#illnesses. song of all time imo

[red-flagging]

rotating the hypothetical runs in the family dot amanda palmer dot mp3 - rbr driver ecosystem amv in my head and vibrating out of my skin

[3416]

haven't listened to the anthology yet, but i do think her music is suffering from the sheer quantity she's putting out while doing all this other stuff tbh. feels more like an overproduced electronic cashgrab than real layered music despite some tortured lyrics. like ttpd the first half has such a sameness to over half of it.... and that sameness is tied to midnights too imo. i really wish i could experience the joy of albums like 1989/folklore/evermore and def her country earlier stuff but. she can be a lyric writing machine (she needs someone to veto some of it thoughnfjdkfjd feels like no one can tell her no) but not lean on the exact same production style for this long bc it's kinda getting old to me and i really do enjoy so much of her discography like ����😭😭 idk. i know swifties are just gonna eat up whatever she does, and i've always been in between the absolute worshipping crowd and the absolute hater crowd but some of the music/production part is so uninspired.

[edge-oftheworld]

one thing I love about following celebrities/artists who are honest and proactive about their mental health struggles etc is I can’t count the number of times someone I know is going through something and I’m like ‘I’ve got a song for u’ and how much of my life involves telling myself ‘if [redacted] can do something/get better/etc then so can i’ (and having actual real evidence of it in front of me) and I can’t understate how much I appreciate these things.

but at the same time it involves a whole lot of watching people I care about suffer and you learn to read the signs and infer between the lines in songs and interviews, and yes we can never fully know what they don’t share with us, but when they do share things it’s not a big stretch to be like ‘this seems like it’s what life is like for you and I have taken encouragement from it but you deserve so much better’. and it’s easy to find ways to get angry at a predatory industry and realise things that could be hurtful if you’re already fragile.

and we can advocate for some things and help ourselves and the people around us feel better but it’s hard to meaningfully reach your faves as an individual. and there are things we can’t say on the internet in too much detail, speculation becomes the harmful kind of gossip, and so sometimes it’s a whole lot of internally saying ‘you’re doing incredibly well to have gotten to where you are but I wish for your sake things would get better faster’

[sonic-adventure-3]

DNB IN THE TRAILER FUCK IT IM HYPE. AMEN BREAK!!!! REAL HOPE WE SEE SHADOW BEING REPPED BY DNB AGAIN!!!!!!!!

[iwasntplanningonlikingkpop]

My Top 10 K-Pop Songs of 2022

If you're curious about my top 10 non-k-pop songs of 2022 check them out here!!!

RUN2U By Stayc

Forever 1 By Girl's Generation

After Like By Ive

Heart Burn By Sunmi

Chiquita By Rocket Punch

Antifragile By Le Sserafim

Attention By NewJeans

Copycat By Apink Chobom

Eye To Eye By Limelight

Higher By Fifty Fifty

English Release Honorable Mention: Pom Pom By Rocking Doll

I'm tagging: @shyirefly @backtodaydreams @beomieotter @thatadorkablegirl @hinataek @prettywordsyouleft @aigoo-exo @arzehh @orbityyxy also anyone else who sees this im also tagging you! and of course none of you have to do this but it would be nice if you did!!!

[persephoneflouwers]

kinda funny how shawmilla was actually one of the main reasons they're on the spotlight™️ and being talked left and right but at the same time the only thing that made shawn's careers stuck lmao cuz i'm like 92% sure harry's path and where he is now is what he wanted to achieve at some points

Not really funny for me though lmao the thing is they had different backgrounds. Shawn was literally a baby when he started solo and got overexposed way too soon in my opinion. Being in the band protected Harry for when he went solo, built for him a huge fanbase for when he went solo, crafted his brand image for when he went solo and anyone can argue with the wall if they want.

Shawn is still very young anyway, so I wouldn’t call him completely out of the games. I don’t think he’s stuck as you may think. I think he’s stuck because his carreer skyrocketed too early and then nothing.

Shawmila was a mess and honestly I think it did them so dirty, so dirty. I hope this shawmila 2.0 will be less cringy. If they have learned something from the previous mistakes, this could potentially be helping them lol but I have zero expectations.

[gumy-shark]

thinkin abt rcu gem has got me all sorts of unwell

[thestarmaker]

Man I don't think I can even call owl city one of my Favorite Musicians anymore bc I haven't really liked anything he's released in the past 9 years 😭

[azulpitlane]

vicious pt two I ln4

pairing: ex!lando norris x reader, charles leclerc x reader summary: you are trying to move on from lando but he refuses to notes: more dramaaa and asshole lando sorry, this is short cause i kind of got busy🧍‍♀️ part one, masterlist

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, maxfewtrell and 3,268,379 others

yourusername emails i cant send is officially yours💌

it has been a long and emotional process writing this album but i loved and enjoyed every bit of it<3 im so excited to share this piece of my life with you and officially close this chapter and move on

thank you for the support, ill see you all soon❤️

view all comments

user OMGG IM ALREADY CRYING ITS SO AMAZING

user stfu is that charles in the fifth pic?!?

user it is!! he was credited in a few songs for instruments🥹🥹

user because i liked a boy hits so different when u know what she went through :(

maxfewtrell running on stream to listen to it

yourusername pls dont hate im still sensitive user omg noo i cant watch whats he saying about it?? user he loves every song, hes being so supportive and said hes team y/n😭

user her friendship with charles is so cute omg

user “friendship” rightttt😏

user lost lando but got charles, a win is a win

francisca.cgomes love love love💌

user omg i know charles introduced them

user ‘ill see you soon’ ARE YOU TOURING???

pietra.pilao so incredibly proud of you❤️ such an amazing album

yourusername p ily and miss u sm🥹❤️ pietra.pilao i miss you more we need to get together soon! yourusername otw to text u so make plans rn🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

user the fact that landos friends are still supportive despite the breakup tells me everything i need to know

user “officially close this chapter” new era fr🫶

charles_leclerc so honored you even asked me to be apart of this❤️so proud of you ma cherie

yourusername so grateful for you❤️ user JUST DATEEEE user now kiss!!!

Lando so you and y/n huh?

Charles she's my friend is that a problem?

Lando i dont remember ever introducing you two?

Charles not that its any of your concern but i introduced myself last year on the paddock while you were too busy ignoring her

Lando so when i had back turned, you took the chance to steal my girlfriend?

Charles dont try turning this into something its not she's trying to move on so i think its time you do the same lando dont ask about her again. read

f1gossip

463,582 likes

f1gossip Following Y/n Y/l/n's album release, Lando and Charles have unfollowed each other on instagram! It is not confirmed if Y/n is the reason why, but it is heavily speculated. It seems Lando was the first to unfollow and Charles quickly followed suit.

view all comments

user all too much for little lando norris

user y/n breaking up a friendship now🙄

user she didnt do anything except release an album on how she felt, if lando gets offended by that then hes clearly the problem here

user 16 4 fans lost today but then again lando started it🤷‍♀️

user karma works in funny ways @landonorris

user lando has every right to be mad imo

user not at all, he treated her like shit then cheated and now hes mad she has friends in f1? make it make sense

user why watch soap operas when you can watch f1

user 2024 season is gonna HIT

user charles is going to have the motivation for wdc now, ferrari fans won🙏

user even though im a lando fan, i have to be team charles and y/n on this one sorry

user yup, after listening to her album i definitely support y/n

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, francisca.cgomes and 3,295,204 others

yourusername first time performing my new album at my one night show was the best time ever!! thank you for all that showed up you were an amazing crowd❤️

and just in case you missed my little announcement, bet u wanna is my next single of this album...this one's a little funny when you know the context🙊

view all comments

user wish i was able to go :(

user WHATS THE CONTEXT??

user listen to the lyrics, lando definetly wanted her back after his side girl cheated AHAH

user i need to know if charles was there

francisca.cgomes such a wonderful night💌 liked by yourusername

user your stage presence is so amazing

luisinhaoliveira99 so great seeing you🤍 liked by yourusername

user SHE WAS THERE?!? user pls tell me you guys took pictures together

user bet u wanna is so good omg

user are you opening for eras tour in europe

user it is rumored, i hope its true😭

f1gossip

376,845 likes

f1gossip Charles, Pierre, Kika and Luisa leaving Y/n Y/l/n's concert in LA tonight! Thoughts on the singer's new friendship with the drivers and girls?

view all comments

user i love them😭❤️

user i was there and saw charles with pierre and kika singing along to every song🥹

user SHUT UPPPP user stop theyre so cute

user luisa and y/n mean everything to me

user them supporting y/n despite the drama with lando shows a lot about him

user ive never wanted to part of a gc so bad

user charles is so supportive, yk who wouldnt be....

user i need them to date, he would treat y/n so good

scuderiaferrari

liked by charles_leclerc, yourusername and 1,402,440 others

scuderiaferrari Special guest for the first qualification of the season! Thanks for coming to the our garage❤️

tagged yourusername

view all comments

user OMFGGG

user i need pics of her and charles NOW

user charles got p1 cause bae was watching🙈

user is she staying all weekend!?!

user her and charles supporting each other omg

user are they finally dating??

user he was asked about it in an interview and he said they were just friends! user ugh can charles make a move already? i dont want another lando situation..

user i wonder if she bumped into lando😳

Lando was y/n really in ferrari garage?

Carlos yeah... are you okay mate?

Lando how can i be? he stole my girlfriend and is now parading her around the paddock its fucked up

Carlos he did say they were just friends and i didnt see them acting like a couple or anything

Lando there's gotta be something more i just need y/n to see who he really is

Carlos i dont know, maybe its time you move on mate

Lando no, i cant give up now do you have an extra paddock pass?

Carlos why...

Lando remember charles' crazy ex girlfriend who was obsessed with him? i heard shes in town to see him what if we send her the paddock pass so she can show y/n how charles treated her

Carlos this seems a little crazy lando why dont you just talk to y/n?

Lando she wont even let me get near her just please carlos? and then i wont ever bring it up again if it doesnt work

Carlos fine but dont tell anybody about this

Lando thank you mate, i owe you

tags: @iamahallucinationnn, @sofiacblair

[charlott2n]

drop some doom metal recs please 🙏

ABSOLUTELY. first of all u cant go wrong with witchcult today by electric wizard. dopethrone is kinda their most acclaimed album as well as the most popular post-sabbath doom album and the first two songs are definitely worth a listen at yhe very least but witchcult is definitely more approachable and catchy. lots of great rhythms and riffs

secondly i would be remiss to not mention @wyrmweed's album Book of Rituals under her band Saturniidae. really awesome doom that i legitimately love and listen to all the time even beyond the merit of just being my friend's album :) that is to say i dont just listen to it because i know the person who made it. but yeah please do check it out!!

also blood lust by uncle acid and the deadbeats!!!!! ill cut you down was my very first doom/stoner metal song :) its just such a killer album with so many great songs

master of brutality by church of misery is another great one! i love the guitar tone its very Juicy for lack of a word that makes any sense at all

also in the same guitar tone vein is belzebong! incredibly weedy band but the riffs are great and its a good time with any of their albums ^-^

i also need to recommend bongripper! if you like more droney stuff theyre great, and their album from this year is a fantastic doom monoloth imo.

also windhand!!!! please try out their debut or soma. two of my favorite doom albums of all time easily.

also for something a little sillier i want to recommend eight foot manchild :) theyre like jazzy funky doom its soooo cool youve gotta hear them at least once

also spider kitten!!!! i love their album Behold Mountain and i want to listen to more at some point. theyre so silly with it

lastly meditations by bong-ra! jazz doom. incredibly cool. and thats probably enough thanks for asking^-^

[lurkingshan]

My mind has been spinning and spinning around episodes 3 and 4, and I have so many feelings about them that I have been struggling to decide what I want to write about. One of @bengiyo's questions is about the different feel of this part of the story in the transition from page to screen, including the overall kdramafication effect, and I felt that most keenly where Hyung was concerned.

Let's start with the obvious: Hyung is not supposed to be this young and hot. But then, Young is not supposed to look like Nam Yoon Su, so I guess we can let that one go. More than that, though, I think episode 3 went out of its way to make Yeong Su a more appealing love interest than he ever seemed to be in the novel, and that had a clear purpose: to make the comedown in episode 4 so much worse.

Episode 3 used the familiar trappings of romance dramas to help us understand why Go Yeong was so drawn to this man despite some of his rough edges. They had interesting dates with good conversations. They shared an umbrella in the rain. They kissed sexily outside. They danced together in Yeong Su's (much nicer than described in the book) apartment. I may or may not have actually said OH MY GOD out loud when they were moving together to that old song; it was intoxicating in exactly the way early attraction is. Instead of viewing Hyung through the bitter recollections of Young's memory already knowing he's a bastard, we experienced him the way Go Yeong did when he was first catching his interest, and it was easy to see why he would latch onto this man as a balm and a distraction while he was going through a very hard time with his mother's illness.

Which means it hurt so much worse when Go Yeong emerged from that initial haze in episode 4 and realized who Yeong Su really was. He got a hard look at the deep internalized homophobia Yeong Su was carrying and projecting onto him, and it was not pleasant, nor was the way it echoed across his experiences with his mother.

Another interesting change made in the adaptation was to increase the severity of Hyung's crime; where in the novel he only searched and read articles on the evils of homosexuality, in the show he wrote the damn article while Go Yeong slept in his bed. A much larger betrayal and blow for Young. And this makes sense for the screen version, IMO; the romance is deeper and therefore so must be the fracture. Everything is just a bit bigger and more dramatic to amplify the themes of the story and to help the audience understand why this might drive Go Yeong to such a low moment without the benefit of his internal monologue to connect all the dots.

I was reflecting on these changes and how they affected the tone when I read @solitaryandwandering's thoughts, because I was intrigued by her reception of these episodes as darker, where for me, with the (much) more depressing novel version in my head, they felt lighter than expected. Which is kind of a wild thing to say about a section of the story that includes Young's suicide attempt, but context is everything! The T-aras, of course, also contribute to how different this section feels. In the book, Young is presented as so isolated and alone with this relationship, but in the show he has friends who know and care and try to help and show up for him in his low moment to make sure he is not alone. It makes such a difference to the bleakness of it all, and also makes the story feel more cohesive across the different parts in a way the book intentionally does not.

I think ultimately the adaptation choices made here were smart, and I continue to be impressed with how thoughtful Sang Young Park has been with his different visions for his story in each medium.

[runningfrom2am]

requiem masterlist

“will you still love me when i’ve got nothing but my aching soul?

i know you will.”

summary:

according to coriolanus snow, his best friend had the most beautiful voice in all of panem. she had been training her whole life constantly to get where she was; being up for a residency at the most elite opera house in all of panem. singing was her passion. her true love; and when that got stripped from her in a second, his world became a whole lot quieter. he loathed every minute of it.

based on this request

tags/warnings:

opera singer!mentor!reader (blink and you'll miss it), she's kind of a prodigy!! p cool imo, mute!reader, bestfriend!coryo, friends to lovers trope ooo, mentions of graphic violence early on (particularly the prologue) but after that it's pretty safe, depictions of ptsd/trauma, mental illness and minor suicidal ideation but at least she's not entirely alone, descriptions of minor medical treatments and use of medication.

authors note: i can hear you already- “omg raye, another coryo series? are you crazy?” yes. yes i am. anyway welcome back! third times the charm (not that the first two aren’t a massive success for me) but now for REAL i’m completely departing from the plot of tbosas and doing something totally new. thank you so much to @puredreamagination for sending in the request that inspired this whole thing! i can’t wait to get into this one :). it won’t be as long as the last two probably, but still i think this will be fun as a kind of mini series!

important disclaimer!: okay so let me make something clear from the beginning bc the playlist for this is already flowing- in this au their idea of “opera” music is slightly skewed. the main idea is that it’s old, and takes a very powerful and talented singer to do it justice. aka, if you see adele or celine dion on the playlist or mentioned in the fic, don’t come at me hahaha i know that’s not technically “opera” music but i thought it would be so fun to include. those are just some songs that i think survived the test of time and r would absolutely eat up.

prologue

main series

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

pinterest board // playlist // moodboards

all your thoughts // let’s talk ab it

masterlists // fic recs // nav (please read!)

follow my library and turn on notifs for updates when i post this!!

-> @runningfrom2am-library

tagging some of my faves!: @that-veela-girl @soulessjourney @keziahcore / @winterrrnight @becauseseaotters @fantasticchaosthing

[project-sekai-facts]

VBS event teaser commentary

Welcome back, it has been *checks calendar* 8 months since I was last able to do one of these jeez. Anyway, this will be a bit different to the ones I've done in the past, since rather than trying to predict what the event will be about, we already know. This is more of me trying to guess what will be in this event and what will be in VBS' next arc.

(TL by Project SEKAI ENG on twt)

(TLs from here onward by lozy bug on YT)

This event will have VBS finally surpassing RAD WEEKEND!!! This has been their primary goal since the start of the story, however more recently it has become more of a stepping stone for them in order to go beyond it. BREAK DOWN THE WALL has a lot of talk about how RW is a step for VBS before they go and do their own thing. It also is the obstacle blocking their SEKAI from expanding fully, in the form of a wall (hence the event title), which is also referenced in the event synopsis. The wall has started to crack with them honing their skills and resolve, but won't fully crumble until VBS can go beyond Nagi's dream.

Now all the way back to LUTF. Specifically the Nagi flashback section. So Nagi's dream was always for RADder to go on and reach a worldwide stage. They were popular in Japan and doing tours, and they had plans to do stuff overseas, but Nagi fell ill and died before any of this could become a reality. Nagi is like, the most important person in VBS' story. Ultimately she's the one who started it all. She decided to hold RW which inspired a whole generation of young people, passing the torch and hoping that they would go beyond what she achieved and do the things she always dreamed of. Without Nagi, there would be no VBS and no Street SEKAI.

So VBS' current goal is to go beyond what Nagi did, which entails VBS reaching around the world. However, the first step right now is to surpass RW. Now for what a lot of people have been asking me all day: is this rushed. Well, we won't really know until the event is out. But, imo, not really? It's been pretty obvious we're leading up to it, and while I thought we would have a few more events, this placement makes some sense (also WLEs are clearly leading up to a soon-ish big lore event so we need to get those sekai expanding lol).

I think some aspects could get rushed though or will happen offscreen. Again. Which was kinda an issue with On Your Feet, their last arc ender (though this was no fault of the writers i'm pretty sure they were not intending to wrap everything up at that point in time but plans were changed kinda last minute... you can tell bc events got insanely long for a bit and some units clearly needed more or less time than they were given). Mainly what comes to mind and what i've seen people talking about is Toya's song writing, and Arata's Whole Thing (& Souma!).

Toya's song writing is undoubtedly going to happen offscreen or in a card story. If it happens in the event itself, it probably will just be something that happens in passing and not given any focus, since this isn't his event. As for Arata (and Souma)? I think Arata will probably come back in this event, just because it feels very wrong to surpass RW without him. How they're going to bring him back? No idea, it was set up in BDTW and vaguely in Toya4 that he would come back in a future Toya event but this now feels like something that won't happen. However I still think the emotional baggage (aka his feelings about Souma and what Taiga said to him) will be dealt with in more detail in a future event, probably Toya5. Also then you can deal with Souma's stuff too, like the song he wrote for Arata that has been a thing since woao. Seriously, this is Toya event stuff, the only way they can get it in here is if they pull an Our Happy Ending and give Toya a dedicated chapter and try and squeeze it all in there. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if Arata stays MIA or is limited to a small appearance. It would be a bit disappointing, but there's a lot for the Squad past RW, so he can be there for event that surpasses the event that surpassed RW ig.

So what's next? I seriously suggest reading the epilogue of BDTW, it's only 6 minutes long and talks a lot about VBS' goals from here on out.

Their new SEKAI area takes inspiration from many places worldwide and their cultures and music, and the graffiti is all the names of famous street music events. They conclude that it's a place for teams that take the world. There's also an interesting scene earlier in the event that Miku reflects on here - Nagi's ghost (possibly her actual ghost, possibly a physical incarnation of An's imagination) was walking around the SEKAI, and she was looking at this one specific blank spot on one of the walls. Obviously, that spot was meant for RADder, but they never got to carve their name. VBS' new goal is to do exactly that. Maybe we'll see some travelling from that (where on earth they'd get the money i don't know), or maybe we'll deal with everyone's feelings and unresolved plot points first and Then get on the worldwide stage stuff (probably in the same arc. two if they decide to continue this past 6th anni).

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

All the MTC song trailer snippets are out? What are your opinions? :D I think Rio's is surprisingly chill and I'm still torn on Samatoki's, the lyrics might decide that one!

Heyy did you listen to the mtc album snippets ?

Nope. Let's check them out!

Backbone:

Title note: Presumably from 気骨, which has a slightly stronger-- almost noble-- connotation than English "backbone." Someone with 気骨 never lets anything stop them from doing what they believe is right, and not necessarily in the personal sense like in the English phrases "Grow a backbone." or "They have a strong backbone." As some people in this comments section are noting, it's also possible to interpret the title literally. The back is a recurring image in Japanese fiction; in this case, it represents Samatoki single-handedly shouldering various burdens for those he cares about. People are also drawing connections to the Aohitsugi's death motifs and Samatoki's skeleton speaker.

20 seconds in: Okay he literally just says the shouldering burdens bit haha. I guess that part is canon authorial intent

24 seconds in: "Nobody can break my 'backbone.'" If we assume this should be interpreted figuratively, that's like "Nobody can make me do anything I don't believe in." / "Nobody can break my spirit."

35 seconds in: "My 'backbone' is my true strength." This + the traditional Japanese-reminiscent instrumentals remind me of the Katen-gumi. Iirc they have a scroll hanging in their main office proclaiming their dauntlessness, an attribute Samatoki embodies well imo.

53 seconds in: This is a mean-spirited thought, but I always find it funny when Samatoki's like "This god damn city is broken and filthy... *takes a drag from a cigarette*" when the god damn city in question is one of the most affluent in the world.

64 seconds in: With that said, it's nice to see him acknowledging the positive presence he has in Yokohama and vowing to rid it of... whatever ills are plaguing it... taxation and ne'er-do-wells with illegal mics, no doubt. An Ichirou-esque sentiment.

71 seconds in: Props to Asanuma for rhyming jinsei and shinsen so well. "My life is always fresh; this is still just the prologue." Samatoki being receptive to growth? You love to see it. With that said, it's interesting to see the discrepancy between the two ideas of "It's time to change." and "My core values will never change." as we see in this song. I'm not sure how that'll actually play out in canon, so we'll have to wait and see.

Overall: That was fun! It had a nice beat. I look forward to hearing the full song when it drops.

Awake:

Title note: ??? 目覚めた? Like, "I'm woke af now"? Haha let me see what this song is actually about and then come back to this...

Side note: I was staying with a friend-- a buddy from the old scanlation team-- when this song preview dropped, and she was keeping me up to date with this song's delayed release drama. When it finally dropped, she was like "YOOO SLUG, LISTEN TO THIS" and turned her phone waaaay up, blasting the sonorous tones of Mr. Komada into our not at all soundproof hotel room, immediately alerting me to two things: 1. I was not awake enough for this. 2. The illumatic Iruma Jyuto was IN the building and, at that volume, probably in every floor of the building. Anyway, I'm still not awake enough for this, but let's go.

5 seconds in: Love the horns. Very MTC and very Gen III Pokemon. Yokohama 8/10 too much water

20 seconds in: hey hey heeey

30 seconds in: I appreciate the technical skill involved, but I am not comprehending one word of this. I'm going to have to look up the lyrics when I'm done fr.

Overall: Seems fun to rap! Once again, looking forward to the full song.

Top YT comment at the time of writing: Juuto: Y'all never seen me like this before! Me: Yeah, no shit.

Scrolling through the comments: Spare lyrics, ma'am? Spare lyrics for the poor? Jesus, there are some thirsty-ass mofos in this comment section...

Well, I didn't find any lyrics, so here goes watch 2 with a lot of pausing, I guess. Hmm the gist of the chorus seems to be "I'm not fucking around anymore" which-- like someone else has pointed out in the comments-- is kind of how Juuto's been since day one...? I'm not sure what's changed. I suppose the biggest difference would be it's no longer "I'll solve this problem" but "we'll solve this problem." I do like the opening of this first verse: When someone makes bad choices, who's left smiling? Who's left grieving? What is right, and what is wrong? Can that be something for every person to figure out for themselves? Here's another interesting bit: I used to think I didn't have any interest in colluding with other people-- it was more like mutual exploitation. But then I joined hands with a couple of like-minded people, and now we share the goal of victory. Yeah, it seems like the biggest changes here are Juuto embracing teamwork, which hell yeah. Opening up and trusting other people with his mission, in turn taking on their missions and incorporating it into one singular goal? That's baller.

Title note revisited: yeah I guess deadass this is "awake" in terms of "I'm woke now" haha. Or like, "I've come around to [the power of friendship]"

NO WAR:

5 seconds in: Oh, now I get why someone on the Samatoki video called this "Riou's baby-ass song"

22 seconds in: I was NOT prepared for the autotune. I think I'm a little too tired because I found this really, really funny.

30 seconds in: "Conflict isn't entertainment; it's not a show." YOU TELL 'EM, RIOU.

44 seconds in: I always really, really appreciate Riou's unwavering distaste for warfare and conflict even as he considers it something worth devoting his life to. I would sincerely love it if the authors were to ever dive into why Riou has such dedication towards serving in the [whatever] army and whatever cause they were fighting for, but I don't think that's the story the authors want to tell. We probably just have to assume it's for whatever Riou considers to be a morally good cause.

49 seconds in: Ignoring the rhyme-induced silliness of "my buddies are my turret," I like the thematic consistency of each MTC member stressing that they're not alone anymore--that is, that they've given up on their self-imposed solitude--and they have each other to rely on and trust with their backs.

53 seconds in: "Practically brainwashed puppet soldiers" Oh?? Mind expanding on this a little, Hypmic? Again, I doubt the writers are keen to delve into the causes of WWIII or why Riou joined up at all, but the suggestion of propaganda or coercion being involved is tantalizing.

65 seconds in: I like the bit that goes (paraphrased): "What can you see when you look out of your binoculars at base camp? Rifles, revolvers--is that it? Instead of obsessing over who's strong and who's weak, why not be soldier who prays for peace?"

Overall: The lyrics are vaguer and more platitudinous than is my preference, but I fully recognize that my interests in this topic are outside of the scope of the story the writers want to tell. Which is fine! The music is pretty chill; I think I'll like this song when it comes out in full.

My favorite YT comment by a landslide: Thank god he's not making us work out again.

Thank you very much for the asks! :D It's fun to check this stuff out, and I probably wouldn't have done so otherwise.

[gwaaaaar]

FUUUUCK i love the FG trailer so much it is a genuine piece of artistry. I only wish there wasn't such a disrepency with Norton's piercing and where he was in the mine during the explosion bc those things ruin my immersion but everything else??? Mwah. Chefs kiss.

The art style is a gorgeous mix between 2d and 3d, gives me puss in boots last wish/spiderverse vibes. The painterly style and the muted yet expressive colors really show how terrible Norton's life was. GOD I'm so ill.

The symbolism and story told is straightforward without any confusing imagery but still poetic in it's pacing. It unveils new information that doesn't contradict with past material but build on it such as Norton's coworkers harassment. You can tell what is being implied while still keeping things open for interpretation like when Norton is fighting with FG in his mind. That scene essentially confirms that a. He staged the accident on purpose and b. He *does* struggle with his conscious. This imo cements his status as morally grey (and therefore one of the best idv characters/lh)

The music!!! The tune Norton hums is also the song playing in the background. At first it's just the haunting strings before it hits the climax where Norton is fighting with FG to detonate the explosives. It turns into a fullblown choir that really hilights how low hes gotten. And when he's resurrected as FG the song just completely distorts into another song with sharp pauses in the middle... shivers every time.

The voice acting from cn/jp/eng are all so BRILLIANT. They all have a lovely deep baritone that's just so *Norton*. They translate between the langauges extremely well as if Norton himself is speaking those langauges. Wataru Hatano (JP) is a professional singer and normally his voice is at a higher register afaik. In endless banquet it does sound like hes straining his voice to sound more nortonesque when normally his voice is much clearer. In the trailer however his voice is much more fluid while still retaining Norton's huskiness. NOW I don't know if his chinese va is the same as his ingame one, nor have I heard this guy in extra material, but holy shit... holy shit. THAT'S NORTON!!! that's norton wrap it up gang. I think this guy has the deepest voice outta them all and I'm glad he didn't compromise Norton's chainsmokeresque voice for a lighter one like the fans bullied Norton's ingame VA into doing. And Norton's eng va... I NEED TO KNOW WHO THIS GUY IS HE IS SO SO SO GOOD. I think this is the same VA from COA although I feel his sound in COA has more vibrato in it but it's fine. I can't wait to hear him sing for nymph awards! I really hope hes gonna sing or at least someone that sounds like him. I cannot imagine Norton sounding any other way he's awesome. The line delivery on "poverty is the worst curse... but sometimes there are ways to make a change..." CHILLS CHILLS CHILLS!!!

[9w1ft]

chloe or sam or sophia or marcus is suchhhh a karlies perspective song 🙁

anon i was LITERALLY working on a karlie perspective interpretation of this song when i saw you send this in. i think it pings very hard! and if it has taylor singing from her perspective i do think strongly that it would still be a mix of exchanges

this is all still fresh and unsettled to me but since you happened to drop me this anon at such a good time i guess ill share some of the notes i had:

i think that it is set up to evoke the image of taylor selling her cornelia street place but she was actually renting that place so it’s not a perfect fit, so i thought it is also interesting that karlie put her famous west village apartment up for sale in late september 2019 and it found a buyer by december

there’s the maroon reference and the singer asks what would it take to make this color go away (taylor was the one seeing the maroon (after the election, imo) and she uses the words saw and bones which are also in the song maroon),

also this idea of the 2016 election leading to taylor putting distance between her and karlie’s public relationship through feuding rumors. rebuilding in 2018 and 2019 to what felt like they might be publicly friends again only for taylor to go send karlie into exile again after the masters were bought, so the song sort of touching on this cycle they’ve been through.

lines like “you turned me into an idea of sorts” and “if you want to break my cold cold heart just say i loved you the way that you were” had me thinking about objet d’art and the actual muse discourse that matters—the discussion of what’s an artist and what’s a muse, and picasso discussions we have had, the picasso book on the coffee table in anti hero, the idea that taylor ended up treating karlie like picasso treated his muses, over time warping them. and the idea that karlie would have had to have changed so many things about her life and herself over the course of the decade, for taylor’s sake. and i think this could be applied to the things about herself she changed for josh as well.

that is to say i think that the song could be karlie addressing her work husband as well. the song mentions the singer’s youth in a way that makes me imagine it’s being sung to older people than the singer. plus it ends with the use of the word wonder several times, which i think links it to my interpretation of wcs, which i also think is from karlie’s perspective

i have some other stuff but these are the most complete thoughts as of this moment