#i am also constantly looking for music recommendations

[jillianallen14]

Dear Baby Bats - Goth Band Recommendations

As a middle sibling goth (I’ve been in the subculture for 10 years now, so not a baby bat but not an elder goth either), let me turn you on to some bands because we do not gatekeep in this house!! Also, if you want consistently good lesser-known & brand new goth band recs, go follow Awfully Sinister on TikTok and Instagram. He’s a DJ & has great recs. I've found so much music through him because it's really hard to keep up with all the new bands cropping up every year. You want to avoid the goth subreddit because they are extremely gatekeeper-y and argue over labels constantly. It’ll just confuse you, and they are not nice over there.

If you’re very new to the subculture, and you haven’t yet listened to all of Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Christian Death, Cocteau Twins, Clan of Xymox, Joy Division, and Depeche Mode, go do so now. You'll want to know which of them you really enjoy the most because it will help you know which sub-subgenre(s) of goth you want to watch out for, and it'll tell you what to look for to find it. For example, Sisters of Mercy is the gothic rock subgenre, Christian Death is deathrock, Cocteau Twins is ethereal wave, Clan of Xymox is like the original darkwave, Joy Division is classic post-punk, etc. I haven’t included industrial, despite its proximity to the goth subculture, just because I actually don’t really know that many industrial bands beyond Skippy Puppy, Ministry, and Throbbing Gristle. Some other goth/goth-adjacent staple bands (that are very popular and very influential) that you should listen to if you haven’t already are The Damned, Killing Joke, The Cult, and Adam and the Ants/Adam Ant). I didn't know where to put She Wants Revenge or London After Midnight either, but they're also great.

I’ve bolded some of my absolute must-listen to goth bands, and I've put monthly Spotify listeners for each band so you know which ones deserve WAY more love. And in my pre-list ramblings for each OG band, I've given you some key terms to look up so you can more easily find music that's similar to what you enjoy. Okay, here we go:

If you like Bauhaus:

Bauhaus is a hard one because honestly, nobody really sounds like them, and they aren't really that closely associated with a specific sub-subgenre of goth. They were post-punk, they were art rock, they were experimental, they were sometimes very punk and at other times very gothic rock. They liked to call themselves “dark glam rock” (all four members are massive Bowie, T-Rex, and Iggy Pop fans), but you’re gonna have a hard time finding bands that sound like them if you look that term up. They probably have one of the most unique sounds of all-time. They’re my favorite band (I even have a tattoo for them, like I am devoted lol), but even I have a difficult time finding other bands that scratch their particular itch for me. These bands I’ve listed are as close as you’re gonna get to Bauhaus’ general vibe imo.

Virgin Prunes (80’s band that is technically deathrock but has the same absolutely unhinged, danceable sound that Bauhaus has, so they’re going here; one of my favorites; no one else does it like them and no one else ever will; I would actually give my left foot to see them live); 13.2k monthly listeners (this is actually physically painful to me, how is it this low!!! don't walk, RUN to go listen to them)

Alien Sex Fiend (80’s classic unhinged goth); 77k monthly listeners

Sextile (modern band that has some very Bauhaus-sounding guitar work at times but with heavy industrial influences); 147k listeners

The Danse Society (80’s unhinged goth; has similar experimental vibes to Bauhaus imo; one of my fave goth groups); 36k listeners

Sex Beat (80’s); not even really on Spotify

Ritual Howls (modern band; I don’t know why it gives Bauhaus, but it does; one of the few modern bands that scratches that particular itch for me); 45k listeners

The Agnes Circle (modern band; one of my favorites; they have the right Bauhaus-like atmosphere for me); 52k listeners

Traitrs (I can’t explain why they remind me of Bauhaus, but they do; another one of my fave modern bands; they make me want to start levitating and doing the Ian Curtis dance in the same way Bauhaus does lol); 239k listeners

Paralisis Permanente (underrated 80’s; they have a lot in common with Bauhaus’s sound actually, def give them a try!); 54k monthly listeners

The Birthday Party (80s band, totally unhinged; they’re less dark and atmospheric than Bauhaus, but if you take one listen to their album Junkyard, you’ll know exactly why I put them under this category haha; Nick Cave is the vocalist, which is amazing); 54k listeners

Tones on Tail (80s; Daniel Ash & Kevin Haskins of Bauhaus formed this group; I’d put Love and Rockets as well, which is all of Bauhaus’s members except Peter Murphy, but Love and Rockets weirdly bears little resemblance to Bauhaus’s music; but if you just generally want more of Bauhaus members' work, Love and Rockets is great, too); 81k listeners

Dalis Car (80s; collaboration between Peter Murphy and Japan's bassist; their music is extremely weird, so only listen if you really love the batshit insane Bauhaus songs or if you really live and breathe Peter Murphy like I do lol; their description on Spotify is so fucking funny); 7k listeners

I'd also recommend listening to Daniel Ash, David J, and Peter Murphy's solo work. They're all great!! Peter also did some amazing collaborations with Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails); the version of Reptile that they did together is better than Nine Inch Nail's original version imo, and you can find that entire session on Youtube!

If you like Siouxsie and the Banshees:

Siouxsie is another one that's hard to pin down sound-wise because again, they don't really fit into one specific sub-subgenre, so all of these recs are just goth bands with female vocalists who have the same kind of powerful vocals that Siouxsie does.

Second Still (modern band, one of my faves; singer sounds a lot like Siouxsie to me at times); 69k listeners

Skeletal Family (80’s band; has the same “women in punk” vibes that Siouxsie has); 55k listeners

Xmal Deutschland (80’s band; has the same powerful vocals that Siouxsie has; makes you wanna go stupid go crazy the way the Banshees do); 73k listeners

Secret Shame (modern band w/ woman singer; has the same rage that Siouxsie songs have to me, especially early Siouxsie); 6k listeners (let's get those numbers up, folks!!!)

Rosegarden Funeral Party (modern band w/ a woman vocalist); 57k listeners

Mephisto Walz (90s & 2000s; sounds so much like the Banshees at times); 56k listeners

The Creatures (80s; a Siouxsie Sioux & Budgie side project); 34k listeners

Madhouse (listen to Repulsion! 80s group that’s technically deathrock, but I put them under this category because the singer has Siouxsie-like qualities); not really on Spotify

Strange Boutique (90s; vocalist is Monica Richards of Faith and the Muse & Madhouse; this is probably my favorite project of hers); 112k listeners

If you like Depeche Mode:

For Depeche Mode enjoyers (which DM is kind of on the fringes of what’s considered “goth,” but they’re so entrenched in the subculture that I included them anyway), you’re gonna want to delve into goth playlists and modern goth that leans towards synthpop/synthwave. So those are the kinds of playlists you’ll want to search up for similar sounds to DM.

Nuovo Testamento (modern band; combines post-punk and pop elements in a way that’s very similar to Depeche Mode; lots of fun live, and they have a good sound); 25k listeners

Boy Harsher (modern band; relies heavily on synth; feels like it should be playing at every goth club); 558k listeners

ULTRA SUNN (modern band; singer sounds like Dave Gahan); 217k listeners (they just blew up on tiktok recently, which explains why this just skyrocketed since the last time I was on their Spotify page lol; good for them, good for them, they deserve it)

Ministry's first album (called With Sympathy), which was synthwave/synthpop before they went industrial (this is one of my all-time favorite albums)

French Police (modern band); 252k listeners

Closed Tear (modern band); 152k listeners

Night Sins (modern band); 33k listeners

Panic Priest (modern band; vocals sound decently similar to Dave Gahan & there is a lot of reliance on synth; In All Severity is a gorgeous song); 5k listeners

Fad Gadget (underrated 80’s; I just feel like if you like DM, you’re also gonna like Fad Gadget); 58k listeners

Martin Dupont (underrated 80s cold wave/synth pop; Inside Out is one of my favorite 80s songs); 26k listeners

If you like The Cure:

You'll be hard-pressed to find a goth band that wasn't influenced by The Cure, so I really can't give you any key terms for what to look up lol. They also changed their sound so frequently that it entirely depends on what era of The Cure's music you're looking to find similar music for.

Vision Video (modern band; combines post-punk and pop elements like The Cure does; one of my fave modern goth bands; they are INCREDIBLE live); 52k listeners (I'm gonna need y'all to get a song or two of theirs to blow up on tiktok expeditiously lol)

Urban Heat (modern band; great live); 36k listeners

The Chameleons (80’s band; very underrated; they are also very good live); 167k listeners

House of Harm (modern band, very new; also very good live; has pop elements); 44k listeners

Deceits (modern band, another very new one); 28k listeners (it's crazy how much this number has grown the past two months because it was in the single thousands not that long ago; everyone say thank you, tiktok)

Drab Majesty (modern band; their instrumentals remind me of The Cure); 172k listeners

Double Echo (modern band, one of my faves; their instrumentals also remind me of The Cure); 15k listeners (let's get these numbers up!!!)

The Bolshoi (underrated 80’s band that combines new wave and goth elements in a similar way to The Cure); 114k listeners

The Essence (underrated 80s band that sounds so much like The Cure it’s actually insane, but they’ve got their own sound too; they’re like a perfect blend of all of The Cure’s different sounds); 25k monthly listeners

The Glove (80s; a Robert Smith side project with Steven Severin from Siouxsie and the Banshees); 25k listeners

Crimson Ivy (80s band; singer sounds so a lot like a more yelly version of Robert Smith sometimes); not on Spotify

Miss Teen America (brand new band from NYC! They only have one single out right now, and it’s well worth listening to); 940 monthly listeners (y’all know what to do!!! Let’s get those numbers up, up, up!) link to their single: https://open.spotify.com/album/4nvdZeUVLLrMv3tEziCqm7?si=2WVS7-eYQLGR7Id3wLiKhg

If you like Clan of Xymox:

Most of these bands will be modern ones because Clan of Xymox was honestly way ahead of their time. (They are also amazing live, so go see them before they eventually call it quits!) For playlists that are full of their vibe, you’re gonna want to look up “darkwave” playlists. Clan of Xymox pioneered darkwave, so any darkwave band you listen to is gonna be influenced by their sound in some way or another.

Harsh Symmetry (modern, very new; very heavily relies on synth); 29k listeners

Ssleeping Desiress (modern band; instrumentals similar to Xymox); 55k listeners

Twin Tribes (probably my favorite modern goth band; they are fucking incredible and so good live!); 276k listeners

ACTORS (modern band; heavily relies on synth); 86k listeners

Mareux (modern; heavily relies on synth); 4.8 million listeners (this is wild!!!! everyone say thank you, tiktok)

Sixth June (modern); 23k listeners

Plastique Noir (modern); 40k listeners

Rendez Vous (modern); 160k listeners

Minuit Machine (modern); 97k listeners

The Frozen Autumn (90s & 2000s); 31k listeners

If you like Christian Death:

All of these recs will be deathrock recs or goth bands that heavily leaned on punk sounds. So if CD is the OG goth band you’re most fond of, you’re gonna want to delve into deathrock playlists for similar sounds.

Asylum Party (80’s band); not on spotify

45 Grave (80’s band); 47k listeners

Voodoo Church (80’s band; probably my favorite out of this bunch; I actually like them more than Christian Death); 7k listeners (let's get these numbers up immediately!!!!)

Ausgang (80’s band); 2k listeners (WHAT; they deserve so much more, damn)

Corpus Delicti (90’s band; they are very good; they sound the least like Christian Death on this list imo); 26k listeners

13th Chime (80’s band; very underrated); 6k listeners

UK Decay (you know, I actually don’t know what era they’re from; unhinged sound); 1k listeners (omg)

Super Heroines (underrated 80’s band; Eva O formed it); 2k listeners (you see what I meant about underrated?)

Specimen (80s band; this one could have just as easily gone under Bauhaus tbh, but the vocals are generally higher pitched than Peter Murphy’s, so I put them under this category); 102k listeners

Sex Gang Children (80’s band; just so unhinged & I love them for it); 27k listeners

Suspiria (90s, I think? I don’t actually know); barely on Spotify but 27k listeners

Theatre of Hate (80s); 7k listeners

Bloody Dead and Sexy (2000s, I think); 44k listeners

Mescaline Babies (2000s); 3k listeners

Acid Bats (2000s; Mexican band with Spanish lyrics); 2k listeners

Altar de Fey (80s band; formed in San Francisco!!); 23k listeners

Twisted Nerve (80s band; classified as “gothic punk,” so I felt this was the best category for them; they’re great; their sound also reminds me of early Siouxsie and the Banshees and Killing Joke); 2.5k listeners

Play Dead (80s); 8k listeners

Limbo (underrated 80s; if you like Bauhaus & Virgin Prunes as well, you’re gonna like this band); 413 listeners

If you like Cocteau Twins:

Cocteau Twins’ early sound is usually categorized as “ethereal wave” goth, so those are the playlists you’ll want to look up if you enjoy their early sound. If you like their later sound, you’re gonna want to lean more towards shoegaze for similar vibes. Admittedly, ethereal wave is one of the goth subgenres that I know the least about, so I’m not gonna be much help here.

Dead Can Dance (80’s band; NO one, and I mean NO ONE, was doing it like Dead Can Dance; so fun to dance to in the goth club); 332k listeners

Lycia (90’s band; their music is very transcendent); 20k listeners

Linea Aspera (modern band; gorgeous woman vocals; honestly, their music is just very beautiful); 67k listeners

This Mortal Coil (formed in the 80s; some songs feature Elizabeth Fraser & Robin Guthrie from Cocteau Twins, but even the ones that don’t still have an ethereal vibe similar to CT; Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust is just like the best song ever); 310k listeners

Autumn's Grey Solace (2000s); 62k listeners

Faith and the Muse; (90s); 22k listeners

This Ascension (90s); 4k listeners

Strawberry Switchblade (80s); 400k listeners

If you like Joy Division:

All of these bands will be ones that sound very classically post-punk, so those are the playlists to search out; emphasis on "classic" because post-punk is a very broad term that gets applied to a lot of music. I would argue that Joy Division has had the most influence out of all the OG goth bands on the current goth sound/goth renaissance we're going through right now, so there are a LOT of bands out there for you if you’re a JD fan.

Molchat Doma (modern band); 2.5 million listeners (wow lol, they've grown so much over the past two years, it's actually insane; good for them)

Soviet Soviet (modern band); 152k listeners

Fearing (modern band; very good live); 30k listeners

Ploho (modern band); 146k listeners

Pink Turns Blue (criminally underrated 80’s band; they are SO good live); 98k listeners (this is an actual travesty, this band is way too good to not even be in the hundred thousands)

The Sound (another incredibly underrated 80’s band); 119k listeners

This Cold Night (modern; has the deep vocals of Joy Division and the driving bass but more stripped back than JD); 150k listeners

Bleib Modern (modern; has very similar vocals to Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, which is a band listed under the Sisters of Mercy section of this post, so if you end up liking this band, you should also listen to Red Lorry Yellow Lorry & vice versa); 36k listeners

Lebanon Hanover (modern; has the existential angst that Joy Division always ignites in me but more stripped back); 936k listeners (this is crazy, holy shit!!!!!! go, Lebanon Hanover, go!!)

She Past Away (modern; deep vocals); 226k listeners

Belgrado (modern; woman vocals!); 18k listeners (they deserve better than this!!)

Leonora Post Punk (modern; Mexican goth band w/ Spanish vocals! They’re amazing! They have those deep vocals you want when you’re looking for a similar sound to Joy Division); 56k listeners

O. Children (modern; has the deep vocals & interesting bass lines that Joy Division was known for; great band); 29k listeners

If you like Sisters of Mercy:

This is one of my least favorite goth subcategories, which is odd because I actually love Sisters. But if you’re looking for a lot of music that sounds like SoM, I’d suggest delving into the 90’s and early 2000’s goth music scene. Search out those playlists. A lot of the 90s and 2000s goth bands were very derivative of Sisters of Mercy.

Rosetta Stone (90’s band); 54k listeners

Miazma (modern); 10k listeners

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry (another criminally underrated 80’s band; one of my fave goth bands); 40k listeners (THEY!! DESERVE!! BETTER!!)

Dreamtime (modern); 65 listeners (ouch lol, please go show them some love)

Fields of the Nephilim (80’s, I think; if you’re a metalhead, you’ll probably appreciate this band); 95k listeners

The Merry Thoughts (80s); 19k listeners

The March Violets (underrated 80s; might be a controversial opinion to put them under SoM, but I’m standing by it); 69k listeners

Horror Vacui (modern; it’s kind of a stretch putting them here tbh, but I couldn’t figure out what other category to put them under); 44k listeners

The Sisterhood (spin-off Sisters of Mercy group that was formed by goth king Andrew Eldritch himself); 3k listeners

The Mission (formed by former Sisters of Mercy members; Wasteland by them was actually one of the first songs to get me into goth music); 180k listeners

Eyes of the Nightmare Jungle (late 80s & 90s; every time a song by them comes on, I’m convinced it’s a Sisters song until the singer starts singing lol); 13k listeners

Ex-Voto (formed in 1982, but most of their albums on Spotify came out in the 2000s; this band is like if Fields of Nephilim had a baby with Clan of Xymox & then sprinkled some industrial techniques in); 6k listeners

Also, if you want a 1500-song, 105-hour goth playlist that’s constantly growing, here you go. The name of it is a dig at my ex lol: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jCV530pMmOEmDHj4CLNka?si=cEVKiyAwQpaieGiV2pMyqw

[sgiandubh]

Love Again? Meh

The pressure surrounding those damned elections is so unbearable, I thought finally watching Love Again on Netflix was a decent deflective idea. And since I can never sleep on a full moon's night, it really sounded like a good plan, too. Though with zero expectations, as I already wrote.

Two hours later, I probably lost a handful of neurones I will never get back again. Rom-coms are supposed to leave you in a bubbly mood, and with a strong belief in things like love trumps all, there are plenty more fish in the sea, goodness always prevails, and so on. This one left me flatter than a bottle of Coca-Cola foolishly left open and with the clear idea those people entirely missed the point.

If Nora Ephron is your gold standard, this might feel definitely subpar. But still, that's not the biggest problem I see with this movie. Love Again is exactly like those hotels rated 'pleasant' on Booking - you're not sure if they are terrible or, like Dorothy Parker used to say, 'terrible with raisins in it', which supposes at least some effort being put into it, one way or the other. The plot is remarkably bland and simply serves as a pretext for the real purpose of this movie, which is to promote Céline Dion's five new (perfectly forgettable) songs. The chemistry between S. and Priyanka Chopra is so laboured, that you'd be forgiven for thinking these two people just met in a train compartment and had a perfunctory chit-chat, never to hear from each other again.

Rom-coms are also supposed to be #silly magic in a bottle, yet there is little to no magic in a script so unbalanced, Mira's overpowering (if understandable) grief constantly threatens to flounder everything else. Where everything else includes the budding romance with Rob Burns (🙄), the music critic with no particular qualities, except a dazzlingly shy smile and Season 1 JAMMF's gimmicks, only in today's clothes and without Balfe. Overall, there is too much righteous kerfuffle and too little hope, in this movie that desperately begs for your sympathy, without ever being able to get it. And I shall mercifully pass on the mildly sexy (?) scene, even if without it we would still be wondering where exactly to place the sunshine, lollipops and roses inflexion point on that particular timeline.

Overall, the only question left without an answer is just how much genuine fun did S and Chopra have, while making this movie, at all. My perhaps biased guess is next to zero, based on the overwhelming impression that what was shown of their BTS rapport felt awkwardly transactional and opportunistic AF. This lack of authenticity buries a movie that feels just like something that had to somehow be shot, then had to somehow be released, then had to somehow make its way to Netflix' digital bosom repository. This movie is so meh, it is impossible to recommend it to anyone, and I have to say I am very sorry about that.

I said it before and I will probably say it again: S deserved better choices and opportunities coming along his way. He still does, but he also needs some urgent soul searching, if he wants to avoid looking like a one trick pony and see his acting prospects dwindle accordingly. Which won't exactly be the end of the world for him, but still an awfully unfair waste. So let's hope he will be able to choose wisely and especially out of his comfort zone which well, tends to dangerously expand, lately. The current Onlies' objectifying folly does not help, because the more it goes, the more it cuts S from a reality that is always ready to bite.

While I shall congenially follow whatever he's up to, I would really like this gifted guy to surprise me with something bold, something different and most of all, something that requires more intellect than muscles.

I know he can do it. But, does he?

[crooked-wasteland]

The Sound of Music: How the Hellaverse Doesn’t Get Musicals

Despite two generations being raised on the concepts of musical theatre through the Disney Renaissance, it's only in recent times with Disney’s failure to replicate their own formula that people have been compelled to ask why. Why do some musicals work and others don’t? It’s easy to find someone on YouTube talking about musicals and discussing the “I want”/“I am” song without really understanding what that means for the musical as an overall structure. In order to adequately grasp the importance of understanding how singing works in musicals, one must start at the beginning: Opera.

Like musicals, Opera is also broadly separated into two types of songs: Aria and Recitative. Recitative is the part of opera left behind. During the evolution of musical theatre, the operetta adapted recitative into dialogue, breaking apart the songs throughout the story and leaving only the Aria behind. Aria in opera is what are the large musical numbers that are best remembered. The entire story comes to a crawl as a character stands center stage, looks to the back wall, and starts to sing. The Aria was how theatre go-ers would learn about the characters, their motives, and desires. The recitative was often performed like a sing-song narration that could be more or less musical, but the true depth of the story was found in the Aria.

The reason why the story worked was the structural cohesion of getting to know your character in one grand, memorable way and checking in with them as the narration went along. You would see how they changed based on the songs and their progressions. You’d understand why things would change as the songs were coordinated with dramatic events littered throughout the plot. Something would happen followed by a character singing how that thing affected them. This basic structure inherited from Opera is still the structure of Musical Theatre. The Aria further deconstructed into the “I Am” and “I Want” songs. These songs as a basis help offer a deeper connection between the audience and the characters while also adding a sensation of progression with how the songs interplay between the narrative and world.

With the transition to our modern musical theater, we have tightened up the formula of integrating musical numbers and the pacing of traditional theater. Singing should never result in a stagnation of the story. We should constantly be learning something about the characters, story, or world at all times. Music works best when paired with profound moments in the story. The more emotionally heightened a scene or plot point, the more effective it is to express it in a song.

These are just the broad, unrefined general guides to how musicals work, but I believe these are substantial enough to grasp what makes a “good” musical and what is lacking when someone says a musical is “bad”.

On the surface Happy Day in Hell appears to be a classic “I want” song, heavily inspired by Howard Ashman’s Belle. My argument for this comparison being that Happy Day in Hell touches on all superficially similar points as Belle from the unnamed background chorus, Vaggie following Charlie by jumping along the rooftops similarly to Gaston, and the overall subjects the song incorporates such as the emphasis on setting. My points are focused on the superficial and take in account that the context are not identical, but the purpose was meant to be an imitation in some manner. Whether its a homage to Beauty and the Beast or merely a clumsy ripoff, Hazbin Hotel is very obviously copying notes. Which is why it's easy to identify why this song just doesn’t work.

I will preface this portion by recommending Calxiyn Cares Too Much’s video on Happy Day in Hell. She makes similar points to me and, while we do disagree on some points, overall she has more ethos than I do, being a musical theater performer. She is generally more lenient on the music and story than I am while providing more in depth technical critique in terms of rhyming conventions and lyrical pacing. But while I don’t agree with everything she has to say, I do think her video is worth a listen.

To come out and say it, Happy Day in Hell is a disaster of an “I Want” song due to a lack of coherent wants and this is the result of not knowing how writing and stories work. Even divorced from the structure of a musical, the entire message of the song is fundamentally confused and this is in part a failure of understanding narrative structure and misunderstanding what was going on in Belle.

In Disney’s 1991 animated film, Howard Ashman started the story with a magnificent musical number, masterfully weaving in the setting with the desires of the titular character and her conflict with the rest of the world. She is an outsider, both in her own perspective and that of the town. We see her disinterest in them with her line “There’s the Baker with his tray like always with the same old breads and rolls to sell”, layering the delivery with a hint of melancholy and perhaps even a hint of condescension. The lack of variety in her life is a source of resentment to her, not in that fiery passionate sense, but the frustrated impotence that comes with craving experiences over stability. She isn’t a cruel or rude person, but her attitude towards them is that of how someone would regard an NPC.

This is most clearly seen when she attempts to engage the baker in conversation about her book and he waves her off. The little eye-roll and smile as if to say, “Of course” with a shrug of her shoulders. It’s the purest display of condescension without malice. The movie has comparisons of the Townspeople to Sheep, first having Belle interact with sheep instead of the town before depicting the town as its own kind of herd to later outright having The Mob Song with the lyrics “We don't like/ What we don't understand/ In fact it scares us”. The subliminal messaging of their “sheep mentality” is intentional and multifaceted, not just positioning Belle above them by simply setting her apart but confirming that her perceived superiority should be seen as the truth. Belle is a better person than anyone else in town, she is special, that isn’t being challenged.

This is called world building. Belle’s singing is not just telling us about the town, but her feelings about the town and the town’s relationship to her. It foreshadows the finale and sets all the tracks down to move the story along. Belle wants fantasy and adventure, she doesn’t care that she doesn’t fit in whereas the Town’s musings of her shows that her not conforming is disruptive to them. This additionally explains why Gaston and his quest to marry Belle is so supported by the town at the end of the film. Why would they completely go along with imprisoning her father in the asylum unless Belle agreed to marry Gaston.

The opening number made that kind of escalation so natural to where it makes little sense to question motivations of anyone involved in the story. We have a thorough and intricate roadmap of conflicting wants and needs from three major characters in the cast all through the subliminal use of language and themes. So when Belle is literally singing about the town what she is actually conveying are her motivations for her want. “I want so much more than this provincial life.” The character embodying that provincial life is the Town. The Town is what Belle wants to run away from. Gaston is the force trying to keep Belle from leaving the town and pressure her into something that better adheres to the values of the town.

This song is the thesis of Beauty and the Beast.

Similarly, Happy Day in Hell is the thesis of Hazbin Hotel. But what exactly is that thesis? This is where the wheels fall off the cart. Happy Day in Hell doesn’t set the stage for Charlie’s desires and motivations, but rather loses focus and meaning the second Charlie leaves the hotel.

The straightforward response is that Charlie wants to convince Heaven of something to motivate them to do something about her Hotel.

It is unclear what she expects Heaven to do, let alone what she is going to do to get that outcome. In just discussing this question I have been told what Charlie wants is anything from “Convince Heaven to redeem sinners” (like she appears to be doing in Welcome to Heaven) to “Convince them to stop the genocide” (which seems to make more sense in regards to Adam and Lute), however neither of these aspects actually address the main issue of the song number: Sinners don’t believe in Charlie and her hotel.

This issue is also why the actual structure of the episode is just wrong: the B plot has nothing to do with the A plot. While it isn’t always necessary for that to be the case, it actually holds a story together better when they do overlap. In Rick and Morty season 3 episode titled “Pickle Rick”, the family attends therapy and Rick turns himself into a pickle to get out of it. Beth takes the syringe full of an antidote Rick was going to use to turn back into a human after the family left, showing how she doesn’t trust Rick not to abandon her. Beth’s B plot of attending therapy with the kids thus ties directly back to her fears of abandonment and distrust that kicked off the episode in the first place while juxtaposed with Rick’s A plot that, on the surface, has absolutely nothing to do with therapy. However, Rick entering a top secret base is metaphorical to him infiltrating Beth’s emotional fortress. He never asked to be there, and for all intents and purposes he doesn’t want to be.

As Beth locks down her emotions on Dr. Wang, the facility responds similarly. Even more, it is a father who is sent to kill Rick in order to protect his daughter. A plot point that becomes an even deeper parallel in the season five finale where it is revealed that Rick’s tragic backstory of his Beth being killed in an explosion alongside his wife from season 3 was actually true. So Jaguar having refused to work for the Russians and losing his daughter in the process is a direct and intentional parallel of their motivations. The hardships Rick faces throughout the episode from rebuilding his body to destroying a secret Russian spy base are thematically relevant to the B plot of attending family therapy. This episode also places Beth and Rick in a position to have their relationship evolve through “Froopyland”.

”Pickle Rick” was emotionally and thematically necessary in moving the characters to a place where they could change. And that was masterfully rafted through parallels between the A and B plots. So when it comes back to structuring “Happy Day in Hell”, it makes no sense for Charlie’s plot to focus on convincing Heaven to do anything. It makes more sense for her to be trying to convince Sinners to come to her hotel and attempt redemption. If she is trying to convince Heaven to redeem sinners, she should have sinners who she thinks are ready to be redeemed. If she is seeking a ceasefire from the exterminators, then she should have a hotel with more than one resident to show that there is a desire for redemption within Hell. If anything, the song reaffirms that Charlie’s plight is pointless.

Because of this confusion and lack of focus, Happy Day in Hell is a weak thesis for Hazbin Hotel. It apes on structures it doesn’t understand, telling a story it hasn’t earned, and fails to thematically connect the two plots of the episode despite having both leads in Vaggie and Charlie singing together. Structurally, the song foreshadows the fumbling of the rest of the series’ major plot and world building. It lacks an understanding of why musicals are the way they are and fails on even a surface level to comprehend the important role of musical diagesis And its inherent limitations in storytelling on top of failing to structure the music thematically to the character motivations and overarching plot.

Visual Storytelling is an intricate circus of multiple mediums coordinating together in a delicate balance that can corrupt the entire production by just one mistake in the visuals, pacing, writing, or music. All of these categories have their own completely unique set of rules that only become more complicated when trying to be used in tandem. And to have a director not understand the fundamentals of ¾ of those categories results in a sloppy cacophony of poor choices.

[hyuckswoman]

« yoo, how are you? » mark asks waiting by your desk as you collect your stuff 

« when did you even get there??? also we’ve been texting the whole time you know how i am » 

« my class ended a bit early so i waited by the door and when people were leaving i thought i’d just come in, also it’s called courtesy the whole asking how you’re doing, so stop complaining this is me being nice » mark says as you both head out of the class 

« righhtttt my bad sir , where are we going by the way? I don’t have classes for the rest of the day so I’m free if you want to hang out » you say 

« I told you to stop flirting with me, you’re getting desperate and it shows » mark jokes as you slightly punch his arm 

« we could grab lunch if you want to? also i don’t know where your friend is, i don’t think i saw him in your classroom but we can wait for him if you’d like » mark says looking around for hanbin you presume 

« Bin went to a party last night, he sent me a text this morning he’s wasted and hungover and basically skipped class so we don’t have to wait for him this time, also i wouldn’t act like I’m the one that likes you too much given how you practically begged me not to leave the music group » you said trying to get back at him. It was kinda annoying how he shrugged and told you that you were right without fighting back tho. 

« where the fuck are you taking me? this looks too expensive i don’t have that kind of money » you say as you guys near mark’s recommendation. you make a mental note to never trust the guy ever again when he tells you he knows a place

«  don’t worry, i got the bill » he says

« man, you’re as broke as I am don’t even pretend with this gentleman shit » you say laughing 

« dude you could’ve at least pretended for my ego, you suck. also it might look super fancy but it’s affordable don’t worry, not that i’d let you pay for your meal tho, i might be broke but I still know how to treat a lady thank you » he says holding the door of the establishment open for you 

«  I will wrestle you to the cash register don’t even play with me marcus lee » you say trailing behind him as he chuckles. you wonder if he’s making fun of your threat or if he’s laughing because of the nickname (the answer is both)

you were halfway through your meal when mark started to speak again 

« man.. isn’t it kinda crazy? » he says looking at you 

« what is? » you answer genuinely confused.. did this man think you’re sherlock holmes or something?? how would you know what he’s even talking about 

«  it’s kinda crazy how you, my diehard fan managed to be in the same music group as me. you hide your game pretty well though, sometimes i forget that you’re the president of my fan club » he says, you could see him holding back his laugh so hard. crazy how this man was openly making fun of you like that 

«  what happened to ‘let’s not talk about this ever again’? also, considering how you’ve been hyping me up these past few weeks i’d say that the roles have reversed and you’re my die hard fan now, you even said so yesterday » you reply 

« i never said any of that you are mistaking me for another man on your roster » mark answers

« let’s not lie like that we both remember the messages… and stop slut shaming me we are in public. and considering the amount of girls that want you i’d say you’re more likely to be the slut » you says hoping that’ll shut him up 

« ooo are you jealous that everybody wants me?? » he says. the answer is yes but you’ll never tell him that of course. 

« stop being so cocky before i slap that smirk off your face » you reply lowkey glaring at him

«  you didn’t deny it though » he says cockily. this man was aggravating you 

« god you’re becoming worse than hyuck. actually nevermind you are worse than hyuck constantly asking me for validation and compliments » you say smiling

« ouchhh okay i get it my bad, i’ll stop asking for validation and compliments the minute I’m 100% sure that I’m your favorite. also i don’t think it’s fair how donghyuck and jisung get to have cute nicknames while you call me marcus » he says kinda sulking 

« oh sorry my bad dork lee » you say laughing while he just gives you the middle finger « also i call you markie so you do have a cute nickname stop complaining and eat your food » you say as he just goes like « oooooh, that’s right » remembering the nickname you gave him. 

as you guys were finishing the meal you excused yourself to go to the toilet (little did he know you were actually paying the bill like the gentleman you are)

as you come back to the table you see mark trying to grab the waiter attention 

« what are you doing? stop doing that you’re giving me the ick » you say sitting back down 

« man fuck you, it’s not my fault nobody sees me i just want to pay the bill. and don’t fight me on this please » he says continuing his gesture to grab the staff’s attention 

« mark i paid the bill already that’s why no one is coming please stop » you say grabbing his hand to put it down 

« WHAT???!!!! » he replies 

« man… i can’t believe you paid the bill. next time’s one me tho » he says holding the door open for you to get out 

« is this an attempt to ask me out on a date? » you ask. yea that’s right. uno reverse bitch 

« sorry i don’t date fans » he replies. ooooooooh this man is 100% aggravating 

« by the way I texted you earlier to give you something but I’m really fucking nervous so I’ve been delaying it this whole time, but no more delaying shit I’ve got this I think. Also if you think it’s weird thennn pretend i never gave you shit ok? » he says sorta hyping himself up in the middle before opening his palm revealing a black guitar keychain 

you burst out laughing 

« I think this is worse than if you would’ve told me that you hated it. I’m literally contemplating suicide right now don’t even play with me » he says as you laugh even harder because his antics were really making it worse 

A few seconds later and in between giggles you decide to speak « no.. wait, i swear I’m not making fun of you, I swear I find this unbelievably sweet, you’ll understand why I’m laughing just give me a second » you say reaching into your bag pulling out a spiderman lego keychain you grabbed from the same store earlier to give to him as a present 

« this is for you, i bought it earlier because it reminded me of you, since you said you liked spiderman and since your twitter header is a lego character » you say finding it amusing how you both got each other a keychain

« dudeeee you need to stop doing this to me I’ll cry i love it so much, also look i got myself a guitar keychain to match yours » he says showing you the other keychain 

« i also got a keychain to match the one i got you hold on » you say showing yours 

« it’s crazy how we thought of the same thing tho, we’re like… spiritually connected » he says as the both of you start walking to head back to your apartment because even though you’ve been making fun of him for his gentleman antics, deep down (you didn’t even have to look hard to see it) mark was a good guy and no matter the time of day, he’s going to walk you back home.

you wonder if it’s because you like him but you know that if he keeps on acting the way he’s acting, this whole crush was going to be even worse than it is…

39. double matching

previous chapter masterlist next chapter

notes: ended this on sort of a cliffhanger lolll, also this is not proofread at all sooooo idk probably a bunch of mistakes i just cba

taglist : @imsiriuslyreal @iscocohere @simpforarmihn @replayenthusiast @lovm4rk @youreintheclubb @polarisjisung @sour-chaos @jising-jisang-jisung @aerivrs @multifandomania @tiddygang2020 @roseangelxfuma @skepvids @morkiee @yangasm @artstaeh @pussyslayerhd @bacons-thighs @bugcattie @leefullsun @jkslvsnella @alethea-moon @marvelahsobx @haechansbbg @katsukis1wife @winuvs @n0hyuck @whats-my-question @dojaejunging @hibernatinghamster @user7520 @m1dn1ghtv1olet @starwonb1n @lostinneocity @miniature-tragedy @llearlert @haezyhyuck @inosfavgf @bluesinfinities @calumsfringe @cigarettesafterjae @defzcl @delfdiary @minkyuncutie @bunnyjaycheoluwu @sofix-hc7

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Sorry if you’ve already answered this, but what are your thoughts on Wicked? Have you seen the new movie? Any impressions?

You're in luck, anon, I've seen both the play and the movie.

Thoughts on Wicked

Wicked is a very excellent musical and it's not shocking it's survived on broadway and the west end as long as it has and been such a sensation. It has a soundtrack with multiple hit songs, memorable and interesting characters, a compelling story, great set and costume design, and it leans on (in a generally tasteful way) one of the most iconic films American cinema has ever seen.

It is a very good show and I enjoy it immensely.

However, that is to preface, it is also one of the dumbest things I have ever seen in my life.

Wicked is, to those who are unfamiliar, essentially what happens if a Wrong Boy Who Lived fic (in which some other twerp is called the Boy Who Lived, instead of Harry, and Harry is very upset about this for an entire fic) becomes a smash hit musical sensation.

The entire plot is just "but what if Wicked Witch of West never did anything wrong and everyone else is just meeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn" this requires making Glinda vapid, shallow, power hungry, while also being less talented than Elphaba at magic (read has no magic) because Elphaba has to be her superior in every way now, the Wicked Witch of the East is actually just a bitter old hag who blamed her sister for everything, the Wizard has gotten an upgrade from sleazy con man to sleazy ineffectual dictator, every single character in the original story (except that boring twerp Dorothy) has a deep and complicated history with the Witch of the West, that funnily really doesn't make sense given none of them ever mention knowing who she is (looking at you especially, Fiero the Scarecrow, what the fuck man), and well, I could keep going.

We also get songs to justify the bad things Elphaba did in Wizard of Oz, which we won't show on screen because they were bad, but we'll allude to them. Vaguely. Very vaguely. So, what we're left with is several numbers where Elphaba says "I really fucked up" and her fucking up is... she was tricked into creating Flying Monkeys.

It's a ridiculous show in which we have to explain that everyone sucks to Elphaba/sucks in every way because they're just so stupid (read the Munchkins who are constantly celebrating dead people).

Now, that said, it does have a very compelling narrative about racism via Elphaba as well as the treatment of the animals--but that doesn't also mean it's not about how Elphaba is the most special person alive and even the animal narrative is made secondary to the fact that she is the most specialist person ever.

The Movie

Fantastically done movie, one of the best movie musicals I've seen in a very long time. Casting was spot on, singing was great, choreography was extremely well done, I loved the sets, the costumes, and even the parts that were added in in addition to the play's original material, I thought seeing bits of Elphaba's past and such as well as explaining a little more about how the Wizard got where he is really added to the film.

I recommend seeing it and am looking forward to part two.

[throatgoat4u]

hello, hello, hello, hello to all my lovely people out there. i wanna start of by saying happy valentines to every single one of you. whether you're single, in a relationship, or have just broken up, i hope you all enjoy this amazing day of love and share it with their loved ones.

today's not just about a romantic partner, but to people who you just love. tell your family how much you love and appreciate them for all they've done for you and if that's not an option, share your gratitude with your friends or people who have constantly been there for you and have made you feel loved.

do something kind for someone. give them a hug, write them a letter, compliment them, whatever. you don't have to make some big gesture or go all out, just let someone know you appreciate them.

but most importantly, make sure you love yourself. self love is just as, if not more, important than anything else. how are you supposed to put in your time and effort in loving someone else if you can't do that for yourself? so whether you want to go out and spoil yourself or stay in and take a nice bath and watch movies, make sure you're putting your love for yourself first.

but, loving yourself isn't just about spa days and self care (but like that shit's like amazing so like i definitely recommend a nice everything shower if you're not doing anything today.....) it's also about speaking to yourself kindly, forgiving yourself for past mistakes, and acknowledging that you deserve just as much love as everyone else on this amazing day!

now, that being said, i'm gonna spread all my love to some of the most amazing people on this app! (this is where my formality ends, trust 🤞)

@onevison. i literally love you so much omg. you are one of the nicest people ever and you're actually so creative with your aus. i love talking to you and always enjoy when we chat. i love you!

@freshloveee. you're so so so good at writing and genuinely one of my favorite writers on this app. you're honestly so sweet and kind. i love you!

@chrepsi. you're genuinely one of the funniest people on this app, i cannot. i love your vibe and your music taste is just so ugh. you're so cool. i love you!

@muwapsturniolo. so you're literally amazing?!?! like you're so gorgeous and funny and such an amazing writer. idek how many times i've reread your shit but it's too many to count. anywho..... when's the next album coming out sza????? i love you!

@leoslaboratory. i just binge read your fics last night btw. you're fucking amazing and i love everything you do. dealer!chris is amazing and i absolutely love it. your fics for black history month are eating btw. i love you!

@phone4pills. so so so cool. you're theme is so cool, you're fics are so cool, you are so cool. i'm genuinely sooo happy anytime i've seen that you've posted a new fic or something and am always looking forward to when you write more. i love you!

@mattscoquette. you're just sooooo like awesome. i love everything you write and i love scrolling through watching you answer asks cause you're so funny. i'm still heartbroken over a change of heart (and the fact that you've ruined that song for me 💔). also like petition to bring back my man perv!matt. he doesn't get the love he deserve. anyways, when i was lurking here, i would always stalk your page and you were the first person i found on sturniolo tumblr. you were genuinely such an inspiration for me and one of the biggest reasons i started posting what i write. i love you!

@thenickgirl. you're my favorite nick girl out there. i love how you write for him and give him the attention he absolutely deserves. just cause he's gay doesn't mean we should leave him out guys 😞💔. you're such an amazing writer and you're so funny. i love you!

@t0riiiis. you're literally like so relatable and i feel like i can always talk to you without getting bored. you're there for me and you've shown your love for me countless times and i cannot even begin to say how much it means to me. i love you!

@oopsiedaisydeer. i'm sooo happy that we're like friends now because you're such a nice and cool person. you're an amazing writer and i love when i see updates on your ponyo au. you're so sweet and show me so much support on literally everything. i love you!

@bernardsbendystraws. dare i say that you're the mother of sturniolo tumblr?!?! you're genuinely such and amazing and funny person and make the tumblr fandom a much better place. i love how during that whole pedo scandal, you were there for absolutely every single person and were so helpful in the whole ordeal. you aren't scared of what anyone says about you and you're so confident, it's so admirable (this also goes for @muwapsturniolo, cause if i recall correctly she called her workplace or something like that which is honestly a boss ass move). your writing is also just amazing and never disappoints. you're like a breath of fresh air (that sounded better in my head but it's okay). i love you!

and i've saved the best for last, @snoopychris. idek what to say. like i'm being serious. i love you so much and you're my absolute favorite person on here. i love being able to talk to you everyday and ik you'll be there to listen without judgement. you're so funny (and a bit odd) and i love you for it. you're genuinely like a big sister to me in a way and i just feel like talking to you makes my day. whether it's about an au or just yapping (or saying some weird shit about chris) it always makes my day just so much better. i literally trust you soooo much even if we’ve only known each other for a short time. like when i say i trust you, i mean like i TRUST you. atp, i trust you enough to know what my face looks like, my actual name, and other personal info. like genuinely i feel so comfortable talking to you and you never fail to make me happy! you're such a fun person and so creative. also you're writing?!?! i literally love it. i love you 🧠!

obviously there are so many other people who i absolutely love, adore, and cherish with my whole heart, but these people stick out to me! anyways, i love you guys so much and am so thankful for everyone's constant support. i'm so happy with all the new friends i've made on this app and am looking forward to making many many many more! with lots of love...

toodles sluts :)

(i felt it was necessary to bring back sluts for this post...)

also the fact that i actually wrote that shit at the top from my heart impresses me….. like what?!?!

also one last note, if there’s some misspelled words or i’m just repeating myself like an idiot, please note that its still early and even tho i woke up over an hour ago, im still like half asleep

[valeisaslut]

HII VALL!!! i kind of have some random song picks that i feel like represent collide!ellie a bit based on my music taste, but let me know what you think!!

Fine Again by Seether - it talks about struggling to stay sober and questioning the point of getting healthy and recovering. i think that fits Ellie also because there’s an element where trying to heal happens. this band is so amazing, seeing them live next month actually, i recommend if you don’t know them!! 💗🫶

And I Love Her by Kurt Cobain- HEAR ME OUTTTTT. the raspiness just sounds like something she’d write at like 3am thinking about reader IDKKK this one speaks to me the MOST for her.

Phantom Bride by Deftones- i think this song talks about self isolation and i guess just trapping yourself in a void of negativity—or at least some lyrics do. Ellie sort of does that with her drug use, normalizing it in her brain and keeping herself stuck in that hole.

Was ich liebe by Rammstein - SORRY, GERMAN SONG, i just adore it. but the song talks about not being able to love and that sort of pushing away idea “i’m not allowed to love, then i do not need to suffer, and no heart breaks.”

THATS ALL!! lmk what you think! sorry if there’s too many 💗💗🫶🫶

MIAAAAAA HI HI HI HI 💕💕💕💕 first of all NEVER apologize for sending me songs?? this is literally my love language like you don’t understand how honored i feel that you thought about collide's ellie while listening to your music… that’s actually the most special thing ever I’m crying and eating drywall 😭😭😭

I LISTENED TO EACH ONE OF THESE SONGS, SO LET ME YELL AB THEM NOW:

OUCH??? why did you open with a full emotional punch to the chest 😭 you are so right though. that whole “what’s the point of healing if it still hurts?” feeling is very Ellie-coded… like the numbness is safer than the effort of trying. and the way she probably tells herself it’s fine, like constantly, even when it’s very much not. PAIN.

HEAR YOU OUT??? I AM SITTING AND LISTENING. you nailed it. AND OH MY GOD KURT COBAIN'S VERSION. Ellie sitting in the studio at 3am, stoned out of her mind, mumbling into a beat-up mic, whispering her love for reader in raspy half-melodies she’ll never release… yeah. thats SOOOO HER. it's fucking canon now. thanks. thanks a lot. i’m on the floor.

YES. her isolation arc… the self-made cage… the false comfort of the same thing that’s destroying her... this fits her so well it’s scary. insisting it’s “just what she needs to get through the night” while she’s silently unraveling 😭 the whole song is just someone singing straight up about ellie.

I AM WAS ICH LIEBE-LOVER THANKS TO YOU NOW. I looked up the lyrics and MIA. MIAAAA. “If I am not allowed to love, I don’t need to suffer” is the most Ellie thing I’ve ever heard. "Who loves me shrinks thereby"… currently. fucking. sobbing.

PLEASE NEVER STOP SHARING THESE WITH ME I LOVE THEM AND I LOVE YOU. your music taste is absolutely ELITE. thank you for giving me new songs to scream-cry to while thinking about collide <3 EVERYONE GO LISTEN TO THEM RIGHT NEEOOWWW

ALSO HAVE THE BEST TIME SEEING SEETHER!!!! take one deep breath of live music for me 💕💕💕💕💕

[mediumgayitalian]

"5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?"

This with Lee and Will, especially, but I'm actually very curious about all of cabin seven. As a whole and individually

oh baby you are going to be Mad. i need you to imagine will making these songs for his brothers:

Michael by Jenn Grant (spotify) (youtube)

Lee by Unloved (spotify) (youtube)

Lee by Nina Nastasia (spotify) (youtube)

amazing and awful things happen when you look names up on spotify. highly recommend. i am currently looking for diana and cass and i will reblog this when i have them.

IN ADDITION music that is v will coded i have a whole playlist actually. its for the road trip au 👀👀 and some of it is will singing in my head and some of it is him covering, but its here!! im working on it actively.

WHEN i think of this one-off part (not one-off i tried to write it causally but he fucking occupies 72% of the space in my brain so bad so constantly) i wrote:

"He says it quiet like he does at the campfire, when it’s only the older kids left but she’s managed to stick around, holding her breath so they won’t notice and send her away. When Will lies back on a log and matches his breathing to the flames, eyes unseeing, and Annabeth watches him carefully and whispers, “Play us something, Will.” And he picks up the guitar he keeps dusty under his bed and sings something soft like there’s no hardness left inside him. No bowstring."

i am feral and i have several songs that i think will would sing here:

Drown Me by Dasha (spotify) (youtube)

girl i've always been by Olivia Rodrigo (spotify) (youtube)

All I've Built by Holden Miller (spotify) (youtube)

i also feel like will & kayla & austin sing What Is This Feeling? from the Wicked Soundtrack (spotify) (youtube) when they're tense & need to laugh during long infirmary shifts & other nerds join in LOL

not will or cabin 7 but No More ?'s by Eazy-E (spotify) (youtube) is a song percy listens to just All the time

I ALSO sometimes think will is so repressed he could just Let Loose and write something mad and hurting and just explosive. these are the songs (they are mostly demi lovato who i feel has a lot or parallels w will actually):

Give Your Heart A Break (Revamped) by Demi Lovato (spotify) (youtube)

Heart Attack (Revamped) by Demi Lovato (spotify) (youtube)

Beautiful Things by Benson Boone (spotify) (youtube) *look i know its overplayed now but when i was assigning it to will it was brand new LOL

most of HOLY FVCK by Demi Lovato (spotify) (youtube) (ESPECIALLY City of Angels)

i have in depth lore for all of these btw. like entire storylines about them feel free to ask me about them

some misc songs that make me think of will or solangelo (a lot for naomi tbh yall'll see) or the likes:

Cleopatra by The Lumineers (spotify) (youtube) (will made song)

After Midnight by Chappell Roan (spotify) (youtube) (will made song)

Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan (spotify) (youtube) (naomi made song)

Slow It Down by Benson Boone (spotify) (youtube) (song makes me think of solangelo)

Dandelions by Ruth B. (spotify) (youtube) (will made song)

Orpheus by Vincent Lima (spotify) (youtube) (song makes me think of cabin 7)

Eurydice by Vincent Lima (spotify) (youtube) (song makes me think of cabin 7)

Hair Toss, Arms Crossed by Mark Ambor (spotify) (youtube) (song makes me think of solangelo)

Austin by Dasha (spotify) (youtube) (naomi song)

Dying Star by Ashnikko (spotify) (youtube) (will made song)

Suneater by Leanna Firestone (spotify) (youtube) (song makes me think of solangelo)

July by Noah Cyrus (spotify) (youtube) (song makes me think of solangelo)

Line Without a Hook by Ricky Montgomery (spotify) (youtube) (ong makes me think of solangelo

Summer by Kesha (spotify) (youtube) (song makes me think of solangelo)

[sharpshooting-hero]

my experience with roiz .

( as best i can remember )

warning for lesbiphobia , ableism , manipulation , transphobia ( ? ) , grooming / sexual harassment , potential faking of physical disorders , mental health struggles / episodes .

i first met roiz a few years back ! we didn’t really talk much , until later on that year . he became more active in my server due to our mutual interest in " melliot " musicals . he seemed nice at first . maybe a little off sometimes , but nice . though this quickly changed and i grew uncomfortable . i didn’t speak up at this time — due to fear of losing someone i had grown to borderline depend on in such a short timeframe . let it be known that i am not trying to one - up anybody else ; this is purely my experience with him . nor do i feel as though my experience was worse than the victims of his sexual grooming : it wasn’t . my heart goes to each and every one of his victims .

one of the main things that sticks out to me is the way roiz would treat me regarding my identity . he seemed to view me as a cisgender lesbian ? which confused me , as i am very much not . he would also constantly make lesbiphobic jokes towards me, such as putting lesbians on his official introduction post as a ' joke ' targeted at me . this was almost neverending and made me feel incredibly invalid and insecure in my identity and who i was as a person . i started to feel like i would never be more than the " token lesbian friend " to people due to the way he would act around me whenever i mentioned my orientation , and this eventually led to a horrible mental health spiral where i truly didn’t know who i was anymore , or if i was worthy of being known as anything other than ' the lesbian friend . ' he would also only ever address me using feminine terms , when i have always been open about using all terms . i wouldn’t mind feminine terms sometimes ! but it wasn’t sometimes , as he would never use any other form .

another thing that i remember about our friendship was the way he would treat me as a disabled person . to add context to this , i have a medically recognised joint disorder which causes mobility issues alongside other things . he would make comments such as " blud can’t run " unprovoked . he did this whilst we were referencing adamandi characters ; none of which have mobility issues . additionally , he would claim to have the same issues as me shortly after i talked about them — prior to me discussing them , he had never mentioned any form of physical disability . i won’t go into any more detail about this specific aspect of our friendship , as there’s not much else to state , as well as my own struggles remembering the situation .

most importantly of all : roiz was my friend whilst engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with an eleven year old . i never picked up on it despite it being extremely clear looking back , and i would have never befriended him had i known he was doing this ; i was manipulated into believing otherwise . roiz also claimed that this person had ' abandoned him ' after they temporarily broke contact , evoking a feeling of sympathy from me towards roiz that i really shouldn’t have felt at all . however , i did notice that he would initiate sexual or otherwise inappropriate conversations in a public server with exclusively minors . it later came out that the one on the receiving end of these conversations was , in fact , an eleven year old boy being groomed by roiz . this eleven year old was — as you may have figured out already — my good friend over at @\haowenyang , who also has a post about the situation . i recommend reading it as he is the true victim here , not me . you can find that post here .

that just about sums up my experience with this vile , sickening person . once again , i am not trying to claim that my situation was worse than those he sexually harassed and / or groomed . i do however feel it is important to get it out there . this may not be entirely accurate and there may be some gaps , as my memories of my friendship with roiz have become fuzzy and unclear . but i felt it was important to share either way . thank you for taking the time to read this .

[bellsluck]

☆ about me ☆

hii, i’m bells!

thought it was about time i made an introduction.

i’m 21, a capricorn sun, leo moon, cancer rising (astrology freak), my ethnicity is a little complicated but i’ll put it as half british and half portuguese. i can speak english and portuguese fluently and have a half-decent grasp of spanish. i’ve lived in the uk for most of my life. sexuality: no labels.

i’d say i’m new to tumblr as this is the first time in my life i’m actually using it regularly, i think I’ve got the hang of it now. i feel so at home on here and i love having new mutuals hehe. feel free to message about literally anything (save me from the “singles in your area looking for-” dms, i beg).

☆ interests ☆

i love writing and reading, fanfic, music and film, generally just immersing myself in other worlds tbh. kisses to pinterest, ao3 and wattpad. tumblr now too i guess.

seemingly never ending harry potter obsession. marauders era, hogwarts legacy era, etc. slytherin girly. i was part of hptok at its peak in like 2020/2021, my page was basically dedicated to it. it was so much fun.

also star wars, specifically the hayden christensen trilogy, but i love the ogs too and i thinkmy favourite spin-offs are the mandalorian and obi-wan kenobi. if i ever get married it will be at lake como, idc how many times it's been done. i was at one of the filming locations last summer (theed palace) and almost crying like a little biatch.

i like video games too (mostly play on switch), but i’m very picky when it comes to finding ones i actually like, then I will rack up hours on it like there's no tomorrow… we love hyperfixation over here. love love love stardew valley, animal crossing and games along those lines but atm i’ve been doing my rounds on the resident evil games (re2 og, re4 remake, re6, down bad for leon kennedy) and also hogwarts legacy, i’ve finished most of it, i just have to complete my field guide now (desperately want to replay for the sebastian quests, also the new mod stuff is so cool!).

music wise, i listen to lots of different stuff, constantly go through phases, but for my all timers, aka can quote their discography from start to finish, i’d probably say lana del rey, radiohead, the weeknd and nirvana. recently it’s been lots of david bowie, queen, beabadoobee, portishead, fleetwood mac, the beatles… i could go on.

always open to recommendations for songs, playlists, films, series, games, books, fanfics, or anything, i love it all.

☆ onto the topic of shifting... ☆

i am happy to announce i am free from the shackles of “shift-tok”. if yk, yk. 

i’ll take this as a chance to ask nicely for any antis to please, please, not interact from here on out. thank you.

so, i initially found out about shifting on hptok 2020 (huge surprise ik) and so obviously i wanted to go to hogwarts. like??

needless to say i got caught up in all the tiktok misinformation, blatant lies, complicated asf methods, self explanatory. sorry younger-me. i could explain more but all in all i was too impatient and clueless, didn't really know what i was doing at all, eventually got bored, busy with school, and assumed everyone was lying (a few were, it seems).

 i completely forgot about it all after that until i came across a shifting post on reddit a few weeks ago. my tiktok fyp started filling with shifting/manifestation videos too right after. i was coincidentally in between a rewatch of the harry potter films at this point too. you know where this is going. i started seeing tiktoks from smaller creators just answering people’s questions about shifting, and it was all so different from all the stuff i’d heard years ago, spoken about in a completely different way, which just made so much sense to me and was so intriguing. i decided to delve into it all once again. it was those same creators who also would mention tumblr, and i, who had just joined tumblr for writing related stuff not long ago, decided to start searching up things related to shifting.

 i eventually came across some great accounts and information, stories of experiences, motivation, help. i started reading “journeys out of the body” by robert monroe too, so interesting, btw, and have since began my own shifting/exploring consciousness journey (i try to be careful what words i use for things, for lots of reasons, and i understand everyone might use different terms, reminder that i haven’t been on here for that long). it’s been amazing so far. 

(i may have straight up searched shifting realities on google the other day. curiosity got the best of me. it was bad. don’t do it.)

to not mislead anyone, no, i haven’t actually had a full experience in my specific “dr” yet. however it’s only been a small amount of time and i’ve already had lots of different types of sensations and experiences that i’ve never had before and it’s all so beautiful and interesting to me. i definitely view things a lot differently than i did before. i have shiftblr to thank for it.

i adore finding new shifter blogs and reading everything on them, so if i’m giving stalker behaviour it just means i’m loving your stuff or you're all over my feed. 

idk what i’m even going to post about yet, if or when i do. maybe i’ll write a bit into my “journey” so far, any experiences or how and what i do to get into certain states, about my dr, or stuff i’m just nerdy about in general. 

fyi just because i write does not mean i will always use any grammatical skills at all when writing for blog. sorry ;)

if you ever have any questions i’ll love you forever i will answer as best as i can.

this wasn’t all that exciting but i just wanted a little intro because i’m always blank on my socials. 

 thanks for reading !!

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆

[dragongirlie56]

10 ppl i’d like to get to know better tag game

Thanks for the tag @onewingedsparrow!! :) loved getting to know ya better! :)

Last Song:

Enchanted Taylor Swift! 💜

Favorite color(s):

-Forest Green!

-Turquoise

-Blue!! (I also love Link’s tunic color! haha)

Last Book?

Last book: Sally’s Lament

That book is absolutely amazing i highly recommend!!!!

Last Movie: Enchanted

Show: Brooklyn 99

sweet/spicy/savory: it really just depends on what i’m feeling! 😂

relationship: singleeee

Last thing I googled:

when will poppy playtime ch 5 release 💀

current obsession:

Legend of Zelda constantly 💀

but new current obsession? Listening to Musical soundtracks again! (wicked, greatest showman, any disney movie ever, dear evan hansen, etc) I go in and out of this phase but i love it sm

I’m looking forward to:

- summer LOL

- Playing stardew valley!

- replaying all of botw + totk

- Finishing my first book!

- getting rid of my art block 😂

- just living life :)

Some thing(s) i’m thankful for:

-My family! Always! They’re my biggest support and I love them sm!

-Me, I love who i am as a person!

-My cats!

-Nostalgia. It makes me happy and sad but I love memories of my childhood.

Gonna add….

Last album listened to in full?

Hollywoods Bleeding Post Malone

And

Fandoms you’re a part of!

LOZ

Final Fantasy (7 and 16)

Voltron

Percy Jackson/Heros of Olympus

Disney

Tagging(u totally don’t have to guys!): @echoingvoids @zelink2518 @literally anyone who wants to! lol

[megatruxfr]

So Batwheels is really fucking good, actually.

I wasnt expecting shit of this show but its actually well made. The songs are actually REALLY good. Especially "Harmony" and "Tough Buff" are stuck in my head!!

Tough Buff is BY FAR one of my favourites. I love how the show constantly variates between genres and tries new themes and music styles instead of the same bouncy electropop. Tough Buff is with coutry electric guitar and it sounds like something Morgan Wallen would sing imo. Like its such a good song! I LOVE the chorus especially.

Same with Harmony. The chorus is AMAZING and the voice actors sing absolutely beautiful. I love it when you can hear voice actors enjoy their work and put their heart into the script. They genuinly bring these computer animated characters to life. Thats what happens in Batwheels.

The next song, "Roll with the Changes" is also a favourite of mine. Its bouncy, fun and happy despite being the main score in a sequence where a character (Bam btw) is chasing one of his tires through Gotham while also having to prevent Prank from pulling a shitstunt.

The songs in this show are so original. I really have to stop underestimating kids shows because i was SO wrong about Batwheels i cannot believe it. I gotta say i'm BLOWN AWAY BY BATWHEELS. I expected it to be some sort of Paw Petrol with talking batman vehicles but its actually this original educational show and it approaces some very serious topics. One time Redbird feels unheard in the group and he thinks his voice and opinion doesnt matter. One time the Batwheels give Buff a nickname he actually really doesnt like and they continue to call him by it and because Buff has trouble speaking out about it he ends up driving off. Bam has numerous times where he's insecure about his role as a leader. Batwing jumps into a lot of situations she thinks she can handle herself, but she turns out to need some help. Bibi is insecure about her image multiple times and cares a lot about how people see her. These characters have problems and issues and they work on themselves and I LOVE IT SO FUKIN MUCH!!! This show handles topics i have seen multiple times before way better then i thought! Insecurity, trouble speaking, fears, feeling pressured, feeling alone, feeling like you can't ask for help, not liking something about yourself, taking care for yourself and giving yourself a break...

There is an episode about body insecurities-

THIS SHOW IS A GODDAMN ACHIEVEMENT!!

I hope for a next season, because this shit is fire. Song are good, characters are good, voices are good, animation is good, show is really good! If youre a parent, caretaker or big bro/sis of any young kids, i HIGHLY recommend this show. Its very educational, its good looking, it has beautiful colorful animation that isnt too flashy, there are no really violent fights, characters are very well designed and have good voices, its more then enough to keep kids busy :D

Also the bad guys are called The Legion Of Zoom. Yes, i in fact am willing to say how much i really love that name but i will not bc this blog is already an essay about a preschool show.

Anyway, Batwheels = AMAZING.

[youremyheaven]

How does sensuality work? I never understood (probably because I am way too stuck in the head). Sometimes I aspire to be honestly, though it doesn't come naturally unfortunately.

OMGGG I love this question 🤪✨😍

I consider myself very sensual 🥰🤪😜 and I realllyyy enjoy being in that energy 😌🫣🙈

First of all, lets begin by understanding what sensuality is and what it is not.

There is a world of difference between sexuality and sensuality. they're like night and day.

and you can be one without being another. because of the culture we live in, most people are sexual without being sensuous.

Sensual is understood as involving the five senses but also being sexually suggestive.

Sexual means relating to sex

Sensuality is more about enjoying yourself and life than it is about sexually pleasing or being sexually inviting. Sensual people seem more alive and vibrant because they truly enjoy the simple things and fine things, so they dont sweat the small stuff and usually maintain a calm and relaxed demeanour.

Sexual energy is more frantic, more wild, more aggressive. its very in your face and hard to miss. its someone asking you to give it to them, basically.

Sensuality is self-contentment and enjoying pleasure in all its many forms. be it food, music, dance, art, walking, looking at the sunset. A sensual person just enjoys absolutely everything. When you're in the presence of that energy, you feel similarly relaxed and open. They come across as warm, open and welcoming, its comfortable being around them. Someone who is fully alive will always naturally be perceived as "sexy" because they signal that they're open to enjoyment and pleasure.

All of these are subconscious impressions we form of people in nanoseconds, and whether we know it or not, we all pick up on energy and treat people accordingly. Why do we feel like being nicer to some people and standoffish with others??? its all down to the vibe. you can be a "good" person and still feel like you cant be good to some people who havent even done anything to you. its all just vibes.

I suggest reading Uses of the Erotic by Audre Lorde to understand this more. It's an essay and it's only a few pages long and she describes being erotic as a feeling of being alive.

pleasure activism by adrienne maree brown is another book i recommend on this topic.

now onto HOW to be sensual

Sensuality means being fully alive, open and vibrant. So in order to be sensual, you have to embody that.

You correctly said that you're too in your head and feel disconnected to sensuality because in order to be sensual, we have to get out of our head and into our bodies.

Sensuality necessitates forming a deep profound connection with our bodies.

This is why dancing is so sensual. just moving your body can feel so vulnerable but there is nothing as sexy or confident as someone who knows how to move???

there are many dance centered trauma release + "feminine flow" type activities. i know many of you get the ick from hearing things like "feminine flow" and i dont blame you lmao but being feminine, strictly energetically speaking means being relaxed, soft and flowing. thats Yin energy in Daoism.

dating in our era sucks because even men want princess treatment and it shows that Yin energy is def something that can be channelled by people regardless of gender lmfao xD

now many people have adopted a very harsh, aggressive "go-getting" approach to succeeding our toxic capitalist patriarchal world and whilst that might help us make some progress, we're constantly at the risk of burnout. so its in our best interest and for our long term well being to learn how to be chilled out and not sweat the small stuff.

think of Yin energy as the energy of being chilled out.

we can win and gain things by fighting for it but isnt it better to gain the same things in a softer gentler way??? you can work 200 hours a week, suck up to your boss and do all the extra work and someone else who does none of that will get 5 promotions while u get nothing. basically, life is not "fair", i.e, our efforts aren't necessarily going to be compensated for adequately and if you can get better results by doing less and chilling more, then whats the harm????

people who go far in life are often just people who are pleasant and fun to have around. look at any self-made individual and they'll have boat loads of charisma. whereas nepo babies wont even know how to hold a conversation bc they never had to lmao

anyways sorry for getting sidetracked (me everytime i talk lmao)

Do more body-centric activities to feel more connected to your body

this can be dancing, yoga, pilates or any exercise, or other hobbies like pottery, sewing, painting, basically anything you can do with the involvement of your body??? do that

they help you get out of your head and be in the here and now

being more present is like 50% of sensuality

and once you do things you care about more, you'll naturally shift to a place where you cut out things you dont enjoy and people you dont want to be around. youll enjoy life more. its all connected.

When you see someone with that raw earthy sexiness, don't they just seem so wild and free??

It's that. Someone who has that glow ✨

i hope this helped and provided some insights <333 i hope you get glowingggg <333

[yawping-poets-society]

The Outsiders Musical Pt. 3: My Overall Thoughts

for a master post of all of my posts about my outsiders experience, click here. i recommend looking at this before reading the individual posts!

notes: i decided to be real with myself and admit that it's been almost two months since i saw the show and i...am probably not going to remember anything new to add to this. shoutout to @chronicmickey-blog who coincidentally saw the show the same night i did! i thought you might find this interesting (despite it being insanely late)

without further ado, here are my full thoughts on the outsiders musical!

Oh my goodness this show is INCREDIBLE. I just cannot overstate how lucky I feel to have been able to see it live. The cast is so talented, from the stars and principles to the swings, every single person so clearly gives every show their all. Also, the direction? Outstanding. I genuinely think about seeing it constantly, and it was such a unique, beautiful experience.

I know some people come on here after seeing the show with posts like “and during x number y character did z” and I LOVE THOSE. However my memory is actually shot from a combination of excitement/adrenaline and not having seen the show before and thus having nothing to compare it to. There are so many wonderful things going on all the time and I wish I could remember them all but alas. So this will be more of a big-picture, things that happen every night type of post. The little details I do remember, I included towards the end! But I don't have many.

Here are my notes about bits and things that I really liked/details I did notice:

During Great Expectations, all of the greasers are on stage. As Ponyboy talks about an individual character, he points his flashlight at them, and a spotlight follows the beam. Once he’s gotten to the line “I look around at all of my friends/and still, I feel alone,” every greaser has a spotlight on them, so when they all join in for the chorus of “great expectations”, they’re all illuminated. Loved it

On a related note: there’s, as far as I remember, never a time when anyone is alone on stage

During his first big number, “Runs in the Family”, Brent Comer as Darrel Curtis sings alone. But even so, the greasers are on stage, running around in the house as he sings. It does a lot for his character–here is Darrel, serious and practical, forced into being an adult too young, and here is what he could’ve been. Here is the carefreeness he used to have

There are several dialogue scenes that Ponyboy is not a part of–one between Johnny and Dally, one between Dally and Darry. He is still present, towards the side of the stage, which enforces that this is Ponyboy’s narrative, the story that he is telling. A super super effective choice

Relating to the above, that Dally/Darry conversation takes place while Pony and Johnny are in the old, abandoned church–they stay there, on the so-called “church perch” (which is 16 ft in the air, if anyone was wondering), until their characters take center stage

All this means that there’s no lengthy scene changes waiting for some characters to clear off and others to come on; the story is continuous, flowing, and every character is connected with everyone else merely by their presence on stage at the same time, even when they aren’t interacting

THE WOOD PLANKS. Oh my god name a single more versatile set piece ever I will wait. You can’t do it. These planks are genuinely ingenious. They serve as pieces for characters to sit on and slide off of during dance sequences. They, with the help of some tires, form the benches at the drive in. When Dally first describes the church to Johnny and Pony, they form a cross at the back of the stage. They’re raised and lowered to convey movement as Johnny and Pony duck under, jump over, and sit on them as they race to the train, and eventually jump off in Windrixville at the end of act one. They’re held up in an X for Johnny and Pony to stand on during the church sequence – behind a screen, creating silhouettes as they lift and drop the ‘children’ they are rescuing. Finally, they form Johnny’s hospital bed. It was genuinely phenomenal to see how many different uses they found for these planks, and a serious credit to Danya Taymoor’s directing

The multipurpose greaser car! It never leaves the stage, unlike the soc Mustang, which rolls on and off as needed, which is also very cool. It serves as a bed for Soda and Ponyboy, the hood opens up to reveal a cooler that the greasers grab stuff out of, and it’s generally just a set piece for people to sit on, jump off of, etc.

This might have been a semi-unique to my show thing? Trevi and Sky played Pony and Johnny so boyishly. They were absolutely hilarious in the scene at the drive in, they spent a while being goofy and kinda silently hyping each other up(very seriously, to be clear, it was funny to the audience but not to them) before moving up to sit with the girls. And they walked with such a slow swagger too, I laughed so much

The impact of “does anybody care/when a greaser disappears” being SCREAMED by Daryl Tofa oh my goodness. Not to mention how much harder this line hits when, throughout the show, anytime in the book Johnny would have said he did/didn’t want to die, Johnny in the musical instead says he wants to/does not want to disappear. I didn’t know about that change and oh my goodness I was crying so much. Phenomenal. Devastating.

I LOVE JASON SCHMIDT arghhhhhh I talked a little about him in my cast overview post but NOT ENOUGH.

“544 FUCKING PAGES?”

“Cherry Valance?? NO SHIT??”

Did not know he was shirtless for most of the first act LMAO. It’s the way he doesn’t even think before taking it off too…like the characterization of Sodapop that that action gives us ALONE. He really would give the people he loves anything down to the shirt off of his back if they needed it.

I saw Brent Comer/Darry say (but did not hear, had to lip-read) “Let me see!” during Hoods Turned Heroes, he was equal parts eager and annoyed with Two-Bit…I love him sm

After Darry asked the Socs if they were wearing rings, someone (ColeTrip I think? But I didn’t know the cast super well when I saw it, so it’s hard to say) took his ring off sooooo dramatically and then (i think) flipped Darry off. He ate him up tbh.

Daryl Tofa’s sing-songing of “I’ve got a Hershey bar” will never leave my mind. This is possibly one of the cutest things Daryl Tofa has ever done and I’ve watched all of his tiktoks so I would know

The sass with which Emma Pittman poured out Bob’s flask was ICONIC

And that's...pretty much it! Such a fantastic experience, I highly recommend it for anyone who's able to see the show. I'm so so grateful that I got to see the show!! And thanks for reading, if anyone actually made it to the end. <3

[i-heart-hxh]

I read a post about a little killugon easter egg in the Succession Arc. It was when Tyson was talking about love at some point and her guards mentioned Nishino Kana's songs Darling and No Matter How Much. Do you think this was supposed to be a killugon reference regarding their current feelings or is that a stretch? And if these are a killugon reference, don't the lyrics of Darling imply Killua is now aware his feelings for Gon are romantic and his desire to stay with him forever hasn't changed?

Hello! So, I've actually considered bringing up my take on this, but hesitated a bit up until now.

I've listened to and looked at lyrics for both Darling and No Matter How Much... (Tatoe Donna Ni...), and...I think Tatoe Donni Ni... does fit Gon's situation/POV well, but Darling, on the other hand, has some lyrics that weren't included in the original post that make it pretty hard to apply to Gon and Killua directly:

"Hey Darling, which is better? This skirt or dress Ah—, why are you yawning? Hey, we should leave now Wait! I’ve forgotten my phone Ah—, did you just sigh at me?

I once asked Who your favorite actress is I don’t think I’m quite like her, but—"

I was somewhat skeptical that this random musical reference was intended to be about Gon and Killua to begin with because the conversation and situation in the manga don't connect with them in any particularly strong way (it's more just generically about love, which Tyson talks about constantly), and this portion of the lyrics not applying to Gon and Killua well furthered my skepticism.

I think a simpler and more likely explanation is that Togashi, a known music fan and someone who frequently makes music references in HxH, art he makes, and his tweets/etc., included these references because he's a fan of Nishino Kana and he wanted to recommend these songs, and he may have thought they fit the situation with Tyson and her personality/outlook well. So, my personal conclusion is that...I think it's unlikely Togashi included these songs specifically to connect with Gon and Killua.

However, there's still some room for doubt here. Togashi is an incredibly detail-oriented writer, and it is true that the lyrics to these songs do still partially fit Gon and Killua, with some parts of the songs fitting them quite well. Is it possible he's thought of them while listening to these songs? I mean, sure, it's possible! These are songs he decided to connect to HxH by referencing them, whatever his reason(s) might be. I just don't feel like the connection with Gon and Killua is definitive enough for me fully buy into it, at least not without more supporting information.

It's a creative idea and I'm glad the person who made the connection pointed it out because I am intrigued by the places where the lyrics line up with Gon and Killua (whether it's an intentional connection or not), these are just my thoughts after looking at it carefully.

Also, Darling is really catchy and I recommend listening to it in particular. It gets stuck in my head a lot!

Thanks for asking!

[irish-urn]

Have you heard of Erin&Aaron on Nickelodeon? When I searched Netflix for shows like Life With Derek, the show popped up as a recommendation. To be clear, I only watched a few episodes, and although I got a few cheap laughs, I am not recommending it... unless you like bad scripts.

its like a super-sanitized, music-infused teeny-bopper show that clearly WISHED it could be Life With Derek, but clearly took precautions NOT to be accused of being life with Derek if you catch my drift.

Like we have the same premise of teenage stepsiblings that are actually kinda similar but in totally different ways and they don't get along... but this time Aaron's the "good/cleanly/emotional" guy who plays piano and Erin's the "bad/gross/snarky" girl who rocks the guitar. Most of the time they get along fine, but there's usually some "conflict" that results in destruction of property before they compromise, come together, and write a song about it to prove they're growing and learning....

I only bring it up to point out how seemingly normal that "wacky blended family" is and how absolutely crazy LWD actually is. Because the comparison is night and day.

Both shows have some similar tropes... for example fighting over the same space (a room), fighting to share the same stage, fighting over family changes... heck I saw the next episode was something about joint-babysitting. And they even briefly pulled out the friends trying to date the adjacent stepsibling thing...

But the difference is Aaron and Erin clearly have some personal space boundaries, even when performing a song together or touching a shoulder... the actors are being SO careful not to have the wrong kind of chemistry (there was only one time when the actor who plays Aaron was singing a cute little song about friendship to encourage Erin and her BFF to be friends where he looked a little too earnestly at Erin but it was whatever lol). They will also call each other brother and sister casually without insisting they are ONLY. STEP. SIBLINGS. And when they fight its not weirdly intense. Even when Erin told her weird nerdy BFF not to think about dating her new brother, I actually believed it was intended in a normal way, whereas Casey and Derek were always acting suuuuuper jealous all the time and being way too involved (or emphatically insisting they did NOT care, you know, like liars).

So to anyone who thinks Case and Derek were normal stepsiblings, they should compare it to Erin & Aaron. LOL.

Okay, I really need to wonder WHO thought those were good names for characters. Doesn't it get confusing verbally??? They sound the same???

I hate it. I hate it so much.

BUT I am so so pleased you told me this existed, NOT because I wanna watch it but BECAUSE YEAH. Life with Derek is WEIRD. Derek is CONSTANTLY checking Casey out. Casey gives him the Biggest Moon Eyes. You are so right about them being jealous and possessive -- and they have NO concept of personal space. Which is something the actors have commented on and actually talked about, how important the physical comedy and chemistry is in this show.

So: thank you so so much for sharing this with me. I appreciate it and you so so so much.