#it's to the point that i try not to put chvrches songs on character playlists unless they really really fit

[thatwitchrevan]

How did I not realize in the (checks google) over a year since Screen Violence released that Asking for a Friend is a DEEPLY Meetra song (probably deeply Exile in general)?

I could copy paste all the lyrics right here but like "I sunk some ships with selfish lips/and it all came back to me", "I cheated and I lied/but I meant it when I cried" "and the mess we made on Fridays gave me Sunday on my knees/but you still matter"

Even just the conceit of 'asking for a friend' when the song is clearly in first person and there's no question of covering up that all of this is a confession, but still there's that desire to deflect.

That's my (emotionally damaged and flawed) girl right there.

[voltronlegendaryimagines]

Hey, could you write headcanons where the reader makes a mixtape for her crush and their reaction to it for the Paladins, Matt and Allura please? Obviously when you have the time, I know you're busy xx

This was just what I needed to get back in the swing of things! I ended up actually… Making mixtapes for each of them orz

Know that the playlists are all more so meant to be music that I think each character would like more so than playlists that I think describe each character. Like, less fanmixes and more what I think they would have on their mp3 players, you feel?

Links next to each character (youtube playlists) + track lists under the cut

Keith (Listen here)

He’s??? So thankful????

He probably constantly had music on when he lived alone so it’s really special for him that you would do this

Can’t believe you took the time to make him a mixtape like holy shit

Listens to it for the first time on his own and he blushes the whole time

Not only did you pretty much nail the kind of music he likes

He also couldn’t get you out of his head when he was listening to the mix

Afterwards, he’d make you one in return

Doesn’t really know what to put on it though so he sort of guesses what kind of music of his he thinks you’d like

Lance (Listen here)

So excited!!!

He isn’t a big music guy (mostly listens to whatever other people have on at any given time) but he loves that you picked stuff out for him

100% wants you to listen to it with him

He doesn’t talk much while you guys are listening to it but every now and then he catches your eye and tells you how much he loves it

Would try to get you to dance with him during a few songs

Gives you a BIG hug once it’s over because wow he’s just so happy you did this for him

Probably plays it all the time afterwards

Would figure out how to rig it so he can play the mix in his lion

The only reason he’d stop is if you made him a new one

Shiro (Listen here)

Thinks it’s really sweet and like??? The cutest thing

Probably asks you if you want to listen to it the second you give it to him

He pauses it in the middle of the mixtape and is just like “??? How did you know I like this kind of music?????”

He really enjoys music but he doesn’t really talk about it or his tastes much so he’s SUPER surprised

Tries to act all cool and mature but he’s screaming inside the whole time because he’s so smitten with you rn

Asks you if you have any more artists and songs that you think he might like because at this point he 100% trusts you to recommend him some quality stuff

Pidge (Listen here)

She’s so into it holy shit

Offers to listen to it with you later that night after she’s done working

Probably just relaxes and hangs out with you while listening

Talks while it’s playing but sometimes she goes quiet to listen more closely

v surprised bc you didn’t strike her as someone who would be into this kind of music?

v excited about it though

Recommends you a bunch of other bands

If you’re not *actually* into more electronic and indie-electro stuff though, she tries gets super flattered that you looked into it for her? like that’s so nice ????

Really appreciative of it ;-;

It’s her new work playlist and the only way anyone’s turning it off is over her dead body

Hunk (Listen here)

He doesn’t like sitting in silence, and tends to have music or ambient noise on in the background at All Times so this is a perfect thing for him

That being said, it probably takes him a day or two to give it a listen

Probably turns it on when he was getting some work done or during training

Screams because holy shit he hasn’t really heard this type of music before but he is into it

You pass by him one day and he’s singing along to your mixtape

He gets kind of embarrassed when he notices you but also wants to tell you how much he loves the tape

Would probably put it on whenever you guys were hanging out

Matt (Listen here)

Dies on the spot

Already planning your wedding, he’s so flattered you did this for him

IMMEDIATELY goes to listen to it the first chance he gets he’s so excited

Doesn’t mention it though until the next time you guys hang out alone

That’s when he starts singing some of the songs to you

He’s a pretty alright singer too and it’s very cute

It’s very cheesy though and honestly even he’s a little embarrassed

It’s worth it tho to make you smile

Asks if you have anymore music you think he’d like

This time though, he wants to listen to it with you

Probs would blush the whole time though

You think it’s pretty cute

Allura (Listen here)

Doesn’t really understand what it is at first

After you explain it though? She’s very curious and excited and so happy you did this for her

All but drags you to go listen to this with her

Listens very intently the whole time

Really likes earth music!! It wasn’t what she was expecting at all

Wants to try out other kinds of music too but what you showed her on the mixtape ends up being her favourite

Mostly because it’s what you specifically picked out and thought she would like

It means a lot to her that you did that

Decides that she’s going to make a mixtape for you, but of Altean music!

Keith

Eyes Half Closed (Acoustic) - CrywolfElectric Feel (Gespleu Downcast Edit) - Henry GreenThe World At Large - Modest MouseR.I.P 2 My Youth - The NeighborhoodRoom To Breathe - You Me At SixAlways - blink-182Follow You - Bring Me The HorizonIt Ends Tonight - The All-American Rejects

Lance

Lisa Baby - Walk The MoonHold Me Tight or Don’t - Fall Out BoyYou’re Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring15 Dreams - New PoliticsAnimal - Neon TreesSmile Like You Mean It - The KillersTokyo (Vampires & Wolves) - The WombatsMy Type - Saint Motel

Shiro

I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic MonkeysC’est Toi - Cameron AveryBad Habits - The Last Shadow PuppetsMadness - MuseSit Next to Me - Foster The PeopleDon’t Forget Who You Are - Miles KaneDark Necessities - Red Hot Chili PeppersAin’t No Rest For The Wicked - Cage The Elephant

Pidge

Leave A Trace - ChvrchesSeptember - St. LuciaOur Fragment (feat. Missio) - SkruxFreesol (Dabin Remix) - Seven LionsProfessional Griefers (feat. Gerard Way) - deadmau5Midnight City - M83Up All Night - BeckGive Life Back To Music - Daft Punk

Hunk

Buddy Holly - WeezerKarma Police - RadioheadThe One Moment - OK GoDiane Young - Vampire WeekendYou Only Live Once - The StrokesNaive - The KooksDon’t Look Back Into The Sun - The LibertinesLittle Black Submarines - The Black Keys

Matt

Fingerprints - POP ECTSwimming Pool Blues - Miniature TigersSomething Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema ClubTake Me Out - Franz FerdinandKiwi - Harry StylesLove, Selfish Love - Patrick StumpParis - Magic ManCardiac Arrest - Bad Suns

Allura

Lonely Hearts Club - Marina and the DiamondsToo Much is Never Enough - Florence + the MachineGreen Light - LordeBody Talk - FoxesOf The Night - BastilleThe Sound - The 1975New Rules - Dua LipaPaper Love - Allie X

[queennsansa]

Returning the great ask! I'd love to see you make mini playlists (3-5 songs) for the following: Buffy/Giles. Thor/Loki. Gamorrah/Nebula. There's a theme (families despite the blood relations) :D

Oooh love these! I hurt myself picking some of these songs in the context of these characters. Heavy focus on the angst here, you know me.

BUFFY/GILES

For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti - Sufjan Stevens

If there’s anything to say / If there’s anything to do / If there’s any other way / I’ll do anything for you (…) Like a father to impress / Like a mother’s mourning dress / If we ever make a mess / I’ll do anything for you

God Only Knows - Beach Boys

If you should ever leave me / Though life would still go on believe me / The world could show nothing to me / So what good would living do me / God only knows what I’d be without you

England - The National

I’m in a Los Angeles cathedral / Minor singin’ airheads sing for me / Put an ocean and a river between everybody else / Between everything, yourself and home / You must be somewhere in London / You must be loving your life in the rain

The Fray - How To Save A Life

Some sort of window to your right / As he goes left and you stay right / Between the lines of fear and blame / You begin to wonder why you came (…) Lay down a list of what is wrong / The things you’ve told him all along / And pray to God he hears you

Adia - Sarah McLachlan

Adia, I do believe I failed you / Adia, I know I’ve let you down / Don’t you know I tried so hard / To love you in my way? (…) Cause we are born innocent / Believe me, Adia / We are still innocent / It’s easy, we all falter / Does it matter?

Ghosts That We Knew - Mumford and Sons

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light / ‘Cause oh that gave me such a fright / But I will hold as long as you like / Just promise me we’ll be alright / And the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view / And we’ll live a long life

THOR/LOKI

Crying Lightning - Arctic Monkeys

Your profile could not hide / The fact you knew I was approaching your throne / With folded arms you occupied the bench like toothache / Stood and puffed your chest out like you never lost a war (…) And your pastimes consisted of the strange / And twisted and deranged / And I hate that little game you had called / Crying lightning

Running up that Hill - Placebo

You don’t want to hurt me / But see how deep the bullet lies / Unaware I’m tearing you asunder / There is thunder in our hearts, baby / So much hate for the ones we love / Tell me, we both matter, don’t we?

Broken Crown - Mumford and Sons

I will not speak of your sin / There was a way out for him / The mirror shows not / Your values are all shot / But oh, my heart was flawed / I knew my weakness / So hold my hand / Consign me not to darkness

I’m Not Angry Anymore - Paramore

I’m not angry anymore / Well, sometimes I am / I don’t think badly of you / Well, sometimes I do / It depends on the day / The extend of all my worthless rage / I’m not angry anymore

Always Gold - Radical Face

We were opposites at birth / I was steady as a hammer / No one worried ‘cause they knew just where I’d be / And they said you were the crooked kind / And that you’d never have no worth / But you were always gold to me (…) Yeah, everything goes away / But I’m going to be here ‘til forever / So just call when you’re around

GAMORA/NEBULA

The Mother We Share - CHVRCHES

Never took your side, never cursed your name / I keep my lips shut tight, until you go (…) Come in misery, where you can seem as old as your omens / And the mother we share / Will never keep your proud head from falling

Bitter Rivals - Sleigh Bells

I had to kill the new sheriff in town / She was gonna try to keep me / You go-go down / In a dream you will never be down / Heart’s so dark, make dirt look clean (…) / You are my bitter rival / But I need you for survival

Which To Bury; Us Or The Hatchet - Relient K

You blame me, but some of this is still your fault / I tried to move you but you just wouldn’t budge / I tried to hold your hand but you’d rather hold your grudge (…) No, I don’t hate you / Don’t want to fight you / You know I’ll always love you / But right now I just don’t like you

Troubled Waters - Cat Power

When people see me / They scandalize my name / I’m going down to the devil’s water / I’m gonna drown / In that troubled water / It’s coming round my soul / It’s way beyond control / I must be one of the devil’s daughters

Call And Answer - Barenaked Ladies

I think it’s getting to the point / Where we have almost made amends (…) And if you call, I will answer / And if you fall, I’ll pick you up / And if you court this disaster / I’ll point you home (…) Now it’s time to prove that you’ve come back / Here to rebuild

[twilight-adamo]

As Dreams Are Made On: The Mixtape - Liner Notes

Hello everyone! I am currently in the process of gathering my thoughts on Brave New World and trying to get the next installment of These Our Actors (which will focus on Rosalie) just right, in addition to trying to find my thread on Out of the Blue and other non-Twilight projects. This has been complicated by the fact that I’ve been fighting a couple rather nasty nose and throat bugs of late, and so this weekend I’m doing my best to relax and recover.

In the meantime, I thought I’d start offering up my notes on the Spotify playlist I posted a while ago and why I chose the songs I did. For anyone who didn’t see the link, here it is:

https://open.spotify.com/user/12153099402/playlist/5IYjYDbcM6qvQ2hgGnOCGF?si=orkjWU50SjKm7xbPSF_r5w

Since many of my choices do relate directly to specific plot points, there are potential spoilers ahead, so I’m putting this behind a cut. I won’t get through every song in this post, but I’ll add additional notes in subsequent posts as time allows.

As I think I mentioned before, I find playlists to be a very useful tool in my writing. It’s possible to spend too much time tinkering with playlists, of course, so I try not to do it in place of writing or outlining - this is just something I work on when I’m occupied with non-writing tasks that allow for a certain amount of downtime. Each song tends to relate to a plot point or an emotion I’m trying to evoke in a certain part of the story, and the sequence generally follows my outline of the plot, though I’ll sometimes put the playlist on shuffle if I’m feeling stuck and want to try and shake things up, and I sometimes end up adding, removing, or resorting various songs as my understanding of the plot evolves. Since As Dreams Are Made On is done, the current version of the mixtape - all 49 songs - is now pretty much in its final form, but when I’m working on a story, the associated playlist is very much a living document and subject to change.

Music has always been a hugely important part of my life, thanks in large part to my mother, who was an influence on much of my creative output. I tend to think of myself as a visual and verbal person first and foremost, but music has the power to set my mood, to reawaken old memories, to align my thoughts, and to soothe my emotional turmoil. My personal tastes are fairly eclectic - my mother favored country, and I’m still fond of the genre, but I also listen to a lot of pop, classical pieces, musical theatre, folk music, movie scores, and so on. Spotify has been kind of a godsend when it comes to building playlists, though there are unfortunately a few pieces which should be on the mixtape but aren’t simply because they’re unavailable on Spotify. I’ll try to make a note of those missing pieces in the appropriate sections.

Right, well, without further ado, let’s get to the songs.

Pieces and Pieces - The Rough and Tumble This song’s sort of a thesis statement for the whole story, in a way. The refrain, in particular, speaks to me of where I was going: Nothing is lost when it’s been found again / Everything’s found where it was lost. Cass/Bella (or CB, as I refer to her, when I’m not simply calling her Bella) has seemingly lost a great deal, but she comes to gain a great deal as well, and to recover things she thought lost to her forever. The line “I will make you mine again, pieces by pieces” also speaks to me of the story’s dramatic climax, where the nature of CB’s relationship with Alice becomes clearer.

Where Is My Mind? - Pixies Here’s where we’re getting into the actual sequence of events. This one might be a little bit of a cliché, but it reflects CB’s confusion when she wakes in the world of Twilight. It’s also just generally one of my favorite songs.

Turning Page - Sleeping At Last This is the first of many pieces pulled directly from the soundtrack of the Twilight films, and the first song that centers a character other than CB, as it reflects Alice getting hit by the mating bond full-force. It’s a lovely piece, but I think there’s an undercurrent of anxiety and some slightly ominous elements that suit Alice’s mood well. Love at first sight sounds like a pleasant prospect, but it’s also a frightening one, and neither Alice nor CB would have chosen it, given the chance to choose.

Iowa (Traveling, Pt. 3) - Dar Williams Another of my favorite songs. I listened to a lot of Dar Williams in college, and listen to her fairly often still, but I keep coming back to this one in particular. As a lifelong New Englander, famed for what my great-grandmother called ‘the Yankee reserve’ (which means we don’t tend to wear our emotions on our sleeves and generally we keep to ourselves), these lyrics in particular speak to me:

But way back where I come from We never mean to bother We don’t like to make our passions other people’s concern And we walk in the world of safe people And at night we walk into our houses and burn

So, to me, this song speaks of CB’s struggle with her own emotions as her life in Forks begins and she grapples with the mating bond and all it implies. And it also speaks to her background as a lifelong Bostonian, who doesn’t like to be a bother but nevertheless finds herself in a whole new social context and a position where she needs to reach out to others to survive.

Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs This is Rosalie’s introduction to the story. I don’t really know why, it just seems to suit her, somehow.

Bela Lugosi’s Dead - CHVRCHES It may be physically impossible for me to write about vampires WITHOUT using this song. I just felt like I had to fit it in somewhere, and the first meeting with the rest of the Cullens (sans Carlisle and Esme, of course) seemed like a good spot.

Looking for a Place to Shine - Deidre Thornell Hear the Bells - Naomi Scott I’ll be honest, I don’t have a lot of compelling reasons for these two. They just seemed to fit the sort of transitional period between the first meeting with the Cullens and Leah’s introduction a little later on.

Red Eyes and Tears - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Leah’s introduction to the story. Again, it just seemed to suit her.

New For You - Reeve Carney We’re back to Alice with this one. It sort of reflects her own emotional turmoil in dealing with the mating bond and having to accept that CB doesn’t necessarily reciprocate all her feelings just yet.

Fearless - Taylor Swift Well, this one actually comes up in the story, so you can pretty much guess where it fits in. Again, though, it’s one of my favorite songs, and speaks to the joy that I think love should carry with it, and the idea that love should drive us forward and make us better. It’s been a serious contender for the first dance at my hypothetical wedding for a long time (though “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri may be beating it out now).

The Mercy of the Fallen - Dar Williams More Dar Williams! This one...I don’t know. Somehow, it speaks to me of love and acceptance, of individuals who are all burdened and broken in their own ways reaching out and comforting one another. And that, in turn, makes me think of CB’s first visit to the Cullen house: her first real conversation with Rosalie, her introduction to Carlisle and Esme, all of that. This is where she really starts to build bridges, I think, and where she and some of the others begin to open up to one another.

Bella’s Lullaby - Carter Burwell, Dan Redfeld and Elizabeth Hedman This is of course one of my favorite pieces from the Twilight movie score, and includes a leitmotif that comes up more than once in both the films and in my playlist. I couldn’t find the original version from the score itself on Spotify, but this cover works. Of course Edward plays it on the piano at this point in the story, reading it out of CB’s thoughts, and I think she adopts it in a sense as a sort of personal theme. Every time I listen to it, it makes me think of soaring pine trees and crisp, cold air, and I find the melody very soothing.

Missing Piece: Star by Star - Cassandra Lease and Melissa Carubia Someday I’m actually going to get together with the friend who helped me with the arrangement on this one and record it. It probably won’t go up on Spotify, but I’ll likely post it somewhere. This is the song I wrote for my mother’s memorial service; the lyrics are of course reprinted in the story in their entirety. This is probably one of the most personal elements of the story, the point where I really started to spill my guts across the page. I obviously backed off a little from my own life once I introduced Callie to the story, but there’s still a lot of my soul buried in the text; sometimes, I think, too much.

Bella’s Lullaby (Extended Mix) - The Twilight Orchestra I’m not really sure why this shares the name Bella’s Lullaby when it doesn’t seem to have much to do with the shorter piece, but whatever. This is just a lovely piece that sets the mood for Alice and CB on the rooftop and the events that follow.

Possibility - Lykke Li Similarly, this is more of a ‘setting the mood’ song. I don’t think the lyrics quite fit, in their entirety, but this basically represents CB awakening to the possibility of forming a real attachment to Alice, despite her qualms.

Shake It Off - Taylor Swift Another (highly anachronistic) Taylor Swift song that shows up in the story itself. I can be an extremely basic white girl at times.

Bad Reputation - Avril Lavigne The Joan Jett version isn’t on Spotify! I don’t know what to tell you! This cover’s pretty good, though. Another Leah song, and something I imagine might be playing in the dive where CB introduces Leah to fried pickles.

Nothing to Lose - Minusworld My friend Melissa’s band! Get their EP, Giant Blazing Sword, wherever you buy digital music! Listen to them on Spotify and Bandcamp! Anyway, I think this is the track playing during Leah and CB’s encounter with the scary assholes in the alley, and when Emmett and the others get their big damn hero moment.

In Place Of Someone You Love - Carter Burwell, Dan Redfeld and Elizabeth Hedman We’re skipping ahead a bit here. This piece comes after the shopping scene and CB’s attempt to analyze Rosalie’s abilities, when she’s in the dream of the burning house, trying to save her memories.

The Forgotten - Green Day This piece represents CB’s emotions after she wakes from her brief coma, as she struggles with losing her memories and burning away parts of the world she left behind.

Black Is The Colour - Cara Dillon And this piece represents CB’s acceptance of her feelings toward Alice, her confession of love despite her reservations. It took me a while to find a cover I liked, as I very much wanted to use a version that had a woman singing about another woman, for obvious reasons.

Okay, I think that’s pretty much all I can handle for now. More to come soon!