#crying thinking about summer 2014

[wheelscomedyandmore]

In the summer of 2014, just weeks before Robin Williams died by suicide, Glenn Close visited him at his Northern California home. They hadn't worked together in decades, but their bond had remained strong ever since filming "The World According to Garp" in 1982. Close had always carried a deep affection for Williams, not only as a brilliant co-star but as one of the most compassionate souls she had ever known in the industry.

Their reunion that day was quiet, filled with gentle conversation, laughter, and a haunting sense of finality that Close couldn’t quite place at the time. She later admitted in interviews that she sensed a fragility in Williams, something tender and aching beneath his quick humor and warm hugs. “He was in pain,” she said softly in an interview. “I could feel it. It was like he was trying to hold something together. I remember thinking, ‘He’s still Robin but something’s different.’”

Their friendship had begun more than three decades earlier on the set of "The World According to Garp," a film that marked Williams’ first major dramatic role. Close played Jenny Fields, Garp’s feminist mother, and their connection went beyond the script. Between scenes, Williams kept the cast laughing with his improvisations, but off-camera, he often confided in Close. She once recalled how he would quietly pull her aside, sharing thoughts that revealed a soul far more sensitive than the world ever saw. “He let me in,” she said. “He showed me the parts of himself he didn’t show everyone else.”

During filming, Close remembered one afternoon when Williams noticed a young crew member crying behind a lighting rig. He paused everything, walked over, and sat with the girl for nearly an hour until she smiled again. “That was Robin,” Close said. “He was the kind of person who would give you his full heart if he thought you were hurting. It was effortless for him.”

Years after the film, their lives diverged professionally, but they never lost touch completely. They would write letters, exchange brief calls on birthdays, and send each other notes when they saw each other’s work. In 2005, Close was performing in a stage production in San Francisco when Williams showed up unannounced backstage. He brought flowers, kissed her hand, and whispered, “You still light up a room, Glenn.” It left her speechless.

When Close heard about his passing on August 11, 2014, it felt like a piece of her past had been violently torn away. The visit from a few weeks before now replayed in her mind like a warning she had failed to interpret. “It shattered me,” she said in a later tribute. “Because I had seen something in him, something quietly pleading, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to help.”

In that same tribute, Close spoke at length about Williams’ hidden layers. “Robin was kindness itself,” she said. “People saw the genius, the lightning-fast wit, the brilliant performer. But those who really knew him also saw the wounds. He was deeply empathetic, almost to a fault. I think he carried other people’s pain as if it were his own.”

Her final memory of him, sitting together on a worn couch, sipping tea, laughing about absurd old Hollywood auditions, was etched in her heart like a song with no ending. “When he hugged me goodbye,” she said, “he held on a little longer than usual. And I think, in that moment, he was saying something he didn’t know how to say with words.”

Glenn Close still calls that day both a blessing and a burden. The ache of that final visit never left her. She carries it like a silent echo, a reminder of how closely love and sorrow often live beside each other.

His hug lingered, and after he let go, something in the world felt colder forever.

[foundnthestars]

HI. I bring Questions. >:]

How long are Dipper and Stan in the portal for? I remember you saying it somewhere a while ago but I can't remember

Does Mabel ever get sent back home? (Home being Piedmont)

Tell me more abt Ford. Just. Anything about him. How does he come to terms with the fact his identity was stolen for 30 years? And that he can't even ask Stan about it? Does he ever learn about the kids interactions with Bill? How does he feel about the new entries in his journal? Just. Tell me abt Ford.

Are there any characters you haven't introduced yet who will be important later on, canon characters or otherwise?

HI! THANK YOU FOR THESE QUESTIONS COPPER!! i was out of town so i wasn't able to answer these until now but i've literally been thinking about them all weekend!!

I. this is a question i've given a lot of thought, and i think i've settled with a date i'm pretty satisfied with! i think stan and dipper would be in the multiverse a MUCH shorter time than mabel and ford would be in your traditional drifting stars au. that would mainly be because ford knows where to get materials faster than stan or dipper would in the same scenario — i.e. crash site omega. but it'd still take a while because ford will have to figure out a way to pinpoint their exact location in the multiverse rather than just rebuilding the portal as according to its original design.

so, they'll be coming back right around early summer/mid summer 2014. right before mabel and dipper's sophomore year of high school. mabel would have gone through the 8th grade and freshman year without dipper :( so about 2 years overall — just in time for the twins' 15th birthday!

i have so many headcanons about the twins' high school experience post-portal. sheesh. so much angst potential. but dipper would have to get up to speed in time to enroll in school with mabel, and ford would definitely spend a lot of time tutoring dipper to get him ready for 10th grade. (no better person to teach a triangle-averse, traumatized teen trigonometry than a triangle-averse, traumatized old man!! yay for trauma-informed mathematics!)

II. THIS. THIS. THIS. The Parents. They Haunt Me.

i'm a sucker for realism in fics (i mean y'all know how i obsessed over the capacity of stan's hearing aid batteries for weeks and couldn't let it go) so working out the twins' parents' role in this was definitely a struggle. it needed to be realistic while also allowing very vital plot points to happen. like mabel staying in gravity falls, for one thing.

so many drifting stars fics don't really talk about the parents, and trust me, i get it! it's hard to write and enjoy ford and mabel bonding when you have two devastated, grieving, hysterical, protective parents trying to yank one party back to boring old piedmont where nothing ever happens and plot goes to die. but i also didn't want their parents to wind up being two shallow, underdeveloped background characters who couldn't care less about where their sole child ended up.

in my opinion, no reasonable, sane parent would let their daughter stay with an adult who was the sole party responsible when their son went missing. i also couldn't really see two grown adults from some random californian suburb suddenly becoming okay with the idea that their son went through an interdimensional portal, no less still letting their daughter stay there after hearing about it.

the only way i could see a parent letting this happen was if they decided somehow that staying home was somehow worse than all possible risks. sure, great uncle stanford let dipper go missing right under his nose, but at least he's apologetic about it. that 70-something year-old man is running around the woods at night looking for their son (apparently). that lumberjack girl is crying at the mention of him while swearing up and down that she'll protect their daughter with her life. there's a 20 year old kid who keeps shoving photos of their son and daughter on some fishing trip in their face and bringing homemade baked goods and dishes his abuelita made for them to take home with them.

and what's waiting for mabel in piedmont? nothing good. nothing resembling a healthy family environment. it's apparently bad enough that their normally spritely, energetic, kind, allergic-to-lying daughter is running away from home in the middle of the night. the pines parents are Not Okay, and they know mabel won't be okay with them either right now. there's a messy divorce and an alcohol problem sneakily brewing and until they can get their shit sorted out they'll have to trust ford to take after mabel for a while.

that's the focus of the next chapter! and it's coming real soon! a lot more will be delved into (it won't be as clear cut as them just shipping her away to gravity falls for 2 years) but mabel's here to stay! [TTDR: Nope!]

III. ahhh ford. i can tell you many things about ford.

mabel is just constantly, always talking about stan. what shows he watches. what color he begrudgingly admitted he liked best when they were finally able to take off his bandages after the Color Incident. the way he takes his coffee in the morning. it doesn't matter what. she just Keeps. On. Sharing. ford has no idea what to make of it at first. stan sacrificed the entire universe and put his own niece and nephew at risk and stole his identity and entire life. how is he supposed to forgive him for that? (he secretly wants to know more and never, ever interrupts mabel when she starts talking about him. blue's his favorite, too. the color of the sea.)

ford gets really freakishly good at acting like stan. he hates doing it but he knows he has to if he wants to keep their story going. when he has to make trips into town, he puts up with people asking him about the shack and dipper and why he's passed the mr. mystery torch over to soos. even though he hates that his identity has been entirely stripped from him, he has to admit that it's nice to be liked by so many strangers. his view of stan gets pretty warped because of this. he has to reconcile a lot with the stan he thinks knows (a.k.a his anger) and who he really is to those around him.

mabel is entirely responsible for making ford the soft, family man he was always destined to be. that will play a HUGE role in his and stan's reconciliation and the way he'll treat him when they come back :) (there will be no punching or arguing, thank you very much)

he learns about bill and the kids in the next chapter. he feels many things. none of them good. i'll let you guys read that for yourselves. i loveee when fics touch on ford's reaction to dipper's possession and bill's interactions with them, and ford will NOT be pleased to hear about any of this or bill's recent rendezvous in mabel's dreamscape

when he reads the entries in the journal, there's far less of the "i can't believe this kid scribbled over my life's work" than there was in canon. mainly because ford is deeply, palpably guilty that dipper got pulled into the portal HE created. here's a child that revered him and ended up losing a huge chunk of his adolescence because of it. he can't pin the blame on stan forever. not when he reads dipper's entries and sees the potential in a life that might be lost to bill or to the harsh realities of the multiverse. (he spends nights reading them and imagining what could have been if things didn't go so horribly wrong).

IV. yes! more important characters on the way. pacifica is the only one of them who is actually included in tags for now :) take from that what you will and for what that says for the future, hehe. super excited to introduce her and to write her dialogue !

there are also some other canon characters who are not tagged yet, because it'd be too big of a spoiler, but are MAJOR to the plot. super excited for those chapters!!

as for OCs, they are vital for plot progression and world building for a fic of this nature but they will never overshadow canon characters or be inserted in any major way. just a bit of fun world building coming for those guys!! i had a lot of fun writing acksyien for that short bit so expect more wacky side characters for dip and stan to meet!

[bluelocksource]

Ego Jinpachi’s trivia (src: EGOIST BIBLE)

"You can't be the best striker in the world unless you're the world's most egotistical person."

☆ Character's color: White.

☆ Birthday: 31st March.

☆ Current age: 30.

☆ Zodiac: Aries.

☆ Current height: 189 cm.

☆ Foot size: 28.5cm.

☆ Blood type: AB.

☆ Hobby: Watching soccer, mainly European League.

☆ Favorite food: Cup yakisoba, cup noodle. "I banned them during my active days. These monster junk foods make you gain weight."

☆ Dislike/hated food: Protein. "There's no such thing as tasty protein."

☆ What goes best with rice: "Furikake made from crushed cup yakisoba."

☆ Favorite animal: Bell crickets. "Beautiful chirping sound but a bit gross in appearance."

☆ Favorite season: Other than summer. "You can't play soccer when it's too hot."

☆ Favorite manga: Magical☆Taruruuto-kun. "The work that fried my brain as a kid."

☆ Favorite movie: セッション (Session) "This is what chemical reaction is."

The original movie is called Whiplash (2014). In Japan, it released under the name セッション (Session).

☆ Favorite music: Nighttime background music of a babbling brook and the chirping of insects.

☆ Frequently read magazine: CHICHI (he's a subscriber).

It's a monthly magazine for learning about humanities.

☆ Favorite person: Hiromitsu Ochiai. "I think he's a rational genius."

☆ Favorite subject: P.E. and Psychology.

☆ Weak subject: Art. "I don't want to create art."

☆ Favorite place: Blue Lock Merchandise Sales Department. "They're selling a variety of items."

☆ Mushroom shoots vs Bamboo shoots: Mushroom shoots. "I feel a certain affinity with them."

☆ Ideal type: "Someone who does everything for me."

☆ Fixation: Physiognomy. "I find the faces of people who look hopeless to be irresistibly amusing."

☆ What would make him happy: Japan winning the World Cup.

☆ What would make him upset: "Someone taking football away from me."

☆ What he thinks his strength is: “I have no interest in anything other than soccer.”

☆ What he thinks his weakness is: “I have no interest in anything other than soccer.”

☆ What made him cry recently: “I haven't cried in a while.”

☆ Usual sleeping hour: 4 - 4 -2 (split sleeping style).

☆ Number of chocolates received from previous Valentine: 0 (it's futile).

☆ What he usually ends up buying from convenience store: Check out the new cup yakisoba and cup noodles.

☆ Place he washes first when taking a bath: Pouring hot water onto the crown of his head.

☆ What will he do if received 100 million yen: Strengthening Blue Lock facilities.

☆ How he spent his holiday: Thinking about how Japanese soccer can become the best in the world.

☆ What will he do during his last day on Earth: "Watching what I consider the best game of the Japan national soccer team. Currently, it's the 2005 Confederation Cup against Brazil."

note: i want to apologize in advance for any mistake made in the translation!

[firthbetterorfirthworse]

hi! I got a hyperfixation over colin firth the last few days and I've been watching his movies but I'm at that moment where all I want to see is him kissing another woman (I don't mind if it's a man honestly) 👁👄👁 and I came across your blog and your master post BUT I can see it's focused on how wet he got SO i wanted to ask you if you could give me a list of the movies I can watch based on what I told you before. (dw, the really good movies are on a list but I think you get what I mean). thank you and sorry for my english, it's not my first language 🫠

Oooh I'm honored you came to me!

Kissing movies with Colin Firth

He's probably best known for the Bridget Jones series or Love Actually. They're honestly not my favorite, but I gift you this gif

because I'm not blind to the appeal! Instead I've arbitrarily ranked a bunch of them for you

Tier 1

I think my top is honestly Then She Found Me (2007) He and Helen Hunt have both been hurt before and know how messy love can be - but how much the risk can be worth it!

The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) doesn't have a lot of kissing, but it's so so cute. I love farce anyway, and I could rewatch this story a thousand times.

Supernova (2020) is a beautiful, beautiful movie. He and Stanley Tucci are perfect together. But you will also cry.

Same with A Single Man (2009). Romance features heavily, but it's memories of a lost love. This movie is gorgeous and wonderful but you will cry through all of it. I include it only because of how beautiful it is

Tier 2

These are some pretty standard rom-coms that I enjoyed overall but didn't change my life:

Fever Pitch (1997) He's a bit of a loser teacher who falls for the new teacher, he's football obsessed and she doesn't get it.

Hope Springs (2003) - He ends up in the small town of Hope Springs after his fiancé leaves him, and meets someone new

The Secret Laughter of Women (1999) - he is a comic book writer who meets a young boy and his mother. Cultural differences as well as some other twists work against them

A Summer in Genoa (2008) - mourning the loss of his wife, he finds comfort in the arms of an old friend. This one is a bit more family focused, he's a father, but it worked for me

Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - He is a skeptic, Emma Stone is claiming to be psychic. Not a lot of kissing that I remember, but there's a wonderfully terrible proposal and a happy ending.

Period Pieces

Valmont (1989) - Firth plays someone willing to sleep with anyone who looks at him longer than 2 seconds. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, even though there were moments that made me uncomfortable

Camille (1984) - Baby Firth falls in love with a courtesan and makes me feel like an inappropriate cougar

Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003) - all yearning, no kissing, but I figured I'd include it.

Bonus - Not a romance, BUT

Apartment Zero (1988) - written in a time where you could not come out and say anything more than "they were roomates" so there is zero kissing but you know there stuff going down offscreen. It's less about the romance and more about the mystery of what the heck is going on, but oh boy was it a ride

Before I Go To Sleep (2014) - a movie all about mindfuckery - and a good one at that! - but Firth is there as the husband

Playmaker (1994) - another mindfuck movie that is not about romance, but there are some sexy moments with Firth

St Trinians (2007) - I honestly don't know how to classify this movie. It's objectively a mess, but it's super fun

Nanny McPhee (2005) - More of a family film, but the romance of Firth is pretty plot-centric. It's cute, but tame

Technically a romance/You can if you want

The Accidental Husband (2008) - Colin Firth starts the movie as the supportive, wonderful fiance, so of course things go wrong for him

Circle of Friends (1995) - Firth plays a bit of a sleaze, but he definitely romances someone and there is kissing involved

Deep Blue Sea (1994) - Firth is living with someone but they have major problems, one of which is her husband. Not a lot of kissing

Dutch Girls (1985) - Baby Firth travels with his team to Holland, where they are all trying to get laid but he falls for a specific girl instead (again, not really any kissing)

The English Patient (1996) - Firth is in Egypt with his new wife, but Ralph Fiennes is there too. There is definitely kissing, but Firth isn't the only one doing it.

Femme Fatale (1991) - Firth is newly married when she disappears, and he finds out nothing is as he thought it was. Probably not as much kissing as you're looking for.

Fourplay/Londinium (2001) - This movie exists. And it is a kissing movie. But oh boy... I don't know that I have anything good to say aobut it hahaha

Out of the Blue (1991) - Firth charms the more inexperienced Catherine Zeta-Jones

Wings of Fame (1990) - In this weird movie, Firth is in a hotel that is the afterlife. But he does meet a woman and they get it on

[werewolfetone]

I'm a day late for this but yesterday, 14 october, was the anniversary of the execution of william orr, one of the first united irish martyrs. we don't know much of his early life, but we do know that he was a linen man from antrim and a popular member of the society of the united irishmen who contributed several articles to the northern star in the mid 1790s. in 1796 he was arrested for allegedly administering the banned united irish oath to some british soldiers and was subjected to what was even at the time widely understood to be a show trial with the aim of making an example to deter others from joining up. it included, among other things, the star witness (one of the soldiers) admitting that he was lying and half of the jury being wildly drunk. despite a defence from famous lawyer john philpot curran orr was sentenced to death for his treasonous activity.

Despite this, orr was then immediately subjected to a long period of imprisonment (rather unusual for the time period) during which even members of lord lieutenant lord camden's family personally appealed for a stay of execution, unfortunately to no avail. william orr was executed in carrickfergus on 14 october 1797. and as everyone except for lord camden in 1797 probably could have seen coming, after this the united irishmen enjoyed an increase in membership and orr was immediately elevated to a martyrdom status which can only really be described as the bobby sands of the 1790s; much art was made about him and the rallying cry "remember orr" was used at various points in the rebellion of 1798.

Today he is perhaps most well remembered for "the wake of william orr," a poem which belfast-born united irish poet dr william drennan wrote about him after his death, and the fact that ulster rebellion leader henry joy mccracken entrusted a ring bearing the engraving "remember orr" to his sister mary ann mccracken as one of his last acts before his execution. and if you're having trouble remembering anything about him there's a not half bad song about him here which sums things up surprisingly well. he may not be as well known as robert emmet or theobald wolfe tone but he's one of the most famous martyrs in irish republican history TO ME and I think to me only which is why I'm making this post.

Sources under the cut

Bew, J. (2014). Castlereagh: The biography of a Statesman. Quercus.

BIGGER, F. J. (1906). William Orr.

Stewart, A. T. Q. (1996). The summer soldiers: The 1798 rebellion in Antrim and down. Blackstaff Press.

[foxes-that-run]

do you think Hits Different is haylor coded?

Hi, to me it is, though I think it is ambiguous as I think Taylor's feelings might have been. Aaron indicated it was an earlier song on Midnights. It was possibly written not very long after Renegade.

Timeline

Aaron mentioned it as one of the songs they wrote together, he mentioned it when saying they wrote High Infidelity in L.A. after Taylor saw Harry at the 2021 Grammy's. He mentioned The Great War also. (31 mins in Broken Record podcast)

I guess this somewhat depends on one's view of the Joever timeline and the Haylor aspects of Folklore. At that time Harry wrote As it was and LOML which are about moving on and there was a lot of reporting around OW.

Video

In this pretty unsettling short she wore an Opal, Taylor's worn Opals since 2014 including the Cardigan video and says 'Opal eyes' in Ivy.

Lyrics

I washed my hands of us at the club You made a mess of me I pictured you with other girls in love Then threw up on the street Like waiting for a bus that never shows You just start walkin' on They say that if it's right, you know Each bar plays our song Nothing has ever felt so wrong

Taylor has been a mess in:

All You Had To Do Was Stay: I’ve been picking up the pieces of the mess you made

Dancing With Our Hands Tied: I’m a mess but I’m the mess that you wanted

Illicit Affairs: Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me

Also the only other bus lyric is The 1: I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn’t, though.

Bars feature a lot on Reputation, so many associate them with Joe, (who she started dating after a lot of the album was recorded.) however to me most of those songs are Haylor.

Oh my, love is a lie Shit my friends say to get me by It hits different It hits different this time Catastrophic blues Movin' on was always easy for me to do It hits different It hits different 'cause it's you ('Cause it's you)

The Catastrophic blues, to me are most similar to Peace: "If your cascade ocean wave blues come." but I hear the lyric as Taylor is depressed.

'Movin' on was always easy for me to do' indicates Harry to me because, he is someone she hasn't been able to move on from because of the cyclical nature of it:

End Game "We tried to forget it, but we just couldn't" and "And I can't let you go, your handprint's on my soul"

DBATC: "Chandelier's still flickering here / 'Cause I can't pretend it's ok when it's not"

I used to switch out these Kens, I'd just ghost Rip the Band-Aid off and skip town like an asshole outlaw Freedom felt like summer then on the coast Now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings And I never don't cry (no, I never don't cry) at the bar Yeah, my sadness is contagious (my sadness is contagious) I slur your name 'til someone puts me in a car I stopped receiving invitations

Taylor has also described Harry is irreplaceable, not a switchable Ken:

Question..?:"Cause I don't remember who I was / Before you painted all my nights / A color I've searched for since" and "Does it feel like everything's just like / Second best after that meteor strike

Ready for it: "And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor / Every lover known in comparison is a failure"

Gold Rush: "And the coastal town / We wandered 'round had never / Seen a love as pure as it"

Finally the drunk, slurred name lyrics, (hard to slur Joe), and

Cruel Summer: I’m drunk in the back of the car and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar

Death By A Thousand Cuts: I get drunk but it’s not enough ‘cause the morning comes and you’re not my baby

I find the artifacts, cried over a hat Cursed the space that I needed I trace the evidence, make it make some sense Why the wound is still bleedin' You were the one that I loved Don't need another metaphor, it's simple enough A wrinkle in time like the crease by your eyes This is why they shouldn't kill off the main guy Dreams of your hair and your stare and sense of belief In the good in the world, you once believed in me And I felt you and I held you for a while Bet I could still melt your world Argumentative, antithetical dream girl

Joe's worn a few baseball caps, though Taylor has also referenced Harry's hats before. In early interviews Niall said he wore them to hide his hair in public, so he wears them a lot. Including this green beanie in the 22 MV.

Bleeding is a Haylor Theme

Trace the evidence / Wrinkle in time reminds me of Right where you left me, "They expected me to find somewhere / Some perspective, but I sat and stared"

Hair, Stare and Sense of belief describe Harry well:

Hair (Style: long hair, Shake it off: hella good hair, Gold Rush: Hair falling into place)

Stare (Style: daydream look in your eye, Delicate: look into your eyes, Exile: eyes add insult to injury, Gold Rush: Twinkling eyes)

Harry has a belief in the good in the world, Joe may too, we don't really know him.

Finally the Argumentative, antithetical dream girl - reminds me of Gold Rush "At dinner parties, I call you out on your contrarian shit". Harry describes Taylor in Sweet Creature "It's hard when we argue We're both stubborn, I know" Kiwi "Hard liquor mixed with a bit of intellect" and Woman "I told you, but I know you never listen."

I heard your key turn in the door down the hallway Is that your key in the door? Is it okay? Is it you? Or have they come to take me away? To take me away

Finally, hallways and doors both feature a lot in Haylor songs, here the muse has a key. I guess this also depends on a perspective of the pandemic time, I don't find it a stretch to think H had a key to Taylors home. As far as I wonder if she even has a literal key anymore...

Have they come to take me away reminds me of:

Wonderland: And in the end in Wonderland, we both went mad

Say Don’t Go: The waiting is a sadness fading into madness

Don’t Blame Me: "For you I would cross the line, I would waste my time, I would lose my mind" and "Don’t blame me, love made me crazy"

I Wish You Would: This mad, mad love makes you come running

Blank Space: Magic, madness, heaven, sin

[a-moth-to-the-light]

Most-Listened of May 2024

[last month]

May 2024 was finals + road trip home from uni + getting settled in at home for the summer, so the songs on this month's list were the soundtrack to a really busy time for me. (Because of that, I'm extra grateful to them for helping me power through it all!) I didn't have the brainspace to be properly excited about any new releases (except Repion's at the end of the month), so a lot of the songs here kind of snuck up on me. Surprisingly, I'd still say I enjoyed May's releases more than April's, though!

1. Not Like Us -- Kendrick Lamar

The Drake-Kendrick beef finally graced my YouTube recommended at the beginning of May, just in time for "Not Like Us" to save me from the Inevitable Finals Gloom. The beat was what hooked me at first (so string instrument!! so texture!!), but there are SO MANY good lines here--more than enough to keep me excited about this song, even after I massively overplayed it in just a few days of finals. (I'm a 'leave songs on repeat for hours as I float in and out of The Work Vortex' kind of guy, you know?)

2. Candy Store -- from the 2014 Heathers soundtrack

No complicated reason here: the vocal performances are just breathtaking, so I haven't been able to get this song off my mind for the past two weeks. Shoutout to @embraceofday for introducing me to this one! (That was a couple of years ago, I think, but somehow it came back to me recently, and I've been more obsessed than ever!)

3. Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl -- yeule

I've been getting ads for I Saw the TV Glow all month, and they worked on me--sort of? I still have no plans to see the movie, but this song from the trailer has taken my listening by storm. Lyzette G on YouTube mentioned yeule last year (I am SO jealous of their taste in music), so I'm proud to say I like a yeule song now! This is peak 'driving home on the highway at night and your heart is all sparkles because she said she'll text you later', which is one of my favorite kinds of music, actually. (Yes, this is oddly specific. But it's also like A General Feeling, you know?) It's eerily inhuman but also full of longing; it keeps a consistent, hazy atmosphere while still including a few moments of emotional punch--it's great!!

4. Down Swinging -- Holly Humberstone

Saxophone solo!!!!!!! That actually isn't my favorite part of this song, though--the way Holly Humberstone sings "watch me keep my cool tonight" at the end of every chorus is full of just SO many emotions--shame, determination, acceptance, longing--I find it captivating (really, every lyric in this chorus is a gem). I love songs like this (see also: Betty Who's "You Can Cry Tomorrow" and Lee Hi's "HOLO"), songs that aren't about being over something bad but are just about being within something bad and getting by anyway. Being stuck, and knowing you're stuck, and being okay regardless? Sometimes, I just need to know that's possible, and "Down Swinging" makes it feel more real than ever.

5. I'm the Ocean -- Neil Young

My dad and I ran across this on our (twelve-hour) drive home from my university, while we were listening through this playlist. My dad is a huge Neil Young fan, while I'm just meh about him--"I'm the Ocean" caught my attention from first listen, though, and I've been revisiting it daily since then. (Funny enough, my dad doesn't care for this one.) I love its haziness, how it walks the line between hopelessness and rage and how you're never exactly sure how to feel about the speaker, or about the song itself. I love singing "I'm the ocean / I'm a giant undertow". (Like, that is a captivating lyric. So powerful, so simple yet so layered with meaning?) I love the crunchy TV-static guitar!!!

6. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come) [Live at Malieveld...] -- Bruce Springsteen

Spotify keeps notifying me whenever Springsteen releases a new compilation album (they know me too well...)--and he just keeps releasing them. I'm not sure I needed all these albums, but I'm glad to get this gem, at least! This one has a super-singable chorus, and the fiddle solo is SUCH a high.

7. Turn it up -- PinkPantheress

Not particularly exciting, but super fun! It's a solid serotonin jam to go on a playlist with all the early Twice title tracks.

8. No Biggie -- Itzy

SO CUTE SO CUTE I LOVE IT. With "None of My Business" + this one, I've been so glad to see how well the post-NewJeans world suits Itzy. My main problem with a lot of their music, especially title tracks, is that the songs strain their vocals in ways that end up sounding unpleasant to me--a chilled-out song like this one reminds me just how listenable Itzy's music can be!

9. Rollercoaster - MTV Unplugged -- Bleachers

I think Spotify suggested this one to me. I am THE Bleachers girlie, but I'd never heard this specific version of "Rollercoaster" and oh my GOD does it make me emotional. If you've ever cried to "Someone to You" by Banners, I think you already understand what this one makes me feel.

10. The Ghost of Tom Joad (feat. Tom Morello) - Live in Anaheim, CA -- Bruce Springsteen

My #1 song from my #1 artist!! (Sorry, "Badlands". Your top spot was beautiful while it lasted, and we've had so many good times, but I just... I don't think you're the one for me anymore...) I did an essay about Springsteen for one of my finals, believe it or not, and I talked about this song in particular, so that explains the sudden spike in listens--though it's constantly in my rotation regardless.

11. Wave - Ollounder's Bold Dynamics Mix -- Ateez

It's a time-honored tradition, now: trashy club remixes are my THING during finals. This one stuck with me all month, though, because it's actually kind of compelling--I find it fun, even when I'm not speedrunning a final paper. "Wave" is just a really sweet song already, and I think this remix adds a variety of sounds that make it not just pleasant, but also super captivating.

12. Lookalike -- Conan Gray

No comment...

13. Set Me Free (Lindgren Remix) -- Twice

Re: trashy club remixes for finals. This is so trash, I can't even argue that it's worth listening to at any time other than finals season. (The synth riffs in the prechorus are kind of awesome, actually, but the vocals sound like you're listening to them through a tin can telephone.) It was a great hype song while I studied, though.

14. Maybe -- (G)I-DLE

My second-favorite G-IDLE song ever (though I have no idea how I'll make room for "Eyes Roll" and "Revenge" in an updated top ten) is never not welcome on my most-listened list, but I have no idea why this is here. Maybe I left it on repeat while working on a paper? It has the right kind of beat drop to give me the same kick of adrenaline as my trashy club remixes do--though in terms of how much I admire it, "Maybe" is on a whole different level!

15. BOA -- Megan Thee Stallion

This is a wildly addictive song. The Gwen Stefani sample is such a good hook, but it's used so sparingly that I'm left hanging on Megan's every word, waiting for it to appear again. The deep bass makes the song feel full, though--by the end, I'm left wanting more without feeling like the listening experience was actually incomplete. My favorite line is definitely the Birkenstocks one; I still smile every time I hear it! I'm so excited for the album :)

Five-Star Songs (& Albums!) This Month

BOA -- Megan Thee Stallion

Lime -- Soojin

With just a few twists on a sweet, summery formula, "Lime" manages to stand out from the pack of cheery dance songs coming out at this time of year. The orchestral intro is so exciting, and the weirdly gritty vocal production (I still have no idea why anyone would consider that on a song like this--this album has some truly baffling production choices amid all the fantastic ones) unexpectedly grew on me. This song does sweet-and-sour so well!!

[Speaking of baffling production choices: "Drop Top" from this same album is a very nice listen, but what the hell is happening in the bridge... It would totally be a five-star song for me if not for that screechy violin (?) note in the dance break. Like. Why. Why would you just repeat the same ear-piercing note. The whole time. Have you considered a riff? Or making it just a TAD BIT quieter? Or just... a lower note? Anyway. Also, the ENTIRE title track, "Mona Lisa", is a baffling production choice. Just. The whole thing.]

Not Like Us -- Kendrick Lamar

Summer Daze -- Soojin

I like "Lime" a lot more than this one, but I can't help but admire "Summer Daze" too! I'm so in love with how it's a pop b-side just feels so authentically indie-rock? Like, "Más Lejos" by Atalhos was one of my favorite songs of the summer last year, and that's an actual indie-rock song--and it feels like everyone who had a hand in "Summer Daze" understood exactly why people enjoy that type of song & decided to write a love letter to the genre. This track would fit right in with anyone's wistful k-indie playlist!

Entre todas lo arreglamos (album) -- Repion

Yeah, fuck it--I added Repion to the stanlist this month! After this EP, how could I not? The pre-release "El día no me da" had my heart already--it was so similar to their last album, though, that I found it a tad bit boring. But as an opener for a song like "Viernes", "El día no me da" reaches its full potential; it functions so perfectly that my qualms completely disappear. "El día no me da" builds up the energy to this delightful high, and then "Viernes" is the rollercoaster ride back down, full of twists and turns--I love the experimentation with rhythm, which continues in "Qué hay de ti?". It adds such a nice edge to the album; even though this release retains the things that drew me to Repion in the first place--strong vocals and incessant energy--it feels anything but boilerplate. This EP has only one flaw, and it's the kazoo-sounding thing that shows up in "Vienen de pasárselo bien". Maybe it's a perfectly lovely instrument in other contexts, but I think it just sounds silly here, and I really would rather just appreciate their (always delightful) harmonies in peace. Those harmonies do save the song for me, though! To be fair, this album only has four songs--putting it in the albums category is kind of a stretch--but these four songs are packed with enough interesting ideas to make this the fullest EP I've heard in forever. (Plus, Repion gets extra-credit points for releasing my album of the year--a full-length one, too--last year.) I'm not sure if this EP will turn out to be a smaller part of an upcoming album, but I really hope so--I love this sound for them!

[notoriousbeb]

A Partial Haylor Relationship Timeline (In My Head)

I was listening to 1989 a few days ago and, as I do, I stumbled down a Haylor rabbit hole.

While I think my reference points are logical, much of this is, of course, speculation, so continue only if that’s your bag:

My jumping off point was this thought: “Hmm…is Wonderland about the rumored fight in Virgin Gorda in January 2013?”

So, we went on our way

Too in love to think straight

All alone, or so it seemed

But there were strangers watchin'

And whispers turned to talkin'

And talking turned to screams

…

I reached for you, but you were gone

I knew I had to go back home

You searched the world for somethin' else

To make you feel like what we had

And in the end, in Wonderland, we both went mad

Now I’m thinking the “long six months” referenced in “How You Get the Girl” was between January 2013 and June 2013. And when they got back together in June, they decided to keep their relationship out of the public eye, because that had been a point of tension.

(Side note: I’ve seen it referenced on a wiki, but without citation that I’ve found, that Taylor wrote and recorded HYGTG in January 2013; however, according to her, she didn’t start working on 1989 until around April 2013, during the Red tour).

So perhaps they’re together in secret though the summer but, by the fall, she needs some space and is maybe cracking under the pressure of all the secrecy (“I don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you”). So they take a break. He goes out with Kendall in late November.

Yet, in December, Harry tweets the lyrics “better still, be my winding wheel” on Taylor’s birthday.

But word spreads in January 2014 that they’re meeting up on the down-low in Malibu. (It was later confirmed by Courteney Cox that several of those hangs were at her house…man, they’re all so cool).

In February, they’re spotted hanging out with Ed in London.

Later that month, Harry writes “Just a Little Bit of Your Heart.” Two days later, Taylor writes “I Know Places.”

She later told GLAM in 2015, “[IKP] is a song about how other people will really ruin a relationship if they get a chance to and how it might be the best way to go about starting a relationship is to keep it a secret if possible just because it’s very fragile.”

They potentially take another break around this time, as Taylor writes “Clean” on February 9…but then she writes “Style” 10 days later, lol. So “Clean” is either not about Harry or she’s clearly not totally over him/ruling out getting back together someday.

(Side note: the whole “10 months sober” line in Clean confuses me, because if it was Harry-related, then that would place their break up in April 2013, which just doesn’t line up with anything I have seen. Thoughts?)

In March, Harry writes “I Love You.”

Another summer of them maybe being together in secret — maybe on-and-off or not exclusive —goes by, and it seems like they call it off for real again when, in August, Harry writes “Not Our Fault” with Gavin DeGraw.

Gavin says, “[The song] is about...if it doesn't work out sometimes you can't necessarily just blame it on yourselves, you know, sometimes it's what's going on around you. Sometimes it's other things that have nothing to do with the two people involved, those factors that you can't control. It touches on that type of subject. It’s a way of saying you're giving up, but it's not necessarily you're giving up because you don't love each other."

In November 2014, at the American Music Awards, Harry is super supportive of Taylor and 1989 and whistles as she receives an award.

In December, they party together after the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

In January 2015, they both go to a friend’s birthday party and out to a diner afterwards.

At some point, on his birthday, he makes her cry. While I can’t be sure of the exact year, because it’s a reference in the unreleased and later leaked “Hunger” song, the song also says, “as one year turns into two, I’m still not over you.” If it was two years since they fully ended in February 2015, they’d put us in February 2017. And HS1 came out in May 2017, so the timing works out.

Also, this birthday fight could be what causes her to wash her hands of them in the club, picture him with other girls in love and throw up on the street (“Hits Different”).

A week after his birthday, February 7, 1D starts their final tour. Later that month, Taylor meets Calvin and they start dating in late March.

She also maybe records “So It Goes…” in early March. I know there’s debate about the timing of this song’s creation, but if Oscar Görres (who wrote the instrumental) had his second child (born Sept. 17, 2017) the day they finished it, it wouldn’t have been done on time to make the Nov. 10, 2017 Reputation album release date (it’s typically 3-4 months of prep after the masters are done). She was also seen going into a studio on March 2, 2015 (per his retelling, Görres was at home when Taylor and Shellback were in the studio finishing the track and talked to them by phone).

In May the 2015 Billboard Music Awards Exile/Woman debacle goes down. Sad face.

In August 2015, Harry writes “Someday.”

And that’s all she wrote…well, kind of.

As we all know, they’re friendly after this, appearing at award shows, attending Ed’s wedding, and still talking about each other in the media with nothing but warmth and respect.

They, famously, date other people.

But they also continue to write about each other, more than a dozen songs between them, as recently as 2022.

And now, in June 2023, I’m just manifesting that “someday” is soon.

p.s. Credit and enormous props to @haylortml for the amazing timeline I pulled much of this from. You have truly done the lord’s work.

[caffernnn]

Free! Anniversary Fic Recs 🦋🐋🐬🦈🐧 Can you share your fav fics from each year (2013-2023) Free! has been around?

This is a very fun ask!! Lemme root through my bookmarks and see what I can find 😅

2013 - A lot of the stories I have saved from this time are shorter lil one-shots like “Never Leave” by Shimegami (classic mh hug-it-out interlude fic) and “The Sound of Settling” by teke (feelings realization stuff), but one other one I liked was “The Ocean You Gave My Heart” by miaoujones. Smut warning for that one (if that’s not your thing), but something about desert-bound Makoto learning to swim and indulge in water with Haru, thinking upon meeting him that he’s a wonder whether he’s really a mermaid or not, that’s neat!!

2014 - starting to realize the ones I kept any note of from the early years are some of the popular mh fics probably already recommended 10 times over, but there’s a reason why people sing their praises. If you haven’t checked out fics from tide tothemoon like 2/13189000 (mhtokyo my beloved), their writing is *chef’s kiss* delightful. Another AU I haven’t been able to bring myself to revisit was orihime’s reincarnation stories from “I cannot be without you, matter of fact.” There are two different stories, one where Makoto remembers their past lives and a follow up where Haru remembers, and oh that made me ache dude.

2015 - Speaking of suffering, have y’all checked out Heart’s Departure yet? I think we’ve referenced and talked about that story enough for it to speak for itself 🥴 heartbreaking circumstances but still cosmic and so so beautiful. Then, once you’re done crying about that story, hop over to “Shake the Heavens” by Ad_Astra to break down over (what I described in my ao3 bookmark) Makoto and Haru’s “inherently cataclysmic devotion.” I guess 2015 was the year of shoving the boys into tragic AUs and seeing how much they were willing to give up to get back to each other. A whole vibe

2016 - let’s goooo gamers, more AUs!! “I’d Create Oceans For You” by trashness is a fun fantasy adventure that has both tender moments and interesting action (and some banger art from donguris omggg). If you want something more future-fish-flavored that shows that happily-ever-after doesn’t save you from your grief, “Sublimation” by RedScribbler was great. You can find more of my thoughts on that one if you scroll back a bit in my “fic recs” tag — one of y’all sent it in and yeeees it was so up my alley!

2017 - Alright fellas, there are so many to choose from, because now we’re getting into the macbetha years! Who would I be if I didn’t mention “Eyes Wide Open All The Time” tbh?? It’s a long one with its own hard-hitting involved lore and world-building, but Beth builds this unique story in a way that pulls from the characters we know and love so effectively. I’ve sung the praises for this story multiple times (and could so do it again bro don’t tempt me) but I’ll end off with saying that if you’re fascinated in watching deeply-wounded people who’ve been put through hell learn how to make a life in the aftermath, there’s something special for you here. Aaaand, if you want something about 1/10 the length and not as heavy, “159 (Architect/Interior Designer AU)” by intoxicatedcinnamon has some fun moments 😌 that’s another one where you can find more of my thoughts somewhere in the fic recs tag (love when y’all send me stories 💚💙)

2018 - “Coral and Bone” by Macbetha my beloved!!!! Wanna play mermaids and fight the gods? Maybe try to find that summer magic that makes you want to keep going and accidentally fall in love on the way? I am puuushing you toward this story bestie. Everyone’s here and everyone’s having fun! OH ALSO I’m throwing in “Night Changes” by SEMellark because I love stories where Makoto and Haru actually figure out how to talk to each other. (Side note — a lot of these are probably gonna be things I’ve rec’d in the past, so feel free to scroll my tag for more details and consider this list an extra endorsement 😅)

2019 - (drops basket full of love for mutuals) OOPS OOPS OOPS!!! Don’t mind me, just popping in with some “Let’s Get Married” by sagesprouts and “Anthropocene” by testosterogna, nothing to see here but some classic natsunao shenanigans and one of the sickest elemental bender AUs out there 😌✨ I also have some fics from Svana saved from this year, but I’ll be mentioning her again later so hold on okay!!

2020 - alright, now the list is getting longer with everyone jumping back in during the early pandemic days 🏃🏻‍♀️SO FIRST OFF “green eyes, you’re the one I wanted to find” by infinite_always is an absolute FLUFF FEST of a soulmate AU! Unbearably tender moments but who doesn’t love that every so often? OH AND we have another one of my all-time ultimate fic recs here!! “Reaching” by CupNoodles55 has shaped and reshaped how I look back at Eternal Summer in the way I’d want any great canon-compliant fic to. Big love for interlude scenes and extra bits that help recontextualize or deepen what a moment could’ve meant in the show. Gonna end off 2020 with “The Sea Aflame” by Dizzydodo because even though this urban fantasy story is unfinished, I was super drawn in by the prospects of dragon!Makoto and whatever god stuff was going on with Sousuke. An interesting universe I love thinking about again from time to time.

2021 - Starting off strong with “love on the water, love underwater (and so on)” by rudimentaryflair because we love introspection here!!! Lovely writing style with lines that make me want to scale the walls. This take on Makoto is so so special. Also gonna rec “To Clear Away Today” by suhmayzooka (omg hiiii) if you want to be thrown into another hard-hitting intricate AU with loads of potential. Love exploring what we’ve got to see of the world so far 💞 and OOOH IT’S TIME!! “Extraordinary” by Svana_Vrika is basically canon to me at this point. Svana has a lot of sweet shorter stories with Makoto and Haru (look here, look here), but this one is everythinggg my guy. Similar appeal to “Reaching” mentioned earlier: a story of interludes that bring the story we already know to life in a delightful new way. Required reading for mhtokyo fans forreal. ONE LAST ONE OKAY!! “Teacher” by VeloxVoid is a great future fic with teacher!Makoto and artist!Haru (and I’m not biased just bc it was a gift exchange for me with details fit to my specific tastes wdym🧍🏻). Domestic blisssss

2022 - Ooh we’ve almost caught up y’all ☺️ gonna start with “All This and Heaven Too” by SocksAreArgyle because sometimes the bestie crafts a smorgasbord of smut with a delicious throughline of character/relationship development baked in. If you want your choice of spicy makoharus or some character exploration, you’re SET with this one. Next is “I Let My Heart Go” by martincrieff because sometimes the bestie looks at poor pining Makoto and goes “you know what would be messed up?” AND I JUST !!! So full of love and now full of flower petals. Hanahaki!Makoto my dearest boy!! Aaaand ending off the year with some tender mh (to Ikuya’s detriment) in “The Night Train” by Lizzyboo. They’re so softtt with each other and UGH this story is so nice. Love watching people take the crumbs from FS/FS2 and make a meal 💜

2023 - The year is young! And old! So here’s some more, with who knows how many bangers yet to come 🎉 First going to throw in the Makoharu Week 2023 collection for your perusal because I saw some fantastic stories emerge from that event. If you have twitter, I’d recommend also seeing some of the threadfics posted over there from the event as well 💚💙 and I thiiink I’m gonna close off for now with “just like it was always meant to be” by tonfea because they’ve been putting out banger stories that deserve all the love. Haru introspection is one of those things that isn’t always done very well (which is especially hard to reckon with in older fics) but tonfea’s stories all have an intimate understanding about Haru’s mind and journey that just makes sense.

Alright hello we made it to the end!!! Might’ve thrown in more than expected but I hope makoharu enjoyers find something on this list that fits their fancy 🥲 (and if anyone wants to rec something or ramble about a story here that they loved I’m all ears)

[meteor752]

Spent a whole week binging rwby because why not

Here are mah thoughts

Very interesting decision of the show to open on literally the best character, like I’ve heard of peaking early but come on

No but fr Roman is actually so special to me

I just finished volume nine and I broke down crying at his and Neo’s final moments

Thing is, I’m a person with daddy issues and my favorite family member is my uncle so like of course Qrow is second favorite guy

We love us a bisexual subby whore

Ozpin is number three so like guess what my favorite ship is

(Side note, My Own Worst Enemy by Elektric Angel is one of the best fics I have ever read and I cannot recommend it enough)

Why the fuck did this show start out with having one of the four main characters be racist?! What a bold choice

I hate Jaune so fucking much. If you like him, cool, but he’s one my most hated fictional characters ever, not just him but like what he represents

Tho it is worse with Neptune, who’s also like why tf are you here bruv

It’s very funny to have a borderline kinda racist character and a literal meme from 2014 be drafted into war

It took me five days to break and create ocs. They’re called Lemon Lime, Azure, Iris, and Koral. Team LAIK. Maybe I’ll talk about them more at some other point

Listen okay I know that animated shows like to have your hero be depressed in a whole arc, but like god Ruby was kinda grating in season 9.

Blake is kinda rolling with like, one personality trait, but ya know good on her for getting a cool gf

Yang is also the best out of the main four girls

So is Tai, Summer, and Raven’s relationship supposed to be a polycule? That must have been awkward for poor Qrow back in school

Why the fuck is everyone so mad at Ozpin all the time. Like boohoo, daddy didn’t tell you Santa isn’t real, get fucking over yourself Qrow you’re forty three

But fr what is the animosity about. I think Jelloapocalypse summarized it the best in his rwby video

Also did you know the top comment on there is from Technoblade? Check it out, it’s true. No idea he was a rwby fan, but like good for him

Season 6 episode “Alone in the woods” is the best episode by far. I really like when they do more unique stuff with the Grimm, other than just ‘monster’

That being said I’m always a sucker for a space whale

But the line from that episode, “No one was angry or sad or scared. No one was anything. And then, no one was left” is so powerful

Season nine is like fully a fever dream, but it helps with connecting to the main four again, so I like it

Also they need to stop introducing characters we don’t need any more it’s so cluttered

Why the fuck did the tree have Summer’s weapon? What the fuck was she doing there, frolicking in wonderland? Gurl…

I miss Oobleck. He hasn’t been around since like season 4, like what the hell man

What the fuck is Cinder and Emerald’s relationship supposed to be? Are they sisters? Friends? Is Emerald in love with her? Because she seems to be.

Emerald and Mercury are fully siblings tho. Also I love Mercury

Arthur’s monologue to Cinder was one of the best scenes in the show. I loved it, I’m sad he died

The character I relate the most to is little scorpion freak, because honestly dude saaaaaaame

God I want Salem to fuck me

The motivation of the villain being that they’re an immortal being, who wants the world to end because then they can die, is so fucking interesting and I’m surprised I don’t see more of it.

Do you guys think the only reason that Jaune was made leader of team JNPR was because they couldn’t think of a colour with those letters that started with P?

Do you think that’s how they choose all leaders?

How the fuck is Ren supposed to be a version of Mulan? Apart from him being Asian, there’s no correlation. Jesus Christ…

Him and Nora are very t4t tho. Very glad that they established boundaries about their relationship tho, like open communication is all I need

Why is Ambrosius kinda 💅

This isn’t related to rwby but there’s like a bird or smt screaming outside my window and it kinda sounds like a ghost girl and now I’m scared…

I feel like Salem and Ozpin’s relationship is very uncomfortable with Oscar stuck in the middle. Like why did they have to make him fourteen

Pupsicle!!!!

If I had a child in this universe I would absolutely name them something that starts with a vowel. Some of these team names are a fucking stretch, I mean SSSN?!

Another bold move by the creators is having the first few seasons villains be minorities fighting for Justice and equality. Like idk anything about these dudes, but it’s a little yikes

The fact that everyone in this world is an X-men and the show took four seasons to actually explain that is hilarious

Actually the show taking its time to explain anything is hilarious

Like, six seasons in and we find out the villain’s motivations. Hell four seasons in and we find out the villain

The first opening song was easily the best. Like I said, peaked early

The ship names of this fandom are fucking baller dude. Very creative

[leifygreeens]

What song/genre of music do you think of when you imagine the bachelor/ettes? If there was a specific artist or band for Sam, who do you think they'd be?

Oooh—I actually have thought about this! I have a playlist just for when I'm writing blurbs about the stardew valley characters, and no I don't care if any of these are predictable because I think they're accurate lmfao.

Sam

2014 Five Seconds of Summer, Shawn Mendes, and Why Don't We. His general vibe is young, reckless love. If there's a specific song in mind, I think of him as a mix between 5sos' End Up Here, She Looks So Perfect, If I Can't Have You by Shawn, and Why Don't We's Fallin' (Adrenaline)

Seb

I think he's a mix between 5sos' Voodoo Doll, Troye Sivan's Strawberries and Cigarettes, Taylor Swift's Style, and the last 90-ish seconds of Sleep Token's The Summoning. Also Conan Gray's Overdrive. He's still young and reckless, but he's a little more subdued and all over the place.

Alex

One Directions' Steal My Girl, Shawn Mendes' Wonder, and Harry Styles' Watermelon Sugar. Even though they're pretty heavy with gendered language, I have no issue imagining Alex with varying farmers while listening to these songs.

Elliott

His love definitely swerves more toward obsession and worship, so anything by Hozier, no question about it. But also Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Frank Valli is heavy Elliott energy.

Shane

Everybody Wants You by Johnny Orlando, Someone To You by BANNERS, DogBird by Madds Buckley, and Lauv's I Like Me Better. Like Seb, Shane's pretty all over the place as well. Also he makes me cry ahaha. hm.

Harvey

Harvey gave me a little bit of trouble when I first started writing. I had to think about him quite a bit to land on a genre/song for him. Anyway, Ophelia by The Lumineers, Ready Now by dodie, and The Way You Look Tonight by Michael Bublé are all Harvey coded. END ME

Maru

In My Mind by Lyn Lapid, Bubble Gum by Clairo, and Space Girl by Frances Forever. I imagine her as a pretty inexperienced and romantically repressed character (I wonder why Demetrius) so all of these songs have a certain level of melancholy about them, which is very Maru for me.

Penny

She by dodie, Conan Gray's Heather, and Lonely by Noah Cyrus. Repressed, just like Maru, but for different reasons. Never had the opportunity to really live her life, you know? Lots of insecurities and feelings of inadequacy my poor babie nO but I usually only listen to those when I'm feeling a little down. You can trust that I don't always write angst for her, and when I don't, it's loooots of early Taylor Swift.

Abigail

Very punchy, "powerful woman" type songs. Namely UPSAHL's People I Don't Like, Beautiful is Boring by BONES UK, and American Horror Show by SNOW WIFE. She has opinions and she's going to let you know what she thinks—but make no mistake, she is a loyal and good person to her core. She's just got an attitude sometimes.

Haley

Sabrina Carpenter. That's it. lmao no i'm kidding Diamonds Are Forever, Nonsense, Looking At Me, and Girlfriend by Bea Miller. I love me a mean, confident lesbian, but she does soften up the more you get to know her, and I always listen to Isabel LaRosa's I'm Yours when I want to go that route with her. I also think of her when I listen to Dress by Charlotte Sands.

Leah

Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machines, Light My Love by Greta Van Fleet, and Constellations by The Oh Hellos. She's got a certain whimsy about her, but she's still a very grounded individual. She and Elliott have a similar vibe to each other, but where he's the smell of salty sea spray and plum juice dripping from your fingers, she's frayed picnic blankets and the smell of grass after it rains.

Emily

Now this might be controversial, but Señorita by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello is always gonna make me think of her. I'm Born To Run by American Authors, Enchanted by Taylor Swift (her version, obviously), are also both some of the easiest songs for me to think about her. She definitely believes in soulmates and fate, and probably makes jewelry or sews while thinking about you.

[helenrourke]

Musical Influences

It’s February and I’m excited for this month.  I have plans to release both another chapter of The Imperial House and my Akira x Tsukushi one-shot Mene this month.  Anyway I received a lovely comment on the latest chapter of The Imperial House last night, where the commenter mentioned the final scene of Act Three matched up with the song I love you, I’m Sorry by Gracie Abrams (which it does, you should absolutely try it).  It got me thinking of musical influences and writing fics.  Specifically the musical influences that I listen to while writing The Imperial House.  

I don’t know how many of you read my “about me” section here on tumblr.  In it I talk about how The Imperial House has always been heavily influenced by music.  As many of you know I came up with this story back in 2020 while I was laid off from work and was dealing with what was going on by reading manga and watching Asian dramas.  To quote my about me, I stated that:

One day, as I was reading the (Hana Yori Dango) manga while listening to Luke Hemmings’s album, When Facing the Things We Turn Away From, an image appeared in my head of Tsukushi standing in the middle of a bridge crying in the rain. I stopped reading and wondered why Tsukushi, one of the bravest heroines I know, was crying. This idea remained in my head for several days resulting in the first draft of my current fanfiction, then titled Bad Omens.

Yeah so music has been involved in my writing progress since the beginning.  It should be to no one's surprise that I often listen to Luke Hemmings music (specifically When Facing Things We Turn Away From).  As well as the band he is part of which is Five Seconds of Summer who is better known as 5SOS.  I’ve been a fan of 5SOS since 2014, when my best friend wouldn’t shut up about them and had me listen to their self-titled album.  Since then we’ve been lucky enough to see them in concert several times.

I’m going to be frank with you, I know the band has done things that can be seen as problematic, such as the infamous Rolling Stone article from years ago and the people they’ve dated in the past.  However I stopped following all of that drama years ago and I'm only here for the music.

There’s something about Luke’s solo music that speaks to me as I write The Imperial House.  It’s different from the pop rock music 5SOS usually plays.  It’s clear that Luke was doing his own thing and it makes great background music as I’m writing.  There are a few 5SOS songs that inspired this work as well.  Act Four is named after a 5SOS song from their fourth album CALM and the Final Act of The Imperial House is named after a song from their second album.

Another influence has been somewhat recent and that is Rosie by Rosé.   Can I say how much I love that album?  It’s the best album to write late at night while wrapped in a blanket.  I just wanna know who hurt her. Honestly I love all the songs on Rosie. It's hard to pick one.  But besides APT (cause that’s everyone’s favorite), I really love, number one girl.  I want to point out I’m a casual K-pop listener, but I swear my mom who dislikes most K-pop loves Rosie. I think she’s gonna be huge as a solo artist.

Hikaru Utada is another big influence. Of course I’m listening to Flavor of Life. Some other favorites include Sakura Drops, Blue, First Love, and Prisoner of Love. Though when it comes to drama adaptations, I have also occasionally listened to the Boys Over Flowers and F4: Thailand soundtracks at times. Listening to these helps me recall how I felt well watching each of the adaptions. It helps me recall key moments of each series I love and helps inspire some of the scenes I write.

Also, I listen to the Spirited Away OST or the Final Fantasy X OST. It really depends on my mood. I guess what I’m trying to say is that my musical tastes are everywhere lol The point is, I wanted to share a bit of how the writing process for my fics goes. Anyway, if you actually read this entire thing, props to you. If you want to know more about my writing process or my my writing influences in general, let me know.

[wackyharpy]

Hello, guys!

Today is an important day for me and my country, and I feel that I can't stay silent and don't share what I've already lived out.

On the 24th of February 2022, russia started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It's been going on for two years so far, and it's been ten years since russia waged the war in 2014 when it occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and Crimean peninsula.

You may know that I'm Ukrainian, I have written the country of my origin in my bio, I don't hide this information. I'm proud to be a citizen of Ukraine, the country of brave people. And I'd like to share my story with you, because I feel that I need to do this, I must do this.

On this day, in 2022, I was woken up by my mum. She was crying and said that russians were on our territories, they'd already bombed some cities. I remember the feeling I had that time, it's so difficult to describe, but the feeling is still vivid. Something just exploded inside of me, and the sudden realization of death came to my mind. I understood that any day, any moment could have been the last for me, for my family, friends, beloved ones. And as I was an already grown-up human, I had to stay calm, not to panic. But you can't even know how difficult it is to explain to a small child what a war is, and what can happen (I have a small brother).

The most dreadful night in my life was the first night of the war. I couldn't sleep normally. And then... I don't even know how to explain. This feeling. It's like you want to vomit, to cry, to shout, to run, to hide, to do something, but you can't because of sudden fear, and terror. I felt sick, probably a hightened temperature, I felt hot, and cold at the same time. It happened when I heard the first air alert at night. You know, it's so difficult to grab, with trembling arms, things you need, documents, and then run to the shelter. The legs couldn't even move properly. I realized that I may have never seen my house the next morning, or my district where I lived.

And it was like that every single day, and night. I saw what was the panic attack for the first time. My mother had it. She couldn't move and speak, and eat, and drink. She was just lying, and staring at one place. And it was like that for several days. Now I feel so sorry, so ashamed of myself that I couldn't help her at those times. But I didn't know how. I was so scared, I had to look after my brother, to do something not to become mad.

You know, I had been thinking about death, not even once, not twice. Plenty of times. At times, I'm still thinking about it. And because of it, it's difficult to hope, to make plans for the future because there could be no future. And I'm so afraid of it. I believe in our victory, but still some doubts are eating me alive. And I can't stand this feeling.

I had been thinking about killing people in order to protect myself. About what I would do if I saw enemies on my street. I had been thinking about how it was to be tortured, to be raped. I remember making a decision to commit suicide if something like that would be about to happen to me.

In summer 2023, I had opportunity to visit Germany and Czech Republic. I'm so grateful to those who support Ukraine, who understand what is happening now. I'm so grateful to the world, to every person who didn't remain silent when this genocide started. We still need your support, your help. Please, don't be indifferent. We live on the same planet, let's be humans, let's not permit such atrocities to happen.

Now, I got used to war. But it sounds insane because it's not normal to get used to such shit. I'm still studying, writing my thesis currently, grateful to Ukrainian army forces for their protection. And I hope, every single day I hope that there will be the end of it. Hope, I will be alive, see the victory, and experience it along with other Ukrainians.

And for you I wish all the happiness in life, and most importantly peaceful sky above your heads. I'm here, on tumblr, I will post my fics, write for you as I love you all, adore when you comment, and reblog.

Here, I want to share several pics of what happened in my city on the 14th of July 2022. russians launched several missiles and they fell in the center of Vinnytsia. The day before I was right in this place, and now I realize that if I had been there on the 14th, I would have been dead now.

[venusmoon]

2023 favessss

sorry i'm late. tagged by my darling @takethemonetandletsgogh (thank you x) ♡

i suck at ranking things so take this more as a list of recommendations of different stuff i enjoyed last year <3 i tried to include mostly stuff that came out in 2023 :-)

albums

• did you know there's a tunnel under ocean blvd? by lana del rey (2023) → GOD lana's growth makes me so happy ♡ i used not to like her albums but then i adored NFR... and this one is just as amazing (if not better!)

• my back was a bridge for you to cross by ANOHNI (2023) → this was so intense and powerful and i will never recover from it .

• javelin by sufjan stevens (2023) → confession: i love sufjan but i can't always handle a whole album... but this one is his best imo. i was heartbroken .

books

(i did not read a single book that came out in 2023 lol)

• ignorance by milan kundera (2000) → oh, milanku ♡ amazing writer AND all of the characters are either fucking bastards (the mother. if u read it u know what i'm talking about) or so fucking pathetic and miserable... j'adore ♡.

• the house of the spirits by isabel allende (1982) → first time reading isabel allende and i was mesmerized by her writing... and to think i wasn't too keen on reading it because i'm not the biggest fan of the magical realism typical of latin-american literature... i'm so glad i read it!

• lila by marilynne robinson (2014) → the loneliness, the lack of sense of belonging, the inability to trust anyone... but also a beautiful love story... AND the writing is magnificent. i loved everything about this book.

movies

• asteroid city (wes anderson, 2023) → saw this at the cinema with two friends and it was such a great experience ♡ visually amazing film (lol, who would've thought!) and i'm a sucker for metanarratives.

• jojo rabbit (taika waititi, 2019) → saw it this summer in a hotel room with a dear friend (and mutual) and i had a lovely time ♡ this film made me cry and the final scene broke me and warmed my heart at the same time (with that song 🥹).

• killers of the flower moon (martin scorsese, 2023) → not to be a film bro™️ but i loved this film, especially the acting (i had high expectations for obvious reasons), and despite it being like 3 hours it felt wayyy shorter!

i'm tagging @pisceslore @mumintroll @iidsch @vcasih @mothprincess @pozaba @girlmaturin @stonechild @howmuchisweed @heavenlyyshecomes (even though everyone has probably already done it) ♡ have an amazing night/day everyone xx

[breitzbachbea]

7, 15, 22, and 23 for rella!

FINALLY GETTING AROUND FOR THIS, TUTTI SIETE PRONTI PER LA RAGAZZAAAAAA.

Edgy/Misc OC Asks

7. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

The way she cares for Dolcetto is different. When I first came up with the Acerbi siblings, like, pre-Italian Affairs, in a vacuum, in like summer of 2014, she was way more concerned with Dolcetto's grumpyness and overall his entire demeanour. I can vaguely remember that she babied him a lot more than she still does.

These days, the Acerbi siblings are a lot more well-rounded and realistic in their relationship with each other and all their issues. Gabriella thinks she has to protect her little brother from harm, which includes all the one he causes himself. She thinks she has to save him from himself or she won't have a brother anymore. She thinks she has to undo all the damage her parents have done. Dolcetto, meanwhile, thinks he just has to thrive on his own, be independent and deliver results. He's the reason Rella threw her life away, so she shouldn't care for him anymore. If he distances himself from her, then he can't hurt her.

15. Does your OC have a faceclaim? If so, who?

Never had a faceclaim for Rella. Most of my OCs don't, unless I need a reference as a starting off point.

22. What character alignment would you consider your OC to be?

Iiii do not know enough about DND or wherever that stuff came from to answer this correctly, I'm afraid. I mean, they are all on a spectrum of evil for the mafia thing, right? In other AUs, where I can judge her more by character ... Lawful Good/Lawful Neutral to Neutral Good?

23. What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

It may be disappointment for both. It is certainly the hardest to express - Rella can rage, Rella can cry, Rella can admit she is upset but. The cold and harsh void of admitting to yourself and voicing to yourself and others: 'This is not what I wanted. I wanted something else and I now I grief what I can not have. I had expectations and they were not met, wishes and they didn't come true.' If disappointment is easier for her to process and admit to herself, then she struggles a lot with indifference. I think it confuses and scares her greatly to realize she just doesn't care about things she feels everyone should care about. Having that reaction to indifference is not great for a gangster! Which is why everything gets sublimated into righteous rage and love!!!