#i've known this musicals for a good few years already and liked the songs a lot but never really had a phase for it

[fircyrk-na-kolkach]

guy who's seen 5 musicals: omg guys Wicked is so good

guy who's seen 55 musicals: the only people who've heard about my favorite musical are me and maybe actors who have played in it, and it hasn't been played anywhere for 40 years anyway

guy who's seen 150 musicals: omg guys Wicked is so good

[autisticlenaluthor]

Hi, my name is Rory, I’m going to the Eras Tour in Amsterdam on July 5th and if you guys could somehow help me get this to @taylorswift / @taylornation - it would mean so much to me

Three years ago, I went from being perfectly healthy, to watching my body and my health rapidly deteriorate. My entire world got turned upside down— I lost the ability to eat, drink, and even stand for more than a few minutes.

I don't remember much from when I first got sick. But I know I listened to Mr Perfectly Fine on a loop almost every day because it was the only song that could capture how I felt. I've known and loved Taylor's music since I was six-years-old and first heard the album Fearless. i remember the first song I ever heard (love story) like it was yesterday; but somewhere during that time, her music became like therapy for me.

Since 2021, I've been diagnosed with three incurable diseases. two of these are rare, and one is predicted to only get worse with time. I've spent countless days inpatient on the peds floor receiving treatment, tests, and surgeries. And through all of it-- I've leaned heavily on Taylor's music.

My mom bought our Era's tour tickets last summer during the Europe pre-sale. I was in the hospital at the time and immediately told all of my nurses, doctors, dietitians and basically anyone who came into my room, that a year from then, i'd be seeing taylor swift. Whenever I could get out of bed, I was in the playroom with my child life specialists, making friendship bracelets to give out to other Swifties at the show. The thought of going to the Eras Tour singlehandedly kept me going through the hardest time of my life. And it's kept me going ever since.

Months later, I was hospitalized again, right before the release of 1989 TV. I'd been admitted the day after seeing The Eras Tour Movie in theaters (I was in theater 13, row 13!!) and I remember being so relieved that I hadn't had to miss it.

I had become known by most of the nurses as "the Taylor Swift girl” and the night before another procedure, I stayed up until midnight with everyone else so I could listen to 1989 TV. Hearing those songs-- I felt the happiest I'd been in so long. I felt normal again. I was sick and I was alone but I was connected to every other person who'd stayed up with me and that feeling was indescribable.

Taylor gave that to me, and so much more.

Over the course of my journey, I've listened to Sparks Fly to keep me calm while my doctors inserted feeding tubes down my nose. Whenever I have to be put under anesthesia, I have a nurse put her music on shuffle so I can listen to it as I fall asleep. When I had my big surgery in December, the last thing I remember was Bad Blood playing in the OR and saying "this is a funny song to have surgery to".

All of this is to say, Taylor has given me strength and hope during the worst part of my life, and she continues to do so. Her music is truly everything to me and getting to go the the Era's Tour is already a dream come true on it's own. And if it's possible - being able to receive the 22 hat and give Taylor a friendship bracelet would make all of that pain feel worth it. It would mean everything to me.

if you could reblog this and tag @taylorswift and @taylornation I'd appreciate that so much!! thank you to everyone whose read this far, and everyone whose shared this <3

EDIT: I’m going to be in section 119, row 20, seat 11

also if anyone is interested, I included some pics of the mentioned moments below the cut!

seeing the eras tour movie the day before having to be admitted, and then making friendship bracelets for tour in the hospital

the mirrorball is hung in my room for good luck

the bracelets i’d started making in the hospital, right after getting the tickets

and the day of the 1989 TV release - id stayed up until midnight to listen to the album, and then had my anesthesiologist play ‘Style’ for me to play while they put me out for my procedure

[sansaorgana]

📻 PLAYLIST — LEADER OF THE PACK

TRACK 1. — HE'S A GOOD GUY (YES, HE IS) BY THE MARVELETTES ⏮ ⏸ ⏭

PAIRING — Benny Cross x fem!Reader

SUMMARY — On the first day of high school you meet a new friend. Your parents say he's from the wrong side of the tracks but you can't be convinced as you develop a crush on him, not knowing yet that it is only the beginning of a much bigger adventure you are going to have with Benny Cross in the next few years.

AUTHOR’S NOTE — The gif is NOT a faceclaim – the Reader's looks are not described. I just wanted the vibe of a retro high school and it's not even the correct era lol I have no idea yet how many parts this story will be but I missed writing for Austin's characters and I wanted to finally write down the idea I've had for a while now. Also, this time I decided to lowkey use the playlist format since this sort of music is one of my favourite genres (old r&b, soul, doo wop etc.) 🥰 Of course you don't have to actually listen to those songs! 😅

WARNINGS — era accurate sexism and mindset of characters (I assumed it would be like late 1950s / early 1960s and they are from a small town), Reader and Benny are minors in this part (they are not even a couple, though)

WORD COUNT — 5,470

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

LEADER OF THE PACK (TRACK 1.)

“Have you made any new friends at school?” Your mother asked with a smile when you were chewing on a steak with mashed potatoes. You nearly sighed at her question, trying very hard not to roll your eyes. Why were parents always asking that?

Well, to be fair, you had never had many friends.

There was Rachel whom you had known ever since you two had been toddlers. Rachel was definitely your best friend. Back in the day there had also been Tammy. There had always been the three of you everywhere but for about a year now Tammy had been acting differently. Ever since she had started dating, that is. Her boyfriend Louis was in the football team and he wasn’t even saying hi to you or Rachel. 

“I don’t know if it counts as making a friend but…” you started, nervously fidgeting with the fork in your hand. The person you were about to mention was a boy and you were scared of everyone’s reactions.

Your mother would tease, probably. Father and older brother would begin their interrogation as if it was anything serious.

“Miss Cooper sat me with this one boy,” you finally revealed and you watched your father lowering the newspaper he had been hiding behind until now. He raised an eyebrow at you after exchanging a meaningful look with your older brother Luke.

“Why did she tell you to sit with a boy?” Your mother smiled.

“What boy?” Your father asked, harshly.

“I’m supposed to help him in class. He’s nice but not the brightest, if you get me,” you tried to explain. “He’s not stupid – just slow when it comes to studying,” you quickly added.

“So he’s stupid,” Luke rolled his eyes.

“No!” You defended your new friend immediately.

“Who is he?” Your father repeated the question, irritated already that you had ignored him the first time and that you were fighting with your brother. Women in that household were supposed to be quiet and obedient.

He hadn’t survived the war for his own daughter to act like a brat – that was what your father was often saying. He was using the war to guilt trip you, your mother and Luke whenever he thought it was needed. 

“His name is Benny,” you nodded at your father. “Benjamin Cross,” you added.

Your parents looked at each other with a quiet sigh.

“What is it?” You asked and looked at your brother questioningly but he seemed to be as oblivious as you were why your parents reacted that way.

“I’m sure he is a nice boy…” your mother started softly, “but he is not from a good family.”

“They’re from the wrong side of the tracks,” your father explained. “Doesn’t surprise me that the boy is slow. I’ve never seen his father sober. I think he’s lost every job he has ever had.”

“And his mother?” Luke asked, curious already. One thing about your brother was that he was extremely nosy and an awful gossip.

“What about his mother? I haven’t seen her in ages,” your father looked at your mother.

“I do believe that Mrs. Cross passed away some time ago,” your mother hummed to herself. “Yes! I remember now,” she nodded eagerly. “She died two years ago. Evie told me about it last winter when we were Christmas shopping.”

“What Evie?” Your father asked.

“You know Evie! The one living down the road. Jack’s wife, that accountant.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah, Jack’s wife,” your father picked up the newspaper again. “Either way, Benny Cross is not your new friend,” he decided as he gave you a stern look. You felt your cheeks heating up. “He’s just a boy that Miss Cooper sat you with to help him. That’s it,” he finished and hid himself behind the newspaper again.

“And if he ever bothers you, just tell me!” Luke pointed his finger at you and you nodded nervously, going back to your meal.

Even though your father had decided that Benny Cross was not your friend, it was difficult to remember about that. Perhaps his grades were not good and his clothes were poor but who ever cared about such things? What mattered was that he knew how to make you laugh even though most of the time he was a quiet guy.

In fact, he was making you laugh so much that Miss Cooper angrily separated you two after three weeks of sitting together. She gave you a scolding look and said those words that would make your blood run cold under any other circumstances:

“I am so disappointed in you, (Y/N).”

But now you didn’t really care. You were just angry that she separated you from Benny. You introduced him to Rachel during lunch break but Rachel was not convinced.

“I don’t mind him. And you know that I couldn’t care less about his family!” She gasped when you accused her of being prejudiced. “It’s just… I think he might have a bad influence on you. On the both of us. We shouldn’t hang out with him for too long. But it’s very noble that you want to help him with his grades,” she assured you quickly when she spotted annoyance on your face.

“Why noble?” You asked her. “I didn’t even think of that. I just want to help my friend,” you explained.

“Oh, admit it!” Rachel giggled. “You fancy him.”

“What?!” Your eyes widened and you stopped walking, adjusting the books in your hand. Rachel chuckled and stopped as well, turning around to face you.

“Oh, (Y/N), come on, I have eyes, too. He’s handsome with those baby blue eyes and golden hair. And I’m sure you haven’t missed those muscles under his shirt. If it’s true what they say about his family, I am convinced he is used to physical work,” she covered her mouth to hide another giggle escaping her lips.

Truth to be told, you had never seen Benny Cross as a potential romantic interest… until now. You swallowed thickly at Rachel’s words, realising they were all true �� he was a handsome boy with a devilish smile.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Rachel assured you. “But please, don’t become another Tammy and don’t leave me behind just because you have a crush!”

“I won’t!” You promised her with widened eyes and you grabbed her by her wrist to squeeze it. “I promise.”

Ever since that conversation with Rachel, you began to treat Benny a little differently. When he was making you laugh, you were trying to make your laughter sound more girly as you would throw your head back and fix your hair in a feminine manner. Instead of making silly faces at him, you started to cover your face with your hand to show him how flustered you were becoming. And for the very first time you didn’t spend your pocket money on a new record or a book – no, you spent it on a new pastel pink ribbon for your hair even though you knew that Benny would teasingly pull on it at school.

His hands were often dirty so whenever he pulled on it, he was leaving a small mark on the soft fabric of the ribbon. If it was any other boy, you would get frustrated and angry but you would never get angry at Benny – in fact, you were laying on the bed in the evenings, listening to your dreamy records and brushing the ribbon with your fingertips, tracing the marks left behind by Benny’s dirty fingers.

You never minded the dirty hands – they only meant he was working hard. He revealed to you that he had to do a lot of jobs after school to help his father to earn enough money to get through the month. In the end, instead of getting a thanks, he would often get a beating from his drunk old man. He was never talking kindly about him and you couldn’t blame Benny for that. There was a lot of hatred in your new friend whenever he mentioned his father and those were the moments when you were quite scared but also intrigued – when his pretty eyes filled with sparkles and hatred. He would quickly soften again, though.

It was obvious, though, that he had no time to study after school or do his homework. You were trying to help him but he was too ashamed to invite you over to his place and you were scared of taking you home because your father would not be happy about it. You never said anything about it but it was as if Benny knew anyway – he never proposed to go to your place after school. So, the only time you had to help him study was during the lunch break.

Rachel was sometimes sitting with you two but she was not happy about it. She had you all for herself after school, though, so she was trying to be understanding. When it came to Benny’s friends… Well, he didn’t have them.

Benny was too strong and too mean looking to be pushed around so the kids just left him alone and let him be. However, the boys from the football team – Tammy’s boyfriend included – were often making comments about Benny being stupid, poor or weird. You were always telling him not to listen and he was shrugging his arms, but it was hard to believe that he truly didn’t care about such things. They always had an impact on a person, especially so young.

The school in your small Illinois town was not big so your brother Luke was quickly told that you spend most of your lunch breaks sitting by the same table in the corner of the cafeteria with Benny Cross.

“I would like to ask (Y/N) about something,” he said during dinner on that day and everyone looked at you. You froze, already expecting the worst. You loved your brother because he was your family but you didn’t like him – too often he was trying to act like your father.

“What is it?” Your mother asked, worryingly.

“I was told that Miss Cooper separated (Y/N) and that Cross boy a few weeks ago because they were loud in class. Yet, I still see them spending lunch breaks together,” he revealed and your heart skipped a beat.

“You were loud in class?!” Your father snapped and you swallowed a lump in your throat as your hands began to shake.

“I… I am sorry…” You looked down.

“Don’t be angry at her! I am sure it was that boy’s fault!” Your mother defended you.

“Perhaps. Why does she still spend time with him then?” Your father observed you intensely.

“I… I want to help him,” you explained quietly. “I help him to study, that’s it. He is nice to me and it’s not like he’s stupid, he really is not!” You exclaimed after spotting Luke snorting at your words. “But he doesn’t have time to study after school.”

“Well, that is so noble of you, darling,” your mother caressed your arm but you flinched a little at the word that she used – noble. “We should be glad that our daughter is so helpful and compassionate,” she laid her eyes on your father.

“Being around that boy means trouble,” your father shook his head. “I cannot punish you for having a good heart,” he sighed. “Women tend to be too weak. That is why you have fathers and husbands to show you the right path.”

“And brothers,” Luke nodded but your father did not comment on that.

“I don’t want you to start getting worse grades because you put too much effort into helping somebody else,” your father pointed his finger at you.

“But daddy! I learn as well when I help Benny to study!” You protested.

“While you are repeating the basics with him, you could already study more advanced subjects yourself. Aren’t you always saying that you want to go to college one day?” He furrowed his brows and you shut your mouth. The college argument was always making you feel guilty, too. It was almost as bad as the war one. “I am not saving my hard-earned money for you to go to college only to find out you are wasting your time on a deadbeat Cross boy!”

“He is a lost cause, sweetheart, you must realise that,” your mother was much more gentle when she caressed your cheek but the meaning of her words was the same after all. “I know it’s sad but the truth is he is going to end up like his father and we cannot do anything to stop it. It’s a waste of time to try.”

“Enough,” your father raised his hand. “I don’t want to talk about that boy ever again.”

And just like that the rest of the meal went quietly with your mother occasionally trying to cheer your father up by bringing up some random facts from her boring day full of shopping, cooking and cleaning. 

After dinner, you stayed in the kitchen to help her clean the table and wash the dishes while your father and Luke were free to go and spend that time on whatever they wished.

You were drying the plates with a cloth, biting on your lower lip and waiting for the right time to start a private conversation with your mother.

“He’s nice to me, mommy,” you finally whispered.

“Hm?” She turned her head around to meet your gaze.

“Benny Cross. He is nice to me and he makes me laugh,” you tried to explain in the simplest way possible. “He is my friend now. I can’t just… I can’t just stop hanging around with him. He doesn’t have anyone.”

“He surely has some friends,” your mother furrowed her brows.

“Not at school, no. He mentioned some guys from his street but they don’t go to school anymore,” you explained.

“They’re older?”

“Not much. They just… They dropped out or got expelled,” you lowered your voice and your mother sighed, extending her hand to give you another plate to dry. “Mom! I know what it sounds like but I don’t think he’s a lost cause. I think a push into the right direction could save his life,” you were desperate to make her understand. “We cannot claim that we are good people when we turn our backs on those in need.”

You felt bad for referring to Benny as someone in need and you were sure that his pride would be bruised but you also were aware that it was the only argument that could convince your mother – she wanted to be a good person above anything else. She wanted to be known for her kindness and her nice family as if the whole meaning of her life revolved only around how others perceived her. She wanted to always be soft and feminine – just like your father wanted her to be. And she wanted the exact same from you but you had ambitions that both scared and impressed her. Like the fact you wanted to go to college or you had the courage to stand up for yourself and argue with your father sometimes.

“If it doesn’t interfere with your own studying then I don’t see a reason why you can’t help him,” she sighed as she nodded in a whisper. “However, I don’t think your father should know about it. I’ll try to talk to Luke and make him understand so he doesn’t snitch on you again,” she assured you and your eyes brightened.

“Thank you!” You squealed happily and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Mom?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Can I invite Benny here after school one day? Maybe on Friday? We don’t have many classes so we’d have a few hours before daddy comes back from work and Luke has his baseball practice at that time,” you tried to give her as many reasons as possible for her to agree.

“I don’t know, (Y/N)... I’m not sure if it’s a good idea,” your mother shook her head and went back to washing the dishes. You sighed and didn’t say anything else but you could see that she was intensely thinking about something. “On the other hand…” she started, “...your father is going out with his friends from work for dinner this Friday. He won’t be back until late in the evening.”

“So you agree?” Your eyes widened. “Oh, mom, you would meet him and I’m sure you’re going to see what I see… That he’s a nice boy!”

“Alright… But don’t make me regret that,” she gave you a scolding – but still soft – look.

Benny was trying to play it cool because he always tried to come off as unbothered by anything but you could see that he was nervous. He had one class less than you on that day but he promised to wait for you behind the school building and when you ran up to him with books in your hand, you spotted him throwing a cigarette on the ground before stepping on it with his shoe to put it out.

“Benny!” You gasped at the sight. You had no idea he was smoking. “My mom won’t like it when she smells the cigarette smoke on you!” You pointed out.

“She’ll think it’s my old man’s,” Benny only shrugged his arms and took the books from you to carry them for you. That sweet gesture made you forget in an instant about his awful habit you had just found out about.

You walked down the street to your house and you caught yourself struggling with a very odd mix of feelings – you felt proud walking down the street next to Benny Cross who was holding your books. His jeans were worn out, his blond hair ruffled and his steps heavy – no other boy around here looked or walked like him. And because of that… You felt a little ashamed, too. Just a little. And only because some of your neighbours were looking you up and down after you said good afternoon to them. You just hated the way they were staring.

Lost in such thoughts, you spotted that Benny was looking around uncomfortably. He was watching the houses and the perfectly trimmed lawns, the white picket fences and flowers planted in the gardens.

“Does it look different where you live?” You asked, naively. It was hard to imagine that not every neighbourhood where people lived didn’t look the same.

“You’ve never been there, have you?” Was all Benny asked as he cracked a sad smile with a hint of pity.

“N-no,” you admitted and shook your head, embarrassed of yourself.

“That’s alright, doll. I’m glad you haven’t and I hope you never will,” he nodded firmly.

“It’s here!” Thankfully, you had a reason to change the subject because Benny had nearly walked past your house. You grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him towards your front door.

You pushed them open and walked inside as he began to fix his hair with his free hand and his face turned a shade paler.

“Mom, we’re home!” You announced and took your shoes off. Benny mirrored you and took his off as well but he seemed to be pretty surprised that it was your custom.

Your mother entered the hallway from the kitchen, wiping her hands in the apron. Her smile was cautious and soft as if she was approaching a wild, stray kitten abandoned by the road.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. (Y/L/N),” Benny straightened his back at the sight of her.

“Good afternoon, Benny. (Y/N)’s been talking a lot about you,” she hesitated but eventually extended her hand towards him and you hissed at her because you didn’t want her to mention such things that you were talking about him and all that. It was embarrassing.

“Mom!” You whined as Benny looked around, trying to find a spot where to put the books he had been carrying for you all the way home. You took them from him with an encouraging smile and he nodded at you before shaking your mom’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Benny said.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Benny. (Y/N) mentioned to me you are going to study, yes? Go to her room now and I’ll call you for dinner when the time comes,” your mother announced and your heart skipped a beat. You had no idea Benny could actually stay for the meal.

“Um… Benny, go upstairs,” you handed him the books again. “My room is on the left,” you added. “Wait for me there,” you said and he nodded.

You followed your mother to the kitchen.

“What is it?” She asked you. “I thought you’d be happy that I invited him.”

“I am! But what about Luke?” You squinted your eyes. You knew that your brother would not approve of that.

“He informed me this morning that he is taking Patsy on a date after practice. He won’t be home until evening,” your mother informed you.

“Patsy?” You chuckled. She was two years older than you – just like your brother. And she was everybody’s dream, so you were told. Beautiful, from a good family, obedient, with good grades. A perfect woman and a wife material.

Something you were scared you would never be.

“Yes, Patsy. I am so happy for him,” your mother grinned widely and you smiled, too, although you didn’t care about your brother enough to be happy for him. In fact, you gritted your teeth that everything in his life seemed to go so perfectly as always. Your father’s golden boy.

Would your life be similar if you had been born a man, too?

Either way, you hugged your mom and ran upstairs to join Benny inside your room. He was standing in the middle of it and looking around in a way that made your cheeks heat up. It was a typical girly room like millions of others but now you somehow felt embarrassed about it.

“It’s a bit childish,” you admitted.

“No, it’s very pretty,” Benny shrugged his arms and blushed when his eyes met yours. “I think it suits you,” he admitted and remained standing there awkwardly.

“Thank you,” You sat on the chair by the desk where he had put your books already and you pointed at your bed to let him know that he could sit on the edge of it. He did that but very carefully as if he was scared of making your sheets dirty.

You gathered the books and moved up to sit next to him so there would be no more distance between you two. You started with doing your homeworks together and you quickly realised your father might have been right about something – Benny would be a distraction. You couldn’t stop staring at his face. At his plump lips that made you think of nothing but kissing, at his beautiful, long eyelashes that were dark even though his hair was golden. Speaking of his hair – it was so fluffy and had different shades  of blond depending on the layers. You were counting all the moles on his cheeks and getting lost in his ocean blue eyes. Whenever your hands brushed each other while trying to turn the page at the same time, you couldn’t help but notice his big hands with long, thin fingers. Those were very pretty hands even though they were rough from all the physical work he was usually doing after school.

He was helping people for money – mowing the lawns, fixing sinks, carrying heavy things, all kinds of stuff. But what he enjoyed the most was fixing cars and motorbikes. He had revealed that to you recently and you thought it was adorable that he had a passion and it could actually be turned into a solid job later in life.

The longer you were explaining things to him, the faster he was understanding them. You were pretty convinced by now that he was not stupid at all.

“Benny?” You batted your eyelashes and he turned his head around to look deep into your eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Can you promise me something?” You dared to ask.

“What is it, doll?” He smirked. He would often call you a doll and perhaps you should have been offended by it but in fact it was causing you to have butterflies in your stomach.

“Promise me that you’re gonna finish high school, alright?” You furrowed your brows.

Benny was visibly surprised by your words. He didn’t get to answer, though, because the door opened widely without knocking and your mother walked inside. You and Benny moved away from each other slightly.

“The dinner is ready,” she announced with a smile. She seemed to be pretty happy with the sight of the open books and notebooks scattered everywhere. You nodded at her and you stood up to follow her downstairs. Benny walked behind you. “How was the studying?” Your mother asked when you were sitting by the table.

“It is going well, ma’am. Your daughter should become a teacher,” Benny smiled at her.

“She might! (Y/N) wants to go to college, has she told you?” Your mother asked him while putting salad and chicken onto his plate. “Will it be enough for you, Benny? Such a strong boy like you must eat a lot,” she chuckled before turning around to put the food on your plate as well.

“It is enough, ma’am. It looks delicious, thank you. I can’t remember when was the last time I had vegetables for dinner,” Benny chuckled nervously while you and your mother exchanged meaningful looks. You both were sorry for him.

“Well, you can eat as much of this salad as you wish. My husband and son are not dining with us this evening,” your mother explained softly before taking her seat and you all began to eat.

“Thank you,” Benny blushed.

The rest of the meal went pretty calm since Benny was a quiet boy most of the time. In fact, it made you feel special that he liked to make you laugh because he was not very fun with others around. He was an outsider towards most but you probably had made him like you because you had treated him kindly and you had tried to help him from the very beginning. You hadn’t judged him and you hadn’t made it feel like an act of charity.

Despite being of a quiet nature, Benny was answering your mother’s questions politely and, oh dear, she asked a lot. Lots of her questions were about Benny’s family and you just knew that she was itching to ask about how Benny's mother had died but thankfully she didn’t actually ask that.

She was in the middle of telling a funny story when all of you froze at the sound of the front door opening. You and your mother looked at each other, scared, and that was when Luke entered the dining room and winced at the sight of Benny.

You sighed with relief at the sight of him because your father would be a much worse possibility but it still did not mean that it was alright. You were nervous and so was your mother. She decided to play it cool.

“Oh, hi, honey!” She greeted her son. “How was the practice? How was your date with Patsy?” She tried to sound cheerful.

“Both went fine,” Luke answered with a clenched jaw as he looked Benny up and down. “What is (Y/N)’s… friend doing here?” He asked rudely and your mother gave him a scolding look.

“Well, that is not a nice way to greet a guest, is it? (Y/N) invited Benny to help him with homework and I wanted him to stay for the meal,” your mother explained.

Luke approached Benny with an extended hand as you watched the interaction with fear. You knew that for men it was some sort of a game of dominance. Benny hesitated for a very long and tense moment, staring at your brother’s hand with contempt. Finally, he stood up and shook it back. You could see his knuckles turning white from the strength he was using to show off how firm his hold could be.

“Nice to meet you,” Luke gave him a fake smile.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Benny nodded and sat back on his chair. “You been on a date with Patsy Carter?” He asked.

“Yes. Do you know her?” If Luke’s eyes could kill, Benny would be dead now.

“Nah, never spoke to ‘er but you know, it’s hard not to know who she is,” Benny winked at him playfully as you chewed on the inside of your cheek. You couldn’t understand why Benny wanted to provoke your brother so much. The situation was bad enough already.

“Are you insinuating something, Cross?” Luke’s fists clenched.

“Lucas!” Your mother tried to calm him down.

“Just sayin’ she’s a nice piece,” Benny commented and you looked away, trying to hide your anger.

You couldn’t believe that Benny said such a disrespectful thing about another girl – a girl your brother dated – in front of your own mother. It made you feel like a fool to ever defend him in front of your family. Perhaps they had been right – he was from the bad side of town and his ways were too different to try to change them.

“Don’t test me, kid,” Luke drawled out. Thankfully, that was all he said before walking out of the room. Your mother looked at you, panicked, before standing up and following her son to talk to him.

“Why have you done that?” You asked, sniffling your tears back when you eventually turned your head around to meet Benny’s gaze. He seemed to be confused why you reacted this way. “You have no idea for how long I have been defending you and…”

“Oh, thank you, doll,” he interrupted you and his voice was full of irony. “The tramp you defended turns out to be a bum? How shocking,” he commented and you spotted that awful sparkle in his eye that would often show up whenever he spoke of his father. But why was his anger aimed at you now?

“I didn’t mean to offend you…” your voice began to shake. “I just thought we were friends. You were nice to me.”

Benny sighed. He tilted his head as he examined your face and you just knew that he was thinking of you as naive.

“‘m sorry,” Benny mumbled out. “Didn’t want to make you sad. I just don’t like bein’ treated like your big brother treated me,” he explained.

“I know,” you calmed down immediately. “I’m sorry about him, too,” you assured him and glanced at the clock on the wall. “My daddy’s going to be home soon. I think it’s time for you to go now,” you told him and you were scared he would get angry again at that but he understood. Benny nodded and left the table. You followed him to walk him out.

“Tell your ma that the food was great, ‘kay? And apologise to her from me,” he asked while putting his shoes back on.

“Yeah, sure, Benny,” you nodded and hugged your own self. You didn’t want to say goodbye yet. “See you tomorrow at school.”

“See you,” Benny winked at you and squeezed your arm. “You’re a nice girl, doll. Thanks for everythin’,” he added before going out and those few words were enough to make your heart swell in your chest.

You watched him walk away with his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. You were sure he would go back to his place on foot while whistling some song he had heard on the radio earlier. That was his way.

When you went back to the dining room, your mother was already cleaning the plates.

“Benny’s just left. He wanted me to tell you that the food was great and he wanted to apologise for–” you started.

“Save it,” she interrupted you and looked up to meet your gaze. She was angry and you were taken aback by that. “It was the last time this boy was here, do you hear me?” She asked, harshly, but she gave you no time to answer. “I managed to beg Lucas to keep it a secret but he is not happy about it and I can’t blame him.”

“But mom, I am sure you could see that Benny is a nice boy. He only was rude when Lucas acted like a–”

“I said, save it,” your mother snapped and you shut your mouth immediately. “Help me with the dishes now, will you? Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

MASTERLIST

[kvetchlandia]

So...

I went today to see "A Complete Unknown," the new James Mangold flick about Bob Dylan's early years in the Village, from his arrival in New York City in Jan, 1961 until he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in July, 1965.

I've been a Dylan nut since I was a little kid. This, I'm sure, has little to do with any genius or musical/artistic insight on my part. Rather, it's probably just a bit of luck that fell my way in having an older sister with excellent musical taste who first turned me on to Bobby.

Don't worry, I'm not going to give away anything, for those of you who might find yourself reading this and who want to see the film but haven't done so yet. I'll limit my comments to a few, very general points.

I've read some reviews that are critical of the film for compressing some events, combining others and flipping some chronologies, as well as for leaving out some people who were important parts of the Village scene in the early 60s. I think such criticisms are silly. We're watching a piece of dramatic art based in reality, not a documentary on that reality. Four and a half years of life can't be squeezed into a bit more than two hours of screen time without taking such license. We're not going to sit through those years in real time. The screen writers and the director have to make choices and they did so in order to tell the story they wanted to tell.

The only criticism I'll share, and I feel sharing it won't in any way way interfere with anyone's enjoyment of the film, is that I wasn't particularly happy with the way Suze Rotolo was portrayed. For those who aren't Dylan fanatics and who don't have a clue who Suze Rotolo was, she was Bobby's first love and muse after arriving in the Village. In fact, at Bob's request (he was involved with the making of the film), Suze's name wasn't even used, because even though she has passed, she was always a very private individual and all these years later, Dylan still wanted to respect that privacy. In the film, she's known as Sylvie Russo. In any case, Suze was a very strong, politically active young woman, a red-diaper baby (as am I), an activist in the Congress of Racial Equality and an artist in her own right. She's the person who introduced Bob to politics, getting him so involved that he was both a participant in the Freedom Summer integration and voter registration drives in the Jim Crow South in 1963 and a singer at Martin Luther King, Jr's March on Washington for Job's and Freedom, also in 1963. It was though her influence that Dylan wrote many of his most powerful early political songs. Due to their rocky relationship and ultimate breakup, she was also the subject of some of his most beautiful ballads from that period. I just don't think any of that comes through particularly well in the film. The writers and director chose to focus more on his time with Joan Baez. I understand why they made that decision. I just think they could have managed to do so without giving such short shrift to Suze.

As far as the acting goes, Monica Barbaro is fantastic as Joan Baez and she also does a superb job of singing in Joanie's style. Edward Norton is very good as Pete Seeger. Scott McNairy is heartbreaking in his few scenes as Woody Guthrie, already deeply disabled by Huntington's Disease when Dylan first visits him shortly after arriving in New York in 1961. Timothée Chalamet, of course, has to carry the weight as Bob. He's pretty effective. He doesn't have Dylan's charisma nor is he as stunning looking as the Dylan of 1965 was, but he still pulls it off.

All right, I've said enough. Go see it. You'll like it.

[mayajadewrites]

Sweet Secret (Levi Ackerman x Reader)

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x F! Reader CEO Levi Ackerman coming in hot. I've been wanting to write a CEO Levi/Sugar daddy Levi story for a hot minute. Enjoy! Story Summary: You needed a job. Ackerman Inc was hiring for an in house assistant for none other than the CEO: Levi Ackerman. He's known to be essentially the worst to work with, you decide to take the job and take on the challenge that is Levi Ackerman. Will your relationship remain professional, or will their be monetary value added to the stakes? Or possibly even... love? ao3 Chapter Fourteen: Tinted

It's 8 PM when you arrive at the bar. You hear the voices of Hange and Eren, who are presumably drunk already and singing a song together. Mikasa was a few feet away from them, shaking her head. Erwin was busy typing away on his phone next to Hange. You spot the rest of the crew - Sasha, Connie, Jean, Petra and Armin who were chatting away in a heated debate.

You walk in front of Levi, careful not to let your feelings be shown. You've been eyeing him ever since you got in the car - the fringe of his jet black hair covering part of his face. His shoulders filled out the top he was wearing perfectly along with his biceps. Your gaze then went to his large hands, which are veiny and calloused. 

"You guys made it!" Hange broke away from Eren to hug you. "You're late, me and Eren are already tipsy!"

"Looks like we made it here right on time." Levi's voice spoke behind you. "Four eyes please behave yourself. We don't need an incident like last years holiday party." 

"What was this incident?" You whip your head around to Hange.

"Well... I may more may not have spilled wine on some very important people... and I may or may not have spilled some on their white carpet." 

"Red or white..."

"Red." Hange winced. "BUT we're at a bar this time! There's no rugs!"

Levi put his hands in his pockets as he walked up to the bar, ordering a round of drinks for everyone. You watched his stature as he leaned against the countertop - your mind wandering.

"I see why Levi says you have a staring problem." Erwin chuckled as he took a sip of his beer. "You sure this is just a simple arrangement?"

"I-Yes. Yes it is." You turn away from where your gaze previously was. "What about you? Do you have anyone special?

"Not as of now." Erwin sat on a barstool. "It's hard when people like Levi and myself are so busy. Personal relationships aren't easy to come by."

"I get that." You nod as Levi hands you a glass of white wine. You nod to say thank you as he tells the rest of the crew that the drinks are ready. "Any woman would be so lucky to have you, Erwin. I hope you know that." 

"That means a lot." His index finger taps the side of the beer bottle. "Levi found a great woman so easily, hope it's that way for me."

"What?" You stare at him for a moment, raising your eyebrow.

"Nothing. I think Hange is calling me!" 

As the night goes on, everyone starts to get a bit looser. You move your hips to the beat of the music surrounded by your coworkers. The music is blaring through the speakers and you can barely hear anything that's going on. Your eyes search for Levi, when you find him he's sitting back on a barstool next to Erwin, but he's staring at you. His eyes are half-lidded and sultry as he sips his whiskey. You watch as the liquid coats his lips and you wish you could taste the liquor from his lips.

"Hey!" Jean pulled on your wrist gently. "Wanna dance?" 

Your heart started to beat faster from the anxiety of it all. You and Levi both agreed this is an arrangement, a simple transaction where you both get something good out of it.

Jean is cute.

Levi is not yours. If he wanted to dance with Petra, he could. You couldn't say anything about it. 

"Sure." You nod, taking Jean's hand. You wrap your arms around his neck loosely as you moved to the beat, your ass facing Levi. Jean's face is pressed against your cheek as he whispers, "You look stunning tonight." 

"Thank you." You smile, pulling away just a bit. "You don't look bad yourself."

Jean's hand wandered to the small of your back to pull you closer to him. Your stomach felt like it was doing flips. Falling from the top of the Empire State Building.

Connie and Sasha were dancing next to you, cracking jokes and being silly like always. "No Sasha! THIS is how you do the running man." 

"Connie, you look so stupid." Sasha shook her head and crossed her arms. You and Jean laughed, but all laughter stopped.

"Hey, boss!" Jean waved.

"It's still Mr. Ackerman outside of work." Levi's tone was flat. "I need her for a second, I just got an urgent message from a client and she has the answer in her notes."

"Okay!" Jean quickly let go of you. He smiled at you as you walked behind Levi to go outside to his car. You pull out your phone to scroll through the notes you have from the previous meeting. 

When you walk outside, it's raining. You watch the raindrops fall onto Levi's skin, falling over his lips. He opened the door for you to get in the car and went around to the drivers side.

"What did they ask? I have all my notes right here-"

"They didn't call me." Levi ran his fingers through the front of his hair. 

"So... why did you make me come out here?"

Levi was quiet for a moment, like he was searching for the right thing to say. 

"I guess I just wanted you away from Kirstein." 

"We were just dancing."

"He was touching you."

"You sort of have to touch when you dance with someone." 

"I didn't like it." 

"I'm not sure what to say." You bit down on your bottom lip. "I'm allowed to let someone else touch me. You said if I wanted to sleep with someone else-"

"I didn't say you're not allowed." Levi interrupted your sentence. "I said I didn't like it."

"Okay..." You raised your eyebrow and looked at his face. His expression was stern, his charcoal grey eyes the same color as the sky. The rain beat down on the car, the sound of the drops hitting the outer shell getting louder and louder.

"Is that all?" You reach your hand to the inner handle of your door. Levi grabs your wrist gently, pulling you closer to him. Your noses were almost touching with how close he pulled you. Your elbow reseted on the center console as you leaned toward him.

"Levi, we're in public." You analyze his face. He looks so beautiful in this light. His skin is a bit damp from the rain and pieces of his hair are stuck to his forehead.

"The car is tinted." He leaned into you just a bit more and let his lips ghost yours. You could feel the arousal in your core as the scent of his cologne filled your nostrils.

"We're in a car." You let out a shaky breath, wanting to attach your lips to his. Levi's hand caressed your cheek gently as you spoke. 

"I'm not blind." 

"Well you are crazy." 

Levi pushed the lever to pull the seat back, while simultaneously pulling you on top of his lap. Your thighs pressed against the top of his legs are he pulled you into a kiss. His fingers got lost in your hair as he pulled you roughly into him. He was being desperate and possessive and his kisses reflected that. His tongue slid into your mouth without warning, leaving you almost breathless. 

You felt his hard erection against your core as you kissed him. You leaned down to press your chest onto his and straddled his lap, letting your skirt pool at your hips. 

"Were you jealous, Mr. Ackerman?" You tilted your head to the side, kissing his neck gently as you spoke. His skin felt hot as your lips danced around the area.

"No." He said sternly. 

"Mhm." You mumble against his skin, giving the spot a small bite. A moan left Levi's lips as you began to kiss, bite, and suck. His hands trailed from your shoulders down to your ass, giving it a loud slap. You giggle as his hand leaves your ass cheek. 

"You like that, don't you?" 

You are feeling particularly bold from the alcohol. You sit up and grab Levi's hand, bringing it under your skirt to the front of your underwear - which was soaked. His fingertips grazed the moist fabric. "Do you think I do?" 

Levi bit his bottom lip and slipped two fingers past your underwear to your throbbing pussy. Your legs tighten around his waist as he thrusts his digits in and out of you, curling them as he goes. His thumb softly rubs your clit, automatically getting a reaction from you. 

"You're such a brat, you know that?" His lips attached to your ear, nibbling on the lobe. 

"I've been told." You throw your head back as his fingers move at a quicker pace. He felt your gummy walls pulsate around his digits as he bit your shoulder.

"What am I gonna do about that mouth of yours? You should be punished." Levi stopped moving for a moment, letting you come to the realization that he stopped.

"Levi." You whine.

"You can't come until I say so." 

"You're the worst." Levi's fingers enter you again and it takes everything in you not to come. His thumb rubs soft circles on your clit which only add to the overstimulation. "Levi, baby please-" You moan. "Please let me come." 

His fingers thrusted in and out of you faster, the entire length of his fingers disappearing inside of you. When he curled his fingers the last time, you almost lost it. 

"This isn't- this isn't fair." Your breathing gets shaky. "Can I come, please." The outer rim of your vision turns white.

"Yes." Levi said and you let everything go. He kept finger-fucking you through your orgasm, letting you ride out the euphoria. Warm liquid dripped down to his fingers. "I bet you didn't even know you could do that." He kissed you as he rubbed your clit, coating it with a mix of your arousal and liquid.

Once you came back to earth, your hands messed with his belt, quickly pulling his pants down. His hard cock slapped his stomach as it was freed.

"I don't have a condom." He said almost painfully.

"We're past that, Levi." You position yourself on top of him, the tip of his cock grazing your slit. His hands were planted on your thick thighs, squeezing them gently. The way he looked up at you was like he's seen an angel. You slowly bring your body down on top of his cock, your pussy stretching from his side.

"Fuck." He moaned, guiding your hips up and down his cock. "You're so wet, but so tight for me." 

You bounced your ass on top of him, letting your chest press against his. You put your arm back to grab his dick from behind, slowly guiding it into your pussy. His eyes are almost glued shut as you engulf his length. He moans your name while thrusting into you as you ride him. 

Your hands are on his shoulders as you grind your hips to his, listening to the squelching sounds of Levi's cock entering you. 

"You feel so fucking good. I could fuck you forever." Levi moaned your name. "I'm gonna come. Are you close, princess?"

You nod as you close your eyes and let the euphoria take over. Levi's nails dig into your plush ass as his thrusts become more messy, signaling that he's about to come.

Your walls pulsate around his cock and you moan his name loudly. "Levi," 

That was it for Levi. He pressed his entire length into you as he bottomed out, filling your insides with his cum. He groaned as he released, kissing your shoulder gently. You begin to breath heavily as you look out the window, only to see steam from the temperature of both your bodies.

Levi took a deep breath as he pulled his underwear and pants back on, helping you with your skirt. He gazed into your eyes as your heart rate came down. His index finger moved a stray hair behind your ear. Your face is red, your skin. is bruised, and your hair probably looks nothing like it did when you went in. You turn around while still on Levi's lap to look at yourself in the rearview mirror.

"Let me not look like I just had my insides rearranged." You ran your fingers through your hair while fanning your face.

"You look beautiful." Levi's lips kissed your cheek as his hands wandered down your waist to your thighs, gripping them tightly.

This is not just an arrangement, is it? 

[thewolvesof1998]

✨ 2023 writing round-up ✨

Edit: must have accidentally copied someone else’s intro without realising 😂

I’ve posted 57,184 words to ao3 this year (I also started in June) I have almost the same number of words in my wips 😭 This year has been crazy and this fandom has provided me so much joy, not just writing but getting to know all my wonderful mutuals <3 The 911 brainrot is strong and I can’t wait to see what 2024 brings!

I posted the more words to Ao3 this year than I have in any other previous year, which is wild since I only really started writing again in June. It's wild the choke hold that Eddie Diaz and Evan Buckley have on me. Here's my writing round-up for 2023 :)

June

I posted my first fic on June 20 and in nine days I had posted 6 fics 😂

I ain't proud of all the punches that I've thrown 

Teen | 826w

Rage, like a broken window to an oxygen-deprived room that’s already in flames, explodes within him and almost takes him out. He resists the urge to slam the phone’s receiver into the wall until it's just fragments of plastic that dig into the palm of his hand, drawing blood. He breathes through his nose and then out of his mouth and repeats that until he gets himself under control. or Eddie's in Jail and he almost calls Buck.

You with the dark curls, you with the watercolour eyes

Mature | 1.6k

Blue eyes meet his, washed out in the morning light, he's like the watercolour paintings they had seen in the museum with Chris last week, soft and fuzzy around the edges, with just a hint of bright colours. Blue like the sky, splashes of pink at his eyebrow and lips. Those lips, that still looked bruised from last night. Or The morning after Buck and Eddie finally get together.

asking all these questions, just to be polite, while dying inside

Teen | 1.2K

But Eddie looks good, like really good, like how is anyone allowed to look that good in jeans and a green henley? His hair is all fluffy which means he hasn't put any product in it, he wonders if it still smells like the green apple conditioner that Eddie and Chris liked to use. There's a new wrinkle at the corners of his eyes like he's been smiling a lot these last few years and it shouldn't hurt this much to know that Eddie's been happy without him but it does. or Buck dreams of what it would be like to lose Eddie as a friend and run into him five years down the line and having to ask all of these stupid questions just to be polite while dying inside.

Tapping Morse Code into your heart 

Explicit | 2.8k

Buck can’t keep still. It was a known fact that some part of Buck’s body will be in constant motion, and when it wasn’t? You should be concerned. A bouncing knee, an elastic band wound around his fingers, head bopping, fingers tapping Morse code he had learned on a whim after Eddie told him that he knew it. So Buck can’t stay still even if his life depended on it. Or in this case an orgasm. And Eddie-well Eddie is annoyed. or Buck and Eddie use Morse Code to communicate when words can't be said.

I want you to be selfish with me 

Mature | 4.6k

When Eddie gets the call is 12.24 am. He’s lying awake in bed, trying to avoid spiralling but failing when his phone lights up, vibrating and blaring out the stupid song Buck had changed his ringtone to. “So you know it's me calling.” Eddie didn’t say that he always knew it was Buck calling even without the ringtone. Buck’s the only one that calls him this late at night, it's also the only time Buck calls since he prefers to text during the normal hours of the day. Eddie sighs, dragging a hand over his face, looks like trying and failing to fall asleep is going to have to wait. His other hand reaches for his phone, answering. “Buck,” He says, he can hear a lot of background noise, voices and music, so it’s not an ‘I woke up from a nightmare and I needed to make sure you're still alive’ call. “Eddie,” Buck slurs, drunk, “Eds, Eds, did I wake you?” or Buck called Eddie while drunk and Eddie ends up using some of his military training to save him.

You bring me comfort

Teen | 4.1k

Frank asks him “When was the last time you were hugged?” He’d hugged Chris that morning. “No, I mean the last time you were held” He didn’t really understand the difference, he regularly hugs Christopher, Tia Pepa, Abuela, and even a few quick hugs with Buck which never seem like enough. “Not you holding someone else, comforting someone else, just purely someone holding you because you need it” Eddie thinks back to the hospital, thinks back to seeing Shannon’s body on the gurney, the way Bobby’s arms had gone around him and held him up. “When Shannon died, Bobby, my Captain, he-he hugged me” It had been so long ago, years and before that? He couldn’t remember. Frank doesn’t exactly give him homework called “get hugged” but he suggests that Eddie should ask for want he wants next time he needs comfort instead of putting on the sweater. or Eddie is touched starved and just needs a hug instead, instead he has his sweater.

July

I Can See You 

Teen | 3.1k

Eddie gets out of his truck and watches as Buck sings along to whatever song is playing in his car. It’s captivating but Eddie thinks many things about Buck are. He’s unashamed as he belts, singing into his phone like it’s a microphone. Buck looks up and makes eye contact with Eddie, who can feel his lips stretched in a smile. Buck smiles back, continuing his impromptu show, now singing to Eddie even though he can’t hear it from across the parking lot. Eddie watches for a minute or so before walking over to Buck’s jeep, drawn to him like he has his own gravitational pull, stronger than the earth's as if Buck is the only reason Eddie hasn’t gone floating off into space yet. As he gets closer he can hear the muffled music, he can see the blue of Buck’s eyes as they gleam from joy. Eddie can barely make out the words: I see you, I see you, baby, Oh, baby OR Buck’s a Swiftie and he makes Eddie listen to Speak Now (TV) and accidentally confesses his love because of the song I Can See You

Alright, Cowboy, Go Get 'Em 

Explicit | 17k | 2/3

“What can I get you?” The bartender asks as Eddie slides up to the bar. “Whiskey, neat, thanks” “Make that two” A voice says from beside him, Eddie turns and takes in a black leather protection vest that’s undone over a bright blue button-down shirt. He drags his eyes up, over pale skin, an adam apple and stubble to blue eyes a shade or two lighter than his shirt. His white cowboy hat is back on, it makes the pink mark on his eyebrow stand out. There's a small smirk on his lips that Eddie does not linger on. “Evan Buckley,” He says, holding out his hand. Eddie clears his throat, “Eddie Diaz” He says shaking the offered hand, noticing the callous and firm grip before pulling back. OR What if Eddie had never left El Paso? What if Buck became a bull rider after being a ranch hand? After Eddie gets back from Afghanistan and Shannon divorces him some of his high school buddies decided to drag him to the rodeo to cheer him up. I don’t think they had in mind Eddie getting blown by a rodeo star behind the stable but it sure did improve his mood. Now Eddie can’t get Buck out of his mind and he might just become a rodeo regular.

Under the Guise of Violence

Explicit | 3k

Buck was kneeling. Not in the way Eddie had too frequently fantasised about, though from the lascivious smile on his face, maybe in a way Buck had fantasised about. There’s a cut above his right eyebrow, it’s a reflection of his pink birthmark, his nose is broken and blood-half dried-is trailing down to those plump pink lips. Eddie has to force himself to drag his eyes away. His hand tightens on the pummel of his sword, careful of its sharp edge that rests against the fragile skin of Buck’s neck. He doesn’t know how they got here. OR Eddie can't touch Buck unless it's to hurt him, after a sparring match Buck confronts him and it leads them back to Eddie's bedroom.

August, September and October I didn't post any fic- I was moving country and could not finish a fic to save my life 😂

November

nicknames, supernova similes and the family we make 

Teen | 800w

“Bobby, I’d like you to meet, Robin Buckley-Diaz,” Buck looks at the small bundle in his arms, bright blues staring right back up at him, “This is your Grandpops.” Bobby clears his throat, “Grandpops?” Buck looks up at the man who’s been more of a dad to him than his own blood, who had been by his bedside at every hospital visit and helped him grow up into the man he is today, “If that’s okay with you?” OR Bobby and Athena meet Buck and Eddie's new baby girl.

let me cradle your body (be a safe place to rest)

General | 1.9k

“Seat theif,” Buck pouts, “Where am I supposed to sit?” He asks and look, if he purposely makes his eyes all big and puts a little whine in his voice in a deadly combination that usually has Eddie folding to his whims that it’s between him and the universe okay? “Here,” Eddie says, patting his thigh and it shortcircuits Buck’s brain for longer than it probably should’ve. Eddie doesn’t actually mean that, he’s just messing with Buck right? Because as much as they’ve been accused of practically sitting on each other, they’ve never actually sat in each other’s laps. Buck opens and closes his mouth a few times before deciding that if Eddie is pulling his chain then he’s going to regret it and if it’s being earnest then it probably is comfier than the floor and better than being squeezed into a too-tight spot. “Okay,” Buck says, Eddie offers him a smile and his hand, as if daring him to do it. Buck takes the offered hand and Eddie pulls Buck onto his lap. OR What starts out as a normal 118 gathering ends with Buck sitting on Eddie's lap.

December

even when the heat breaks I’m still yours

Explicit | 6.1k

Eddie has many regrets in his life, lying on the floor of the cabin in the middle of a heat wave with his six foot two best friend pressing into his side while they were both trying to stay cool under the pitiful breeze of the ancient ceiling fan had the possibility to be high on that list. He turns his head to be confronted with a tattooed and freckle-covered shoulder, he can’t remember when they decided to strip down to their boxers -he might have suggested it after Buck’s third shirt had been soaked with sweat and had been clinging to his muscles in a dangerously distracting way- but at the time it had seemed like a good idea, he wasn’t sure about that now considering this was the third time in the last hour that he’s found himself turning to stare at the miles of bare skin. OR Buck and Eddie get stuck in a cabin during a heatwave, they finally take the next step and fuck nasty on the floor.

We might end up real close

Explicit | 2.2k

“Said you wanted us to bond. We might end up real close.” When Buck said those words to Bobby just merely few hours ago, it had been a joke about how if the bomb went off they would be reduced to blood, shards of bone and flesh, mixed so together that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart without DNA testing. He hadn’t meant it in the way that it was now true with Eddie balls deep in him as he fucks Buck against the tile wall of the firehouse showers, both of them still fully dressed, uniform pants undone and pulled only down to mid-thigh in their haste. Though he thinks maybe Bobby wouldn’t be too surprised by this development given Buck’s recent past. OR the 2x01 Rewrite where Buck and Eddie fuck after removing the bomb.

They don’t know (your name is already mine) 

General | 7.6k | 3/4

“Sir, can you tell me your name?” Buck opens his mouth, his tongue feels like lead, “E-ed-” “Ed? Is your name Ed?” Buck shakes his head and winces when he sends a spike of pain through his head. Hands pull at his shirt and he feels the cold metal of scissors as they cut his brand new shirt. He’s supposed to be wearing that to tomorrow's Christmas Eve dinner. Eddie had said the colour makes his eyes pop. “He’s wearing dog tags…Eddie Diaz,” Buck moans, blackness at the edges of his vision seeps in, he tries to blink it away, no, they need to call Eddie, “It’s okay Eddie, we’ve got you,” is the last thing he hears before the darkness takes over. OR Buck gets in a car accident on Christmas Eve Eve and the only ID he has on him is Eddie's dog tags. A case of mistaken Identity, a trip to the hospital and a Christmas Surprise.

tagged by: @exhuastedpigeon @smilingbuckley @jamespearce9-1-1 @wikiangela @spotsandsocks @buddierights @callmenewbie @try-set-me-on-fire @hoodie-buck @carrierofthepaperclips

tagging (no pressure): @wildlife4life ​ @eddiebabygirldiaz @disasterbuckdiaz @jesuisici33​ @bekkachaos @spagheddiediaz @911-on-abc @hippolotamus @shitouttabuck @911onabc @malewifediaz @loserdiaz @ladydorian05 @watchyourbuck @king-buckley @chaoticgremlinwholikescheese @daffi-990 @fortheloveofbuddie @mangacat201 @eowon @rainbow-nerdss @nmcggg @pirrusstuff @evanbegins @giddyupbuck @sammysouffle @jeeyuns @thosetwofirefighters @monsterrae1 @princehattric @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @singlethread @your-catfish-friend @theotherbuckley @steadfastsaturnsrings @blurredbuddie @aquamarineglitter @devirnis

[louisaguy]

I would love to hear about the hammer and anvil / teen river abduction story! :)

(from this ask game)

ahhh, so! hammer and anvil is a project which may or may not come to exist depending on when i want to cut my losses lol. basically the idea is that it would be a series of snapshots through the childhoods of patrice and river, contrasting them against each other and showing off what the dynamic at les arbres was like.

the reason why i say it may or may not exist is because i only really have the motivation to write like... 2 or 3 of the planned 8ish different snapshots. not as in i dread the rest but like... 2 or 3 of them i know exactly what i'm gonna do, the rest i have a vague 1 line summary that may become something or maybe not.

so i may string them all together or i may just post the few i actually am excited about writing separately as one-shots, not sure yet.

but! the one that i've already written is this: river is 14 and his mother is coming to hang out with him after school (behind his grandparents' backs), and river is thrilled about this, until she attempts to abscond with him to france to bring him back to les arbres for her own reasons (mostly about hurting david and rose). luckily river manages to sneak away and call his grandparents before she gets him on the train. and river doesn't know what it is his mother was trying to take him back to, won't know until years later why they were going to france specifically.

(within the context of hammer and anvil this will take on an even more sinister connotation bc this takes place in the timeline only about a year after one of the les arbres boys dies at frank's hands. so that's the threat here. unknown to river and probably even unknown to isobel, but known to the audience. river is going to replace a boy who was just killed by frank for disobedience. and river is not the most obedient. so THAT is the threat here)

this has all been developed in conjunction with gav's development of their "drive the wedge" fic so it serves as sort of a prequel to that too, definitely stay tuned for that one it's gonna be soooo good @altschmerzes can't wait :)

River’s stomach was starting to sink with dread. “...I want to go home,” he told her, hearing his voice in the third person and noting absently how it sounded like a petulant child. “Take me home.” Another slow, shaky breath. Her eyes fixed on the road. “We are going home, darling. Don’t worry.” “You-- what? What do you mean, home is back that way, I don’t--” She flipped on the radio, her clearest signal for River stop talking. It was usually a pretty good distraction-- River liked singing along to the radio with her. Grandma and Granddad put on pop music for River sometimes, but they never belted along with the songs as they sped down the motorway, not like Isobel did. It was one of River’s few purely good memories with his mum, actually. Last month they had been on one of their drives, and she and him were both singing along to the radio as loud as their lungs could stand, the windows rolled down and both of their hair flying everywhere, and River felt maybe happier than he’d ever been. Now, though, the radio clearly wasn't an invitation to sing along. Isobel didn’t even look at him, didn't even hum. Today, it was a command of silence. Which River obeyed. His brain took him, quite against his will, to the little flat in the city he and his mother once shared, many years ago, before he’d been dropped at his grandparents. He only remembered snippets of it; the white shag carpet in the living room, the stack of multicolored plastic cups in the cabinet that were reserved just for him. He hadn’t thought of that flat in years-- it was small and cramped and he didn’t like it very much, but it was all he’d ever known, then. Once he discovered the world of his grandparents’ country estate, though-- all sprawling hills and apple trees and orange sunsets-- he fell in love with it intensely, and the city apartment never crossed his mind again. It was probably not the same flat that Isobel was taking him to now, River thought. She almost certainly sold that old flat when she left for Spain. But whatever cramped little London flat she was taking him to right now-- because surely that was what she meant, that River’s home was with her and not his grandparents-- was bound to be nearly identical to that place that River had, originally, for the first few years of his life, called home. River cleared his throat. “I mean to my grandparents’,” he offered. “I want to go to my grandparents’.” She sucked on her teeth for a moment. “...That’s not home.”

thank you for the ask!!

[hauntedwitch04]

Little piece of paradise

Dean Winchester x reader

Words: about 1.2k words

Warnings: none, just some sad-happy memories, and a lot of fluff

Author’s note: Hi everybody! Finally I managed to write something after the crazy week I had, hope you enjoy! With love your witch Becky.

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DAY 5: “I don’t need paradise, mine is right here with you, cooking a pie while you dance and sing an old rock song, dreaming about our future”

Dean Winchester always firmly believed that he did not deserve heaven. Not even after all the years he spent fighting evil, defending humanity and all the hell he went through, he always believed that he did not deserve any form of grace. Everything changed, however, the day he met you. You were always like an angel, or rather how he imagined angels before he found out they were a bunch of assholes, except for Castiel. You've always been like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day to the oldest of the Winchester brothers, not because you were exactly a saint, since on the contrary, you too are a renowned hunter, known for your prowess in beating and killing all monsters you encounter. No, your greatness lies in the fact, according to Dean, that despite all the nastiness you have suffered from fate and all the monsters you have encountered, you never betrayed yourself and remained who you were: a good and kind person, ready to help others, and always ready to offer a smile when she can, but without letting people take advantage of you. Dean knows that he could go on for hours talking about all the things he likes best about you: your taste in music, which first brought you together in that remote bar in the provinces; your intelligence, which never failed to amaze him every time; your sarcasm, which made sure from the start that you stood up to him and put him in his place several times; or your goodness, which comes out every time you see someone in need, but if anyone were to really ask him what he loves about you, it's seeing you cook. We all know that Dean has a sweet tooth, but what drives him crazy is not your cakes per se despite the fact that they are some of the best he has ever had, but seeing you actually bake them. When you bake you enter a world of your own, and you can finally be free from the oppressive life that has been foisted on you from upstairs. This is precisely why Dean likes to hide behind the door and watch you dance to the beat of the music, humming, while you are caught up in preparing just-god-knows-what.

As soon as Dean walks in, he realizes that all he could hear in your house was the sound of your voice humming Elton John's "Rocket Man," and immediately a smile breaks out on his face. He walks to the kitchen door and sees you pouring something into a saucepan on the stove as you dance lightly to the music. The man remains a few minutes contemplating that sight, when he is interrupted. "Are you going to stay there much longer, or are you going to come and greet your wife properly, instead of staring at her like a maniac?" You ask, still with your back turned, but he knows perfectly well that you had heard him since he entered the house. He smiles and enters the kitchen, to come behind you and embrace you from behind with his strong arms. He rests his face on your shoulder and breathes in the smell of your shampoo, his favorite scent in the world. "Hello love." He says, in a low voice, as if not wanting to spoil the magical atmosphere that had formed. "It took you a while to get in Winchester, I thought you had frozen at the door." You answer with a smile as you continue to finish what you were doing. "You can't blame me for being thunderstruck by my wife's beauty." He continues, leaving you a gentle kiss on your shoulder, then leaning in a little and looking at what you were doing. "There's no need to soften me up, you know that, don't you? I've already married you, I can't escape now." You say with a laugh as you contemplate your work. "Already now you are officially mine, and mine alone." He whispers into your neck as he tightens his arms around your waist. "But listen to you, you sound like an overly possessive child with his favorite toy." You retort, turning around, making sure you are face to face with him. Immediately you feel his scent, which you love so much, invade your nostrils. "What can I do, I'm possessive of the things I love." He says, before kissing you on the lips this time. "But that's Sam's favorite cake." He then affirms, taking a good look at what you had just finished making. "Yours is already baking in the oven." You answer, making it obvious as you enjoy the feeling of being held in his arms. "Oh what have I done to deserve you?" Dean asks, before kissing you again, this time longer. "Do you want the list in chronological order or alphabetical order?" you retort, looking him in the eye, making him blush. You remain silent for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of each other's body heat. Time almost seems to stand still, and even the volume of the radio seems to lower.

"You know since I was about eighteen years old, and a woman threatened me that I would never go to heaven for all the evil things I had done, I've always been afraid of dying in part, because a part of me aspired to get to that place full of peace and calm, to finally be happy." Confesses Dean, under his breath, against your neck. You are almost afraid to breathe, for fear of ruining the moment, when he continues to speak. "But ever since I met you, I've realized a great truth. I don't need paradise, mine is right here with you, cooking a pie while you dance and sing an old rock song, dreaming about our future." He finishes with a whisper, and you can't help but feel warm tears roll down your cheeks as you also feel your husband's tears wet your shirt. You pull his face up from your neck and stare into his eyes, then take him with you to the front of the oven, where just moments before the timer had sounded, signaling that the cake is ready. "Open." You tell him, and he looks at you confused, but cannot help but follow orders. Once you pull out the pie, Dean is out of breath as he looks at you shocked, and feels new tears come to his eyes fast and hot, but this time not of mixed sadness and joy, this time just of pure happiness. On the cake in front of him is written above a simple sentence, but that moment totally turned his world upside down. See you in 9 months dad. "How long have you known?" Dean finally manages to say, still reeling from shocks of adrenaline coursing through his body. "Since this morning." You confess. "Are you happy?" You ask him, and he can't help but give a toothy grin, then hug you tightly, lifting you off the floor and spinning you around the kitchen, while you can't help but laugh and cry with joy. "I am the happiest person this earth has ever seen, and it's all because of you." He says, leaving a sweet kiss on your nose and making your foreheads touch. "Finally we can stop dreaming about the future, because we are living it." You say, smiling at him. "Yeah, we're living our little piece of heaven." He confirms, smiling at you in turn.

[vocaloidsongtournament]

A Foreword for the December 2024 Vocaloid Song Tournament

With about 4 hours before the start of this month's tournament, I wanted to go into a little more detail about it since I didn't get the chance to last week.

As I've said before, this tournament focuses on SF-A2 miki, Kaai Yuki, Hiyama Kiyoteru, Nekomura Iroha, and Yuzuki Yukari with their most popular songs. This does mean that, like with the v flower tournament earlier this year, there can be quite a few songs for a Vocaloid by the same producer. Hope this doesn't bother you guys too much, because I do want to ensure that there would be some good match-ups!

While I have mostly these Vocaloids' most popular songs, there are 3 that I included in the tournament as "honorary mentions" so-to-speak.

For Kaai Yuki, I have "Rugrats Theory" by Crusher because it is one of the earliest Kaai Yuki songs even if it isn't as popular anymore.

For Hiyama Kiyoteru, I have "Recollective Music Box/Clockworker" by mothy since I think mothy's reputation has helped it be one of Kiyoteru's more well-known songs.

Finally, for Yuzuki Yukari, I have "Yuka Yuka☆Heavenly Night" by samfree since I have 2 other "Night songs" here and it wouldn't bode well for this one to sit out.

Everything else you already know, but I will give a reminder about tiebreakers this time around. Since it is my birthday month, I'm breaking the ties so if you don't want that to happen, be sure to vote, reblog, spread harmless propaganda, and have fun!

Happy anniversary to SF-A2 miki, Kaai Yuki, and Hiyama Kiyoteru!

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 13/03/2024

Nuclear Pomeranian

Season 8 Featured on: Now That's What I Call Quality! 3

Ripped by Half Pixel

Requested by Oetam! (Discord)

I've covered a number of rips featured in Now That's What I Call Quality! 3 already on here, and I maintain that it's likely the best album the channel has yet put out in terms of raw concise quality on offer. Beautiful Dreamer, Initial Deluxe (I've Just Raced on this Course Before) and Owner of a Mahjong Board are all absolute highlights of Season 7, and it feels like the entire SiIvaGunner team came together to truly show the best of the best on the album. Yet beyond featuring classics from the Season that was then wrapping up, Now That's What I Call Quality! 3 also featured a good few rips that had yet to be uploaded to the YouTube channel - that is to say, some of the first-ever rips that you could consider to be part of Season 8. Its in this category that Nuclear Pomeranian finds itself in: the seventh rip of Rhythm Doctor makes an incredible first impression on what to expect from Season 8 in the months to come.

Honestly, it wasn't as if Half Pixel had to prove his prowess in creating these sorts of dense meme medleys: Since way back when I first heard Everybody's Special Course in Season 1, I'd known the guy had an undeniable knack for these sorts of rips. It may be coincidence, but it, Nuclear Pomeranian and Siiva Lining all just have this immense energy and adrenaline to them, a celebratory party atmosphere that never fails to bring a smile to my face. So then, I suppose Nuclear Pomeranian mainly shows just how much Half Pixel has grown as a ripper in those years, how many creative flourishes are added and implemented with complete confidence. The lyrical silliness in the opening is one of my favorite examples: transitioning Infinite's lyrics of "I am the last one that's standing, don't try and stand in my way" into a simple "okay" sound, followed by a response of "and now you're in my way" from Call Me Maybe. That's so fun! That has nothing to do with Rhythm Doctor, or SiIva's own memes, or Season 8 or anything, it's just a little bit of flavor added to the rip by Half Pixel to make it a funnier listen.

It goes through so many phases, yet compared to something like Memey Hell, it feels as if each part featured is allowed room to breathe in isolation from one another. Some of the sources. such as PSY's music, feel like they're subtly in the background almost throughout the whole rip, but segments focusing on just one source at a time feel like they strike such a perfect balance in terms of how long they're featured. The rip will for instance use Bo Burnham's Bezos I for a six second segment to give you just enough time to register the song as both funny and catchy in its context, before using a snappy Among Us sound effect break to transition into an equally-as-long segment using Boulevard of Broken Dreams, repeating the cycle. Much of that is of course owed to the structure of the original Bomb-Sniffing Pomeranian itself, but it's incredibly commendable just how well Half Pixel adapted that frantic, back-and-fourth pacing of the Rhythm Doctor song into such a different format. Very few of the sources, even when focused on as the sole joke for seconds at a time, are left completely unedited: small little quips from other sources, little interjections and pieces will play alongside or over the joke in focus, althewhile remaining completely harmonious.

I realize that a lot of what I'm describing is just the standard procedure on what to think of when creating a meme mashup medley like this in general, but what I'm aiming to say is that Nuclear Pomeranian is one of the best examples of how to do things right across the board. The amount of sources featured span across the channel's entire life, from the aforementioned PSY to appearances from Smooth of 【＝３】e-MUNO Disco (vs. 音MAD AGENT) fame in Season 2, the Season 1 classic Chip the Ripper closing the rip off, the Big Chungus-posting of Season 4 Episode 2 and AIN'T NOTHIN' LIKE A CHUNKY BEAT, the Among Us posting of Season 5 and Among Drip Drop Galaxy, and oh so many more. Yet compared to something like, say, the Season premiere collabs such as Joke-Explainer™ 7000 Fusion Collab and Bramble Blast Collab, the rip doesn't place more emphasis on these nostalgic, well-remembered sources than anything else featured in its vast list of sources. SiIvaGunner classics or not, Half Pixel uses what sounds best and what's funniest at every possible moment to create a rip that works incredibly well even outside the context of the SiIvaGunner channel, as a huge tribute to Rhythm Doctor and the art of ripping itself.

Put concisely - Nuclear Pomeranian is a banger, and was a fantastic showcase of the level of quality that we've now seen many examples of in the last month and a half. The SiIvaGunner team is truly firing on all cylinders, and I'm all here for it.

[dweemeister]

2024 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary round)

Long ago, tumblr disabled completely the ability to make indented bullet points. I apologize in advance for how ugly most of this post looks. And now I've been having trouble with traditional user tagging, too. Apologies.

* * * * *

OPEN invites to (or at least people who are committed to the final, but would like access to the prelim): @derricklogan2, @inmyworldblr, @memetoilet, @metamatar, @myluckyerror, @noelevangilinecarson, @phendranaedge, @plus-low-overthrow, @qteeclown, @shadesofhappy, and @the-lilac-grove. Some of you have participated in past MOABOS editions, some of you are longtime followers I've not really spoken to, but have interacted with quite a few of my posts... if you are interested, please let me know. I'll assign you a group or I'll put you into the final.

* * * * *

Hello everybody,

The mercury drops, the days shorten, and the sound of cinephiles drawing up their "best of" lists for the current year fill the air. But in addition to my sort-of "best of" list, there's this tradition I've got.

If you were tagged here, that is because you graciously accepted my invitation to help out with this year's edition of the Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS). I welcome you to the twelfth edition of MOABOS (MOABOS XII) and the eleventh edition with outside help from family, friends, and followers on tumblr. When I first opened this up to other folks in 2014 (MOABOS II), I believed that this would last but only a few years, at most. And every time the year is new, I have no clue whether or not there will be another edition of MOABOS.

But here we are yet again. The Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song is not possible without all of your help.

For newcomers near and far: This is a classic film blog (concentration: pre-1980s Hollywood, but I have various specialties outside of that and watch plenty of newer films). That blog's primary purpose is to host my nearly 800 film write-ups tagged "My Movie Odyssey" (an index can be found here). MOABOS is one of my blog's year-end traditions, and just a smaller part of a larger one. On my blog, the Movie Odyssey Awards honor some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey") with an Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category, save one: Best Original Song. It is the only category that does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. MOABOS is my way to say thank you for your friendship and moral support no matter how long I've known you. It is, sneakily so, a way to introduce all of you to music and movies I enjoyed this past year. And you might learn a snippet of film history through this!

INTRODUCTION

An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final round. 24 songs will contest this preliminary round in two groups – Group A and Group B. Longtime participants may notice immediately the lack of newer releases this year, similar to the MOABOS editions from 2020-2022. I saw plenty of new releases in theaters, but very few original songs I deemed good enough to get here. In addition, I think this is the first edition of MOABOS in some time where there is no prohibitive favorite on paper (perhaps as far back as 2015's MOABOS III). The field is wide open for the taking, I think.

Two years after a monolingual slate, 2024 is even more multilingual than 2023. This year, across both groups and an unidentified song and movie that qualified straight to the final round, we have a record number of languages: seven. These non-English songs come from, interestingly: one Old Hollywood movie from a studio celebrating a centennial; an industry-defining film that burst forth across boundaries and remains stratospherically popular in the former Eastern bloc; one of the greatest "what if's" of martial arts cinema; a most pleasant surprise from Viet Film Fest (VFF); an underseen piece of sci-fi animation filled with thematic intrigue and fully-realized worldbuilding; and a film about religion that also gifted us one of the best film scores of the 20th century.

The record 44 participants in last year's prelim were in an upset-minded mood, with stunning early eliminations for Barbie (2023) and both Top Gun movies. Lesser-heralded songs from Brazil, France, and India advanced at their expense. The cold streak for Shirley Temple movies at MOABOS finally broke, with a Shirley Temple song finally advancing from the prelim. What might be the narrative this year? Though I've said there aren't prohibitive favorites, there are still a number of songs I consider favorites and underdogs. Which ones fall unexpectedly? Which Cinderellas will continue to the Big Dance?

2019's MOABOS (MOABOS VII) preliminary – the "I Dug a Ditch" year, as some folks call it – was finally surpassed last year for the amount of chaos that ensued. 2023's MOABOS had a three-way tie on points in one group and the upset of the round in the other (Top Gun's "Take My Breath Away" eliminated by two points). I'm not expecting similar nailbiters yet again, but you folks like to make it dramatic!

INSTRUCTIONS

Please rank (#1-12) at least seven of your group's songs. Please consider to the best of your ability (these are only suggestions, not strict guidelines, and is largely how I consider my own rankings): 

How musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to melody, harmony, musical phrasing, and orchestration);

Its lyrics (incl. and not limited to lyrical flow, invention, and poeticism); 

Context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films)*;

Choreography/dance direction (if applicable; I know that almost none of us have a dancing background, but please do not discount this aspect entirely);

The song's cultural/sociopolitical impact and legacy/listenability outside the film's context (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor)

* Should a song that only appears in the opening and/or closing credits, but has no bearing on the film's score or the body of the film itself be penalized? Some say yes, some say no. I have no official position here.

A notice on audio/video quality and colorization of black-and-white film: Because it is sometimes difficult to find clean recordings of much of this music, imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song while you are drawing up your rankings – you're on the honor system on this one. In addition, in respect to personal and blog policy, I will not provide (nor encourage you to seek) colorized videos of films that were originally in black-and-white. You can call this snobby all you want. But to yours truly, film colorization of B&W is disrespectful to the artisans who plied their craft and made decisions based on the fact the film was shot in black-and-white. It is essentially redirecting a movie without consent.

You are encouraged to send in comments and reactions with your rankings – it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself!

The top six songs in each group automatically advance to the final round. Unlike previous years, no at-large wild card picks outside the top six will advance to the final.

The deadline for submission is Sunday, December 15 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That is 9 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time. That deadline is also Monday, December 16 at 1 AM Central Time / 2 AM Eastern Time / 7 AM GMT / 8 AM CET / 9 AM EET / 2 PM Indochina Time. This deadline - and some of you have joked with me that this is inevitable - will be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time.This deadline may be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time. However, I very much do not wish to extend the deadline because the final round is more intensive and usually involves more participants. A small group of longtime MOABOS veterans will be asked to do both groups, if possible (but they are required to complete their assigned group first before moving on) – they are generally selected for their longevity of MOABOS participation and promptness. Tabulation details are under the "read more".

Please pay attention to the groups you have been sorted into, and please only submit rankings for the group you have been assigned. For your convenience, the YouTube playlists for both groups follow:

PLAYLISTS: (GROUP A) / (GROUP B)

Group participants were randomized to ensure a roughly equal gender spread in both groups. The twenty-four songs in the prelim were placed into groups based on a pre-ranking that I always perform before MOABOS – anticipating how all of you, collectively, would rank them, #1-24. Based on those pre-rankings, I balanced the groups and, as needed, separated songs that appeared in the same film.

Feel free to listen as many times as you need and perhaps take notes, and I hope you discover music and movies that inspire you to find them. With profound appreciation from this grateful classic film fan, here are your group's songs.

"Song title", composer and lyricist, Film Title, country/countries of origin if the film is not predominantly in English and not from the U.S.

GROUP A

“Amor de Gitano (The Love of a Gypsy)”, music and lyrics by Morris Stoloff and Fred Karger, The Loves of Carmen (1948)

Performed by Rita Hayworth

Lyrics in Spanish (rough translation)

In this adaptation of Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen (which also served as the source material for Georges Bizet's opera Carmen), this number appears late in the film after the turbulent relationship between Carmen (Hayworth; whose character is Romani) and Don José (Glenn Ford) of the Spanish dragoons. At this point, Carmen has escaped her earlier poverty (and Don José) and is now living comfortably in Córdoba as the partner of a bullfighter.

Hayworth, an actress of Spanish Romani and Irish/English descent, began her career in minor roles at 20th Century Fox before moving to Columbia. While at Columbia, she became the studio's top star and a pin-up icon to American soldiers in WWII. Despite frequent clashes with chief executive Harry Cohn over roles and pay (contracted Hollywood actors had little freedom to choose their roles until the 1944 court case De Havilland v. Warner Bros.), she single-handedly catapulted Columbia into financial stability for years to come, dashing any remaining beliefs that Columbia was not a major studio. The Loves of Carmen was to be her final film for Columbia, due to her impending marriage to Prince Aly Khan (they divorced, and she came back).

“Belleville Rendez-vous”, music by Benoît Charest, lyrics by Sylvain Chomet, The Triplets of Belleville (2003, France/Belgium/Canada/United Kingdom)

(French original with translation) / (English dub version)

Performed by Béatrice Bonifassi and Matthieu Chedid

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

From Sylvain Chomet's absurd, darkly comic, and disgustingly original animated feature debut (“disgustingly” is used here with admiration, because of the intentional ugliness of some of the animation). The film features an aging group of singing triplets who attempt to help another woman find her grandson after the grandson was kidnapped while competing in the Tour de France. The song first appears in the opening, is reprised a few times during the film, and repeated a final time in the end credits. It forms the basis for the film's score.

“Broadway Rhythm”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

(part 1) / (part 2)

Performed by Frances Langford and company; danced by June Knight, Nick Long Jr., Eleanor Powell and company

This number is the third-to-last scene of the film. At a dinner-and-a-show club, radio star Langford (playing herself) sings the title song of the stage musical that producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor) has been trying desperately to open for the entire movie. His failure to cast a lead actress – despite his high school sweetheart, Irene Foster (Eleanor Powell), excelling in her audition – and other shenanigans have gotten him to this point. All that singing on the offbeats! If this song sounds vaguely familiar, it might be because it forms much of the mid-film ballet sequence in Singin' in the Rain (1952; "GOT-ta dance!").

Between parts 1 and 2 provided here is supposed to be a dance between siblings Buddy and Vilma Ebsen, but I could not find a video of it online.

In part 2, two of the film's antagonists (not villains, just antagonists), played by Knight and Long, dance with each other. Then, Irene appears to Robert's surprise. It is implied she is cast for the lead role in the film's final scene, as well as rekindling her relationship with Robert. Eleanor Powell, who plays Irene, was approaching the peak years of a relatively short film career, and was considered by many to be the most accomplished female dancer in Hollywood history (incl. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Fred Astaire, who said she was in a league all by herself).

“Camp Isn’t Home”, music and lyrics by Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, Mark Sonnenblick, Theater Camp (2023)

Performed by the child cast members of the film

In this mockumentary of a summer theater camp (I can already hear the groans from some of you), the kids – many of whom are regulars at this camp – put on a show in order to save the camp from being repossessed. The montages you see in this particular clip are not featured in the film; the film itself simply shows the performance. To explain the final moment in this video would be to spoil a film-ending punchline.

“Dam Bhar Jo Udhar Munh Phere (I Wish the Moon Would Look Away for a Moment)”, music by Shankar Jaikishan, lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri, Awaara (1951, India)

Performed by Nargis and Raj Kapoor (dubbed by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh, respectively)

Lyrics in Hindi (turn on the CC's in the provided video for translation)

In Awaara, Raj (Raj Kapoor) and Rita (Nargis) are childhood sweethearts who were separated when Raj could not afford the fees for school, resulting in his expulsion. Years later, after Raj turned to a criminal gang to support himself and his mother, the two reconnected. He has been trying to tell Rita, indirectly, that he has turned to thievery and is attempting to leave his criminal life behind, but she's unable to connect the dots. After a beachside first date, so appears this number – the rekindling of their relationship, in spite of the length of their separation, class differences, and another factor that would spoil the moral framework of the entire film.

“El Dorado”, music by Nelson Riddle, lyrics by John Gabriel, El Dorado (1966)

Performed by George Alexander and the Mellomen

The opening theme to this American Western film. Appears in the opening credits and quoted occasionally in the film's score. Edgar Allan Poe fans will note a lyrical reference to his poem "Eldorado" (the poem is quoted a few times in the film by James Caan's character). At its heart, this Western is about male friendship amid personal foibles (John Wayne's character has a physical ailment; Robert Mitchum's attempting to overcome his history of alcoholism, Caan is overconfident in his abilities) as the three protagonists attempt to protect a humble family from the illegal and violent machinations of a wealthy land baron.

The portraits you see in the opening credits are from Danish American painter Olaf Wieghorst, a noted 20th century artist who specialized in scenes of the old American West. Some of these portraits were done for the film, and Wieghorst's stock in the art world has gradually risen over the decades.

“Game of Death” (Mandarin version), music by Joseph Koo, lyrics by James Wong, Game of Death (1978, Hong Kong)

Performed by Roman Tam

Some rather blurry subtitles of a loose translation are in the provided video (to my Mandarin-speaking friends, may I ask if you can provide a more accurate translation?)

Appears as the opening credits song to the final film featuring Bruce Lee. Game of Death was incomplete at the time of Lee's death, and a "complete" version was released in 1978 with re-edited footage from his previous films. Roman Tam, the singer, was a major figure in the Cantopop music scene, He was also controversial – his on-stage flamboyance and his voice (which was not as masculine as some of his fellow Cantopop peers) were frowned upon by conservative Hong Kongers.

The Cantonese release of Game of Death occurred at the same time. It also has a title song, with the same composer, lyricist, and performer. However, it is a markedly different song (and is competing in the other group). The Cantonese version is considered the "original" and is competing in the other group.

“Goodbye Girl”, music and lyrics by David Gates, The Goodbye Girl (1977)

Performed by David Gates

This song appears in this romantic dramedy's finale as it transitions to end credits. Unemployed dancer Paula McFadden (Marsha Mason) and ten-year-old daughter Lucy (Quinn Cummings) are forced to take in a struggling actor (Richard Dreyfuss), who is the friend of Paula's now-ex.

Those of you who saw The Last of Us season 1 may have noticed The Goodbye Girl featured in the sixth episode of that show during a "movie night". From my perspective, The Goodbye Girl is about learning how to trust again after being abandoned (whether once before or repeatedly). Very apt for that certain episode of TLoU.

“A Million Miles Away”, music and lyrics by Fred Avril and Philippe Monthaye, Mars Express (2023, France)

Performed by Alice Lewis

Appears as the only song in the end credits to this French animated cyberpunk noir. The lyrics make (relatively non-spoilery) reference to the violent events that transpired in the finale. Not quoted in the film's score. In Mars Express, private detective Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos Rivera are investigating a homicide – leading both of them to a horrible conspiracy that might shake the foundations of 2200s human society.

Dropping objectivity for a moment... for all of you who are fans of the likes of Blade Runner (1982) and Ghost in the Shell (1995, Japan), Mars Express is 100% for you. And even if you haven't seen either of those, this is the one animated movie from outside the major American and Japanese studios competing in this year's edition of MOABOS I highly recommend to all, with a small warning here for the film's severe violence.

“Puppet on a String”, music and lyrics by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, Girl Happy (1965)

Performed by Elvis Presley

None of the videos on YouTube have the "correct" audio alongside the images, but the provided version is as close as it gets. Apologies.

In film #17 of 31 in his acting career (1956-1969), Elvis plays the lead singer of a band. The band is normally cooped up in Chicago, but it's Spring Break, and their nightclub manager boss (Harold Stone) needs someone to make sure to watch out for his college senior daughter (Shelley Fabares in her first of three appearances as the leading lady in an Elvis movie – a record). The boss wants her protected from the "30,000 sex-starved young men" also vacationing in Fort Lauderdale. Florida (the boss' words, not mine). The two leads eventually fall for each other, and fully realize this with this song (which became Elvis' most successful single from this film).

“Something’s Gotta Give”, music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Daddy Long Legs (1955)

Performed by Fred Astaire; danced by Astaire and Leslie Caron

Starts in earnest at 1:17.

In this, the third (!) adaptation by 20th Century Fox of Jean Webster's 1912 young adult novel of the same name, Daddy Long Legs sees wealthy American magnate Jervis Pendleton III (Astaire in his first widescreen musical) secretly paying for the college education of young Frenchwoman Julie André (Caron), after he, by chance, spotted her tending to children at a French orphanage. Julie calls her unidentified benefactor "Daddy Long Legs", based on a faraway description given to her by her fellow orphans. As she writes to Daddy Long Legs, she nevertheless falls for him – sight supposedly unseen. And he, to his surprise, starts falling for her.

The biggest hurdle to this movie is the obvious age difference between Astaire and Caron. However, Daddy Long Legs fully acknowledges this reality throughout – and gifting viewers some hilarious lines to boot at Astaire's expense. I've seen much worse (re:age difference), and it helps that Astaire moves and dances as well as he does. Your mileage may vary, but I don't read the narrative as predatory.

This is a Great American Songbook standard and was covered by many artists, including Bing Crosby (F:NV fans?), Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

“You Are My Lucky Star”, music Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

(initial version; begins in earnest at 1:00) / (reprise, part 1) / (reprise, part 2)

Initially performed by Frances Langford; reprise performed and danced by Eleanor Powell

If you're vaguely familiar with this song, that's because either you've seen the end of Singin' in the Rain (1952) and/or Alien (1979). Stage producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor) is putting on a radio special to promote his upcoming Broadway musical. Robert is also having trouble casting a lead actress for his musical. Frances Langford plays herself here – she was principally a radio star who made only a handful of appearances in films, usually in supporting or bit roles. Langford would be a key fixture in Bob Hope's USO performances during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

In the reprise, Robert's former high school sweetheart, Irene Foster (Eleanor Powell), has just arrived from Albany to audition for his stage musical. She imagines herself onstage – singing and dancing in a fantastical ballet sequence. Powell, approaching the peak years of a relatively short film career, was considered by many to be the most accomplished female dancer in Hollywood history (incl. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Fred Astaire, who said she was in a league all by herself). And here, she shows she can do more than just tap dancing.

The folks assigned to GROUP A include: @cokwong, @demenshah, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @maximiliani, @rawberry101, @theybecomestories, . You are also being joined by 17 others including myself and my sister.

GROUP B

“Aren’t You Glad You’re You?”, music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke, The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)

(in-film version) / (soundtrack version)

Performed by Bing Crosby

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

In this sequel to the Best Picture-winning musical Going My Way (1944), Crosby (at the height of his career) reprises his Oscar-winning role as Father O'Malley, who has just been transferred to a big city parish and to oversee its underfunded, nun-run private school. One student, Patsy (Joan Carroll), has been dropped off there by her financially unstable single mother. While seeking for advice about a writing assignment one night, Father O'Malley urges Patsy – who has not been fitting in at school – to be herself and approach the essay uniquely, leading to this song. Quoted a few times in the film's score. The soundtrack version and all covers are usually a lot more upbeat than the original.

“Farewell Amanda”, music and lyrics by Cole Porter, Adam’s Rib (1949)

Performed by David Wayne

In this romantic comedy, prosecutor Adam (Spencer Tracy) and defense attorney Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) are married. He's a traditionalist; she's a feminist. He's prosecuting a woman who shot (but didn't kill) her adulterous husband; she's defending that very same woman. Their neighbor, pianist Kip Laurie (David Wayne), has been romantically interested in Amanda for some time and, over dinner, premieres this song. The song becomes a hit later in the film.

For MOABOS veterans, you know that I include a "troll song" in MOABOS every now and then. This is the closest thing to a "troll song" this year because "Farewell Amanda" appears multiple times through Adam's Rib in unexpected and hilarious contexts (to Adam's annoyance).

“Game of Death” (Cantonese original), music by Joseph Koo, lyrics by James Wong, Game of Death (1978, Hong Kong)

Performed by Roman Tam

Some rather blurry subtitles of a loose translation are in the provided video (if you know someone who is fluent in Cantonese and is willing to provide a more correct translation, please let me know)

Appears as the opening credits song to the final film featuring Bruce Lee. Game of Death was incomplete at the time of Lee's death, and a "complete" version was released in 1978 with re-edited footage from his previous films. Roman Tam, the singer, was a major figure in the Cantopop music scene, He was also controversial – his on-stage flamboyance and his voice (which was not as masculine as some of his fellow Cantopop peers) were frowned upon by conservative Hong Kongers.

The Mandarin release of Game of Death occurred at the same time. It also has a title song, with the same composer, lyricist, and performer. However, it is a markedly different song (and is competing in the other group).

“Giấc Mơ (Dream)”, music and lyrics by Túng, Before Sex (2024, Vietnam)

Provided version (which is mildly NSFW) performed by Túng; performed in-film by Nguyễn Lê Việt Hưng

Lyrics in Vietnamese (very rough translation that I know the Viet Film Fest crew is gonna pick apart)

The provided soundtrack version is part of the film-ending montage of this raunchy coming-of-age romantic comedy.

The song's first appearance (not provided) is much more instrumentally simple, and appears during a comedic fantastical sequence. Before Sex opens with two groups of friends discussing their opinions on sex, one-night stands, how to "win over" someone, and love before splintering into three storylines. Say what you will about how the film gets to its endings, but I saw Before Sex as a springboard into discussions about what is healthy in a relationship – rare for a major Vietnamese studio romantic comedy.

“Girl Happy”, music and lyrics by Doc Pomus and Jerry Ragovoy, Girl Happy (1965)

(single version which also appears in the opening credits) / (end-of-film reprise)

Performed by Elvis Presley

This number appears in the stylish opening credits and in the final scene of the film. It is occasionally quoted in the film's score. In film #17 of 31 in his acting career (1956-1969), Elvis plays the lead singer of a band (shock!). The band is normally cooped up in Chicago, but it's Spring Break, and their nightclub manager boss (Harold Stone) needs someone to look out for his college senior daughter (Shelley Fabares in her first of three appearances as the leading lady in an Elvis movie – a record). The boss wants her protected from the "30,000 sex-starved young men" also vacationing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (the boss' words, not mine). The two leads eventually fall for each other, despite this exceptionally strange situation and further drama with another love interest, Deena (Mary Ann Mobley). If you think that sounds like a crazy plot for an Elvis movie, you haven't seen enough Elvis movies.

Girl Happy was made by MGM as a response to the popularity of the "beach party" movies made by American International Pictures (AIP). The beach party subgenre was a 1960s craze with low-budget comedies of teenage/young adult characters getting into zany situations often involving elements of '60s teenage culture – poor romantic decision-making, dance parties, days at the beach (Californian surf culture especially, though Girl Happy is set out in Florida), rock-and-roll, car culture, excessive drinking with comical consequences, and more. AIP's Beach Party movies are also one of my guilty pleasures.

“I’ve Been Kissed Before”, music and lyrics by Lester Lee and Bob Russell, Affair in Trinidad (1952)

Performed and danced by Rita Hayworth (dubbed by Jo Ann Greer)

Nightclub singer Chris Emery (Hayworth) is based in Trinidad and Tobago, still a British colony in 1952, and has been embroiled in an investigation into her late husband's murder. Her husband's brother, Steve (Glenn Ford; first seen at 0:43 in the provided video), has just arrived on the island and is seeking answers. This performance comes at significant risk for Chris, as it is being held in the estate of one of the primary murder suspects (to explain why she is taking that risk is a major spoiler). This song marks the point in the film in which the web of murderous schemes and the local authorities' investigation that define this entire work finally comes together.

Rita Hayworth, of mixed Spanish Romani and Irish/English descent, was considered one of the pin-up girls of 1940s Hollywood. She retired from filmmaking after her marriage to Prince Aly Khan, but when that marriage collapsed, she made her heralded return in this film noir, made at Columbia Pictures (where Hayworth was contracted to before the marriage).

“I’ve Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

Performed and danced by June Knight, Robert Taylor, and company; brief reprise by Frances Langford

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Dance Direction

As Broadway producer Robert Gordon (Robert Taylor) commiserates with the fabulously wealthy young widow Lilian Brent (June Knight) over the fact he is having trouble opening his show on Broadway, the two begin flirting with the other, in addition to suggesting a business arrangement to help open his show. The flirtation continues with this song. How about that furniture? Reprised briefly by Langford later on during rehearsal.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) awarded a competitive Oscar for Dance Direction for only three years (1935-1937). Choreographer Dave Gould won the inaugural Dance Direction Oscar for this number. This category was discontinued because of political pressure from the directors' branch of AMPAS. The most recent honorary winner for an Academy Award for choreography for work on an individual film was Onna White for Oliver! (1968).

“Même plus l'amour (Not Even Love)”, music and lyrics by Fred Avril and Philippe Monthaye, Mars Express (2023, France)

Performed by Barbara Carlotti

Lyrics in French (somewhat literal translation)

In this French animated cyberpunk noir, private detective Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos Rivera are investigating a homicide. Their investigation leads them to find the murder victim's roommate, who is being followed by persons unknown. Despite their best efforts, Aline and Carlos fail to protect the roommate while trying to make a getaway. This song plays muted, under dialogue with lyrics somewhat not perceptible to the viewer, while Aline – a workaholic and a recovering alcoholic – drinks away her sadness at a bar. Not quoted in the film's score.

Dropping objectivity for a moment... for all of you who are fans of the likes of Blade Runner (1982) and Ghost in the Shell (1995, Japan), Mars Express is 100% for you. And even if you haven't seen either of those, this is the one animated movie from outside the major American and Japanese studios competing in this year's edition of MOABOS I highly recommend to all, with a small warning here for the film's severe violence.

“River Song”, music by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, and John Williams, lyrics by the Sherman Brothers, Tom Sawyer (1973)

Performed by Charley Pride and chorus

Produced by Reader's Digest (seriously) and distributed by United Artists (UA), this is a musical adaptation of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This movie comes early in John Williams' film scoring career (this is two years before Jaws, four before Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and just past the peak Disney years for the late Sherman Brothers, the three collaborated for this opening credits song – establishing the setting for this film (shot on location in Missouri).

Pride was the first black country music superstar and, at this time, Pride's presence (even for an opening credits song) was a massive get for this production. This was Pride's second and final performance on an original song for any movie.

“Sing Before Breakfast”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

Performed and danced by Eleanor Powell, Buddy Ebsen, and Vilma Ebsen

After going to her former high school sweetheart's office to inquire about auditioning for a Broadway stage musical he is producing (and not finding him there) the previous day, aspiring singer/dancer Irene Foster (Powell) has breakfast with her friends. Siblings Ted and Sally Burke (the Ebsens, both making their film debut; Buddy would go on to have a long film/TV career while Vilma stuck solely to the stage) provide Irene with support during their occasional appearances in this film.

Why is Buddy Ebsen wearing a Mickey Mouse sweater in an MGM musical despite MGM having their own animation studio at the time? No clue.

“Tere Bina Aag Ye Chandni (Without You, Even Moonlight is a Scorching Fire)”, music by Shankar Jaikishan, lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri, Awaara (1951, India)

Performed by Nargis and Raj Kapoor (singing dubbed by Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey, respectively) and chorus

Lyrics in Hindi (turn on the CC's in the provided video for translation)

In Awaara, Raj (Raj Kapoor) and Rita (Nargis) are childhood sweethearts who were separated when Raj could not afford the fees for school, resulting in his expulsion. Years later, after Raj turned to a criminal gang to support himself and his mother, the two reconnected. He has been trying to tell Rita, indirectly, that he has turned to thievery and is attempting to leave his criminal life behind, but she's unable to connect the dots. Awaara comments upon class, feminism, and what a genuine redemption looks like – though it's not apparent in this musical number, the film's dramatic and comedic moments were inspired by the silent films of Charlie Chaplin.

This song is part of a dream sequence depicting the struggle between a potential romantic future and Raj's criminal past. The scene follows a date between Raj and Rita and immediately follows a tense exchange between Raj and his knife-wielding gang boss (seen at 9:09 in the provided video), who fully expects Raj sto steal from Rita and her family.

“Wave-a-Stick Blues”, music and lyrics by Ozzie Nelson, Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra (1940 short)

Performed by Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra

This comes from a 1940 Vitaphone short film that most likely would have appeared between feature films at a Warner Bros.-owned theater. The film is solely a musical showcase of the talents of Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra. Nelson was a bandleader who would become best known for his starring role in the TV sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966).

Before the United States v. Paramount (1948) Supreme Court decision, the major American studios owned theaters and theatrical chains. And back then, if you wanted to see a movie at one of the studio-owned theaters, you often bought a ticket for a double feature. The "B-movie" would go first. Following the B-movie, you would be treated to some combination of a serial film, short film(s) (like Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra!), and trailers. Then your "feature presentation", the A-movie, would play. Moviegoing was far more of a community event then, and a double feature was considered normal to audiences in those days.

When the major American studios lost the Paramount case, they had to sell off their theaters. And as such, the major studios pulled out of making serial films (essentially, a predecessor of television) and short films. By the end of the 1950s, the live-action short film had essentially become extinct among the majors. The Paramount decrees were repealed by the Department of Justice under the Trump administration in 2020

The folks assigned to GROUP B include: @addaellis, @cinemaocd, @dog-of-ulthar, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @machpowervisions, @shootingstarvenator, @stephdgray, @umgeschrieben, and @yellanimal . You are also being joined by 17 others including myself and my sister.

Would you like to know something more about a song or a movie featured above? Do you have a question or comment about MOABOS's processes? Feel free to ask me! If you are having difficulty accessing any of the songs (especially if region-locked) or if there are any errors in the links above or the playlist, please let me know as soon as possible.

You will be contacted for the final round regardless of your participation or non-participation in the preliminary. If turnout in one group is lagging behind compared to another, I will ask some of the more senior participants to participate in the other group, too. Do not worry too much about this if you cannot participate, although I will be checking in as the deadlines near.

Once more to all of you here, my thanks for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally over however long I've known you. It's a privilege and a pleasure to share all these movies (well, excerpts of them) and musical numbers with you. I hope not only do you learn something about film or music, but that you personally enjoy listening, too! My deepest appreciation to all!

TABULATION FOR THE PRELIMINARY ROUND

This preliminary round uses a points-based, ranked choice method which has been in use since MOABOS II (2014). A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. The tabulation method described here for the preliminary round is used only as a tiebreaker in the final round (more on how the final is tabulated when we get there). 

The tiebreakers for the preliminary are:

total points earned;

total #1 votes;

song(s) which is/are ranked higher on more ballots than the other(s);

average placement on my and my sister's ballots;

tie declared

[till-death-us-do-part]

One of the earliest interviews of Chris about Lord of the Lost that I’ve found, sources and such at the end, originally in German

Lord

By Pamela Stahl - 6th December 2008

Chris "The Lord" Harms is no longer an unknown entity in the dark and colourful world of the alternative music scene. The former singer of Philiae has already performed on stage with Big Boy and is currently known as the guitarist of the glam rock band The Pleasures, as well as the voice of UnterArt.

But as if all that wasn't enough, multi-talented Lord has now come out with his latest music project of the same name. In an exclusive interview, the musician revealed how Lord was founded, what we can expect from the debut album "Not From This World", as well as the good news that the band will be appearing live on stage for the first time in early January as the support act for Big Boy.

Pamela: Hello Lord. The most important question for you is of course: How are you?

Lord: Oh, I don't think I've ever been asked that in an interview. I usually skip a question like that because nowadays it means nothing more than "hello", but obviously not in this case. So I'm fine, even if I'm very tired this morning.

Pamela: You seem to be a very busy person. Until four years ago you were the singer of Philiae, for a while you supported Big Boy as a guitarist and currently you are known as the voice of UnterArt and as the guitarist of the glam rock band The Pleasures. How and why did you come to form your new project Lord?

Lord: I just had to do something completely my own again. Strictly speaking, this is not my first album of this kind, I made an album under the project name Vagueness in 2004 and 2005, but this time there is a completely different seriousness, conviction and ambition behind it. I think that is what you would call pure passion.

Pamela: Lord was initially intended as a solo project, how and where did you finally find suitable collaborators?

Lord: It was a gradual process. At first I was just looking for a live band. At first I was fascinated by the idea of ​​having an all-girl band around me because it's a great contrast. But then it quickly became much more important to me to have people around me that I respect and have known for a long time. So I didn't cast them or anything like that, they are all friends of mine. I know Class from Just Music, where I always buy my guitars, Sebsta has been tattooing me for many years, Any was a crew member with The Pleasures on tour a lot, and everyone knows Sensai.

Pamela: Your debut album will be called “Not From This World.” What does this title mean to you personally?

Lord: That's the title of the first song I wrote, the unplanned start of this band. It describes the moment of falling in love so madly that you feel like the other person is not from this world. Total helplessness and blindness, fearless surrender. I can only recommend it to everyone ;-)

Pamela: Have you finished working on the album yet? If so, how long did the recordings take in total and how did they go?

Lord: Not quite yet. I still have to sing a lot of songs, Sensai is still working on a few additional guitar add-ons and this evening I'm going back to the studio to see Corvin, who plays piano on a few songs on the album. He's been arranging something on the album outro song "Sooner Or Later" and I'm really excited.

Pamela: You can already listen to two songs on your MySpace page. Both have a noticeably dark and slightly melancholic touch. Does Lord give you the opportunity to write the songs that you couldn't write in the same form with your other bands?

Lord: That's the point. But not only couldn't write them, but especially didn't want to write them, so that the bands remain what they are and what they stand for.

Pamela: Are these two songs and their general mood representative of the entire album, or are there still surprises in store?

Lord: The general tone is a bit harder. The two demos are more of an easy-to-digest fare. Don't expect black metal, but I've listened to Nine Inch Nails and Rammstein for too many years to hold back on the heavy riffs.

Pamela: What else can you tell us about the album at this point? What aspects of the content will it cover and perhaps the most important question: When is it likely to be released?

Lord: I actually managed to put 13 love songs in the broadest sense on one album. That's 100%... I don't know when we can release it. I hope before it gets warm again. I don't want to wait any longer!

Pamela: The music not only sounds dark and atmospheric, but also very emotional. It is reasonable to suspect that many personal experiences and events went into the songwriting. How was it in your case?

Lord: Yes, exclusively. I like to express myself metaphorically or in images, and I package everything in fictional stories, but the lyrics are all an absolute reflection of my emotional world. Musically, I didn't do everything on my own; Sebsta in particular composed a lot.

Pamela: What do you personally expect from a good song?

Lord: It has to convey an emotion in a tangible way, whatever it may be. That's all that matters.

Pamela: When you compose new songs, do you need a certain mood and atmosphere, or are you one of those musicians who get ideas in their sleep, so to speak?

Lord: The latter, sometimes even literally. The songs are just there and I go into the studio and put together a demo, like recording "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", which is just as easy to remember as a guitarist in my generation.

Pamela: What feedback have you received from your colleagues in other bands about your new project? Do they like what you're doing, or aren't they a little worried that you might even quit sooner or later to concentrate fully on Lord?

Lord: Musically they think it's good, more or less, not everyone is into this whining ;-) And of course they're behind me, and I'm behind them, as well as behind all the music I make, and as long as that's the case, nobody needs to be afraid. I don't think that will change any time soon.

Pamela: Compared to the music and your appearance with the Pleasures, Lord represents a contrast that couldn't be more extreme. Do you think that you can appeal to the same audience with Lord as with the Pleasures? Or to put it another way: Could it be that your existing fan base, who see you as the slightly offbeat and always colourful guitarist, is a little frightened by your new serious, almost serious image?

Lord: I don't think the difference is that drastic. A drastic difference would be if I had a death metal and an RnB band. In addition to my offbeat existence as a colourful diva, I have always represented a darker side with the Pleasures, which most fans know, both visually and musically. I don't think most people will be frightened, but it will certainly happen in isolated cases. I have to live with that, you can't please everyone, and I won't try to.

Pamela: Which image is more appropriate for the private Lord? The oddball a la The Pleasures, or the thoughtful person with a penchant for sentimentality?

Lord: Somehow both, but basically the latter.

Pamela: How did you come up with the idea of ​​calling yourself Lord? Sure, the band is called Lord because you are "The Lord". But how did you come up with that name for yourself?

Lord: That was my ex-girlfriend. I had the weird nickname Vivian back then, but that's another story. That was a bit too silly for me, and I said to her that I would like to have something in front of it for The Pleasures that somehow suits me. She then mentioned "Lord", and that was it.

Pamela: Was there a personal key experience that motivated you to become a musician? Or how else did you come up with the idea of ​​becoming a musician?

Lord: Several. Two decisive ones. My first concert on my mother's lap, I was 3 years old. Two years later I started learning the cello of my own volition. And later my first concerts by Die Ärzte. That's when I felt I had to get on stage!

Pamela: Not only is this interview coming to an end, but so is the year 2008. What was your best experience in 2008 as a musician and personally?

Lord: The UK tour with The Pleasures was a highlight. Personally, definitely my trip to Las Vegas and the unique experience of a “wedding drive-thru”.

Pamela: Were there any negative events this year?

Lord: Yes. But that was so annoying that I don’t even want to think about it anymore and would rather just ignore the topic of “former The Pleasures drummer”.

Pamela: Then a cautious look into the future. What can we expect from you in the coming year? What concrete plans do you have? And when are Lord's first live dates likely to take place?

Lord: Release the album, start on the next Lord album... and very importantly, on January 15th and 16th Lord will be on stage live for the first time, as the opening act for Big Boy, in Kiel and Schwerin!!

Pamela: Thank you very much for this interview and I wish you much success - with all your bands, of course.

[Source, originally in German]

[Archive]

[pomefioredove]

Heyyyy if you are still open to some more matchups can I request a romantic one? You can pick anyone Students, Staff, or RSA/Noble Bell college people, i don't care either way. I really just want to know who you think fits me personality-wise best lol. 

Ok, so I guess I’ll tell you my appearance first, I’m 169cm so like 5’6, I’ve got very very curly reddish brown hair, and blue eyes that look purple to gray depending on the light. I have a lot of tattoos. Started with a stick and poke piece when I was 13 and have kept getting them even years later. I joke that instead of a sleeve I have a pair of pants, both my legs are covered in tattoos, one side black and the other color. People always tell me I'm incredibly easy to spot in a crowd. Pronouns are She/Her and my voice is kind of low and monotone maybe a bit husky.

As for hobbies... I love Boxing and MMA, I’ve been doing it competitively for a few years so I can comfortably say I can kick most people's ass. food is a bit of a love language for me so I cook pretty often and try a lot of different cuisines (current fav is Georgian, you have to try Khachapuri it's soooo good). I used to sing and play the drums though it's been a while so I'm probably not too great anymore. You know how some people listen to music for the lyrics while other people listen for the beat? I definitely listen more for the sound, I don't care what the song is about just how the sounds flow together... which is why I mostly listen to music in foreign languages, don't need to understand to lyrics to enjoy the beat.

My interests are mostly low key I like to study languages but I don't really try to become fluent just conversational i guess. I'm more inclined to learn about the aspects of a language than the grammar and stuff. Reading horror and what I like to call weird fiction. I love finding books that are a little odd the best example of this that I can think of is "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewsk. I really like weird things, normal things that have been a little twisted and made up in new ways if you get what I mean.

As for my personality... ugh I think I'm probably an acquired taste... it sounds bad but like I'm a really difficult person to get close to. I just don't trust easily and I'm not someone who entertains too much small talk without reason. An example is the fact I've known people for five+ years and still don't really consider them friends. Sure we hang out but like they don't know me and I don't know them. I'm just kind of prickly, with a major resting bitch face too. Though to make up for this I'm incredibly loyal. Once we've actually become friends there's nothing I wouldn't do for them. If they need help hiding a body I'm not gonna ask questions just gonna bring a shovel, take out for two, and tickets out of the country.

Oh and a current project of mine is to reverse-engineer a printer so that i can stick it to shitty corporations who think its reasonable to make you pay a subscription to use a printer that I ALREADY PAID FOR!! That last bit was mostly because i need to print out an essay of mine and I had to dust of the printer i haven't used in forever only to be met with a error message saying i had to pay my subscription to use the thing ugghh. So now i need to actually learn how to a soldering gun.

Sorry if my ramblings don't make much sense, I really don't think about myself too much so trying to describe myself was like insanely hard. Thank you!!!!!!!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

I match you with 𝐑𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐡𝐢

The First Impression:

Okay. His honest, true, first thought? You smell good. You smell like spices and warmth, so much so that he forgets what he's doing to turn in your direction.

Why He Fell:

"Prickly" and "hard to get close to" aren't terms in Ruggie's dictionary. He would crawl into a sewer if he thought he'd get something worthwhile out of it, and, hey- to him, you're pretty worthwhile!

He may or may not trail behind you like a lost puppy for a little while, at least until you take pity on him and give the poor thing a good meal. But, like with most stray animals, feeding him only brings him back.

Over time (and a few meals), Ruggie starts to bond with you on a more personal level. He'll ask about each of your tattoos, let you ramble to him about whatever it is you're working on, and take little notes on how sharp and crafty you are in the meantime.

The Relationship:

Ruggie has absolutely no shame. Will gladly eat every single thing you make him without even asking what it is, all while dousing you with compliments about it. If making people food is your love language, then eating food is his.

You're just really nice to have around, right? And hey, your beat-em-up skills definitely don't hurt! He's a scrawny guy, he can appreciate standing behind some muscle. He also finds the way you understand sound, in both music and language, to be fascinating, especially considering how sensitive most beastmen's ears are. He can relate to how you describe it.

He's never one to judge, either, so take your time getting comfortable around him! He'd never admit it, but he's pretty much the same way- it takes a lot to actually get his walls down. You can do it together, huh?

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #215

Today is National Ice Cream Day at a place called Moxie's. Ever since the death of J's brother, Daniel, we've been making it a point to go every year. Why? Because ice cream and National Ice Cream Day were some of Daniel's favorite things. And doing this is a good way to remember him.

But first!!! Before I get into all that stuff!!! I wanted to tell you!!! Your new locket is ready. I finished it today. And I've put so much beautiful stuff in it, just for you. I can't wait for you to see it! I just hope that I'll get an opportunity to give it to someone who can give it to you. Hopefully that opportunity will arrive in a little over a week. We'll see. I'll do my best.

Anyhoot. So, while we were out and about, I took a bunch of pictures for you!

Here were the available flavors at Moxie's today:

...As you can see, it's A LOT of flavors. And usually, they have a very weird flavor at another part of the place, where you're supposed to taste it and guess what it is. This year's flavor felt familiar, but I couldn't place it. It was some kind of herby sort of thing, and it was delightful. Last year's flavor was garlic, and it was also VERY delightful, oh my goodness!

Yes, I imagine you might be thinking that garlic-flavored ice cream shouldn't work. But somehow they managed to find a way to make it work. I don't know how they did it, but it was amazing, and I'm a little sad that I can't get it anymore, ahahaha~!

...It is known that I am the cheese goblin. But I am also the garlic goblin!! Rarghablargablaarg! 🤪🤣

The flavors I got were butter pecan, Irish creme, and white wine sangria. And all of them were absolutely delectable!

Hey, Sephiroth? Which ice cream flavors would you have chosen? I wonder... Will you tell me someday, maybe?

Of course, since it's National Ice Cream Day, Moxie's had all kinds of other activities, too! They were mostly aimed for children, but still, I took some pictures...

...Hey, Sephiroth? Have you ever played with bubbles before? Wanna try it with me sometime? In my Early Childhood Education classes, they taught us how to make a soap and glycerin solution that lends itself well to particularly sturdy bubbles; it's a lot of fun!

There was a bouncy house, too! J and I are a little too big for this one, though. It's angled up because I didn't wanna accidentally get pictures of children; it's important to avoid that because in my world, it's dangerous for pictures of children to be on the internet for a variety of very sad reasons. But here:

There was also the folks with all the reptiles!! I got all kinds of pictures of them for you!!

J took a few pictures, too, ahahaha~!

I also took some more pictures of the sky; it was especially nice today:

Br can't eat ice cream at ice cream places because of cross contamination. So after this, J and I went to the grocery to try to get some ice cream for her! But she already had ice cream. So we got whipped cream instead, because she was running out. We chilled there for a short while:

And then we went home and I cooked some steak and mushrooms:

I wish I could give a bowl of what I made to you. It was really delicious.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get the music box notes arranged in Audacity. I want this song to be done before the first of August if at all possible. I don't know how far I'll get, but today I got some good news that I'm not gonna share just yet, and I'm feeling pretty pumped to get it done.

So I'm gonna go to bed. First because it's late, and second, because I wanna get my nightly period of semi-consciousness so that from my perspective, it seems like tomorrow will get here faster.

I love you. Please try hard to see the beauty in all the things I showed you. And please stay safe; you'll wanna hear this song when it's done!

I'll write again tomorrow. Count on it.

Your friend, Lumine

[randomvarious]

1990s Downtempo Playlist

Well, ya just knew that after doing a bunch of trip hop playlist posting over the past few weeks that I was gonna start adding fresh coats of paint to my downtempo playlists too. And this week I've got some 90s gems from a same trio of albums I've been posting a lot about lately on these Sunday nights: Ninja Cuts: Flexistentialism from UK electronic powerhouse Ninja Tune, Parisian Kid Loco's brilliant DJ-Kicks mix, and then a pretty damn obscure comp from late 90s South Africa called ReRooted: Beatz From Da Ground Up.

And I think my absolute favorite of these new adds this week comes from that Flexistentialism comp, with a lovely piece of blissed-out, mid-90s, reverberating, softly bonging and throbbing dubbiness by legendary Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister called "Shakatakadoodub." These guys are better known as top-flight DJs and remixers, and their own DJ-Kicks mix is often ranked as one of the greatest DJ mixes that's ever been made, period, but "Shakatakadoodub," which is not an obscure track by any means, as it currently has over 1.11 million Spotify plays, is seven-plus minutes of light, hazy perfection 😌. K&D don't release much music of their own creation, and so, this merely made its debut on Flexistentialism, but if they'd ever been more committed to releasing more material, this definitely would've been a stand-out track on whatever they were fixing to release; it's so good.

Next up, from that ReRooted comp, we've got something from a band that hailed from Johannesburg called Sugardrive, who deliver "Girl You Made Me Bad," which is also sort of this vocal indie pop crossover hybrid too. Excellently soothing bits of trumpet, choppy psychedelic synths, and electric acoustic guitar strums. Looks like there's another version of this song on Spotify that has 31.8K+ plays, but this one appears to be cruising somewhere below 1,000 right now...

9 Lazy 9 - "Spoonful of Slow" Kruder & Dorfmeister - "Shakatakadoodub" Funki Porcini - "Venus" Sugardrive - "Girl You Made Me Bad" Boards of Canada - "Happy Cycling" Kid Loco - "Flyin' on 747"

But the YouTube version of this playlist contains all those adds and a handful more too that can't be found on Spotify, which is where some of the songs from Kid Loco's DJ-Kicks mix come into play, like a 1999 song called "Slo Jo" by a guy from Vienna named Stereotyp, who was signed to Kruder & Dorfmeister's own G-Stone Recordings label at the time. And true to that label name, this one is definitely stoned 😵. Very trippy and chill tune, with slow and syrupy synth zaps, a crunch-dusty drumbeat, and vocals delivered by someone named Le Bubu, whose only credits ever came from the Stereotyp 12-inch that this wonderful song first originated from: Stash It. Currently under 2,300 YouTube plays, and deserving of a lot more.

Hacienda - "Diskoking" Tongue - "Culture Consumers" Thievery Corporation - "Lebanese Blonde" Stereotyp - "Slo Jo"

And this playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So this latest update now brings the Spotify version of this playlist up to 40 songs that clock in at 4 hours and 7 minutes, but over on YouTube, we're up to a total of 69 songs (nice!) that clock in at 7 hours and 14 minutes! So if you want a shit-ton more of excellent 90s downtempo, do check out the YouTube one!

And if those playlist lengths sound way too long, consider checking some shorter ones out, which are segmented by year:

1993 Downtempo: YouTube / YouTube Music 1996 Downtempo: YouTube / YouTube Music 1997 Downtempo: YouTube / YouTube Music 1998 Downtempo: YouTube / YouTube Music

And you already know that there's gonna be more downtempo next week, but just to make it official: more downtempo next week.

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

Like what you hear? Follow me on Spotify and YouTube for more cool playlists and uploads!

[stabs-cake-with-salieris-dagger]

Recently I've made some interesting and surprising findings about mor that seem lesser known in the fandom (or maybe I just don't dig deep enough) Also I accidentally hit ctrl z while almost finishing up the post that I spent the past hour or so typing and it deleted most of what I've typed......... with tears I retyped everything again SIGH (resulting in me not proofreading any of this) 1. So I remember seeing somewhere that says mor has both Mozart and Salieri's compositions, which I thought it was false because it's all Mozart as far as I know. Until one day I actually looked at the credit a bit closer and found this:

This is the music that plays before victime de ma victoire. Mozart wrote fortepiano variations at 17 years old of Salieri's aria, so they really just used Mozart's version of Salieri's piece from one of his most popular operas???? It made me kind of mad but also this felt like a meta commentary considering it's associated with victime de ma victoire scene. It's a self aware song where Salieri is regretting, trying to come to terms of what he's done, and 'predicting' his failure. It serves as a commentary of the whole Mozart and Salieri matter beyond the scope of the show and ends in "J'ai perdu pour l'Histoire (I lost for history)." In this case it does feel like Salieri is being pushed aside in one of the worst possible ways, and I really wish some of his music could have made their ways into the musical properly. 2. I found a Playbill article talking about mor being in the middle of being adapted into English for Broadway in 2012...... which honestly I'm really glad it failed because I don't have faith that it'd be good. There's already the example of tdv, and the way they talk about it just doesn't seem... great, such as “bring shape and focus to the musical for American audiences” and "When the French write musicals, a lot of their songs are written like pop singles placed contiguous to each other, while on Broadway, it's necessary to have a storyline and a semblance of relationship.” Pop French musical isn't everyone's cup of tea and that's of course normal but the way it sounds like they're going to really Americanize it and rewrite it majorly and by storyline and relationship I take they mean needing musical motifs, reprises, and such. Just makes me feel they should just write a whole new musical?? And maybe it's just me but the tone sounds a little patronizing too? Though I do wish they could have released the cd and dvd in North America just because I'm Canadain lol Also curious if there was a time staging mor in Quebec would have been viable. 3. I spend too much of my time watching mor clips, but I've somehow never looked at performances pre proshot until recently. There were a few changes in the ~2 month (if my memory serves) between premiere and first proshot made to vivre a en crever that surprised me. First 2 screenshots from this video, and the rest from this one.

First of all, no handshake at on se reverra???? It's giving 2 bros chilling in the hot tub 5 feet apart cuz they're not gay

This is a little hard to see but Salieri is kneeling beside the wall as Mozart departs and it had me screaming ;; I know Laurent did kneel but I didn't know it was a thing in the French tour. This video gives a sliiiightly clearer silhouette of him kneeling but he's also blocked by Cavalieri.

Constanze running up to grab Mozart and refuse to let him go really had me by surprise and it's so heart breaking ;;;; I've been debating whether I like this better or the one that they ended up using where she just reaches out to him from the bed, because it kind of changes the tone of the scene.

Anyway thanks for reading if you've gotten this far. There's so many analysis posts I'd like to do but I simply don't have the energy to.... but if anyone wants to talk about analysis I'm more than happy to ramble lol