/What a match, I'm half-doomed, and you're semi-sweet/So boycott love, detox just to retox/And I'd promise you anything for another shot at life

I Don’t Care: LL!Fairy Fort

Let the leaves fall off in the summer/And let December glow in flames (In flames; oh)/Erase myself and let go/Start it over again in Mexico/These friends, they don't love you/They just love the hotel suites now

She’s My Winona: SL!Martyn

We didn't come to compete, this is a demonstration/Even the young ones become irrelevant/They always bring up how you've changed

America’s Suitehearts: SL!Gem

Let's hear it for America's suitehearts, but I must confess/I'm in love with my own sins/You can bow and pretend that/You don't, don't know you're a legend, oh/Time, time, time hasn't told anyone else yet

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet: LimL+SL!Cleo, Bdubs, and Etho

Does your husband know the way that/The sunshine gleams from your wedding band?/Does he know the way, does he know the way/Of the crickets that would convince me to call it a night?/But I will never end up like him/Behind my back, I already am

The (Shipped) Gold Standard: LimL!Bdubs

All the yes-men said "No comment"/My mouth got going/The wrong way, and all the calls started snowing/The time my dad caught me a horseshoe crab/And I asked him if throwing it back into the sea would bring our luck back/I wanna scream "I love you" from the top of my lungs/But I'm afraid that someone else will hear me

(Coffee’s For Closers): LL!BigB

Though change will come, oh, change will come/I will never believe in anything again/We will never believe again/Kick drum beating in my chest again/No, we will never believe again/Preach electric to a microphone stand, oh

What A Catch, Donnie: This song is a compilation of different vocalists from bands associated with the band, a compilation of previous songs of theirs, and one of the only FOB ballads. I can't pull a specific lyric, but this one could be solidly used for a compilation/retrospective of every season so far.

27: This is the other one I don't feel comfortable assigning to anything. Moving on.

Tiffany Blews: SL!Lizzie

I'm not a crybaby/I'm the crybaby/A caterpillar that got stuck/Mr. Moth, come quick with any luck/A long walk to a dark house/A Roman candle heart, keep us far apart/I'm cocktail party doin' alright, hate me baby/Maybe I'm a piece of art/Oh, my friends all lie and say/They only want the best wishes for me

w. a. m. s.: LL!Mumbo

I'm a young one stuck in the thoughts/Of an old one's head/When all the others were just stirrin' awake/I'm tryin' to trick myself to fall asleep again, whoa

20 Dollar Nose Bleed: Dogwarts

When I look at the man who would be king, the man who would be king/Goes to the desert, the same war his dad rehearsed/Came back with flags on coffins and said, "We won, oh, we won"/Permanent jet lag, please take me back (Please take me back)/Please take me back, (ooh, ooh)/I'm a stray dog sick, please let me in

West Coast Smoker: SL!Joel

Wishes bounce me weightless/The infrared scope on pointlessness/The bulls are sedated/And this fight's fixed

Pavlove: SL!Tango

Something make my chest stir/Something make my head blur/Oh, oh, I'm not ready for a handshake with death, no/Oh, oh, I'm just such a happy mess, whoa

SAVE ROCK AND ROLL

The Phoenix: Team TIES

Bring home the boys in scraps, scrap metal the tanks/Get hitched, make a career out of robbing banks/Because the world is just a teller and we are wearing black masks/"You broke our spirit," says the note we pass

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up): LL!Cleo

I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see/That you're the antidote to everything except for me/Through a constellation of tears on your lashes/Burn everything you love then burn the ashes

Alone Together: The Roomies (Cleo, Etho, and Grian)

I don't know where you're going/But do you got room for one more troubled soul?/I don't know where I'm going/But I don't think I'm coming home/And I said, "I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead"/This is the road to ruin and we're starting at the end

Where Did The Party Go: LL!Tango

I'm here to collect your hearts/It's the only reason that I sing/I don't believe a word you say/But I can't stop listening

Just One Yesterday: LL!Bdubs and Etho

If heaven's grief brings hell's rain/Then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday/(I know I'm bad news)/For just one yesterday/(I saved it all for you)

The Mighty Fall: DL!Divorce Quartet

Your crooked love is just a pyramid scheme and I'm dizzy on dreams/(And I'm dizzy on dreams)/But if you ask me two's a whole lot lonelier than one/Baby, we should have left our love in the gutter where we found it/(Gutter where we found it)/'Cause you think, you think your only crime is that you got caught

Miss Missing You: Impulse and Bdubs (Impulse POV)

Baby, you were my picket fence, I miss missing you now and then/Chlorine kissed summer skin, I miss missing you now and then/Sometimes before it gets better, the darkness gets bigger/The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger/Oh, we're fading fast, I miss missing you now and then

Death Valley: This is the soundtrack to the LL Battle Royale Finale

We're going to die, it's just a matter of time/Hard times come, good times go/I'm either gone in an instant/Or here 'til the bitter end, I never know

Young Volcanoes: The Heart Foundation

C'mon, make it easy, say I never mattered/Run it up the flag pole/We will teach you how to make boys next door/Out of assholes (Hahaha!)/Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds/It's all over now

Rat A Tat: LL!Grian and Mumbo (mostly Grian POV)

But I'll take your heart served up two ways/I sing a bitter song/I'm the lonelier version of you/I just don't know where it went wrong

Save Rock And Roll: DL!Pearl

I cried tears you'll never see/So fuck you, you can go cry me an ocean, and leave me be/You are what you love, not who loves you/In a world full of the word 'yes', I'm here to scream/No, no (No, no)/Wherever I go, go (go, go)/Trouble seems to follow

AMERICAN BEAUTY/AMERICAN PSYCHO

Irresistible: SL!Gem and Pearl (Gem POV)

Count me in unannounced, drag my nails on the tile/I just follow your scent/You can't just follow my smile/All of your flaws are aligned with this mood of mine/Cutting me to the bone/Nothing left to leave behind/You ought to keep me concealed just like I was a weapon/I didn't come for a fight but I will fight till the end/This might be your battle, might not turn out okay/You know you look so Seattle, but you feel so LA

American Beauty/American Psycho: LL!Scott

I think I fell in love again/Maybe I just took too much cough medicine/I'm the best worst thing that hasn't happened to you yet/The best worst thing/You take the full, full truth, then you pour some out/You take the full, full truth, then you pour some out/And you can kill me, kill me or let God sort ‘em out

Centuries: LimL!Martyn

And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name/Cause I was only born inside my dreams/Until you die for me, as long as there's a light, my shadow's over you/Cause I am the opposite of amnesia

The Kids Aren’t Alright: The Mounders

It twists my head just a bit to think/All those people in those old photographs I've seen are dead/And in the end/I'd do it all again/I think you're my best friend

Uma Thurman: 3L!Cleo

You'll find your way/And may death find you alive/Take me down the line/In Gem City, we turn the tide

Jet Pack Blues: Impulse and Bdubs

Honey, don't you leave/Don't you remember how we used to split a drink?/It never mattered what it was, I think/Our heads were just that close/The sweetness never lasts, you know

Novocaine: Guess what, it's Joel again. I'm not even a Joel main why is this happening.

In the truly gruesome do we trust/I will always land on you like a sucker punch/Singing I am your worst, I am your worst nightmare

Fourth Of July: LL!Lizzie and Cleo (Lizzie POV)

I said I'd never miss you/But I guess you never know/May the bridges I have burned/Light my way back home on the fourth of July/I wish I'd known how much you loved me/I wish I cared enough to know

Favorite Record: Post DL!Jimmy

You were the song stuck in my head/Every song that I've ever loved/Play it again and again and again/And you can get what you want but it's never enough

Immortals: 3L!Grian and Scar

I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass, glass (Glass)/(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)/Oh, I try to picture me without you, but I can’t/'Cause we could be immortals/Immortals/Just not for long, for long/And live with me forever now/Mmm, pull the blackout curtains down/Just not for long, for long

Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel In NYC): SL!Martyn and Jimmy

I just need enough of you to dull the pain/Just to get me through the night 'till we're twins again/'Til we're stripped down to our skeletons again/'Til we're saints just swimming in our sins again/And there's a jet black crow droning on and on and on/Up above our heads droning on and on and on/Keep making trouble 'til you find what you love/I need a new partner in crime and you, you shrug that

MANIA

Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea: 3L!Ren

I'm 'bout to go Tonya Harding on the whole world's knee/And I'm stuck, night vision, so stuck, night vision/But I come to life, come to life/Some princes don't become kings/Even at the best of times, I'm out of my mind/You only get what you grieve

The Last Of The Real Ones: Bdubs

My head is stripped, just like a screw that's been tightened too many times/When I think of you, when I think of you/I will shield you from the waves if they find you/I will protect you, I will protect you/Just tell me, tell me, tell me I, I am the only one/Even if it's not true, even if it's not true, yeah

HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T: DL+LimL!Etho and Joel

I got too high again, realized I can't not be with you/Or be just your friend, I love you to death, but I just can't/I just can't pretend, we weren't lovers first/Confidants but never friends, were we ever friends?/But when your stitch comes loose, I wanna sleep on/Every piece of fuzz and stuffing that comes out of you/You, I took too many hits off this memory/I need to come down/An-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-nother day goes by/So hold me tight, hold me tight, or don't/Oh n-n-no, no, this isn't how our story ends

Wilson (Expensive Mistakes): LL!Bdubs

There's nothing more cruel than to be loved by everybody but you (but you)/Than to be loved by everybody but you, (but you) but you/If I could get my shit together/I'm gonna run away and never see any of you again/Never see any of you again/I hope the roof flies off and we get blown out into space/I-I always make such expensive mistakes

Church: SL!Lizzie

I love the world/But I just don't love the way it makes me feel/Got a few more fake friends/And it's getting hard to know what's real/And if death is the last appointment/Then we're all just sitting in the waiting room (Mr. Stump?)/I am just a human trying to avoid my certain doom

Heaven’s Gate: LimL!Skizz (right at the end)

I got dreams of my own, but I want to make yours come true/So please come through, honey please, please come through/Oh, go out in the world, start over again and again/As many times as you can

Champion: SL!Pearl

I got rage every day, on the inside/The only thing I do is sit around and kill the time/I'm trying to blow out the pilot light/I'm trying to blow out the light/I'm just young enough to still believe, still believe/But young enough not to know what to believe in/Young enough not to know what to believe/If I can live through this, if I can live through this/If I can live through this, I can do anything

Sunshine Riptide: LL!Scott

The world tried to burn all the mercy outta me/But you know I wouldn't let it/It tried to teach me the hard way, I can't forget it

Young And Menace: LimL!Martyn

We've gone way too fast for way too long/And we were never supposed to make it half this far/And I lived so much life, lived so much life/I think that God is gonna have to kill me twice

Bishops Knife Trick: Bad Boys

I got a feeling inside that I can't domesticate/It doesn't wanna live in a cage, a feeling that I can't housebreak/And I'm yours 'til the earth starts to crumble and the heavens roll/Away, I'm struggling to exist with you and without you, yeah

SO MUCH (FOR) STARDUST

Love From The Other Side: SL!Etho

I'd never go, I just want to be invited, oh, got to give up/Get the feeling, get the feeling, don't fight it, fight it/Sending my love from the other side of the apocalypse/And I just about snapped, don't look back/Every lover's got a little dagger in their hand

Heartbreak Feels So Good: 3L!Grian

Is there a word for bad miracle?/Nobody said the road was endless/Nobody said the climb was friendless/But could we please pretend this won't end?

Hold Me Like A Grudge: DL!Pearl

(You put the "fun" into dysfunction)/Hold me, hold me like a grudge/The world is always spinning, and I can't keep up, woah/Faster and faster, can't do it on my own/Part-time soulmate, full-time problem, yeah/So hold me like a grudge

Fake Out: SL!Lizzie

But I didn't take the love when I had the chance/But I swear I'm not sad anymore/So make no plans and none can be broken/No plans and none can be broken/Do you laugh about me whenever I leave?/Or do I still need more therapy?

Heaven, Iowa: 3L!Scar

And they don't know how much they’ll miss/At least until you're gone like this/Talking to the mirror, say, "Save your breath/Half your life you've been hooked on death"

So Good Right Now: DL!Bdubs

And I know, I know I've made mistakes, yeah/And I know, I know, but at least they were mine to make/They were mine to make/And all of our wildest dreams, they just end up with a-you and me/So, let's drive until the engine just gives out

The Pink Seashell: Ok, I cannot pull a lyric for this because it is the world’s most specific monologue, but the general message of it (“Life is a lottery and bad shit happens all the time, so might as well find happiness in the good things, even the small things.”) feels like it could be Skizz. Just trust me. This one is so fucking difficult.

I Am My Own Muse: LimL!Jimmy

Here I am, not sure you should take a chance/I like playin' dumb, lettin' you figure me out/But I was faded, in my own defense/So, drop a bomb on all the things we dreamed about

Flu Game: SL!Joel

Last night I dreamt I still knew you/You/I carved out a place in this world for two/But it's empty without you/I got all this love I've got to keep to myself/All this effort to make it look effortless

Baby Annihilation: Scott

The first time I took the mask off, just had another one on underneath

The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years): LimL+ SL!Martyn (but mostly LimL)

Passed my old street, the house I grew up in/It breaks your heart, but four of the Ramones are dead/I felt you at the beginning, but needed you at the end/We're goin' low, low, low, low

What A Time To Be Alive: SL!Bigb

When, when, when I said, "Leave me alone", this isn't quite what I meant/I got the quarantine blues, bad news, what's left?/So, it seems the vulture's gettin' too full to fly, oh/What a time to be alive

So Much (For) Stardust: Ren

I'm in a winter mood, dreamin' of spring now/Burnin' myself down, burnin' myself down, burnin'/I feel like something that's been stretched out over and over again/Until I'm creased, and I'm about to break down the middle/Split me right down the middle, right, right down the middle, yeah

[thevillagequeer]

@ariemfox here is the second song you requested!

A Boy Named Sue Two - Johnny Cash

listen here!

okay this might be a lyric by lyric breakdown....we'll see.

but first of all, take note of the rhyming/syllable fit of A Boy Named Two instead. because,,, yes.

basically, this song is rife with diego and reginald bitter father and son vibes ala I'm a Man (the use of that song for diego makes me go feral i love it sm)

so let's break it down, with my pretty bolded snippets of song:

But the meanest thing that my daddy ever did... he went and named me Sue Two

if there is any Hargreeves kid with more vocal disdain for the way Reginald chose to raise them, it would have to be Diego "My name is Number Two, you know why? Because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had Mom do it." Hargreeves.

And I got a lot of laughs from a lots of folk Seems I had to fight my whole life through Some gal would giggle and I'd turn red And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head I tell you, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue Two

now here, this isn't just directly about his name, but you can't tell me Diego didn't grow up constantly hyper aware and embarrassed over his stutter, his inferiority to Luther, his anything everything it all. Kid felt too much, and it all boiled over, again and again, in a house where survival came from restraint and obedience.

But I grew up quick and I grew up mean My fist got hard and my wits got keen

Same here. Bottle it up and punch it out. What you can't get off your tongue, blades and fists will do just fine. Isn't it interesting how the guy with the ability to manipulate any trajectory decided to take up boxing? The sport without a projectile. Just you, your fists and whatever's going on inside your head.

The second half of the song really gives me vibes of the fight between Diego and Reginald from S2 (I'm A Man scene, my beloved)

But I made me a vow to the moon and stars I'd search the honky tonks and bars And kill that man that gave me that awful name

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad... Knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye He was big and bent and gray and old

And I looked at him and my blood ran cold And I said, "My name is Sue Two, how do you do? Now you gonna die!"

Where Five kept his number and reclaimed it by turning it from a piece of data into a name, I think Diego would hold onto Number Two as righteous evidence. Doesn't matter the timeline, doesn't matter shit. His father looked at him and decided he was a tally mark, and he will always make that known. That a supposedly living, breathing man added him to a list of seven, and that it was his android mother who looked at him with her fiber optics and liquid retinas and said "You are my son, your name is Diego."

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes And he went down, but to my surprise He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear Then I busted a chair right across his teeth And we crashed through the walls and into the street Kicking and a-gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer

Well, I tell you, I've fought tougher men But I really can't remember when He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile

Another thing I love about the Reginald and Diego fight scene is 1) we finally get to see Reggie put his money where his mouth is for once and 2) that bitch fights just as dirty as the kids he hates. Olympian my ass. He has a baby knife (Deadpool would be pissed, that's his thing) and will hide it until the time is right.

And this song illustrates that so well too!! Unfortunately for Diego, sometimes your foil is your father and sometimes the blade you carry he carried first.

And he said, "Son, this world is rough And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough

It's that name that helped to make you strong"

Just some nice gaslighting. Feel free to apply it to "You were never just children, you were meant to save the world!"

But you ought to thank me, before I die For the gravel in ya gut and the spit in ya eye 'Cause I'm the son of a bitch that named you Sue Two"

Reggie went to the grave and beyond and into other timelines thinking he was justified.

What could I do? Well, I got all choked up and I threw down my gun I called him my pa, and he called me his son Come away with a different point of view And I think about him, now and then

the end of the song, on its face doesn't apply to them at all. but, I can't help but think Diego wishes he could have had the ending of this song. In another life, with another father, perhaps.

Send me an ask about a song from my playlists for the characters of the Umbrella Academy!

[just-some-random-blogger]

Can you write some Dream with a Filipino! Reader please???

Beer

Dream of the Endless x Reader + Corinthian x Reader

Summary: You want to get drunk because he's gone. Oh, and Corinthian is so going to take advantage of that.

Word Count: 1k+

Warnings: Filipino!Reader, gender neutral!reader, I use filipino, mentions of heavy drinking/drunkennes, angst, fluff, typos, etc.

A/N: Hey nonnie, tbfh, being filipino played no part in this fic besides the fact she speaks some filipino and sings a filipino song, which is why i added in the warnings instead of the pairing lol ANYWAY, this can kinD OF DOUBLE AS A p2 for Thorn At My Side, although it kind of doesn't really mention much about what happens in that fic and is mostly centered on my fav nightmare But whatever I am tagging everyone who commented on that @cleverzonkwombatsludge @pinksirensong @lexi-anastasia @aralezinspace @emy635 @libra207 @secretdreamlandmentality @deniixlovezelda @shadow-pancake9 Please listen to Beer by Itchyworms, because that's what reader is busting out a lung to here's then english translation if you're curious Part 3 ig "Not Enough"

Corinthian snorted as he watched from his personal corner of the bar. He was deeply impressed by how drunk, yet on key the singer was as each song progressed. This, he notes, would be the 3rd drunken and broken hearted song confession of the night.

When it ends, the crowd cheers but the performer does not care.

Corinthian smirks to himself, taking a sip of his drink. If heartbreak was the recipe for a star performer, then more people should try getting their heart ripped out.

The intro of the next song started to play.

The guitar riff to the familiar tune made my heart clench. Much like the song, I took a swig of beer-- whoever's it was didn't seem to mind. It tasted horrible. I never liked beer. But the burn down my throat was exhilarating. It was well welcomed with all this sorrow in my chest.

I mistakenly use my bottle as a mic when I sing the first lyric.

Someone in the crowd telling me this was made me realize it.

"Dahil wala ka na," I sang the next line.

Because you're gone.

I smack myself with the beer bottle when I begin to think of Dream.

Fuck that.

Corinthian licked his lips, grabbing his glass as he made his way closer to the performance. He pushes his shades up and places a hand in his pocket as the music from the speakers grew louder with every step he took.

He surveyed the room. Corinthian thought of how much of a waste it was for the crowd to be as receptive and appreciative of the performance, though they had no idea what the words meant, when the singer was too intoxicated to even be able to tell.

Corinthian listens to how the lyric about returned gumamelas was sung, how beer was dumped down on it like a sad throat, and how, much like your feelings, the flower was still very much alive after it all.

It was so pathetic it was funny.

Corinthian downs the last of his own drink as the chorus started.

Nah, this was definitely the limit. Aint no way anyone that hammered is making it past the chorus.

He rolled his shoulders, readying for the inevitable, as he enjoyed the severely vulnerable words of the song. The nightmare in him thrived in the pain. It pays to be language omniscient. At least he could thank Dream for that one thing.

Corinthian was nearly a second too late when it happened.

I blink rapidly, my lightheadedness distracted by the gasp of the crowd. It was pretty weird that my head wasn't hurt by the impact of me falling after tripping on a mic chord.

"Steady there, doll face."

I look at the smirking blonde before me, swearing I knew him, even though I didn't.

"Aw, it's Corinthian, babe. I can't believe you'd forget your favorite nightmare," he says, getting me onto my feet, "alcoholism doesn't suit you very well."

He leads me off, placing the mic on the stand. The crowd stirs. I turn over to the TV still flashing the lyrics of my song, "hindi pa tapos."

Not yet done? Corinthian pulls me close to him, brow quirking, "I'm pretty sure you're past done, doll."

I turn to him when I crash onto his firm chest. I barely see my reflection on his thick glasses. I realize he was holding a cup of water in his hand when he brings it up to my lips.

I take the glass from him and drink it.

"Honestly, I should just kill you."

I choke on my water. I feel it come out of my nose.

Corinthian chuckles dryly, shaking his head, "wouldn't you like that? Your Dream Daddy broke your heart. Don't you wanna break his?" The sound of my coughing makes Corinthian think he might not have to do anything for the moron to die.

He grabs the cup from my hand, sets it on a random surface, and leads me out of the bar as I continue racketing my lungs.

"Geez," he pats my back, "you secretly have TB or something?"

I shrug him off as we walk down the pavement. He watches me as I look at him, "you know my dad?"

"What?"

"Sabi mo 'dream daddy', eh hindi-"

This bitch really talking about a dad?

Corinthian mutes out the next words, turning his attentions to the street. He pulls me to the left so that I don't step on a smallish pothole I don't even see.

He peers down to his side, finding the rant 10x more annoying since it was being spoken in a language the idiot was clearly very comfortable with.

"Shut up," Corinthian snips.

I turn up to him, furrowing my brows, "are you my boyfriend?"

Corinthian snorts, ripping me back by my top when I continue walking, though it was a red light. I choke on my collar as I wind up falling back into his chest.

"That depends on how pissed off dad would be if I were."

"It's none of my dad's business who I date."

Corinthian hums, "but it is my dad's."

"You have a strict dad?"

Corinthian snorts, lips curving into a lopsided smile, "oh, you have no idea."

We begin to walk again, and Corinthian turns up to his right when he catches sight of a fluttering black bird. He pulls me closer to him, throwing his arm around my shoulder. He dives his hand to his pocket and takes a stick of gum, popping it into his mouth. He chews it, enjoying the mint for a moment.

"Good news, babe," he starts, "I'm your boyfriend now."

My face contorts, "what?"

"Nightmare."

I am abruptly pulled into a stop. I topple against Corinthian.

"Daddy dearest," said nightmare states, hand gripping one of my shoulder's firmly, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

I look at the man he was addressing, the dark hair and blue eyes make my stomach churn, but I push it away as I look up to the grinning man I was next to. I wrap my arm around his torso, as not to be left in such an awkward position. He turns to me, licking his lips.

"Your dad isn't blonde?" I mutter.

Corinthian laughs, "no he is not. It's kinda funny you don't remember."

"Enough."

Corinthian turns to his maker. He watches as Dream's face tenses, "unhand your captive this instant."

"There's no captive here, pops," he tilts his head, turning to me, "tell 'im. Aren't I your boyfriend, dearest?"

"Uhm," I think, then turn to Corinthian's dad, "yes, sir."

Corinthian holds back a laugh. He wills his face into neutrality. It takes everything in him not to flat out yak at Dream's furious look. Still, he exercises his self-control well.

"You heard it yourself."

"Except," Dream steps forward. A bunch of passersby gives us all weird looks. "You clearly got alcohol-"

"I didn't get alcohol anywhere."

"Oh? Then why does it reek-"

"You know why," Corinthian blurts, "a consequence of trying to forget you, Dream."

"Dream?" I perk up at the sound, turning from Corinthian then otherwise. When I catch his face, when I realize who the man with the dark hair and blue eyes before me was, I hide myself in Corinthian's chest. My heartbeat begins to exhilerate.

Corinthian finds himself acting out of instinct. He pulls me close to him, "don't worry, baby, I got you."

Dream fumes.

"Besides, he can't banish you in your own neighborhood," he smirks to Dream, "now can he?"

"Corinthian," Dream utters with a conviction that shakes the nightmare to his core. It makes him tense. It makes his stomach drop.

However, the spreading feel of wetness on his shirt snaps him out of it.

"Yeah," Cori says, "bye."

I grip on him tightly as we begin to walk away. A chill runs down my spine when he pass Dream. Corinthian experiences the same thing.

We make it down the block in relative silence, relative because beyond the sound of cars, there was a soft voice in my mind calling out to me.

Corinthian silences his own by speaking up, "you wanna have some sinigang? There's a Filipino restaurant just across the street."

I close my eyes, listening to the sound of his heartbeat, as I nod against him.

[ifearzombies]

The Song Each Character Jams To

Whenever this song plays, the brother is singing along to it.

Lucifer: Save The Last Dance For Me - Michael Buble

The moment he hears it, he’s singing along softly and grabbing your hands to dance with you. You laugh as you’re swept up into the moment. He dips you and he spins you and you can’t help but love when he indulges himself like this.

Mammon: Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson Ft Bruno Mars

He’s busting a move at the first note. It’s so joyful and exuberant you can’t help but join in. You shout the ‘hallelujah’ when he points to you. You’re both laughing and moving to the music as he puffs up in pride. 

Leviathan: All Star - Smash Mouth

There’s no song more meme-y and iconic. You are both instantly belting out the lyrics and dancing (somewhat badly) and then making far too many Shrek references.

Satan: Faith - George Michael

You’re surprised this is the one Satan prefers to jam out to, but as you listen to the lyrics it makes a bit sense. The POV is about wanting someone, but also being worried about giving it all away. Contrast and the tone aloof. What’s really fun is when Satan starts jamming out, Asmo also joins and then it’s a small party with the three of you.

Asmodeus: KISS - Voiceplay Cover (Original by Prince)

Asmo actually has a whole list he will jam out to. ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, ‘Sexy Naughty Bitchy Me’. It’s a whole playlist. But this one grooves him like none other. He’s singing along with every line as he dances. He’ll pull the nearest person into a dance with him (most of them complying- you especially).

Beelzebub:  Carry Out - Timbaland

Beel loves the song despite making him extremely hungry. He hasn’t quite caught on that it’s a sex jam and thinks it’s about loving fast food. He gets closer to figuring it out every time he sings it.

Belphegor: Stars - Switchfoot

He doesn’t really get up and dance, but he’s tapping his foot and softly singing along. He’s too tired to ‘jam’ like everyone else. And the song is rather introspective and speaks of star gazing; his favorite thing. And the smile he makes when he sings this is so beautiful.

Solomon: I Got The Magic In Me - B.o.B. featuring Rivers Cuomo

Solomon is a cheeky bastard and he loves performing spells while singing along to this song. Especially when the movements of the spell can be dance like. It’s a delight to watch him perform and he loves how you cheer him on.

Simeon: Shut Up & Dance With Me - Walk The Moon

The moment the song is on, Simeon’s grabbed your hands and you’re dancing. It’s one of his favorite songs from the Human Realm. The bright angelic smile on his face as you sing with him is as beautiful as him and you giggle when Luke joins in.

Luke: Eye To Eye - Tevin Campbell

You watched the movie with him and this song became his favorite. You, Simeon, and Solomon join him in singing and dancing to this song. Luke likes to pretend he’s Powerline with the rest of you as backup dancers. Asmo has a video of the PH hall fam performing while you belt out the background singing.

Barbatos: Walking On Broken Glass - Annie Lennox

He doesn’t instantly start dancing, but he is singing and moving his body in a ‘dance-like’ fashion as he cleans and tends to his duties. You join in the song and at the end, he picks you up and spins you like John Malcovich does to Annie.

Diavolo: Mambo No.5 - Lou Bega

You introduced this to him. It’s your fault Barbatos has heard this song over 50 times this year. You take full responsibility as you belt the lyrics out alongside Diavolo and shuffle-dance around the floor with the prince loud enough you’re worried you’ll wake his dad from wherever he’s sleeping. Still. It’s too fun a song to not to jam to and you don’t feel a bit of remorse. Well. Until Barbatos gets his revenge with you later.

[pixelatedquarter]

Day 44 of Tourdust: I'm sending this from the other side of the apocalypse that just unfolded, trying to get it across while the veil is still thin, but I can't promise it will ever reach.

One thing they don't tell you about the so called Halloween 'veil' is that apparently doesn't only divide the realm of the living and the dead, but also the integrity of the timeline. Somehow, earlier than we expected to have news of our trick or treaters at the scene, we were informed they were witnessing a show from the pre-hiatus, or rather, what would have been the pre-hiatus until The Pumpkin King From The Chicago Hardcore Scene returned, in all his sunglasses-wearing milfy glory, to once again scream lyrics onstage.

Once this event unfolded it didn't take long for ghost sightings to be reported at the Pvris retirement home. At first we thought we knew what awaited, with one of them wearing a baseball cap, the ones of us most versed in tinfoil hatmaking considering perhaps at worst they were covering their costumes with sheets.

But we soon realized he was too tall to be our dear melodramatic femme fatale's dead soulmate (again); and then there were more of them. It was soon clear that ghost tricks had been summoned to obfuscate what the pumpkin king had in store for the trick or treaters, and for all of us, attending from our dear Andy's phone.

On the palm of his hand we were standing when we saw just how high the levels of sillyness were: we were safe from those ghosts for they had been busted by a sexy sexy guitar, a crack of lightning beat in time with the drums, and undoubtedly the big bad grandmilf wolf from shrek had been responsible, in his soulmate exalting poetry, of chanting the name of a star thrice. After all this tour trying to keep a semblance of matching, it's more than earned that tonight of all nights they'd each embody a wildly different member of a wildly different group.

Usually we receive critical hits of damage around the time Patrick gets his little moment to shine. We didn't even make it to the riff this time.

Faster than Beetlejuice became just a regular eyeliner wearing spirit, our werewolf turned into this ethereal human (perhaps evocative of being lost into dreamland in his nightgown, perhaps that's owed to the fantasy land he constructed around them), more an apparition of a lost soul handing out candy to the kids rather than the implied threat of a furry posing as a grandmother trying to trick us. And as the latter started singing the ever haunting tunes of Heaven, Iowa, cameras soon panned to the spot where Pete usually sits alone, as the now wigless, armourless, but just as toned god of thunder enveloped him in a hug, capturing both of them laughing, perhaps comforting each other, certainly having fun, before Thor bolted just in time to avoid missing his cue.

We know better than to make deals with devils, i promise, we do. No matter how good they look in eye makeup. But, sometimes it IS worth making a deal with Beetlejuice to get him to play I'm Like A Lawyer for our streamer. Besides, it's not like the pumpkin king, who would use the distraction of the new and devastating "when i woke up next to you" to turn into his skeletal form, would let any marriages come of it. Well, unless it's for the bit, or you mishear him state his intentions to be engaged himself to this devil. Wouldn't be the wildest thing he's said on riff. Truly, a second riff with Patrick was the greatest treat of the night and he damn well knows it, he's always been good at knowing his subjects.

And The Magic 8 Ball has always been good at knowing when to throw us for a loop. We thought 'surely. if it's reset, that means new rules will not keep showing up.' and oh how wrong we were. 'You will cover Halloween for Halloween' it told them, not giving them more than a day to practice a song that wasn't even theirs. 'And by the way, fuck the legal system' it added, for good measure, despite the lights not being as sexy as they were last time.

By the non-encore encore the only sensible member of this ragtag group, who managed to keep his full attire was the ghostbuster, the sounds from his guitar as effective as any proton pack, as powerful as the thunderous beat Thor kept on the drums.

And so it was time to end the night of trick or treating. The skeleton's bones rattled as his hips swayed, roses clung like vines intertwined with his rib cage, and a bony elbow pressed against this demon who could have been the devil himself 12 years ago, but certainly looked happier now. In spite of it all, it was Saturday again.

[kaiijo]

SPOTIFY WRAPPED EVENT !

in honor of spotify wrapped 2023 releasing and as a very belated celebration of hitting 3k followers, welcome to the spotify wrapped event! request a prompt and a character from the list below and i will write a drabble/short ficlet inspired by the prompts. (i will also be writing a few of my own, un-requested pieces inspired my top three spotify songs and my top artist so stay tuned!)

the prompts for this event are all lyrics from songs from top songs of 2023 songs this year in my spotify wrapped!

guidelines

send an ask — pick one prompt/lyric from the list below and request a character from a fandom that i write for! i will write a drabble/short ficlet inspired by the prompt (ex: luffy + i can't take it no more)

fandoms that can be requested: blue lock, haikyuu, kuroko no basket, one piece, jujutsu kaisen

follow my general rules

i can't guarantee i'll write every request

have fun! i’m so looking forward to your requests <3

event status: open

prompts are below!

kaiijo’s spotify wrapped event prompts

Tell me pretty little lies

You need love, I need some too

I can't take it no more

I'll never bite, I'll never bite the pain

She gone do whatever she need to be young and rich

You keep me up, my heart is beating up and down

You first and maybe I'll do the same

But you still love me

Bet you you'll see stars

We can go wherever you like

Stay through the night, just me and you

Anytime I'm alone, I can't help thinking about you

Cartwheels in my stomach when you walk in

I'm falling deeper in emotions, yeah

Did you ever want me?

Let’s run away and don’t ever look back

Trust me, I have magical foresight

You deserve it, baby, you deserve it all

We leave it empty, let's ghost the town

Someday, I'll be fallin' without caution

His love never felt right

I feel so much lighter like a feather with you out my life

Tonight's the night, let's live it up

Call all you want, but there's no one home

Don't stick around, you should save yourself

You're my kryptonite

I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes

There is nothing I do better than revenge

Tonight we ain't got no limit, baby

Thinking about everything we have had

I'm the one who needs your love

You were telling me about your dreams

'Cause I know what could be, babe

I need a love dictionary

Growing up to heaven, touching on the sun

But I see through your pretty ruse

I can't dare to dream about you anymore

Bust through the walls, break in and enter

Went looking for a creation myth

I would take a bullet for you just to prove my love

Oh, I can’t stop you putting roots in my dreamland

We've been doin' all this late night talkin’

Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night

It started in the dark, in a bar

He's been a player since the cradle

Whatever the problem, we know how to solve them

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

He's my daydream, never a nightmare

Like, who been on your mind? Who got your time?

And you've still got it in your drawer even now