#couldn’t make it any harder

[cascodeddeangirlie]

rip dean winchester you would’ve secretly cried to sabrina carpenter songs

[valenteal]

Sabrina Carpenter came out with the deluxe edition of Short n’ Sweet and I really love it, particularly 15 minutes and Couldn’t Make It Any Harder.

15 minutes is such a great commentary on the music industry and celebrity culture. The title is a reference to the idea of “15 minutes of fame” which Sabrina is currently enjoying. This song is her acknowledging the fleeting nature of her current popularity and showing her self awareness about both what it means to her and what she’ll do to keep/extend it. Because this is her livelihood. 15 minutes of fame isn’t just about fame and partying and boys for her. She’s working insanely hard to make the most of it, flying all over the country and doing perfect shows and always looking flawless. She’s doing everything she can with her “15 minutes” and it’s hella impressive. Of course she’s included plenty of innuendo and had fun with the song but it’s a serious acknowledgment of her hard work and also a criticism of the nature of fame and the things it’s necessary to do to be successful in the music industry.

Couldn’t Make It Any Harder feels like a more genuine continuation of her older music. It’s about how difficult she makes it to be in a relationship, how past experiences have made her more closed off. The rest of her music depicts her as more promiscuous but that’s not the truth of her, and this song acknowledges that. I feel like this is the natural progression from one of her older songs, Run and Hide. It’s from her EVOlution album and it’s about how cautious everyone has become of love. How as you grow up dating becomes more of a risk, something less beautiful and more scary. She says in it that she doesn’t want to Run and Hide, but in Couldn’t Make It Any Harder it’s clear that she’s doing so now. She isn’t as optimistic as she once was. She’s more guarded. Where her earlier songs all had this pure romanticism and eagerness for love she’s grown to be more careful. She’s been hurt. And this song makes that clear.

I have been a fan of Sabrina since basically her debut and I have loved to see her music evolve and grow as she has. At first I was concerned when Short n’ Sweet came out, I love it don’t get me wrong, but I was worried that she’d change her entire persona to fit with what people liked and expected after Nonsense. I’m glad to hear these songs. Sabrina is so talented and smart and insightful and I don’t want her to lose that, even though it’s great to see her having so much fun with her music as well.

[gh0stly-girlfriend]

[arthurfoxy]

Couldn’t Make It Any Harder by Sabrina Carpenter sounds just like Hopelessly Devoted to You but pop. The music is sooo similar. Listen to them both and you’ll see

[heartofasteria]

i was easier than i am now, would’ve folded but i can’t now 🤍

[awholeconstellation]

If I keep listening to this eventually Spotify is gonna ask me to stop

[dance-in-my-storm]

[brainchangingmusic]

“Oh, what I'd give to be

Meeting you as the glass-half-full version of me

I was easier than I am now

Would've folded, but I can't now

Heard they say this emotion should be kind”

— Couldn’t Make It Any Harder by Sabrina Carpenter

[dragongirlie56]

SHORT N’ SWEET DELUXE IS EVERYTHING I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

-15 Min

-Busy Woman

-Couldn’t make it any harder

are my favs rnnnn!!

🩵🩵🩵

[joellalovestoread]

I’m completely fine. Just crying to couldn’t make it any harder in my room

[gh0stly-girlfriend]

I was easier than I am now

[never-enough-stories]

couldn’t make it any harder has grease vibes tbh i love it !!

[musingsofahufflepuff]

Hard to Love Me

Mattheo Riddle x Theodore Nott; fluff

summary: head scratches and soft touches are the last things mattheo expects when he’s having a hard time, but when has theodore ever been like everyone else?

a/n: more mattheodore for ya since we’re all apparently going rabid over them. i keep meaning to write enzo, but somehow all roads lead me back here. enjoy my loves

The dorm is quiet Sunday afternoons, exactly how Theodore prefers it. He’s lounging atop his duvet with a book in hand enjoying a moment without Enzo’s affinity for talking his ear off or Draco’s nasally complaining. The peace is interrupted by the door opening and Theo’s already got an annoyed remark on the tip of his tongue. It dies near instantaneously when he sees who it is.

“Teddy?” Mattheo’s voice is soft, maybe softer than it’s been in the entirety of their shared history and the nickname sounds so broken on his lips. Theo can’t deny him anything. “Yeah amico?”

“Can I—can we—I dunno, fuck,” Mattheo’s ears flush red where they’re peeking out of his mess of curls. Theo waits patiently for him to continue, that unbothered neutral expression on his face like always. It’s surprisingly reassuring in a way. When the silence drags on a moment too long Theo cuts the tension, “you wanna fuck?”

Mattheo sighs, “that’s not what I meant and you know it, jackass. Can I join you?” He gestures vaguely to Theo sitting on his bed, partially propped up on the headboard.

“Yeah, want me to—”

“No!”

Theo immediately stops mid-shift to let him have his spot.

“I mean—Merlin, why is this so hard? Stay, just…stay how you are.”

Mattheo crosses the dorm to Theo’s bed, cautiously climbing on like he’s expecting Theo to push him off. When he doesn’t end up on the floor, he breathes out, “it’s stupid but, I wanna try, okay? I just—” there’s a couple beats of silence “had a shitty day.”

It seems to click in Theo’s mind, his arms stretching out for Mattheo to get closer. And slowly he does. With hesitancy that could put a wounded street cat trusting a human for the first time to shame, Mattheo slots himself between Theo’s legs. It’s an odd thing he thinks, to be in this position without the usual sexual context. But he’s seen Theo do it plenty of times, so it must be correct…right? So he slowly lowers himself down like he’s going to accidentally body slam Theo if he’s not careful until Theo’s getting fed up with waiting and gently pulls him down.

Mattheo hits Theo’s surprisingly sturdy, but unsurprisingly warm chest with a tiny oof. But he doesn’t immediately pull away like his instincts are screaming at him to, no, he takes a deep breath and lets himself sink down. And the moment Matt’s head touches Theo’s chest, the perfect weight in his arms, that’s when Theo knows. This feeling isn’t going anywhere. The butterflies and heart pounding out of his chest and heat in his cheeks, it’s just a part of being around Mattheo now. And maybe he’s okay with that.

“You’re tense.”

Mattheo goes to argue, but he can’t. He is tense. Then, like Theo can read his mind, there’s a gentle hand sliding into his curls and running through them. “Not that tense.”

Theo huffs a laugh, the sound rumbling in his chest under Mattheo’s head, “sure, whatever you say tesorino.”

As Theo’s skilled fingers work through his messy hair, a gasp almost manages to escape Matt’s parted lips, his face pressing into the warm chest. He honest to god might start purring from how good the hand in his hair is, short nails gently dragging along his scalp. His muscles are still tight like he physically can’t loosen them, but he’s not on edge like he was before.

They lay like that for a few moments, only sound in the room their soft breathing. “You know…you are safe here, Matt.” Mattheo feels his breath catch. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”

And slowly, the stress eases out of his back, body finally relaxing into a dead weight in Theo’s arms. Safe and comfortable.

[pupyuj]

call me sabrina carpenter the way i can do a lot in 15 minutes but i’ll only need 2 to make her finish 🤤

[raccoonfriday]

February’s Angsty Song of the Month

i have had an angsty song get lodged in my brain every month of 2025 thus far so i thought i’d share

[kentuckyfriedmegumi]

HOT OFF THE PRESS

by me ❤️ (chapter two up now!)