#literally one of my favorite pieces of classical music ever

[wickedhawtwexler]

violin teacher: i was thinking about the elgar cello concerto for the winter concert but our main cellist left

me (has had zero cello lessons): i volunteer as tribute

[lexirosewrites]

Ok last slick sunday ask that's been sitting in my head!! The 2 part one I did was a great exercise & helped me get some imagery thoughts processed abt things for my haunted Harrington fic 👻

A!Eddie is ofc our favorite famous rock star, an aspirational horror director/actor, fantasy nerd, who's seen w a different omega in every city @ every event

O!Steve is a historian, specifically a costume historian, he has a degree tht he has framed in a reproduction of a rococo golden frame, he has a YouTube channel, Steve's Seams, tht he started initially as a way to keep his adopted mom (B!Claudia) updated & involved w his projects, he specializes in the mid to late Victorian era but he has put in the work on other projects of different eras (high middle ages, Renaissance, regency) Steve makes an effort to make these garments using materials & tools tht r as close to historically accurate as one can get, his videos r informative & calming & his voice is soothing & his projects r creative at their core

he did an entire video series when he was invited to the Met Costumes Department just absolutely nerding out, asking questions, having bubbly conversations. It's this series tht makes his channel suddenly blow up. He's getting comments on old videos, alot of the comments abt how attractive he is, the most popular videos tend to b his videos reviewing costumes in "period piece" movies/shows, not bc he's harsh but bc he takes the time to explain/illustrate how something would've looked if it'd been made accurate to the period the media is meant to b set in

Some time later.........

Eddie & Corroded Coffin r planning a series of music videos for their upcoming album, they've got a reputation for their conceptual albums tht have powerful aesthetics, their albums till now r set in blatantly fantasy worlds following a vague middle ages aesthetic, but now they're stuck.

They've made a rock opera essentially & they know the story they're telling in the album: an alpha detective finds themselves swept up in a missing persons case turned to a murder case tht leads them into a vampiric city underground, literal blood sucking mafia essentially, where they finds the victims omega mate amongst a coven of vampires, now turned & mated to the vampire tht leads the entire underground, the victim had been abusing the omega & when they went to the vampire mafia bc they saw no other recourse, the omega was discovered to b the reincarnation of the leaders first & only love, the album/opera ends w the detective being fed to the hungry horde.

They're throwing ideas back & forth for the music videos w their ever talented manager/agent/creative coordinator A!Chrissy, they have a disappointing meeting but when they come back the next day Chrissy has pep in her step & proudly shows them a YouTube video. It's a critique of one of their music videos from their first big break album, it'd been vaguely set in the middle ages/Renaissance, except this person doesn't care abt the music instead they’re observing the costumes, explaining the time period they'd been borrowing from, how the costumes would've been constructed/actually looked during the historic period they'd presented. Then Chrissy shows them a video of this YouTube channel constructing a Victorian opera gown & opera suit. It's a eureka moment as the band realizes where she's going w this, a Victorian vampire is classic! Why not lean into the whole thing? Eddie is quiet as they discuss giving one word & noncommittal answers, bc he's stuck staring at the gorgeous omega in the paused video, then he speaks up over all the noise saying they NEED this specific historian on their creative team specifically to consult & design the costumes. Chrissy raises an eyebrow but agrees

Steve agrees, signs a rlly big NDA, & is flown out to LA so he can begin his role as a consultant/designer for the 6 music videos the band has conceptualized for the album.

Steve meets the entire team at a meeting meant to discuss & establish the various logistics needed to make the videos the quality the band wants, they've hired a famous horror cinematographer, an even more famous horror director, everyone in the meeting has a lot of experience in a big scale filming environment & Steve doesn't, but he tries to not let it get to him. He wears garments he made himself (ofc) some of them he made on the channel even. A walking skirt in a very sensible deep green & an embroidered matching walking jacket r the focus of the outfit, when he gets to the building he's met by Chrissy & she leads him to the meeting room. He meets everyone especially the band, Eddie stumbles over his words, when Steve removes his walking jacket to reveal the equally green vest Eddie chokes on his water.

Blah blah blah

They don't want any of the ppl who audition for the role of the omega, Eddie is playing the vampire boss ofc & everyone's gotten closer to Steve & tht means everyone basically loves Steve, & hey he's an omega who is more than just pretty & he'd have a rlly easy time making a costume for himself, so Steve ends up as the omega in the music videos. Steddie get closer than they should since Eddie is technically Steve's boss

by the time the albums dropped with the music videos dropping each following week they've fallen fully in love & have discussed mating & Eddie’s been seen w a mystery omega around multiple cities but what's got everyone interested is the fact tht this is clearly the same person & they've been "practicing" for trying for a pup for awhile now😏

Dustin has a full freak out abt his older brother working w his favorite band of all time, AND HE HAD TO FIND OUT THRU PAPARAZZI THT HES DATING EDDIE MUNSON, when he tries to go to Robin w his melodrama tht rlly is more boundless happiness for Steve she blinks at him & tells him she already knew, Steve had told her abt their relationship literally two minutes after a conversation tht was followed by sex tht cemented them as romantic partners, before Dustin can leave to call his mom Robin tells him she knows already as well, after all Eddie had to ask SOMEONE for their blessing to mate & marry Steve & that's how Dustin learns they're engaged 🥰

i love how Steve is just living his best life (AKA making his hyperfixation into a career) and ends up snatched up by a rockstar with big ole heart eyes!!! he deserves nothing less!!!

[eardefenders]

Sherlock & Co - Mailbag Episode 2 Transcript

00:00-00:30 Intro Music

00:27-00:34 *Sounds of a violin playing fade in*

00:34 Sherlock: You see? You see what I mean?

00:37 John: I…don’t.

00:39 Sherlock: Listen! *scoffs* Listen, closely this time. Shh. *resumes playing the bit from the fade in*

00:43 John: Argh. *pause* For God’s sake.

*Sherlock keeps playing*

00:46 John: Sherlock, please mate. We’ve got questions to get through here.

*Sherlock keeps playing*

00:52 John: Maaaate. Matey, mate mate mate mate.

00:55 Sherlock: Did you hear it this time?

00:57 John: Yeah. Sure. Uhh, right. So let’s dive into the discord chat. The brand spanking new discord for Sherlock and Co members. Brimming with Stamfords, Irregulars, and Diogene-sohmy God. There’s thousands of messages. Um, right. Should probably been keeping tabs on those questions. All right I’m going to scroll up and pick one f-from um the sssixteenth of January. Here we go! Come on down…IdleVice! Uh, your question is, “If you could make a Spotify playlist for each other of your own favorite songs, what would some of the highlights be and would you be willing to share the playlists with us. Ooh hoohoho. Uuuhhm. I don’t know if I’d ever get around to actually, y’know, putting the playlist together, as, as such, but what I-I would get Sherlock to listen to. Ummm mmmm probably Elbow? Elbow are a band from the north of England. Uh, Salford I think. But they have, uh, a few strings sort of. I-I don’t know what it’s called-but, elements that involve violins. Um, and all that jazz. Heh. Uh well not jazz! Uh, literally, not jazz. Uh, yeah, Sherlock, what about me?

02:07 Sherlock: Hm?

02:08 John: If you could make a playlist of songs for me what would it be?

02:12 Sherlock: I probably would never do that, Watson.

02:16 John: Okay. Uh, could you expand on that?

02:19 Sherlock: It’s a task that I wouldn’t find that fulfil-Vivaldi.

02:23 John: Uhh, right. Vivaldi. Yep. Anything else pop into mind?

02:29 Sherlock: Pop.

02:31 John: Pop? Is that-what’s that?

02:33 Sherlock: It’s a genre of music.

02:35 John: Uh, right, you’d make a pop playlist for me?

02:38 Sherlock: I’d probably enlist Mrs. Hudson to do that.

02:41 John: Fair enough. And why pop?

02:43 Sherlock: Because it’s an abbreviation for ‘popular music’.

02:45 John: No, I know that.

02:47 Sherlock: You like popular culture, therefore pop music could very well be your cup of green tea.

02:54 John: It’s, it’s just cup of tea. Bu-uh-uh, well, okay, uh, thank you for that. Uh, back to the discord dudes and dudettes. Um, not that I was implying any kind of masculine energy to the use of the word dudes. Dudes will remain, uh, um, an-an-an-androgynous here. My…dudes. Bit like the word mate! I do throw it around. Ummm. Some people just think it’s for blokes. Don’t know why. Uh, anyway. Here we go. Leaf-onk, layff, layfonk? I hope I’m saying that right. Uh, Leif-Leif*onk* asks, ‘Has Sherlock ever hit a vape?”

03:28 Sherlock: Yes.

03:29 John: Lovely. They’d also like to know the flavor.

03:31 Sherlock: Menthol.

03:32 John: D-do you want to expand?

03:35 Sherlock: Mm, not really.

03:37 John: Did you like it?

03:38 Sherlock: It was satisfactory, I suppose.

03:41 John: *sighs* Another thrilling q and a session with the master detective. Here we go! Number one archie fan-He-he-heeyyy! Archie! Found your number one fan mate. Heh. Think they also go by potpourri. Not sure. Don’t really know how discord works because I was born in 1989. Anyway! Number one Archie fan asks, do you have a favorite classical piece? Or a favorite composer, perhaps?

04:05 Sherlock: Mozart, generally. Can often be tied to my mood. What about Vivaldi? You said Vivaldi earlier?

04:12 Sherlock: That was a recommendation to you.

04:14 John: But not you?

04:14 Sherlock: Definitely not.

04:16 John: Great.

04:17 Sherlock: Uh, Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky. But I am often driven by whatever phase I feel I’m in.

04:23 John: And we’re in a Mozart phase now, are we?

04:26 Sherlock: We are indeed.

04:27 John: Fab. Right, uh, Reeonk asks-ohkay, ok, I see what you’re doing now. Cause of. Cause of Jonk. Okahaha. Let’s all laugh at Jonk-John, I mean.

04:40 Sherlock: *laughs*

04:41 John (affectionately): Oh, ge-Shut up, you big idiot.

04:44 Sherlock: *still laughing*

04:45 John (affectionately annoyed): Shut it. Ha. Uhhhh, we’ll cut that bit. I swear to God. Right! Reonk, who I think also goes by Perfo, if I click here. But yes, as I was saying, millennial at the wheel. Sorry. Reonk’s first question, “Hey John, if you were an animal, what animal would you be?” Uhhhum, *clicks tongue* look, I’ve got to be something airborne. Um, uh I’m sorry, but I have to. Y-y-you can’t have the chance to fly and turn it down, so, uh, I’m a bird.

05:09 Sherlock: Or a bug.

05:10 John: S-s-sorry?

05:11 Sherlock: Bugs. Insects. They’re airborne. Hm, as is some bacteria.

05:16 John: Great, yeah. Let me just decide between a gnat and a germ.

05:19 Sherlock: By all means. Take your time.

05:21 John: I’m being sarcastic. I’m not a bug and I’m not bloody…germs. I’m. *sighs* I mean it’s too much pressure being an eagle, isn’t it. Um, *clicks tongue three times* I don’t want to be something that’s crap at flying, like a swan or a goose or something. Shoutout to Heather, by the way. Ehhh, aw come on John, come on John. Um. Ooo! Tell you what. Now this is going to sound stupid, but if it was my brain in the animal-

05:47 Sherlock: Yes, this is going to sound stupid.

05:49 John: Shh-sh-shh. Yes, if it was me. In the animal. I’m going pigeon.

05:54 Sherlock: Pigeon?

05:55 John: Pigeon. Ehh? Right, listen, ok. I can still live in the city. I cou-I could even live in my room, really.

06:01 Sherlock: You absolutely cannot.

06:03 John: What? Why not?

06:04 Sherlock: I’m not flatsharing with a bloody pigeon, Watson.

06:06 John: It’s me.

06:07 Sherlock: Yes, in the body of a pigeon.

06:09 John: Listen, let me finish my point. I’m a pigeon. I’ve got my room. I can fly about London, y’know? See all the sites, dive bomb some tourists, do a little poo on the House of Commons. I could nick a bit of decent grub. Yeah, go on walks with Archie and Mariana in the park. And no one is the wiser. If I was an eagle or a, y’know, like an albatross, I couldn’t do that, could I? No? It’d be great flying across town, even take the tube. Saw a pigeon on the tube the other day.

06:39 Sherlock: Yes, you said. Twice.

06:41 John: I could look through people’s windows, you know go in their gardens, on their patios….That makes me sound creepy, doesn’t it? Ah, pigeon! *clears his throat* The answer is pigeon. Second question, “What kitchen appliance would you be?” *clicks tongue twice and sucks air in thorough his teeth* Hm. Not being a microwave. No way, don’t get cleaned enough and, uh, having curries and bloody pizzas blowing up inside me, geezus. Uh, fridge. Maybe. Mmm, but I’d see a lot of rotting food, wouldn’t I? Especially if people are away for a while. Probably go with something fun, y’know something where I come out of the pantry or the, y’know, the cupboard or whatever, and all the family go ‘yaayyy, heyhey here he is!’-Wafflemaker, I’d be a wafflemaker. Everyone loves waffles. No one’s getting board of me. I’m getting cleaned. Perfect. Pigeon and a wafflemaker. Ha! That’s not a bad name for our band, eh Sherlock?

07:32 Sherlock: We’re not making a band.

07:33 John: Yeahhh, it was a joke. Right! It’s biscuit time! Saren says ‘Question for Sherlock: What kind of biscuits are, in your opinion, the best?

07:42: *sound of someone walking away*

07:43 John: Uhh, what’re you doing?

07:44 Sherlock: Answering the question.

07:44 John: Well, that would involve sitting down and talking into the mic.

07:48 Sherlock *sound of papers*: Here.

07:49 John: This…is an essay….on biscuits.

07:52 Sherlock: Yes.

07:54 John: By you.

07:55 Sherlock: Yes.

07:56 John: Okay.

07:58 Sherlock: Well, read it. My findings are in there.

08:01 John: Whaaa…it’s thirty-nine pages long.

08:03 Sherlock: Indeed.

08:04 John: Thi-this is supposed to be a snappy question and answer segment. Y’know it’s supposed to be a patreon reward, not a bloody punishment. *sarcastically* ‘Aww thanks for giving six quid everybody, here’s an eleven hour lecture on biscuits.’

08:15 Sherlock: They asked the question.

08:16 John: Right, ok. So, uh, he was eating a lot of custard creams the other day. Um, for those of you who aren’t British, uh, a custard cream is, uh, a sort of sandwich structured biscuit, wouldn’t’cha say?

08:26 Sherlock: Correct. Yes. A sandwich in structure. Two light shortbread pieces acting as the bread. Often stamped with a Victorian inspired Baroque design. And the filling was once a buttercream, but now is a custard flavored cream based on vanilla custard. Not egg custard.

08:43 John: Right, yeah. It’s, it’s that. Um, they’re nice. They are nice. Very moreish. Um, Ellionk, or Ellie, I think, when they’re not ‘Onk’ified, want’s to know ‘Favorite Supermarket: Tesco or Sainsbury’s?’ Um, well, both have gone downhill in recent years, I have to say. So, I’m going to go for neither and say co-op. Yeah, cause every now and again you find a really really good one. But if I’m in fantasy land, it’s M&S Foods or Waitrose. *clicks tongue* Yeah. Uh, there’s a chemistry question here from Ranger Pip which I don’t even begin to understand, so I’m going to move on. Sorry, Ranger Pip.

09:18 John (cont.): Right, last one! ‘Question for possibly John or Sherlock, not sure, lol. What is the story behind the theme tune. Just have to say whoever composed it, the musicians need an award and a shoutout on the podcast.’ Uh, yeah, well it’s a great theme tune, isn’t it? It really is. It’s called ‘Mad Prodigy’. *clears his throat pointedly*

09:39 Sherlock: Why are you making that noise?

09:41 John: Ah well, just saying mate.

09:43 Sherlock: I’m not mad. Or a prodigy.

09:46 John: Hey, uh, I-I’m not saying anything. Um, yeah, it’s it’s by a guy called Jody Jenkins. Uhhh, the reason why I don’t release it like some people asked me to is because it’s owned by a royalty free site. Um, *clicks tongue* the reason why Jody Jenkins doesn’t release it, is the same reason. I-it’s owned by a royalty free site. Uh, that’s generally how they work. I-I pay a fee. Well. Goalhanger pay a fee, use the track, and it belongs too…yeah. Audio Network. Um, I think he’s fab, yeah. But as far as crediting him out loud on the podcast, um, some artists don’t want royalty free work assigned to them. Um, they just do it for a paycheck. Some do. I don’t know him obviously and of course, I-I could piss off the company that actually owns the audio if I just mention him and uh, not-

10:34: *phone vibrates*

10:36 John: Message from Mariana. ‘You’re waffling. These people are paying us their hard earned money.’ Right! Soundproofing in these old houses aren’t what they used to be, are they? Um, *clicks tongue* yeah that’s the reason songwise. Nothing for or against Jody Jenkins. I’m just playing it safe cause these things s-scare me. *chuckles* Corporations and blech, yeah. Uh, horrible stuff.

10:54: *phone vibrates*

10:55 John: Um, message from Mariana. Right, yeah, I’m gonna wrap this up. Uh, thanks for your questions my lovely friends, we’ll be back soon. And, now to play us out, the one and only, Sherlock Holmes.

11:08 Sherlock: What?

11:08 John: Play! Play a song!

11:10 Sherlock *pleased*: Oh. Excellent! Uh, okay. Here we go!

11:14: *violin playing starts up*

11:17 John: Bye bye guys!

11:32: *sherlock’s violin playing cuts into Mad Prodigy

11:32-12:02 *Mad Prodigy carries us out to the end*

[tenabrye]

Could I possibly get some headcanons for what type of music Vash, Nick, and Knives would listen to in a modern au?

If not thats totally fine! Thank you so much!

I hope I wrote this well since a lot of bands and artists can fall under a variety of genres.

Vash

Psychedelic rock is a genre he's not afraid to admit liking and listening to. MGMT, Tame Impala, Pink Floyd, etc. He typically likes to hum along and even sway his body to the beat, oftentimes just flat out dancing to the rhythm if it's a song or band that he can get really get into.

Alternative/Indie rock is another good genre for him. His top five might include Arctic Monkeys, Florence + The Machine, Two Door Cinema Club, Chase Atlantic, and possibly Teflon Sega. Not only do a lot of the ones he listens to sound amazing, but some songs just feel good after a stressful day.

Alternative/Indie pop, but he's picky about this genre. Lana Del Rey, Twenty One Pilots, and Blink-182 are just a few that he'll listen to. He's open for recommendations with this genre, though.

Synthwave is his JAM. It's his go-to genre for literally doing any sort of chore around the house. Kavinsky, Trevor Something, Mr. Kitty, and Wayfloe. He may also listen to such songs when trying to sleep, as they have an easy way of relaxing him.

Anything classical, but that's really only because his brother likes it. He's not really picky with any pieces belonging to this genre, but he does tend to listen to the softer, less intense ones. Sometimes he'll play a piece, whether it be on his own piano or from an app on his phone, and just think about Knives and how he's doing at the moment.

Knives

He's very into the classical genre, so anything from Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Puccini can and will be heard in his home. He'd much rather play the pieces himself than to use an app to listen to them, however, he'll elect to use the app if he doesn't have any intentions to play them himself.

Classic pop, which he's honestly very picky about. He leans more towards artists that are similar to Frank Sinatra, and of course he listens to Michael Bublé.

Synthwave, but only because Vash had it playing when he visited. He didn't care much for the genre, at first, but it grew on him. Only listens to Kavinsky and Wayfloe, though. Might seem stubborn to broaden this genre, but he's just picky.

Alternative/indie. Only listens to Florence + The Machine, Lana Del Rey, and Fleurie. Such powerful and captivating voices will always grace his ears for as long as he lives. Not that anyone would know he listens to them.

Industrial metal, but no one will ever know. His favorites from the genre are Rammstein, Oomph!, Celldweller, and Nine Inch Nails. He once heard Vash play an Oomph song and got scared, thinking his brother knew about it.

Wolfwood

Alternative just oozes out of this man. Bands/artists such as Muse, Sub Urban, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, ThxSoMch, etcetera, are what he will be listening to. Will even sing along to the song if he's feeling it, and that happens a lot.

Not opposed to rock or heavy metal. Metallica, Slipknot, Korn, Tool, even Ghost are bands he'll listen to. He likes the volume loud a lot, however, he'll make exceptions for when people visit him.

Rap rock bands such as Hollywood Undead, Linkin Park, and Limp Bizkit are also thrown into the mix. Listens to it during chores because he says it "energizes" him. Will most definitely sing along to every song.

Electropop, yeah, he likes it. Anything similar to Graveyardguy, Slayyyter, Night Club, and Ayesha Erotica he likes. Vash doesn't like riding in the car with him ever since he played Emo Boy with a smirk. Kidding, since the blond suggests similar songs for car rides now.

Metalcore, but he only ever listens to this genre when he's in a certain mood. Usually a bad one, but he thinks listening to bands like Bring Me the Horizon, Bullet for My Valentine, All That Remains, and Of Mice & Men will cancel out his bad moods. It's become a tell of his that lets everyone know how he's feeling without saying.

[skitskatdacat63]

As per usual you’re taste in classical is 🔥. Not good at putting it to words but the symphony felt vibrant and I enjoyed listening to it all come together. Favourite piece had to be ‘Adagio – Largo – Moderato risoluto – Largo – Adagio’ made me jealous that I couldn’t witness it live 😔.

— Penalanon (also seeing the side by side with the conductor on yt , I can see the resemblance lol)

Hehe you don't know much it means to me everytime you tell me you've listened to my reccs!!! <3 Also omg, I would literally die if I ever got to see this one live. I's my absolute favorite right now!! I think though, thankfully, I'll get to hear one of his other symphonies, the 5th, which is also pretty great! He really does look so much like Shostakovich, doesn't he??? So funny.

I love the whole piece dearly, but my favorite is definitely the first movement, because the way it ramps up is so adrenaline filled and makes me feel so much palpable emotion. Also the context behind it, which was what the book I was reading was about(Symphony of the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson, which I highly recommend!!) It's just crazy to think he was writing the first two movements while the Siege of Leningrad was actively getting worse and worse(thus why it's referred to as "Leningrad.") I think he even marked the original score every time he had to go into the bomb shelter, which is so insane. Knowing that context, the whole first movement makes my heart drop and I can just FEEL the tension he probably did writing this. That repeated melody, which is basically Shostakovich's version of Ravel's Bolero, in the beginning is referred to as the "Invasion Theme," so it's really so easy to picture the approaching of the army, getting more and more tense until it comes to a fever pitch(though you can also interpret this piece as being about fascism/authoritatianism in general, i.e. Stalin and The Great Purge OR Hitler and Operation Barbossa.)

AGHHHH god, and thinking about how when he finally finished it, the city of Leningrad itself(which he thankfully managed to evacuate from before it got too bad) was desperate to play it, even though everyone was dying from starvation. They were collecting literally anyone who could play an instrument to be able to play it, even though it required a huge orchestra and was long as hell. I want to cry just thinking about that premiere, how everyone was so grateful to finally feel human and creative again in some tangible way through music(lol so you can see why I'm so enthralled with this piece.) And the fact they even played it over loudspeakers as a sign of resistance to the Germans !!!! It's a very emotional piece to think about, and I start tearing up every time I listen to it, thinking about all of this. Every bit is packed with emotion so it's hard to even express what parts I like specifically, cause I love all of it! Though here's a fun fact, they almost lost this piece!! Shostakovich and his family were evacuated further East from Moscow, and in the confusion, they lost the score he had composed so far(I think the first two movements), but managed to find it on the train, miraculously unscathed. It stresses me out to even think about.

Also since I've got you here, here are some more reccs >:)

Jazz Suite No. 1 & No. 2 - Shostakovich

These are so whimsical and fun! But they also kinda make me sad when I remember this is the kind of fun music he liked to compose before the government practically beat all the fun and whimsy out of him. But, still, the duality of man, I guess?

Piano Concerto No. 2 - Shostakovich

Spotify link this time, sorry lmao. I wanted to share this recording specifically because there's a lot of signifigance in it. The fact that it's his compositon, which his son is conducting and who it was written for in the first place, and his grandson is the one playing the piano!!! The second movement is especially so good omg

Scherezade - Rimsky-Korsakov

Soooooo incredibly cinematic for its time!!

Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony" - Saint-Saëns

I saw this one in concert the other day, so I should link it lol. I'm so happy when the organ gets used, there's nothing like it, it's so loud!!

La valse - Ravel

Ma mère l’Oye - Ravel

I've been listening to Ravel the past few days, and wow, his music is so magical so I thought I should link some!!

Dies Irae - Verdi

Piece I am going to tomorrow !! Requiems are so cool, you should also listen to Mozart's, but I'm sure you're familar with some of it. This kind of chorael singing rips at something deep in me

Japanese Suite - Holst

*adding this late so I hope you see it! Literally randomly heard this rn and I had no idea it existed. It's crazy how good Holst is at giving the vibe of something. This was composed while he was working on the Planets, so it still has a space vibe but also reminds me SOOOOOOO MUCH of Inazuma's soundtrack, it's insane. I know it's probably because they're both based on traditional Japanese music, but still, wow. Holst truly is the creator of the modern soundtrack imo.

[setthishouseablaze]

Fortnight - post mortem

"Fortnight"

(feat. Post Malone)

"I was supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me

I was a functioning alcoholic till nobody noticed my new aesthetic

All of this to say, I hope you're okay, but you're the reason

And no one here's to blame, but what about your quiet treason?"

To be sent away is to be committed to the psych ward, or sent to jail. From the music video (MV) it seems that in this case it's a reference to an involuntary stay in the psych ward - she's chained up in a bed being made to take pills, however, asylums and prisons are a theme throughout the album as a whole.

In the opening scenes of the video she is dressed up to look like 1920s movie starlet Clara Bow (who is referenced directly as a song title later on the album.) Her hair is pinned up with an extreme number of upside down bobby-pins which on the right side of her head make the roman numeral for 13, and she is wearing a wedding gown.

Clara Bow is known to have engaged in lavender marriages while having secret affairs with women during her stardom. "dropping hairpins" is a piece of historical queer slang, meaning dropping hints that one is queer, and the inverse, having your hair pinned up means that you're pretending to be straight. Hair pins reference back to the lyrics of Right Where You Left Me "Dust collected on my pinned-up hair." I read this scene as "maximum closeting," by force.

The entire room is shown to be upside down and at an angle which reminds me of the classic Emily Dickinson poem "tell all the truth but tell it slant" Given Emily is a favorite poet of TS the Dickinson reference is likely intentional and it's fair to assume that there are red herrings and metaphors in abundance throughout this song and this album. Remember the 'redherring' error code on the website pre-release.

This song and video also reference A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, which tells the story of a person released from prison who has mental health issues due to being tortured during their prison stay, who is then taken by their family from Paris(!) to London (!!) Book 2 of A Tale of Two Cities is titled "The Golden Thread" which reminds me of Invisible String "one single thread of gold tied me to you," and in the second book we're told the tale of how the golden haired daughter provides financially for her family in addition to repairing and maintaining their good reputation. A Tale of Two Cities feels oh so very appropriate as a touchstone for listening to this album.

"I was a functioning alcoholic" is this metaphorical, literal, or both? Other mentions of use and abuse of drugs and alcohol in her discography include Closure "I'm fine with my spite and my tears and my beers and my candles" Clean "Ten months sober" and Don't Blame Me "My drug is my baby I'll be using for the rest of my life" I think in this case I think it might be both metaphorical and literal. The loss of her love drove her to drink, but also, she was addicted to her illicit love and maybe got away with it until others noticed-?

"All of this to say, I hope you're okay, but you're the reason. And no one here's to blame, but what about your quiet treason?" reminds me again of the song Closure "It wasn't right the way it all went down looks like you know that now. Yes, I got your letter, Yes, I'm doing better. I don't need your closure" It's just as direct, but less aggressive in tone. She hopes her muse is well but they are the reason that she is where she is.

"And for a fortnight there, we were forever

Run into you sometimes, ask about the weather

Now you're in my backyard, turned into good neighbors

Your wife waters flowers

I wanna kill her"

A fortnight is two weeks, though, it may be a metaphorical stand-in here just meaning that for awhile it seemed like they were going to be together forever, but now they are acquaintances who make small talk.

"Now you're in my backyard, turned into good neighbors" reminds me of the ever so quotable line "Good Fences Make Good Neighbours" from Robert Frost's poem Mending Wall, the irony of the poem is that while setting clear boundaries with a wall prevents petty disputes over property lines the constant need to maintain the wall they've built brings the neighbours together to talk. The line is often quoted by people who've never read the poem without heed for the irony. As a reference here it seems very sarcastic - we're good neighbours look how polite and appropriate we are with our boundaries set in stone.

There are many references to gardens and flowers in the TS back catalogue but for me this in particular recalls the lyrics from Clean "The drought was the very worst. When the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst." and this line translates to me as I hate your partner because they're growing a relationship/family with you, whereas ours is dead.

The MV shows TS wiping her face to reveal tattoos that almost match those of Post Malone who plays the part of love interest in the MV. The differences are the addition of two tattoos that spell out DDP, an extra heart, and a change from a playboy bunny to what looks like a diamond. The tattoos seem to have been covered with make-up while she was chained up in the asylum, and they disappear as soon as she steps out into the other room - only to reappear onto the face of Post Malone. I don't have any theories about what DDP stands for I would love to hear other peoples. Seeing TS with secret tattoos reminds me of Dress, "made your mark on me a golden tattoo." another song about secret love.

"All my mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February

I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary"

Mondays being the most notoriously hated day of the week because it's the start of the work week for many people, and Feb being post-celebration winter in the northern hemisphere, I read this as - all I do is work I'm stuck in a bleak winter that won't end. I've tried every option available to get over you but it didn't work.

When she enters the writers room she's wearing a mourning dress, which could lend another layer i.e. all my mournings are mondays i.e. all of my break-ups are work/business.

The whole video is in black and white except for the sparks that fly off the pages into the air between their desks, and the fire once she sets things ablaze.

"And I love you, it's ruining my life

I love you, it's ruining my life

I touched you for only a fortnight

I touched you

But I touched you"

This is pretty direct but in context I read it as - I'm still in love with you, I feel stuck, I can't move on and my public image won't let me let you in, we may have only been together for a short time but we were together and I can't/won't forget it.

In the MV there are an endless array of masked figures also in black mourning attire, all with masks and hats sitting at identical desks disappearing into the horizon. Are these the other tortured poets from history, made to mask and hide behind their typewriters in a black and white world?

"And for a fortnight there, we were forever

Run into you sometimes, ask about the weather

Now you're in my backyard, turned into good neighbors

Your wife waters flowers

I wanna kill her

And for a fortnight there, we were together

Run into you sometimes, comment on my sweater

Now you're at the mailbox, turned into good neighbors

My husband is cheating

I wanna kill him"

"My husband is cheating I wanna kill him" This could be literal cheating, however, she is not literally married so maybe that's a hint - maybe he's violating the terms of a contract? After all she's probably not in love with him since she's pining so badly after the muse of this song-? So, why would she still want to murder him? Maybe they were supposed to get lavender-married but he cancelled the wedding and now everything is in upheaval?

She is laying on the ground with PM in the middle of an image of herself made up of pages reading from "The Story of US" book, "So many things that I wish you knew. So many walls up, I can't break through" they seem to be stuck there and then they break free, pages flying in the air, and hold each other laughing. The tattoos are now gone from both faces.

"I love you, it's ruining my life

I love you, it's ruining my life

I touched you for only a fortnight

I touched you

I touched you

I love you, it's ruining my life

I love you, it's ruining my life

I touched you for only a fortnight

I touched you

I touched you"

In the MV she's back in the asylum now, hair undone/pins gone, strapped to a table surrounded by men about to have electro convulsive therapy (ECT) administered, a black dog runs through the frame. The ECG read-out is showing "I love you it's ruining my life" in the read out of her heart beat. One of the panels in the background reads "Master Control." In literature The Black Dog represents depression.

So, when her hair is unpinned she wants to be publicly out as in love with a woman, and the men who surround her and control her and her music deem it inappropriate, they want to 'fix' her. But, when the ECT runs sparks fly, the machinery overloads, she screams, and PM runs over to release her from the table.

"Thought of calling ya, but you won't pick up

Another fortnight lost in America

Move to Florida, buy the car you want

But it won't start up till you touch, touch, touch me"

"Thought of calling ya, but you won't pick up. Another fortnight lost in America" You won't answer my calls so we've lost another fortnight of our lives to the American culture wars - reminds me of Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince and Paris, which are also songs about running away.

They are now outside in a raging storm stuck on top of a mountain with treacherously steep sides, TS sits atop a phone box in a dress that looks like chain-mail, while PM is inside the box making a call begging..

"Move to Florida, buy the car you want but it won't start up till you touch, touch, touch me." TS has said in interview that moving to Florida in this album is a reference to people running away from their mistakes and starting fresh. She's telling the muse to ditch their partner and runaway with her, this ties back to Getaway Car which opens with "It was the best of times, the worst of crimes" which is a direct reference to A Tale of Two Cities which opens "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way".

"Thought of calling ya, but you won't pick up

Another fortnight lost in America

Move to Florida, buy the car you want

But it won't start up till I touch, touch, touch you"

TS is back in the writers room, tearing open the draws, letting the pages fly into the air, crying, then stone faced in her mourning dress while the pages swirl around her burning. It reminds me of Dear Reader "Dear reader, burn all the files desert all your past lives" The version of her in the asylum smashes down the window.

And finally the version of TS on top of the phone box reaches down and holds hands with PM. She's created imagery of herself stuck inside cages, boxes, glass boxes, etc over and over through the years and this is the first time we've seen her outside and making contact with another human.

Conclusion: our protagonist has been held by force in the image of a virginal heterosexual bride, going slowly insane while she pretends that the woman she truly loves is just a friend, and she's now completely fed up and her bearding situation has gone to hell, she's asking her love to runaway with her and she's willing to metaphorically set fire to her history/her body of work to be with the one she loves.

[desceros]

hi sam!! kind of a different request, but would you list as many of your favorite orchestral pieces as you can? association with turtles v welcome but also optional! i have trouble doing my coursework because i can't listen to anything in the background while doing it (shows, music with lyrics), but i listened to scheherazade because of you and really loved it, plus got some work done to boot!! i'm not sure where to start in looking for more music like that so i thought i'd ask you. :)

oohhhh what a FUN ask, thank you so much!! i promise i am going to TRY to be REASONABLE with how much i talk about this. if i really did mention "as many as i could" i think i'd find out if tumblr has a character limit in text posts, hahaha!

so my favorite symphony of ALL TIME is symphony 9 by dvorak. absolute must-listen. my favorite moment of the entire piece (which you HAVE to listen to the entire thing to get REALLY feral about) is the last huge chord progression in the fourth movement that takes the db major brass chords from the second movement and puts it to the BOMBASTIC TYMPANI EB MINOR EXTRAVAGANZA from the first movement and makes me want to CHEW THROUGH BEDROCK, RAHHH

aside from that, here are a few that i love a lot and totes recommend:

all of scheherezade is, of course, absolutely stunning. it's one of my favorite pieces of all time. if you haven't listened to the other movements, i highly recommend! in this same vein is you liked that are pieces like the stepps by borodin, the polovstian dances (also borodin), marche slav by tchaikovsky, and to some extent saint-saens piano concerto no. 5 has some similar themes, particularly in the absolutely DELICIOUS second movement. it's called "orientalism" and while the, uh, intent has a history of. to say generously. problematic undertones. the pieces themselves are lovely.

russian easter overture by rimsky korsakov. i played this one in high school and man. it's just so FUN and PRETTY.

symphonie fantastique by hector berlioz. it's the story of this dude having a really bad acid trip. no i'm not kidding. also the fifth movement has the dies irie in my favorite iteration ever. eat your heart out, mozart.

...actually just literally anything by tchaikovsky. gun to my head, i'd say he's my favorite classical composer. i'm partial to his ballet work because that's what i played a lot of personally, but his overtures and concertos are quite fun. his romeo and juliet overture is extremely famous (though i personally vastly prefer the opening part over the latter, more famous part). every violinist you ever meet will be traumatized by him, though. so do be careful.

speaking of concertos: my favorite (ugh. i'm a traitor) is probably the barber violin concerto. it just has this. cinematic vibe to it that makes me think of something magical.

(....though the elgar cello concerto and the grieg piano concerto may have something to say about this.)

the planets suite by holst is very fun. you've probably heard mars, and you may recall the romance theme from jupiter if you've seen the movie braveheart. it's one of those mainstream pieces most people have heard. my particular favorite movement is uranus. it's so bouncy and fun!!! classical headbanger music here

beethoven is quite fun to listen to. for his orchestral work, i'm partial to symphony no. 5 since that was the first one i played and the drama of it is enthralling. (yes. i think it's better than nine. sue me.). that said, between you and me, i like the egmont overture better than his symphonies. that low open c on the viola is just so god damned juicy—[door bangs open] OH NO. IT'S THE PRETENTIOUS POLICE. THEY FOUND ME

i'll stop there. these are a few symphonic pieces, since you asked for those specifically. i also really love chamber music (which is just the strings section, sans the woodwinds/brass/percussion/etc), but i find those amazing to listen to as well! anywho i hope you enjoy some slash all of these and good luck with your studies!!

[wwillywonka]

when you're writing heaven on their minds, what version of willy is in your mind? is it depp wonka or wilder wonka? I know for sure it's not chalamet wonka. or maybe the musical ones? borle or snook?

hi anon! thanks so much for the question!<3

i try to emulate this in heaven on their minds by the very fact that i include bits and pieces from all versions of canon, but my willy is very much an amalgamation of every willy. and when i say every, i mean every, which is why i reward myself (with the self-awareness of its pomposity) with the Wonka Expert title - because i don't consider just one willy wonka to be The willy wonka; they're all him and he cannot exist without every piece of himself.

in terms of physical appearance, i've shared my art of him on here (and on my instagram @/corduroycyborg), and those drawings are about as close as i can get to portraying how he looks in my mind: tall but too thin for his height, mid-length thick curly chocolate-coloured (ha!) hair that he straightens within an inch of its life, deep set electric purple eyes that can increase or decrease in saturation depending on his mood, nose like a rabbit's, perfect teeth and painted nails and gold jewellery and always a thick layer of makeup to hide his insecurities. i also go back and forth a lot in my head about his race considering i myself am mixed asian and pretty much project everything about myself on him. but i like to keep it ambiguous to make him an accessible character for all readers, an intentional choice that plays into the themes in hotm of him feeling like he isn't a person without the media and his fans telling him who he is. hotm (my) willy is definitely more based on 2005 because that is my favorite version (and because i am hopelessly, unfortunately attracted to twink johnny depp for no reason) but also because i feel like that movie does the best job of externalising his inner self through his appearance. wilder wonka is classic, of course, but i've always thought, even as a kid, that he just looks too damn nice, is too charismatic. wilder wonka, while definitely mad (the boat scene>>>), is just a big ol' teddy bear. his hair looks so soft, and the way he picks up charlie and twirls him around is so 🥺🥺🥺. gene wilder himself said that he wanted his wonka to look trustworthy so that he could focus on making his personality unpredictable, which i appreciate and think works well in the 1971 movie - but willy is supposed to be antisocial and scary and off-putting. it makes him so much more interesting to me. the original book describes him as bright and colorful, yes, but also as someone charlie immediately wants to unpack, to study, to understand. and the way wilder wonka doesn't even wear gloves...!! that's a hugely essential part of willy's character and his adversity to the outside world, and it just isn't present in what is typically considered the "best" version.

in chapter 7, i describe willy lounging in a oscar wilde-esque fashion, with a floral robe and lipstick and a french bob. i know this is technically me stretching the femininity of depp wonka perhaps a little too far, but it's my own special charm i've built around the character in the past many years of him being my favorite character of all time. perhaps it's just me being really bisexual and projecting my particular type and relationship with gender onto him; i accept that and own it. i will forcibly feminize my blorbos all i want and that is my right. now, to address gareth snook wonka. tbh the worst wonka look besides the unspeakable tom and jerry movie. THAT BEING SAID, uk tour willy is probably my favorite portrayal of the character ever. he's unpredictable, he's scary, and his attractiveness and charms are so unexpected but make so much sense in the most surprising ways - snook wonka is cunty, i'll say it. mix his personality with depp and that's MY willy!!!

and yeah, definitely no chalamet wonka. i literally don't think about him at all while writing the character unless i'm considering how noodle fits into the story. and i've said this before but i don't care for borle wonka even though i know he's a fan favorite. sorry lol.

TLDR: 93% depp, 6% snook, 4% dahl, and 2% wilder. ("but that's 105%!" yes.)

((p.s. the artist who appears most on the big unpublished playlist i have for him is lana del rey. if that helps paint a picture🎀🍫🐇🍒).

[creaturethingz]

a list of media that I was obsessed with (or still am) and I now know it's because I'm nonhuman (with explanations)

the x-men movies and x-men: evolution- general themes of not being normal/not fitting in with normal humans. wolverine, nightcrawler, rogue, beast, mystique- all beastly/shapeshifter characters that I love. I used to watch one specific episode of x-men: evolution over and over again because there's one part where rogue uses her power on Sabretooth and she gets fangs and claws and its super awesome.

wild kratts- got to see and learn about lots of cool animals!! and ofc they have cool suits that let them change into whatever animal they interact with. in one episode Chris's suit malfunctions and he goes kinda creature mode as a Tasmanian devil (my favorite episode, if you know you know)

wolfblood- the intro slaps major ass- so does all the music actually. werewolves going to high school in England (my dream.) I was IN LOVE with Rhydian, I specifically remember packing up all my art stuff dramatically just like he does when he runs away. also a werewolf getting adopted by vegans is so funny to me. lots of late nights staying up watching and imagining myself running through the woods with them.

teen wolf- a classic in the werewolf community. I never finished it, I found it a bit weird at points, but I definitely liked the transformation scenes.

my babysitter's a vampire- vampires are kinda eh to me but there were other mosters in that show, including werewolves <3

H2O: just add water- 🎶🎵CUZ IM NO ORDINARY GIRL🎵🎶 I genially just love this show. I wish I was a magic mermaid. the cove with the moon and the glowing water was so cool to me. aohr narh! cleaoh!

fairy tail- the first anime i ever watched <3 not my favorite but i still love it. magic system is cool, there's monsters and dragons and flying cats. Natsu is my favorite, he has a super special dragon power and at one point i think he kinda turns half-dragon? idk its been like 6 years since i watched it. this was right around the time i started drawing and making my own characters, so i made my first ever self-insert oc- she was a super bad ass half fox girl that wore chains and spikes and was ofc friends with Natsu.

Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden- my favorite anime, I will never not love it. Naruto has a giant fox spirit sealed in his belly and goes crazy feral wild sometimes and its so awesome. foxes are my favorite animal, and yes I did make a self-insert that was friends with Naruto and also had a piece of the fox spirit sealed in her.

blue exorcist- main character rin finds out hes half demon and son of satan (very cool!) he gets pointy ears and fangs and a tail (!!!) hes treated like a beast and something to be feared when his friends find out but they eventually come to accept him :3

the last unicorn- I have this movie on DVD so I frequently watch it. the OST is absolutly unmatched and the animation is beautiful. the unicorn gets turned into a human and is confused about her identity, which is so me fr. the song "now that im a women" was a huge part of some of my artworks in art school, I used it to talk about my gender identity (it also applies to my nonhuman identity obv)

the curse of the were-rabbit- werewolf but cuter cuz its with bunnies. stop motion transformation scenes are really awesome.

howls moving castle- howl save me. save me howl. turn into a big owl beast and please come save me. I love the sound his big talons make on the tile when he comes back from fighting in the war <3

princes mononoke- literally my first post on this blog was my beautiful wolf mother moro. i wish i was her i wish i was the wolf princess i wish she was my mom plz let me get adopted by giant wolves in a magical forest plz. also my favorite Ghibli movie ever.

luca- this one is recent and oh god. this movie got to me so bad and gets to me every time i watch it. its gay AND nonhuman?? i love those lil Italian fish.

wolf walkers- very obvious choice, but i haven't even seen it yet !!!! its not available on any streaming services i have but I've seen enough clips. also the secret of kells and song of the sea are amazing movies by the same studio and i love everything about them. and we got that banger song (we are running with the wolves tonight.)

sweet tooth- such a good show. half animal people lets go! they are literally hunted down and have to go into hiding, and then theres that super cool group of older teens with the cool masks. i would definitely be apart of them (if i wasn't half animal) ((I totally would be)) cant wait for the last season and im also sad its ending.

this is all i can think of right now... theres also countless videos on YouTube that I'll probably never find again so </3

[evilfloralfoolery]

ok but I'd really love hearing more about that French fuck omg! "Oh I'm so very cold" sfdsljk freaking priceless, it's been a good long while since I've read something so entirely up my alley!

Why, thank you!!! I'm absolutely delighted that you enjoy this as much as I do! I actually thought of you when I was "listening" to Lucian tell me about himself lol. I've always had a penchant for snarky snobbery as well, as you know. ;)

SO! This is what Lucian has "told me" about himself so far.

Lucian d'Alarie was born on May 10 in the year 1700 in the city of  Marseille. His parents were extremely wealthy "old money" aristocrats that relocated to Paris when he was about 17. Lucian's father was murdered under "suspicious circumstances" after his mother took up with an even wealthier man and left the family. At 19, Lucian became the sole heir to his father's fortune and business (he hasn't told me what this "business" is yet). It wasn't really what he wanted to, but rather, what was "expected." Lucian had great skill in the art of music, playing piano, violin, and singing in rather lovely bass-baritone. He even dabbled in composition and has, over time, composed several pieces. Bach and Monteverdi (and later, Mozart) were some of his favorites. In the year 1731, he fell ill with some manner of influenza, which would have been fatal, had he not been "rescued" by one of the undead. The one who made him told Lucian that he was "too beautiful to suffer such a horrid death" and gave him the choice to become immortal or to perish. Of course, he chose the path of darkness and power. Why wouldn't he? His surname literally means "all powerful" lol. Despite his inherent aristocratic snobbery, Lucian is a quite the romantic, writing poetry, curating roses, composing songs for those he loves, etc. He's extremely proper, a big believer in etiquette and formal speech, and prefers rich blood when he feeds. Fucking snob.

As far as appearance goes, he's about 189 cm tall with pale skin (duh), wavy, dark golden blond hair that's just a bit longer than shoulder length, light green eyes, and a rather "classically" chiseled physique and jawline. He prefers waistcoats and high collared shirts to modern clothing and usually wears his hair pulled back.

But what you really want to know is this:

When he was alive, he had terrible "hay fever." Lilies and gardenias are particular horrors along with certain trees. While these things no longer bother him in the same way as they did when he was mortal, he is EXTRA sensitive to scents and is legit allergic to garlic. What a fucking cliche. He is able to walk in the sunlight for short periods of time. It will not burn him to ash or destroy him, but it does drain him. After about a few hours, he needs to find some serious shade or suffer the consequences. Said consequences are human-like cold symptoms. He calls it "being sun sick." It's somewhat of a recent discovery for him, considering daylight was too much for him before. It basically blinded him. He spent decades gradually exposing himself to it until he could walk among the living as mortals do without being in absolute agony due to the burning of his eyes. He does still have to wear sunglasses, which is amusing to me.

He has the capacity to eat and enjoy human food, but it doesn't do anything to actually satiate him. Only blood can do that. He does require complete darkness in order to rest and rejuvenate, but he doesn't sleep in a coffin (because why would he ever lol). He sleeps in a canopy bed with "black out" curtains around it in a room with more of the same hiding the windows.

While he is technically immortal, I suppose one could "kill" him by burning him to ash, dismembering him, or something similar. Too much sunlight over a long period of time might do it, too. I'm not sure. He hasn't told me all of his "secrets" yet.

[genderqueer-karma]

Hello, hope you're having a good night! What songs would you recommend for someone that wants to get into Malice Mizer? I've known about them for years but never got around to listening to them. Album recs also work! Thanks in advance^^

okay honestly i’m really excited to answer this because i rarely get to give people recs!! so, i’m gonna do this by organizing based on my personal perception of the genre of each era. hopefully you enjoy what you hear/see!! (<- vibrating because they get to discuss their strongest hyperfixation of the past 2 years)

(under the cut)

if you tend to like goth/darkwave/posipunk/similar or related genres, or just generally more rock-focused music:

tetsu era is the way to go! their first album memoire/memoire dx has songs i’d argue fit very well into these genres! for more specific recs:

SADNESS~ I know the reason for her sadness~ - the most emblematic of the goth genre! (not technically from memoire, but the compilation it’s most commonly associated with, brain trash, was technically a multi-band project iirc)

miwaku no rouma - less “goth” and honestly a bit more “dance-y” but still a song i love and will love forever

kioku to sora - an incredible song that i love very deeply. also has a version with the band's third vocalist, klaha!

baroque - honestly, just iconic! baroque is THEE song of tetsu’s era as vocalist. the twin guitar version of für elise in the bridge?? magnificent 🤌

(i’d also look for the other, less known songs of the era, like 16 no solitude, portugal, and lafflesia!)

if you tend to like songs with a classical music influence but with more of a pop sound:

gackt era is 1000% the way to go! their second album (and gackt's first with them) voyage ~sans retour~ has many tracks of this variety:

madrigal - actually my favorite mm song, period. the bittersweet tone of the violin throughout makes me sick to my stomach its so good. i play viola and its the song by them i most want to learn to play!

premier amour - another lovely track from voyage that i actually used to have as my blog title! very poppy (in my opinion) but the classical influence is evident. like madrigal, it's quite violin heavy. as the title also suggests, it's quite romantic ^-^

uruwashiki kamen no shotaijou - i can't make a malice mizer rec list without mentioning this song. it's quite iconic and for good reason! this was the single that really gave them their first big commercial success, as far as i know. (also in the bg of a famous interview clip)

ma cherie - another song that i can't not talk about when discussing malice mizer. literally their most famous song, the one that their fan club was named for. if you ever look up clips of this song live, you'll mostly see the band having the most fun onstage. honestly just a very sweet song. this song is also the only one that's been performed by all three vocalists! (tetsu & klaha)

for songs that lean very heavily into a cathedral/classical sound:

the album bara no seidou, their last one and the only one with klaha as vocalist, has you covered!!

mayonaka ni kawashita yakusoku - first time i heard this song i nearly lost my mind. no exaggeration. the composition is genuinely beautiful, possibly even bordering on angelic. all my homies love mayonaka.

bara ni idorareta akui to higeki no makuake/seinaru toki eien no inori - goddamn what a long title, but fitting for a long song! as the opener for bara no seidou, it is a whopping 9 minutes long, but it had me hooked for all 9 minutes. (technically, bara ni... and seinaru are two separate tracks, but bara acts as an introduction for seinaru)

shiroi hada ni kuruu ai to kanashimi no rondo - to be towards the end of the album, it's quite the piece; and i don't use "piece" lightly. i have many feelings regarding shiroi, but to put it simply, you need to experience this song at least once.

tbh this list is getting long as fuck so i'm gonna do a rapid fire round of songs i like/ones i think are iconic:

tsuioku no kakera, au revoir (and the bossa version), apres midi (and the english version that i honestly can't place genre-wise), brise, gardenia, garnet, le ciel, gensou rakuen, aegen, gekka no yasoukyoku (deserves a long explanation as the song that got me into malice but i'm actually running out of space), the whole merveilles album*, really. (*half of those aren't even merveilles... oops)

[what-gs-watching]

"It's not my fault you're like, in love with me."

So while I was trapped in the house for days on end because of ridiculous weather, I kept whinging that I just wanted to get out and see the new Mean Girls. My sister was not surprised at all to hear it, assuming I would have gone the day it came out. 

Because I’m old, old enough that the original movie came out when I was a teenager and it was a big fucking deal. I remember going to the theater with my bestie and being completely obsessed. We all wanted to be Lindsay Lohan at that point, 2004 was a crazy time, and we were incredibly impressionable. So, Mean Girls was everything.

To be fair, it definitely wormed its way into the culture. My sixty-something mother-in-law knows ‘fetch’ and my metal headbanger favorite dude friend appreciates that on Wednesdays, we wear pink. Millennials get it. I’m honestly not even sure how many times I’ve seen it. If my life depended on it, I could accurately quote most of it.

So, I was excited to see the new one, and a little weary. 

But it was cuuuuuute, y’all. I purposely didn’t read anything about it, so I was slightly surprised that it was basically literally the same story, but I guess that makes sense. The whole schtick is that it’s a musical now, so I can roll with that.

One thing I will say though, it’s hard for musicals to make perfect sense. You lose some of the story by trying to flatten it into a catchy number. So it didn’t feel as comprehensive or fleshed out  as the original (which sounds insane because Mean Girls is just a story about girls being bitches, but still). 

I also really appreciated that they kept a good bit of the classic lines that everyone wants to hear. You have to have “stop trying to make fetch happen, it’s not going to happen” and “Yo go, Glen Coco!” it’s literally not Mean Girls without that. (LOL at the explanation though that 'fetch' is slang from an old movie.)

They did strip out some of the weirder aspects, leaving out the gym coach hooking up with one of the kids, which was sketch to begin with, even in 2004. And Karen trying to make out with her first cousin, which, yikes. So ya know, progress. 

But it did feel like they took some of the bite out of Regina. Like, I got that she was supposed to be mean, but there weren’t a ton of actions to reinforce that. Or even a ton of interaction between her and Cady. The frenemy-ship wasn’t fleshed out as much as I wanted it to be. 

On the bright side though, I didn’t expect the actress they chose for Regina. Body positivity, gang! And the cast was a lot more diverse. 

But, no one is ever gonna best Lohan at the role of Cady. Sure, New Cady was cute, and she did her best but honestly, she did not have the same kind of presence or charisma. But I’m probably biased as hell. Like I’ve said before, I just want Lindsay Lohan to get her life back together. 

ALSO, this is just me complaining, but I absolutely do not fucking understand fashion right now. Like, I just…I can’t. It’s weirdly 90’s, and it wasn’t cute in the 90’s originally and it’s not cute now. I was not in love with Cady’s “makeover” and that was one of the funner aspects of the original. Which could just be me projecting because I wanted to wear all of the shit that they did in 2004 but I was not that cool, gang. So now I’m the old guy who wants gen Z fashion to get off my lawn. It’s not their fault, but it’s still confusing. 

The point is, it was a fun way to spend two hours, and I love that Tina Fey and Tim Meadows reprised their roles. I will love anything Tina Fey does, forever and always. And she loves Mean Girls so much. So I’m going to, too. And I might bump “Revenge Party” because who doesn’t love a party that ends with a head on a spike? 

Did we really need this movie? Maybe not. But I suppose we can let the zoomers in on the fantasticness that is Mean Girls. Y’all can have a piece of the crown too, I guess - it’s just plastic, after all.

[thequeenofsarcaasm]

It's for Fanfic Writer Ask Game, thx :

🍬💛💭🔥

Here we gooo!

Do you write for multiple fandoms? If yes, what is your favorite fic of yours for each fandom?

Haikyuu: Baby Steps

It’s a 8 chapter established relationship KageHina fic about relationship milestones (basically wants to take the relationship further but he doesn’t know how to express his desires. Then you have his boyfriend who’s literally shaking in his boots cause he doesn’t know how to say “I love you”. I wrote it during covid and it made me really happy.

BSD: They were roommates

It’s a “will they or will they not” type of SSKK fic. They live together and they’re really close to each other but they’re too scared to face their own feelings and be fully vulnerable with each other. It’s full of tooth rotting fluff and non explicit spicy content. A tad bit angsty tho.

Banana fish: Portfolio

It’s Ash and Eiji’s story through photographs. I always found it fascinating that despite hating cameras, Ash agreed to Eiji taking photos of him like all the time. I used it as a sort of character analysis for Ash. I really enjoyed writing it. Every photo has a different story and style. I didn’t know much about photography before writing it but I did a bit of research to get it right. A clair obscure piece doesn’t have the same goal as a candid shot or a bokeh etc.

JJK: This one is hard cause I’ve been writing a lot for that fandom but I’ll just choose one semi randomly. Probably Love is in the hands cause I’ve been working on it since December. It deals with heavy themes but it’s also full of humour and tooth rotting fluff. The story is full of hope and unapologetically queer characters.

Summary: After getting kicked out of his home for being queer, Suguru comes across his childhood sweetheart in a strange gay bar that is owned by his new “family”: a bunch of queer social rejects who were taken in by Yuki, an eccentric matriarch. He finds a new home (and his lost love) there.

Versailles: Masterpiece

I wrote it to cope with the end of the second season. I was 18 back then and it’s the second fanfic I ever wrote.

I’ve written for other fandoms but just one fic for each so I won’t add them. I think my first fic was a Sns one. I have one for KilluGon too. Also them kids from TR.

What is the most impactful lesson you've learned about writing?

The audience doesn’t matter. Just write whatever makes you happy. Write what want to read. Not what you think others want to read.

What inspires you and your writing?

Everything. Music, outfits, fan art, something I heard someone say, people I know, different cultures etc

The inspiration comes from absolutely everywhere. For example, I added a storyline to Love is in the hands cause I wanted to mention a piece of classical music. I wrote a whole 10 chapter stsg fic cause my friend told me I had the vibe of a Witch. I just be writing shit tbh. I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense. Imma write it if it makes me happy.

Have you included any sexy scenes in your fics? If yes, do you find them easy or difficult to write?

I love sexy scenes. I didn’t write smut until I started writing StSg but now I loooooove it. It’s super enjoyable and dare I say easy. I’m a huge sap so it helps.

Thank you so much for asking ❤️ I love you

[spinningbuster98]

Sonic the Hedgehog CD Part 1: Sonic CD is sponsored by Marty McFly

Oh boy, now we’re getting into some spicy territory!

My history with CD is...complicated

Unlike the other Classic titles, while I was exposed to this one at around that same time thanks to the Sonic Gems Collection, I never played it quite as much due to...reasons that will become quite clear in future parts. It’s only with the release of the Whitehead version years ago that I truly dived into this game

So let’s start with the best and most obvious parts

Firstly: the opening and closing cinematics are literally some of my favorite pieces of animation ever. (Well the uncompressed versions anyway, ‘cause the Sega CD was what it was). Not just because they’re animated beautifully but because they feature what is, to me, the gold standard of Sonic’s body language.

This Sonic is quick, adventurous and fun loving when he’s zooming around, but dead serious and determined once he notices Eggman’s effect on Little Planet

But most of all: he’s cool. He’s effortlessly cool in the way he runs around and toys with badniks, while at the same time still retaining a cutesy side to him to remind you that this is still a light hearted and fun loving cartoon character

While I’m not one of those people who thinks that Sonic should never talk (specifically Classic), there is a case to be made on how in just a few minutes’ worth of animation CD is able to tell us literally everything there is to know about Sonic’s character without having him utter a single word while the Storybook games had to devote hours long narratives to get the point across. It also further lampshades just how backwards Sega’s recent handling of Classic as a character has been, focusing completely on his cutesy side while completely neglecting his cooler one, or at least downplaying it, while one of the main reasons for the switch to Modern was because they feared that Classic was being perceived as too cute by fans at the time, but whatever that’s a topic for another time

From a graphical standpoint...yeah this game is above and beyond the best of the classics, both in general spritework (though bosses in Sonic 3 actually look better, but that might just be due to that game having actual bosses that look more imposing in general), color variation, level of detail and artstyle, which is without even mentioning the way that the game manages to tell a simple yet subtle narrative through its backgrounds but I’ll focus on that at a later time

But personally I’ve...actually never been head over heels for these graphics unlike everyone else, mostly due to a personal thing, since Sonic game move so quickly it’s usually hard for me to really focus on background details and whatnot, which isn’t helped by the one thing you’ll be looking at the most, Sonic’s sprite, pretty much being ripped straight from Sonic 1 and looking so out of place compared to the rest of the game. But again: it’s not a knock against the game, it’s just me

Musically I...think it’s good, it’s certainly the most varied and smartly utilised soundtrack in the Classic games (or even in the whole series) due to how each track ties very well to the feel of not only each Zone but also each era, but personally? When it comes to Sonic music I tend to prefer more upbeat, fast paced tracks. CD’s OST is much slower and usually pretty calming and atmospheric, which works very well for what it’s trying to accomplish, it’s just not what I personally prefer to hear in a Sonic game (and yeah I’m talking about the JPN score, it’s been ages since I’ve listened to the US tracks)

On the other hand however I like all of the vocal tracks

Sonic Boom was the first I was introduced to and it still sounds great, but over time I also gained a lot of appreciation for You can do anything. The lyrics are really cheesy and are bordering on nonesense half the time, but I like the energy it has

My absolute favorite however is Cosmic Eternity. I really wish more people would talk about this one because this is, and I’m not kidding here, one of my favorite Sonic songs in general. Right up there with the likes of Open your Heart, Live and Learn and What I’m Made of. It’s just so upbeat and uplifting, it fits both this game’s happier aspects and Sonic’s character like a glove, the latter more in the sense that it sounds like something that Sonic would sing someone to cheer them up

[skitskatdacat63]

your favourite pieces of classical music! 🎶

Aaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!! So tough to say 😭 I shall name a few! Only one per composer so I don't show favoritism (in no particular order, I swear!)

1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky(Favorite of all time!!!!! The most triumphant piece ever, makes me think of the Napoleonic Wars. I love this one random comment I saw about it, how it's literally about Napoleon being defeated, yet it's turned into his theme song.)

Symphony No. 7 - Shostakovich(I've been listening to this obsessively today, its so damn good. I love music that can make you feel genuine tension and excitement, like bodily passion. It's so cute cause in this one recording, the conductor is very expressive, and at one point, he's literally hopping up and down conducting. And that seems silly, but that truly is the power of the music, it's so relatable)

Rite of Spring - Stravinksy(CRAAAAAZYYY!! One of those pieces where you should read the original plot that goes along with it because it's so crazy. It makes me sad crazy pieces like this got downgraded from being a ballet to being just a symphonic work, bcs it was a little too insane. Actually understanding what the music means makes it even better.)

The Planets - Holst(piece of all time 🥹 the first work I got to hear from a professional orchestra. Every film composer who has made sci-fi space movies literally owes their life to Holst. It just....feels so much like space.)

Miraculous Mandarin - Bartók(Another piece where you're missing out if you don't read the plot. Hopefully I will get to see this in concert next month!!! Very crazy piece, great trombone use)

Gayaneh - Khachaturian(My favorite ballet ever!!! A great piece to turn on while doing work, I know it very well by now. I don't know how to describe it, it's very comforting to me. I also listened to it over and over again while reading a Chinese book, which I can't help but picture as Armenian in my head now 😭😭)

Four Seasons - Vivaldi(classic!!!! I feel very romantic about the circumstances under which I saw it performed. But I love how pastoral it is but then Vivaldi puts in the most insane violin solos every once in a while)

Lacrimosa - Mozart(I still really value hearing Requiem in person. My heart sped up and I started feeling adrenaline kicking in right before this part. Yep, I am insane)

Rhapsody in Blue - Gershwin(Another classic!!! It feels so American. I love when classical transports you to a very specific place, like you literally feel like you're in NYC listening to this)

Whoops sorry I went a bit overboard 😭 I'm feeling very emotionally about classical rn, it makes me feel insane. Though I can't stop thinking about something this girl I'm like, passive aggressive acquaintances with said the other day. We were talking in my one class about how mainstream media these days is all the same, since around WWII or so. But then she's like, "Well wasn't all music before then basically the exact same too anyways?"

Me:

So. Yeah. Must express my passion and desire so I won't feel aggravated about that comment 😭 when people say they don't like classical or can't appreciate it, I want to tie them down in a chair and forcefeed it to them

[writerblue275]

Favorite Media Music in no Particular Order Pt 1.

Inspiration: I just really wanted to do this lol. Music plays such a critical role in media (at least to me). When media has great music, it really enhances it for me. (I put part 1 because seriously I could do so many more of these lmao.)

Genre: Random List hehe.

TW: Me swearing? Otherwise a lot of these pieces don’t even have lyrics.

1. Counsel of Condemnation (Cyno Theme) - Genshin Impact

Listen this straight up slaps. I don’t even play Genshin Impact lmao! Though some of my lovely moots are into it, so I’ve been exposed through them. The song alone slaps and I need people to go watch his character demo. The General Mahamatra is not someone to be fucked with and his music expresses that really well! It’s ever so slightly sinister, but still up beat once things get going.

2. Viego, The Ruined King | Champion Theme - League of Legends

Riot managed to somehow completely encapsulate the arc and tragedy of Viego’s story in 4.5 minutes. From the death of his brother, putting him on the throne, the whirlwind fairytale of his romance with Isolde, and all the events leading to ruination. This piece manages to tug on my heartstrings in so many ways. Brilliantly done!

3. Taliyah, the Stoneweaver - League of Legends: Season 6

This piece is hopeful, beautiful, driving, and has little moments throughout the music that show Taliyah’s adventures across Runeterra. The build ups to the energetic points of the music are also just mesmerizing. To quote one of her voice lines: “Keep your eyes on the horizon and your feet on the ground.” (Love love love that she trained under Yasuo btw that’s such a good lore point.)

4. A Bicentennial (the Progress Day theme) - Arcane Episode 4.

When I say I literally gasped as the first peak of this song played when Heimerdinger opened the doors to show Jayce the majesty of Piltover post-timeskip, I fucking mean it. That moment left me breathless and it’s when I truly fell in love with the show (even though I really liked it before that point). But the low string leading into the HORNS. And the strings just do such an incredible job accompanying them as we’re shown around the new Piltover. The Piltover with HexTech. I also love the secondary swell as we see the sequence of the airship being sent to a different area of Runeterra via HexGate. It’s SO COOL.

5. Light of the Seven - Game of Thrones S6 Ep. 10

I distinctly remember watching this episode live one Sunday night with my parents and getting CHILLS as this song played over the introductory moments of the episode. The progression and rising intensity of the song fits the chaos as the viewer (and some of the characters) realize WTF is going on. And it’s incredible. Haunting.

6. Dragon Age Inquisition Theme - Dragon Age Inquisition

This song makes me feel like I can fly. (In fact I highly recommend listening to it as you’re taking off in an airplane. It’s great.) the transition from the slow intro into the drums is SO GOOD. And then the strings kick in again it’s just PERFECTION. Love this game and what an fantastic theme to go with it!

7. FAIRY TAIL Main Theme - Fairy Tail

One of the first anime I ever got into and from the moment I started watching I was like…YO THE MUSIC SLAPS. It’s so hopeful and epic! Every time the theme kicked in I was just like YESSSS HERE WE GOOOO.

8. He’s a Pirate - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

This one is SUCH a classic. One of my favorites to play in orchestra too. (Woot woot to any violists out there!) Just one of the most recognizable media themes and it’s phenomenal. There are so many moments from the scores of those films that I love.

9. Anakin vs. Obi-Wan - Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith

The battle scene between Anakin and Obi-Wan on Mustafar is one of the scenes that defined my childhood. The incorporation of the “Imperial March” theme is perfect, showing that Anakin really has gone to the dark side at this point. This entire piece is emotional and at points, chaotic. Which it should be. The BRUTAL battle between master and apprentice. Also just knowing what’s happening to Padme and stuff. OOF MY HEART.

10. It’s Over Isn’t It? | Steven Universe

Yo Steven Universe has SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC it’s amazing. But this song specifically makes me SOB. DeeDee Magno Hall puts so much emotion into Pearl’s vocals. So much so the show even reanimated that part of the episode to better match her vocals. You truly feel Pearl’s unresolved grief here.

11. Test Drive - How to Train Your Dragon

This is such a magical piece! Accompanying Hiccup flying on Toothless, this song makes me happy. And the main thematic elements are just so beautifully grand. And the part when Hiccup just goes like “fuck the manual” and trusts his gut? That with the majesty of the music gives me chills and makes me smile EVERY TIME.

12. Trust Each Other - Game of Thrones S6 Episode 9.

Damn the music from this show is so good, but especially S6. This plays during the “Battle of the Bastards” (Jon Snow vs Ramsey Bolton). This music plays at a very critical point in the episode and it’s perfect for capturing the energy there. Also I love how it has the GOT opening motif throughout, though it’s adjusted to fit the situation in the north.

13. Duel of the Fates - Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace

The TENSION IN THIS SONG. One of my favorite pieces from the Star Wars universe. The urgency and stakes are conveyed SO WELL through the music. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul is such an AMAZING fight scene with incredible music.

14. Kingdom Dance - Tangled

THe second half of this piece makes me want to get out my flower crowns and Renn Faire attire and go dance in a field of wildflowers. Bonus points if it’s in the rain! What a beautiful and fun piece that helps to show off Rapunzel’s first festival experience! Also the way the music helps build up the cute moments between her and Flynn Rider!! Listen as a fanfic writer, this scene is something I live for and the music is a big part why.

15. Rewrite the Stars - The Greatest Showman

Listen the lyrics to this song are fucking phenomenal angsty fanfic fuel. Like come on now. Also I love a good romance-related song in a musical. Like god damn I really have been a romantic for a long-ass time 😂. But also this song is just really good! The harmonies for the bridge and final chorus are truly EXCELLENT.

This is such a random list I decided to post just because! But I hope you enjoy! And I’d love to hear your favorite media-based music! 💙