#it was playing on my Spotify recommended and the second I heard it I was like whoaaah

[melonnade]

listening to taylor swift’s new songs has filled me with an insatiable urge to make a wwx animatic for castles crumbling

[anmaje]

S&Co Sherlock recommended Vivaldi to John and I Lost My Mind

The fact that our Sherlock Holmes recommended Vivaldi to John so suddenly and apruptly is something SO personal! When I read a transcript of the mailbag episode (thank you @eardefenders ) I could NOT stop thinking about it, and have been listening to his many wonderful concertos since. I work in a church choir and am therefore somewhat classically trained, I have also played violin for many years as a child, and still do at times, so allow me to go on a geeky tirade about Antonio Vivaldi and Sherlock's understanding of John.

🎻🌱🌻🍂❄

In the second mailbag episode, a question is asked "If you could make a Spotify playlist for eachother of your own favourite songs, what would some of the highlights be [...] ?"

John answers with the rockband Elbow, who use orchestra and especially strings in their music. Which is why he recommends it to armature violinist Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock says that he would probably never make such a playlist, as he wouldn't find the task fulfilling, but he has an epiphany and IMMEDIATELY interrupts himself, not even finishing his sentence, and he simply says "Vivaldi". I have not heard the delivery of this line(cause I'm poor ✌), but the fact that the answer falls to him so suddenly and it simply MUST leave him immediately so John hears is delicious characterisation. Sherlock also answers with pop, as John likes popculture (a somewhat less personal answer, but still very considerate).

After another question it is established that Vivaldi isn't even a favourite of Sherlock's. He much prefers Mozart, Bach(I will come back to Bach) and Tchaikovsky.  Now Sherlock is a violinist, so there is no way he has escaped the genius of Antonio Vivaldi, like he's escaped pop. And so this recommendation is really because he feels John would like it.

But why does Sherlock think that? What would John Watson, a middle class everyman, like about Vivaldi?

Let me tell you:

When we analyse the symbolic meaning of instrumental classical(in this case baroque) music, we often look at the biography of the composer (Vivaldi gives us a little more to work with, which I will return to). I will start here. Antonio Vivaldi of Venice was taught the violin by his father and was ordained at 25 but didn't work as a priest for long due to illness. He instead became a violin teacher and composer. (Who else do we know that took up a very respected line of work but ended up where his father did? Why John Watson of course!) Vivaldi taught abandoned girls at an orphanage for more than 30 years, and saw immense potential in them and their education. The most talented of the girls stayed into adulthood as a part of their renowned orchestra and choir. He wrote most of his music for these girls and women to perform. He also took the talented singer Anna Tessiseri Giro and her sister under his wing, and Anna became his protégé. What a great guy! Supporting the talents of young women! Of course John would love him.

Going into Vivaldi's musical genius, we have to talk about baroque music. Vivaldi left a huge mark on the late baroque period. Especially the form of concertos which I won't bore you with (🤓), but also the general style of the period. That style is characterised by grand ornamentation (like the baroque in general), driving movement (in rythm) and contrast such as ascending and descending notes. All this produces beautiful an grand pieces. Additionally, Vivaldi used melodic  repetition(his critics say too much), which is what gets the new hit pop song stuck in our heads. Something our John is very prone to suffer under. Vivaldi also took a narrative approach to music. Not only through his many operas, but also in his concertos. Everyone knows his Four Seasons, whether you want to or not. He wrote four concertos, one for each season, and for each season there was an accompanying sonnet(which he presumably wrote). These concertos and sonnets depict both the gentleness and wrath of nature, all beautiful. But also people: herders, shepherds, drunk peasants celebrating the harvest and hunters. These are working people that Vivaldi chose to portray. John has a working class background, despite his social climb, he still shares most empathy with these people. Of course he would enjoy a celebration of their troubles and joys throughout the year.

Now back to Bach. A baroque man that Sherlock enjoys. The baroque ends with Bach, that is atleast what I've been taught. All of the period leads up to him. His complicated polyphonic(2 or more lines of melody at once) pieces are iconic and definitive of the period. And who inspired J. S. Bach? Well Vivaldi of course! Bach adapted several of Vivaldi's works and quoted him directly in his own compositions. Bach used bigger orchestras and different instruments (organ and harpsichord as he played them himself) and his works are generally more complicated than Vivaldi's Italian one-melody-centric works, but Bach is the metaphorical student! And Sherlock must absolutely be aware of this.

To me reading the mailbag episode, Sherlock started out uninterested, but the question had him think through his favourites. All complicated and very much not to John's tastes. But when thinking of Bach he went back to Vivaldi, which you must, and he is different. Vivaldi the sick priest, Vivaldi the teacher, the life long supporter of young womens' and abandoned girls' careers. Creative Vivaldi, Vivaldi the storyteller, which John is also. Vivaldi who celebrates nature and the dramatic lives of incredibly normal working people. Vivaldi and his repetitive melodies, although not in Sherlock's taste, fits John's so well. Vivaldi who inspired Bach. John who inspires Sherlock. ❤🎻

Tirade over! Thank you for reading. If you want to listen to some of Vivaldi's work I recommend The Four Seasons and a spot near a window with a suitable drink for the weather in your part of the world. For Bach you might want to look up whether your local church/music school holds concerts or similar events where Bach features, organ is a thousand times better live (if not, stick to his piano or string work).

[lonely-pcp]

Alternatives to telepathic communication

hey y’all! I just wanted to compile my own little list of communication methods that aren’t telepathic, as I struggle a bit with that sorta stuff and it’s kinda annoying seeing posts that don’t really go in depth about how many different ways there are to communicate with spirits and egregores. So I decided to make this post for the people who struggle with that as well!

Tarot

tarot is one of my favorite methods of divination, so I wanted to start off this list with it, of course. It definitely deserves a post of its own on using it for communication, so I’m not gonna go too in depth. Plus, some people have strict parents, but there’s plenty of alternatives. But tarot is definitely one of those things that you should research on your own, because there’s way too much to be said, and I’m listing methods, not doing a crash course on tarot. But a good way to use it for communication is to interpret the images intuitively, and if you get stuck, only then try looking up the meaning of the card. Chances are you might get a feeling that doesn’t exactly relate to the card meaning, but trust your intuition! The best way of knowing what the spirit is saying is by trusting the first thing that comes to your mind. Don’t doubt yourself!

but anyway, if tarot interests you, feel free to research it!

Playing card divination

this form of divination is basically tarot’s slightly easier cousin. It works amazingly for yes/no questions as well! Plus it’s a good start for people who practice in secret. I personally used this method of communication when I first started working with J, and it’s helped me a bit with my intuition as well, as I was able to guess what he was up to without being overwhelmed by too many meanings.

Here’s a chart showing the meanings of each playing card, excluding jokers. I personally use one joker as the fool, and the second joker as the world. It’s up to you if you even want to use them though.

There’s also an exercise for telepathy that can be mixed with cartomancy if you so choose! It involves drawing a card without looking and trying to intuitively guess if said card is red or black. If you do this with a spirit you can interpret the card after turning it over as well!

Shufflemancy

This form of divination is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING for beginners and closeted witches, as all you really need is a device that can play music, and most people have phones anyway! A lot of people recommend making a dedicated playlist for this form of divination, but I recommend using your entire music library if possible, because it can take a while to build a perfect shufflemancy playlist from scratch.

I’ve heard of 3 main ways to do shufflemancy, at least with a music streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music:

1: shuffling and skipping - this is the most common form of shufflemancy. It involves putting a playlist on shuffle and skipping a desired number of songs to get an answer to your question.

2: indicator songs - this involves assigning the spirit a song to represent them, and listening to music on shuffle. If the indicator song comes on, the song after will be their message. I use this method quite often since I usually listen to my liked songs on Spotify using shuffle anyway. You can even ask the spirit what they want their indicator song to be using the shuffling and skipping method!

3: asking the spirit - this method involves simply asking the spirit to play a song and pressing play on whatever playlist you’re using and seeing what comes up. If you feel the song relates to the spirit, then you’ve probably contacted them.

The only downside to shufflemancy is that you do have to have a wide range of music to get a decent reading, as it has better results the more variety you have. And another downside is that if you listen to a lot of instrumental music (like EDM, piano covers, etc) then you won’t have lyrics to go by, which kinda makes things a little harder. But it’s still a great method for beginners who want to practice their intuition!

Some general advice

TAKE NOTES! This is something that is definitely needed for this type of work, especially if you forget stuff easily. Take notes on what you ask, what card or song you get, the context and meanings. It will help you in the long run!

adding onto the first point, don’t be afraid to look up meanings! This mainly applies to tarot, as there are pre-established meanings for each card. Take notes on what you find!

Your intuition will always be above the traditional meanings. If you get a feeling that doesn’t align with the traditional meaning of what you’re looking at, it most likely means that you need to know whatever your intuition is trying to tell you. If you don’t get that feeling, that’s completely fine too.

that’s all for now, because I need to get this post out of my drafts. Let me know if you’d like a part 2, as there’s a bunch of other methods that I could list!

[pillowspace]

hi! hope ur doing well! out of curiosity, do you have an ISAT playlist? and if so, would you be cool with sharing it? I’ve been trying to find some good songs related to the game and i’m familiar with a lot of the artists you listen to so i figured i’d ask :)

I only just recently joined the In Stars and Time fandom, so I don't have many songs yet, but yeah!

I also started typing out notes under the readmore for (most of) the songs because I thought I'd only have a few, but then I... kept thinking of more songs, so the notes section got bigger? So uh...!! Feel free to read that or not. Up to you, shrug

I actually had not heard this song until my Spotify started randomly playing recommended songs while I was in the middle of drawing Siffrin, and the second I started processing the lyrics about familiarity and time travel, I did a startled glance over like "wh... what's playing??" This song plagues my ISAT visions

---

Genuinely been wanting to make an animatic out of the first minute but I don't know if I have it in me. Just saying, the "smi-i-i-ile" has enough in it to fit every different photo from the mirror

---

FLASHING COLOURS AT THE 3 MINUTE MARK:

One specific thing I have to note with this song is that I like to envision Siffrin waking up in the meadow on the line "the day I wake up naked in the dirt."

---

"The million what if Is between your ears. The feelings of regret, and now I'm running to forget. But know, the consequence of imagination's fear" thinks about Siffrin and Bonnie, thinks about Siffrin and Bonnie, thinks ab-- oh yeah, and the bit about ruby eyes reminds me of 2hats

---

FLASHING AT THE 3 MINUTE MARK AND LOUD POTENTIALLY OVERWHELMING SOUNDS AT THE END:

A song about feeling hurt and giving all that you've gone for an acting performance?? Back to the stage, Siffrin

---

There's some lines that aren't too too fitting for ISAT, but I'm fond of this song, so I can spin a meaning onto them with enough thinking power. Nonetheless, there still are plenty of fitting parts. Post-canon Siffrin coping after the loops :)

---

Interestingly, I've actually had this song associated with going mad from time loops since ages before I played In Stars and Time. "Maddening. It's a regular bad thing" and "nothing's really happening." Plus "I'm afraid to lose you" ties into ISAT pretty well

---

Specifically Loop tends to cross my mind whenever this comes on lately

---

I like to imagine this being about Siffrin as a child on their island being a little wanderer before that meant something else, then it slowly leading into Siffrin's adulthood (bend gravity and space being about the loops)

---

I'll never hear the sound of someone calling me home... I was the beast all alone in my hell........

[baby-yongbok]

Poetry

Chapter Four - Rising

Hyunjin x Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff, the type that makes you giggle

Summary: Two hopeless romantics in a room during a terrible storm sounds like the perfect date, right?

Word Count: 4,035

A/N: I just got out of the hospital three hours ago but I had to queue this post as soon as I got home. I'll go rest I promise but I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter. + If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the previous parts before this one so that you get the ✨full experience✨. See you next Thursday at 6 💕

Part Three

✧Poetry Series Masterlist✧

✧Main Masterlist✧

 You can’t remember the last time that talking to someone felt this easy. Maybe it was when you first met Changbin at your freshman university orientation, or maybe it was back in second grade when you made five new friends on the playground. Whichever it is, you can almost guarantee that neither of them compare to this.

Once you and Hyunjin agreed on something to eat, the two of you got to talking. The fact that you were unaware of what he did for work prompted him to offer you a game of twenty-one questions. To be honest, the idea of it made you feel like you were in high school again but you agreed seeing as you’re both adults and you highly doubt that he’s going to ask you what your favorite color is and then follow by asking if you are a virgin. By the time you two got to question five the game changed from twenty-one questions to plain old story telling. He told you about his roommate Felix and how he’s known him since the eleventh grade, as well as his roommate Han who is a head stylist for Versace New York. The food arrived some time during his story about the day that he and his roommates all moved in together and they all lost their keys at the same time. You can’t remember the last time that you laughed this hard, the last time that you smiled this much. You’re almost sure that Changbin can hear you over his music on the other side of the apartment. 

As the two of you are eating you decide to open your Spotify and play some music. This led the two of you to go back and forth recommending songs and asking each other the constant question of ‘have you heard of this artist?’. To your surprise, your taste in music didn’t differ much. You’re a bit more into rock than he is and he’s a bit more into indie than you are but there is definitely some major overlapping. 

“Oh, you have to know this one.” Hyunjin throws his head back as he tries to remember the name of the song that he wants to recommend. “Always Forever by Cults, please tell me you know that song.”

You type the song into the search engine and furrow your brows as you study the album art. You press play and once the first few notes fall from your speakers you perk up, jaw hanging open as you look over at Hyunjin. 

“Oh my gosh, I love this song! I never knew the name of it, I heard it earlier this year when I went ice skating with Changbin and his girlfriend but I didn’t get a chance to google it.” You stand from your seat at your vanity, your food long forgotten as you sway to the music happily. The smile on your face makes Hyunjin’s heart light up as he watches you from his spot on your floor. 

“I saw them perform this song live a year ago when I went to some indie rock concert with Han and his friend Jeongin. I’ve loved it ever since I heard it, something about it is so captivating.” You nod your head as you continue to dance softly, swaying back and forth, mimicking a solo slow dance. 

“It makes you feel like you’re in a daydream.” You close your eyes and spin yourself, keeping your eyes closed when you come to a stop. “Like you’re slow dancing at prom.”

“Yeah?” Hyunjin leans back on his palms, his eyes never leaving you. “I didn’t go to my prom so I don’t really know the feeling.”

Your eyes snap open and your mouth falls agape again. “What?” 

“Oh, please don’t stop on my account.” Hyunjin teases but your reaction doesn’t falter.

“You didn’t go to prom? You didn’t get your legendary prom slow dance under the disco ball?” Hyunjin’s brows furrow in confusion.

“Disco ball? Did you go to school in the 80s?” You roll your eyes and take a couple steps back to your computer, starting the song over.

“You’re only a year older than me, hush.” You turn up the music and take a step towards Hyunjin, holding your hand out in his direction. He looks at your hand and then up at you, his confused eyes meeting yours. “Come on.”

He stands slowly, adjusting the sweats that you gave him and taking your hand. 

“What’s going on here?” You lean forward a bit, taking his other hand and placing them both right above your hips. 

“You are going to have your legendary prom slow dance.” You smile, placing your hands on his shoulders and starting to sway with the music. 

“Is that right?” Hyunjin asks, clearly amused by you. You smile up at him, nodding your head like a teenager, a very fitting attitude for the situation. “Wouldn’t it go more like..”

Hyunjin moves his left hand down to rest on the small of your back and the other gently moves your hand and intertwines your fingers with his. Your breath catches in your throat as he pulls you in closer, your chest pressing gently against his stomach. You slowly slide your free hand down to rest on his bicep, the feel of his skin under your touch sends an electric shock up your spine. 

“Like this?” He whispers as the two of you start to rock to the music, his honey orbs staring into yours in a gentle exchange. 

“Yeah, this is - this is right.” Your tongue feels like it’s going numb and you aren’t sure how you’re still standing right now because you definitely can not feel your legs.

 Even though Hyunjin is the one that pulled you closer to him, his heart is pounding in his chest. Every second that his hand rests on the curve of your back is a second closer to him going insane, a second closer to losing all control and spilling his heart out to you. He couldn’t help it, the electricity in your touch charged him up in a way that no one has before. Each time that you touch him he finds himself wanting more, wanting to say more, do more, be more. Anything for you. 

“What color was your prom dress?” Hyunjin asks, desperate to break the tension between you two as you rock back and forth. 

“Green, it was a green gown that almost looked like it was made in the 50s.” A laugh escapes you as memories start to pass and Hyunjin smiles at the sound. He loves your laugh, he could listen to it all day and night if you’d let him.

 “My date was my high school best friend, Sam. He was a bit of an oddball like me, we agreed to do a 50s theme together. He got a vintage three piece suit to match my dress and he bought me the most beautiful silk gloves as a gift.”

Hyunjin watches you as you reminisce, your cheekbones high and covered in a deep blush. He closes his eyes for a second, imagining that he knew you then, imagining that he was there when you walked into the auditorium. Hair done up and your green dress coming to life with every step you took. He imagined seeing you laugh and dance with your friend as he admired your beauty from afar, the smile that would take over when you hear the first few opening notes to your favorite song. He imagined you slow dancing with some guy that he’s never met. He wonders if the steps came to you naturally or if you needed some guidance, did the disco ball shine as brightly as your eyes? There’s no way that it could have. Even the newest stars in the sky couldn’t compare to you. 

Hyunjin’s eyes fly open when he feels you, leaning forward and resting your head on his chest. Your eyes are shut gently and your breathing is soft and even, He takes in the green of your sweater and for a moment he lets himself pretend that he's with you on your prom night. He let himself pretend that the two of you are teenagers, inseparable and blindly in love. His thoughts slowed down all together, all of his senses zeroed in on you, on this moment. Could he allow himself to stop watching from the sidelines? Could he allow himself to wholly and completely get involved with you? You’re so sweet, so beautiful and precious, he’s never met a woman like you and he wishes that you never met a man like him. A man so afraid of love, so afraid of giving in. 

“You would’ve been handsome.” Your voice breaks the silence and Hyunjin feels his pulse quicken at the sound of it. 

“Hm?” 

“If you went to your prom, I bet you would’ve been handsome.” You tilt your head back a bit, still resting on his chest. Hyunjin grins down at you, a breathy chuckle leaving his lips. 

“Yeah? What makes you think that?” 

“When you got here and you were wearing that suit you looked handsome, soaking wet but very handsome.” You smile at the memory of how he arrived hours ago and Hyunjin feels his heart flutter a bit. “I mean, I’ve said this before but you’re very beautiful, Hyunjin. And I don’t just mean physically.” 

He stops swaying completely, your eyes boring into each others. Both saying something so similar yet slightly different. 

“You’ll change your mind about that.” He whispers and you sit up completely, your hand squeezing his a bit. He forces a faint grin before shifting his attention over to your vanity. You move your hand from his bicep almost instinctively, laying it gently on his cheek and turning him back to meet your gaze. 

“I mean it.” He stares back at you and for a second you swear that you notice tears gathering at his lash line before he blinks them away. His eyes slowly wander from yours, tracing over the curve of your nose before landing on your lips. He licks his lips a bit as he studies them, the faint glossiness welcoming him to lean in. 

Hyunjin wants nothing more than to go for it. If you meant what you said then maybe he could allow himself to let go. Maybe he could stop watching from the sidelines and actually live the life that he’s been yearning for. Maybe, just maybe. He looks back up into your eyes and he can see it, he can see your longing. You’re wearing your heart on your sleeve and he can’t even seem to get out of his head for two seconds, he has the most beautiful woman that he’s ever seen practically begging him to kiss her and yet, he can’t. He just can’t. 

Suddenly he takes your hand that’s intertwined with his and lifts it into the air, prompting you into a spin that completely takes you by surprise. You nearly forget about the palpable tension that was bouncing off of the two of you just seconds before. A surprised giggle leaves your lips as he spins you again, this time a bit faster. 

“I’m gonna get dizzy.” You laugh as he spins you for a third time and you can feel your center of gravity shifting, you can hear a faint chuckle escape from his throat as he steps forward to catch you. He holds your side against his chest as you wait for the dizziness to die down. 

“Thank you.” He says, wrapping his arms around your a bit tighter. “Thank you for that.” 

You aren’t sure if he’s referring to the dance or to what you said just a second ago. A gentle ‘You’re welcome’ falls from your lips just as the song ends and you both jump at the sudden sound of Pierce the Veil blaring through your speakers. 

“Is it on shuffle?” Hyunjin asks through a laugh as you push yourself up off of him to sit back at your vanity. You laugh along with him shaking your head as you turn the volume on your speakers down. 

“Any more recommendations?”

After what felt like hours of recommending songs back and forth the two of you decided to clean up your space and move over to your bed to watch a movie. You scrolled through the movies on Hyunjin’s Netflix but nothing was jumping out at you. While you searched for your next method of entertainment Hyunjin was carefully taking inventory of your space. His eyes slowly scanned over all of the medals on your wall and the trophies on your bookshelf. He looked closely at the details of each photo that you had framed, asking who a certain person was every so often before nodding and taking another look. You enjoyed being seen by him, the interest that he took in you made your heart flutter like a little girl watching her first crush.

“Anything interesting?” Hyunjin’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts and you realize that you’ve been mindlessly scrolling for a bit. 

“Uh, not really” Hyunjin hums in response as he scans the spines of the first row of books in your extensive collection of literature. “Oh, did you ever finish that Brontë novel?”

Hyunjin looks over at you, shaking his head and bringing his hand up to the back of his neck, a nervous habit that you noticed last week. 

“Uh, no I actually got distracted with another book.”

“Oh really? You should really finish Villette, I promise that you will be completely enthralled.” He smiles, nodding his head. 

“I believe you, you seem to know all of the good stuff.” He chuckles a bit, looking back over at your collection. “How about we keep things classic, instead of watching a movie we can read like we usually do. How’s that sound?”

You smile, closing your laptop and pushing it towards the end of your bed. 

“I’d like that, I mean, I basically have a mini library right there so pick your poison.” Hyunjin chuckles again, nodding his head and turning his attention fully towards the books. 

“They’re organized by genre so the top shelf is non-fiction, second is history, third is fantasy, fourth is romance, fifth is poetry and sixth is fairy tale.” He looks up and down your tall bookshelf then over at you with a smile. 

“This is quite an expensive collection.” You smile, nodding proudly, you take pride in how your collections grown over the years. “Is there anything that you don’t have?”

“Yes actually, a hard cover of Maya Angelou’s children's book Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. My mom used to read those poems to me when I was little. Eventually the copy that we had fell apart and by then I was much older so we didn’t replace it.” Hyunjin watches as you smile at the memory but it quickly fades as you fall deeper into your thoughts. He wants to ask you so many questions. Is your mother still alive? What was the book like? What was it like being read to by your mother? He’s always wanted to know what that was like.

“Maybe when you get a copy you can read it to me.” Hyunjin’s voice tears you away from your thoughts and you quickly flash him a smile. 

“Of course, You’ve been reading to me for weeks, it’s the least I can do.” Hyunjin reaches forward and plucks a book from the fifth shelf. 

“This is actually the book that distracted me from Villette.” He starts walking towards you, opening the book and skimming one of the pages before sitting next to you, leaning back against your headboard and crossing his legs at the ankle. You move a bit closer to him, your shoulder brushing his slightly, the infinitesimal touch lights your nerves on fire, the all too familiar feeling of electricity rushing over both of you. You both exchange a quick glance before looking away, why does this keep happening? Does he feel it too?

“The sun and her flowers, huh? Did I turn you into a Rupi Kaur fan?” You try to distract yourself from overanalyzing the feeling.

“You did.” Hyunjin flips through the pages as if he’s looking for something. A satisfied hum escapes him when he finds it and you watch as his eyes scan the grayed out page. “Remember when you asked me which section I think I belong in?” 

You hum in response as you study him, you can't help it, it's like he’s your favorite poem. His messy hair and full lips look like a masterpiece to you. The way that his chest rises and falls softly makes you feel like you’ve just read a piece from one of the world's most consummate writers. Just looking at him makes you feel full of life. 

“I wasn’t sure when you asked me before. I thought that I was in Falling like you, but after reading the book I have my real answer.” His eyes meet yours, calm and sparkling. You nod, prompting him to continue. 

“I think that I belong in Rising.” He opens the book completely before clearing his throat slightly and licking his lips before reading the poem in front of him. “they should feel like home, a place that grounds your life, where you go to take the day off, the one.”

“That’s one of my favorite poems.” Hyunjin nods, his eyes still focused on the page.

“There were so many pieces in this section that spoke to me, so many pieces that felt like they were just peeled off of me like a scab to a wound.” You raise your eyebrows slightly as you take in what he said, Hyunjin notices your expression and his eyebrows furrow in confusion. “What is it?”

“Nothing, it’s just, the way that you explained that was so poetic. It sounded so natural too.” A deep blush creeps up his neck and he brings his hand to the back of it, scratching lightly. 

“Really? I wasn’t trying to do that, sorry.” You shake your head, grinning at him.

“Don’t apologize, I enjoyed it. I like hearing about how you feel.” 

“I don’t talk about my feelings often.”

“Why not?” Hyunjin freezes for a second, trying to think of an answer that won't scare you away. He racks his brain trying to think of a quick response but nothing comes to mind. Usually he'd get upset with himself for having such a hard time figuring out what to say but right now he feels free. If he can't think of an excuse he doesn't have to tell you one, he can tell you the truth, he can let you peek into him for just a second. Maybe it's time that he finally does that. 

"Uh, talking about your feelings wasn't exactly encouraged in the house I grew up in." You can tell by the slight shake in his voice that this is a sensitive subject for him. You nod your head, welcoming him to continue if he's comfortable. His eyes wander away from yours and start staring down at the quilt underneath the two of you. 

"I don't think that I ever saw my mom express anything but anger. That was the only emotion allowed through the front door so naturally I followed in her footsteps." You feel a tinge of sadness in your heart as he opens up to you, the thought of younger Hyunjin harboring his mothers anger in his chest breaks you a bit.

"I used to be such a horrible person." Hyunjin chuckles a bit as he thinks back to his teenage years. "I was such a bad kid. I got into so many fights, Felix would always try to stop me. He'd try to save me but it was no use, once I got started I just couldn't stop. Not even my mom could snap me out of it." 

“Does that still happen?" 

"I've gotten a lot better at controlling myself. It's been awhile since I've gotten angry, hopefully you never have to see me like that." 

"If I do then it's alright." Hyunjin’s eyes quickly meet yours again, he holds his breath, afraid that if he exhales he’ll lose his composer. “I’ll be there to calm you down.”

You smile at Hyunjin and the vines of worry tangled around his heart loosen a bit as your words echo through his head. “How could you be so open? You’ve only just met me.”

“It doesn’t feel like it. It feels like I’ve known you forever.” Hyunjin glances back down at the poem in front of him, careful eyes glossing over the words. ‘they should feel like home’. 

Just as Hyunjin opens his mouth to reply, a sudden flash of light shines through your window followed by a deep rumbling. Your ceiling light and lamp go out but thanks to your dim fairy lights you two aren’t in complete darkness. You jump at the sound, instinctively clinging to his arm and hiding your face in the crook of his neck. His hands abandon the book and instantly move to comfort you, one rests on the back of your head and the other moves behind you to wrap around your shoulder, holding you close to him. 

“Hey, it’s okay, I got you.” He whispers, trying to avoid scaring you further. “Everything’s alright.”

“I hate lightning so much.” You mumble against his skin and the feel of your breath against him makes his pulse pick up, you can feel it against your cheek. “I’m such a scaredy cat.”

“That’s alright, I am too.” A breathy chuckle leaves Hyunjin’s lips and you move a bit to catch his gaze.

“You’re afraid of lightning too?” You move your fingers almost imperceptibly over the exposed skin of his bicep, an ingenuous movement that sends jolts of electricity up his spine. It’s you, you’re the cause of the lightning within him. 

“Something like that.” His eyes find yours the best they can in the dim light.  “I think that I’m getting over it though.”

Your eyes trail down the curve of his nose and stop at his blushed lips. He dips his tongue out to lick them and you move closer, a mere inch separating you. You look back up at him to find him staring at your lips as well. 

“Are you still scared?” His eyes flick back up to yours and you shake your head, grinning a bit.

“Not at all.”

Hyunjin brings his hand from the back of your head over to your cheek, your eyes flutter shut and he leans forward, closing the gap between the two of you and connecting your lips. The kiss is pure and gentle yet your grip on his bicep tightens a bit as you try to brace yourself. How could something so soft make you feel like you’re being blown away? 

Hyunjin exhales softly as he moves his lips against yours, the electricity in his body has morphed into fireworks. There’s not a single worry in his mind, the only thing he can think about is you. This is all about you, maybe it always has been. 

He deepens the kiss, just for a second. Just to get one final taste of you, to feel you this close to him for one more brief moment before he breaks it. You both pull away slowly, opening your eyes at the same time and staring into each other's eyes like their black holes sucking up your universe. Hyunjin gently brushes the pad of his thumb against your cheekbone and you can’t help but smile. You smile wide, showing your teeth and giggling a bit. Hyunjin lights up right after you, chuckling a bit. He leans in and places a gentle kiss on your forehead, his lips lingering on your skin for a few seconds. He pulls away, still smiling, and you look up at him.

“Maybe I’m in Rising too.” Hyunjin’s smile grows wider, his joyful gaze searching yours.

“Yeah?” You nod your head, leaning into his touch.

“Yeah.”

← Previous Chapter ♡ Next Chapter →

[sailorsenshishitposter]

Otacon x Reader

Warning

Highly cursed at the halfway point. Spoilers for End of Evangelion and I wouldn't recommend that sane people watch it just to try to understand what the hell is going on. Yes there are parts where people turn into orange liquid followed by screams and upbeat happy music about suicide. Also do not look up the hospital scene for this movie (which it is infamous for). You have been warned.

_______________________________________

Otacon

Your smash main is Snake, you're a weeb or you fall in love easily and are used to being hurt by others.

First Date:

None. This man is busy raising a child with Snake.

Second Try:

The two of you meet on a fan board and quickly exchange numbers. Soon he invites you over to his house for a date. You asked where he lived but he said he would prefer to pick you up. You wait outside until you feel what seems to be an earthquake. You go to run but then you look into the sky. "IS THAT A GIANT ROBOT!" The "vehicle" pulls up and sure enough, Otacon is waiting for you. "Good evening. You look wonderful..." He then handed you a bouquet of flowers and you came inside.

Man, he really was an otaku. His home consisted of a bedroom that was really more like a storage space, a bathroom and a kitchen. "Make yourself comfortable, I'm going to bring some refreshments." You looked around for a spot to sit down, his room being like that one photo of Yoshihiro Togashi but notably much cleaner. The walls were stacked from the floor to the ceiling. You would have to tell your date that piracy was also an option. Most of it was just anime so you knew better than to touch it.

There was a small CRT and just about every console you could think of. Even the bad ones.At the far end of the room was a computer. You didn't really understand how that stuff worked but you figured his setup must be very expensive since all you had was Windows 95. You saw a purple creature on the desktop. "What's a bonzi buddy?

"You then noticed that Hal had come back. "I brought you a bento and some pocky. Only the best for my little waifu." He then blushed and turned the television off. "Sorry. I forgot that I was playing Policenauts on my Saturn earlier.."He then asked Alexa to play his spotify playlist which consisted of nothing but Hatsune Miku.

After you were finished eating, he took you by the hand. "Allow you to show you my prized collection." He brought you to his glass stand filled with various figures. It had a little bit of everything. Transformers, all the Gundams, some Code Geass. Even this weird one he called Zone of the Enders? "Yeah, I'm a huge fan!" He then looked around to see if the almighty Mr. Kojima was watching."

But this... This is my favorite." It was a giant build of EVA 01. "I never knew you liked Evangelion..." He then pulled out a copy of End of Evangelion. "Would you like to watch it with me? I have the renewal edition..." You gazed into his eyes and kissed him. "Wow..." He then turned on his hello kitty DVD player and inserted the disc.

The two of you started frenching during the komm susser tod sequence. You began to stroke him while the lyrics "It all returns to nothing" played. "Looks like someone's snake is solid..." He then thought to himself while the screams of those being turned into orange juice could be heard. "It's just like one of my Japanese amines!" You gave one final pull, yelling "It all CUMS TUMBLING DOWN, TUMBLING DOWN, TUMBLING DOWN"

________

Having finished, Hal shut off his VR machine. Ever since David had left him to go on a date with a woman, he hadn't felt the same. He thought back to when he asked him if love could bloom on the battlefield and then started to sob into his arm. "WHY DOES EVERYONE I LOVE LEAVE ME!?" Little did Snake know but Otacon had created a program where he could be with him in a dating sim. He would later sell it on steam and become as rich as Snake did from the fortnite cameo, bringing him into the spotlight. They would later get back together and become the ultimate power couple.

[eat-limes-bitches]

What Would I do Without You?

PAIRING: Female Reader x FATWS Bucky

SUMMARY: One quiet morning, Bucky reflects on his love for you and decides to tell you about it.

SONG

WARNINGS: Fluff!! Soft! Bucky, romantic! Bucky, (yes I consider those warnings). Pet names (darlin’, honeybee)

Word Count: 1038

A/N:   I was on my way home from a meeting when I heard this song play on my Spotify recommended and all I could think about was a super sweet and fluffy Bucky thinking back on his love for the reader and so I started writing it the second I got home and decided to share.

Words in italics are memories and words bolded AND in italics are song lyrics.

Enjoy! <3

Divider by Rookthorne

Sometimes I wake up with a sadness,  Other days, it feels like madness

It was a quiet morning, something Bucky was still not quiet used to. In his own words, “I had a little calm in Wakanda. And other than that, I just went from one fight to another for 90 years.” So watching her mull around the kitchen as she tended to the plants in the window sill, humming a gentle melody under her breath as she gave them water and rearranged their leaves was something he cherished.  He remembered not even months ago when he was waking up in cold sweats in Madrid while he was far away from her, the lack of her gentle touch and soft words driving him slowly crazy.

He bolted up right in the bed in the hotel room that Zemo had provided him to rest in for the night. He glanced around wildly, looking for her but remembering that she wasn’t there. He was half a world away. He glanced at the clock and blinked at the little red numbers on the clock informing him that it was two in the morning, meaning that she would be awake. He reached for his phone on the nightstand pressing the call button on the familiar contact. Holding his breath as the phone rings once, twice, and on the third ring her voice soft as rain comes through. “Hello?” Bucky lets out the air trapped in his lungs in a gentle sigh as he smiles to himself, “Hi darlin, how’s my honeybee?” He coo’s gently, his small smile turning into a grin as her giggles ring through the phone. “Everything is just fine here. Alpine is just helping me in the garden.” He smiles and listens as she tells him all about the rooftop garden and how the sunflowers are  “So huge! They’re probably taller than you now Buck!” Eventually his heart stops racing and he feels calm, lying back down he falls back asleep listening to her sweet voice telling him how much she loves him and how she can’t wait to have him home again.

 When colors turn to shades of gray, With the weight of the world at the end of the day

He smiles fondly at the memory snapping back to reality as the sounds of pans clattering catches his attention. “Are you ok darlin’?” He questions, getting ready to stand up when she waves him off. I’m fine, James. Jus’ gettin ready to make those blueberry muffins you like.” She smiles sweetly leaning over the counter to place a kiss on his nose before getting back to work measuring out ingredients. As she’s washing the blueberries he thinks back to the first time she made those muffins, and how much comfort something so simple brought him.

He abruptly turned off the TV, slamming the remote onto the coffee table as he ran his right hand through his newly shortened chestnut locks, unknowing that she was watching him from the doorway. Quietly, she enters the room and sits next to him, taking his metal hand in hers as she silently comforts him. She knew how much this dollar tree cap was probably bothering him so when she stood and pulled on his hand he looked up at her with a questioning look and she just smiled that sweet smile before answering his silent question. “I’m trying out a new blueberry muffin recipe for the shop and need your help. I can’t reach the pans on the top shelf, please James?” He sighs, knowing he can’t say no to her and some time later with a fresh warm muffin in his hand is grateful that she knows how to take the weight off of his shoulders.

 Once the muffins are in the oven, it’s her turn to watch him quizzically for a moment. “James?” She calls out softly causing him to hum in response. “What’s going on in that head of yours. You’ve been awfully quiet this morning. Everything ok?” Bucky stands and makes his way around the kitchen island wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. “ I’m fine honeybee, just thinkin’.” She hums lightly before speaking again, “That’s a dangerous thing to do, Barnes. Better fill me in on these thoughts.” She teases lightly, causing him to chuckle slightly, “ Just realizing how years go by without a warning and there's still a kindness in your eyes.”

 He pushes her back slightly so he can look into her eyes before he speaks again, “Amidst the questions and the worry, peace of mind always takes me by surprise.” He slowly starts to move side to side, swaying her with him as they dance to the soundless music in their kitchen. He spins her and then pulls her back into his embrace as he continues to speak his mind to her, “The difference between what I've said and done, and you're still standing by my side.” He chuckles at the look she gives him, clearly wondering what he means. “A guilty soul and a worried mind, I will never make it if I'm on my own.” He continues, elaborating on his previous statement, causing understanding to pass over her features along with a hint of sadness.

 He smiles sweetly, twirling her again as he continues to speak, “So you’ve got the morning, I’ve got midnight. You are patient, I'm always on time.” He pulls her flush against his chest and presses a kiss to her nose causing sweet giggles to erupt from her form causing his smile to grow into a bright grin as he rocks them both side to side. “You’ve got your sunshine, I’ve got my rain clouds. You’ve got hope and I’ve got my doubts.” She listens intently as he pulls her in close, resting his forehead against hers, savoring her warmth. “But out of everything, there is one question I don’t ever want to find the answer to.” He opens his eyes to meet hers swimming with curiosity, silently urging him to continue. He smiles and shakes his head lightly, “Oh, what would I do without you?” 

He shrugs his shoulders, bringing her in for a sweet kiss before answering his question, “I never want to find out.”

[hyperfixationiris]

(In advance I apologize for any grammatical or syntax error that I may have, English is not my first language).

The Separated AU by @cupcakeslushie has been my complete adoration and obsession in recent days, so (with the author's permission) I created this playlist for Separated!Donnie!

I have chosen the songs mostly for their lyrics, so the musical genres may be all over the place, hehe.

The title comes from the mini comic "Thirds", also part of the Separated AU and creation of Cupcakeslushie, because damn, that interaction between Donnie and Splinter hit me hard.

That there are thirty-three songs (Three Three) in the playlist is... totally a coincidence! But it is one of which I feel very proud!

You can listen it on YouTube here or on Spotify here (I recommend the YouTube version more, since on Spotify I couldn't find all the songs or not in the versions I wanted).

Below is a brief explanation of why I chose some of the songs, (you can ignore this if you like) But enjoy the music and go see the Separated AU, I recommend it with all my heart!

(This part is very based on my interpretation of Sep!Donnie, so I may be wrong about some things.)

— "Saint Bernard" and "Cradles" are the first songs for being the ones I most associated with Donnie. The first for talking about being a failure and that there is something intrinsically "wrong" with you. The second I associated with his way of seeing the world and the fact that he does not perceive what has been done to him as abuse.

— The instrumental melodies I chose I feel they are a good reflection of his mental state, especially in one of his episodes.

— "Papercut" was a song I heard and it was immediately like: "Oh, yes, this is Donnie talking about Three and the hallucinations he has of his brothers".

— "Immer Sie" is one of the few songs I chose with a specific moment in mind, in this case: Donnie attacking his family because he felt they were leaving him behind and abandoning him. The song speaks of a desperate and almost aggressive love, in addition to having in its lyrics a fairly broken syntax. That is why I think it can reflect Donnie's altered mental and emotional state in that specific moment.

— There is a song that clashes a lot with the others and is "Lovefool (Remix)". However I think it represents the affectionate behaviors, although sometimes too intense, of Donnie, as well as his need to be loved.

— I think "Pale Machine" is a song that would play once Donnie was rescued by his family and once he was living with them. Although he is very happy and basically the situation is a dream come true, that does not mean that all his problems are fixed.

— Two other songs for specific moments are "What I've Done" and "Cop Graveyard". I am referring to the moment Mikey finds out about the collars his brother made for Big Mama, and when Donnie realizes that he basically helped Shredder poison Leo's mind.

— "Rolling Girl" is the first of the comfort songs, being a reflection of the way Donnie sees himself and how his family is doing everything possible to help him out of that vicious circle.

— I see "Demons" as a song dedicated to the relationship between Donnie and Vee (which I love). In turn, "Devil Town" would be Donnie's relationship with Leo, Raph and Mikey.

— "New Soul" is basically Donnie on the road to recovery, with its ups and downs.

— Finally, "Somewhere I Belong" is not exactly a happy or entirely positive song, but whose central theme is something that Donnie has been working on and has wished all his life: a place to belong to.

And with this ends my TED Talk, thanks for coming.

[musicreveiwsbyezti]

September topster, I have a really bad throat infection

Didn't care to finish: Mortician-Chainsaw Dismemberment (Brutal Death Metal): It's so fucking repetitive that it somehow started to bother me. Also every single song (that I bothered to finish) is basically just 1 minute long horror movie sample, 10 seconds of riffing, rest of the 20 seconds are the same just now with vocals. Crypta- Shades of Sorrow (Death Metal): Probably finish it one day but it lost my attention real quick.

6th: Goathwhore-Carving Out the Eyes of God (Death Metal): Sammy Duet is the sole reason I checked out this album, it's alright. It can be sometimes cringy but at least it does a quick 180 to being cool again somehow. Yeah if you like Sammy's playing style then I recommend it, but for people who want some blackened death metal stuff then it might require some homework to do to appreciate it.

5th: Rabbit Junk-Reframe (Digital Hardcore/Alternative Metal): The whole album is a constantly switching between being cringe/poorly aged millennial writing and absolutely fantastic/timeless riffing. Once again it might require some homework, but for me the only thing it draws back from being a pretty kick ass Digital Hardcore album is the cringy millennial shit that they like to smother on every single god damned DH album... also the cover they use for the Spotify release is horrible compared to the OG... also JAX DIGITAL CIRCUS

4th: Sepultura-Roots (Groove/Nu Metal): I randomly bought it on CD on a flee market because it was sealed. First of all, I'm not really into Nu metal, once again I feel like the whole millennial drooling over it has left a bad taste in my mouth. Second of all, I'm a huge fan of metal that's so groovy that I want to shake some to it. The overall concept is cool, the riffs are great, the filler stuff is absolutely skippable but it's at least listenable.

3rd: Bongzilla-Gateway (Stoner/Sludge Metal): "Dude... weed..." the album, but somehow it is one of the greatest stoner stuff I have heard. I might still be an edgy under 20's dipshit but it takes the whole stoner... everything and runs several marathons with it so well that I genuinely don't care that the best song on the album is called 'Stone a Pig', a song about leaving Texas for California just to not get arrested for weed. It's great, it probably will age kinda badly for me if I grew some braincells but I highly recommend it for the guitar tone alone.

2nd: American Football-self title (Midwest emo): Sad white boys write sad white boy songs, yes it's great moving.

1st: Crowbar-Odd Fellows Rest (Sludge Metal): This is the heaviest sad album on the planet. Like the songs are just "I have been feeling pretty blue lately because I'm unsure about my future B standard tuned riffs that fuck harder than rabbits on viagra". It's a MUST listen for sludge fans, definitely after Sonic Excess in Its Purest Form but still a must listen.

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

Pandora knows me so fucking well that within three songs of turning my rock station on at work for the first time in a Very Long Time:

It played Brave New World. The new Starset song I haven't stopped telling Spotify to play for me 1-10x daily.

I heard the first two violin notes and went "Is this--?" AND IT WAS. I smiled so very hard.

(I get Spotify premium because a friend is letting me use a slot in the family plan, but work installed a "cloud security solution" (whatever the fuck that means) and ever since it got installed, Spotify won't load in Chrome, and Edge takes forever to load it and then stops playing the audio every other song, so I have to refresh it, wait for it to load for approximately 47 seconds, and hit play again. Every 5 minutes. It is Obnoxious and not worth it. I haven't asked the IT guys about it yet because they have more important things to do than me complaining about my ad-free music not working, but it got so annoying I decided to go back to Pandora, ads and all. Which plays flawlessly for some reason.)

((That's okay though. Pandora makes MUCH, much better recommendations than Spotify! Spotify keeps trying to get me to listen to this one specific song that I don't like at all, and it made me miss the Thumbs Down button sorely.))

[distantwave]

recommend me 5 songs, so I can associate them with you and learn more music 🫶🏻 (I just remembered a time I asked you about your Spotify playlists??????)

Ough okay okay I feel like I’ve gotta get wildly specific songs in here (these aren’t ranked)

1. Secrets - One Republic

This song was in the soundtrack for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in 2010 and it was specifically in this one scene where they’re in this giant fucking Tesla coil and the guys playing the song and the electricity matches up to the music and I was ten years old when this movie came out and I went absolutely INSANE for it and it’s been giving me brain worms ever since like I’m being so serious u have to google that scene rn it’s probably not good but it’s so good

2. Honky Tonk Badonkadonk - Trace Adkins

SPECIFICALLY the one off the 2005 Dangerous Man album!!! The original is also good but the second one is so much more fun. This ones my go to favorite karaoke song in the world bc I could absolutely sing it blackout drunk I know it so well. I was super super into when I was little bc I thought the “slap ur grandma” line was funny (I was 5) but I also think it’s the perfect karaoke song bc a) you don’t really need to be able to sing to sing it b) the whole song is just about how hot this one girl is c) I absolutely don’t look like someone who would adore country music so it’s silly goofy

3. If it’s True - Hadestown

My favorite song from my favorite musical in the whole wide world. Hadestown is genuinely the most beautifully crafted musical I’ve ever heard/seen/experienced/whatever and this song in particular is just so so tremendous. I fell in love with the touring cast in 2017 and when the broadway recording came out with this song on it I was just absolutely blown away it’s SUCH a good song

4. Apple - the Narcissist Cookbook

Another where it’s my favorite favorite, this one’s my favorite song/bit of spoken word from my favorite artist. All of tNC’s stuff is really cool and phenomenally well written but the first time I listened through this one the very last line just stuck itself in my brain oh so hard and has continued to stay there ever since. AND!! The song was made all the better bc I got to see tNC live over the summer with @simonswaifu and I was so certain Matt wasn’t going to do much spoken word but I was WRONG!!! And I’ve never been more elated to be wrong bc I got to hear Apple live and it was oh so delightful

5. Living Dead Girl - Rob Zombie

Another one I was obsessed with when I was little! I distinctly remember listening to this song soo many times in my dads truck when it was just the two of us driving when I was like, 6? And something about it still fucks to this day (I will admit tho I only genuinely know like, half the lyrics bc this song is about the vibe ya know, who cares if u can actually understand what he’s saying as long as ur feeling the vibe)

[ghostwav64]

I’ll always share my Spotify wrapped because I think it’s neat as hell to see what everyone listened to this year. I didn’t get L to the OG to the top like I wanted, my commitment to the bit waned unfortunately.

2023 my music listening habits were very different than they normally are, I spent less time keeping up with new releases and wayyy more time exploring artists and genres that I previously hadn’t really listened to.

That being said there were still a few projects from this year that I really loved that I figured I’d take the time to write a little about now.

5. Actual Life 3 Piano EP (January 1-September 9,2022)- Fred again..

Really inspiring EP for me, it’s a quiet reflective audio journal featuring some ambient sounds, some really cool samples, and some pretty piano playing throughout it’s a lot more lowkey than his album last year but I really enjoy that.

Favorite track: Nathan (Varner Road)

4. Quaranta by Danny Brown.

While I really enjoyed Danny’s work with JPEGMafia this year, I ultimately prefer this solo release from him this year. It’s a follow up to his album XXX, on that album Danny was a 30 year old struggling to make it as a rapper, now a decade later he’s obtained the success he once wanted so badly and he finds himself reflecting on where he was and where he is now. While financially Danny is better off than he was a decade ago,mentally he is still hurting and struggling as much as he was then. It’s a raw and vulnerable album with some excellent production throughout and some of the best verses of Danny’s career in my opinion.

Favorite Track: Down Wit It

3. Census Designated by Jane Remover

On Census Designated Jane Remover moves away from the hyperpop and digicore influences of her last album and leans more into rock and shoegaze, although there a certainly still a ton of fun little glitchy and stuttering effects throughout. If you like Ethel Cain I’d highly recommend this album.

Favorite Track: Cage Girl/ Camgirl

2. Wallsocket by underscores

A really wonderful pop rock concept album filled to the brim with infectious hooks, creative sampling and a lot of fun vocal manipulation throughout. There are no skips on this thing, every song is bursting with this really great creative energy. There are only few songs that I fell in love with this year more than You don’t know who I am.

Favorite track: You don’t know who I am.

1. 10,000 gecs by 100 gecs

The second I hit play on this album and I heard the THX logo sound followed by gunshots and the sick main riff on Dumbest Girl Alive, I knew this was going to be my favorite album of the year.

Here the gecs expand on their sound from the first album, refining it and fine tuning it, while still maintaining the playful energy that made the first album so exciting. Every song on the album has at least one or two lines that have permanently burrowed their way into my brain like the best ear worms do.

This album really flexes the duos skills at genre blending as they take from nu-metal, rap, pop, rock and ska and fuse them all into this wild album. It’s an unpredictable and fun listen one second they’ll be singing about struggling to make it in Hollywood, and little later you’ll get a song about having a tooth removed.

There’s a playful rebelliousness to all of their songs that I just can’t get enough of.

Favorite track: Dumbest Girl Alive (duh it’s my most listened to song this year) but I also wanna shoutout Most Wanted Person in The United States, that song fucking rules.

What’d you like this year?

[st4rdom-if]

I'm not too up to date w/ K-pop groups but I have some songs that could interest you!

LOONA - Hi High, Love4eva

EXO - Miracles in December, Lotto, MAMA (EXO-K), Call Me Baby

Girls' Generation/SNSD - Gee, Oh!

Super Junior - Super Girl, Bonamana, MAMACITA, Lo Siento

BIG BANG - Fantastic Baby

Taeyang - Ringa Linga, Wedding Dress

2NE1 - I Am The Best

Jungkook - Still with You

Twice - What is Love?, Heart Shaker

Weeekly - After School

NCT U - Make A Wish (Birthday Song)

BTS - Dynamite, Mic Drop, Black Swan, Fake Love, Boy with Luv, Not Today, Lights, Idol, Fire

KARD - You in Me

SEVENTEEN - Left & Right

Stray Kids - God's Menu

Jennie - Solo

Kai - Mmmh

Blackpink - Kiss & Make Up, Forever Young

Block B - HER

Momoland - BAAM

I just read Call Me Baby as Call Me Maybe, please— 😂

OHHH Weeekly's After School is one of my favorites!! Spotify recommended it to me and now every day I make it a point to listen to the song at least once. It may be a problem of mine, but I honestly am in love with it.

I really love Dynamite and Boy With Luv, actually! I think I got invested in the songs after I got the Just Dance 2023 edition and got Superstar on both (I'm still trying to go for Megastar). I just listened to Boy With Luv an hour ago on repeat until I realized I put it on a loop 😂😂😂

Everything else I have not heard of, though some of the bands I recognize! Thank you Anon!

I'm going to add the second ask you made too! You know, I was like man I swear I have heard of something like that title and when I looked it up I realized you were talking about Mystic Messenger, the otome game! While I never picked up the game, I do play an otome game and so I have heard of the game in passing.

I can't believe it took me such a long time to realize that Mystic Messenger is a Korean game! I guess I never really thought about it.

Also the music is a banger; I am reporting this as I listen to it right now in Korean. Thanks again for the recommendations!

[earlgreytea68]

My friend and I got FOB tickets for early next year and as first-timers (weve been listening since high school/early 2000s but i have a hard time with crowds lol) what songs do u reccommend pre-gaming with? For quality as well as maximum 'scream-along value' i guess

I am posting this for whatever recommendations people might have. Personally, I always listen to nothing but Fall Out Boy prior to the concert, and I tend to listen to the songs I think they're going to play, because yes, I want to make sure that I'm ready to scream along to them. So always their big hits (the "This is Fall Out Boy" Spotify playlist is great for that), but like Sugar, and Centuries, and My Songs Know, and Thnks fr th Mmrs, and Dance Dance, and Arms Race (maybe especially Arms Race for the audience participation part). I just want to make sure I have all of the words DOWN COLD. I also listen to any songs I think are likely as well, which helps if you've got the set list going around, but they seem to like The Phoenix a lot, and Save Rock and Roll, and Grand Theft Autumn. Oh, and of course Saturday. Prior to the Tourdust shows I also listened to SMFS *a lot,* because I wanted to make sure I would recognize every single one within a few notes lol. For the second SMFS show, I was driving up with my nephew who didn't know FOB, so I literally just made a playlist of the approximate set list and we listened to it as we drove so he would at least have heard some of the songs before.

I'm curious what other people do. Am I very boring in my routine?? One thing you should know is I'm one of those people who takes video, but I don't take video (most of the time) of the whole song, and so I'm always thinking, like, "I want video of this bit, but I don't care about this bit, this bit I'll sing along to." I don't want to be making those decisions at the concert, so I plan them out beforehand. I'M THAT TYPE A.

OMG YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN AT THE CONCERT!!!!

[flinkelinks]

✨ shuffle your ‘on repeat’ playlist and list the first 10 songs that play, then tag 10 people ✨

There is no way I’m tagging 10 new people, but I was tagged by good friend and music enthusiast @smallvoids, so I gotta share something. Alas, I do not use spotify enough for it to have useful data (it literally just made up songs I’ve never heard and put them on the list wtf) so instead I’m shuffling my ��heavy on repeat” playlist from apple music:

The Oh Hellos – Cold (2020) Honestly, their whole discography could've been on here. I do listen to a lot of the oh hellos, and their songs often end up in my d&d character playlists.

Hildegard von Blingin' – Paint It Black (2023; original from 1966) A bardcore cover of the rolling stones song. I listened to this artist on repeat the other day, and she is now the most represented artist on the playlist.

Cold Moon – Access Control (2021) Sometimes you search desperately for any song to add to a specific character playlist, and you find one that kinda fits, and then suddenly you've listened to it dozens of times just because it's on there. This is one of those songs to me.

Hildegard von Blingin' – Save Your Tears (2021; original from 2020) There she is again! A the weeknd cover, whom I don't especially care for but whatevs. If you like "medieval" compositions and the old singular second person pronoun thee/thou/thy, I recommend von blingin'. She's also on youtube.

Reinaeiry – How Lovely (2021) Speaking of youtube, that's where I found reinaeiry, a Singapore-based artist who makes sapphic covers of other songs and also original sapphic music.

MisterWives – Our Own House (2015) This one's on a dancing in the kitchen playlist. not the most danceable of the songs on there, but it's pretty alright

Hildegard von Blingin' – Jolene (2020; original from 1973) Von Blingin' again! My gf made me listen to beyoncé's horrendous jolene cover recently and I died a little inside—this poetic bardcore version cured me afterwards.

Amber Run – Honeylight (2023) This one came recommended (for a d&d character playlist) by @smallvoids so that's fitting. It's no secret that I mostly listen to video game music and character playlists…

Tommy Newport – Marigold (2021) Same playlist as above. The character's name is Marigold, and I found three songs by that same name to add to her playlist lol.

SIAMES – No Lullaby (2019) If you haven't seen their animated music videos, you're missing out. Sorry if you hate videos as a concept ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Does it count if I tag @10people ?

[poisonously-alluring-sev]

Snape One Shot ~ Chasing Phantoms

Severus Snape Masterlist

Summary: You read in the daily prophet that a live performance of The Phantom Of The Opera was coming to London and you beg him to go with you.

Teacher x Teacher

Time: Anytime

Pairing: Snape x Reader

Word Count: 1200

Warnings: None

Recommended Songs: The Point Of No Return from "The Phantom of the Opera" & The Phantom Of The Opera Symphonic Suite - Pt. 1 (all songs can be found in my snape playlist in my Spotify account that is linked in my bio)

It was the winter break in between semesters at Hogwarts and you had finally convinced Severus to let you move in with him. It had been a great few first days with him and you had never felt more comfortable in a new home before. It had finally stopped snowing since you had arrived at Spinner’s End and the Daily Prophet showed up at your doorstep. Feeling excited for just about anything you pick it up and start reading it while sitting on the steps that lead to the upper part of the house.

After reading it for some time and finding things not quite that interesting, near the back of the paper there was an ad for the UK casting of The Phantom Of The Opera. You had only heard the music played through records and had seen photos of the stage, but from those things alone you really wanted to go see it performed live. With excitement in your step, you quickly moved up the stairs and into the small living room where Severus sat in an armchair reading a book and making sure the fireplace was heating up.

Walking into the room you held the paper folded with the ad facing out so you could show him and ask if you would be able to see it. As soon as you walked through the door Severus glanced up at you from his book for only a second before you spoke to him.

“Hey, Sev?”

“Yes, Darling?” He gently placed the book in his lap and left his finger placed on the page marking where he stopped reading.

“I just read about this performance in the paper and was wondering if, maybe, we could go?” You shuffled your feet back and forth while talking. You knew that Severus wasn’t too keen on leaving the house and being around other people, but you really wanted to see it this past year. Especially when you had heard that most countries were performing it again. He furrowed his brow before asking simply,

“Performance?” You walked up next to him with your steps making gentle footstep sounds on the hardwood floor. Holding out the Daily Prophet in front of him you let him read the ad.

“Darling, it’s quite a trip to London and Brighton from here. We’d have to take the Ministry Flowpowder system to get there.” He let go of the paper that he was gently holding and closed his book that was still placed on his lap.

“I know it’s far, but we got time still before school starts up again. Please. I’ve been wanting to do something with you recently and this is the perfect thing.” Severus sighed lightly while glancing back at the paper. Within a few seconds of you nervously glancing back at him and the paper he took the paper from your hands and folded it closed.

“Alright, how about the London show.” You smiled like an idiot as he agreed to go and gently kissed the top of his head. Severus wasn’t going to agree to go at first, but seeing just how excited you had gotten about seeing the ad and how you had said you wanted to do something with him he couldn’t upset you.

A week had passed and you and your lover were walking out the front door ready to travel to London via flow powder. You had enchanted a small bag to be able to hold all your clothes and other things of need so you wouldn’t be carrying around too much stuff. Once you had got to the Ministry-issued flow powder fireplace you held his hand and jumped through thinking of the Ministry of Magic. Quickly you were teleported away and within a few seconds, you stepped out of a dark fireplace still holding hands with Severus before calling a visitor's exit.

After a decent 15 minutes of walking you arrived at the front doors of the hotel Severus had booked for you both. You had planned to get to London the morning of the performance and would leave London later in the evening on the next day. Once you were checked in Severus brought up the idea of doing a little shopping and getting lunch before heading up to the room. Loving the idea, you locked your arm with his and explored the busy streets of London.

You stopped to buy a few muggle things such as books and an assortment of accessories before stopping at a classic old English lady restaurant for lunch. While you are both British by blood you never really have had authentic British food as Severus does most of the cooking to your tastes which aren’t quite the standards of old British people. Soon enough the time had come to leave for the show and you both put on the clothes that you had brought along with you. This particular show was advertised as more of a formal viewing so you had both brought some decent muggle-looking formal clothes.

Masculine Outfit

Feminine Outfit

While you waited in the now-growing line you held Severus' hand gently in his pocket. He wasn’t one for a public display of affection, but with it raining and everyone excited about the show you assured him that no one would care or even notice. Since you had only thought of the idea of going a week before the performance you hadn’t gotten the best seats in the venue, but they were still good spots higher up to see the chandelier drop. The whole time you were looking in awe and loved every single ounce of the performance. Severus would look over at you a few times noticing just how much you were loving the show and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling as you spoke about it while you waited for people to exit the venue.

The walk back to the hotel was dark and damp, but neither of you cared about it. You held each other's hands freely and while you had a light conversation about the show you would receive soft kisses on the side of your head or your hand from him. You hadn’t planned to do anything special for the holidays as Severus was very keen on keeping it plain, but this had just made him come to the conclusion to make every holiday with you something special.

Thanks you much for reading! I would be very grateful if you would leave a note and if you have any fun ideas I might just add them! Please leave those in the comments!

Any Requests?