#but I think the lyrics sound like any generic song about . another person

[echoesofadream]

why is jungkook copying Beyoncé...?

[remxedmoon]

You should tell us about color psychology that sounds cool as hell

YES… HA HA HA… YES!

GGGOD I WISH I WASN’T OUT OF THE HOUSE RIGHT NOW. but i’ve been thinking about colors literally all day so you all get to be subject to my madness! sorry this is long and rambly wauaua. nightmarishly long post under the cut.

okay. first things first, a few basics. color theory and color psychology tend to get confused a lot in discussions, but they usually refer to different things. color theory is more about we physically perceive colors (color wheels and color schemes the like), while color psychology focuses on our emotional response to colors. if you’re familiar with the children’s hospital color theory post, that poster wasn’t actually talking about color theory, but color psychology (and also it’s incredibly surface level and heavily misunderstands the subject because in what fucking universe does the quantity of positive associations with a color matter more than the context it’s used in and sorry i have personal beef with this tumblr post).

color theory is also a special interest of mine but i’m not gonna touch on it too much here because it’s not entirely important. mmmaybe another time…

essentially, certain colors (and color combinations) have associations in our brains and that affect our behavior and emotions. these associations are also very much affected by the context a color is used in. colors don’t exist in a vacuum! so while red can symbolize passion and love when used in something like a dress or a bouquet of flowers, it has a very different connotation when it’s, say, splattered on the walls or smeared on the ground in a snail trail.

or for a less Children’s Hospital Themed example, i’ll put my euphrasie and king designs here!

(of course the saturation and brightness of these blues play a massive part in how they’re perceived but this is not a post about color theory this is n)

and, of course, combining colors in a piece can also change their meanings!! i’m about to get real fucking normal.

i’m gonna be focusing on the color combo of red and yellow here because it’s the one that’s most relevant to my art (and also it’s really interesting.) basically, seeing these two colors together activates the part of our brain that controls our appetite, making us actually feel hungry. this is why so many food companies use red and yellow in their branding! it’s neat stuff!!

also, if you’re familiar with it, this is why the mv for butcher vanity uses this color palette!! along with red’s general associations with danger and blood, the color combo also physically induces hunger. pretty fitting for a song about cannibalism!

(there is also red’s association with lust and passion and how that intersects with the double meaning in the lyrics but i cannot derail this post into being an analysis of butcher vanity i’m sorry. we’d be here all week. maybe another day... wipes a tear from my eye)

and i think this might be the reason why some people feel hungry when they see my art, even when i’m not drawing food. while i don’t tend to use red outright, most of my art has very warm undertones (red-oranges and yellows especially), which could be activating that hunger response??

(ah fuck color theory managed to weasel its way into this post again)

admittedly this part is just speculation on my end. i think my rendering style and Shapes also play a role in it, but it’s interesting for me to think about!!

this is only scratching the surface of how complicated colors can get. i was going to go on an entire tangent about color grading and how green lighting can make a scene feel unnerving but this post is already Too Fucking Long. aaaa super sorry if this is Rambly or hard to understand!! i’m not Entirely sure how much the average person knows about color theory and psychology so if there’s any confusing terms here i’m fine with adding stuff for clarity!

wauauuaa thank you so much for asking!!!! i love talking about colors.

tl;dr colors have a bunch of different emotions and meanings tied to them, but you’ve gotta pay attention to the context in which it’s being used. so maybe take a step back before you put that thick red trail on the floor of your children’s hospital.

[kiiyunz]

what are you listening to? ☆

kihyun likes music as much as the next person. he’s not picky about what he listens to—what he likes, he likes, although he doesn’t make much of an effort keep up with new releases from people who aren’t in his slightly preferred circle of genres. he’ll shazam without shame, lean over as many people as he needs in order to peer onto uber stereos for a glance at what’s playing on the radio, and has quipped once that he’d be making his living as a ‘what are you listening to’ tiktokker in an alternate timeline.

genre-wise, he mainly listens to rap, pop, and dance (or just electronic in general). in terms of favourite artists, the ones he’ll mention the most are azealia banks, michael jackson, exo, f(x), and gsoul. some more that have begun to crop up more in his playlists include rihanna, tomorrow x together, miguel, and frank ocean. and, finally, when asked about his absolute favourite song, he’ll most likely say “miss amor. or.. wait.. and gravity!”—by azealia banks & miguel respectively.

at a glance ★ kihyun’s spotify

he has five main playlists (despite one of them being named ‘PLAYLIST #7’—he just thought it sounded cool) that, despite him attempting to keep loose themes for each of them, have ended up all vaguely jumbled in one way or another. their covers are a mix of photos he’s stolen from pinterest and ones that he’s taken himself (namely the cover of ‘423,’ one of his favourite pictures of jeno).

playlist rundown ☆

‘클럽 클래식’⠀(club classics—very much a reference) is for everything & anything. old, new, any genre, any language. it’s unsorted and he doesn’t intend on organising it any time soon (although he does occasionally sit and rearrange them by the colour of their covers). if he hears a song in the club, if one of mark’s recommendations really resonate with him, if he’s taking blind suggestions and needs somewhere to put them in order for him to listen later—this is where it all goes. made in 2016, ones he finds himself listening to more than once include forever yours—brent faiyaz, flowers—sweet female attitude, and 魂の叫び—soul scream.

‘FOR K’⠀is for him—not that any of the others aren’t, but in this one they’re just more so. they’re songs that are close to his heart, that mean something special to him for a whole variety of reasons. they’re words he can’t say, feelings he can’t describe—or just sounds he really, really likes. sometimes he’ll grow out of a few and do some reshuffling, (or take a screenshot and send it to chenle so they can both laugh at what he was listening to as a teenager) but for the most part it’s always been a hub for all his favourite favourites. ever since 2013, his soft spots lie for songs like crazy for you—gsoul, chasing time—azealia banks, me+u—f(x), get on the floor—michael jackson, and i want it all—arctic monkeys.

‘423’⠀is for jeno. he’s never told him about it (and doesn’t intend to, because he dreads the relentless teasing he’ll receive if any of the others find out) but it’s still for him. it’s a collection of all the music that makes him think ‘jeno,’ and whether it’s lyric-wise or a two-second-long instrumental moment, he’ll put it on there. first made in 2018, some of his favourites include bonnie & clyde—dean, sweet lies—exo, lost—frank ocean, and james joint—rihanna.

‘PLAYLIST #7’⠀is for his friends & members—both in a ‘my-friends-made-these-songs’ way and a ‘these-songs-make-me-think-of-my-friends’ way. mainly kpop, with the occasional heartfelt anthem thrown in every once in a while, he’ll usually listen whenever he’s feeling a little down—thinking about those he loves is a surefire way to make him feel better, after all. circa 2017, his top picks from this list include drama—txt, anl—nct dream, and glow—kelis.

‘###’⠀is for rap, mainly. he’s found a lot over the years, and just.. likes it. one of his goals is to make a full-rap song of his own, but while he plans and practices and brainstorms, he’ll be listening to something from this list instead. mark or johnny is his go-to person whenever he finds a new song by a western rapper he likes the sound of, asking if they know anything about them or listen to them themselves (the answer is usually no or sometimes. to say he was disappointed when he found out johnny prefers coldplay was an understatement). first created in 2018, faves from this playlist include i serve the base—future, fell in luv—playboi carti, body language—doja cat, and hazard duty pay!—jpegmafia.

[urboynoah]

How the ES!Autobots would react to you singing a love song in another language

that silly idea just arrived in my head listening to "Mon Amour - Remix" because, idfk, it has such a good vibe. I KNOW i haven't written shit for literal years but transformers got the best of me! Link of the song as the end, ASKS OPEN!!

The terrans part is NOT ROMANTIC!!! IT'S YOU ASKING THEIR OPINION ON SINGING IT FOR YOUR CRUSH!! don't make this weird pls

(Also I know I'm bad at writing. I just do it for fun so no judging pls!! Apologies for any spelling mistakes, english isn't my first language!)

Bumblebee

Would look at you like that exact emoji : “🤨”

The fuck you mean you can sing?

THE FUCK YOU MEAN YOU CAN SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE-?

He ends up loving it and even vibes a little, tapping his feet on the beat

Still confused about the meaning of the song

He asks you so many questions when you finish singing, since when you started learning the language, what does it mean, blablah.

You explain to him you were born and raised in Mexico, your parents would always talk to you in Spanish. You learned english by yourself when you changed country.

He's actually amazed at how good you speak both languages

He still hasn't forgotten about the meaning tho.

He begs you to know, but you don't give in, and let it as a mystery, because you're just silly like that. :b

Optimus Prime

If I had to also use an Emoji for his expression, it'll probably be : “😲”

He didn't expect you to sing at all, considering how shy you are

He even less expected you to sing WELL.

Not to complain.

He thinks your voice is very soft and even if he isn't too found of music in general, this one sounds strangely soft and optimistic.

Is it because you sing it? Maybe

It took him a few seconds to realize that if he wasn't understanding what you were saying wasn't because you were stumbling on your words, but because you were speaking another language.

He's very gently surprised by that fact, it makes him smile.

Not only because it only makes you look smarter to him, but also because he realizes you two are similar, both talking multiple languages.

He softly asks you what it means, not pushing too far.

He looks at you SO SOFTLY you cannot bring yourself to say no

You explain to him it's a love song, and he tries his best to fight the need to give in and kiss you. (He's a cutie patootie real no fake)

Starscream

Judges you at first. I'm not sorry.

Like why did you randomly start singing??

Why can't you even do it in THE RIGHT LANGUAGE

He seems annoyed tbh

You chuckle and tell him it's a love song, but you hold a strong bond to Spanish language

He relaxes and rolls his eyes, because he can't admit that it's actually sweet.

Thrash

You go up to him and asks him for an advice or two.

He immediately accept, staring at you like, bro/gurl, you got his full attention.

You explain to him you want to sing a song for a person you like, with a twist. It's a love song, but in another language.

He seems both interested and curious

You start singing it to have his opinion on the vibe, and when you're done, he aggressively nods. Approved by Thrash.

He seems curious on how you know Spanish, tho..

You explain to him your story real quick, that your parents come from Mexico but you changed country. You know the language by them.

He's amazed. You're such a cool person.

Will ask you a full translation of the lyrics!!

Twitch

You find her completing the chores to earn stars, she seems so focused and flying everywhere, it's hard to get her attention.

You have to tell her you'll give her your star if she helps you out.

It didn't take a lot more for her to sit on the floor, focused on what you're about to say. (Make it quick, her adhd head isn't going to hold for long :3)

You explain to her you want to impress your crush by using the little things you know the best.

Singing, and your ability to speak another language.

She immediately agrees, it's sweet and unique!!

She doesn't ask any questions and just tells you to go for it, like what are you waiting for??

Don't forget her star. :3

[mariacrow]

Could I request a headcannon for TFP characters on their favorite genre of music? Maybe also them listening to said music with a female reader? However you wish to spin it 😊

~TFP characters~

🎵 their favorite music genre 🎵

2nd person

female reader

WARNING: TOO MUCH SHMOOVING 🕺🎶

Dividers belong to @friedchickenburguer 🖤

❃ AUTOBOTS ❃

🎼 Optimus Prime

He doesn’t express his passion for music, he keeps that in private

He loves old music, precisely from 40s and 50s

He likes the sounds of gentle trumpets, trombones, violins etc.

He likes it slow and classy, something relaxing

Jazz might be his thing too

When he’s driving alone he loves keeping the radio on a super vintage radio station

When he’s with you he’d be kinda shy to play it, assuming you don’t like it because you’re born in such modern time

When (if) you’d assure him you like it, you’d warm his spark as he’d finally get to share and enjoy the music he likes with you

He’d tell you why he likes each song and which part is his favorite

🎼 Ratchet

He’d claim he hates music, how it’s merely a distraction

Nonetheless, when you or any of the kids would play something in the base, at times he wouldn’t immediately tell you to turn it off or keep it down because he’d like it

His preference isn’t clear because you could catch him slightly moving to the beat to song from the 80s over 2000s to the newest

He wouldn’t even notice he’s slightly shmooving to the beat

Only when you’d giggle and tell him he’s got some moves, he’d get flustered and immediately stop, denying it

After some time, he’d admit he likes some songs you’d play and would allow you to use the radio when he’s driving you

🎼 Bumblebee

Definitely a 70s and 80s boi

He loves shmooving like crazy

Play ABBA or something and he’s all over the place and no one can stop him

He’s very stubborn when it comes to his music taste and will openly tell you when he thinks your music taste is trash or if it’s his favorite

While in the car, he wouldn’t let you touch the radio- heck he wouldn’t let you get NEAR IT if you aren’t planning to play a song he likes

He’s the head DJ in the car AND in the base

When Ratchet tells him to turn it off or lower the volume, he’d just turn it up to annoy him and dance all over the place

🎼 Bulkhead

ROCK N ROLL BABYYYYY

Miko and him are replacing Bumblebee when he’s absent

2nd head DJs in the base

He’s all about that electric guitar and drums

He likes some of heavy metal too

If you like this kind of music, you’d be a part of their band

Ratchet’s biggest nightmare is that goddamn guitar of Miko’s I’m telling you

Of course Wheeljack is a part of the band as well

You and Miko in the front seat shmooving to some heavy guitar and screaming the lyrics while he’s flooring it through the city is another one of his fav bonding moments

🎼 Arcee

Definitely likes something calm she can sing to

For example Lana Del Rey but also something classy like Amy Whinehouse

Definitely your favorite feminist, prefers female artists

She actually sings beautifully but is kinda shy to show her talent

Perhaps she’d show it to you if she’d you’d encourage her enough

If you like to sing this is your chance to sing with her and have girly concert Fridays!

She’d actually love concerts and would gladly drive you to any you wish to see

Would ONLY share her music taste with you

🎼 Wheeljack

Not only rock n roll, aggressive type of music in general

Perhaps something modern too, like phonk for example

He likes something that makes the lights flash in the club and that can make his helm bop in a quick manner

Max volume all the time, especially in his ship when he’s alone or when driving

Would appreciate your company if you don’t mind the speakers making you bounce in your seat

He’s a great opportunity for a good o’ music vent

If you feel pent up he’s a great partner to just let it out with the help of music with him

He also likes some jazz, especially during intimacy

🎼 Smokescreen

His music taste can be very basic

He’s quite flexible and actually rarely dislikes any song you show him

He lets you fidget with the radio when he’s driving you

At times he can be greedy and start a stupid funny argument about who’s gonna choose a radio station or play the next song

Sometimes he can lean more towards rap and trap, especially 2000s

He likes freaky lyrics he can spontaneously flirt with like “Freek-a-leek” or “Baby Got Back”

He loves to dance and thinks he has good moved while in fact he look too funny trying to impress everyone, especially you

🎼 Ultra Magnus

Music? What’s that?

Well perhaps he would secretly like some songs you’d play in the base

And he’d secretly explore the radio stations while driving alone

He likes classy music with meaningful lyrics

Perhaps Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra would be his top choice

Absolutely despises modern music, doesn’t understand it a all

For him, a song means a catchy tune with lyrics that he can devote to someone, that remind him of someone or himself or just have a deep meaning

VERY BY THE BOOK!

When you’d catch him enjoying some music he’d deny it in any possible way

His music taste is a top secret!!!

Divider belongs to @attxnt 🖤

✦ DECEPTICONS ✦

🎼 Megatron

At first he’d find anything that humans create primitive, as well as music

But I mean how can you not like our music, some stuff is really catchy!

When the Nemesis would accidentally catch a radio signal he’d immediately order Soundwave to turn it off

But when he hears a nice electric guitar and some bass he’d like it

Not that he’d admit though, never

He isn’t a fan of… joy lmao so he wouldn’t listen to any music on his own

When you’d play some music in the lab, he’d scold you and tell you to keep it down

But when he doesn’t yell at you to turn it off immediately that’s when you know he likes it

🎼 Starscream

Definitely a huge Lady Gaga fan

When he’s alone he blasts it and sings, dances, imagines he’s on a concert, the main star

His ego would take over when he’d imagine a thick crowd shouting “All hail superstar Stascream!” or something

He’d reject any other artist, Lady Gaga is his one and only

He’d even order you to play Lady Gaga in the lab

If you wouldn’t do it, he’d remind you who he is, your commander and that you shall oblige

He’d tell you how your music taste is primitive and how only Lady Gaga is the real queen

🎼 Knockout

Also a Lady Gaga fan but not as big as Starscream

He’s more flexible when it comes to music but he definitely prefers classy female singers

An artist needs to be aesthetically pleasing to him, especially their voice

He likes when a woman’s voice is dominating in the song more than the instruments

Lyrics needs to be stuck in his head so he’d officially say he likes the song

He’d let you show him some of your favorite songs and he’d openly tell you if it’s trash or not

Would definitely argue with you over who’s gonna play music in the lab

You’d argue to the point Shockwave would have to take your source of music and put it away

🎼 Breakdown

RAAAAAAHHH!!!

Sex, violence, murder, violence, gambling, greed, lechery- (that Tom Hardy meme)

Definitely likes his song loud and explicit

He also likes hardstyle, it REALLY gets him going before battle, aggressive phonk too

Anything that can express his inner aggression is his thing

But don’t let this fool you

When he’s alone and emotional he cries to sad songs

Lana Del Rey really strikes his heart especially because he’s in love with her and her voice

If you ever catch him crying to Lana, he’ll deny it

With you he’d prefer blasting some hardstyle or rap in the car

If you don’t like it, he’s gonna do it anyway because he’d play it so loudly that he probably won’t even hear you complain

🎼 Dreadwing

Again not someone who listens to music on his own

Nevertheless, he likes romantic tunes he can gently sway with you to

Deep down he’s a romantic soul which you’d realize when in private with him

And he’s very intelligent too which would intrigue him to search for some high class music by Earth’s most popular compositors (Beethoven for example)

A gentle piano and violin as well as violoncello are his fav

He’d be impressed by our instruments, he can get curious hence he would like to ask you and discuss with you about them

He doesn’t understand modern music and really doesn’t like it

Though he might like some unique musicians of the 21st century

🎼 Soundwave

He’s an open book really, he knows everything about human music

He’s also a type of mech to avoid lyrics

He prefers only instruments, from old acoustic to new electric

Unlike Dreadwing, he likes his music a bit faster with more energy that can make the line on his visor dance

He rarely listens to music though, he’s too busy

He’d get curious to know your taste of music so he might stalk sound waves coming from your device

He’d surprise you when he’d play some music for you

Of course he’d prefer all that to stay a secret between you two

🎼 Shockwave

Music is a distraction for him

No music allowed in the lab when he’s there

Though because he’s fond of you he might let you play some but quietly

He doesn’t really have a preference, he’s too busy to even pay attention to what you’re playing

Nonetheless SOME tunes might catch his attention and make his antennas wriggle

It would probably be some older music with no drums or bass or anything, just pure, gentle tones and voices

He would keep it to himself but maybe, just maybe, he’d occasionally tell you he approves your choice

[skyeblue8]

ᗯι𝜏ԋ Ɛʋҽɾყ Ɲҽցα𝜏ιʋҽട, ㆜ԋҽɾҽ 𝓐ɾҽ Sσ𝓶ҽ Ƥσടι𝜏ιʋҽട... ♚

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So, because I'm in a bit of a shitty mood due to a whole lot of work I have to do before my break, and I don't feel like piling onto the already large list of what's wrong with the Helluva Boss series - and also, because everyone liked the Beelzebub list, I decided to do a quick list of my top five favorite songs from Helluva Boss. Despite the questionable writing, characters, world-building, creator, etc, the songs are actually truly solid when they want to be, and for that, I'm willing to give praise.

𝟏.❞𝕂𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙❞ 𝐛𝐲, 𝐆𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐳 & 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐦

❥ Putting aside my general love for these girls, however brief their appearances were in the episode, this song was just incredible to me! The dancing was smooth, the beat was heavily reminiscent to Kpop, which I just love anyway, the visuals were stunning, in addition to their overall designs, and I'm honestly just sucker for fish-based characters since they have a whole siren aesthetic going on. Speaking of, many people find these twins to be reminiscent to The Dazzlings, from EQ Girls, and that's just the cherry on top for me! The full version truly makes this even better and, overall, I think the song was brilliant in establishing the whole rebranding of Mammon and how these two pose great threats to Fizz, much like those badass singer villains in Saturday morning shows. You know, the one's everyone ends up simping for at some point in their childhood. Anyway, because of the new episode, this song managed to shoot its way to the top of my faves, knocking down my original fave in the process!

𝟐. ❞𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣❜𝕤 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕝❞𝐁𝐲, 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐳𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐛

❥ This song walked, so "Cotton Candy" could trip and fall on the scalding hot pavement. Apologies if I sound dramatic, and you happen to like Cotton Candy, but the amount of disappointment I feel towards the fact that we didn't get this song is indescribable. Now of course, I understand WHY we couldn't (again, waste of time when someone could've just gotten Rochelle in the first place 😑) but I digress. Aside from the fact that a specific line in the song gives clear clarification of who the hell the flying fox is, it feels like the cool, degenerative (said affectionately) party girl song that I would've actually liked to hear.

❥ To me, it's reminiscent of "Cannibal" and "Die Young", and I feel like both themes generally tie into what we think of a Modern Beelzebub to be like. The beat, the shift in pace of the lyrics that brings out the fast party vibe, the fact that it felt like a real pop song that didn't take fifteen minutes to get through just to see the rest of the episode – all these are what made this song my former #1 favorite, now my #2. And the "non-binary specimen" line was a cool, quick inclusion to me.

𝟑. ❞𝕁𝕦𝕘𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕀𝕫 ℂ𝕠𝕠𝕝❞ 𝐛𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧

❥ I know this is technically too small to be an actual full song, but I still loved it regardless. It was really cool in its short runtime for the following reasons: the Tom Hardy's vocals (idk what it is, but something about Australian accents that just sounds satisfying, especially when singing), the praising of the Twins, and the satisfaction of seeing Fizz squirm a bit. Apologies to any of you who like Fizz. I don't hate him per se, but rather, I'm just bitter that we're loosing out on other character development because of him and Ozzy. And, I prefered Robo Fizz who was an unrelenting asshole and not another UWU boy that, imo, there are one too many of in Hell.

❥ Anyway, it was cool seeing more visuals of the Greed Ring stage. And seeing the spider visuals that are associated with Mammon. I understand if some people thought it was kinda tacky, but I personally think it could work if assessed the right way. (Hint: I'll be explaining more about this in later Greed Ring Headcanons and/or Mammon Headcanons.)

𝟒. ❞𝕍𝕒𝕔𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝔹𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕠𝕨𝕟❞ 𝐛𝐲, 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲

❥ Admittedly, I was a bit iffy on whether or not I should include this considering my feelings on Verosika. I don't hate her by any means considering, you know, it's Blitzø, but she has nothing going on for her and her one note personality just feels unfair to her considering what she had to deal with. That being said, I realized that I'm judging based on musical appeal and not entirely on character, so I said "fuck it" and put this as #4.

❥ While notably slower and softer than the other songs, I enjoyed it after revisiting it. The pink aesthetic and visuals were just gorgeous to me.

❥ It's slow, playful, and it reminds me a lot of Doja Cat and her songs, and I really loved that. Above all else, it was soothing and nice, and I feel like it was wasted on the Spring Break episode though as, while the episode introduced it a bit more worldbuilding, it felt like a whole load of nothing considering it all happened in one place and that same worldbuilding went out the window almost immediately. Still love the song though. Honestly, if there was a musical battle between Verosika and the Twins, I'd struggle to pick a winner.

𝟓. ❞ℍ𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝔸𝕤𝕞𝕠𝕕𝕖𝕦𝕤❞ 𝐛𝐲, 𝐀𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐮𝐬 & 𝐅𝐢𝐳𝐳

❥ While my opinion of Asmodeus has wavered lately, his debut song was incredible! I loved the deep vocals and jazzy tunes used in the song, and I didn't completely mind the bits with Fizz in it given all that's happened. Above all else, I adored how they called out Stolas publically in the episode. Shame it couldn't stay that way. Seriously though, as sexy as the man's voice is his design just doesn't fit that. But, yeah, that's my opinion.

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Anyway, yeah, that was my list. Let me know what y'all think and whether or not you agree with my choices. If any, do you have a favorite song in Helluva Boss? Or a least favorite? Let me know. ✌🏾

[foxes-that-run]

Paper rings

Paper Rings is about love over wealth and luxury. Paper rings are simple and unglamorous, but also can be fragile. Paper being temporary and disposable. The song mixes good and bad to say that Taylor choses an imperfect life with this person. Taylor described it as not having modern influences when it does and being punk, a word that fits this song better than reputation but Taylor used in Time. It's was hinted at on Reputation which makes me wonder if it was a Reputation vault track. It copies the sound of Hilary Duff's 2015 Breathe In Breath Out which Taylor mentioned on Tumblr:

Paper Rings was hinted at in the Me! Lyric Video with a Paper Ring with two polaroids (it mentions photo frames) and has a Spotify Story:

"I wrote "Paper Rings' with this idea of throwback sounds. We didn't want to use any sounds that were very modern on this song. This song talks about true love, and if you really find true love, you probably don't really care what the symbolism of that love is. Material things wouldn't matter to you anymore if you found someone that you just wanted to live your life with. "

In the iHeartRadio Secret Session (Audio in the video above) Taylor said:

[...]"imagining that I was a wedding band at a reception, playing the love songs that the bride and groom wanted to hear in, like, 1978 or something. It's called 'Paper Rings.' The whole song is just basically reminiscing on fun memories. [...] there's some fun, kind of, punk, like inspired by punk girl groups and the way they used to sing, shouting them in a really unapologetic way. [...]

A 1978 Wedding Band is a very specific reference. So thinking of songs from 1978... This wedding blog lists a few like Just What I Needed – The Cars, released in 1978 and one (H tweet) and was also in The Wedding Singer. Blondie is a clear reference for the Lover aesthetic and the song. Blondie released One Way or Another in 1978. (Before the 1D cover). The Ramones Blitzkrieg Bop is an earlier influence for it.

...also did she say Punk? as in the 2023 Time Magazine:

When was it written

Like all of Lover it is copyright 2019 for its release. It was Easter egged in the Call It What You Want Lyric video on 2 November 2016 and in the Reputation magazine hinting pretty strongly that it was at least partly written with Reputation.

It was recorded at Conway, LA, & Metropolis in London. London Boy was also recorded in both. Taylor didn’t record reputation at Metropolis but KOMH and a few lover songs were at Conway.

Live performances

Paper Rings was a surprise song in Minneapolis on 23 June, 2023, the other surprise song was If this was a movie. Taylor also performed it as a mash up with Stay Stay Stay on 21 July, 2024. It was not played the few Lover promo shows.

Rings

The Spotify Visual features a huge ring, pearls and beehive. When talking about the song Taylor talked about not caring about a ring if you truly loved someone, and the lyrics 'I like shiny things, but I would marry you with paper rings'. So why this visual with a huge ring and perfect life? To me this is about giving those things up, which fits the 'unapologetic' punk feel. This idea is also in the LAWYMMD video. Maybe rejecting a proposal with a shiny ring for a more youthful love.

Lyrics

The moon is high Like your friends were the night that we first met Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet Now I've read all of the books beside your bed

In the iHeartRadio intro Taylor said the song was reminiscing on fun memories which these first verses are. These are the sections which match Breathe in Breathe out. which has lines that start with “I remember..” while Hilary was looking back on a lost love Taylor is reminiscing on a current love, it sounds both nostalgic and new.

Some fans do gymnastics to make them about a specific muse but they are very generic but I’ll add that Joe was not with friends at the Met Gala, he was with a costar that knew Taylor better.

The wine is cold Like the shoulder that I gave you in the street Cat and mouse for a month or two or three Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe

This verse continues the reminiscing, I like the use of cold shoulder and street compared to the intimacy of watching someone breathe. Also this line reminds me of the Hilary Duff song title.

Kiss me once 'cause you know I had a long night (Oh) Kiss me twice 'cause it's gonna be alright Three times 'cause I've waited my whole life (One, two, one, two, three, four)

This verse is the most like a wedding band, and one Taylor mentioned when talking about the song that Jack does the count in. Taylor has not used ‘be alright’ very much:

22 - Everything will be alright, if you keep me next to you

Shake it off - Saying, "It's gonna be alright."

Call it what you want - They took the crown, but it's alright

The Archer - But what if I'm alright, right, right, right here?

Death by a Thousand Cuts - I ask the traffic lights if it'll be alright

The 1 - And it's alright now

Fresh Out the Slammer - But it's gonna be alright, I did my time

I look through people's windows - Does it feel alright to not know me?

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings Uh huh, that's right Darling, you're the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this

The refrain is where Taylor would chose a simple paper ring over a fancy ring or wedding. When talking about the song Taylor described this as the ring not mattering, but to me paper is more temporary, it’s not a wedding but a tentative commitment of sorts. Taylor also describes the relationship as non traditional with “this” an ill defined situationship.

Uh huh, that's right Darling, you're the one I want In paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams Oh, you're the one I want

The one I want implies again there is someone Taylor is choosing this person over, she’s forgoing something shiny for this relationship. Yet the theme of reminiscing implies this is not a new relationship. Darling is not used a lot.

Picture frames are also uncommon in Taylor’s work, only HYGTG, Run and this song have a framed picture to mean a relationship. The Me! Lyric video had 2 Polaroids with the paper ring, very 1989/reputation-esque, one of her holding a cat and one with friends.

How You Get The Girl: With pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks

In the winter, in the icy outdoor pool When you jumped in first, I went in too I'm with you even if it makes me blue Which takes me back To the color that we painted your brother's wall

Taylor will follow this partner anywhere even when it’s not always easy or pleasant. More on the wall and icy pool below.

Honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws We wouldn't be standing here so tall, so

In this verse their relationship has some history of "exes, fights, and flaws" they’ve overcome. Similar to “one I want” this is not a simple we met and went from friends to this, they have history.

Icy outdoor pool

I have a post on the icy pool. Which is something Harry has been known for (also in Hampstead Heath Pond) long before Joe did handy exposition for this. Taylor said on 2 June 2018 in Chicago ( Harry was in the City) "2 New Years Eve's ago I found myself in the midst of a very like incredible 3am moment where you think you are invincible and you end up like jumping in a pool in the winter and you feel super untouchable in that moment" Taylor Nation cut this part out.

The house Taylor rented in Hampstead in December 2016 has a pool and she included photos in the Rep Magazine. A post on that.

Blue Walls

I have a post on this blue wall line and that it is a metaphor for being emotionally isolated. She also referred to blue painted walls in:

Everything Has Changed - And all my walls stood tall, painted blue

The Lover photoshoot hints that it is metaphorical:

If you think these rep book photos are of Taylor actually painting a wall and not a photoshoot I have some ice to sell you.

I want to drive away with you I want your complications too I want your dreary Mondays Wrap your arms around me, baby boy

In the bridge Taylor tells how she wants good and bad, a similar idea to on New Years Day about wanting someone to clean up bottles after the party, or dreary Monday’s here. Again with complications, this is not a fresh relationship between 2 single people.

Drive is a Haylor theme also and this line reminds me of Style’s “let’s get out of the town” and finally taylor calls the muse “baby boy” .. perhaps she is singing about someone who’s ‘younger than her ex’s but acts like such a man, so.

[abnomi]

WANTED TO MAKE A POST FOR SONGS I ASSOCIATE WITH TURBO AND WHY!

small disclaimer; a lot of these are themed after pre-roadblasters Turbo for the grimy grunginess that the little parasite emits, but they can work for any version of turbo really! (I LOVE KING CANDY AND KING CANDYBUG A LOT im just drawn to uncanny disgusting men. i have a type apparently)🐛🐛🐛

my turbo spotify playlist yueyewaagghhh

starting off light with a high energy instrumental song :-D RED AND GOLD IS IN THE NAME. LIKE TURBOS MAIN COLOR🏎️ AND TROPHIES AND KINGLINESS 🏆,👑. COME ON!!!!

this song sounds a lot like it would be in a lighthearted racing game, which is exactly where he originated! playful and silly having fun time driving (He did not kill many people!) as a whole its very upbeat and matches Turbo's constant movement i think!

the quieter segment in the middle of the song sounds quite King Candy esque with its more subtle chords....scheming...how devious. it sounds almost royal! Perhaps this is the "gold" they were speaking of in the title, with the rest of the song being "red".....

even the synths align with him in some way, as the electronic sounds can be correlated with coding and video games !!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!

i initially associated this song with Ace from the powerpuff girls, but upon further inspection, i feel like the lyrics align much more with Turbo's character...... "Mess with me, and boy, you're surely gonna die!" and "I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere," ARE SOOOO HIM BROO....

more lyrics that strongly parallel his personality are "I am the plan; I am the man; who tells you what and when you can; I'm the old one that torments you; I am the voice that tells you to..." ARE U SERIOUS THIS SOUNDS LIKE STUFF HE'D ACTUALLY SAY.

also this song is about the american GOVERNMENT being CORRUPT... need i say any more (KING CANDY IS A CORRUPT POLITICIAN)

i heavily associate Primus with Turbo in general because of the heavy bass sounding kind of like a motor and the high energy of the songs being twisted into something more deviant because of how heavy and dark the instruments are. It just makes sooo much sense for his character... EVIL CAR ADHD 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Hoohhh..... ok just replace Mary the ice cube with the players Turbo latches onto so hard, and it sounds like hes grieving the loss of them after the Roadblasters incident. maybe his trophies or winning status could be a stand-in for said ice cubes the song speaks of...

its twisted and sad and angry all at once which i think is exactly how Turbo would mourn. blaming the "ice cube" for slipping away from HIM instead of the other way around, being that he's the one who drove it all away, growing more and more bitter........acidic even

"Nothing ever lasts forever," seems like a mindset he'd carry for most of his life, being why hes so intensely adamant on keeping everything to himself to preserve it for as long as he can. his possessive nature is a cover-up for his fear of it all collapsing on him and leaving him with nothing. he keeps everything close and everyone far 😢...

"It's been declared that it's not wise to prize something too much," sounds to me a lot like a narrator explaining the moral of the story, and in Turbo's case, it fits him as well as a matching puzzle piece. he relied on adoration so heavily that he lost himself.

ok hehehe this one's a little more self explanatory... HE DRIVES A RACE CAR!!!! and he DOES "[drive] so goddamn fast!"

THE DISCORDANCY OF THE NOTES AND THEN THE CRAZY ASS RIFF IN THE MIDDLE IS SO SO GOOD.!!!!!!! matches Turbos energy incredibly well :-D also side note; i love the chop top cameo from tcm2 heehehehee check out Cornbugs if you like Primus and tcm :-3

another little tidbit is the line "stuck in his craw that they made him retire," (stuck in his craw means to be made resentful about something) which i think underscores how deeply indignant Turbo is about the entire Roadblasters ordeal.

"They call me Mr. Knowitall, I will not compromise! I will not be told what to do, I shall not step aside!" this REEEKS of ego and defiance. which is very in character for Turbo!!!!!

this entire song is about this asshole who brags about himself so incessantly to such a degree that it makes him look ridiculous. as intelligent as he is, he is not as much of an admirable figure as he tries to make himself seem, which is made horrendously clear.

there are contradictory lyrics here and there that demonstrate hypocrisy and outright lying, stating things like "I am so eloquent! Perfection is my middle name, and whatever rhymes with eloquent..." when the word eloquent is defined by having a high level of literacy, and "they call me Mr. Knowitall" versus "I MUST be Mr. Knowitall." the way he refers to himself changes throughout the song

ok tehehee i cant lie i mainly associate this song with him because the bass sounds like an engine revving up.

the lyrics are pretty similar to turbos internal struggles though!! "Can't touch the image" and the frequent repetition of the word "nothing" make plenty of sense for who he is. what he wants is unreachable, leaving him hollow; he wants to be untouchable.

this song is really fucking funny its just about some guy talking about how evil and fucked up he is... imagine Jack being Felix or something and it all makes sense. bragging and bragging about how abhorrent he is, the man rambles on about how he kills people and refuses to change.

"I don't mind living without a heart; I like fucking people over for a fucking start" is the intro... like its soooo turbo 🤩🤩🤩 Yessssdss

I FUCKING LOVE MELTED BODIES YO!!!!!!

ANGER AND ANXIETY run RAMPANT in this song which is relevant as ever to Turbo... he cant feel fear without a boiling rage simmering within and thus having a need to defend himself and do whatever it takes to keep himself safe and happy!

"W-I-N-N-E-R!"

THE END OF THE SONG IS LITERALLY TURBO... JUST LOOK AT THIS: "WHY CAN'T I FEEL WHAT IT IS THEY FEEL?; WHY CAN'T I BE WHAT THEY WANT ME TO BE?" "I HAVE AN ITCH THAT CAN'T BE ITCHED; I'VE GOT A SCRATCH THAT CAN'T BE SCRATCHED" his envy of others ability to be effortlessly fulfilled (maybe felix), an inability to be satisfied, not understanding why he isnt "good enough" for the players and wanting to be what they want him to be, etc etc etc....

TURBO INSECURITY BATTLE . DO YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT HIM?

BUG ALERT 🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰 BUG ALERT 🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰

Yea this one is less personal to who he is individually and more so related to his transformation into the big scary insectoid creature he turns into later on but still!!

According to genius lyrics (😰), this song is from the perspective of "a fly personified as a wandering, self-indulgent drifter." connecting the dots with Turbo.... Yea.....Thats him

This is a stretch but one part of the lyrics sounds like theyre saying "red and white" and thats not what they Actually said but u know... a guy can dream

"How's it feel to get away, You got what you want; It only cost everything, but you got what you want; There isn't anybody left, so face yourself all alone; The truth is sour going down, You reap what you've sown" THIS ENTIRE SEGMENT AAUAGYHHHHHGHHHH. TURBO LOST EVERYTHING AND REAPED WHAT HE HAD SOWN MULTIPLE TIMES...HE REALLY DID... HE DID THAT.

the general chord progression is so chaotic and fast, it feels like going downhill and then back up again which is a lot like how Turbo is in general. all or nothing .. black and white moods with no in between

thats all for now, maybe ill add more in the future we will see :-] let me know ur thoughts..... What do u think.....

[jimblejamblewritings]

luck be a (leading) lady | part 14.

[Posted 2023.08.12]

Summary: Y/N has always been a background character. That’s just life for some folks isn’t it? But what if she’s determined to not just be another member in the ensemble? What if someone helps her step into the spotlight in her own special way?

Warnings for the Series: a teeny bit of angst but mainly fluff

Pairing: ricky bowen x black!reader

Word Count: 3.0k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist) 

Despite the documentary trailer coming out, the general public didn’t believe you and Ricky were together. According to everyone, the whole show was an act. A very entertaining act but an act nonetheless. Not that you or Ricky minded. With the increase in auditions and booking small roles, you wanted your personal life to stay personal for just a little longer. You told Gina that much as you helped her finish packing.

Her mom was back into so your roommate turned sister was officially leaving your house. Gina dragged her entire closet into your room so you two could pack up and watch a movie on the projector screen in your room.

“I can’t believe your moving. Seriously,” you said as you shoved her jackets into a box.

“You act like I’m leaving the state, I’m literally across the street.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe that old couple finally chose to live in a nursing home.”

You and Gina paused before you bursted out in laughter. It was really nice to have her stay near by. While you were friends with the rest of the drama club, Gina and Ricky were still your only close friends at East High.

“You know what I can’t believe,” Gina started. “That two of my best friends are leaving me next year.”

“Senior year. I still haven’t processed it yet,” you admitted.

A knock on the door caught your attention. Your dad was standing in the doorway with a plate of fruit. “My lovely senior and junior…”

You and Gina rolled your eyes.

“Gina, your mother wants me to remind you that she’d like you home by ten thirty and that you two can talk tomorrow at school.”

“Got it.”

“Thank you, here you guys go. Let’s try to finish packing before the night is over.”

“If you really want us to finish. Dad, you could he—”

The sound of your window opening made you all turn. You laughed as Ricky practically fell into your room. He jumped up with a quickness.

“Hi, Mr. L/N. Y/N, Gina.”

“Hello, Richard. You do know we have a front door, right?” you father pointed to downstairs.

“Yeah but since you guys said I’m allowed over any time, it’s not as much fun unless I’m going through the window.”

Your dad looked up at the ceiling. “I have clearly overstayed my welcome talking to a bunch of teenagers. Okay, Gina, home by ten thirty. Richard no sleeping in Y/N’s room but you are welcome to take any other room upstairs. Bed time is eleven, no negotiations. School’s tomorrow… I can’t believe my baby is a senior.”

“Dad, Dad, there’s plenty of time before I graduate. We don’t need to start crying now.”

“Oh, whatever.”

You chuckled as your dad left the room before focusing on Ricky again. He had no problem showing affection towards you with Gina in the room because she was the only person that knew you and Ricky were a real couple. She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about being sworn to secrecy no matter the reason but she was still just happy to be let in.

Your boyfriend sat on the bed, actually helping you pack up Gina’s closet. “I wanted to give you something but I couldn’t really wait until tomorrow. Well, both of you, kind of.”

“What is it?”

“So, I’ve had this melody stuck in my head all day and it reminded me of Y/N.”

“Sap,” Gina muttered.

“I think it’s sweet.” You leaned over to give him a peck.

“Anyway, I know you don’t really write songs but you have an ear for music Y/N and Gina does write lyrics so I thought maybe we could work on this together?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.” Ricky stood up to leave. “I actually do have to get home. One of Dad’s only rules is bed by ten on the first day of school.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded. “Yep, it’s been a tradition since I started… and it is nine thirty so I do need to go.”

You gave him another kiss. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow… Oh! Did Lucille send you the filming schedule?”

“Yeah, I’m just glad the filming is here. Senior year away from East High would’ve been such a bummer.”

“I know right. Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

~~

You leaned against Ashylnn’s locker, chuckling as you watched Kourtney and Carlos take pictures with fans. It was weird to say you guys had fans.

“So what do you think, Y/N?”

“Hmm?” You focused back on Gina and Ashlynn.

“About Ash and Maddie giving each other relationship advice.”

You and Gina shared a look before you stood up straight. “I think that’s for Ashlynn to figure out but we need to figure out how to get to the drama club before we’re late for Ms. Jenn’s big announcement.”

Ashlynn’s eyebrows furrowed. “For me to figure out what?”

“Nothing,” you said with a laugh before grabbing her and Gina’s hands and leading them to the drama club.

You guys weren’t sure why Ms. Jenn called everyone in for a “surprise.” It was pretty obvious that the next play was going to be High School Musical 3. Without stupid Zacky Roy around to throw the Drama Club off their game, you guys were going right back to doing Disney TV shows for musicals. You just hoped that next semester you guys did Teen Beach Movie before you graduated.

You felt Ricky squeeze your hand once before you guys broke apart and left the drama room with everyone else to go to the Pep Rally. Staying lowkey was going to be so hard. You let Ashlynn and Gina walk in between the two of you on your way to the field.

“Can you believe auditions are this Friday? I need to pick a song,” Ashlynn said as she started searching through a list written down on her phone.

“What part are you going for Ash?”

“I’m thinking Kelsey or Sharpay. You?”

You shrugged. “Whatever doesn’t interfere with filming and my calculus homework. You know I’ve been demoted at Saltwater.”

“What?!”

You chuckled at your friends’ expressions. “Not like that. Bennet agreed that Principal dancer is too much to handle with school and filming so I’m only principal for the fall ballet since we’ve been rehearsing it before filming next month and then I’m just a first soloist for the rest of the time. It’s better this way anyway. This is the exact arrangement I’m going to having at Berklee. I’m thankful to get but my academic advisor sends me an email like every other day with updates. My inbox is dying.”

You guys sat down in your seats, finally moving to be next to Ricky.

“That still means we get to come watch you perform at Saltwater, right?”

“Yeah, you are looking at Coraline Jones in our fall production.”

Before your friends could celebrate you, the pep rally started much to your relief. You were still getting used to being the center of attention without losing the ability to breathe. Part of the reason you weren’t so prepared to be the lead in a feature film. A small film but still… The first Twilight movie was an indie film.

At least you didn’t have time to overanalyze that because the dude who played Coach Bolton was at the pep rally? You and Ricky rolled your eyes and sighed at the same time with the announcement of High School Musical 4 being filmed at your school. Just why?

Of course all the students were cheering no matter what, hoping that filming would mess with classes a little. You had a little fangirl moment when they announced one of the new stars of High School Musical 4. Mack and Dani.

Kourtney played Dani’s TikToks over and over again when you guys were at camp. Hopefully she could act because her TikToks seemed so nice. And Mack? Well you couldn’t help but squeal a little when they announced him.

Your friends looked at you causing you to laugh. “You don’t understand, I had one of the biggest crushes on him when I was little.”

“Me too!” Gina said with excitement. “Mark and Spark was my comfort show.”

“You know, he was supposed to be the first male lead in the movie I’m filming and my heart stopped until he cancelled of course.”

“Well now we know why,” Ashlynn said before focusing back on the stage.

You leaned your head on Ricky’s shoulder, having felt him tense up behind you. He relaxed when you grabbed his hand for a brief moment.

“You know I don’t mean anything by it. It was just a stupid celebrity crush,” you whispered.

“Celebrity crushes are still crushes.”

“Well then it was a stupid little crush. Is that better?”

“Yeah,” Ricky said with a squeeze of your hand.

You made a note to stay at Ricky's for a late dinner later after ballet rehearsal just to make sure he wasn’t still jealous. This relationship really was new territory for the both of you. But that would have to wait because now it was time for a second surprise in the drama room. You were getting real sick of surprises. And super sick of the security guard trying to block access to the drama room because of “filming”.

“Ahh!”

You all turned at Kourtney’s scream.

“Corbin Bleu?”

“Oh great,” Ricky muttered.

“Okay, okay. I deserve that a bit. But I am here to make amends. I know that documentary wasn’t what any of us expected.”

“Seb isn’t talking to me.” Carlos pointed out.

Ashlynn nodded along with him. “Yeah and Big Red is in Cairo for six months.”

“I hear you but we’ve found a way to make it up to you.”

“Uh, who’s we?” you asked with a raised hand.

You heard footsteps before you saw the people attached to the noise. You couldn’t believe it. Standing right in front of you was the original cast of High School Musical. Honestly, Corbin might have actually gotten you guys the best apology gift ever.

Featured extras in High School Musical 4? That was sick! So was everyone character development. You had to admit that you didn’t see Troy and Gabriella being in couples’ therapy… because you thought they would’ve broken up freshman year of college since they were such an on and off again relationship. The entire class was giggling uncontrollably at the prospects of being together on set.

Kourtney raised her hand. “Well, if the movie is going for authenticity casting a drama class to play Ms. Darbus’ drama class then Mack and Dani should consult us. The real life kids of East High.”

“This is why she’s the smart one,” someone said as you all high-fived.

Apparently, the OG cast thought she was brilliant as well because it didn’t take them any convincing. She was immediately assigned to Dani. You playfully shook her shoulders to let her know you were proud of her.

“Do we have any volunteers for Mack?” Lucas asked.

“Right like someone who grew up loving his tv show. Or two someones?”

You tried to back out of being Mack’s guide but it was too late. You were stuck co-guiding with Gina. All you wanted to do was focus on movie rehearsals, ballet rehearsals, your relationship, school, and drama club. That was a lot of things. Guiding Mack was not on your list of things.

You acted like that wasn’t the case when you went to go see the superstar, putting on your best smile. Your eyes went wide at an almost naked man getting his calf measured.

“Oh my,” you and Gina said at the same time.

Mack looked over. “Can I help you?”

You let Gina take over as you tried to look everywhere but at Mack, feeling embarrassed and more awkward than usual.

“We are so sorry. We are real students here, only one credit on IMDb so far but anyway, we were assigned to give you a hand.”

“Yeah, I’d love to know who assigned you to interrupt my costume fitting.”

“No. That was our bad.”

“Yeah,” you offered up. “If we had known you weren’t dressed we would’ve come way sooner before school ended… Soo-sooner because you’d have clothes on. Not whatever you l-look like you, like you’re thinking of. Oh my goodness.”

“Would you mind turning around?”

You and Gina looked at each other before doing just that. “That was probably the first thing we should have done.”

“Okay. So, I do have to ask,” Gina started. “Do you still keep in touch with the dog from the show?”

“There were seven of them and they all retired to a farm upstate.”

“Oh that’s so swee—”

“Uh, G,” you cut her off. “That means they aren’t, um, currently pr—”

“It means they’re dead.” Mack had put on a shirt so you guys could turn around. “The farm is heaven.”

“Well that ruined everything,” your friend muttered. “Okay, we’re going to leave now and we can all pretend we never met.”

“Oh, I’m way ahead of you.”

“Good luck on the movie, Mack. Hope you break a leg, literally.”

“Good luck with your lives, superfans.”

You felt your face get hot as you marched up to him. “Her name is Gina Porter and can I just say, I’m so glad High School Musical 4 took you in. Acting alongside you in Sweet Pea Americano would have literally killed me… G-Gina, why did I just say that?”

“I’m proud of you.” She swung her arm over your shoulder so you guys could leave. “Even with anxiety, you always stick up for your friends.”

“I think I’m going to pass out.”

“Come on, let’s go see if Ricky got a smoothie for us at the food truck.”

While you were mortified at your actions, Gina proudly recanted the entire story to Ricky who echoed her sentiments. You guys went you separate ways. There was no carpool with Gina today. Carlos called her over for an emergency meeting of the Finer Things Club at Kourtney’s house, leaving Ricky to drop you off at Saltwater. You guys stopped at a salad bar first so you could get some real food into your system.

“Oh, Gina finished the lyrics to the song.”

“Already?”

“You know her. Once she gets started on a mission, she can’t stop until it’s complete. Do you want to hear it?”

“Of course, do you have the lyrics on you?”

You handed Ricky your phone to look at the screenshots of Gina’s song journal. Your harmonies were rough and sometimes the melody fell off but the two of you had fun singing all the way back to the car.

“Are you sure you don’t mind picking me up?” you asked him as you leaned into the driver’s side window after getting your bags from the back of the car once you guys reached your destination. “Because we don’t get out till eleven and Mrs. Porter said it was fine for her to pick me up since Saltwater is between Kourtney’s house and ours.”

“It’s fine, baby, I like picking you up.”

“Okay. Oh, don’t forget. Gina’s driving tomorrow morning.”

“I can’t believe she got a car.”

“I can’t believe she got a license.”

You said bye one last time and headed inside for you ballet rehearsals. While you were dancing, Ricky was doing homework, and Gina was laughing as she got into Kourtney’s room. Ashlynn and Carlos were already there and Kourtney… well, she was meditating at the edge of her bed. While, Ashlynn had nearly forty missed texts from Maddox. Gina so had to tell you about that when you and Ricky came over for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Her smile faded at the announcement that Kourtney wasn’t sure about doing the school musical or not. She wasn’t sure if Dani was the best thing for Kourtney. She especially wasn’t sure when her friend suddenly became supper eager and chipper to answer her phone call. Kourtney put Dani on speaker after the others swore to be quiet.

“Hi, so I was studying you. Not in a creepy way but I’m really trying to get into character as a real East High drama student.”

Gina made a face when Dani suddenly stopped the speak pretty harshly to the driver taking her to the airport.

“Anyway, you’ve got that X factor, Kourt, and I want to help you grow your footprint. But I’ve been looking through your post and to be honest I’ve noticed something.”

“It’s the honesty for me,” Kourtney said with a nervous lilt to her voice.

“If I’m going to show you exactly what it’s like to grow an audience and you’re going to do the same for me as an East High student, I want you to tell me everything you know about Ricky Bowen.”

Gina bit her tongue as her other three friends stared at each other with suspicious looks on their faces. She got strange vibes for some reason but didn’t want to act on what could be nothing. Besides, she promised you two that she wouldn’t say anything to anyone. And how could she tell Kourtney not to mention Ricky to Dani if she didn’t ended up revealing something?

~~

You looked down at your phone to see a text from Ricky.

I’m still on my way, baby. Don’t worry, I’m stopped at a red light. I’ll be there in like 10 minutes. I wish your rehearsal didn’t end so late so we could’ve stayed up cuddling.

You smiled at the text before sending a little heart emoji, nothing that would require Ricky to look down at his phone after the light turned green. You ruffled around your bag to get your water bottle, reaching for your phone again when you felt the familiar vibration of a text. Another one from Ricky.

This red light is long. Do you want to get McDonalds after this?

You shook your head, deciding it was better to just answer him in person. A groan left you mouth when you felt the vibration again. That light wasn’t going to be red forever, if he was texting while driving then you were going to scold him because that could seriously inju—

Why was Mack now following your Instagram?

(part 15)

THIS FIC TAGLIST:

@mishtay​ @ifilwtmfc ​​ @moonysgal

PERMANENT TAGLIST:

@venomsvl @peaches-n-sunscreen @summerellaz @supernaturallover2002 @sambucky8 @9daykrisr @thebitchinleo @23victoria @scarlets-widow @pagetpagetpagetpaget @lovexnatasha @awesomebooklover17 @1234-angelika @imatrisk @blackreaderatrisk @princess-jules47 @alexloveskili @a-marie-a @siriuslysirius1107 @bubybubsters

[setmeatopthepyre]

Bucktommy breakup (arc) mix

I started making this playlist pretty much right after 8x06 in order to cope with all the feelings, first just throwing together some songs, later structuring them into their own little emotional arc. Prepare for all the stages of grief but with a generous sprinkle of love, more than a few winks, nods and references, and a dash of hope for reconciliation at the end. Song list with lyric highlights below. Bon appetit!

(There's a couple of references and half-jokes hidden here and there, so let me know if you catch those. Also if you're curious at all about any of my choices or why a certain song is included, please ask me. I love yapping about this shit and have 100% overthought this playlist a million times.)

--

Built to Break (Glitterfox) - Every thread is bound to fray / I can't outrun the ending

if this was a movie.. (Kacey Musgraves) - If this was a movie / You'd run up the stairs / You'd hold my face / Say we're being stupid / And we'd fall back into place

Plain Sailing Weather (Frank Turner) - This was supposed to be easy / I found the one damn person to help me fall asleep in the night

Smalltown Boy [Bronski Beat cover] (Orville Peck) - But the answers you seek will never be found at home / The love that you need will never be found at home / Run away, turn away, run away, turn away

Scared (Joywave) - I wanna touch you but I'm scared / I really love you though, I swear / I had another nightmare / Covered in sweat and unprepared / I woke and you weren't there

La da da (Glitterfox) - I don't know what to say / My head gets in the way / I don't know what to feel / Only learned to conceal

Let Me Drown (Orville Peck) - I swear there's good things that are coming your way / And I can't be the one left here, dragging you down

Stick Season (Noah Kahan) - I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad / That I could cancel out the darkness I inherited from dad / Now I'm no longer funny 'cause I miss the way you laugh / You once called me forever, now you still can't call me back

Why Would You Be Loved (Hozier) - It's only said to be kind, the time that you have with love / You're never told, but you're loaned it // Why would you play it all on something as hollow as trust? / What if you gave it all to find that it wasn't enough?

San Andreas (Louise Burns) - The San Andreas fault line tells me stories from below / California misery in this angel town of gold

Feels Like a Lie (Joywave) - It'd be human to let it go someday / But I've got it stored above my rib cage

camera roll (Kacey Musgraves) - Chronological order and nothing but torture / Scroll too far back, that's what you get / I don't wanna see 'em but I can't delete 'em / It just doesn't feel right yet

How Far Will We Take It? (Orville Peck & Noah Cyrus) - I tried to love you, just couldn't break through / No getting used to living without you / 'Cause I've been waiting, don't wanna waste it / We're all alone now, how far will we take it?

Black Treacle (Arctic Monkeys) - And I tried last night to pack away your laugh / Like a key under the mat / But it never seems to be there when you want it

Recovery (Frank Turner) - I know you are a cynic, but I think I can convince you / Broken people can get better if they really want to / Or at least that's what I have to tell myself if I am hoping to survive

We Are All We Need (Joywave) - I was a boy who kept a list of everybody who wouldn't let me in / Sense of humor now about it / But there's a jadedness where love should have been

No Such Thing (Sara Bareilles) - Thin air, you're out there in it somewhere / If I could only get there / I could breathe again // I've tried to get over you / But I think there's no such thing

First Time (Hozier) - Before I heard it from your mouth / My name would always hit my ears as such an awful sound

Ever You're Gone (Orville Peck & Teddy Swims) - This anxious heart of mine / Gets me in and out of trouble so many times / And I keep losing pieces each time I try / I burned enough bridges to light my way home

Wanna Be Loved (The Red Clay Strays) - I just wanna be loved / I've been afraid and I've been alone / Sometimes I need someone to pick up the phone / I'm tired of leaving / I need a home

Timefighter (Lucy Dacus) - And I fought time / It won in a landslide

No Witnesses (Keaton Henson) - So I wrote down a list of all the things / We've never spoken of / And I wrote "Man, I hate Los Angeles" / And I've never been in love

Love is a Laserquest (Arctic Monkeys) - When I'm hanging on by the rings around my eyes / And I convince myself I need another / For a minute, it gets easier to pretend that you were just some lover

Haven't Been Doing So Well (Frank Turner) - And if self-loathing was a sport I'd be Muhammad Ali / 'Cause I can sting like a butterfly and sink like a bee / But they don't hand out medals to monsters like me

787 Dreamliner (Joywave) - I'm feeling dizzy just from the view / Got another six lives to lose / Before my final descent is through / Before I find my way back to you

Hot & Heavy (Lucy Dacus) - When I went away, it was the only option / Couldn't trust myself to proceed with caution / The most that I could give to you is nothing at all / The best that I could offer was to miss your calls

Burning House (Cam) - I had a dream about a burning house / You were stuck inside / I couldn't get you out / Laid beside you and pulled you close / And the two of us went up in smoke

Don't Keep Driving (The Paper Kites) The distance between us is half of this city / Don't keep on driving, let me say something / There's nothing wrong with a little space / But not right now, don't leave / Don't push me away

On Board (Alana Henderson & Joshua Burnside) - And if you came on board / I know you'd scan for the safety of a lighthouse blink / Any port in a storm, love / You promise you won't falter / But I know I've seen men sink

I Know (King Princess & Fiona Apple) - You can use my skin / To bury secrets in / And I will settle you down

Canyon (JOSEPH) - Take me to your darkest corner / Show me what you're trying to hide / I've got a little fear / But it's the reverent kind

Back At Your Door (Orville Peck & Debbii Dawson) - I'm sure the deadbolt's turned / But baby, if it weren't / I'd come quiet up the staircase / Slip into your arms / Like I was never gone

Watchman (Gregory Alan Isakov) - So take me however I seem to be / Haunted, I know

Francesca (Hozier) - My life was a storm since I was born / How could I fear any hurricane?

Noise in My Head (spookyghostboy) - Sit in the dark for a while / Look for your name on my phone / My thumb hovers over the button / It rings and you say, "Hello"

Orpheus (Sara Bareilles) - Don't stop trying to find me here amidst the chaos / Though I know it's blinding, there's a way out

Late To You (Keaton Henson) - All these years of running / Of running away / I've been looking for something / For something to feel this way

The Way I Tend To Be (Frank Turner) - But then I remember you / And the way you shine like truth in all you do

Saint Honesty (Sara Bareilles) - We're collecting evidence / Of one remarkable storm / How wild it was to find it, finally feel the climate / Instead of only staying dry and warm

[slytherinshua]

⌇ 　OF DOUBTS AND MISTAKES 　( 조승연 )

genre exes to lovers , second chance , kinda angsty but hopeful ending , sort of 1800s au but not rly historically accurate , based on abyss lyrics/mv but not super accurate to the songs meaning obv , woodz x fem!reader   cw seungyoun self-loathes a lot , pretty much a lot of description of depression symptoms and behaviours , a verse from proverbs sprinkled in there cause it felt right , not proofread   wc 1470   request yes   note idk if any of my woodz fics will ever be just simple fluff because his songs and personality just inspire the angst/deeper meaning fics in me but quite happy with this wrote it all in about an hour hehe   net @kstrucknet

Seungyoun was scared of many things. It felt like every day was spent barely clinging on, trying to distract his mind from thinking of the past. He hadn’t always been scared. In fact, he used to feel fearless. He never once thought he would one day be so paralyzed and stagnant. 

He was apprenticed to a librarian several hundred miles west of where he once lived. Studying history and preserving ancient books. It was never something he was truly interested in. But, it was a generous offer and he wasn’t likely to find anything better for years, so he took it up. He found his life dramatically shifted in the course of a few weeks. 

He once spent his days in town, riding horses and doing trade with visitors from neighbouring towns. He was carefree and full of life and love. Now, he spent every day cooped up in an old library that smelled like parchment and ink, sorting through century old texts and copying them down to new volumes. He was lucky to get a few words in conversation throughout the day with his master, an older man senior to him by over 50 years. Seungyoun felt like he had a lot to learn from him, but his words were few and advice given both sparingly and cryptically. 

The library never got many visitors. There were some servants who would come to pick up books for their masters, or a few ambitious young men hoping to study the greats to further their own success. There were rarely any women who came to the library. Certainly not from far away towns. And in no way was there ever anyone who Seungyoun knew from his life before.

Until one quiet afternoon when Seungyoun was staring out the window and a customer came in. The customer being you.

On that particular day, Seungyoun wanted to disappear. He didn’t want to run away or particularly go back, but simply disappearing from reality would be his best bet. He stared out at the lush green gardens that surrounded the old library. He was allowed to go out whenever he pleased, but he had locked the door shut from the inside and didn’t intend to set foot along the trails or smell the flowers. Perhaps it would have done him well to get fresh air and clear his head. Getting a break from the overwhelming musty smell of the warm library and feeling a cool breeze through his hair. But still, he stayed put in his chair, flipping mindlessly through a book on philosophy until his peace was disturbed.

“You really wanted to leave me and everything else behind for this? I thought whatever you seemed so eager to go after four years ago must have been something truly spectacular. I hate to say you’ve disappointed me once again, Cho Seungyoun.” You didn’t hold back in slamming him with all the hurt feelings his leaving had left you with. Now was not the time you wanted to sound desperate or loving. You were angry at him, and you wanted him to know that.

Seungyoun’s eyes lifted to your face slowly, processing if this was actually real life and not just another one of his daydreams. But there you stood in front of him, arms crossed stubbornly in a very unladylike way. You were dressed plainly, but your beauty always overshadowed anything you wore. You never needed the elaborate dresses and precious jewelry that other ladies sought after. You would always command the attention of everyone in the room with just your presence. And you were certainly commanding Seungyoun’s attention with just a few stern words. 

His heart thumped a bit faster in his chest and guilt creeped through his entire body, touching every nerve. What was he even supposed to say to you? What could he possibly pull at to earn your forgiveness? 

“Y/n.” Just the mere uttering of your name had his lip quivering in uncertainty. What used to fall from his lips almost on instinct suddenly felt unnatural and wrong. Like you were too above him for him to even attempt to speak a word to you anymore. Why did you come to see him when he was so clearly worthless in comparison to you?

“Well? Will you just sit there all day? You must know I haven’t come to buy books on poetry.” Your glaring eyes did nothing to help the young man’s nervousness. He had seen you give that look to others before. He had always laughed with you after, discussing their faults in a carefree way. Now he was on the receiving end. He couldn’t possibly have felt more embarrassed. 

But he forced his body to stand regardless, following you a few paces behind as you led the way out to the gardens. He had no idea why you were there in the first place, or what you hoped to achieve by visiting him again. Was it just to laugh at how far he had fallen? Surely there was no way you wanted him back in your life.

“Did you think all that time I spent with you meant nothing? For you to throw it away for a simple apprenticeship?” You implored him pointedly, determined to get an answer out of the man. His words seemed to get stuck in his throat. He closed his eyes, head falling slightly. Whether out of thought or out of shame, you weren’t sure. 

“Talk to me, Seungyoun. I didn’t come all this way for nothing.” Your voice was gentler this time, prodding him for an answer in a more inviting, less demanding way. He wasn’t sure why you were still being forbearing with him. He was well deserving of your frustration.

“I don’t know what to say. You want me to explain myself and defend my actions, but there is no possible explanation I could grasp that would paint me as anything less than a fool. That is what I am, Y/n. I cannot pretend to be happy with my choices. They have led me to a fruitless future. I will be secure in life, yes, but I know I won’t be living.” 

He had finally found his voice again, and you stared at him as he talked. First his words were tentative. They quickly grew more clear as his narrative took a turn to self-loathing. Your suspicions these past years were proven right in a single minute, and once Seungyoun finished talking, you both stood in silence. The weight of his words laid heavy on your shoulders. 

“If you are a fool, then I am your equal. Tell me truly, do you still think about me?” Although you were partially scared to hear his answer, you desperately needed to. There was no denying that you still longed to mean something to him. Maybe you had learned nothing from the past. Maybe you were making an even bigger mistake. 

Hope deferred makes the heart sick. A line that had never struck you more closely than in the last four years. You had started to live by it. A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul.

“There has not been a day you didn’t cross my mind.” Seungyoun’s words were simple but sincere. For the first time since you had stepped outside, he dared to meet the gaze of your eyes again. His ebony eyes, so captivating and sorrowful at the same time. Swirling with hopes long lost and dreams being rekindled. You could stare at them for a lifetime. 

“Then hear me when I say that I want to be with you. I am choosing you over every other.” You stepped closer, grasping his hands with your own. 

You knew it was entirely improper. Seungyoun was hardly a gentleman. He would not be able to offer you riches like your past suitors. But what he could offer was something you valued far more. Happiness. 

Seungyoun swallowed his emotions, preventing them from crashing over him like a wave. 

“You are settling for far less than you could—”

“On the contrary. I am not settling for anything. You are not worthless to me.” Your words were so earnest that Seungyoun was unable to ignore them despite his first instincts. You truly meant everything you had said.

“I’m scared I will disappoint you again. If—” 

You cut him off once again, silencing him with a chaste kiss. His heart felt unsteady, his body in a battle with his mind. He wanted to be with you. It was all he ever wanted. He had never figured out how to stop the restless thoughts in his mind, battering his ego and self-worth. You had silenced them with one simple kiss. All at once, he felt at peace again.

“Just stay. That is all I ask of you.” 

misc taglist (bolded could not be tagged): @eternalgyu,, @wolfmoonmusic,, @candewlsy,, @blossominghunnie,, @cosmicwintr,,

@seunghancore,, @emmylksblog,, @bananabubble,, @talkingsaxy,, @chenleszone,,

@cupidslovearrows,, @hursheys

[terra-feminarum]

I have complex feelings about the US. On November 5th it was night here and I saw nightmares, and woke up several times to check how the election is going.

I live on the other side of the Atlantic, in a completely different culture, different climate. Your language is completely unlike my native tongue, yet I write it and I think in it, even though I can hardly pronounce the words right.

When I was a little girl, I knew what US American fire hydrants and mailboxes looked like, and I tried to write songs in English. For my generation, our native tongue was embarrassing, and not many dared to admit they listened to music with Finnish lyrics, rather than English.

More and more of my words have been replaced by English, and the youth of today have replaced so much of our original vocabulary it seems like they can't really express themselves fully in Finnish anymore. We are ashamed of who we are, and we'd love to be American, or rather, we'd love to be the kind of Americans we see in the media. Obviously Americans didn't instill this shame in us, our sense of self was crushed before you came along. But there was this cultural void and the America flowed in to fill the emptiness.

In my young adulthood, I adopted the US American way of thinking about politics and social justice, and so did many others. I can't still put it into words well, but it has become clear we just took ideas straight from another context and forgot where we are and what happens here. My friends claim to be afraid of the police which is absurd, and they tell not to call the police to avoid violence, which just doesn't happen. We talk about whether having dreadlocks is ok while Finnish Roma have been ostracized for 500 years and it's considered more or less normal. We took the idea that white people are an oppressive monolith and forgot we ourselves had been under the rule of foreign people for so long we forgot our own culture and became severely alcoholic, we forgot we have been on this land for aeons and adopted the idea we're the invaders (we are, when it comes to Sápmi - but otherwise we know this land). Of course we adopted your ideas of sex and gender, too, while our language doesn't even have separate words for these concepts. We put English pronouns in our social media bios even though the idea of gendered pronouns doesn't make any sense.

We took your polarized politics and now some find their ideas from your right, and some from your left, considering it normal to not being able to have a conversation with a person you disagree with. We don't have a two-party system but now young people almost act like we do.

Most of my life, I've been watching American movies and series, while having only seen a couple of Swedish films, and zero to none Russian or Estonian movies. I can't speak the languages of my neighbors, and I don't have nuanced understanding of our complex shared histories.

A while back I met a person from the United States, and it was uncanny. She really spoke in the soft buzzing sounds I've heard on podcasts, and which to me, is the language of politics and the language of entertainment. And of course, she expected us to speak to her in her language. In a way, US is an abstract concept to me, a world laid on top of my real world. Things happen in relation to the US.

Yesterday I pondered what it would be like to stop following anything that happens in the US, and focus on what happens locally. I have empathy for you there, but why are you on a such a pedestal when there are Russians living under Putin right next to me? I don't mean you don't matter, but I wonder why do you matter so much more than every other nation? When I wondered should I quit following US Americans on social media, a friend laughed at me like I was an idiot and asked me why I'm not following the squirrels in the forest next to us.

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 16: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (When Do I Get To Sing "My Way")

So, well, what an era this was, right. Comeback of the century! Gratsax just has that certain *something*. It's brilliant! One of the best albums ever made if you ask me. The fully electronic style is so perfect for Sparks and they just do it here like it's nothing and like they've been at it for many years. Of course there's the hiatus that took place in the years before it to keep in mind but even then, this album is a HUGE accomplishment and an incredible standout in a catalog of releases that's already full of standouts of all sorts. And it's definitely a personal standout for me too, thinking about how it's been almost a year since I first heard it really freaks me out! It was such a different time for me I feel like, but many things are also exactly the same as back then. It's weird to feel nostalgic about it now but there's really no better word to describe what this feeling is like exactly.

I think this album is meant for vinyl listening in a way. It just fits it so well!! And it's not just the quality to the sound that it has this way (and I don't mean that it sounds necessarily "better", more like just, different and that somehow complements the music even more), but also the ability to have an actual good view of this wonderful album cover that's among my top favourite Sparks things ever. So cool looking! So funny and memorable! One of the finest instances of the music sounding exactly like what the cover looks like. (and learning that the cover is a homage to a SPECIFIC magazine rather than just tabloids in general, that only made it more amazing because it really does look so alike, stuff like this is really cool to me for whatever reason lol)

Also I like the fact that I bought this silly little "disco" lamp around this time last year, so plugging it in for extra vibes during listening makes it all just kind of perfect. And another thing on the visual aspect of it all: this is such a good era for music videos, they're all SO GOOD! Some of my very big favourites for sure and the My Way video might really be one of the best music videos EVER MADE.

But ok, let's get to the point now. Something that stood out to me right away is that every song here is so unique but they fit together so well anyway (not first instance of such thing happening either). There's really lots of variety! I also remember this album fondly because of how it was the first one I listened to with my parents and when my Sparks obsession truly started to become one of the most noticeable things about me to other people, lol. But finally feeling more free and confident with sharing my favourite things that mean so much to me with others is such a wonderful thing anyway, I'd even argue that it helped me live my life more fully than before! And yeah, it's mostly a remark they (my parents) made, that this album nails the balance between keeping to a certain style and offering something new with each song. It's such a wonderful journey!

Alright, once again getting carried away a bit here even though I had no ideas earlier for what to say today. Highlights time then, which is also a bit of a problem because besides one special favourite this album has no spectacularly outstanding highs or any lows, it's all just equally amazing. But I'll try anyway, as I always do.

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

When Do I Get To Sing "My Way": my parents absolutely love this song and well, I do too. No suprise that it's among their most beloved and well-known songs, it really has it all, and it's one of Ron's very best when it comes to lyrics, without a doubt

Frankly, Scarlett, I Don't Give A Damn: so so atmospheric and special, I really like the vocal filter of sorts that's used here, it's just, so cool sounding all around!!

I Thought I Told You To Wait In The Car: this was my LEAST favourite at first but I grew to really like its unhingedness and the part with all "the CAR!!"s on top of each other is just peak of it all and funny as heck

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil: one of my favourite of Russell's vocal performances! This one and Scarlett are a bit of a duo to me, both simply beautiful songs

Tsui Hark: I LOVE the sound of this one, the piano plus the synth and the spoken word lyrics make this kind of combo that makes it feel like I've already known this one for years and it's just... always existed (which is a term that will apply to a lot of 21st Sparks material anyway, so, that's something to look forward to)

The Ghost Of Liberace: such a big comfort listen to me, I just love this one, makes me feel so at home!!

Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins: shoutout to these too because I feel like they might be easy to overlook as these very brief pieces, but they're that extra element that just, really cements this album as a wonderful whole with something to unify all of it into this package of wonder of all sorts

...And then there's the many bonus tracks also, which I'll just mention briefly since I almost forgot about them and because, yeah. I love them all, but the closest to my heart are Love Can Conquer All, She's An Anchorman, She's Beautiful (So What), Mid-Atlantic & This Angry Young Man (Ain't Angry No More) ((and the RON VOCAL VERSIONS OF THEM)) and Katherine Hepburn (love the whole Christi Haydon EP (and Christi is so cool and awesome I need to say that too today) and I should listen to it more, the Boris The Spider cover is fun as heck also)

And now bonus video for no reason from (almost) a year ago, because again, the nostalgiaaaa. (Back when I didn't have a shelf for my record player yet so it took up half of the space on my desk lol)

[hexiewrites]

on romcommunism, bisexual ted lasso, and the mumford-and-sons of it all

TLDR: this ENTIRE SHOW is about subverting expectations, expecting one thing and ending up with another, trying and trying and trying and ending up with something you never expected but is exactly what you need.

I've been thinking about this a lot, especially in regards to the amsterdamn episode which I think is the show finally 'coming out of the dark forest' so to speak, so I wanted to revisit the romcommunism speech and how it interacts with the theme song and with the other mumford references I see throughout the show, and why I think it points to a possibility of bi!ted, or at least, of a ted ending entirely different than what the majority is expecting it to be.

first off, as a reminder, the rom-communism speech from season 2 episode 5:

"If all those attractive people ... can go through some light-hearted struggles and still end up happy, then so can we. (...) Gentleman, believing in Rom-Communism is all about believing that everything's gonna work out in the end. Now these next few months might be tricky. But that's just 'cause we're going through our dark forest. Fairytales do not start, nor do they end, in the dark forest. That's something that only shows up smack dab in the middle of a story. But it will all work out. Now it may not work out how you think it will, or how you hope it does, but believe me. It will all work out. Exactly as it's supposed to. Our job is to have zero expectations, and just let go."

I've highlighted one of the most important parts of this speech for my analysis here, because when @stevecarrington and I were discussing it they pointed out where that sentiment comes into ted lasso again and again and again:

sound familiar? yup! it's right out of the theme song itself.

I have a lot of feelings about the theme song in general, but specifically the fact that it's... it's not exactly a sitcomedy theme. it's not actually a hopeful song on first read through, but it also kind of is. because one of the unfortunate and inexplicable truths in life is that it's pretty much assured that you might not get what you want, but, as the rolling stones and the season 3 trailer itself tell us, you can't always get what you want, but if you try some time you just might find you get what you need

I'm viewing this very much from a point of, Ted is going to find what he needs this season. he doesn't know yet what that is (winning the whole damn thing? moving back to his son?) but it's our job as the viewers to have no expectations, to not assume that things are going to work out in any specific way but that they will work out. and that you're going to keep trying, you're not going to know what to expect, and what you end up with may be something entirely different than what you thought when it started.

(kind of like having a giant bi awakening, no?)

I also have a lot of personal feelings about mumford and sons (and marcus mumford's) influences on ted lasso. I've started writing that post a hundred times but it's kind of a mess so I haven't posted anything (in the meantime, go watch the hopeless wanderer video, which exists because jason sudeikis is a close friend of marcus mumfords), but the one I come back to over and over is the song believe, and how the lyrics fit so perfectly into this romcommunism concept to the point that I think the entire central theme of the show is built off of mumford&sons lyrics:

and again. this drags it home so hard for me, on all of this. I could do a literal dissertation on what I think are other major mumford and sons influences on the show but this post isn't that. instead, I just want you to think about how the believe lyrics fit in with everything we're seeing. "your world's not all it seems" <- ted is not all he seems. he doesn't know if he believes yet, he needs someone who can "open up [his] eyes, tell [him he's] alive" and it needs to be someone who communicates openly, who talks to him

ted doesn't yet know if he believes. and he might not get what he wants (his marriage to be fixed, an easy relationship, an ending where everything is perfect), but he is going to get what he needs. he is going to try, and try, and we as the audience will go in with zero expectations and trust that it is going to work out.

I think different people will read this differently, but to me, it's a great subversion of the obvious idea that ted and rebecca are going to end up together. the cast has already said again and again that people seem to expect tedbecca to be A Thing, partially because they're both attractive, or they're both leads, because romcoms have trained us to expect this. ted is in a lot of ways some of what rebecca has been in need of, and there are some great posts about rebecca as the rom com heroine and what that means for her arc. but for me, the writers and cast saying that their relationship is strictly platonic, that they're brother and sister, is an excellent example of 'you can't always get what you want, but if you try you get what you need'. they might have some thoughts, they might start to think they'd be right for each other, and they are, but not in the way we might be primed to expect.

what ted and rebecca both NEED in each other is that confident. that platonic love and support that they're both craving in a lot of ways. sure, ted has some of that with beard, and rebecca has some of it with keeley. but their relationship, their connection, is so powerful to me from a platonic place, and this season is going to show them that's what they need from each other and always have.

and what ted needs is someone who can open up his eyes, who can, as mumford say in "white blank page" (which is also a very ted coded song):

he needs someone who can lead him to the truth.

perhaps... someone we might not expect? someone who built his career on finding the truth, and who destroyed it to do just that, to give ted the truth even at the cost of his job and the life he had built?

perhaps now that we've come out of this dark forest, we're going to start to see those expectations shifting, and we're going to see ted get exactly what he needs, even if he doesn't yet know what he wants.

(I want to be clear that I think you can also view this very strongly from the angle of 'ted does not need to end the show in a romantic relationship, he just needs to surround himself with love and truth and platonic support' and truly I think that's more likely to be what we actually see. I just couldn't help the tedtrent implications slipping in a little at the end here.)

[cornflakes7]

I read the headcanons of seeing their s/ perfoming in a underground livehouse and i can request the same but with Rei,Leo and Eichi (with the song "deep into the forest" by ave Mujica)

𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙩.2

Where you, a famous idol’s lover happens to be a secret underground performer! (this will be the sequel to my previous work)

Character include Rei, Leo and Eichi x GN reader (separate)

notes: Hello Anonymous! Thank you for requesting, my GOD I am late on this request I am super sorry 😭🙏 I apologize if these were short! Please enjoy

warnings: none

𝙍𝙚𝙞 𝙎𝙖𝙠𝙪𝙢𝙖

rei is definitely into metal music. like that’s kind of undead’s theme already

so he would love to see you be singing and performing this sort of genre! or just singing in general lol

but he just can’t stand the fact that you keep trying to hide that singing voice from him

so he would constantly pester you into singing or would try to put on a faux-hurt reaction to guilt trip you into feeling bad…

he soon would realize that nothing would work on you so he just gave up 😭

UNTIL ONE DAY he comes across the entrance to an underground concert which made him curious

rei expected to see other metal bands on stage but would never think to see you up there!

he was really impressed nonetheless, just watching you perform from the back like a proud dad

after the show, he figured who would just text you a message about the concert

if you were embarrassed about him seeing you, rei would assure you that this will only be between you and him, he may or may not have recorded a bit of the show for himself

𝙇𝙚𝙤 𝙏𝙨𝙪𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙖

he would always try to make you sing a song to “help him get inspiration”

whether he’s being serious about it or not, you always choose not to but all he’s asking from you is to just sing just a bit! 🙏

now, i think he wouldn’t be the type of person to listen to metal but would be willing to listen to a track

leo would find out about the underground concert from a flyer he happened to see somewhere

thinking it looks cool he’d go to that location to have a look at the concert

but just the sight of seeing you up there was enough to make him cheer loudly, although he really tried not to make too much of a scene

he would really be into the music and just from that, our composer may have thought of a few ideas for his songs

leo really had to thank you in person and praise you for the performance you put on because he truly thought it was amazing!

from now on, you will be the person to help him write lyrics and think of new beats

𝙀𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙞 𝙏𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙞𝙣

i feel like eichi would rarely listen to music…

if anything he’d listen to classical music

he wouldn’t pressure you to sing around him, but still would be a teeny bit curious on what your singing voice sounds like

i also think that eichi hasn’t really been to any underground concerts,,, but if he received an invite to one, he’d definitely check it out!

eichi was curious to see and hear the songs people will perform since this would definitely be his first time at an underground concert

even so, the last person he expected to be on stage was you! he made sure to give you as much support as he could from the crowd

he’d also feel happy that you gained the confidence to perform in front of many others just like he does <3

if you have spot him in the crowd, he’d be sure to give you a smile back and maybe get you a little gift as a prize for the good performance

although he is not familiar with metal music, eichi would definitely give the genre another try thanks to your performance

[itsjunetime]

my favorite fall albums

fall needs its own music. like there's a specific type of music that is the music that must be played during fall and personally i feel like if i am not listening to that music at any time during fall, i'm doing it a disservice. so here's what i listen to to satisfy that urge (in no particular order, i think):

Peripheral Vision by Turnover

This is one of my most listened to, if not single most listened to, album of all time. It has gorgeous vocals and lyrics along with beautifully effected guitars that just hit you right in your core. I really like shoegaze and i feel like this album was my introduction to that genre, but i feel like it still has something over everything else in that sphere. The vocals and drums are clean and crisp, and you can feel everything so distinctly without it being muffled in a cloud of lo-fi post-processing that a lot of other shoegaze albums employ. I honestly don't think I've ever found another album quite like it.

Favorite Songs:

Cutting My Fingers Off

Dizzy On the Countdown

Like Slow Disappearing

Some Still Morning by Handsome Ghost

Personally, I feel like singer-songwriter or simple indie albums (which generally employ little more than a voice and a guitar, maybe a piano) are so hard to make interesting. This album, however, despite feeling similarly simple, really transports me to a different, more calmer and introspective, place. It really feels like a chat with a friend that you'd have while sitting up and watching the sunrise. The album does use simple guitar strumming or piano chords as the base for most of the songs, but also adds beautiful pads and/or background noises to most songs to fill out the sound, and every single song is beautiful. If you're wanting this kind of vibe, there is not a single skip on this album.

Vampires is also a fun little halloween song hehe

Favorite Songs:

Nightmare

Funeral

Massachusetts

Floral Prince by Field Medic

This is one of the more recent albums that I've discovered on this list, but it is maybe the most distinctly-fall-vibey. Field Medic's voice is very raw on this album, and can be a turnoff for some people, but I personally really like it. The style of guitar and warm feel that exists in all the songs on this record really make you feel like you're cozied up on a swing, watching the leaves change. It also has a nice variety of feels between the songs - some are loud and energetic, like 'talkin johnny & june', and others are much more contemplative and intimate, like 'bundle of hyacinths'.

This is also not the only album of Field Medic's that I love - 'mood ring baby' and 'henna tattoo' from 'fade into the dawn' also have similar vibes and are beautiful songs.

Favorite Songs:

i want you so bad it hurts

bundle of hyacinths

-h-o-u-s-e-k-e-y-z-

Always Repeating by Runnner

I think the thing I like the most about Runnner's music is the wide range of instrumentation. Besides guitar and piano to lay down the base of most songs, there's also choruses of woodwinds, frequent mandolin and banjo, harmonica, and strong harmonies in the vocals. This album honestly feels really similar to Floral Prince (to me, at least) in many ways, but is also really good at quickly switching vibes to make you feel alone or forgotten - i think it fits well as a late-fall-to-winter album in that way.

Favorite Songs:

Ur Name on a Grain of Rice

Monochrome

Trundle Bed

There are many other albums I'd love to go over here, but I don't know if I have that many more complicated descriptions in me, so let's just list some honorable mentions:

Quiet the Room by Skullcrusher (very calm indie, nice strings)

holy friend by dog eyes (like a hug from a friend, beautiful vocals and warmth)

Cannot Be, Whatsoever by Novo Amor (great instrumentation and lyrics)

Grip Your Fist, I'm Heaven Bound by Kingfisher (the most beautiful use of brass + raw, heaving vocals that I've ever heard)

I like talking about music, so maybe I'll do more of these posts in the future, who knows.

And if you want to reblog with your favorite fall albums in the tags (or wherever), I'd love to hear them :3