#living on my own is a bop. please listen to it

[wellsbering]

therapist: glowing red eyes pogchamp freddie mercury isn't real, he can't hurt you

glowing red eyes pogchamp freddie mercury:

[toxicmalysh]

The link we share

Chapter 29: Say that again

Word count: 2,222

Summary: youre walking through the compound after working in the lab all day when Wanda runs into you needing something

Warnings: slight angst if you squint smut guys..fingering (r recieving), strap on (r receiving), orgasm control, mommy kink, just feral they're a new couple they're gonna be at it like rabbits

⋆✧✦✧⋆

This morning you were down in the lab, singing along to your music as loud as you could, working on a project Tony had given you. You knew exactly what it was, thrusters for the suit he wanted to make you. Of course he hadn't gotten Natashas permission, but he didn't need it, instead flying under the radar to do it.

Going over the different types of metals and welding the suit took was intriguing, obviously you'd helped tony make components for his suits before, but never any plating or initial designs.

He'd easily be able to describe it as a prototype for a drone if he had to. You couldn't admit you weren't slightly excited.

“How's it going?”

Tony had to raise his voice over the music but his tone was still warming. You continued listening to your music for a while not bothering to pay him a second glance, but after the song finished you turned back to him,

“I'm just finishing up the discharge chamber.” You dragged your words out as you fixed each piece of the component together.

Tony nodded whilst humming, turning back to his own work.

You spent a little time discussing how each plate would suit your body type, and what colour scheme you'd like to have. You hadn't been working on the designs for very long, a few days at most, but you made light work and soon it'd be developed enough for you to try out the legs thrusters.

Bruce came down a few hours after you started, holding two cups of coffee, he said there wasn't any for Tony as his blood was already turning into caffeine.

“What's your plan for the week kid?” you looked up to Bruce's voice, after a moment of processing you took a breath,

“Still ignoring Natasha I see?” His tone was playful but deep down you knew he was scared of Natashas discipline it was almost adorable.

You bopped your head along to your music, still happy to be lost in the world of instrumental jazz.

“Probably just.”

Tony whistled cutting you off,

“Kid doesn't wanna talk about it, I think she's just gonna miss us whilst we're gone.”

You smiled briefly at Tony before turning your attention back to your work.

The truth was the team was going on a week long mission, Wanda was going too, they had all hands on deck. You however were going to visit your family home. It was getting closer to the end of summer and your father had said your mother wanted to see you. Of course that wasn't true, she wanted you there to be arm candy, to represent herself at a posh meeting or dinner. You couldn't say no, correction you could say no, you just never found the courage too.

You and your father never argued or fought but you weren't close, he was simply a stranger you lived with growing up. As your mother, well. You tend not to talk about her.

Every fiber of your being didn't want to go, but you knew there would be backlash if you didn't.

“Can someone pass me my welding torch please.”

Tony stood not taking his eyes off of his work as he brought his hand backwards.

“Thank you.”

You took the tool gently adjusting your welding helmet on your head before putting the guard down, getting lost in your music again as you worked.

“Come on, you never tell us.”

After what felt like a few seconds of silence Tony spoke up, “So what are you cooking for dinner chef.” You smiled to yourself letting out a breathy laugh. Bruce then followed up,

You laughed again, tapping your nose lightly. Both of the men in front and besides you huffed before carrying on conversation between them. You turned from your desk, slapping your thighs with your hands before announcing,

“Alright since you mentioned food, lunch run. What's everyone having?”

Tony thought for a moment before answering with a hint of playfulness to his voice,

“Surprise us, you normally do anyway.”

You nodded, smiling before making your way out of the lab, connecting your headphones back to your music. Your music was quite slow but that didn't stop you from pretending you were holding a microphone. When the elevator doors opened Wanda was standing on the other side. You stood for a moment admiring her, her eyebrows raising slightly,

“I was looking for you.”

Before you had a chance to ask why, she was pulling you by the shirt down the corridor.

“Wand-”

“Shut up.”

You did as you were told, letting Wanda drag you into her room. Your feet were moving faster than your brain, you were trying to work out what Wanda was rushing you into her room for. Was she okay? Did something happen? Wasn't she supposed to be getting ready to leave?

“Wanda what is going on?” she didn't answer you, simply bringing her fingers to your waistband, dragging your joggers down quickly alongside your panties.

Wanda was forcefully turning you around, pinning your wrists behind you to rest above your ass.

You let out a small gasp still trying to process what was happening.

“Wanda?”

Wanda pressed her hips onto your backside, pressing you to bend over the bed. Her hand came around the back of your neck, pushing your head down into the mattress.

“I need you to be a good girl, and take what I give you, I'm not going to be able to touch you for a week, I need to before I go.”

Your brain melted at her words, you nodded into the fabric under your cheek, arousal leaking from your pussy all of a sudden.

Wanda licked the tips of her fingers before swiping a slow line up your slit and you bit your lip hard trying not to moan out already.

Your brain was finally caught up with your body when you felt Wanda press her fingers hard against your clit. Your legs trembled slightly at the unexpected stimulation, your hips automatically grinding against her hips as she leaned over you. “What a good slut.”

A shiver ran down your spine at the comment, your hips bucking slightly. Wanda placed a few sloppy kisses behind your ear before leaning backwards, spreading your legs and pressing your back further pushing you into the bed. “Such a pretty pussy.” You loved when Wanda was more vocal, this was simply proving your point.

You whined out, needing more stimulation from her, and she understood as she pressed two fingers into your hot walls, your fingers tight and slimy around her digits. She audibly groaned at the way you clenched, thrusting harder into you. Your lip fell from your teeth and you let out a low moan, pushing your hips back onto Wanda's hand. Wanda's hand came up and down hard onto your ass, leaving a red mark immediately. You were surprised at your own reaction, an audible moan left your lips, and you heard your cunt squelch as arousal formed around Wanda's fingers. “Keep these hips still for me.” It didn't take long before you were trembling into the mattress legs shaking uncontrollably.

After a few moments of silence you felt one of Wanda's hands back on your spine.

“Wanda..” Before you could tell her you were closed she pulled her fingers from you. She ran her hand over your ass softly before announcing. “Wait here, and don't lift your head from the bed.” You nodded firmly, dropping your face into the mattress. You heard Wanda open a drawer, causing your thoughts to wander as to what she might be doing.

You let out a small gasp as you felt a hard silicon tip press against your core.

“Wanda..”

She stayed silent, pressing the toy into you slowly, letting you adjust to the new toy.

“Look at that.. god you you take my cock so we'll detka.”

“Such a good toy letting me use you whenever I want.”

You whined out at her words trying to keep your hips still. Wanda slowly slid the toy out, the new sensation of being full making your headspace beyond blurry. “More.. please.” She smiled behind you, thrusting the toy harder, “What a good girl asking so politely.” You nodded into the mattress, your mouth resting on your arm now as you tried to quieten yourself.

Your eyes rolled as your pussy stretched around Wanda's strap. The idea of Wanda being able to use you whenever she saw fit made your stomach flip.

“No.”

Her thrusts were fast and unrelenting. You were already embarrassingly close, Wanda then leaned forward, her cock pressing impossibly deep, and brought her hand back to your clit again rubbing generous circles. “If you want to cum ask.” You nodded furiously, clenching your jaw as you tried not to move your hips. It was only a few seconds until you spoke. “Can I cum please?”

That one word hit you like a truck, you were so close to the edge you didn't want to cum without Wanda's permission but if she didn't slow down you would. Your hips moved away from her strap out of reflex and Wanda brought a hand down to your ass again, before ramming her strap into you harder than before.

“Wanda please.”

Your beg was nothing short of a pornographic moan, your thighs trembling as you tried your hardest to stave off your orgasm. Wanda gave no response and you felt tears filling your eyes, you were so, so close.

“Make yourself cum on my cock darling.”

“Please. Please. Please.” You repeated the word countlessly, and Wanda simply stayed silent, leaning back to admire her cock sliding in and out of you. Without her fingers stimulating your clit you knew you wouldn't cum, a sense of relief filling you. Your moans became louder as the feeling in your gut intensified.

“God you're so pathetic, can't even please yourself properly.”

Her thrusts came to a hult and you whimpered, moving your hips back lazily as you tried to stimulate yourself. After minutes of failing miserably, Wanda finally gripped your hips thrusting back into you, her hand once again stimulating your clit.

Your head felt dizzy, like you were about to pass out from pleasure. The tightening feeling in your core built, and your whole body lit up with white hot pleasure.

“Mommy please!”

Your eyes widened, and Wanda's hips and hand stilled. If you could, you would take a gun to your head, and pull the trigger. You stayed still on the mattress, wanting the duvet to swallow you whole.

Wanda's fingers digged into your hips,“Say that again.”

“Again.”

You twitched your head slightly, before opening your mouth hesitantly. “Please, mommy.” After a split second of silence Wanda thrusted into you hard, “Fuck.” Her voice was low and gritty, her strap hitting deeper inside you,

Your words were punctuated by Wanda's thighs slapping against your skin.

Pleasure wrapped itself around you again, your moans throaty. “Mommy please feels so good fuck.”

“Cu~m for me.”

Wanda's command was broken as she reached her own orgasm, the combination of the strap rubbing against her perfectly and your words sent her straight over the edge.

Your whole body vibrated as you collapsed onto the bed, your legs giving out.

You both stayed in silence for a moment. Your breaths being the only noise filling the room.

You caught your breath as you stood slowly making your way to the bathroom.

“I'll clean it properly later.”

When you came out Wanda was standing by the drawers wiping down the strap,

Her voice was so calm, almost as if what happened didn't just happen.

“When did you get a strap?”

You were genuinely curious, a small smile tugging at your lips.

Wanda shrugged, “I just kept thinking about holding your hips and I knew I had to.. it was a bit spur of the moment, was that okay?”

You heaved as you ran your hand through your hair.

“More than okay.”

Wanda smiled gently before wrapping her arms around your waist, kissing your forehead softly.

“Sorry for taking you away from whatever it was you were doing.”

You let out a breathy laugh,

“No, by all means please do it again. I was only grabbing food anyway.”

Wanda spun you around walking you towards the door.

“Well back to work then you.” She smacked your ass playfully before walking in the opposite direction to you.

“Make mommy proud.”

It wasn't long before all of your clothes and essentials were packed, zipping your suitcase up tightly and putting it to the side of your room for later. You were in no rush to leave. You hadn't told Wanda anything about your parents dynamic, and you had no intentions of it either.

Your face flushed red as Wanda's voice dropped, you ignored the bubbling in your gut as you turned into the kitchen.

You made your way to the exit of the compound, preparing to say goodbye to the team. The exchanges were the same as usual, tight hugs from Steve and Bucky, motherly looks from Natasha.

"Don't blow the place up whilst we're gone, I want everything as it should be." Tony joked as he pointed at you playfully. You let out a chuff laugh before turning to Wanda giving her a warm smile and nod. Vision stood close to you, dropping his voice.

“Don't worry, we'll keep her safe.”

You nodded sincerely at him grateful for his reassurance you'd be lying if you said you weren't nervous for Wanda's first mission back. You took a deep breath stepping back from the jet. Your gut sank as you watched the plane take flight, moving further and further away from the compound.

You stood for a moment, before walking back into the compound dragging your feet behind you.

“Friday, play my lowdown mix.”

This week… was going to suck.

[ssweeterthanfiction]

Please Please Please

content warning: mention of drug/alcohol addiction

based off this ask!

masterlist.

“Hey…there’s my girl!” Billy exclaims as he walks out of the county jail’s gates.

You smile and give him a big hug. This had been the longest that Billy had been in jail, a little over a month for resisting arrest after being pulled over for drunk driving.

This…behavior of his had been going on for a while though.

Arrested for drunk driving, public indecency, and a plethora of other things.

It has gotten so bad that your own PR team has been asking- BEGGING you to dump Billy.

“What does it tell people when they see you around him? You’re supposed to be America’s Sweetheart! You shouldn’t be in a relationship with somebody that has been arrested for things like drinking and drug possession!”

“Please- just, calm down, he’s not…all that bad.”

“Really? Not that bad?” your manager scoffs, tossing you a magazine, the front cover being Billy getting arrested…once again. You sigh, “Okay…okay he has his flaws, but so does everyone!”

Your manager pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Sweetheart, if you don’t break up with him, think of how it could hurt your image.” “I don’t care if it hurts my image! I love him!”

Your manager groans. “You might say you don’t care, but I know deep down you do. And since I know you do, and since you don’t want to break up with him, figure something out, because if this keeps up, I’ll make sure that you’ll be so busy that you won’t even have time to spend with him!”

That’s how your new song came about…a new song that has absolutely exploded in the month that it has been out for.

A new song that’s about Billy that you just so happened to leave out of every conversation during your visits.

“So…how’s my girl been? Lonely without me right?” Billy says, kissing your forehead. You chuckle and nod while taking his hand to lead him to the car.

He tosses his things into the backseat and opens the passenger door for you, “I got you babydoll”

That’s what you love about him, he’s so considerate and caring towards you. Nobody really seemed to understand that. But because of that…the guilt of writing that song was worse.

It’s not like the song was insulting him…right?

He buckles his seatbelt and starts up the car…and then turns on the radio.

“And up next, everyone’s favorite sweetheart Y/N! with her new hit single ‘Please, Please, Please!’”

‘Oh shit’ you think as the instrumentals start playing.

Billy looks over at you with a smile,

“You didn’t tell me you released a new song”. You sheepishly return his smile, “Uh…yea it’s a…surprise”

The lyrics come in and Billy just bops his head to the beat…

“It’s got a good beat” he says happily.

“Please, please, please don't prove ‘em right…And please, please, please, Don't bring me to tears when I just did my makeup so nice”

Slowly…Billy goes quiet.

“Heartbreak is one thing, my ego's another. I beg you, don't embarrass me, motherfucker. Please, please, please”

You can practically see the cogs turning in his head. But he doesn’t say anything.

“If you wanna go and be stupid, don't do it in front of me, If you don't wanna cry to my music, don't make me hate you prolifically, Please, please, please…”

The song ends and Billy shuts off the radio, the drive home is then spent in silence.

🎶💋🎶💋🎶

You both arrive at the house, Billy still hasn’t said a word.

Once inside, he plops down his bag in the living room and then turns to you.

“So…that song.”

You swallow nervously, how do you explain this to him?

“You got something to tell me?”

You sigh, “Billy- I-“

“Y’know, I know I’m not a saint, but seriously?” he says, raising his voice slightly.

“Billy please! It’s- It’s really not as deep as you think it is!”

“Really? Cause you writing and singing a whole song about me not embarrassing you isn’t that deep?”

“It’s not! Just- Just listen to me!”

Billy sighs and motions for you to start talking.

“My- My PR team just- they really don’t like the idea of us Billy and-“

He scoffs, “Great, now you’re just making excuses”

“I’m not! They don’t like the idea of us and wanted me to break up with you!”

Billy looks at you with a surprised look, he knew your team didn’t like him, but he didn’t think that they didn’t like him so much to make you break up with him.

“They wanted me to break up with you, and- and it was either that or I had to figure out a new solution!”

“Are you serious?..”

You nod, “Yes, Billy- I didn’t mean for the song to hurt you…I just- I didn’t want to break up with you. You’re too important to me.”

Billy suddenly wraps his arms around you and places a kiss on your head.

“You’re important to me too babydoll…I’m sorry for getting so pissed off about a stupid song….but I promise, I’ll try to be better…"

"Besides...the song is way to good for me to hate it"

You smile, hug him back and then look up him.

"So...since you're cool with the song now...Do you maybe wanna be in the music video for it?"

Billy laughs and kisses your lips.

"Of course I will babydoll"

You wish that this could be the Billy that everyone sees, instead of the drug and alcohol addicted one that always ends up proving everyone right about how he really is.

A/N: AHHH BILLY IS BACK AND THRIVINGGGG. hope u guys liked this!! and incase you haven't seen my little post, WE HIT 90 FOLLOWS!!! tysm, i'm so deeply grateful for all of you <3

anyways, for my billy girlies, 'wait for your love' will have a NEW part next week (hopefully!! depending on how the poll turns out the new finnick fic may come first THEN the next chapter)

and for my finnick girlies, HOPING i'll be able to start work on a finnick fic, (vote for which fic you would want here if you haven't yet!)

hope u all had an amazing day/afternoon/night, again tysm for 90 follows, knowing u guys like/tolerate my writing makes me so happy :D

[wherebettertoescape]

Thoughts on The Outsiders Album

Okay, as I said yesterday, I have a LOT of thoughts on the album and I decided to revive this page so I stop bothering everyone IRL with my thoughts about it 😂 I figure there must be a good amount of people on tumblr who are down to listen to my rants about the album, so here goes.

I'll put it under a cut so there aren't any spoilers for anyone who hasn't listened yet, and I know there's one or two things which I've heard about the prouction via other posts and such. But I will stress that I haven't actually seen it, I've only listened to the album and obsessed over it 😂

It's also below the cut because it's fucking LOOOOONG

Please reply to this or send in your own thoughts - I have so much I want to talk about to do with this album and I'm like... shaking with the need to talk about it with people who actually want to listen 😂

(sad times living in the UK 🥲)

I'm gonna go through the album sequentially, like track by track, because that feels like the thing to do, even though I will say right off that I definitely have more thoughts about some tracks than others. And I will also give my favourite line from each song. But for a just, like, general overview to begin with - I love the album so much?

I will fully admit that I was kinda preparing myself for it to be bad - it's a book that I love and I wasn't the biggest fan of the movie adaptation for a few key reasons, but I was so pleasantly surprised by the musical soundtrack.

I'm in love with the style of music, I love the entire cast (all of them have such different singing voices and styles and I think that they merge together so beautifully), and it has most of the things that I love in a musical - for me, it's got the right balance of the talking sections included with the singing, as well, which I know some people aren't huge fans of, but I might be biased because Soda is and always has been my favourite character and most of the talking is by him 😂 (I love Jason Schmidt, but we'll talk about that later), and as well as that the style of music and singing like gives me a good picture of what the actual choreography might look like, which I'm obsessed with, since I probably won't get to see it unless it somehow gets to the West End (🤞🏻)

Tulsa '67

Okay so this song is just like ✨exposition ✨ but it's done in a fun way, and I've decided it's worth it just for the finale reprise

I was also like stupidly emotional the first time I heard it and it opened with the opening line of the book

I was wary because of the immediate characterisation of Sodapop as being the brother "with a broken heart" (side note - does this mean Sandy broke his heart before the show rather than after it? I've goes QUESTIONS) - I'll go into it again when we get into Grease Got a Hold for obvious reasons, but I was worried that Soda was gonna be reduced into just being a womaniser again, which is something that bothered me about the movie adaptation

Favourite line: "all the girls are pretty there, and all the guys are mean"

Grease Got a Hold

right so it has no right to be as much of a bop as it is, it's been stuck in my head for the past week since it came out and I can't even be mad about it 😂

It's essentially just a typical "gang" song to introduce and characterise all the different members

Dally always saying "Little brother" got me so emotional like immediately

And I know I just said that I was upset with Soda's characterisation as a womaniser, but considering later songs, I will say I do find it really funny that he basically just goes "yeah I'm a greaser bc I love women 😊"

I LOVE TWO-BIT MATTHEWS - I would die for Daryl Tofa, just something soooooo good about the line he gives after Soda's verse

I have to admit, I was a little worried that they were gonna be pushing some anti-Darry propaganda, but I had no cause to worry, as he's an actual angel. Also it's so funny how fucking Done he is the moment he starts speaking

Something really funny about Steve not getting a verse, but something really sad about Johnny not getting one, but I don't have fully fleshed out thoughts yet so I'm gonna leave that there

But also there's just something about all of them trying to act tough, but all of them just have the voices of angels

Favourite line: "I'm a latch-key kid but they keep changing the locks" and also "you wanna be a fighter? then know just what you're fighting for"

Runs in the Family

I'm upset because this song has been such an ear-worm for me, but it's actually just so sad? There are a couple of these, but this is one of the main ones for me

It immediately makes Darry just such a sympathetic character - it's well documented that Ponyboy doesn't feel like he's enough of a greaser, but I don't think we talk enough about Darry is a reluctant greaser

Side note: but I'm really glad that they included Darry having dropped out of school to look after Soda and Pony, because that was kinda glossed over in the movie, which I felt did Darry a disservice

I just want to hug Brent Comer and tell Darry that he's doing a good job and everything will be okay 🥲

Favourite line: "I don't know what them boys would ever do without me - and what would I do on my own?"

Great Expectations

honestly this song deserves a post all of it's own, and maybe one day I'll do a full analysis of it

but in the meantime, it's fucking GORGEOUS, like Brody Grant has NO RIGHT to sound like this I'm so mad

THE FUCKING HARMONIES I WANNA SCREAM THEY'RE SO GOOD

One of the things I've loved about the soundtrack in general is how Pony in particular draws parallels and comparrisons between Johnny and the other greasers - here it's between Darry and Johnny, and I love it because Pony references in the book that he feels like he and Johnny are the outsiders in the greasers, he feels like neither of them really belong there, and they convey that so well in the musical with these constant comparisons in the songs and music

The continual return back to this idea of a self-fulfilling prophechy - trying to prove that they're not all the same just because they're greasers (like with the different verses in Grease Got a Hold), and this striving for individuality despite the overarching label they've been given

Favourite line: "It's hard to write this story, when this story's writing me"

Friday at the Drive-in

they all just sound so young - that's my main take-away from this song

I love songs in musicals like this where you're forced to be reminded how young the characters are and you have to humanise them a bit more - a bit like with "Drink with Me" in Les Mis

Also anytime that a soundtrack includes the dance-break it makes me so happy 🥲

Favourite Line: "Got no more stress, nothing to worry me - no more teacher's pet or trigonometry"

I Could Talk to You All Night

I need to say that I love this song, but the opening from Cherry is so fucking savage - like fucking hell there's no need to do that to Pony 😂

Again obsessed with Pony not feeling like enough of a Greaser

I'm a sucker for two people who feel lost in their own worlds finding each other and bonding because they can be themselves in a way that they can never be around their other friends

It's just such a pretty duet, and I want more of Brody Grant and Emma Pittman singing - we could have a million songs of the two of them and it wouldn't be enough

Favourite line: "I'd rather read then fight a rumble, but Greasers have to go along"

Runs in the Family (Reprise)

Dude it's such a serious song, and I'm obsessed that despite that there's just Soda being a little shit in the background

"I'll fold your laundry - I'LL FOLD ALL OF IT"

I love that even in this song it's like you can tell he's just so worried about Pony but it's coming out so angry and frustrated

So full of grief for the life he almost had

He's just so angry at Pony for still being able to dream, and it's like he feels like he needs to prepare Pony for real life, because he feels like he can't dream or wish for things anymore

And then just the screeching violin at the end of the song followed by DEAD FUCKING SILENCE, and then it switches to the next song where Pony starts singing acapella it's just herugighadlsiughukdhjsak, y'know?

Favourite line: "Whats the use in dreaming, about a life I'll never know? That ship sailed long ago"

Far Away from Tulsa

okay so I've already said that I'm obsessed with it beginning with Brody Grant acapella, and I know that the songs probably don't flow straight from one to the other in the actual production, but for the sake of the cast recording the effect is incredible

But also, there was absolutely no need to make this song so gay 😂 - Ponyboy, the bisexual icon we all need

It's very reminiscent of Santa Fe, with just kids dreaming for a life that they could have outside of their big city. Especially with the line "this place is real, it's not just in my head", which is VERY similar to "just be real is all I'm asking, not some painting in my head", but I'm okay with it because Brody Grant is incredible

But that line, as well as the one "'Ponyboy you're just a dreamer', that's what both my brothers say" are also really great links back to the previous song with the references of him being a dreamer, and that being what sets him apart from the other Greasers

I also just wanna say that I think it's criminal that there weren't more Pony/Johnny duets. Sky Lakota-Lynch and Brody Grant own my soul

Also catch me being emotional over Johnny's dream being wanting a family - he doesn't realise that he's already got one in the gang 🥺 (I could write an essay about this and Dally's continued use of 'little brother')

OKAY ALSO OBSESSED WITH THE CIRCLE BACK TO GREAT EXPECTATIONS, AND WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE LYRICS CHANGE FROM

"Torn between what is and what could be. It's hard to write this story when this story's writing me"

TO

"It's all becoming clear, there's no way we're gonna find that here"

GOTTA ESCAPE TULSA TO ESCAPE THEIR FATE, SOMETHING AGAIN ABOUT SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECIES, I JUST CAN'T

Favourite line: "I'm tired of blindly watching as we're inching towards the ground"

Run Run Brother

There's so much to say about this song, but I literally can't formulate the words, so it's probably gonna be one that I come back to and properly analyse later. so in the meantime, here are my key take-aways

right from the beginning, it gives just an "oh-shit" feeling, just so much urgency and desperation

All three of them have such different singing voices and styles and the combination of the three just makes me so happy and I don't even know how to like express what I'm feeling

Back to the thing about Dally always calling Johnny (and Pony, but we're emotional about Johnny here) "brother"

the music is just so fitting - I feel like I need to be up and moving every time I hear it, like if I ran ever this would be on the playlist 😂

And I'm going insane over the echoes of what has been previously been said - the "grease isn't given it's something you earn", and "let's leave this behind, let's just get up and go" like you're FORCED to face that they are being given what they want but in a really terrible way

Favourite line: "I hate to make you go, but there ain't no other way"

Justice for Tulsa

okay so I know that this is a really important song and everything, but I will admit this is the one I tend to skip most

I will say I think this song would hit harder if they kept with the themes of police brutality that there are in the novel and movie with regards to Dally's death (going off what I've heard about the script changes from people who have seen it, I can't verify myself)

The song feels very claustrophobic, with everyone just trying to blame everyone else, which I think is really well done. Especially with the multiple voices coming in with "you know just what you did"

And it does show the bias of the world trying to blame the Greasers just by reputation alone, which is thematically nice

and also just the kinda mob mentality of the whole thing, especially at the end, with a declaration of war

Favourite line: "or we could send them back a message, take an eye for an eye"

Death's at My Door

I think I've seen somewhere that this is the opening song for the second act and I just - fucking hell, what an opener 😂 they really just wanna destroy all of us, huh?

EDIT: I've been corrected, and it's Justice for Tulsa that starts act 2 - my bad guys, I don't know where I saw otherwise. JfT starting act 2 makes soo much more sense 😂

I wanted to like reach through my headphones somehow and hug Brody Grant, like holy shit

The first time I heard it all I could think about was how much he's going to blame himself when Johnny (and Dally) do die - especially with Johnny having comforted Pony about it

And I'm just emotional about the exploration of Pony thinking of himself as a burden on everyone he loves, especially going back to what Darry says to him in Runs in the Family reprise, just confirming everything that Pony already worries about himself

Favourite line: "I don't believe in the death that you're bringing - the reason I'm living is you"

Throwing in the Towel

I just love brothers okay? This song made me want to like message all my siblings and tell them I love them

I loved that we see Pony's inner thoughts and fears about being a burden on his brothers, immediately followed by seeing Darry's own thoughts and feelings - the two of them being so similar in how they blame themselves for everything

All three of the Curtis brothers being terrified of losing anyone else

AND THIS IS THE SODA CHARACTER REDEPTION I NEEDED - he becomes more than just the womaniser, you can see him having like actual thought and feelings, and the amount of emotion in Jason Schmidt's voice as he's trying to reassure Darry, like this song and Soda's letter gets across everything that makes Soda my favourite character

And there's something to be said about how they're finally like communicating their emotions 😂

Favourite line: "I know your head is full of doubt, but brother that's what love is all about"

Soda's Letter

Musical letters my beloved ❤️

I love songs like these - they're always just so vulnerable

It links to Tulsa '67 Reprise with the reference to how Soda kinda keeps the family all together. This song you can like see the strain that it has on him, trying to keep the brothers who he loves so much together, by trying to tell Pony that Darry does love him even though he shows it in a very different way

also anyone who has seen it and made it this far in the post can you tell me whether they keep in the bit about Pony reading this really heartfelt letter only to go "Soda's so dumb he can't fucking spell" because it's all I could think about when I listened to it for the first time

Favourite line: "Your brother needs you just as much as you need him, and brother we ain't doing to good alone"

Hoods Turned Heroes

The triumphant return of my beloved Two-Bit, and he's doing some king shit

I love him, okay?

This is another song where I know it's really important, but I actually don't have much to say about it, other than I do really enjoy it

Favourite line: "It's time to celebrate Greasers, take pride in the Greaser name"

Hopeless War

I love that it's just Cherry begging Pony not to change, and hoping that he's still an outsider of the Greasers like she is for the Socs, a hope that the two of them are still kindred spirits even after everything that happened

She knows that the rumble is gonna be where Pony loses that last bit of dreamer in him because he's holding just so much anger at the world - I dunno, there's something there I'm sure 😂

it's such a smooth transition into "Trouble" and I wanna SCREAM it's so good

Favourite line: "even if you win, it doesn't change a thing"

Trouble

It feels like a war chant or something

The music is just so agitated

It's like Run Run Brother where I feel the need to be up and moving

Favourite line: "Do it for Johnny, even the scores, time to rally the crew"

Little Brother

I get chills every time I listen to it

Something about Joshua Boone's voice guys, I don't even know like how someone goes about beginning to talk about it, but whoever takes over as Dally has got some big shoes to fill

It's a lament to Johnny, and I feel like I listen to it and I feel the same anger and indignation that Dally feels

It's a song where I listen to it and I know, even without having seen the production, how I'd stage it and that always makes me excited

The longer the song goes on, the more uneasy you feel listening to it

It links him and Darry together again, with how he blames himself for everything that happened to his little brother, he feels like he should have been able to protect Johnny, the way that Darry always tries to protect Ponyboy

The final tempo increase and the discordant violin at the end, and it feels like even just listening to it you're watching him fall into a grief-led madness, and his certainty that there's only one way that his story can end

Favourite line: "They can't take anymore from me - if I ain't got you, then I ain't got nothing else"

Stay Gold

It feels somehow criminal to put these songs next to each other, but I mean obviously they have to be - that's how they want you to feel, but it doesn't mean that I'm not mad about it

I've listened to it like a million times and it still brings me to tears every now and then

There's something about having the hopelessness of "Little Brother", with Dally bring so apologetic at having failed Johny, followed by Johnny asking Pony to tell him that there's still good in the world

Just how much everyone in this story needs each other and they don't realise that the others need them too, yknow?

Johnny being Dally's "gold" - a lot to say about that but yknow, this is already long as fuck

The simplicity of the music itself (same as with Soda's letter - makes them thematically the same blah blah blah with them both being letters and all that), but it makes the song much more vulnerable than some of the others - nothing for Sky Lakota-Lynch to hide behind

Also that line: "I have looked into a thankful father's eyes, telling me I've saved his daughters life", and how that links to what Johnny says in the book about the little girl's life being worth more than his - I dunno, it just got me emotional, okay?

Favourite line: "I hold on to the good 'cause I've made my peace with all the bad" and also "It's easy to forget when you're trying just to make it through"

Tulsa '67 Reprise

WE MADE IT BOYS (seriously though, for real, if you made it this far, thanks for reading through my descent into madness 😂 and please send your own thoughts and such, bc I'm desperate to hear other people's thoughts)

I said it at the beginning, but I think the reprise of this song makes the exposition at the beginning worth it

At the beginning we hear Ponyboy as a dreamer, and at the end he still has that, but rather than idolising and making everything spectacular, he sees beauty in the mundane - he sees it in his brothers, his friends, all of that

The call backs to the original song as well, which allow us to go back to the theme of looking at individuality - the Greasers wanting to be seen as more than just characatures, and by the end they are like fully-fleshed out people rather than just the basic stock figures we initially get them introduced as in Grease Got a Hold

The clearest examples are, of course, Darry and Soda

Darry goes from being "could have been a football star, people say he had a ticket out" to instead being "the toughest guy I've ever known"

Soda goes from "suffers from a broken heart" to "this family's life and soul"

and then it goes from "got no parents, we fend for ourselves" to "can you imagine how proud mum and dad would be"

just something so beautiful about that, I dunno

There's more I could say about the themes of brotherhood and individuality ("grease as their disguise", for example), but I'll spare it for now

Favourite line: "Just too damn good for growing old, and in his memory I stay gold"

(finally - if you've stuck around to the end, I've also recently set up an instagram account, just for me, so please also check that out if you wanna hear more about my thoughts about random musicals and stuff!)

Freddie 🐸 (Instagram)

[ihatedtoadmit]

The Windows To My Soul [1]

pairing: OT8 x fem! reader (gender is rarely mentioned)

genre: soulmates, angst, fluff (mostly in the later chapters)

warnings: almost being kidnapped, occasional curse word

word count: ~3.8k

summary: Attending your favourite idols' concert didn't go as planned, not at all.

↳ Masterlist ↳ Next chapter

All rights reserved. Please do not steal, repost or feed my work into AI. Thank you!

I looked around the unfamiliar streets, my worried expression hidden under my mask and Eevee cap, the latter’s ears flapping around with my jerky head movements. Uselessly looking at the street signs, I sighed, unable to read them in this foreign country.

I had travelled to Japan with a friend, purely to watch the Stray Kids' concert they had held just earlier that day. If we wanted to see them live once in our lives, we had no choice, with us living in a small country in Europe. And as we all knew, idols didn't usually hold concerts in Europe, making international fans cry out in despair all over the world. Either way, we decided to join the japanese concerts, us being fans of the country itself as well, due to our love for anime and manga.

But now I stood in the streets alone, typing directions into google maps on my phone, to at least try to get to the train station. You see, my friend came with her boyfriend and they had booked a place to stay at together. She had offered to let me stay without an ounce of hesitation, but I didn't want to be a bother and intrude. So, I’d booked a place by myself, but by the time I had gotten around to it, everything in that city near the concert or even my friend's place had already been booked. I had no choice but to choose a place at a hotel that was far away, far enough that you could only reach it with a train from the concert's location.

Come on me, I was a big girl, I could do this. I got here somehow -still had no idea how, with my anxiety and horrible navigation skills-, I could find my way back too.

So with a quiet, nervous sigh, I started following the directions shown on my phone, head slightly bopping to the music that filtered through my headphones that sat snugly on my ears, over my cap. Of course the pleasant and energetic tunes were from the same band I had seen hours ago on stage, but with the added background noise of the late city life, thanks to the ambient aware option on my headphones.

The train I needed to reach wouldn't leave for a good while, so I could slightly relax and look around the cement jungle without having to hurry needlessly. It was interesting to see how different, yet in a way, similar it was to my own country. Sure, the buildings' style was different, the streets were more busy and bright, but some shops were the same or really similar. It was nice, to just not feel completely alien and lost in a foreign city.

Although one thing that kept happening was that people kept staring at me. Naturally, it was bound to happen with my slightly over 6 feet height in Japan of all places, but the added combo of my Eevee outfit only strengthened it. Some people even outright complimented me, making me awkwardly bow and thank them in my limited japanese knowledge. To my utter surprise, some even asked for a selfie or a photo, undoubtedly making my cheeks dust with red, all evidence hidden under my mask and scarf.

Things seemed to be going well, until the time of day was starting to run out and the streets were slowly but surely becoming empty. The fact that my GPS was taking me through slightly questionable roads didn't help in the matter at all.

Then I heard it.

Footsteps, somewhere behind me, never stopping.

At first, I didn't think too much of it, but then my paranoid mind made me pause my music on my phone, the device buried in the depths of my pocket. I didn't stop and look around, merely continued to walk towards my destination to not seem suspicious, something my gut told me to avoid at all cost.

Then I listened.

The footsteps were still there, something that didn't change no matter how much I had walked. They were also weird, rhythm-wise. They felt unnatural, as if the person didn't usually walk like that. Their rhythm was also suspiciously like mine, the sound of our steps usually mixing together into one, making me listen keenly for several minutes to confirm my suspicions.

My pulse picked up, skyrocketing into the stratosphere.

I had heard about the dangerous things that could happen on the late night streets of Japan, my mind now on overdrive as I tried to act natural, as if I was clueless still.

I had to get away from this person somehow, I didn't want any of those horrors to happen to me, just the mere thought made my skin crawl and head hurt.

I shouldn't have turned down my friend's offer, being a third wheel would have been so much safer.

My eyes fluttered down onto my phone and my heart skipped a beat.

I was walking in the wrong way.

Amidst my panic, I must have taken several wrong turns, because now I was dangerously far away from the train station. Maybe if I hurried I could have made it, a debatable thought in itself, but that was the last thing on my mind as I heard people chatting from my right. Turning my head over there, I was met with bright lights from advertisement boards and all kinds of fairy lights, the fact that I was in a dark alley registering in my mind only then.

I didn't hesitate to make my way over there with quick steps, my long legs carrying me swiftly and quickly towards my desired goal.

But not quick enough.

Before I could reach the main street, I was grabbed from behind, something being forcefully pushed in front of my face. But probably due to height differences -also thanks to my fluffy scarf and my mask’s added layers of protection-, the person couldn't quite do it quickly and I instinctually elbowed them wherever I could reach.

Based on the grunt he let out, I hit his gut, the arms around me releasing their hold just enough for me to break away and sprint towards the people with all my adrenaline-powered strength.

When I reached the brightly lit street, my eyes looked around the empty place, mind halting to a stop.

Where were the people? I just heard them! Where were they?!

But before I could look around properly, I was tackled to the ground, my arms that instinctually cushioned my fall  flaring up in pain. An instinctual yell left my mouth as I wrestled with him, my scattered mind resorting to shouting in english and broken japanese both.

Just as I thought I was going to be kidnapped, my hands held down and face stuffed with a drenched cloth, the weight on top of me disappeared in an instant.

I didn't really know what just happened, I only heard some shouting -in what language, i wasn't sure anymore- and skin upon skin impact, before the quieting sound of shoes hitting the ground reached my ringing ears.

I simply blinked up at the dark sky as I panted there, head laying on the dirty pavement underneath me as I fought with the nauseating dizziness that was attacking my system violently.

Sometime later -because i wasn't sure how long i had been laying there for-, a figure appeared in my vision, his eyes above his dark mask filled with worry. Sounds came from him, but it all sounded gibberish to me at that moment.

After receiving no reply, he turned to the side to talk to someone, but before he could do anything else, I quickly sat up. He fussed around me, rightfully surprised by my sudden movements, but I cared not as my mind finally caught up to itself.

I quickly tore my damp mask off, hiding my face from the harsh autumn wind with my scarf quickly afterwards, the soft fabric providing me with much needed comfort. Feeling the dark fabric in my hands, it was no wonder that no amount of breathing helped after my attacker had left. It was soaked with most probably chloroform, explaining why I was still feeling so dizzy.

Looking up from the mask, I saw the man who had -probably- saved me, crouched right in front of me. Another man was next to him, taller and more built, dressed in dark clothes. They were talking, but the language they used was definitely not japanese or even english. From the sound of it, it was another asian language, but I couldn't pinpoint which with my extremely limited knowledge and gibberish thoughts.

Not knowing what else to do with my hazy mind, I bowed my head as much as I could towards my saviours, uttering my thanks in japanese. Thankfully, I knew that much from all those years of watching anime and beginner japanese language classes.

They immediately stopped talking, the man who fussed over me earlier saying something along the lines of not a problem in japanese and asking me how I was feeling. I said I was okay, because really, I was, my mind was just a bit foggy. His eyebrows furrowed at my answer, as if he couldn't believe me for some reason. I furrowed my own eyebrows at that and slightly tilted my head to the side, not understanding his confusion.

But when I tried to stand up after putting my cap and headphones back on properly -the latter around my neck this time-, I understood his concern.

I was shaking.

Sure, not extremely, but the slight, unintentional movements of my body were there, clear as day.

"Oh, looks like I lied about being fine, sorry." - I quietly uttered out in english, not even realising that I had switched languages once again. "So I did hear it right, you do speak english." - one of them spoke back, catching me off guard.

"Shit, sorry, it wasn't intentional." - I quickly muttered out, defending myself. "No worries, now I know why you didn't respond to me the first time and just looked lost instead." - he lightly laughed out.

The person next to him extended a hand towards me, and after blinking at it for a few seconds, I finally realised he was just trying to help me up. So, with a purse of my lips and a bow of my head, I thanked him and took his hand. He swiftly pulled me up, checking if I needed some help to stay upright. Seeing that I was alright -as alright as one could be in that situation-, he let me go and talked to the other man in that foreign language once again.

I simply stood there, the weight of what had just happened not fully hitting me yet. Realising that I was still clutching my mask in my hand, I pocketed it and looked towards the only other man on the road besides us three.

He was speaking in that same foreign language, but sometimes he switched over to english. His accent was thick and painfully familiar, along with his deep, melodic voice. I tried to fit the puzzle pieces into their place as I just watched him, how he spoke to his phone, no doubt vlogging or live streaming.

" -y, hey, are you okay? Do you need to sit down?" - a soft touch broke me out of my train of thoughts, his voice -that was also familiar and had a similar accent- laced with worry. "Y-yes, yes, sorry, I was just lost in thought. But thank you two, again, for saving me, I don't know what would have happened if you weren't here. Really, thank you so much." - I rambled out, bowing a few times for good measure. "Hey, it's alright, I'm glad we were here. Do you need help getting home? Where're ya headed to?" "Ah, the train station. But I'll be fine alone… Why are you looking at me like that?" "... The train station is hours away from here, and it's already almost midnight."

Eyes widening at his answer, I took my phone out of my pocket -a miracle it had stayed there, unharmed- and unlocked the screen. Sure enough, he was right. Checking the schedule for the train I needed, no matter how many times I read it over and over again, the letters and numbers didn't change at all.

The last train would depart in 30 minutes, something that I would only reach if I had magically gained the ability to teleport.

My eyes turned glossy as I continued looking at my screen in despair, lower lips caught between my teeth as a way to ground myself.

I couldn't get to my rented out hotel room now.

"Hey, hey, look at me. It's gonna be okay. What's the matter?" - his warm voice reached my ears once again, my eyes flitting up to meet with his. "My…my train… The last one’s gonna depart in 15 mins, something I have no way of reaching. And now I-, I can't get to my hotel room now, I don't have anywhere to stay–" - my voice cut off at the end, worry eating me out from the inside.

Even if I were to call my friend to stay with her and her boyfriend, they were a few hours away from where I ran away to. I had already checked it, multiple times. Somehow I’d walked in the completely wrong direction as I was trying to escape that man.

"It's gonna be okay, trust me, I'll think of something. Why don't you sit down over there and eat this, while I talk to my buddies here, hm?" - he gently said, pointing towards a nearby bench and handing me a lil protein bar from his pocket.

I blinked down at him -because he was considerably shorter than me-, but then I carefully took the offered snack and nodded. I didn't have anything else to do anyway, and I needed to take any help I could get. That much was obvious to me, even in my current situation.

I felt like a pathetic child that needed to be looked after, sitting there on the bench as I snacked on my protein bar in an Eevee cap.

Maybe I was one. I wouldn't be surprised at this point.

Having finished munching on the snack, I pulled my scarf back up and stared emptily at the ground in front of me, hands clutched and resting on my knees that rested tightly clenched together, no doubt causing a faint bruise to form.

I was absolutely fucked, to put it simply.

I had been almost kidnapped in a foreign country, merely hours after I’d had the time of my life at the first concert of my life. Chloroform was probably still lingering in my system and clouding my mind, not to mention that my only friend in this country was long asleep and I had already formed a splitting headache.

Wonderful.

Truly, truly, wonderful.

I couldn't help the sigh that left through my nose, my hand going up to rub at my now dry eyes -contact lenses sadly had that effect-, but stopping when I remembered I had makeup on. I tugged the cap even more into my hurting head, instinctively trying to hide myself magically with the habitual gesture.

Just when I thought about putting my headphones up and calming my still very erratic pulse with some music, the shorter man approached me -the taller one lingering behind-.

He sat down beside me, leaving a comfortable amount of space between us, something my jittery mind much appreciated.

"So, we talked about it, and ya could stay with us for the night if you want to. It's just me and some friends. Of course, you would get your own room, all to yourself. I can bunk with one of my pals for the night no problem. I understand if ya don't trust me, truly I do realise how sketchy my offer sounds, but… I don't want you to stay out here for the night and get hurt even more. I have the opportunity to help, and I want to." - he carefully explained it to me, making sure I was following his sentences actively.

I remained quiet, thinking the offer through.

He was right, it was definitely sketchy as heck, but, what could I do? I could either stay out here on the streets, because everything was either closed or booked already -stupid concert-, or I could go with them.

"Ya can decide a bit later too, ya kno'." - I quickly shook my head gently -that massive headache significantly becoming worse-, cutting him short. "If you guys really don't mind, then… I would like to take your offer." - I gently muttered out, bowing once again in gratitude. "Oh please, stop bowing, ya really don't need to. It's alright, really, none of us bite, I promise. Actually, lemme introduce you to one of my pals, he's been there, live this whole time."

He stood up after he pointed to the aforementioned streamer and I quickly followed him, slightly bowing towards the taller man once again in gratitude as we passed by him. He sheepishly rubbed his neck and waved his hand in front of his face in a dismissive way, probably wanting me to stop bowing, just like the shorter man.

Speaking of which, I watched as he walked up to his buddy, my body slowing to a halt. I didn't want to disturb their job or hobby as well -whatever streaming was to them-, so I stopped before I could enter their phone camera's range.

The other man was slightly taller, but still smaller than me, with blonde strands peeking out from underneath his black beanie. Few freckles sat above his own dark facemask, my eyes squinting at the familiarity.

But once again, my train of thoughts were disrupted before I could come to a much needed conclusion.

"Hey, don't be shy, c’mere. This is Felix, and I'm Christopher, but call me Chris." - he introduced themselves to me as I still didn't go into their camera's range just quite. "I’m… well, uuh, my name’s weird and foreign, so for simplicity purposes, call me Eevee. For… for obvious reasons.  I'm sorry, I will tell you later if you really want to know it." - I added in, bowing my head before glancing at their stream.

An understanding hum left their lips and I suddenly felt like I was in the presence of an anime character. A sunshine one, to be specific.

"I wanted to say it earlier, but your outfit is so freaking cute, like, really cute! Where did ya get it?" - the blondie asked, eyes sparkling and smile widening, so much so that his eyes were slightly arched upwards, turning into little crescent moons.

Taken aback, it took me a few seconds to formulate a normal reaction and reply.

"I-, uh, thank you? Well, I kinda got these clothes at different places and times, they just fit together nicely by coincidence. The scarf and cap was actually a gift from my brother, because he saw this silly lil cap in an Austrian store one day and wanted me to put it on real bad. Long story short, here I am now, fully decked out. A walking, comically tall Eevee on the streets. Just don't throw a pokeball at me. They hurt surprisingly much." "Ooooh, that's so cool. Hyung, we gotta get a cap like this later! Also, wait, did someone actually throw a pokeball at ya?" "... Yeah…"

Their expressions were hilarious even with their masks on, absolutely worth the pain. I couldn't help the little laugh that slipped past my lips.

"Don't worry, it only happened like twice, and one of those times it was a plushie." "Fhew, okay, I was gettin' worried there for a sec." - the blondie sighed out, his hand placed onto his chest out of relief.

With a small laugh they started walking, my anxiety-filled self unsure if I should join them. I really didn't want to be on camera, even though my face was practically completely covered.

But I didn't need to ponder for long, their forms looking back at me and beckoning me to join them.

"Come here, and naur, don't worry, it's fine. You're not disrupting us."

With a small nod and a deep breath, I joined them, slightly waving at the camera.

Christopher introduced me, or I assumed he did, because he was speaking in that foreign language once again.

"Right, Eevee, do you speak korean?" - one of them asked, drawing my attention to him from the flooded chat that was moving way too fast for my tired eyes.

So that was what that foreign language waaas, got it.

"Ah, uh, no, not at all. I couldn't understand a word of any of your guys' conversation, don’t worry."

"What do ya mean don’t worry, that must feel awful to not understand anything! We'll speak more english then, no worries! I couldn't speak it a few years ago either, so I truly do feel ya." - he replied, voice cheery and calming.

Wait.

Now hang on for a fucking second.

This boy to my right was blonde, had freckles, had a deep voice, had a weird english accent and hadn’t been able to speak korean up until a few years ago.

The boy to my left had the same accent, his voice was way too fucking familiar and nice, he had dark curls peeking out from underneath his beanie and could speak korean well.

Stray Kids had their concert half a day ago in the same city, a band that had two members with an eerily similar description.

Haha, naur, no way.

I looked back at them as they were talking to their chat, only coming to that same, insane conclusion. Glancing at the flooded screen on the phone, I mostly saw -probably- korean characters, but there were a few english sentences as well. One of them caught my eye, the word 'Chan' peeking out from it painfully.

My breath got caught in my throat.

Okay, okay, they were just people, act normal. Just, normal, okay? If they won't find out you're a STAY, and neither will the other fans, everything would be fine. I didn't plan on taking photos of them secretly or anything anyway, like a goddamn sasaeng. So just breathe and ignore that they kinda do be idols and people you look up to, okay?

Aaaagh, I was so absolutely fucked.

Next chapter

[manzaza]

perirep with airpods promoting mY WHOLE REVIEW OF THE NEW WISH SOUNDTRACK BECAUSE OHHHHH MY GOD IT GOES SO SO SO HARD (under cut feel free to listen here (also on apple music + yt do in fact give it a listen please yay) !!)

theme song (all the singing songs)

— although i can never truly let go of the og the new theme song will always be a bop

— so upbeat, so happy !!!

new yorkity york

— hazel’s va is such an amazing singer PLEASE if there’s a season 2 give them a musical episode there are not enough musicl numbers

party possum’s friendship song

— better than the chuck e cheese one i heard in the theater earlier lollllllll

— the live band version ate i liked the difference

— unhinged version was so fun the nickelodeon drummer ate up

lovely love song

— still haven’t watched this episode (i was shopping when it aired oops)

— hazel was so silly idk what happens i just remember cupid being there (idk if he was in this at the end that might’ve been hazel’s dad)

i love fries

— HAZEL’S VA SLAYING AGAIN !!!!!

— banger song so real live laugh love fries

— cosmo + wanda contributed yay let them sing

time loops

— addiction,,,,, brainrot even,,,,,,,,,

— cosmo and wanda singing yayyy !!!

— the actual little yay at the end was so silly got a good chuckle

proud of my son — dubstep remix

— this was actually the funniest thing to watch i had this episode pulled up in a panera’s and i was just staring at it like “bro just took over the world for THIS”

— dev is ten so it does make sense

— almost

a new wish (yay background music !!)

— i love all the jazz in the ost just soooo so good

— reminds me of a sam and max kinda intro

— listening to this + the rest just makes me want a video game for ANW so so bad it would genuinely be so much fun to play (will genuinely plot out a tumblr post for this idea)

fly hazel

— banger warmup vibes in the intro

— love how some of the insteuments give like a fly-feeling gimmick (cause she’s a fly)

— little intro chord at the very end eats up

teacher’s pal

— might be one of my fav tracks

— nickeloxeon pianist and saxophonist are eating uppp

— 1:15 was so good

— nickelodeon symphony when

fearless

— somewhat out of place but still fits in with the show vibes

— very lurking

— fnaf 3 am jumpscare (idk i see more poppy playtime in this despite never watching or knowing anything about poppy playtime

— very cheerful kinda scary at the end (yay jasmine!!!)

wellingston hotel

— i rlly like hotel music play this at a marriott hotel NOW

— still haven’t seen this episode (i’m dying to watch it i need to see winn’s introoooo)

— sudden rich person music change

— love you nickelodeon saxophonist !!!!

dev dimmadome

— classic dev intro

— 0:54 is so cruel just label this project h whyyyyyyyy

— just sheer pain in the middle but then they remebered at the end “oh yeah he’s ten”

— it gets so intense at 1:30 broooooo

fairy heist

— i love spy music

— little dev-ness in the middle with the certain gimmick in his track (i might be crazy for this one but idk the “waeahwow” reminded me of something from his track + i think this was in the breaking into school scene idk)

prime meridian love

— literal anime ost

— eats with the dramatic intro

— it faintly reminds me of an ok ko track but just slightly at the beginning of some of the melodies idk might be crazy for this one too

peri and irep

— no way.

— actually no way.

— ship interacts once and they get their own song.

— the twist at the beginning of the track was so hype like the beat is just constantly at odds during this song (and because i’m just like that i have the track times put down too when they swap)

— to not make this any longer the noticeable parts after their intros are like 0:50–1:02 is peri-sounding and then 1:03–1:18 is irep-sounding and from then on their themes are always at a clash with more differences spotted at the end

— will say i love irep’s part at 0:32 and 1:03 that’s so funnnn ahh

— the little villainous laugh at like 1:50 was silly

— the little theme at 3:00 ahhh !!!!!

— might be another fav……. yeah def another fav my airbuds says so

viozalea

— feels so medieval at first and i love it

— quick just like viozalea’s appearance (rip)

rattlleconda

— fire western theme

— still in character with the show the beat was firee

— the soft violin gahhh sheer joy

— intense pressure put on at the end ate

love and games

— rock paper scissors core

— me when rock paper scissors

— wait i actually never watched the valentines episode

— uhhhhhhh second half might be rock paper scissors

— BANGS

— love u Nickelodeon drummer

battle of wands (FINALE)

— shut up this is too glorious of a melody

— ok intense

— oh might’ve just hit one million wishes idk how this song is following the episode

— the chaos in the rhythm eats

— littlt theme at 2:30 aghhhh won

— peri lying dead right after again idk how the episode paces through songs i can spot little scenes here and there

— banged

— little clock beat ahh the happiness

— can’t even tell what happened but good finale

OVERALL i really enjoyed the soundtrack i love how it tries and takes you through the course of the episode and it’s so so fun!! almost feels like video game music sometimes which is so so good for them like YES drop a new wish video game it would be so good !!!!

[choi-hae]

Kenny’s Top Music of 2024!

Oh boy, it’s that time of year again - where I listened to too much music and now I’m making myself choose what the best ones (in my opinion) are but I’m bad at making decisions. Obviously I didn’t listen to everything, that would be impossible, but I did my best and honestly a lot of my picks will not be surprising. I’m very predictable. 

This year’s list is similar to last year’s, in terms of categories. But I think choosing was a bit easier than last year’s. Still hard obviously because I simply love too much of what came out this year, but the way my lists are structured, I believe it includes most of everything I loved from this year.

The rules I put upon myself in terms of choices are similar to years past, but please take note of them before reading further. Thank you in advance for reading my list! 

RULES: 

If an album was chosen for top album (group or solo), I tried to choose a different title from a different album OR a completely different artist all together for top title track (group or solo) to showcase as much variety as possible (and to challenge myself). If an album was chosen, it can be assumed I love all, if not most, of the songs on that album anyway. 

Top b sides are okay to chosen from top albums, as it only makes sense, and there can be multiple from a single artist but only ONE SONG per album.

None of these lists are in any particular order. It’s hard enough to choose top of anything, let alone put them into a numbered order.

And with that, here's my top music of 2024!

Top 6(+1) Group Albums/EPs

ATE - Stray Kids

Are we surprised? Another no skip album from SKZ. Even the festival version of the title track is fire. There’s not too much to say on the matter other than that I love every song so of course it had to be here. I’m in this Stay shit for life. 

GOLD - ITZY

Lia is back! Not only do I adore all the new songs on this album but they gave us “Final Ver.” of all the group tracks from Born To Be, and it just makes it all feel so complete. That fact alone makes this a top album for me. Plus the double titles were both amazing while being completely different vibes. 

Killin’ It - P1Harmony

Their first full album and what a banger. Every track is unique but is completely their style. Getting to see a lot of these songs live obviously gave me a bigger appreciation but even without that fact, I love every single song on this album. 

Armageddon - aespa

Another first full album and another case of every song is unique but suits the members’ vibes so well. No skips, I adore every song. The double title tracks were perfect for promotions. I love that they gave us a lot of short preview videos as well during the lead up to release.

Troubleshooting - Xdinary Heroes

THIS ALBUM! Again, another first full album but holy shit, these guys really found their sound with this one. The emo rock vibes throughout while still having each track have its own flair. Incredible. And the vocals! Play this album at my funeral. Bury me with it.

CRAZY - LE SSERAFIM

Choosing between this one and EASY was tough but I chose CRAZY because the b sides just hit more somehow. Even the intro track setting the vibe for the entire EP, this one has such a hype factor. I loved it. 

Fe304: BREAK - NMIXX

This one blew me away. I love these girls, I love their music, but there’s always at least one or two b sides I don’t vibe with. But this one, no skips. They hit this shit outta the park, for real. I could listen to this album all day. 

Top 6 Solo Albums/EPs

rosie - Rosé

My girl. She’s finally here. Her artistry has always been incredible to me and it shows in this album. It feels like she was finally let free and poured her everything into it. I adore her and her music. This album was beyond fantastic. 

Sir.Robert - Bobby

His first album since Lucky Man and what a follow up. All the songs are bangers and bops. Everyone knows Bobby for his hard rap tracks, but this album includes so many of his softer tracks and it’s a vibe I love to see from him. 

NA - Nayeon

I can’t believe how good this album is but also I can because it’s Nayeon. What a queen, what it girl energy. Her last one was good but this one, never skip. Every song is a 10/10 and I could listen to it forever. I love it so much, I even bought it, and I don’t own a single Twice album. 

TEN - Ten

This album proves that when you set this man free, he makes magic because god damn. Every song is a bop and each one makes you wanna move, as to be expected from a dancer. Since it seems like WayV has had more releases this year, I hope we get more Ten solos as well. 

Fake Happy - Seori

A short little EP but a good one. As always, her voice is so calming and honestly I love anything she releases. But this one has some great relatable messages throughout it, in both the title and b sides. It’s one of the things I love most about her music.

Element - BM

Congrats to BM and his first EP! And what a banger EP it is. This man will always be in his fuckboy era and maybe that’s where he’s meant to be because he’s good at this vibe. What a freak (affectionate).

Top 6 Hip-hop/R&B Albums/Singles

dopamine - Junny

I love when my boy Junny releases an album. There’s a whiff of fuckboy energy in this one but it’s played off with enough rizz that it suits him super well. His voice will always bring my joy and happiness. We love a Canadian. 

Yours Truly - Camo

My girl, my angel, my queen. An album release is always a blessing. There’s a lot more R&B vibes this time around and I love it. There’s not much to say - I love her and her voice and her artistry. 10/10.

16 Fantasy - Lee Young Ji

I think this is her first EP? Which is crazy. I feel like she’s been killing it for years, and this project is no exception. It’s so unequivocally her. I first saw her like four years ago on the Good Girl program and to see how far she’s come, it’s really amazing.

3:33 - Dean & FKJ

Dean giving us one single project every year but you know what? I’ll take it. I adore this one. It’s everything I want out of a track from him, and it’s only two tracks. The piano, his vocals, and a slight chill beat. Bless.

SPOT! - Zico & Jennie

An insane collab but also another Zico bop. Like if Zico made it, it’s gonna bang. Put Jennie on the feature, it’s a certified classic. Their chemistry is incredible and it seemed like they had fun doing it too. So I have fun listening to it. 

Domino - SAAY

This one came out of nowhere for me but my god, is it beautiful. Her voice is phenomenal and the track itself is dark and bass-y, really contrasting her lighter tone. But girlie also has range. I would love more like this from her. 

Top 6(+1) Girl Group Titles

Mr. Vampire - ITZY

This was my top song on Spotify and YouTube Wrapped this year, and rightfully so. When this song dropped, I was obsessed with it. Honestly, I’m still obsessed with it. That silly flute sound and the playful vibes. AND I got to see it live this year. It had to go on the list, for sure. 

EASY - LE SSERAFIM

You know me, I love a song that makes me feel like a bad bitch. But Easy is that subtle bad bitch vibe that makes you feel like you could take on the world by barely lifting a finger. Hence the title. Also the choreo slaps. They murdered it with this one. 

Heya - IVE

THIS SONG. As soon as I heard it, I said SOTY. When that bridge moved into Yujin’s high note and then the final chorus drops, it’s like a dopamine shot to my brain. Inject this song into my veins, seriously. 

Whiplash - aespa

Another subtle bad bitch for me. Runway energy. Also the styling for this era was incredible. Honestly, the concept elevates the track for me a lot. This era also made me realize I bias Giselle. So it’s a good one for sure. 

Cosmic - Red Velvet

It’s a Red Velvet song, what can I say really? Cosmic does feel special though. Wendy’s final high note that moves into the chorus really make me feel like I’m flying. And it has that overall retro vibe. It’s such a beautifully made song. 

Howling - XG

One thing XG is good at is mixing hard rap with beautiful melodies and this is THAT song. The raps are fantastic but it’s really those melodies in the pre chorus and chorus that pulled me in. Also a new entry for the K-pop cat/dog scale. 

Super Lady - (G)I-DLE

I added this one as my plus one pick because A) bad bitch energy, and B) I honestly think this was (G)I-DLE’s best era. A full album era will always hit harder and this is no exception. Super Lady is their Beyoncé era.

Top 6 Boy Group Titles

Walkin’ On Water - Stray Kids

Hip-hop is Stray Kids and Stray Kids is hip-hop. It’s one of the genres SKZ does best, aside from their own of course. And I love when they talk their shit. “When you’re sinking, I’m fishing”? “Say hello to Nemo ‘cause I can’t see”? Insane. 

Ice On My Teeth - ATEEZ

If you know me, you know I love a classical piece on a hip-hop track. The blend of classical and hip-hop is quite literally perfect on this one. The concept itself is amazing too. ATEEZ can master any vibe but this one suits them incredibly well. 

Deja Vu - TXT

It’s true what they say - any song called Deja Vu is gonna be a bop. This is another song for me where the melodies carry. The song itself is just so well made, and the rock style break down for the dance break is amazing. 

Sad Song - P1Harmony

Piwon only makes bops, I swear. How can they make me dance to a song about being sad? The first comeback after I saw them live and it makes me wish this song had come out before their tour. I love it so much.

Nallina - NEXZ

A new boy group, and they’ll appear later as well, but this song really surprised me. It’s very laid back but upbeat and fun. It’s hard for me to get into new groups most times but these guys make some fun music and their choreography is always stellar. 

Giant - Stray Kids

Another SKZ entry. I have many reasons to include it; 1) it’s a good song, 2) they’re talking their shit again, 3) it came out right after HYBE called them short, 4) Han’s silly sneeze rap, 5) “do ra me fa, king giant”. Do I need to say more?

Top 6 Solo Titles

Shopper - IU

This song is so incredible, and it is heightened by the music video a bit. It feels like an experience. And as a girlie who loves retail therapy, the song itself kind of speaks to me. AND it’s an IU song. Can’t go wrong. 

Like A Flower - Irene

The vibe of this song is immaculate. We love an afro beats dance-y type track. The concept of comparing one’s self to a flower has always been my favourite too. As a solo debut, I wasn’t expecting this for her but it suits her so well. 

LURE - I.M

The only music Monsta X related music release this year, and it was a great one. The laid back R&B vibe suits his voice so well, so this vibe wasn’t surprising but it was appreciated. The lyrics are also kinda wild but that’s what I love about him.

Freak - Yuqi

Another one that’s heightened a bit by the music video. We love a “it’s okay to be weird” kind of message in a song too. When it comes to solos, Yuqi really knows her sound and what works for her. 

Letter To Myself - Taeyeon

This song felt very uplifting and hopeful, which is a feeling I’m needing going into the new year. What else can I really say about this? It’s a Taeyeon song so of course it’s high quality. I really love the more down to earth vibe she’s been going with lately. 

Mona Lisa - Soojin

I think this song was fantastic for her. The sound was perfect and it made it possible for her dancing to be showcased more than her debut. Just my opinion but this one felt so much more her and I hope she releases more in the new year. 

SPECIAL: Band Comeback Mentions

DAY6 - Fourever & Bandaid

What can I say? Day6 came back from the military and killed it this year. Like objectively, they had multiple hit songs over their two albums and it’s so deserved. Personal favourites: Welcome to the Show, Happy, Get The Hell Out, Sad Ending from the Forever album, and Melt Down, Monster, I’m Fine from the Bandaid album.

ONEWE - OFF ROAD

They did have their EP earlier in the year, but I really loved this single album. Off Road is a great summer title coming out at the tail end of summer, but the two b sides on it were also super top tier to me. I think it came out at the perfect time too. Just enjoyable all around. 

Rolling Quartz - Victory & RE:BOLD

One album and a single this year, and I believe they keep getting better. I liked Victory as an album but the RE:BOLD single is probably their best song to date for me. Something about it really showcases that energy I love from them but in a new way. It’s hard to explain but I really love it. 

Xdinary Heroes - LIVE and FALL

Insane releases this year. I already included their full album above, but I have to mention this one. Similar to their Day6 seniors, they decided to do a single every month, just for about four months, before releasing them all with some b sides on an EP, and every song CRUSHED. So many different genres explored and they mastered all of them. Personal favourites: Save Me, Boy Comics, Feeling Nice, and Love and Fear.

Dragon Pony - Pop Up 

A new k-band that surprised me a lot. The quality of their music is a lot higher than I expected from a new band. I know nothing about them other than that I am excited to hear what they do next. Personal favourites: Pop Up, Traffic Jam, and Ouroboros.

Top 6(+1) Boy Group B Sides

I Like It - Stray Kids

I like it. What can I say? I know there was the big thing about how it’s a situationship and whoa crazy, but like it’s just objectively a good song. It’s playful, it’s cute, it’s fun, I like the switch up when the instrumental kinda goes dark. It’s good. 

Shaboom - ATEEZ

Reggaeton? In my K-pop?? I adore this song. It’s so unique and I’ve never heard anything like it in K-pop. I love ATEEZ for trying new genres like this because I think this in particular suits them super well. 

Late Night Calls - P1Harmony

I’m still bitter they didn’t do this one on tour. It’s one of those fun dance-y tracks but not like big dance, more like groove. Does that makes sense? It makes me happy. It makes me wanna move. It’s easily a favourite from them. 

Bounce Back - Stray Kids

I love when SKZ talks their shit. And I love when Han talks his shit. We love a Han track. Seriously though, this song feels good. Like I could run through a wall. And the whistle motif feels super nice in my ears. It’s a good diss track. 

Higher Than Heaven - TXT

This song feels like serotonin. It makes me happy for some reason. I love the chorus when they go higher when they say “high”. It feels cathartic almost? I dunno. It’s hard to explain but it’s definitely a favourite. 

Feeling Nice - Xdinary Heroes

This song is dopamine. I’m obsessed. Something about the bass line tickles my brain in the right way. Inject it into my veins. It’s probably their best song to date, and it’s a b side. That’s insane. 

Falling Up - Stray Kids

Now I’m just being self indulgent but it’s my list so fuck you. I love this song. It’s definitely OST coded, because it’s an OST, but it stands so well as a SKZ song as well. I adore the vocals in it, I love the guitar through the instrumental. It’s just lovely.

Top 6(+1) Girl Group B Sides

Love Is Lonely - NMIXX

This song is beautiful. NMIXX is incredibly strong in some many areas, but most people talk about their performance and dancing. But I’d argue that their vocals are just as strong, if not stronger. And this song showcases that beautifully. 

Sunflower - Red Velvet

Just another serotonin song. It’s upbeat, it’s fun and playful. I love the energy it gives me. And the fact that it’s called Sunflower makes it even better, iykyk. The chorus is my favourite part, the way they’re like calling out together. It makes the build up feel so gratifying. 

Flight, Not Feelings - aespa

WOW, this song. When I first heard it, I was confused. Like I didn’t understand the beat, but a couple listens later and I knew it was my favourite on the album. I love boom bap, combined with their lovely vocals. It’s fantastic. 

Bad Girls R Us - ITZY

It’s cheeky, it’s playful. I love when the guitar comes in. The genre bending it does is super fun to listen to. I think ITZY always does this type of vibe super well. Their strong songs are good, but these fun melodic b sides are always their best to me. 

Right now - NewJeans

I love a drum and bass track. It’s literally my favourite genre of music. NewJeans does this vibe super well. Their light vocals float over the fast beat and it’s like perfection to me. Am I being dramatic? Oh well. I love this song. 

Vision - (G)I-DLE

More drum and bass. What can I say? This was an early favourite in the year, no contest. I love the style of the instrumental obviously, but my favourite part is during the chorus when the girls are using a light higher vocal, you can hear a lower mumbled vocal underneath it just slightly and I think that adds a lot.  

Smart - LE SSERAFIM

Phenomenal. The only downside to this song is that it wasn’t released in the summer. But it was definitely played in the summer. It’s a song that gets you moving, even if you don’t know how to move. Catch me shaking ass in the kitchen to this. 

Top 6 Hip-Hop/R&B B Sides

Here We Go Again - Junny

Junny was really in his bag with this one. The instrumental is really fun and groovy, and it really lets his voice float over the top. I absolutely adore his lower tones in particular. It’s just an all around good song. 

Wings - Camo

Like I mentioned above, this album was phenomenal. This song in particular is one of my favs - another drum and bass type beat. Her laid back rap over the kind of fantastical instrumental is just too lovely for me to ignore. 

Kiss Me Now - Mirani

Something about the melody on this one. It’s so infectious and playful. The beat is bouncy. It’s just a genuinely fun song. I love when she’s does more sing-songy rap as well. I think it suits her style super well. 

Sugar Rush - BIBI

This song is so damn fun. It’s an ass shaker. The lyrics are so good - one of my favs: “I don’t need a man for no dessert / I got popsicles in my freezer”. Girlie’s always got the best concepts, the best messages. And she gives me the bad bitch feeling I need to survive.

EGO - Camo

It’s the instrumental on this one. It’s pretty minimal all things considered but I like the vibe. It’s slow and smooth. I have a chill vibes playlist and this song would definitely go on it. Actually, it probably already is.

figure8 - Junny

This song feels safe. Does that makes sense? It’s the acoustic vibe, his voice, the lyrics. Everything about it feels like a hug on a cold winter day. You’re standing the the snow with your boo and you’re huddled together to keep warm while you wait for the bus. It’s lovely. 

Top 6 Solo B Sides

Embers - BM

I adore this song so much. I love that he’s singing! We don’t get singing BM too often but I love it. This song showcases that a lot. It’s slow but groovy, and it’s still thotty like the rest of his album but it’s somehow sweeter than the rest. 

drinks or coffee - Rosé

I’ll die if I don’t listen to this song at least once a day. Once again, a groovy song, a song that makes me wanna dance, that makes me want to fall in love at a bad party. Most of the songs on her album are a bit sad and slow, but this one is such a vibe. 

Ups & Downs - Taeyong

I was pretty shocked when I heard this because I’m used to Taeyong from NCT. Which is good, I like him. But this song is so much more chill that what I’d heard in the past and I really enjoy it. I found it getting stuck in my head at random times. 

Vermillion - Wendy

I liked a lot of b sides from her album but I found myself always coming back to this one. I mean, we all know she’s a phenomenal singer but paired with this kind of grand instrumental really caught my attention. 

Lie With You - Ten

We love yearning. I feel it in my bones with this song. The upbeat instrumental but sad lyrics about loving someone you aren’t allowed to openly love. Star crossed lovers kinda track. I adore it. 

Butterflies - Nayeon

Queen Nayeon, she can’t make a bad song. It was hard to just pick one from her album. It's cute, it’s fun. And she raps on this one! Which I love to see her playing all the parts on her solo pieces. Not much else to say, it’s just really good. 

Top 6(+1) Collab Tracks

harmless - Bobby (feat. Chanmina)

They did this collaboration for ME SPECIFICALLY. When I heard this was dropping, I’m pretty sure I screamed. I love them both so much and their energies together is electric. Two idgaf rappers, it’s a collaboration made in heaven. 

SICKUHH - NMIXX (feat. Kid Milli)

This was so unexpected but so appreciated. We know I adore NMIXX, and I’ve been listening to Kid Milli on and off for a couple years at this point. I think the girls killed the rap track and his feature added that extra spice. Plus it’s a Dem Joints beat. 

Come Back To Me - Kang Daniel (feat. Chungha)

I love their voices together. End of sentence. It’s a collab that I never knew I needed. I think it’s the perfect track for them both to be on. It’s super minimal to let their voices shine. It’s perfect. 

Butterflies - Camo (feat. pH-1)

Wow, Camo on the list again? And with pH-1 this time?? An obvious pick. I love both of these artists so much and their vibes match each other so well on a chill but bouncy track like this one. 

Fraksiya - Mark Lee (feat. Lee Young Ji)

Mark Lee doing a for real diss track, and not against himself this time. And with Miss Young Ji?? Oh my goodness. He said with no rest time! He knows! It’s too good. Their chemistry is fire. I don’t need to spell it out for you. 

Rush - Junny (feat. Bobby)

Junny again, but with Bobby this time, hello. Another unexpected collab but I’m never gonna complain when two of my favs get together and absolutely destroy a track. This one is laid back and a lil sexy tbh, and they both sound awesome on this one. 

DND - Young Posse (feat. BM of KARD)

I love this one, mostly because BM making and hopping on the track with his lil sisters is cute af. But also this song is just really pretty. The girls have super lovely voices for being advertised as a rap group, and BM’s feature adds a nice little flair. It’s fun. 

Top 6(+1) Singles

Only One - VCHA

I feel sad considering everything that’s in the news surrounding these girls. This song released and I felt like it was their best so far. I’m very heartbroken to hear how they were treated, what they went through, and I hope they get justice.

Sticky - Kiss Of Life

Song of the summer, easy. These girls are so damn talented and I love that they’re bringing grown women sexy back into K-pop, reminiscent of Sistar and older Mamamoo. It’s so fun and we need more iconic summer bops like this. 

distraction - AleXa

I kind of hate that the reason I love this song is because I relate to it 100%. These lyrics are almost word for word what I wish I could’ve told myself when I was in my previous relationship. I wish I had this song back then. Shit. 

Ride the Vibe - NEXZ

This is the song that made me go, “oh these guys have a good vibe”. I love the chill start and then switch in the drum and bass style. I will admit that it did confuse me at first but I quickly started to love it and I’m still obsessed. 

Wait - Hyolyn

Song of the summer part 2. From the summer queen herself. And she got everyone shaking their asses with this one. I love it. It makes me wanna sit on a beach with a refreshing drink and just soak in the summer vibes. 

Done - naevis

The debut of the first fully computer generated idol. The music video really blew me away - technology is wild, like how is she not real? You’re telling me the girl on the screen isn’t real?? But I’m also fascinated by the fact that her voice is an amalgamation of all the aespa girls’ voices. It’s all very interesting to me. 

Diamond - TRI.BE

More tears from me on this one. The lyrics made me cry a lil bit. It’s a very sweet message, uplifting and nice to hear on a bad day. The instrumental is upbeat and fun - sticking to their overall vibe - but with a message that’s so wholesome, it could warm the darkest heart. 

SPECIAL: Rookie Mentions

Young Posse

These girls fascinate me. They’re a rap heavy group and all their mainline MVs are like purposefully not well done, but well done, green screen/VFX heavy videos that kind of rip off the style of old GTA games? Like how’d they come up with the concept for these girlies?? I’m so interested in them even though their titles aren’t really my style. I love their b sides, I love their vibes. I’m curious to see where they go. Notable songs are DND, Scars, and Skyline.

NEXZ

They’ve appeared on this list a couple times already. I enjoy them a lot - their songs are good, they’re very good dancers, fun to watch. I think they’re likely going to go far being under JYP to a certain extent. But they also clearly have so much talent already that I’m excited to see what else they come out with. Notable songs are Ride The Vibe, Nallina, and Hard.

BADVILLAIN

I was so surprised to hear that Emma was debuting in a group. I really loved her on SWF, she’s such a talented dancer. And the rest of her group are also incredibly talented. The songs got the bad bitch energy I love. Their debut was so solid. There’s not a single song by them that I don’t like. I’m so excited to watch their journey. Notable songs are Yah-ho, Hurricane, and +82.

82MAJOR

Now I haven’t listened to them much but I was drawn in by the fact that P1Harmony Keeho’s little brother is in this group. Their songs are fun, really unique in certain ways. They’re great dancers. I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far and I’m curious to see what else they do. Notable songs are First Class, Choke, and Stuck.

MEOVV

I think these girls are powerful. They are small, they are young, but they are powerful. They have a lot of talent - singing, rapping, dancing - and they’ve clearly trained for a while. I was super impressed by their debut. I think they’ll definitely go far. Being under the Black Label, I just hope they get consistent comebacks. Notable songs are Meow, Body, and Toxic (their only songs, lol).

Top 6(+1) MVs

Love Wins All - IU

I cried. Multiple times. For like a month. Every time I saw this video, I couldn’t help but cry by the end. Serious props to IU and V for their acting. I really felt like I was watching this tragic tale of two people who care for each other so much and want to be happy so bad, but death follows them no matter how much they run. The world building in a relatively short music video is impressive. They show you very quickly how everything works, why the characters are running, what their dreams are and how those dreams can never be possible. The story matches IU’s beautiful vocals so much. They weave together to paint this tragedy. And by the end, when the characters meet their end, you really feel for them. You feel their love for each other, whether it be romantic or platonic - I know some interpretations vary. It’s just so incredibly well put together from start to finish. The first masterpiece of the year for me. 

One Spark - Twice

I cried again. Shocking? Not really, hear me out. Even if you’re not a huge stan of Twice, you know their impact. Their journey. How special they are. And if you know K-pop, you know a lot of groups don’t make it as long as Twice has - 2025 will be their 10th year. So when this music video came out, it’s this triumphant call out that they’re still here, they’re still going, they’ve only just hit their golden days, and they don’t plan on stopping. These are women who truly love what they do, they love each other and what they’ve accomplished, and there’s no end in sight for them. And that’s plainly illustrated by the count-up on the elevator throughout the music video. Starting at their debut date, going up to 2024 - the music video’s release date - before changing to say “timeless”. Twice is timeless - an endless flame, an everlasting blast. They sparkle beautifully and will shine forever. And they won’t let you forget it. 

Armageddon - aespa

So I’ve talked about storytelling thus far in these music videos. Let’s talk about effects enhancing story. This music video, and this era even, was insane for aespa. They leaned into this dark horror concept, but still stuck to their roots with AI. And yes, that’s a sore subject when it comes to art and video. But this video is clearly an example of AI done right. The scenes in this music video aren’t AI generated, but AI assisted to achieve the vibe and feeling they want for their storytelling. The VFX team used AI tech to enhance the visual effects to create images that are creepy and off-putting almost. Which matches where their story is leading. If you know a bit about aespa lore, you know that at this point in their story, the computer/AI world and the real world are mixing when they shouldn’t be. And that creates these distorted images, faceless bodies, butterfly monsters and sirens. The use of VFX in this way is the reason the story feels chaotic and “is this the same story?”, but that’s the point. It’s a new era with new tech and it’s done beautifully. 

JJAM - Stray Kids

At first, this video doesn’t seem like anything special. It’s a silly music video for a b side off their main album of the year. So why is it here? Editing and cinematography. Every cut and camera move is motivated by the music and in a lot of cases, that’s what a music video should be. Yes, it’s telling a story. But the story would be diminished if the editing was off or the camera movements didn’t match. It makes the whole experience more satisfying to the eye, whether you realize it or not. During Changbin’s first verse, the cuts and push ins with the camera match his cadence. When Hyunjin is mopping the floor with slime, his movement stutters along with the instrumental. When the beat drops and the choreography starts in the chorus, they use speed ramps and light flashes during the bass drops to accentuate the movements, to make the impact feel bigger. It’s those little choice that really make the video feel just a bit spicier, you know? 

Howling - XG

I could’ve chose any of XG’s MVs to go here - Woke Up, IYKYK, Something Ain’t Right - because every XG MV is going to have insane VFX that are just mind blowing. But I decided on Howling because of how editing is utilized to compliment the song because I think it’s really well done. When I talked about this song above in the title track section, I mentioned that it’s got strong raps and beautiful melodies that blend perfectly, and they show that in the edits visually. Almost to the point where it could be too much for some. What I mean by that is, we start with a rap section - it goes Cocona, Jurin, Harvey, Maya. The editing increases in speed as we move through each member, Harvey’s section being the most chaotic (almost unwatchable), then starting to slow down again during Maya, before it’s slowed to hardly any cuts for the vocal members’ sections in the pre chorus, then picks up to a normal cutting speed for the choreography scenes in the chorus, and then speeding up again with Jurin when the rap comes back in. Rinse and repeat for that verse. It’s like a rollercoaster, and it matches the song beautifully, adding to its overall impact, and probably why this is my favourite song from them to date. 

Zombie - Everglow

Can you believe this was their only release this year? Illegal. Anyway, I love this video. It’s haunting, just like the song. The visual storytelling is fantastic. The unhinged laugh to start off. The all white room in white outfits and white hair. The lighting feels overbearing and bright, which is a huge contrast from the darkness of the song. The acting is fantastic as well - the obsessive nature over the phones which symbolizes this love they had that turned them into zombies - a super creative way to show this kind of toxic obsessive love. The wind blowing to symbolize the insanity, the unrest. The dial tone paralleling a flatline, phone cracks and bleeds, showing the death of this love. The stark white room being splattered in blood for the final chorus. But also the yandere aspect to the song itself saying, “you drove me crazy and you might think this love is dead but I’ll keep coming back for you like a zombie.” I think visually and thematically, everything is so cohesive and strong. What a phenomenal drop to be their only one of the year. 

Railway - Bang Chan (Stray Kids)

Now hear me out. Yes, he’s attractive. But aside from that, the quality of this music video is insane. And mind you, it’s a solo b side on a special album, not even a mainline album. My jaw hit the floor when I watched it for the first time, simply because it was so unexpected. All the solo MVs were great up to this point, but Chan’s exceeded all expectations. The colour grading is so gritty and fantastical - really like you’re being transported into this different world. The acting is insane - I knew he could act but I didn’t know it was that serious. Like get him in a k-drama asap. The way the sound effects blend so well with the track itself - it was like the music was made with the music video in mind for it to blend so seamlessly. The editing as a whole is so attention grabbing, captivating, chaotic and hungry - the moment you think you know what’s going on, it throws you for a loop. And that can be said for the story as well. I’ve loved to see how Stays are interpreting it online - Chan has a way of showcasing these struggles he has with his own mind, his own psyche, in a way you don’t expect. It was the same with Red Lights. Everyone thought this was a sexy toxic love song, and maybe it is, but maybe not in the way you first thought. My interpretation is that, like everyone, he has two sides to him - one side he considers bad, and another that tries to keep that side tied down, even if he’s maybe drawn to that “bad” side of himself. And sometimes the “bad” Chan escapes, reeking havoc, until he gets it under control again. And that’s the train that never sleeps. The unending ride that is his own psyche. It’s so relatable and fantastic. I am in awe at his creative genius every day. 

If you've read this far, thank you for your time! I'd love to hear what your favourites of the year were. Do we have similar choices? Are they completely different? Did I miss a song that you absolutely loved? Feel free to let me know! I'm always open to listening and talking about all music.

And that's the end of music in 2024. It's been a good one, seriously. Again, I definitely missed lots because there's just so much that comes out all the time. I feel incredibly lucky to live in a time where I can listen to so many incredible things and where the possibilities for music are endless. I can't wait to see what 2025 will bring! 💕

[merlintheactor]

Yeah okay so I scrolled through the alexithmyia tag and I don’t think it has this in any recent posts. I tend to be very dynamic while explaining stuff, so I’ll try and add that to the list

So, my aspiring students, what is this thing that you’ve probably never heard of, and why am I telling you about it?

Well, first let’s explain what it is. In the broadest possible sense, alexithmyia is basically a null condition. (Such as asexual, agender, aromantic) What I mean is it’s something describing the lack of something, which in this case is emotion. Alexithmyia is the inability to describe emotions or in some cases, not even feel them properly.

Have you ever experienced things like burning rage, or butterflies in your stomach, or the coiled rope of guilt deep in your stomach, or panic in your throat?

Alexithmeics (?) don’t have that. Or some do, it’s complicated. We’ll get to it.

I’m not a professional, this is all just my (and others) lived experience but I’ve seen the condition broken down into two categories, cognitive & affective. I saw this first on the reddit community for alexithmyia but I like it so I’m yoinking it.

Mu main source for this is an article by Zoe Blade (http://notebook.zoeblade.com/Alexithymia.html). It has sources, and is generally a better breakdown than what I’m going to do. Please check it out, it’s very good.

I’m writing my own thing on tumblr because most people won’t find it on reddit, don’t use it, or just won’t click a link on a random post. Itll probably sound very similar.

Cognitive alexithmyia is basically the original definition , where people with it have a great deal of difficulty describing their emotions. Sometimes it takes time to study the emotion, or sometimes you find out what the emotion was days later. This one isn’t really my lived in experience, but I have felt it occasionally.

Affective alexithmyia is the second definition, which I am a part of (yay!). It’s the inability to feel emotions on a visceral level. The way I’ve described it before is that metaphors about emotions don’t apply to me. I have never felt burning rage, I have never felt my stomach have butterflies, only once have I felt proper guilt.

This is mainly gonna focus on the second, because it’s the one I have.

Affective alexithmyia is complicated, as is anything that describes a null. I’m going to break it down into questions. So, in my best attempt to break it down, let’s begin.

How do you experience things like emotions, then? Are you unfeeling?

Yes and no. Affective alexithmyia means you can’t really feel things on a conscious level. As said before,the whole metaphor things about emotions don’t hit me. They’re just words. I usually have to infer how I feel from my body; if I listening to music, which I do enjoy, I can feel like bopping to the music, tapping my foot to the beat, stuff like that. From that, I can infer I’m enjoying it. If I’m very snappish and rude and it’s around six pm, I can usually tell it’s because I’m either overwhelmed from work, or I haven’t ate. If I read a hateful message, or a sad one, I can simply ignore it. I don’t feel angry. I can look forward to deleting the message, but I don’t get any emotion from it itself.

This is all to say that I’m not unfeeling, usually. I can express emotions, but they don’t come out the same way as everyone else, nor am I usually aware of them. Sometimes, I can just not feel emotions. I went to my mother’s funeral, and didn’t shed a single tear, not really feel the loss. This is to say it really depends. Sometimes my emotions don’t manifest, sometimes they do. The overarching point is that alexithmiacs with the affective side of things experience things almost fundamentally different to most people.

I am basically incapable of holding a grudge. What little emotion I do feel fades quickly, like a summer storm. I can’t be angry at someone for more than like an hour, most.

Why does this matter? How does it affect things?

Well, having the condition of alexithymia can cause a hell of a lot of social problems, especially as it’s usually paired with things like autism. People don’t generally like unemotive people. They’re hard to read and understand which can lead to a harder social life, harder times relating to people, hell even parenting. I haven’t conducted any research, obviously, but there’s a chance not having a broad social life might not really matter to people with alexithmyia. It doesn’t to me, anyway.

It can also lead to internal problems, physical or emotional. Because your signals aren’t properly getting to your brain, you can have issues with feeling hunger or thirst, bowels or bladder. You’ll probably still feel the signals, but only when your body is screaming at you. I wouldn’t say this is a uniquely alexithmyia related issue as, like I said, it’s comorbid with a lot of neurodivergent conditions. This could be due to ADHD, or autism, etc. it also leads to motivational problems, at least for me. I can’t feel invested in things easily. I’m always aware that I’m reading a book, playing a game, and when it comes to being creative, it’s hard to put my pen to paper.

On an emotional level, like I said, it can cause social problems. I personally don’t experience things like most people. It can make me seem cold and unfeeling. It can also lead to a lot of questioning and mental problems, because I mean. You’re fundamentally different to your peers. That will screw you up. It’s why alexithmyia needs more study and needs to be better known.

Things like raising kids and having partners is also pretty hard, from what I’ve seen. How does one understand a kid’s emotions when you don’t experience any? Some links for parenting are here, here and here. Partner links are here, here and here.

It also matters because I, god mage of everything, decided it does. Can’t refute that, now can you!

How does one get alexithmyia? When does it affect you?

My understanding is it’s broadly a genetic thing. I have it, my dad has it. It can also apparently be caused by trauma, repressing of emotions.

Does it manifest in kids? No idea. I was a fairly bubbly kid, apparently, but that changed as I started to approach teenage hood. I assume it has something to do with signals being too weak to reach the body, similar to depression with serotonin and adhd, but I have no clue. I haven’t done detailed research.

How does this affect creativity? Are you all maths people?

No. Much like anyone else, we have a variety of jobs and desires. There are actors with alexithmyia, writers, scientists etc. no one is bound to one job because of their conditions. I am bad at maths, I like writing and acting. I know another who doesn’t really read or watch things too often but loves maths and wants to do farming.

People are unique, no matter what.

Who’s got alexithmyia in media?

Far as I’m aware? No one. No characters have my condition. I assume it’s due to a few factors.

One, this is very unknown. You can’t write something you’ve never heard about, at least not intentionally.

Two, it’s extremely difficult to write someone with an inability to feel emotions. Characters are often emotionally different. Can you imagine FitzChivalry without his rage and emotion, or Kaladin without his deep sense of honour, drive for change and depression?

I hope to one day write a story with an alexithmyic character, but it’s a long way off.

Conclusion

Alright, finished! If you have questions, send me an ask or something. I’ll try and answer.

Please note a lot of these links, all of them except for Zoe’s, are anecdotal. There are a few science links within the subreddit itself, and Zoe has a lot of sources for her stuff. I’m not going to do a research kind of post until I have a firm grasp of said research. This is merely my experience, and people who exist on reddit because that’s the only place I’ve found an alexithmyia community.

I’m also interested in hearing from creatives about this stuff, and how it affects your work. God knows it affects mine.

[spiteslucanis]

was tagged by the ever lovely @zhalar to share 9 albums i've been listening to, thank you for the opportunity <3 i've included my self-indulgent commentary on each, and i tried to mostly pick ones that i've specifically been listening to recently! (ps. thank you for songs you shared in the previous tag game we had, several ended up on my playlists)

lazily tagging anyone who sees this and wants to do it! just say i tagged you. i love hearing ppl talk about music

my album commentary under the read more cut bcs i ended up elaborating a lot

i. chappel roan, "the rise and fall of a midwest princess" — ALBUM of the YEAR. to me. i know it came out last year but still. no skips, love her and this album so so dearly. i need it on vinyl stat. inject that shit into my veins etc. current faves: guilty pleasure and super graphic ultra modern girl, but i did also recently listen to california for like a week non-stop

ii. ethel cain, "preacher's daughter" — again i'm LATE to this one, but as far as concept albums go, this is. the peak. like just. screaming crying throwing up, even. i made a powerpoint presentation abt this just so i could share its story with a friend. INSANITY. faves: american teenager, ptolemaea, sun bleached flies (i forgive it all as it comes back to me............. kill me)

iii. taylor swift, "tortured poets department" — i went to the eras tour earlier this month. speechless! wow. i still haven't recovered OR finished listening to all of anthology but i sure have been blasting who's afraid of little old me and but daddy i love him

iv. metteson, "look to a star" — actual album of the year for me. saw him live this spring and he was so so sweet (was manning his own merch booth afterwards and complimented my make up <3 also signed my vinyl) ANYWAY insane voice? like simply unbelievably beautiful. and this is just the debut album??? future records might simply eviscerate me i'm afraid. faves are second heart (!!!), naturally (but nothing comes natural to me / nothing comes naturally...... augh) and heavier than a heart

v. pet shop boys, "nonetheless" — breaking news my favourite old gay men are still releasing bops and bangers and heartbreaking melodies. this released close-ish to my birthday so i've claimed it as a birthday present. what more can i say, they're my favourite band of all time <3 faves rn: new london boy (skinheads will mock you, call you a fag / last laugh is yours, there's a brick in your bag!!) and bullet for narcissus

vi. orville peck, "stampede: vol. 1" — i adore this cowboy beyond measure. as i think i said in a different post, i don't usually care for features and duets, but this does indeed fucking slap. insane vocals as per usual. love the concept. can't wait for vol 2, and also, mr. peck PLEASE come to europe. faves: miénteme and cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other <3

vii. sea power, "disco elysium" — this is FINALLY on spotify!!! the game of all time, and the soundtrack is equally heartbreaking and hardcore (to the mega). i was going Through It at some point this spring and replayed DE and then just listened to burn baby burn outside whilst smoking. european depression core. faves rn: burn baby burn, saint-brune 1147 (small pinewood church) and precinct 41 major crime unit

viii. jan valta + adam sporka, "kingdom come: deliverance (OST)" — finally bought this recently when it was on sale and my god i'm so glad i did. an immensely entertaining game that you can tell was made with much love. henry of skalitz my SON. been listening to the soundtrack on/off, currently absolutely obsessed with the song poverty and famine (and särmä if you're reading i think you might vibe with this one?)

ix. alkemie, "pentiment (original soundtrack)" — rounding up with another video game soundtrack because i'll simply never get over pentiment. stole my heart in a major way. this soundtrack is STUNNING. can't do it justice with words. my faves rn: sic arsit historia kiersis and rüdeger's rehearsal

[pardonmydelays]

I didn't even think about Beyoncé and totally forgot that she voiced Nala. I am both interested and nervous to find out what the songs are. The only song from TLM I liked was "For The First Time", but everything else felt underwhelming, especially U.T.S. and K.T.G. (damn.. that was bad!). Anyways, I hope he comes out with a new musical soon too. Give me a reason to fly my ass to New York! I actually might be going in October with some friends. I know he's writing for 'The Warriors' which literally sounds a hybrid of 'West Side Story' and 'Grease', so I don't care for it. Give us something to look forward to! I've been saying this for a while now, but he really does need to 🎶 take a break! 🎶 from Disney--3D animation and live-action.

"for the first time" is also my favourite song from the little mermaid, but he only wrote this one, "wild uncharted waters" & "the scuttlebutt" (a fucking bop if you ask me, yes i listen to it unironically). he was also responsible for those little changes in some of the songs, but "under the sea" & "kiss the girl" are all alan menken, not lin.

but... he's not working on "the warriors", anon. he confirmed in one interview that it was JUST A RUMOUR. it's not happening. he is definitely working on his own thing now. please, i am begging, watch this fragment because i feel like a lot of people don't know that but i didn't make this up, he really said it:

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

What's Up

Hello 50-odd followers I've gained in the last two weeks! You may have signed up for the Starkid content, but surprise! You also get me writing a full-ass response to the latest episode of Shipwrecked's The Case of the Greater Gatsby every week! If you haven't listened to it, please it give it a try. It's a hoot and two halves!

As ever, spoilers for Episode 11 (already??) under the cut.

First of all, I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE TAPES! This was a fairly basic thing to be right about, but seeing as there really are so many threads (lmao that SONG) complicating this story, I'm going to take the victories I can get. And we can't say it wasn't fun listening to Fig repeatedly fail at the not-so-simple task of getting Sheila to leave her own living room.

The real highlight of the episode, however, was Ford's interview with Vivian. My beloved Fightingale were back and in full force today, folks. Ford definitely feels like something's off with Vivian--though it's unclear if he's clocked what @katvantassel pointed out weeks ago about Vivian knowing that Fitzgerald was strangled before Fig or Ford could tell her. And her alibi is definitely sketchy--almost like something she specifically designed in hopes of making Ford uncomfortable or short-circuiting his brain. Also, the way Vivian and Mo say the details of that night out loud to each other sounds very much like they're concocting their story together then and there. It's interesting to note that Mo's corroboration explicitly covers midnight and afterwards, since we know thanks to Jasper Fox that Fitzgerald was killed in that exact time period. Could that even possibly be a coincidence? And more generally, are Mo and Vivian in cahoots? That would explain how Vivian prematurely knew about the asphyxiation, but would really bring into question why she needs Fig and Ford when there's a cop at her beck and call. Unless, of course, Barnaby is too powerful to be investigated by the police force, so she has to use our favorite detectives to frame or point the finger at her husband instead...

But then again, there's the Bixby angle to it all. If Mo really is trying to bring down Bixby, why would the bar's favorite performer be working with him? I suppose they could be two completely separated plot points. Or maybe Vivian's making a play to claim Bixby's as her own? After all, we do know she doesn't hold the highest esteem for Bixby's other acts... AHHHH. SO MANY THREADS!

Speaking of which, "Too Many Threads" was an absolute smooth bop, with cleverly meta lyrics, a tantalizingly pointed final verse (is Vivian taunting Ford?), and that perfect combination of Dylan Glatthorn's songwriting and Mary Kate Wiles' voice that we've come to know and love. Please release this song soon, Shipwrecked! I will buy it from you! (Bonus points for also including Clark's Cole Porter cover from last week!)

In other news, it turns out that Bixby, so helpful this episode in recapping all of the various mysteries and cases, was not in fact lying about his financial issues in order to cover up for the Brigade. His landlord, Old Bob, has been drastically raising the rent! Could this have anything to do with anything else, or is it just typically vampiric landlord shenanigans?

AND THAT CLIFFHANGER OF AN ENDING! Oh Persauds, this is the cruelest thing you've done yet. I can't wait to hear from Fitzy himself next episode!

[that-girl-with-the-blue-dress-on]

it is Time

for the post no one asked for but which i shall write nonetheless

now that Voyage has had time to settle, i am ready to put my thoughts into words that make some kind of cohesive sense, for my own benefit and hopefully some enjoyment for others

these are impressions gathered from the previews that Apple Music had available prior to album launch, my first listen-through during the twitch livestream with JD, as well as how all that has gelled over the last week and a half.

The Llandoger--first heard on the Jingle Jam stream and then the JJ concert, this one continues to be sheer fun. the Robbie energy is off the charts, the warmth of that refrain "we'll all be well tonight" really hits in the recorded version with the full chorus echo effect and feels like I'm hearing it live in a concert with the audience singing around me (which. will be made reality in less than three months AAAAH), there will be DANCING.

Whiskey Is the Life of Man--the banjo and the harmonies in this one are driven and intense and I really like that, but the overall sound is more growly and hard-drumming than my tastes generally lean toward. the "recording" sound effects in different places are pretty cool, and did i mention the harmonies. as;lkdjf for being my last favorite song if i were forced at plank-walking-point to rank them, I still admire the craft that went into it!

Proud Mary--this was one of the songs they did a YouTube version of that I would have been clamoring to be on the Kickstarter-unlocked studio sessions album if it hadn't already been on the Voyage tracklist, and the Voyage version is even richer. Instant head bopping, 10/10 no notes very excited to have this on my Spotify playlists now <3

Leaving of Liverpool--starts with a bang and loses zero of that energy. Some great a capella sections and again, very dancy. HYPED to hear this one live!

Mutiny--when I heard the preview on Apple I was happy for another comic Robbie song, and the full does not disappoint. Delightfully ironic, classic waltz with definite Sea of Thieves vibes (I say knowing only the SoT songs they've covered). I don't have a lot of words for this one but it's one of my favorites. Simply darling.

Skadi's Hammer--the Apple preview did NOT prepare me. I thought it was going to be a weird little dark song I wouldn't particularly care about beyond being happy for Andy's songwriting credit and. well. we all know how THAT turned out. you've already heard my livestream-night frothing at the mouth and I have since mostly overcome the full-body petrification that would strike me the first several times I listened to it, but AAH. the swooping shh and the drum and the harmonies and the imagery it's SO COOL if they're all going to be entirely immersive sensory experiences i need more andy songs in my headphones STAT please and thank you.

John the Red Nose--we joke about BIG HATCHETS AND CLEAVERS but that's really so fun and then the way it softens down for the last verse, giving the spare ribs to the poor? CHEF'S KISS BEAUTIFUL STRUCTURE the building and building and climax and then that gentle bit of kindness and charity als;kdjf again the ARTISTRY in the songs that couldn't even fit into my top say five or whatever is mind-blowing. the fiddle background is wonderful and the cold winter forest vibes are settling in properly after Skadi's harvest time.

Greenland Whale Fisheries--new harmonies! more deaths! a breath of fresh sea air after our visit to the forest! all good things in their familiar a capella trad style we love to see it

White Frontier--and now the seas have turned cold and the wind has picked up and the drums drums in the deep wait sorry wrong lore. the chorus absolutely slaps despite being about a lot of death. this doesn't quite hit my top tracks when I sit down and think about it, but it sure gets stuck in my head more than you'd expect for all that...xD

One Hundred Feet--a;sldkfjas;ldkfj;sadlk skadi's hammer hit me physically, but this one hit my feels. classic TLJ vibes. a pleasure to the ears, a wringing of the ol' heartstrings. i'm in love. there's something so comforting about Robbie's sad singing, isn't there? and the harmonies on that one change-up bit in a chorus near the end are absolute perfection. can't sing this one's praises enough.

Willie Taylor--girlboss time ft. some fun sound effects! dally dilly dumm dilly dumm dum dum dum dally dilly dum dilly all the wayyyy. a little funky for my tastes in places but not much more than Bonny Ship the Diamond which I sometimes have a hankering for regardless. I'm not clear on whether she killed Willie's new bride-to-be or not but I'd rather not know. Nicely eases you out of sad feels and gets you ready for funtimes.

Maggie's Ship--I believe this is what the people call a 'banger'? heavy on the cymbals but the slap bass goes hard. cacophonic in places, especially the end but. survivable. And a fun character sketch, Dave's lyric work here is delightfully twisty!

Shawneetown--what can I say. harmonies. stompability. pure joy. never gets old love love love.

Paddy West--THE closer of closers. restful without a jarring drop of momentum, engaging and funny to keep up the positive vibes of the last few songs, and the gradual attenuation at the end is BEAUTIFULLY done.

Overall I really admire how there's songs for such a variety of tastes on here, the artistry on display within that variety, and how structured the flow of the songlist is. It feels just like its name--truly a voyage in song.

[cherrygirlystuff]

Brat Rankings – All the Bops We’re Living For Right Now!

Hey, babe! 🌸 Okay, so you know how obsessed we all are with Brat, right? Well, get ready because I’ve been listening to the new tracks on repeat, and I just had to sit down and rank them for you. Of course, this is just my personal take, and honestly, I love every single one of these songs, but some just hit different, you know? So, let’s get into it and see where your faves land on the list! 🎧✨

1. Sympathy is a Knife 🗡️

Girl, let me just say – this song cuts deep. The lyrics, the beat, the raw emotion – it’s all so intense and so Brat. It’s the kind of song you can’t just listen to once. It’s dark, it’s moody, and it’s giving us all the feels. Definitely a standout track that sets the bar so high.

2. Everything is Romantic 🌹

This one is just chef’s kiss. The vibes are immaculate, with that dreamy sound that makes you want to slow dance in your room at midnight. Everything about this track feels like a love letter wrapped in a melody, and I’m obsessed.

3. So I… 💭

This track is pure magic – it’s introspective, deep, and just so beautifully crafted. The lyrics hit home, and it’s one of those songs that you just feel in your soul. Perfect for those quiet moments when you’re just reflecting on life.

4. The Girl, So Confusing (Version with Lorde) 🌫️

OMG, can we talk about how amazing this version is? Lorde’s feature takes the song to another level. The mix of their voices is everything, and the haunting melody just stays with you long after the song ends. Definitely a fave for me.

5. 365 📅

This track is all about that steady beat and catchy hook that you can’t get out of your head. It’s the kind of song that you can vibe to any day of the year (pun intended), and it just has this effortless coolness that’s so Brat.

6. 360 🔄

Spinning us right round with this one! “360” is a total bop, full of energy and those catchy rhythms that make you want to get up and dance. It’s fun, it’s upbeat, and it’s totally infectious.

7. B2B 🔁

“B2B” is giving us all those nostalgic vibes with a modern twist. It’s a track that just flows so smoothly, with lyrics that are both clever and relatable. Plus, that beat is everything!

8. Club Classics 🎶

If you’re looking for a track to get you hyped for a night out, this is it. “Club Classics” is exactly what it says on the tin – a classic! It’s got that perfect mix of nostalgia and fresh beats, making it the ultimate party anthem.

9. Guess (featuring Billie Eilish) 💚

Billie Eilish on a Brat track? Yes, please! “Guess” with Billie is just so good. Their voices blend so well together, and the vibe is hauntingly beautiful. It’s one of those tracks that you can listen to on repeat and never get tired of.

10. Guess 🎤

The solo version of “Guess” is just as iconic. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s got that Brat energy we all love. Whether it’s with Billie or on its own, this track is a total winner.

11. Mean Girls 🎀

“Mean Girls” is that track you listen to when you’re feeling a little extra sassy. It’s got attitude, it’s got bite, and it’s the perfect anthem for when you’re not here to play nice.

12. Apple 🍏

Sweet, crisp, and a little bit tart – “Apple” is just so refreshing. It’s got this playful vibe that makes it stand out, and it’s definitely one of those tracks that gets stuck in your head (in the best way possible).

13. Von Dutch 💎

“Von Dutch” is a total vibe. It’s got that early 2000s nostalgia mixed with modern beats, and it’s just so cool and effortless. It’s like the musical equivalent of your favorite vintage tee.

14. Talk Talk 🗣️

“Talk Talk” is one of those tracks that just keeps you hooked from start to finish. The lyrics are on point, and the rhythm is super catchy. It’s perfect for when you’re feeling chatty and just want to vibe.

15. I Think About It All the Time 🕰️

This one is more laid-back, but in the best way. It’s introspective and soothing, with lyrics that really make you think. It’s perfect for those moments when you just need to chill and reflect.

16. Spring Breakers 🌴

“Spring Breakers” is a total anthem for those wild, carefree moments. It’s got that rebellious energy that makes you want to throw caution to the wind and just have fun. Definitely one to blast with the windows down.

17. Girl, So Confusing 🌫️

Even without Lorde, “Girl, So Confusing” is still a masterpiece. It’s got that dreamy, ethereal quality that pulls you in and keeps you there. The lyrics are hauntingly beautiful, and it’s one of those tracks that just sticks with you.

18. Hello Goodbye 👋

This track is like a sweet farewell wrapped in a melody. It’s a little bittersweet, a little hopeful, and just all-around beautiful. It’s the perfect track for those moments when you’re feeling a little nostalgic.

19. I Might Say Something Stupid 💬

This song is all about those moments when you’re caught up in your feelings and might say something you don’t mean. It’s relatable, it’s catchy, and it’s got that signature Brat charm.

20. Rewind ⏪

“Rewind” takes us back with a nostalgic vibe that’s impossible to resist. It’s laid-back and chill, with lyrics that make you want to hit the rewind button on life’s best moments.

21. Von Dutch (featuring Addison Rae) 💎✨

Adding Addison Rae to the mix just gives “Von Dutch” that extra sparkle. It’s still got that iconic vibe, but with a little more pop and shine. A fun remix that brings something new to the table.

And there you have it, babe! My personal ranking of Brat’s latest tracks. But honestly, every single one of these songs is a total vibe, and I’m living for them all. What do you think? Do you agree with my ranking, or do you have your own faves? Let’s chat in the comments – I’m dying to know your thoughts! 💕🎧

[lundenloves]

i have no clue what your flavour of music is but i present you with mY mix of music, good luck lunden, i love u no matter what

pussy pop:

Chappell Roan's pink pony club, good luck babe, naked in manhattan... all bops, all FUCKING BOPS. anything by her. BOP. she is the definition of girly pop slay queen ok i am SORRY

When I Rule The World by Liz saw it on a bimbo playlist that's it, sold. slap it on the fridge. frame it. telling my mother about it.

Please Please Please by Sabrina Carptenderein in honour of u meeting Sabrinas bf. smash.

Fuck it, Celine Dion. take it OR LEAVE IT.

i like the way you kiss me by artemas

I am depressed today:

WILDFLOWER by Billie Eyelash

Picture You by Chappell Roan (i am actively writing ghost wanking it during sad boy hours to this song, its great... for me not him)

tolerate it by taylor swift, i am not a swiftie but this song slaps so hard it got me crying in the club on numerous occasions

i want to be a middle aged father who wears leather studded vests:

literally only made this section so i could tell u to listen to Sabaton. Preferably their song The Last Stand. Its metal. Its gothic. Itssssssss i am edgy but would like to understand the lyrics and would not like to die from screamo music.

i want to live in rural america and stare into the mountainside as my partner drives me through winding roads while i feel a glimpse of nostalgia even though i grew up in the city:

Noah Kahan. Dial Drunk.

man, i just cant stop being despressed:

ur so pretty by wasia project

two by sleeping at last

MITSKI AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Nothing's new by rio romeo

pussy popped 2 hard and now i am just in a fucking musical phase, ok JUST LET ME BE!:

No Longer You by EPIC. Similiar vein all of it. its poppy, its up and coming. it was all i listened to for a week straight.

Vioila by Barbara Pravi (i love eurovision)

World by Zeph (its only like a minute long ok, but it s'cute)

Je te laisserai des mots. fkn french. FUCK.

#holy fuck im drunk #anyway # enjoy #or dont # but if you dont #i will #CRY #thanks # THANKS.

how do i sign this off.

FUCKING FUCK love L! <3

dude. i severely love my anons so much, you people actually bring me through the deeeeeeepest bouts of depression sometimes and make me laugh everyday 🫂

in honour of music sharing under this format you have sent me (which is 100999% interesting i fucking LOVE seeing what other people listen to) i will share my own thoughts on music 141 style.

for reference i am a midwest emo, folk punk, screamo, metal, country music, grime rap, 60’s floorfillers and beatles vs stones, tøp hello tumblr, oasis v blur and britpop, green day mosh pits and everything else other than opera enjoyer ALAS i have my favourites.

ahem.

- i’m making a different post about this 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥😭😭😭😭

i’ll link it here once i’m done

[lamemaster]

Golden Flowers Welcome Me Home

(A little bit of trauma for beloved Glorfindel. I just wanted to post it here. This was originally part of another fic that I wrote.)

“Ata!” He pushed away the flowing curtains without a care in the world. “Atya,” he called again. The house was silent. With impatient steps, Laurefindelë made his way through the halls filled with the light of Laurelin.

His tiny hands carefully held a beautiful, albeit a little messy flower crown. He had been quite proud of his creation. He had snuck out of his room with the fading rays of Telperion and much to his surprise, he had made it without anyone noticing him.

He had hiked to the hidden valley, where his atar took him sometimes, there with the utmost patience that any self-respecting elfling could manage, he wove a crown of golden daffodils. Usually, he would be accompanied by his ata, who in his opinion, was the best at making flower crowns in the whole world.

“Ata,” impatience snuck into Laurefindelë’s voice as he peaked into another empty hall. Where could his ata be– of course! How did he not check the garden yet?

With a renewed fervor, he rushed towards the backyard of their home. His footsteps rang in the silent corridors. Distantly, he could hear the chirping birds. His ata had probably just fed them.

He pushed the heavy wooden doors open and momentarily scrunched shut his eyes as the light of Laurelin blinded his eyes.

“Aiya! hinya,” his atar’s comforting voice reached him. He opened his eyes as he felt a bop on his nose. And there, crouching in front of him was his atar. Handsome, kind, and the finest ellon in the entirety of Arda.

“Let us see what you’ve got there.” With a flourish, his atar picked him up in an embrace. Golden hair, similar to his own, formed a shining halo around his father’s face. Purple eyes that shined with the light of Aman looked back at him.

Without a word, Laurefindelë plopped the flower crown on his ata’s head. Suddenly feeling shy he tried to look away from his father. “Oh my! Yondo, I love your creation.” Chuckling at the timid elfling, the Vanya ellon adjusted the crown resting on his head.

“I’d say you have surpassed me Laurefindelë.” Placing a gentle kiss on his forehead Laurefindelë’s ata placed him on a nearby chair. “Now, my dearest you must be hungry. Let me g–e _

____________________

“Ata!” Glorfindel jolted awake. He was back in his unlit room. The brilliant light of the trees from his dream was gone. For only so long had the mercy of Irmo lasted. His ata… he had seen him. He felt the surge of a very familiar pain in his chest. His ata…

A gentle breeze from his window ruffled the papers on his desk. They were smudged, dark ink that once carried a well-thought strategy was now nothing more than illegible scribble. Glorfindel felt wetness on his face.

At once, hundreds of years seem to hold no value. He felt vulnerable like the elfling showing his first creation to his father. A yearning stronger than the freezing Helcaraxe seemed to clutch him. Home… home, home he craved it. The brightly lit halls, the garden full of sparrows and pigeons, golden daffodils. He wanted it so badly. Yet, he had lost every right to it.

-----------------------

“Ata! I do not want to be a normal ellon.” Once young elfling was now a full-grown ellon. His shoulders were broad with the settling youth. His eyes were grey, like that of Noldor, he got those from his mother.

Uncaring of his rising voice, Laurefindelë continued. “I do not want to live picking flowers from the valley, I do not want to spend my immortality singing praises of Manwe. I want to see the nether shores; I want to accompany my cousins to avenge grandfather.” The song of wrath clouded Laurefindelë’s mind. So, had been the case for all the Quendi who had listened to Feanor’s words.

“Yondo,” the Vanya noble, who had raised Laurefindelë with all the love a parent could summon, pleaded again. “Don’t go against the Valar yondo. Please listen to me.”

Ignoring his atar’s pleas Laurefindelë stepped back. “Even today you speak of them! Atar are you too unfeeling of our own people? Or are you like the rest of the Vanyar? I understand now, I understand my amil.” Muttering to himself Laurefindelë paid no mind to his atar’s shaking form.

“I would rather die fighting for my kin than cower in the hidden lands. I am no coward Atar, and I will prove my worth.” Unlike you had gone unsaid yet, the older ellon sensed it.

“Yondo…please.”

------------------------

His atar’s broken voice still rang in his mind. He had paid no heed to it back then. A thirst for glory, a yearning for knowledge led him away from the bright halls of his childhood.

Like the broken shards of a mirror, the estranged bond with his atar remained. Doom had been laid on him. He would never meet his ata again. His ata…his ata would spend eternity lamenting for a son who would never return.

Maybe, whatever Namo had done was right all along. After his actions and his words, Glorfindel feared he did not deserve the light anymore. Laurefindelë once had everything and whatever was left of him was Glorfindel. So, he would live and strive for that penance.

------------------------

“Glorfindel,” a quiet voice brought him back to the dark cell. For a moment he had forgotten about the woman next to him. Memories had clutched his fea fiercely that the world had stopped existing.

However, unaware of his inner turmoil, the woman continued speaking, “I don’t think your father can ever hate you.” Glorfindel flinched at the mention of his father from her. 

The woman smiled slightly with a pleasant expression. “I have failed to clear the name of my people, I have lived a miserable life despite the sacrifices of my family, I don’t pray twice a day like the custom of my people, I don’t even remember my mother tongue anymore. Yet, every time I think of seeing my family again, I can’t imagine anything unpleasant.”

With a dreamy look in her wandering eyes, she continued, “I imagine my father running to pick me up like he always did, I can almost see my brothers chasing me to the mango tree, and I can almost feel my mother’s embrace.” If Glorfindel wasn’t aware of the edain’s sleeping habits he would’ve assumed she was dreaming.

“So, Lord of Golden Flower, from what I feel your father would not spend years wallowing in rage or humiliation. No parent would. I am sure he would leave everything to embrace his son as he had done for years. Maybe he’ll pick you up like a child.” She chuckled as she patted the back of the sobbing elf lord next to her. She was certain of it.

------------------------

Golden daffodils were in bloom again. The entire valley was full of them.

Amongst the swaying flowers sat two ellon. One laughed merrily as the other tried to weave wayward stems into a pattern.

[merryfortune]

Sunflower Fields (aren't) Forever

Written for Femslash February 2024

Day 4. Field

Title: Sunflower Fields (aren’t) Forever

Ship: not applicable | Asana/Romin/Tiger

Word Count: 1,632

Universe: Sevens - Canon Compliant 

Rating: T

Tags: Established Relationship, Polyamory, Bittersweet, Happy Ending

   Things had been going well for RoaRomin.

   So well in fact, they now had huge expectations on their shoulders for the next album. It had to go double- no, triple platinum. It had to outdo and outpace the last one as it had done fine. It was totally par the course and whilst stability was good, growth was even better and so.

   The responsibility of course fell on the band to find new inspiration, new gimmicks, and new songs.

   It was completely and totally stressing Romin out.

   Her bandmates all had their own ideas of what they wanted. Heavy rock and roll. Light hearted pop bops and jams. A high-concept album. A patchwork of singles. It was tearing them apart whenever they got into the recording studio trying to do something. Anything! Rehearse, practice, brainstorm! Anything, pretty, please.

   Romin was suffocating over the creative differences they were feeling like razor blades. The city was smoggy and stifling. Romin felt like she had a headache whenever she thought about leaving her and Roa’s apartment and she felt like she had stomach problems whenever he was hanging out around it too.

   “So yeah, that’s the short of it.” Romin said as she finished up venting to her girlfriend.

   They were sympathetic over the phone. Asana was fourteen in a high-powered corporate job thanks to being an heiress and whilst Tiger didn’t have a career yet, she still held herself to tall and nigh impossible standards. So they listened over the phone with Romin ranting about her troubles in the world of music.

   “You need a break.” Tiger said.

   “Mmhm.” Asana agreed. 

   “I don’t really have the time to lollygag though…” Romin said.

   “I’m not suggesting we whisk you away to Europe on my family credit card or anything-” Asana said.

   “I was.” Tiger said. “Italy is lovely and mild this time of year.”

   “Let’s just do something small.” Asana said. “Get you out of Goha City, not into Naples.”

   Romin laughed, “I dunno…”

   “Well, what about,” Tiger hummed, “what about our secret hideout? Mine and Asana’s.”

   “Our what…?” Romin echoed confused.

   She straightened how she was lying all higgelty-piggelty on her bed. She blinked and changed how she was holding her phone. She very much did not have a secret hideout. The closest thing she had would be like… Yuga’s lab.

   “Oh, um, not our.” Asana embarrassedly clarified. “Mine and Tiger’s secret base.”

   “From our youth.” Tiger said.

   “You’ll love it.” Asana said, getting excited. Her voice was almost squealing as she got giddy. “It’s not too far from where Tiger and I live, oh, we haven’t been there in years. It’ll be fun to visit it again.”

   “Yeah, it does sound fun.” Tiger agreed. “What do you think, Romin?”

   “Uh. sure?” Romin replied.

   She recoiled as Asana and Tiger began to get a bit pitchy in their excitement. Though it was mainly Asana, Tiger was just egging her on and through the ear-piercing squeals turned staticky through her phone, Romin gathered what she needed from the conversation.

   It was decided. They would go visit Asana and Tiger’s secret base as soon as possible: tomorrow afternoon. They would bring instruments and a picnic and make a whole date out of it. Their excitement was contagious, completely blinding Romin to the nostalgia that she didn’t have for this place. 

   Romin rarely felt left out and this was not going to be one of those times where she was, either. Asana and Tiger were determined to include her. They never wanted her to feel like a third wheel on their relationship. Their meeting with her had brought out the best in them and felt like a natural evolution but there was still a steep difference between childhood friends who had known each other forever versus the newcomer who knew them for a comparatively shorter amount of time.

   The next day, on the way, Romin must have heard every story, every memory that Asana and Tiger had regarding their secret base. Their secret base sounded like a beautiful and halcyon place. Romin could imagine it vividly thanks to Asana and Tiger’s description of it.

   A meadow in the forest, soft and pastel grass underfoot and endless blue skies overhead. Then the masterpiece of nature in the middle: the sunflower patch with flowers which were taller than tall which knitted together to form the clubhouse and tousled in the wind.

   Oh, it sounded like a breath of fresh air.

   Completely and utterly different to how cooped up she felt in the city.

   Romin’s head was migraine free and although her stomach stirred, it was butterflies and not nausea. She was all smiles as she joined her girlfriends on foot for the surprisingly large distance from Asana’s mansion to their secret base.

   Kids really did have limitless energy, didn’t they? Both Asana and Tiger could swear - they swore - the distance was much, much shorter than how it actually panned out.

   Because all three of them were exhausted once they had made the trek through the woods. They arrived all hot and sweaty since it was the middle of summer. Worse still, when they arrived, they almost missed it because the field of sunflowers was not like Asana and Tiger remembered.

   Nor what Romin was promised.

   She had built up this scene in her imagination, of the idyllic field and pastures. Of sitting in the shade of the sunflowers and enjoying the company of Asana and Tiger as they ate endlessly and soaked up the atmosphere, making music and sharing jokes.

   That was not the reality that Romin found herself in as she stood on the outer ring of what had once been the sunflower patch that Asana and Tiger had made their secret base. She set down the picnic basket and held onto the strap her guitar case was in. She had that feeling in the bottom of her stomach again. Similar to how being around Roa whose ideas were in the complete opposite direction of her own opposed against Ushiro and Getta’s, too, but different.

   She glanced at Asana and Tiger. She didn’t even pretend to smile or be understanding. Their secret base now only existed in their memories. Memories she could be talked at length about but would just be stories, not her own experiences.

   “I swear these things used to be taller…” Asana said.

   She tried to perk up one of the wilted sunflowers. Had summer claimed them or had time? She couldn’t tell as another flopped down, withered and brown, after she tried to prop it up.

   “There’s no use getting depressed over something like this.” Tiger decided, ever level-headed to a fault. Her bluntness made Asana sigh.

   They all stood, with the sun overhead. Its rays beat down over them and Romin sighed, too. She flopped down and beckoned to Tiger, she nodded and unfurled the picnic blanket that she had been carrying along.

   “You’re right, Tiger, no use getting depressed over this.” Romin said. 

   Though, Asana and Tiger’s excitement had been contagious, they were all here now. Romin was being shown more of the secret world of Asana and Tiger’s relationship, taking her rightful place within it as the third member of their trio - no longer a duo or a two-person couple. She swung her guitar around and set it in her lap.

   Asana smiled, bittersweet, glad that Romin and Tiger could make the most of a disappointing situation. She sat down with them and shared iced tea amongst them. They were all so thirsty thanks to their hike and suddenly, things started to look up again.

   “What matters most to me,” Romin said as she fiddled with her guitar, “is having a good time with you both. We can’t be stuck in the… past.” Her voice trailed off and she lifted up her head. Her eyes went wide.

   “Something the matter?” Asana asked and Tiger stared quizzically, too.

   “Stuck in the past… We can’t be stuck in the past!” Romin repeated, albeit just as cryptic as before. “That’s why we can’t write an album, I get it now! All of RoaRomin are stuck in the past but we need something new. Something from the future!”

   Asana and Tiger’s expressions split into a smile. They loved Romin’s passion, how her face lit up as she had her epiphany. It seemed the trip out here wasn’t a bust after all. 

   Romin’s fingers began to speed along the neck of her guitar, she could feel the burgeoning rhythm of a new song in the skin of her fingertips. They blistered as she threw herself into the hype, chasing the idea but despite her quickness, the song turned out rather melodic.

   Romin glanced at Tiger, “Try playing your flute.” she said.

   “With pleasure.” Tiger replied.

   Asana politely applauded them both as she was sampled to something which began to slow down. It turned sweet and melancholic. It was completely unlike any RoaRomin song that Romin had ever produced but they could all feel the throb of something special in their chests.

   Roa clawed for their past success, wanting to replicate it over and over again. Getta worshipped the King who had died over a century ago. Ushiro was all about the grungy low tech of the retro. Even Romin had found herself pulled all the way back into the past, unable to muster something new until… now. 

   And it was all thanks to Asana, Tiger, and their sunflower field. It mightn’t have turned out like they had hoped but they couldn’t disagree with the results. Romin would just have to have her fingers crossed that everyone else would like the resulting song as much as they did.