#i can't even point out specific lyrics because it's just like... the whole song. all of it.

[dropespeon]

dear hunter save me.... save me... save me dear hunter....

[brigdh]

I want to talk about Izzy's rant to Ed in episode 10, the one that brings out the Kraken. I've seen a lot of different descriptions of what is going on in this scene – death threat, homophobic slurs, etc – and I don't think either of those are what's actually what's happening.

Let's look at it closely, line by line, and the way Ed reacts, from the very beginning of the scene.

Ed: Well, feels nice to tidy up a little. Can't believe I was living like this. Can you, Iz? Izzy? Izzy: I'm going to speak plainly. Ed: Wonderful. You know we share our thoughts on this ship.

Izzy, cont: This, whatever it is that you've become... is a fate worse than death.

Okay. So there we've got what some have interpreted as a death threat. But does Ed seem threatened? He's startled, certainly, put on his back foot – literally – but he doesn't look afraid or alarmed to me. He draws in a slow breath, assessing the situation, but overall seems more confused than frightened.

In fact he laughs it off with his next line:

Izzy then escalates the level of aggression in the conversation:

But Ed, again, looks more confused than anything. Check out that furrowed brow, that head tilt! This is a man going "what is your deal?", not a man thinking "uh-oh, you might kill me!".

Extremely noticeably, even when Izzy storms right up into his face, Ed holds steady. He doesn't run, doesn't lean back, doesn't hunch his shoulders or drop eye contact – there is no vulnerability or defensiveness in Ed's body language at all. Ed is in supreme control of this confrontation – look at the slow way he deigns to turn back to the paper Izzy's holding! As though he's making the point that he chooses when to turn, not Izzy:

Then we have the "homophobic slur". But watch closely:

Ed does not react to "namby-pamby", "silk gown", or "pining" at all. He doesn't even blink. He barely seems like he's hearing Izzy. His entire attention is on the picture.

Ed's body language and behavior changes at one word and one word only, and that is "boyfriend". As soon as Izzy says it, Ed's furious:

(It's even easier to notice when you actually watch the scene instead of using gifs, because Izzy really draws out 'piiiiiiining', putting a lot of time between the first half of the sentence and 'boyfriend'.)

Why is the use of the word 'boyfriend' so important?

Well, what has Ed been doing all episode? He's been crying in a blanket fort and singing sad songs, yes, but he's been keeping a careful level of mystique about why he's doing it. Ed often uses distanced circumlocutions instead of directly acknowledging his emotions, but he's doing it in this episode even more so than usual:

Here are the lyrics to his song:

(Version one, with Lucius) Hanging on By a thread Hanging on Shouldn't let go If I let go, all will fall Fingers bleeding down to the bone now Can't let go Nothing makes sense Hold on Hold on Hold... on

(Version two, performed for the whole crew) Just let go Make yourself let go Make it go away Away, away today Life's a hard sad death And then you're Deaaad

Notice something? There is no mention of Stede, or love, or break-ups, or abandonments, or relationships in general. All Ed discusses is a vague life-sucks attitude, which could apply to basically anyone under any circumstances. He seems pretty okay with people knowing that Blackbeard is having some sort of weird emotional breakdown as long as he convinces himself that no one knows it's specifically from having his heart broken

This is true of everything Ed says and does for this entire episode. He never once even mentions Stede's name, unless "Farewell, Bonnet's playthings" at the very end counts. The only thing Ed openly admits to feeling bad about is a fictional character who's having a hard time "holding on" (holding on to what? he never says). There are no allusions to heartbreak or romance anywhere in his dialogue.

Now, Ed's not stupid. I'm sure he knows Izzy and Lucius and the rest of the crew can connect the dots and realize that something bad happened with Stede, even if Ed doesn't fill them in on the details. But Ed is also traumatized, and has a whole host of coping mechanisms set up to help him avoiding thinking about things that he doesn't want to think about. If he's not a murderer because "technically the fire killed those guys", then no one knows he's heartbroken because technically he hasn't acknowledged it.

Until Izzy says the word 'boyfriend'. Suddenly the secret is out, and Ed can't handle it. Izzy knows his weakness. That's why this word effects Ed more than anything else Izzy says in the whole scene.

At the end of the confrontation, he hears the crew calling for another song. Look at Ed here. He looks as haunted, as disturbed, in this moment as he does at any point in Izzy's rant.

This is an important part of the scene, not just a closing note. Because if Izzy (the Caribbean's most emotionally constipated man) can see through him, obviously the whole crew can too.

Obviously Lucius – who advised Ed on his and Stede's relationship, who played along with Ed's 'fictional character' claim, who wrote down Ed's lyrics – can do so most of all.

There's a direct emotional logic to Ed killing Lucius because he had a fight with Izzy, and it doesn't involve Ed having been threatened or hate crime'd at all. Ed doesn't deal well with his own feelings (from Stede), so he chooses to become Blackbeard/the Kraken and gets rid of all the witnesses who saw otherwise.

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

Hey. This might be very stupid, but i hope you answer this.

Today I accidently got sucked into your blog, which is ironic since I'm a huge swiftie. (but I'm not here to hate on you, I swear)

The thing is for months I've been doubting where I stand on that. Like if i should call myself a swifte or not. when I was young, I used to worship the ground she walked on. but in the past year, I've slowly realised I've been very sheltered. like the problems people point out about her sometimes are actual real problems, but my brain just doesn't know how to respond to that as it has been taught taylor swift is a goddess and can do no wrong. Since your posts are tagged with #exswiftie, i figure you'd understand.

I am not from america, so I can understand then politics part of it all only to a certian extend. the other things, I just dont know what to say to that. The most i can reply is..."yes that is a bit of a problem". I feel don't feel like a swiftie at that moment.

I had fed my mind this narrative that people who hate taylor swift passionately are like untrustworthy or just a walking red flag, or just "don't get it". Now after reading your actual breakdowns I understand you have a rather educated opinion and perception of things. Which clearly rules out my narrative.

I don't know what I feel like I have to define where I stand on this, I just do. I know I genuinely enjoy her music a lot, even there are songs I don't want to hear more than once. I love the whole swiftie lore, digging deep on each lyrics finding out what they mean, finding clues easter eggs just losing my mind over surprise songs. Then i see this other side, which can't be defined with anything less than deeply toxic, which makes me question whether or not this thing i love so much is genuinely good or not.

Hello dear, apologies for the delay in reply :) I am happy to chat with you. I hope that you did not think I would ignore you.  

I was also a Swiftie for nearly 15 years. I got her debut record as a Christmas present in 2006 or 2007. Though I cannot remember which year it was, I loved her from the start. At 10 years old, I was immediately interested. My mother approved of me owning her music simply because she was inoffensive. She didn’t curse or talk about sex, in the beginning, so she was deemed appropriated for my childhood self.  She and I have since grown up. She is now a terribly pretentious bully- and, well, I grew up much too poor and much too hungry to turn into a bully like her. 

The problem- and something I think you’re very much aware of- is that Swift has built herself up in her fandom as perfect. She encourages fans to defend her every action- and rewards them for their efforts through “Swiftmas” or “Secret Sessions” or “hidden easter eggs that only the smartest- most dedicated fans will figure out.” It’s all methodically calculated to keep up an air of reciprocity between Swift, as the fearless leader, and her band of merry misfits- the fans.  

You are not dumb for falling into her rhetorical situation - she's set the marketing strategy up on purpose. It’s specifically created to attract attention- and, to make people feel good, or productive, by participating in her marketing strategy. She gives people an image of herself as a poor innocent victim of the media, or of any critique, and then rewards people for defending her. In Literary study, we call this “Pathos” as the rhetorical appeal to emotion through messaging- textual work of some kind. Rhetoric like this can be found in all sorts of media- commercials about starving children or beaten dogs, charity event banners aiming to persuade someone to donate. It’s all predicated on the appeal to our common emotion, or human capacity to empathize with each other. For, every time fans are rewarded by her attention- after defending her from a perceived enemy, or figuring out some hidden clue- they feel closer to the idol, they feel happy to have her attention. They get that emotional impact of believing they are helping Taylor Swift, or understanding her better on some more human, connected, level. It’s a game of risk and reward for her. Never mind that none of this altruistic- she gets paid through our attention on her- and if you are not directly lining her pockets with your cash money, she does not actually care about you. It’s the image of caring she projects that matters much more than the fact that she doesn’t actually care.

I’m sure you can think of many more examples wherein Swift has played this game of attention and reward with fans. It’s everywhere- her easter eggs are a great example. Sometimes her use of Pathos is benign- non malicious, therefore a non-issue. However, she often weaponizes this rhetoric in a way that is harmful.

This interplay she sets up, between herself and her fans, is made more intensive through her pathos- heavy approach to Rhetoric. To further illustrate, one of the ways people often explain Pathos is by saying that it represents our, as human beings, judgement affect. We see, or hear, the narrative Swift espouses and make judgements about it. If she says: The music critics are sexist towards me. We say: 1.) Sexism is morally wrong, 2.) Taylor Swift is facing sexism from Music critics, Therefore.) The music critics are sexist and morally wrong, because they are criticizing Taylor Swift.

So, all the critics are bad- and we don't need to listen to them. It's also a way Swift creates permissive attitudes towards attacking anyone who critique's her- because she can so easily label them all as sexist.

She uses this basic syllogism to justify leveraging her fans against all kinds of people- it's not just the critics. I just wanted to give a concrete example, and I will go more in depth on this subject in another post.  

She is playing with people’s emotions, while she is also self-victimizing,and leveraging her audience’s innate human rejection of, for instance, sexism as it offends our personal values. No one is saying that sexism isn't morally corrupt; however, Taylor Swift points to valid criticism and calls it sexism so that her audience will attack. People often have valid critique of Swift- She just doesn't want to face critique at all- ever. If people say her music is too self-centered- Swift says that is Sexism. If people say her music is boring- she calls it sexism. If people say her music is shallow and only centered are relationships- She calls it sexism. When, in reality, it's valid criticism that has nothing to do with her being a woman. Only ever writing songs about your own myopic, self-centered perception of interpersonal relationships is shallow. Her music is objectively boring, because it's derivative. Her music is completely self-centered- and she only admits to that when it benefits her, but when critics say it, she calls it sexism.

Please don’t think badly of yourself. I am not here to hate on you either- I was you. I am not here to hate on anyone at all- I just want to share how my own knowledge, and expertise, of rhetorical appeals and literary analysis can expose Taylor Swift. Swift relies on this rhetorical technique to thrive, she obfuscates the truth, schemes, and manipulates people into thinking her music is the best thing on Earth- or thinking that she is literally a Saint. Clearly- nothing on Earth is that perfect- So why does she need her fan base to consider her a genius, and a saint, so badly?

Personally, I have no problem admitting I have flaws. I think most sane people can admit to their flaws. It’s not a bad thing to have flaws. So why does Taylor Swift react to all criticism like it’s the worst thing on Earth. Why does she have a whole song about calling critics “mean/ and a liar/ and pathetic/ and alone in life” (“Mean” 2010). She has the nerve to call that song an “anti-bullying” song; yet, is it so clearly bullying that random critic who wrote a bad review about her concert one time in 2009? She really hated that guy- and all he was doing was his job. She called him a drunken loser for just doing his job. 

She's written so many songs about how all her critics are just stupid, morally corrupt, or sexist: "The Man" (2019), "Mean" (2010), "But Daddy I love Him" (2024), "New Romantics" (2014), "Shake it Off" (2014), "I know Places" (2014), "Anti-Hero" (2023), "Paris" (2023), "Blank Space" (2014), "I did something Bad" (2018), "Dancing with our hands tied" (2018). There are more songs wherein she carries this theme of "everyone is out to get me, and they all hate me for no good reason" but I think I've listed enough.

The general message is all over "Evermore" and "Folklore" too every time she calls the general public "Clowns" or "masqueraders"

It's just everywhere- her subtle devaluation of legitimate criticism. Trying to chalk it all up to the critics being simply dumb, sexist, or malicious in some way. Perhaps some people are mean- true- but to generalize every criticism as evil? That's just her actually playing a victim card. There's no way every single critic, or person who doesn't like her, is evil, bad, or malicious in some way. Okay?

I’m tired of her claiming to be an amazing person and an amazing poet- when she is just not either of those things. She’s not a kind person- it's all over her music in the ways she maliciously hurts people for fun. She’s not an amazing poet either. I have a few college degrees- and one pass through her work, with a serious intention of literary analysis, I discover that her writing is plain, banal, and derivative. 

She wants everyone to compare her to Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, and Shakespeare. So, I’m doing what she wants and taking her work seriously enough to critique it. Except that, in critique, I find out why it’s all poorly written- and why it’s just a bunch of thinly veiled conservative iterations of the same boring message over and over. All she ever says in her music is “poor me” and “I hate” (insert person- Kim K., Kanye, Matty, Joe, Jake, John, Scooter, Scott, Harry, Calvin, the media at large, anyone who critiques her, and men in the music industry as a whole). She has the longest list of enemies I think I’ve ever seen- and the funny thing is that all these people avoid her at all costs. None of these people talk about her- yet she is still singing, writing songs, and getting her fans to post memes about how awful they are years, even decades, later.  

It all gets a bit tiresome? No? Personally, I don’t wish to live a life full of such self-pity and hatred- so why should I listen to it in music form? Ya know?  

In my posts, I am attempting to find the truth. I don’t want to “hate” on anyone or anything- but I am going to seek truth in her work.  

I will be posting more about how she devoids Shakespeare of his social reformist efforts. I’m going to post more about how she twists the meaning of every literary reference she’s ever made. I am not kidding, she has misrepresented, and misinterpreted every single literary reference in her entire discography. It’s astounding how hard Swift tries to sound thoughtful- without actually being thoughtful. I will be posting about how she only ever name-drops to either tear other people down or self-depreciate herself in effort to seek pity. I will be talking more about her use of rhetorical appeals to both attract an audience, keep their attention through risk-reward trade-off, and manipulate them into fighting her battles for her. I will be talking about how she upholds a bunch of harmful stereotypes in her music. She often alludes, or blatantly includes allusion to colonialist attitudes. She’s used the LGBT community for profit without making any real activist efforts. She’s leveraged feminism like a weapon against other women- yet never actually has feminist themes in her music. She’s just so painfully hollow- upon closer inspection.  

I don’t hate her as a person. I think she’s unethical, sure, but that doesn’t mean I hate her, want her to die, or anything extreme at all. I would never wish harm to another human being. In fact, after seeing a lot of the harmful stuff in her music, especially about her kind of fucked up views on relationships, I sincerely hope she gets some professional help and finds some peace in this world. When I critique Taylor Swift it’s about her work and her brand- It's not about her personhood.  

I just think that no one Earth is above reproach, or critique, and we must all be held accountable for our own actions. She’s the one that puts her work out there for people- It's therefore completely appropriate for me to discuss her work. 

Edit: Oh and I want to add- I wish you luck in figuring out what you really think about Taylor Swift. If you ever need to talk or vent more- my inbox is always open. :) With peace and love- bye bye

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

I really think that this is where, this is like where the episode should have, this should be like scene three of the episode. Do you know, like, 'cause there's actual, there's something, there's something cool here about Cory being the pilot and forcing me to, into his version of Wooing and Angela. But, but like, instead, like I'm, I'm just not quite clear, like the conflict is like kind of class-based, like that we're too fancy of a restaurant, but we haven't established that like the things that we like are really like, like I, I just, I wanted it to be more about like if we knew that Angela liked a certain type of food and that Shawnn liked another type of food and then they were both trying to be something for the other. That's not quite established enough here. So I I I it it's a funny scene, but I'm just don't know why it's happening. Yeah. And then I, the resolution feels like, let's get burgers. I'm like, oh, okay. So the problem was that we were forced into eating fancy food. I I just, it's a little like mudelled for me. -Rider

No, I think it's exactly what you were saying before. The it's not a problem. It's that you realize that there are different kinds of love and cory and topanga are their own thing and everybody, it's like you want what they have, but you are not them. Nobody's them. -Will

We want our version of what they have. -Rider 

Your version is burgers and Vivaldi and hanging out at a different place. But, so it's like you, you can't be them because they're in, you know, even Topanga doesn't want this, the them at this point. So I think it's, if this is what happens when you let Cory in, the driver's seat is, well this is what love is. It's being married right away. -Will

That should have been the whole episode instead, instead of one scene. If that had been a story where we watched that play out in hijinks and funny scenes with cory whispering in my ear and, and maybe even Topanga whispering in Angela's ear. It could have been like a lot of miscommunication. And then the two of us finally being like, no, we're gonna do our own.... We keep alluding to the fact that we're not ready for this relationship. We're broken people, but we don't talk about what that means and we're not engaging with each other about that. We're just like, Vivaldi, I like it. You like it.  I don't know. It's underdeveloped. I feel like taking this scene as the model and expanding it in both directions would've been a better way to like confront this episode. -Rider 

Meanwhile, Angela asks, Sean, you said you knew me. If you really knew me, why would you bring me here? Sean admits, I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know how to be myself around you. I really want you to like me. Angela assures him. I do like you. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here. Sean asks, why it's so hard. Angela tells him she's never had a serious relationship either. Every time she got close to someone, she figured it was best to get away before they hurt each other. Is someone going to get hurt here? Sean? He earnestly tells her, no, not if we are ourselves. He calls out for Eduardo asking him to clear their table and just bring them a couple of burgers and -Danielle

See like all of that dialogue is exposition good? I think we're, I don't dunno what we're talking about. Like we're just saying. -Rider

They never established my character to say what I would like or not like. -Trina

And so, and we're not being specific. We're just hope and love and we and want and, and it's like, it's like song lyrics as opposed to like very like sharp. Like the thing you're doing right now, you can take you, I don't know, it just feels like, I dunno. It felt so like...Yeah. I just think the actual, like we, we have not covered details between our characters. So we have not said like Right. What we do imagine our lives would be like, 'cause we, we have the Vivaldi and Shakespeare, but we haven't seen the like, what do you like to wear? What do you like to eat? And, and then to see that in conflict with this.  So we're just expressing this makes me uncomfortable in abstract terms. And so it stays abstract. And that's what to me is the definition of like, acquisitional dialogue. -Rider

 I think it's more, I think it ends the same way where you guys are now figuring out what it's going to be. The same way you figured out this restaurant isn't for us. You figured out you didn't want to eat this food. It's like, we'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. We You don know it's you don't know yet. And it's, it's, this is just the start of we know we don't want that. We know we're not them and we don't, we don't want this restaurant, but we'll figure out whatever comes next. As long as we're ourselves, we'll figure it out, I think is what they're saying. -Will

It's a nice sentiment. -Rider 

[hoardingpuffin]

SkyBound SMP Characters as Fewjar Songs

Because I have an agenda and the agenda is getting more people to listen to Fewjar. The fandom are like 20 people we need more.

Vast - Lateniteaha

God, I still have so many questions

I'd be dead by now

But I wanna find out

What only the dead know

Especially now as Vast is figuring out what the Avicane actually are and is figuring out who to be after learning that information, they simply have Lateniteaha vibes to me.

Rune - Cepheus

How did I end up here, stone bound?

All I feel ist the striking distance to the clouds

My flesh is fettered on the skin of the soil

But even so I almost reach the sparks in the void

There is a theme in Cepheus of desperation and being stuck in a place, which reminds me of Rune, especially considering how he seems to view themselves and considering the crumbs of backstory we've gotten so far.

Sylph - Go For It!

Something we put together

From pieces we found

Of a broken jar spread on the floor

It's not whole again

Can't be filled up to the top

Yet a beauty lies inside the pain

Sylph to me seems like the type of character that looks at like, a broken apart piece of furniture or clothing and goes "I can fix that up" and then with the help of hot glue and sparkly tape and some neon paint they actually do fix it up and yeah, sure, it's not perfect and it's not without scars but it's something new and beautiful and crazy. In the best way. Best type of character in my eyes.

Taliesin - Yesterday's Eve

But everything is at a turning point

Light is coming in

Raised dust's telling the story

Again, and again, and again

Yesterday's Eve has this theme of passing through, of change and uncertainess that seems to fit with what we've gotten to see of Taliesin so far. We'll see if my opinion changes as we see the flamingo more.

Marcel - Treasure

Pale hands

Nothing to get so serious about but

Let us be honest

In peculiar moments of

Never never letting go the sum of my parts

Over and over again

I will admit that the lyrics of Treasure don't match up with Marcel, at least not 100%, but something in the vibe of the sound and the music video makes me think of him so there.

Armor - Gemini

Exposing scars

What have we done?

Composing lifelines always won

Don't you know where we came from

Where all began?

In all honesty, we literally had one stream with Armor so this is based on vibes and vibes only.

Pietro - Lo

Searching for a deeper sense

In a pile of vowels and consonants

In a pleasant appearance

A Sisyphus- mountain to ascend

Pietro gets one of my favourites and my favourite Fewjar music video! I can't 100% pinpoint why, but something between the sunlight/dawn aesthetic of the video and the almost pleading nature of the chorus make me thing of Pietro and her relationship with his brother.

Virgil - Skeleton

So hold on to me

Although our way won't be

a safe terrain

Oh hollow me

Tell me would you hold on

To a skeleton?

I will be so honest, Skeleton is less Virgil-specific and more it reminds me of both Virgil's relationships with Pietro and Giovanni. The themes of burying yourself in work or a cause even to the extent of ignoring ones own safety that rings through Skeleton - yeah.

Avalon - Chalkbird

Crystal sparrow come with me

Cause I recognized

That you, just like me

Don't belong to this place

Pinning a song for Ava was hard as hell but Chalkbird makes me think of her and Rune and their relationship so tadaaaa.

Gaverin - A Bleakbox of Insights

Irrelevance is my playground

And loneliness is my hometown

Covered in dust lies

A conspiracy

When you listen to Bleakbox at first you might say "That's not at all Gaverin" and to that I say: "I see your point but rewatch the bits where Gaverin talks about their family and read between the lines because that's what I did and that's how I ended up with Bleakbox" /lh

Cosie - We Wonder

We got time

So much time

And we wonder

We wonder, we wonder

If everything's on hold

Why don't we hold each other?

This is mostly based on the vibes Cosie gives off to me? Not 100% sure if the song fits lyric-wise but the vibe itself seems right to me.

Erin - Levitation

I didn't pick Levitation because of the lyrics, but because of the sound of the song itself. To me, Levitation sounds like a mix of lonely, whistful and comforting and those vibes to me seem like they can align with Erin.

Ashril - Despite This

I'll be filling my ears with some fire crackle

So you can't call me

Sky is covered by crowns, your smoke signals

They won't reach me

I cannot be convinced that Ash isn't running from something. Thus, Despite This.

[insomnya777]

time for me to ramble about alley rose by conan gray and my boat boys superhero au :)

you guys asked for this. so. i did it. i'm just cool like that. you're all to blame for this monstrosity. long post incoming!!!!!

okay so. there are so many lines from this song that fit my au, joel and etho specifically (what's happened and what's to come eventually) and i desperately need to talk about it so let's start this off!!

so much to say that's subject-sore, so much you'd change since you were born

this lyric! fits etho and joel both so well. regarding the sore subject part... gosh, i have so much to say. there's so much left unspoken between them, literally at every single point in the series, and they know they need to talk about it, but they don't want to because it'll just ruin both their moods and talking about it makes things so much more serious and official, you know?

the second part — joel grew up in mezalea (which will be talked about later) and he had kind of his whole life planned out for him, and then things went sideways and that whole plan, his whole life really, was ruined; eventually stratos was created. he had so much potential, and it was all just... wasted. etho, on the other hand, grew up in a rougher area of the city he lives in now, and now he's just very far from that lifestyle, just in general. very posh and fancy, even if his apartment isn't, his job sure is (was?)

the way you kissed me, hot and fast i knew it'd be the last

alright so the way i see this lyric is definitely etho's perspective, in the second part of the series. such a long time ago, i know!! but when joel kissed him for the first time, even while it was happening, there was this little part of him that was in disbelief and also completely sure that it would never happen again (so he should better enjoy it while it lasted)

don't leave me hanging alone again

...guys i have so much to say here. this could quite literally be sooo many moments. mostly in etho's pov, i've noticed. he really gets left behind often huh. poor guy.

but, pretty much, this is like when joel leaves him after he kisses him, when joel leaves him in the grocery store after turning his world upside down, when joel leaves him in the park after basically breaking up with him. joel really leaves him alone a lot. wonder what that means for the future. totally not foreshadowing haha.

honourable mention to when etho leaves after apologizing to joel, which then infuriates joel, as you will all see in the next part. but yeah, etho's really sick of being left behind over and over again.

you told me "i'm just so nervous, dear" well, how the hell do you think i feel?

oh this lyric!! also etho pov — this song is so very etho coded. in is it over now? joel is talking about how confused etho makes him all the time when he's all vague and mysterious and stuff, and etho kind of snaps, literally saying the words "how do you think i feel?" so when i heard this lyric in the song my jaw dropped. it was literally made for them. maybe not the nervous part specifically, but definitely the rest.

i waited all year at your feet like maybe you'd love me

alright i'm going to be disclosing some information here that i can't remember whether it has been outwardly said yet or not. but you've probably figured it out or assumed anyways. it's not exactly surprising. so. remember way back when, all the way in diesel is desire, you were playing with fire, joel talks about how etho always lets him go? and never really fights him? goes easy on him, etc? well!! etho had always been amused by joel, ever since the beginning, had always found the way he bickers and teases and flirts and yells very entertaining, to say the least.

this led to him always having a bit of a soft spot for him, being a little biased, even, which was very inconvenient for his job. eventually, that affection turned into a little bit of a crush, which he always refused to acknowledge, then turned into the... mess of feelings he had now. love. maybe not quite love. something else. he doesn't know anymore.

either way, he's nice to joel. too nice. not in the obvious way, not in the way that joel could ever call him out on, but he let him go and did other things that very much could make him lose his position in the agency. which is foolish and idiotic and he somehow never regrets it.

he subconsciously had a little bit of a hope that it would somehow win joel over, just a tiny bit, but, little did he know, it only annoyed joel even more. the idea that someone was going easy on him was enough to effectively make him mad for the rest of the day. so, yeah, you could pretty much say that this line fits them to a T.

and i don't even care if it makes me sound insane

etho, again, surprise surprise. the whole thing about a hero falling in love with a villain, and not just a villain, one of the most wanted villains in the world... all his friends think he's lost his mind. and one of his best friends was also in love with a villain. (not that etho would use the word love. its not- it's not love.)

he can't bring himself to care that they all think he's delusional for falling in love with such a cruel, selfish, arrogant, bad person. because he knows the truth — joel isn't a bad person. he could be cruel (god, he could be cruel) and arrogant, and selfish, and all those other things. but so could etho. so could literally everyone else. they were human. and sure, joel did some... not so good things. but, you know, he could ignore that. most of the time.

besides. joel was funny. and smart. and very, very attractive. and- well, he wasn't nice or kind or sweet, far from it, really, but etho didn't care about that. he kind of liked how mean joel was, actually. which probably meant there was something deeply wrong with etho. but. hey. yolo.

i ran my fingers through your hair and i thanked god to touch the flame

god. this line. banger line. even without relating it to anything. but with relating it to this au.... so much to say here. it's etho again. so etho talking about joel. sooooo etho so so so etho.

first of all, the flame part???? helloooo??? joel literally has fire powers... guys... i can't be the only one freaking out about this........

but back to the rest. honestly, when etho was with joel in his bedroom that day all the way back in the beginning, this lyric is very him. he gets to spend all this time with joel, and he knows he's going to regret it in the future, and that everything that's happening is a bad idea, and that he shouldn't be doing any of this, but when he looks at joel.... all he can feel is lucky that he gets to be there.

cause i swore necks were made for bruising i swore lips were made for lies

finally a joel-coded line! my boy!! gotta say something about the neck part because we all know about joel and necks LMAO.

anyways! this line being in past tense is very interesting to me, even just song-wise. almost like the person is talking about how their thinking has changed since the past, because of some.... event. or someone, even. this is very, very joel, because, as he complains about in the next part, he's gone soft. he used to have this same kind of thinking, this untrusting, suspicious mindset, but things have changed since then. he's got more trust in people. which he hates, for the record.

and i thought if you'd ever leave me that i'd be the reason why

back to etho because gosh i didn't know a line could fit something so well. joel, essentially, "breaks up" (even though they're not together) with etho because of his being a hero. not even for something he does, or some trait of his. if it had been that, if etho had messed up in some way, he would probably have been able to handle things a lot better. but, no, it was about something completely avoidable. something he didn't even really have control over. he's not even the reason joel leaves him.

if it's all experimental and you go back to safer things

joel!!! experimental.... safer things... these word choices are so very deliberate and so very relevant.

experimental — a hero being with a villain isn't exactly a tried and true option. and he's not exactly your regular guy. he's dangerous, reckless, violent, etc. the idea of someone like etho ever even liking him feels so unreal, and not even in, like, a positive way. it just seems impossible. they're so different. the most he can imagine it being is just a little bit of fun, something to keep etho from being bored.

safer things — oh, this makes me want to lose my mind. as i said before, etho being with joel would be anything but safe. not just due to joel's more... explosive (literally) tendencies, but also because the risk of the two of them being found out was very, very real, and would have extremely strong consequences. the idea that etho would choose safer things, like a normal person and a normal life, is very possible and, honestly, very likely, at least in joel's mind.

that's the most lyrics i can relate to my au without it being a bit of a stretch... unfortunately. but i very much recommend you go listen to the song, because even just off the vibes alone, it fits this au sooo well. if you have any other songs that remind you of this au please share im working on a playlist and would love some recs :):):):):))

also! a lot of the parts here are about things to come and things that happened earlier, they don't exactly reflect joel's and etho's thoughts about each other right now, because, well, joel kind of wants to beat etho up at this moment of time. so. yeah. it's either future or past them

anyways. the end. this is a lot longer than i thought it would be but i did have a lot to say, so i'm not very surprised. this also was a lot ramblier (is that a word? like, more ramble-y? it should be a word.) than i expected, but, you know, we ball. at some point i also started writing this as if it were a fic so i don't know what's going on there. this was kind of all over the place. my bad. anyways! hope you enjoyed. this is my first long post here, guys, don't let it flop. begging you.

[deiastormborn]

From Zero - Linkin Park | Personal Ratings

Crazy time we live in. Never thought I would get to see another album from Linkin Park, since I grew up on it and never had a chance to get to their concert. But now? Phew. Not only I might actually visit them one day, but there's also a new album? And a good one at that?

Either way, I thought I would break it down. mostly for myself, but also for anyone else who wants to agree or add their own opinion to mine.

___________________

◞ Starting strong with the first track that was ever shown to us. The Emptiness Machine still remains my most favorite track of the whole album, and I'm not sure if it's just the bias from the surprise and hype I've felt when the song dropped, or it's really just **that good**. Either way, while it might remind of the old albums that LP has released in the past, in my eyes, this song in specific is very much the polished, modernized version of their typical style, which makes it new. I love the way how Mike starts first, and then Emily joins, both having their own chance to perform, rather than the usual 'Mike raps, Chester sings the chorus and screams'. Also, it added to the whole surprise when Emily came to the picture, was a great build-up.

Overall, this song is a solid 10/10 to me. I keep catching myself sing it even if I'm not actively listening to it.

___________________

◞ I am putting Cut the Bridge and Stained together, because they both heavily remind me of 'Living Things' album, and I have pretty much the same opinion about both of them. Probably controversial, but I like them probably the least. That doesn't mean they are not good, just, in my eyes, compared to other tracks in the album, these are weaker. They are still good, Cut the Bridge is catchy, seems a very Mike-ish song, I like the lyrics, I can imagine this song being an introduction to the audience that doesn't typically listen to music like LP. The last part in 'Cut the Bridge' where both Emily and Mike start singing is a great selling point for me. Now, Stained has a great instrumental, I like the intro. My best friend is actually a big fan of this song. Not sure if I should point out the lyrics, I mean, it's Mike, he's a fantastic writer. However, something about this song is not sticking with me. I can't imagine myself casually singing it to myself, as I would (and am) with The Emptiness Machine, or other songs in the album.

Overall, while songs are good, for me they are weaker than the rest, so I would give both of them a solid 6,5/10.

___________________

◞ Reminds me of Minutes to Midnight, like Given Up and What I've Done had a baby together. It's great, it's catchy, I love everything about it. I love the rhythm, I memorized the song in just about 2 times of listening to it. Not to mention the 16 second scream done by Emily. This song was a must, just to show her vocal range alone. While some people, for some reason, seem to have a problem that this song is now associated with League of Legends, I can just say... get over it. If a relation to a game somehow ruins an absolutely great song for you, I don't know what to tell you.

I'll give it a 9/10.

___________________

◞ People criticized this song A LOT when it came out, saying that it's very pop-ish and not Linkin Park at all, to which I want to remind you that Linkin Park always made a few tracks per album with light, melancholic tone, that some would consider very pop-y. I wasn't sure what to associate this song with, it's like a mix between all of the albums, as, like I just mentioned, LP are known for dropping less heavy tracks in their albums. Overall, it's a good song, the music video is great, it has a good meaning to it, and it's also the first Emily-solo song that we have heard. I do not see a single reason to dislike it. It might be a skip for some, but I can't argue that it's catchy, it hits right in the feelings, and Emily's vocals are great there.

I'll give it a 8,75/10.

___________________

◞ I think Keys to the Kingdom just had a baby. This is such a 'The Hunting Party' song. It slaps, although I still prefer Keys to the Kingdom for this song. It is also stated that Emily wrote, or helped writing, the chorus. I like the distorted sound to it, I like the drums, and I think you can tell that Emily had a great time performing this one. However, for me, I probably won't catch myself listening to this song that often.

I will give it 7,5/10.

___________________

◞ Okay, this song... first time I heard it, I was really skeptical about it. But something about the melody, the little echo, and Emily's soft voice... I can imagine myself walking at night, or driving a car while listening to this song. Or even just listening to it with my eyes closed while I'm laying in my bed and daydreaming. It is also very pop-ish song, sure, it reminds me of 'A Thousand Suns', somehow hits me with Iridescent, Waiting for the End, or even the Catalyst feel. I liked this song less than Cut The Bridge at first, but now? I think I'll relisten to it when I feel the need to look for some peace and quiet.

This is 8,5/10 for me.

___________________

◞ GOD, this song! And everyone in the suit? Some people seem to associate this song with One Step Closer, but I would personally disagree. This is a heavy Figure.09 feel, which means Meteora album. Someone on YT did a mashup with Figure.09 and this song, and it was so flawless, you would think that this is the original. I'd highly recommend to look it up. To keep it short, I'm in love with this song, the build up before fractic screaming, Mr.Hahn solo, distortion, everything about it... I love it. This also feels so natural for Emily, considering her Dead Sara band.

This is 9,25/10 for me.

___________________

◞ Oh the things I've felt when I heard it... so I just said that the previous song is very much Emily? This song is her 200%. It suits her so well, the way she sings, and the high pitch scream, the sharp exhale, the lyrics, everything. You'd think I would find things to say about it because of how much I like it, but I can't put it into words. This song wakes something in me, and the chorus is probably my most favorite chorus out of the whole album. I so badly want to see it Live. And to top it all of, that scream she does on the last chorus, at the end? She sounds like an absolute beast, that scream came from the bottom of her soul. This is so Hybrid Theory, I feel like a teenager again.

This is 9,75/10 for me.

___________________

◞ At last, in LP's typical fashion, the last track is the heartbreaking one. I love how Mike and Emily sing together, it also feels refreshing to hear Emily in such a high soft pitch. I cried when I listened to the lyrics. LP is back at releasing songs like that when I'm mentally drained. I feel like this song is Mike's, everything about it, and Emily's support gives such a great finish to it. It reminds me of One More Light. Mike and Emily sound fantastic, their voices compliment each other. I welcome this song to my 'heartbreak' playlist. LP always had a great skill in describing my internal turmoil with a few words, so flawlessly, in the ways that I would not have been able to do it myself. This song is just one of those gems.

This is 9,5/10 for me.

___________________

That is it. Great album, so happy to see them back. Everyone looks so happy performing on the stage, and I'm hoping that I will get a chance to see them live, to fill the gap in my childhood and possibly heal my wound that was left when Chester passed away. He passed away on my birthday, right when I turned 18, so my childhood died with him. I still miss him, I hope he is looking down at us and rocking it out with the band.

I hope, if you read it, you can somehow relate and agree with me.

If you want to discuss it further, I'm all ears.

[not-the-dum-e]

Definitely gonna need to read lyrics for these songs, the music is so interesting.

Drum Beat

Straight off, great choice for title track, it's such a catchy, feel good song that sets up the pace for the rest of the album.

Onew's rapping is so good in this, it suits the song perfectly a highlight on a song full of great moments.

I love the outro, that kinda talky bit at the end sounds so nice I don't even know why but hm, hits just right.

I wish it was longer, I could listen to a five minute version of it, but I will have to settle for looping it ┐⁠(⁠￣⁠ヘ⁠￣⁠)⁠┌

Hola!

The vocal melody in the beginning of the verses reminds me a lot of latin american pop from the 70s and 80s. It's such a strange thing to me because the song instrumental itself (sans the percusion) is very different, taking sounds more specific to bosa nova, at least that is what it sounds like to me, I had not heard that combination before and gives me a strange sense of familiarity and nostalgia (at this point I was interrupted by Onew's live lol)

Made me wonder if the latin influence is on purpose, since the title is hola, if so 10/10 executed perfectly. Why haven't i heard any latin american artists do something like this?(if anyone has any recs for something that has this same kind of sound, in any language, but specially spanish please let me know)

Maestro

Contender for favorite on the album from the first listen, the bass line, the syncopation and how spacious? the chorus sounds. Floaty, idk you get what I'm saying?

The robotic voice too just fits the mood, the entire song is full of so many textures and layers, pulling forward and falling back, it's so engaging.

It reminds me a little of MGMT's Little Dark Age, but with the added charm of melodic breaks that are more grounded.

To say that I love it is just not enough.

Shape of My Heart

There is this sound in the background, that sounds to me like someone is carving/shaving ice? or perhaps sharpening a blade, i need lyrics for this one haha.

Either way the piano chords sound kinda out of tune at times, like a really old piano; or perhaps it's like a distortion —like the piano is coming in and out of focus, some chords are rattly, out of tune. This song has a lot of interesting stuff going on in the background.

The outro though, it feels like suddenly everything is finally sorted out, every element fits together by the end, the vocal melody, the chords on the piano stop sounding distorted, and it all sounds melodic and sweet. Also those backing harmonies to boost that feeling of order and peace, where before everything was extremely chaotic, going in and out of focus.

It sounds like resolution, i really need the lyrics for this one. I looped it a lot just to get this down, it's such an interesting sounding song.

월화수목금토일 (All Day)

Now I've been listening to this one quite a lot since it came out, and it still is such a feel good kinda song, which seems to be a thread through this whole album, it's so catchy no wonder he picked it for a pre-release.

It showcases his vocals beautifully, what else can I say?

Focus

The synths, the dramatic rests, come on.

I think Shape of My Heart took most of my brain power cause I'm struggling to come up with more than that, but it's a great song, great closer.

The instrumentals in the whole album compliment his voice perfectly, I can't imagine how hard it was to pick the title, half the songs in the album could be strong contenders for title.

I do wish the songs were a bit longer though, but that is just a teeny tiny thing, really.

I keep thinking about it and there is a lot of joy in this album, idk why i got that impression, because it's not like all the songs are happy, maybe it's just Beat Drum, All Day, and Hola!.

I love it so much.

It is just as 'Onew like' as Circle, even though it is so different.

I hadn't really realized how much I had missed him during this hiatus, and it seems to have hit me all at once now. I'm so happy that he is back and maybe that plays a role on it too.

It does seem like the ten months of rest did wonders for him and I can feel a huge amount of joy in the music. He seems to be really happy to be back making music again, and it shows in every second of this album.

He really seems to know how to express himself through music, and it's just wonderful to be here to witness it💖

[rey-0f-sunshine]

!!SPOILERS FOR IN YOUR EYES FROM JD25!!

so, now that we don't have a story, I guess In Your Eyes will hold me over because despite it being a prequel map, I have more questions than answers

first off, I am a bit worried about how Cygnus having manipulated Leda into becoming evil will impact her eventual defeat- it just kind of feels nasty to say that Leda can be redeemed after all she's done, even if she was manipulated. there are ways this can be executed well, but I'm worried she'll be a "redeemable villain" which rubs me the wrong way about her character, especially since she knows she's not a good person

anyways onto the fun stuff:

-this first thing is on the same level as Treasure and Never Be Like You where there is a HUGE implication of a double meaning in the lyrics, I only caught it after 3 times and oh my god it's incredible: In Your Eyes is a song about cheating, which I initially took at face value, but once we get to the point where Cygnus has this whole mural of Night Swan in the background, it changes a bit. that mural?? Leda sure as hell ain't looking at it (but Cygnus sure as hell is)- and the lyrics at that point in the song are literally "I always look the other way, I'm blind, I'm blind" SHE'S LITERALLY BLIND TO HIS MANIPULATION SHE IS ACTUALLY LOOKING THE OTHER WAY WHAT THAT'S GENIUS

-so is Jack from Earth or??? like why was the Traveler looking at Earth anyways? he already knows Leda wants to stay (also- side tangent, what if the Traveler was looking for Leda and then found Si'ha Nova instead of him always having been looking for Si'ha??)

-did Night Swan and Cygnus cause Eternyx to become the Danceverse that was so heavily associated with Dark Flow? I NEED to know what the whole deal with Cygnus' mural is because if Eternyx wasn't always lowkey emo that would be crazy

-also, I have a feeling I know why Cygnus went after Leda specifically (is this going to inevitably draw back to a Mihaly parallel? now that I think about it, yes, yes it will): when Leda shows up in Eternyx, her glove is glowing like how it did in Murder on the Dancefloor- I have a feeling that everyone was so impressed with her because she pulled up out of nowhere with incredibly powerful Flow, hence the glove glowing, and so Cygnus found out and decided she was the perfect candidate because she happened to be so powerful and skilled out of nowhere; all he needed was a powerful enough candidate to help him execute his plans, and Leda, being new wouldn't have any idea of his plans, her immense potential meant she was perfect for his vision (again, it makes me think of Night Swan seeing Mihaly's potential but this ain't about them)

-brother why was the Traveler lowkey so dramatic at the beginning like look what you've done now Jack is spinning too 💀 (except this means that Jack wasn't waving, he was trying to figure out the cool ass spin move his maybe-dad just did)

-and i still am so curious about the fact that this takes place where Lose Yourself was supposed to- what was that place used for then?? how did it change once Night Swan took over??

MORE QUESTIONS!!:

-why did Leda go to Eternyx in the first place??

-so are Jack and Wander related or not?? (please it's so unclear)

-WHAT IS CYGNUS' MOTIVATION HELLO??? and also why was he acting so like "oh no my lover she's gone i need to see her again!!" in Beggin'?? YOU MANIPULATED HER TO BE THIS WAY WHAT (I have so many thoughts that I can't fit into a post)

I'm sure there's more to talk about but this is already a lot, so I'll stop here

There will probably be a video about this map eventually though

[nobodysdaydreams]

A Special Treat for My Wolf359 Friends: Oddly Specific Christmas Songs that Remind Me of Wolf359 Characters

Happy advent dear readers! 'Tis the season for festive head canons, and as a lover of very obscure Christmas music, here are some tunes that remind me of Wolf359 characters. I included links to all the songs listed, so have fun listening! I think most of the songs I found fit, and I found two songs per character (plus some bonus tracks...), so let me know which ones you enjoy!

I included explanations for why I think the songs fit the characters, feel free to disagree.

Side note: Please don't put any spoilers on this post, as I've only listened through season three at this point. If you want to follow my reactions to Wolf359, you can do so under the tag "#Bods Wolf359 Reactions".

Doug Eiffel- Christmas Tree On Fire / Christmas in Jail / Who Spiked the Eggnog?

Why does Doug get three songs instead of two? Simple. Because he deserves them.

The first one is 100% a Doug song. I just need to close my eyes, tweak the lyrics slightly to make them about a fire he started because he didn't do a very simple task that Minkowski asked him to do, and it's Doug singing it in a southern accent.

As for the second one, there are a concerning amount of Christmas songs about alcoholism or spending the holidays in rehab and/or jail. This made it very hard to narrow it down, but this song is specifically about going to jail for drunk driving, so...um...it fits? In a very sad way, but I feel like Doug would sing this in a drunk moment of self-loathing, that Hera and Minkowski would talk him out of.

The third song fits Doug because to be honest the whole vibe of Straight No Chaser fits Doug, and this song reminds me of when Kepler demanded an explanation of what happened to his Whiskey. This is the song Doug would sing after assuring Kepler that he would stop at nothing to find the culprit.

Hera- The Most Wonderful Day of the Year / Somewhere in My Memory

The first song is from the Rankin/Bass Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer movie. It's about toys that were built incorrectly, so they are put on an island where misfit toys go and sing about how sad they are that they don't get to celebrate Christmas with everyone else. I don't think I need to explain why this song fits Hera.

The second song is from Home Alone, and I think it fits Hera, because of the how much that one episode focused on her memories, good and bad. Plus it's a very beautiful song, and I think Hera would appreciate that. This song has a long musical intro, so you might have to listen for a bit before you get to the lyrics.

Renee Minkowski- That Christmas Morning Feeling / Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

For the first one, no, I have not seen the movie, but this song came on my Christmas recommend, and you can't tell me that Minkowski would not go for a big festive Christmas musical number.

As for the second one, it's from the musical "Meet Me In St. Louis", which I'm sure Minkowski appreciates. Any musical Christmas song would fit Minkowski, but this one is a classic.

Alexander Hilbert- The Nutcracker: Russian Dance / A Mad Russian's Christmas-Insturmental

I chose the first song from the Nutcracker, since it's a Russian ballet. I feel like Hilbert hates holidays and would only even consider tolerating classical instrumental traditional Christmas music (even though Minkowski forces him to sing carols).

The second song is also instrumental, and I mean, well, just look at the title of it.

Isabelle Lovelace- Christmas Isn’t Cancelled (Just You) / We Wish You Weren't Living With Us

For the first song: tell me you couldn't see Lovelace singing something like this to Cutter or Hilbert. Very fitting too considering Cutter ordered Hilbert to kill everyone on Christmas. Lovelace would hear about that and chose this as her revenge song. It's another song where I can close my eyes and see her singing it with slightly altered lyrics.

The second song could easily be everyone singing about any of the villains, but it would especially fit the oddly specific situation of Lovelace sarcastically threatening Hilbert when Minkowski tries to make them all play nice and sing Christmas carols together.

Warren Kepler- Christmas Whiskey / Six Cups of Eggnog

I don't need to explain my first choice. Kepler sings this song alone in his office to a full glass of Whiskey, which he saves specifically for December.

As for the second, I can see Kepler singing this to lecture the others on the proper way to enjoy a drink, even though absolutely no one asked and no one cares.

Alana Maxwell- The Season's Upon Us / I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas

For the first choice, I don't know much about Maxwell, but I know she doesn't talk to her family, and this seemed to fit that.

For the second choice, the song fits because Maxwell is not getting anything for Christmas, because she's dead, and she did bad things. (I'm sorry Maxwell stans, but I struggled finding songs for her, and you can't say it isn't true, though this second choice does apply to multiple characters).

Daniel Jacobi- This Christmas (I'll Burn It To The Ground) / Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)

The first one could fit a lot of villain characters, but I chose it for Jacobi because he loves explosives. That's pretty much it. I had trouble finding songs for the SI-5. But I can see Jacobi screaming this song violently at a Christmas party, right before someone brings up the subject of ducks and sends him cowering to the corner.

The second song is because Jacobi seems to have some issues with his air force father (I was tempted to use the song for Doug's daughter, but figured that would be too dark). A close second for Jacobi was "The Twelve Days of Christmas" because there are a lot of birds in that song, and I love mocking Jacobi's fear of ducks. However, decided to go with other options because A) the 12 days of Christmas is already a pretty well known song and it doesn't fit that well and B) ducks are not explicitly mentioned in the song. But if anyone knows of a Christmas tune about ducks, please drop it in the tags.

Marcus Cutter- You Ain't Getting Diddly Squat / I’m Gonna Kill Santa Clause

For the first one, the song fits mainly because of the singer's high pitched cheery voice and the way he gleefully tells a bunch of kids that Santa hates them, and they're not getting anything for Christmas. I can listen to this, close my eyes, and see Cutter singing this as he happily informs the crew that they're all about to die on Christmas.

For the second one, it's fitting because Cutter ordered the deaths of multiple employees on Christmas, and if he lived in a universe where Santa Clause did exist, he absolutely would try to kill him and take his power. The line "nothing against him, it's just business" and part of the song where he sings about the elves being his prisoners are very on point.

Miranda Pryce- I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday / I Want an Alien For Christmas

This first song choice won't make any sense to you UNLESS you've seen Black Mirror, because if you have, you'll know it makes a disturbing amount of sense. So...for those who haven't seen black mirror and are wondering how on earth this song fits her character, here's the clip to provide some context. Some horrifying, terrible terrible context.

The second song honestly fits Cutter better, but he already had two songs and doesn't deserve a third one. And I don't know as much about Miranda at this point, except she's apparently down with the whole aliens thing, so I figured it would fit here too.

Dear Listeners- Silent Night / A Spacemen Came Travelling

The first one is a Christmas song from the 1920s about a silent night. I don't feel like I need to explain this choice.

The second is a song is a gentle tune about a man from space who comes to visit baby Jesus and his mother and wish them goodwill. I also don't think I need to explain why the aliens fit this one.

Blessie (the plant monster/specimen 34)- Percy, the Puny Poinsettia / Christmas Tree Farm

Yes, any song about plants or Christmas trees in general is appropriate, but this first song is fitting not only because I'm still grieving the death of our beloved Blessie, but also because before I knew his name was Blessie, I named him "Percy the Plant" or "Percival B. Eternal".

For the second one, the singer sings about wanting to go back to a Christmas tree farm, so when I listen to it, I imagine Blessie up in space, dreaming of the day he finally reaches earth so he can be among the other plants, Christmas trees included.

Rachel Young- Elf's Lament / You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

I don't know as much about Rachel at this point, but a song about working in unfair conditions and regretting signing up for the job you chose seems like it might fit. Whether she'd be singing it about herself or those working under her, that's up to you.

The Grinch song could be sung about many characters on the list by so many characters on this list, but I can imagine Rachel thinking of Cutter every time she hears this song even though she does work for him, and I think the song describes her as well.

BONUS TRACK 1: This one is for Eiffel's daughter, Minkowski's husband, and everyone else left back on earth missing their (presumed dead) family: Blue Christmas

Sadly, I think this one speaks for itself...

BONUS TRACK 2: This is a little tune that Doug Eiffel and I would sing to Cutter, Pryce, Kepler, Jacobi, Maxwell, Hilbert, and Rachel: Put One Foot In Front of the Other

The song is from the movie "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". It's a song where a young Santa and his animal friends encourages the evil Winter Warlock to change his ways and become a better person. Perhaps this song too could inspire many of our morally bankrupt Wolf359 friends to either grab their redemption arc, or as the song says: "walk out the door" (straight out the airlock). And it's a children's song, which I think is necessary, since so many of them seem to have trouble grasping the basics of human decency. Hopefully this will make it easier for them to understand.

[dearweirdme]

Hi Rain, I've seen some discussions about RM being bisexual because of this recent album. Specifically, in his song "Nuts," he says, "She's a pro rider" and then goes on to say, "He's a pro rider," which, you know, is basically talking about sex. So, I can honestly see where people are coming from. Especially since last year we saw him with that one guy a lot, and then mysteriously one day he decides to delete everything related to him on Instagram. But I digress.

So, my question to you is, why do you think Tae and JK aren't more vocal about their sexuality? The main consensus I've seen online for a while is that tkk (or any ship, really) can't come out or be more vocal because it could cause issues with the group or that Korea is still very homophobic. But then you have RM and Yoongi, who have been pretty vocal about liking both men and women... So, I just don't really understand it.

Hi anon!

I haven’t had the chance to do a deep dive into Namjoon’s lyrics yet.. so I can’t say much about my thoughts on those yet (doing some renovations on my house.. which are going very much Namjoon style 😂… and is quite time consuming..). From what I’ve gathered from the Minimoni interview is that Namjoon went through a lot. I think going through a breakup might have been part of that, but I also think it was probably much more than that. He mostly talks about struggling with being himself because of having been RM from BTS for so long. I think Namjoon’s struggle to get to himself and everything that entailed coming to that point is what the album is about. Maybe his sexuality is a part of that? But I don’t think that is the part that he felt the need to share the most.

So why aren’t Jk and Tae more vocal? I actually think Tae is sharing a lot. Maybe not through his lyrics, but to me the clear portrayal of queer couples in Fri(end)s was pretty huge, as was him wearing that pride Disney hoody. And there’s way more things that Tae has done that would/could indicate his feelings towards queerness all throughout the years. I think we should probably separate the idea that Tae and Jk coming out as a couple and them showing their individual sexualities are the same thing. I find the possibility of them (mostly Tae though) coming out as queer after enlistment much more likely than them announcing their relationship (and even then I don’t think it would be a hard coming out, but rather more freedom to incorporate queerness in their work (mv’s, songs). To me it’s more like a loosening of the restraints than total freedom I suppose.

In general though, I think what matters most is whether someone actually wants to share those parts of their lives. I don’t think either Namjoon or Yoongi have been clear about their sexuality in a way that makes it clear to a broader audience that they are queer. For instance, no media outlet has picked up on it (for as far as I know). I don’t think they have that freedom, but I also think they might be hesitant to make statements that huge at this moment in time themselves. The way Namjoon spoke in the Minimoni episode to me made clear that there’s so much he had to keep inside (not specifically about their sexualities, but possibly including that) it felt like a burden. Namjoon seems to have the strong urge to share some parts of himself that he could not share before as RM from BTS. He was representing the group as a whole and their songs and interviews also had to represent the group as a whole. I think there was little room for individuality. Now for some this was a struggle (Namjoon, Tae (I think), Yoongi (perhaps)) but I think others felt differently. I think Jk doesn’t feel the need to share his personal struggles and battles the way some of the other members did (at least not at this point in time.. can’t say how he would feel in the future). The way Jk spoke about Golden to me felt like he was keen to try out new things, to see what he could do and what he could accomplish, but I did not feel like Golden was his way of expressing his feelings and emotions and his own life story… neither did I feel that was something he was interested in doing but didn’t have the chance to. I think Jk very much wants to keep his personal life personal.

In general.. I don’t think we can assume that every queer artist also wants to share that part of themselves with the whole world. Sk being homophobic is a part of that ofcourse, but speaking about sexuality can also just be something a person themselves just doesn’t want to make public for all sorts of reasons.

[earlgreytea68]

I’m new to the peterick scene— what would you say are the top five things that happened or the key things to know about them? My current basis of knowledge is a mess of song lyrics, somewhat accurate facts, and old pictures. help!

omggggg hahaha this is such a difficult question because these two are so ridiculous, it's like...EVERYTHING. lol

I'll try to give five, this is totally subjective, off the top of my head, what jumps out at me randomly, Idk.

I will preface all of this by saying -- because I think I contribute to this societal pressure with my fic and so I try to make this statement whenever I can -- I think our society places an unnecessary amount of important on sex and romance as being the end-all-be-all of human relationships, whereas I think all of your relationships can and should be important to you, not just the ones with sex in them. These two are soulmates in a use of the word that has zero to do with anything other than my knowing that their souls met each other and recognized each other and clung fiercely to each other ever since, in a million different ways, and that might not be romantic but it is romantic. Y'know?

(1) Patrick Stump, whose voice is so incredible that it's ridiculous, still doesn't think he's a singer. He's a singer because Pete saw a singer in him, because Pete can't sing like that and so needs to sing through Patrick. But Patrick thinks Pete is really the band's singer. He said all this in a New York Times interview once. It's all a lot. But, anyway, Patrick sings because of Pete. He's also said Pete gives him purpose as an artist. He composes without Pete's words, but when Pete gives him words, it's like Christmas morning. For his part, Pete has said that he doesn't really like to work with anyone but Patrick, that Patrick understands him on a level similar to cryptophasia, and so Patrick will translate Pete-speak for other people, and without Patrick around, the whole process is a lot harder for Pete. So there's just...that, about the two of them.

(2) Pete used to wish Patrick dramatic happy birthdays on Twitter

He doesn't do this anymore (he doesn't do Twitter anymore) but still.

(3) They have a panoply of intricate rituals they perform on stage: play at each other at certain points of time, mouth certain phrases to each other, stand near each other during certain lyrics. Patrick has rituals with Joe as well, but Pete seems to have a lot of habits involving Patrick and wanders close to him at the same times in their songs. The last song they play every night is their Song About Them, the first song they really successfully wrote together, and that has the most intricate rituals, and they play it last every show even though many people watching have no idea what it is, because it is Their Song.

(4) Oh, yeah, they have a song hahahaha. (It's called Saturday. The lyrics are literally about them.)

(5) Pete had a rough time with the fame of his 20s. He was convinced he was going to die young (specifically: at the age of 27, when so many musicians have died). On Pete's 28th birthday, their manager called Patrick to congratulate him on making it. That's how much Patrick was supporting Pete. It's mutual, because when Patrick had a rough time years later and issued a cry for help, Pete showed up. Lots of their fans say Fall Out Boy saved their lives; Pete says it saved his life, too.

Also, I wrote up the longest thing about them hahaha it's here.

Also (6) the way they look at each other.

[marinaandthenimons]

Marina's Top 8 Albums of 2024

I listened to a ton of new music this year and I want to talk about it! So I wrote up a self-indulgent, comically long-winded list of my top 8 (+1) new albums I listened to this year. Check it out!

8. One Hand Clapping - Paul McCartney and Wings

The specific position of One Hand Clapping on this list has more to do with the fact that I'm not sure it really "counts" or not. One Hand Clapping was technically released for the first time this year but it was actually recorded in 1974, around the height of Paul McCartney's career as a solo artist (imo) and the peak of Wings' popularity. I've been on the verge of a Paul McCartney phase for a while now and this album was the perfect entry point to his discography. These are live in-studio recordings of classic McCartney, Wings, and even a few Beatles tracks but not like you've heard them before. The recordings are fresh and vital, dynamic and brimming with personality. You feel like the musicians are right there in the room with you, which depending on the track feels like Paul sitting next to you strumming a guitar or like a full orchestra playing right in your ear. I can't recommend it enough, even if you've never listened to McCartney's solo work. The energy is infectious!

7. The Long Way - Nicolette and the Nobodies

It might be recency bias that put this pick on the list, I did only start listening to it this week (after seeing it on music publication Exclaim's top 50 albums list). But I usually know if I'm going to like a new album in the first listen and I was locked into this one from the first few seconds. I don't listen to a whole ton of country but when I do, my favorite style is what I would (possibly erroneously) call "honky-tonk". This year The Long Way is the album that scratched that itch. From the first slamming piano chords on opener "Better Days" to the swinging chorus on "Rodeo" to the comfortably meandering title track "The Long Way" this album grabbed my attention, held it the entire (long) way and left me wishing I knew how to line dance. Of the artists on this list, Nicolette and the Nobodies seem to have been least successful in finding their audience so far (only 800 monthly listeners on spotify at time of writing?? a crime) but I really hope they stick with it. They've got something special here and I'd love to hear more from them.

6. Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here - Friko

My favorite album of 2023 was 3D Country by Geese, partly because it sounded like the future of rock music- at once familiar and new, packed with creative hooks and instantly addictive. Where We've Been, Where We Go from Here by Friko isn't quite there yet but it's definitely thinking some of the same thoughts. These kids are just starting out but they've already got a great sense for a memorable musical line. I love the way lyrics from the opening track fade back in at the end of the penultimate track, tying the album into a cohesive whole. I admire the singer's faith in his ability to hold the audience's attention with the stripped-back acoustic "For Ella". And the chorus on "Get Numb to it" just rips. Of all the indie rock I listened to this year, this is the album that stuck. I look forward to hearing where they go from here.

5. The Moon is in the Wrong Place - Shannon and the Clams

The Moon is in the Wrong Place is about grief. Very specifically, it's about grieving the lead singer's fiancé, who died very suddenly shortly before their wedding. This is not a secret, it's actually printed on a hype sticker affixed to the physical releases of the album (a little weird but okay), but the first time I listened to the album I did not know about this background. Without the context I thought the album was okay but a little disjointed and confusing. With the context, however, it transforms into a tragic spiral of foreboding to regret to cerebration to despair to remembrance. The track list jumps between songs set before and after the loss, mirroring the non-linear process of grief itself, gradually all melting together until we land at acceptance. And through it all Shannon still manages to deliver captivating songs in her signature fuzzy psychedelic garage rock style. It's beautiful, enchanting, cathartic, and definitely worth a listen.

4. Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay

When Brat came out this year I thought it was super overrated and my opinion hasn't really improved since then. I chalked it up to me not really being into pop as genre. So my first impression of listening to Imaginal Disk was that it was just another pop album I wasn't going to get. But then near the end of the track list I started getting sucked into the rich, layered production and decided it was probably worth another listen. And then another listen. And then another. And somewhere along the way it became one of my top albums of the year. It's a hazy, cosmic, extraterrestrial party packed with synths and some of the best dance beats of the year. Is it even possible to stay still on the drop on "That's My Floor" or the bang-bangs in "The Ballad of Matt and Mica"? It's a musically complex album that rewards multiple listens while also just being a whole lot of fun.

3. Where's My Utopia? - Yard Act

I think "Dream Job" might just be a perfect song. Sure, music is subjective, but there are some songs almost everyone agrees are all-timers. Mr. Brightside, Sweet Caroline, and now... Dream Job (why yes, I am white. How could you tell?). It's funky, it's smart, it's an undeniably crowd-pleaser. I don't think there's anyone I wouldn't recommend it to. I'm not sure I'd say that for the rest of Yard Act's Where's My Utopia, but the sheer number of times I listed to this album alone earns it a place on this list. Yard Act's mixed media approach to music, reminiscent of The Gorillaz, delivered with a smarmy attitude which evokes post-punk contemporaries like Viagra Boys, works better on some tracks than others. I love the way they pile hooks on top of hooks in songs like "The Undertow" but find it a bit overwhelming on tracks like "Grifter's Grief". I also really love album closer "Vineyard for the North", which proves that Yard Act stripped of all their tricks and bits can still write a great song. Of all my picks on this list, I think this album is the least consistent but god damn those highs are so so high.

2. It's Sorted - Cheekface

Comparisons to other heady nerd rock bands like They Might Be Giants and Cake are inevitable... and warranted. I saw someone describe Cheekface as a band made entirely of twitter drafts (but like, back when twitter was fun not twitter now) and that is also pretty accurate. But what you might miss from these comparisons alone is that grooves on It's Sorted also totally rip ass! Yes, "Grad School" and "Life in a Bag" feel like they're staring directly into my soul but they're also fantastic jams you can't help but sing and dance along to. I wore out every track on this album, and also the album that preceded it. Cheekface has a new fan.

1. All Hell - Los Campesinos!

Okay, okay. If you know anything about my music preferences, this pick might seem like kind of a cop-out. Obviously a new album (the first in 7 years!) from my favorite active band was going to place highly on this list, but I swear I was fully prepared to give this record a middle spot if I wasn't totally in love with it. Unfortunately, it really is just that good! Los Camp! are still very much themselves on All Hell. Every song is packed with their nervous energy and lead singer Gareth's wordy lyrics continue to lament adventures in love, politics, football, and vomiting. There's a lot for long-time fans to appreciate, but I also thing this might be one of their most accessible albums to date. You don't have to be a groupie to vibe to the opening guitar rift on "Holy Smoke (2005)" or the sugar-sweet lyrics to the chorus of "Moonstruck" (I have not been able to look at a full moon since this album came out without thinking "I am moooooonstruck/ it's a welcome fate"). And one reason I love about Los Camp! is that they are so good at evolving their sound in a way that feels organic. Each subsequent new album has introduced interesting new musical ideas while still making something that fells like it slots into the rest of their discography. All Hell continues this trend, and never more so than on "Long Throes", a sweeping orchestral scream of frustration at the state of modern (British) society and my #1 song of the year. The way the song loops and dips is utterly unique in Los Camp! discography and instantly demands you sing along. All Hell is everything I wanted from a new Los Camp! album and more. You can catch me at every single LA gig they are willing to play from now until one of us dies. LC!4LYF!!!

Btw, best lyrics of the year for me are from "Holy Smoke (2005)" - "Don't get me wrong I love my friends' kids, sure they'll grow to be good leftists Bet they'll make their parents proud and make the best of what they're left with But they don't buy the beers I drink, and they don't drink the beers I buy No children and no profession, walking dead at 37"

+1 Secret to Life - Fizz

One more! I wanted to give a shout out to my favorite album of this year that didn't come out this year. Secret to Life by Fizz came out in 2023 but somehow I completely overlooked it. I'm so glad I got ot rectify that mistake in 2024! If I were to make a band with my friends, Secret to Life is the kind of music I see us making. It's a little all over the place: sometimes a little goofy, sometimes heartrendingly earnest, sometimes just the right amount of sleazy, but always a lot of fun. This is a band made up of people who clearly just love creating music together... and also are obviously in their mid twenties. They're just like me fr. Fizz has already broken up to return to solo projects but I hope they find their way back together again someday.

Aaaand some honorable mentions:

Prelude to Ecstasy - The Last Dinner Party: Another great debut! Lots of dark academia riot grrl goodness. Looking forward to hearing more from them.

I Saw the TV Glow Soundtrack: Would have made the list if Imaginal Disk didn't also do everything I loved about this album while also having some of the best dance tracks of the year.

As it Ever Was, So it Will Be Again - The Decemberists: An epic, sprawling masterpiece that somehow manages to weave together folk, prog, samba, and indie rock into a fairly cohesive album. I liked it when it came out, but after the election it was pretty much the only thing I wanted to listen to for like a week. If you liked The Crane Wife but haven't checked out much else from The Decemberists, this one will probably work for you too.

Mountainhead - Everything Everything: I reaaaally wanted to love this one, but after about half a dozen plays, I had to admit it just wasn't that interesting to me. The singles and opening track are still bangers though.

GLOOM DIVISION - I Don't Know How But They Found Me: IDKHow is one of my favorite bands of the last few years so I thought this would be an automatic add to the list. I honestly can't tell you why it isn't. The songs are pretty good, I loved seeing them in concert, and yet I just don't really seem to come back to it. Still, if you like early P!atd and you haven't checked out IDKHow yet, you should! It's good.

Big Ideas - Remi Wolf: Didn't love enough of this record for it to make the main list, but it's still the best funk album I listened to this year. "Toro" is an all-timer.

The Past is Still Alive - Hurray for the Riff Raff: Folksy indie americana rock seems to be catnip for music critics. Most music publications' year end lists were packed with Waxahatchee and Adrianne Lenker and Kacey Musgraves and I found them all extremely boring. I think I need to admit this type of music is just not something I enjoy. This one did kind of work for me, though. Hurray for the Riff Raff actually infuses some energy into their songs and in a genre so focused on the micro I find their willingness to zoom out and talk about things outside of their immediate emotional state refreshing. Cool name, too.

And if you somehow made it to the end of this ridiculously long post (I love you) and want to check out any of the albums I mentioned, I put together a spotify playlist of my fave songs from each record, plus a few extra great tracks from this year. Check it out!

Let me know if you loved any of these albums or have any favorites from this year you'd like to share! I love discovering new music, and I guess technically there's still time for this list to change :D

Thanks for reading!

[helldustedstories]

No Longer You - Mal's rewrite + story

In the L.esser K.ey of S.olomon, Vassago can be summoned to tell of past and future events, so he's our prophet in this scenario. To help differentiate between the lyrics and the explanation, I've bolded the lyrics themselves, with explanations offered in plain text. I've also included a link out to the original, so the music can be heard too.

[VASSAGO] I am the prophet with the answers you seek Time, I've unlocked it I see past and future running free There is a world where I help you [stay home] [Vassago sees that Stolas is going to lose the palace / is in the process of losing the palace, and he sees that he can't help stop that in this world.] But that's not a world I know [STOLAS] What? [VASSAGO] I see a song of [past romance I see his sacrifice for them] [Blitz plays a big role in all of this; he's the only 'past romance' Stolas has, and even if they're together by this point, he still counts. He would sacrifice just about anything for the people he cares about, and he's going to sacrifice something for Stolas and Octavia.] I see [portrayals of betrayal] [Unfortunately, the one to betray Stolas will be Octavia. Because of the whole 'you never loved mother, you don't love me" bit, as it sounds like there may be some gaslighting going on, which causes a rift between father and daughter.] And a [lover’s final stand] [The lover's final stand is Blitz again. It doesn't necessarily mean death, but the final stand in front of the palace, before things change. (Basically, the moment from the trailer with Blitz protecting Stolas with the sword, one of the moments that spawned this whole thing.)] I see you [on the brink of death I see you draw your final breath] [Stolas being 'on the brink of death' or seeing him 'draw your final breath' isn't necessarily a literal death. This would be more "I see the you that you currently are is going to die and you're going to have to rebuild yourself." Whether that's because he's stripped of his powers, title, one or both or more remains to be seen. But it's basically like seeing the Death card in Tarot: it doesn't necessarily mean an actual death; just something ending and something new beginning.] [I see a man who gets to make it out alive But it's no longer you] [Out of the Goetia family, out of this specific instance; could be either or both. But the 'no longer you' means “no longer the you that you currently are.”]

[STOLAS] This can't be We've suffered and dealt with the toughest of [hells] [He and Blitz have been through so much to work their way back to one another, and the whole prophecy sounds very bleak, like they have no way of making it out of this alive and together, which is understandably upsetting.] Now you tell us our effort's for nothing?

[VASSAGO] I see your palace covered in ice Faces of those who have [long desired your death] [Stella, Andre, potentially more. But definitely at least the two of them. Maybe even Striker because come on, we gotta get him back in here.] I see your [wife and a man who is haunting you A man with a trail of bodies] [Stella is the wife, obviously, though the man is Andre; he’s been haunting Stolas for some time now, through Stella, and then also himself, and he’s got a trail of bodies, either metaphorical or physical, ‘cause he’s been shown to be a conniving DICK. It could also be Paimon, with his own 'trail of bodies' being the many children he has and potentially neglects, the way he did with Stolas]

[STOLAS] Who?

[VASSAGO] I see a song of past romance I see his sacrifice for them I see portrayals of betrayal And a lover’s final stand I see you on the brink of death I see you draw your final breath I see a man who gets to make it out alive But it's no longer You

[thesweetnessofspring]

Why don't you like swift? Is it her specifically?

I love how making tags in one random post has gotten me this ask, because like, in general my stance is to ignore her and not talk about it, use my tumblr filters and whatnot to ignore her existence the best I can. But I'm getting asked so here's my answer. I'm going fully honest with this because someone asked me to, so if this pop star is your idol, ignore this and dni. It's just my opinion and arguing with me will only entrench my hatred deeper, as evidenced by my past experience with her fans. Also this is hella long, so fair warning.

There are a lot of reasons why I hate that singer. Some range from my own adolescent dramatics to bad interactions with her fans to just really not being into celebrity culture and therefore her whole persona/existence. I also want to say that everything I know about Swift I've learned against my will, so some of this information may be incomplete, but I don't feel the need to look up details about her. If I could, I would never have to hear about her or her music ever again.

I don't like her music. I actually really despise it and have since she got popular when I was in high school. Now I've come to realize if I hate a piece of media, it usually either did an injustice to something I love (like the Ella Enchanted movie) or it's something I didn't like but it became inescapable. Swift mostly falls into the latter. I know people have been trying to take back "cringe" but I can't help it. When I have to hear Swift's music, I CRINGE and I have since high school. Love Story was the stupidest """story""" to me with huge plotholes. You Belong With Me was incredibly entitled and I still side with cheerleader girl in that one, like that is HER boyfriend who HE chose to date. In general, all of her music (that I heard) in those early years were girl-crying-over-useless-boy and that annoyed me to the high heavens. And I think my dislike turned to hatred when I was told that since I was a girl, I HAD to like her, that she was SOOOOO relatable to teenage girls when my life experience was nothing like hers. And her music being all over the radio, school, my social settings, etc. did not help.

And the thing is, I've heard songs/seen lyrics of hers that I didn't know were hers and I still hated them/thought they were cringe. Like I remember when "We Are Never Getting Back Together" came out. I heard it on the radio and thought "who is this new wanna-be Avril Lavigne?? She sucks!" And then the DJ said it was Swift's new song. 💀 A few months ago I was driving my parents to the airport with their car and a song comes on their radio I hadn't heard before, and I immediately think "ugh this song sucks" and then by the chorus I realized it was a Swift song. Even with her new album, when I saw the first meme for that "you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me" I thought it was an old meme I'd missed and had originated from like, some cringey 12-year-old on Vine or something. Only to find out a grown-ass woman in her 30s who's likely never stepped foot in a psychiatric unit wrote it, which explained how utterly stupid that line is. All of that to say, even when blind, I hate her music. The one (1) exception to that is Blank Space. That one for some reason, I do find catchy. My obsessed cousin got me to listen to Folklore and I didn't HATE that, but I thought it was hella boring. She's either cringe or boring and mediocre and I think at this point, you have to be a fan of her persona to like her music because that's really all I hear her fans talk about. Not the songs themselves, but how they're about her/her life. Or their blorbos.

I think Swift is a spoiled, entitled, privileged white girl who likes to bask in any slight done to her and blow it up like it's the worst injustice done to any human being. She lacks a true core other than being obsessed with herself, her image, and her fame, and chases trending aesthetics instead of finding something real and authentic to her. Authenticity is really important to me. I really can enjoy things other people think of a "cringey" if it's authentic to the creator, but the only thing authentic to Swift is her martyr complex. She borrows aethetics and throws them off easily, never truly mastering any of the genres she stumbles into as a costume instead of an authentic artistic expression. Everything she does is half-baked.

And that's not to say that the press and people online haven't been nasty. That stuff with the deepfake AI rape-porn was horrendous and she doesn't deserve that. Nor did her body being scrutinized as a teenager (or ever). But she got offended by a TV show joking about her having had a lot of boyfriends (which is true!) and as a result, a black actress who was delivering the lines someone else wrote got harassed online. Like what an absolute LOSER. She's a billionaire and the most popular pop star currently alive, and some rando Netflix show has her panties in a twist to the point where she sics her stans to bully an actress??

I'll give Swift this: she is very good at parasocial relationships (to an exploitive degree, imo) and PR. She's turned feminism into her own "you're misogynist if you attack ME!!!!! Like who cares about poor women or women in countries that mine has colonized or abused women or exploited women, anyone who attacks MEEEEE is the worst misogynist around!!!!!" Ugh. And I'm not going to lie, when 1989 came out and I was getting more into feminism I fell for this narrative of hers until her "Bad Blood" music video came out and it struck me how she was a bully. From what I heard, the beef was that Katy Perry "stole" her dancers and TS responded by making a whole music video with some of the biggest female celebrities to show off how everyone was in her corner. Then I thought...oh...she literally doesn't care about feminism (blatantly attacking another woman for something really minor) she only cares about herself!! And I got on the hate-train again. I still think she uses her power to bully other people/keep them in line about her and I swear if I were a man in Hollywood/entertainment, I would never date that woman.

She's certainly not the worst celebrity around. And also, I think to some extent, celebrities who have achieved even half the fame Swift has is likely somewhat conceited and self-centered. Anyone I'm a fan of, I'm a fan of their work first, and if they seem nice then that's a plus, but I also don't bank of them to be perfect, as long as they don't cross over into abusing others. And I don't think (from what I've been forced to know) that Swift is an abuser. Swift reminds me more of that friend-of-a-friend that makes every gathering about her and is fake-nice to you to gather information about you so she can hold it over you socially. If that makes sense.

And also some of her fans have always just been really pushy and annoying. I'm not going to act like I never threw a little temper tantrum in high school when Love Story came on or anything, but I've had my fair share of her fans as roommates and friends and I've really tried to be polite with them a least since college when I'd gotten a little more mature. Two stories really did me in, though: once in college I went on a roadtrip with a friend. We were going to be going through an area with bad radio signals and when that happened we got out the CDs. She suggested the Red album. I politely said I didn't care for Swift, and pointed out another one of her CDs of band I did like. She told me I didn't like Swift because I only heard her stuff on the radio, reached over while she was driving and pulled out the CD and put it in. I didn't want to start some sort of fight trying to get the CD out while she was driving and had to listen to that CD. This friend was trying really hard to get me to like her, but I was just so pissed she hadn't listened to me and I was trapped in there. Halfway through I asked to change it, thinking okay, it's been like 20 minutes, but no, she insisted I'd like the songs in the last half (I didn't, obviously). I also in college had my "golden" birthday and decided to throw a huge party. My roommates and one of our joint friends at the time were big into Swift. They were helping me put it together and I asked that the music they play not be a) violent toward women or b) any of Swift's music. They got the first part but then put all of the "danceable" songs of her newest album at the time on my birthday playlist. Like, not one song. At least five songs. Because they wanted it. All of the other parties and gatherings I clenched my teeth and told myself to get through it, but seriously, my own birthday party they ignored my very simple request because "it's not a party without Taylor!" I literally left my own party until the songs switched. And when I asked them to take any other of her songs off, they didn't. So. Yeah. Even though that was over a decade ago now, it doesn't help my Pavlovian response to her songs or her voice.

I just really don't think she's talented at singing, dancing, acting, or songwriting and seeing all of her everywhere is just SO MUCH.

[starvingnarcissistmusic]

totally completely unrelated to my last message on Orchestra but any chance you could do a analysis/breakdown of We Sapient Stardust?

Alright so for the sake of not regurgitating things I've already said, I'm not going to go in depth about any of the songs in particular. I've already written loads about them on Genius so if anyone wants to know What's Up With [insert song here] they can go there. Instead, I'm gonna talk about what went into making the album as a whole.

We Sapient Stardust's """production""" began pretty much as soon as And That Means Everything finished. In fact, I'm pretty sure I had written most of Sleepless Friends before And That Means Everything even came out. After spending a whole year making an album about the past, I was really itching to write about how I felt in the present. And I felt.... bad. A friend has told me that We Sapient Stardust feels like "dealing with the condition of Being 17" and like. That's honestly exactly what it was. I was 17, limping over the high school finish line, feeling tired and sad and anxious about the future pretty much every day. The opening line of There Are Some Things I'd Rather Not Say was pretty much a summation of how I felt then. One year left till I fell apart.

Attached: Old cover idea/placeholder I had for Limbic System's Rag Doll. Was originally playing with the idea of it being part of the Burnout Series (Dysania, Anemia) but ultimately decided it didn't really fit in with those songs.

Initially, the album was a lot less existential. It was more just songs about how badly I felt, with most of them trailing off into angsty self-loathing. I had kind of made up my mind from the start that this was going to be the sad album, but at the beginning a lot of that sadness and misery was specifically centered on me. I felt really bad so I wrote a lot of songs about feeling really bad. At some point I leaned more into the existential themes, because honestly you can only spend so much of your free time writing songs about how much you don't like yourself before it feels just a little bit counter-intuitive to your mental health. Writing songs like that doesn't really feel like catharsis to me, it just feels like kicking myself while I'm down, and I didn't want my second album to feel like a thirty minute self hate session. Some artists can pull that off really well, I definitely can't.

Attached: The first demo of Sleepless Friends (at the time called Anarchist Cookbook), featuring slightly different lyrics and my (sickness afflicted) out of tune singing.

The cover started as just a test to try and make something in a collage style, I was really inspired by The Altogether's Silo EP cover art and wanted to make something in that vein. The oldest version of it on my PC I could find is from February 2nd 2024. It went through a few changes, at one point I had drawn a little figure in the sky in place of the plane, and at another point it had the album title and drawn-on stars like ATME, but eventually I just settled on using the collage as it was. It felt strong enough with to stand on its own. It was a little weird having something and knowing it would be the album cover, since for pretty much all of ATME's production I had convinced myself the cover was a placeholder.

Attached: collage album cover attempt.png, the first ever version. Kind of mostly the same, although the saturation was way down and it didn't have the outlines drawn in. These are how the photos looked when I took them, but then I realized the saturation made it look 1000% better.

The name was also a bit subject to change, as there was a lot of places I wanted to go with the album. I think at one point it was called "Songs For Scum". A few others include "Wish It Would Settle In", "Something About Drowning" (if I used this one the acronym wouldve been SAD which I think is funny), and "The Boy Who Cried Lonely". A lot of these names were made around the same time I was writing all of those self-loathing downer songs, so they were all vaguely angsty. Once I landed on We Sapient Stardust though, it was pretty much set in stone. Although, at one point there was going to be a companion EP called "Searching For Solace", filled with outtakes. I scrapped it mostly because I just didn't have enough scrapped material that I liked enough to release.

Attached: The moodboard I made for the album a month before it came out. The cat is the same one from the Blacktop Angels cover, because at the time Kafkaesque was Blacktop Angels Pt II. I didn't end up going with that though, so if I could remake it now I'd probably replace it with a dog instead. Fun fact: The cat was a stray at my high school, and my friend named it Chickpea.

Honestly between the two of them, We Sapient Stardust was a way harder album to make then And That Means Everything was, on pretty much all fronts. It's definitely my favorite between the two of them, but in my head, they're sister albums that are meant to go together. I'm incredibly proud of We Sapient Stardust, and I think I'll stay proud of it for a long time. I hope anyone who listened to it connected with it. That's really all I could hope for.

(And, as a final note, thanks to everyone who provided their voices for the group chant! That moment is probably my favorite thing I've ever made, and I couldn't have done it without them. All of their names are listed in the description of the YouTube video and in the Bandcamp page. Some of them even have their own music, so check them out!)

Anyways, hope that sufficed as enough rambling for a satisfying answer, haha