#me? making a playlist out of anything other than pop punk?

[zeawesomebirdie]

May I present another shippy playlist in these trying times?

Presenting my latest playlist, made entirely of country songs and with Bruce Wayne/Barry Allen in mind! This was created for the Old West!AU series I'm currently writing, in which Bruce is a vigilante gunman called the Bat and Barry is a US Marshal out of Dodge City

And here's the moodboard cover for it:

[gojos-thot-patrol]

In the Valentine spirit, could you do boyfriend HCs for the jjk men? Thanks 💜

oh, ABSOLUTELY I CAN this is like my bread and butter!!

Now Presenting...

Starring Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, Kento Nanami, and Ryomen Sukuna.

Satoru Gojo

The Fool

Listen, you can not convince me Gojo isn't all about PDA

He wants everyone to know that you're his and he's yours.

He shows his love by giving you sweets

"But none of them are as sweet as you, Dear"

Did I meantion this man is cheesey as fuck?

His ideal date is staying at home with you and watching a movie, because honestly, it's one of the few times he can truly relax.

10000% the type of boyfriend that wants to spoil you more than anything else...mostly because he's not sure how to be a good boyfriend outside of that.

He's honestly fairly new to romance. He's only had one other romantic partner in his life, and that ended far less than ideal.

So, he's learning how to love you while also just learning how to love in general.

But, he's excited to learn!

he fully beleieves you desrve only the best in everything, and that includes boyfriends,

Meaning he's not scared to ask you how he can do better.

Also meaning he's not quick to share his emotions. He doesn't want to inconvinence you with them.

Or worse, shatter your image of him. He is supposed to be the strongest after all. Everyone loves him for his strength.

Except for you, probably the only person that sees him for him.

It may take some time and coaxing, but once he knows how he fells (Cause lets be real here, hes not the most emotionally intelligent) he'll try his best to explain to you.

please be patient with him, he's bad at this.

It's a big deal for him that you and Megumi at least get along. As far as he's concerned, Megumi is his son and his son has to come first.

Luckily for you both Megumi takes to you as well as his tsundere ass can.

He's the first one to ask you to make it offical, but waits for you to say "I Love You" first.

Mostly because that phrase scares the shit out of him. Theres no curse more powerful than love, and honestly he would have rather avoided it.

But you were inevitable. He knew it from the first time he laid eyes on you, you were going to be the death of him.

Metaphorically.

he hoped.

Suguru Geto

The Lovers

OK, first things first, his favorite thing is to show you new music.

Not too long after you had stated dating, he promised you he as going to show you all the good music the world had to offer and he ment it.

Honestly he surprised you with his range. anything from Heavy Metal, to Folk Punk, to R&B to Pop, to fucking country, if he could vibe with it, it hit his playlist.

All about words of affection. He's constantly telling you how beautiful you are, how smart you are, how powerful of a sorcerer you are, he won't shut up about how amazing you are.

Not typically one for PDA, unless he thinks someone else is hitting on you.

Then it's like he's been suddenly glued to you.

He's very much the silent jealous type. He'll never straight up ask you "So who the fuck was that?" He's more prone to passive aggressive comments.

"I'm just saying, you two seem really close." type shit.

He covers you in very visible hickys and is very quick to "lend" you his jacket for this reason. He want's to make it very clear that you're his.

His ideal date is an underground concert. He always knows where the best ones are.

The energy of a concert is intoxicating to him, and the effect is doubled when you're around.

It's one of the few places where he'll actively take part in PDA without having to be jealous first.

He's normally pretty Stoic. He jokes around yea, but he's never vunerable in public.

The only place you see his walls come down is when you're alone together.

It's a visible change too, you can see the tired flood his eyes as he collapses in your arms.

You were the first person to notice when he started to grow cold to Jujutsu Society, and the last to know when his betrayl finally took place.

As much as it made you sick to your stomach to admit, you weren't surprised at all. a darkness had been growing in him for a long time.

He spoke all the time about how unfairly society treated sorcerers, and he spoke with such passion, you often found yourself almost convinced by it.

Almost. you we're always able to bring yourself back to reality one way or another.

That was until he came back for you.

He was just as sweet as he always was, pouring affection over you.

how he tried so hard to move on, but he couldn't rebuild without you. No matter what he did, his soul called out for you.

"Please, Y/n, I need you. come back with me?"

Nanami Kento

The Hierophant

Ok, so hear me out. I actually think Nanami has had a few relationships before.

They all ended amicably, He didn't have the time for petty mind games as a teenager, he damn sure didn't have the time for them as adult.

So, he has quite a bit of experience in making things work.

He's AMAZING at communication. He's clear, consice, and careful with his words.

Often times he's able to deesculate a fight before it even becomes one.

And if you're one of those people that will start a fight because you need drama (*cough* me. *cough*) he's quick to notice and shut it down.

"Are you really mad that I lost the remote, or is something else going on Darling? If you're mad that's ok, but I feel like theres a diffrent underlying issue here."

He loves cuddling. Its shocking and strange, I know, but he is touch starved.

Also, he loves kissing. It's one of his favorite things to do, espically with you.

His favorite dates are when he takes you to a facny resteraunt for dinner.

He loves watching you get all dolled up, and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't a nice little ego boost to walk in with you on his arm.

Not even just that, he loves taking care of you in anyway he can. So feeding you the finest foods? Top of his To-Do list every day.

While he loves to take you out, He loves staying home with you just as much.

Nanami is insanely good at Tekken, like God-Teir, this is not up for debate.

Really, he's good at all fighting games, but his favorite is Tekken.

And he loves to play with his SO. you're not that good at video games? He's willing to teach you if you're willing to learn.

One of his favorite date night activities is having you be on mic while he plays some online matches. It's hilarious to watch his opponent get a big head, 100000% sure theyre going to own this soft spoken ninny just to get absolutely BODIED by Nanami.

He tries to make it through movie nights. He tries so hard. but he passes out, every. single. time.

even if he really likes the movie! He just can't bring himself to stay awake.

He'll always try for you though. He would do anything for you.

Ryomen Sukuna

The Devil

Listen to me reader, LISTEN TO ME: you may see his charming smile and his oddly puppy-dog like eyes and think "OH, come on! how bad could this guy be? He's so cute!"

That is the Devil talking.

I am Sukunas number 1 cumslut and I can tell you from personal experience he is The Worst™.

For one, he's cold as fuck. Even if he is head over heels in love with you, he's too emotionally closed off to ever fucking admit it.

His heart could be doing acrobatics in his chest when you're around, his palms sweating like crazy and his sight suddenly switching to Shojo vision when he's looking at you and he would STILL have you convinced he hated your guts.

Hell, he'd honestly be even meanier to you just so no one suspects his true feelings.

But, once again, you are inevitable and there's no escaping you.

But dont start thinking you're going to get a date or even a talk. Nay nay dear reader.

He just kinda decided at somepoint that you we're dating now. You had no say in it, and didn't even know until he caught you flirting with someone that wasn't him and almost ripped their fuckin head off.

Yandere. I will not explain, nor do I need to. Look at him.

He's hiding you away in his temple and never letting you go.

Which, could be worse. That temple is decadent as FUCK

If you do manage to endure him long enough though, I do think he'd let his soft side slip.

Sukunas love is quiet. It's not showering you in gifts or words of affermation. He's honestly not sure how to do that.

It's quietly holding you in the night, pulling you just a little bit tighter when the nightmares start to make you stir.

It's letting you quietly lay on his chest, tracing his markings, letting you get close enough to his heart and neck to kill him.

It's sitting with you while you read in the garden, secretly reading over your shoulder incase you wanted to talk about it later.

Sukunas love isn't shown in grand gestures, it's shown in his lack of violence. it him quitely, without either of you even realizing, letting his walls down around you.

He's never going to talk about his emotions, ew gross. That would make him weak.

What he would do is pull you into a bath with him, or into the bed, or somewhere else safe and comfrotble, and ask you to talk about your day.

Listening to your voice calms him down, and you know you've helped because when youre done talking about whatever, he quietly thanks you.

He has killed to "protect" you, and would die to atually protect you.

Once you've wormed your way into his heart, theres no leaving. he's obessed and even if you manage to get away one day, he's never getting over you.

[stranger-rants]

Stranger Things has brought a lot of new people into the metal scene, and that includes a lot of people ten years younger than me who are acting like metal experts when really they’re just repeating elitist talking points that gatekeepers have used to trash metal they don’t like. The reality is that most metal fans I know, including my parents who have been listening to metal since its inception, are into a multitude of metal sub genres. Hell, my parents loved my favorite Nü Metal bands when I was growing up.

My parents listened to Dio and Black Sabbath, but they also listened to Bon Jovi and Twisted Sister. My father was the manager of several music stores, and he regularly had metal musicians employed under him. No one was arguing that Metallica was better than Mötley Crüe. No one cared that much, and your average metal musician knew how to play anything from punk rock to bubblegum pop. When you go to a metal concert, the likelihood that the pre-concert music is something other than metal is pretty high.

Anytime I see someone say that Eddie’s preferred thrash metal is objectively better or more “metal” worthy than Billy’s preferred glam metal (even though Billy canonically listens to multiple genres), I think of all the elitist douchebags and metal “purists” you’ll randomly find online whining about how underrated yet superior their favorite band is compared to all the “shitty” metal bands out there (see: popular, flashy, fun, catchy, accessible bands) and how annoying they are and how miserable they make the metal scene.

As Rob Zombie once said, y’all sound like a bunch of “grumpy old fucks” and some of you are barely in your 20s. Grow up.

Anyway, I have a 3+ hour Pop 4 Metalheads playlist that is essentially just a long playlist of songs from my favorite pop girlies. I will be adding more of my favorites to it periodically.

[hibischush]

What kind of music, or song that instantly comes in your mind each FoM bachelors and bachelorettes would listen to?

God this is going to reveal so much about me y'all better not judge my odd musical escapades 😤🌺

Seriously though, I love character playlists so if any of y'all make one please share!

Bachelors;

Balor

Okay...I dunno why but

Fall Out Boy

Balor just seems like the type of guy to like the content sung in their songs and I think he definitely enjoys pop-punk

Like I immediately thought of "Sugar, We're Goin Down" from Fall Out Boy

Literally any other emo-rock/punk band too

Think MCR

March

Anything from The Offspring tbh

I was listening to "Want You Bad" and I was like. Yep that's him

Same goes for "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"

For music that he listens to, I also think he would be a rock enjoyer

NOT BECAUSE HE'S A BLACKSMITH. OK?

But more specifically older rock (think Bon Jovi, Journey, The Rolling Stones)

Hayden

Yes I know he looks like he listens to country

But its more folk-country than the pop-country that's super popular these days

I thought of "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell

Also pretty much anything from Johnny Cash

Specifically "Ring of Fire"

Ryis

I think he would like some country artists similar to Hayden, but I thought of Jimi Hendrix honestly

Like Hendrix's "Purple Haze"

Soft rock basically

"Drive," "Just What I Needed," and "You Might Think" all by The Cars

Eiland

This man definitely listens to classical/orchestral music I mean look at him

I can't really point out any artists for that

But like... if video games/movies existed in Mistria

He'd listen to video game OSTs too

Like you'd be catching him listening to Indiana Jones' OST while digging up artifacts 😭

Bachelorettes;

Celine

I think Celine would listen to pop or pop-punk for sure

Like she's listening to Billie Eilish idc

Esp Billie's HIT ME HARD AND SOFT album

I think she'd listen to Kali Uchi too (her "Moonlight" song came to mind)

But I think she'd also like R&B too (Specifically Ravyn Lenae)

Juniper

She'd get down with rap and R&B man

"Paint the Town Red" and "Agora Hills" by Doja Cat

"Dang!" by Mac Miller ft. Anderson .Paak

She likes the soft beat packed with words or hype music I suppose

makes her feel powerful

Reina

Reina is another R&B enjoyer-- but specifically a huge SZA fan

I thought of "Snooze" by SZA

But Reina seems like the type to enjoy any type of music honestly

Her family really encourages music as a past time with her mom singer and her father playing stringed instruments

Valen

Only piano music

Literally she's the type to dislike music that hypes her up/makes her feel strong emotions like anger

She likes music that calms her and piano music does just that

Adeline

Adeline is similar to her brother in that she enjoys classical music

She enjoys ball room dancing, and often "classic" or orchestral or waltz music plays

But I also see her enjoying Brazilian Bossa Nova music as well

"Brazil" (Aka Aquarela do Brasil) by Antonio Carlos Jor

"So Danco Samba" by Stan Getz & Luiz Bonfa

I think she likes bossa nova because the rhythm is so different from more western music

It challenges to adapt to the beat while dancing and she likes it

Bonus; Caldarus

For Caldarus, it has been a long time since they have heard music

When they hear it from your nearby farmhouse, they find it very pleasing

If they ever get outta statue form then I think they are very eager to seek out all types of music

Whelp hopefully none of these are musical hot takes.🥲 Whenever I mention certain artists just know that I primarily mean the vibes/style of the artists, cause you wouldn't find Doja Cat in Mistria lmao

[thanamoriarty]

Let’s face it - the moment I showed him my favorite live performance of my favorite song and his response was sorta “meh. THIS is what all the fuzz was about?” I knew I should have left (actually, kicked him out, because we were at my house). But it’s ok that I didn’t. I thought “Ok, so we don’t always see eye to eye”. Except “seeing eye to eye” was the exception. It was never the rule. Unless I would compromise.

He always went out of his way to belittle me. To make me think I didn’t know enough about music - the one thing I’ve loved all my life. From “uh this band you like is just AWFUL”, “no way you’re choosing the playlist” to laughing at my face for calling an instrumental outro a solo and leaving me drunk alone without a phone in the middle of the night to go babysit his grown up drunk friend, or making me wait for hours at a random bar completely alone because he was drinking with his buddies (and then showing up to our date with said buddies), the red flags were so much that if I’d collected them, I could have built my own golf course. ⛳️

And I still didn’t leave, because at the end of the day, he always acted like he needed me. Or his bff (who used to be in love with him) would write me a “secret letter” and slip it inside my pocket, written “I think he really likes you. He’s just bad at showing it. Don’t give up on him”.

We both loved metal. I guess that and alcohol were the only things that we had in common. He was obsessed with Pantera, so of course I had to pretend to like Pantera, how am I a fan of metal if don’t like Pantera, right? I really tried liking Pantera.

I hate Pantera.

Maybe someday I’ll like Pantera. It is most likely than me ever liking him again.

Because today I have friends that don’t think I’m basic because I love Metallica and they’re “practically mainstream”, or because Arctic Monkeys is on my top 5 favorite bands. I don’t have to prove I’m a sexy metalhead because I touched myself for the first time in my life to Rammstein’s “Pu**y” music video. I don’t have to lie about not liking pop or pop punk.

I’ve learned I don’t have to be a fucking stereotype just because you were one. I don’t need to cut out parts of my personality to make myself “worthy” of you. If anything, I realize now I was too much for you. I’m chimerical, whimsical, creative, funny. I am a multitude of personalities inhabiting a single body. I feel like for the first time in my life, I know my worth. And it’s not in the backseat of your reckless drunk buddy’s car. It never was.

Gotta thank you for the guitar model recommendation when I started playing though. It was really on point.

Oh, that day you left me waiting for hours at a weird bar? I met a guy there. Told him I was with someone, and he waited with me until you arrived. There was a jukebox there and we bonded over The Doors. Up until very recently he was still after me. We went on one date, but I immediately realized he was just as emotionally unavailable as you (for different reasons) — he just happened to be a lot nicer. I’m really done with emotionally unavailable men. There were others after you two. I’m just tired. I don’t like playing games I know I’m gonna lose, not anymore.

You did leave a lot of boxers here. I hope you don’t mind I’ve used one of them to paint a wall. I guess underwear is disposable anyway.

Like I was to you, and you were to me.

Strangers to lovers, and strangers again.

(Here’s a song I love, and I love telling people that I love it. You would definitely HATE IT HAHA. But I think this sums up what I felt at the time:

“I don't wanna call it off,

But you don't wanna call it love.

You only wanna be the one that I call ‘baby’”

[lenalvthor]

tethered playlist breakdown - ch 2: all too well

this chapter’s music centres mainly around Imogen and Ashton! because i didn’t say anything about Ashton’s musical backstory in the ch 1 breakdown, let’s start with them 🎸🤘🏼: 

Ashton

like Laudna, Ashton had a musical career as a teenager with his band The Nobodies (vibe: 2000s/2010s pop punk/punk rock, see - Five Minutes to Midnight by BOYS LIKE GIRLS or Check Yes Juliet (Run Baby Run) by We The Kings). also similar to Laudna, Ashton found themselves chewed up and spat back out by the industry they’d found a home in and were burned badly when the hamster wheel of international tours and year-after-year back-to-back albums slowed down for the first time (aka 1D vibes of burn out, band break-up + hiatuses). 

their first foray into making music again was through a single, Floating in the Night (by Judah & the Lion) which they had originally written as a more pop punk song, but Bertrand directed them towards The Crown Keepers who Ashton collaborated with to rewrite it into more of a indie/folk rock song, and who ended up featuring when the single was released. Ashton signed with Eshteross Records soon afterwards and started rebranding as a solo artist making more folk rock style music as the years passed (again, taking suggestions for what songs could be the right vibe for an album during this period). 

post 2-year-Bell’s Hells-separation-period, Ashton’s music has mellowed from the thing that’s remained so distinctive about him - the angry rock elements - which is why he is so nervous about his new music. that tone lingers a little in the lyrics and sometimes the instrumentation, but it’s not as consistent, so in the fic’s present-day, Ashton’s vibe most closely resembles Noah Kahan. 

the album Ashton’s been working on over these 2 years, and that he shows Bell’s Hells in this chapter, is:

how it is / how it was / how it has to be 

the view between villages

homesick 

growing sideways

no complaints

stick season

paul revere

call your mom

halloween 

dial drunk

new perspective

orange juice

you’re gonna go far

all my love

now listen to these songs through a different lens for me, will ya? — 

in this au, Ashton’s first real home was music; it was the industry, it was the fans, it was The Nobodies, it was discovering a queer world beyond the place they grew up. but at the same time, just like what happened with Laudna, that same home started to dig its claws in and try to tear Ashton apart without them realising. the industry, the expectations, the lifestyle, the spotlight … it became something so dangerously toxic, threatening to swallow him whole. it was the reason Ashton developed chronic pain, the industry pressure was the reason The Nobodies didn't stay together, it was the reason Ashton became angry and cynical and bitter jaded. so there was an unexpected, devastating relief when The Nobodies broke up and Ashton had an excuse to step away. even though it was his home, it was where he found himself, where he first found the thing in the world he loved to do most, where he found his first real people. 

so one of the reasons Ashton stayed away from music for as long as they did afterwards - older than many of the other Hells, just a little, having started in the industry before they did and waiting longer than Laudna between the teenage career ending and the adult career starting - was because they couldn’t figure out what to do with the conflict of the ‘place’ (the world / the lifestyle / the people / the culture) that made him also being the thing that caused him so much pain. 

how it is / how it was / how it has to be is, in some ways, Ashton’s life and career mapped in its trajectory. from meeting FCG first and toeing the line of being tied to that world, taking the long drive back (the view between villages, homesick) and being reluctantly pulled back into making music (growing sideways, no complaints), eventually signing to Eshteross Records and telling stories again (stick season, paul revere) and everything that’s happened with the Hells plot-wise (some things you know, some things you don’t, i.e. rest of the tracklist) until now (all my love).  

now, the song Laudna and Imogen mention that Laudna collaborated with Ashton on is, probably predictably: Call Your Mom ft Lizzy McAlpine. (Ashton writes it after Laudna gets back from her world tour to all the other Hells gone - Imogen especially - and Laudna and Dusk break up, and Laudna is just not doing well. Ashton first releases the original, and later that same month, a version with Laudna on it too.) also, as already mentioned in ch 2, the song Ashton wrote for + shows Imogen is you’re gonna go far because of course it is. 

Imogen

here it is, here it is, the heart of the fic, its namesake (almost all Taylor Swift songs (different albums tho!) and if you aren’t heels dug in the dirt with only listening to rerecordings, OG versions sound the most like Imogen to me) — 

tethered

breathe 

come back…be here

the story of us 

haunted 

all too well

wouldn’t come back [by Trousdale]

enchanted 

long live 

now buckle up buttercups, we’re looking at these songs through a whole new light. forget romance (mostly),  we’re doing family trauma: 

(okay, admittedly, there is romance woven into all of this because it can’t not be. but that’s not at the heart of this album, is what’s important to note.)

breathe is about Laudna, of course - about their rela—friendship falling apart after their fight two years ago, and as Laudna started dating Dusk before Imogen left. But it’s also about how Imogen saw the crumbling of Liliana and Relvin’s relationship from a young, co-dependent, whirlwind marriage to something neither of them were sure how to hold onto. 

come back…be here again, of course, is a little bit about Laudna (love how I said forget romance and here we are) — about her leaving to go on tour and follow the success of a career that’s finally controlled by her and not Delilah, about Imogen’s feelings of being left behind. but it’s also about Relvin and Imogen, being left behind by Liliana, about the faint memory Imogen has of watching her father pine for her mother as Liliana was off touring and making something of herself, Imogen and Relvin each longing for her to come back to them in Gelvaan one day but not knowing how to articulate that to each other and connect over it. 

the story of us is Relvin and Liliana once their relationship had ended and Liliana still came to see Imogen, and things were tense and uncomfortable and Imogen could tell that a chapter in her life had come to a close in front of her eyes (both for her parents and for her relationship with her mother, knowing it’ll never be the same because Liliana won’t want to come back in the same way.) 

haunted. look. I had many ‘oh my fucking god’ moments about this song. It’s my favourite Taylor song and I’ve used it for many an au, and l i s t e n. I know that for its symbolism and its imagery, could and should be about Laudna. but it’s not — this is about Liliana and Imogen. because the electric guitar and the tension and the building, growing crescendos of the whole song, the sharpness of the violins and the fury of the electric guitars all just fucking sounds to me like a storm. It’s about Imogen’s betrayal over Liliana leaving. so, you’re welcome. 

now here’s the one that fucked me the most and I am begging y’all to appreciate it with me okay — all too well. OG and not the 10-minute version. it’s the song Imogen is the most proud of and the most afraid of putting into the world because she doesn’t know if it makes sense to anybody except her. the perspective changes nearly with every line; it’s the song that blurs together the experience of Relvin, Liliana and Imogen all loving and hating and missing and losing each other. the lines between where one person’s experience ends and another’s starts is impossible to see, and the resounding message of i was there, i remember it, all too well is Imogen determined to make sure that despite Liliana’s death years and years ago, despite Relvin as good as pretending she never existed, despite Imogen having moved away and left it all behind her, none of it is forgotten; a memory of the fact that it all happened has to continue to exist. 

(and of course, that’s also the theme of this chapter.) 

It’s a mixture of Liliana’s perspective of the whirlwind, small town, young love between her and Relvin that was always doomed to end, and Imogen watching the tail end of this relationship, Relvin seeming to lock it away the second Liliana was too far for him to hold onto. it’s Imogen trying to remember, to make sense of her parents’ relationship, their family. 

and because this song is my roman empire for this au, please prepare for the fact that i’m giving you the line by line perspectives of this entire song, you’re welcome (i’m sorry): 

the first verse is about Liliana, the second verse is Relvin, the prechorus - “and I know it’s long gone…” - is both of them and Imogen. 

first chorus is Liliana and so is the verse that follows, but the second prechorus, that “there was nothing else I could do, and I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to” is Relvin. 

the first lines of the next chorus - “there we are again in the middle of the night, we’re dancing in the kitchen in the refrigerator light” - are Relvin and Liliana, but then the “down the stairs, I was there, I remember it all too well” is Imogen, as a little girl perched on the second to last step of the staircase, watching her parents dancing to the songs they used to love when they were teenagers, bathed in the light of the refrigerator with the door hanging open to cut through the sweltering, thick, night heat of Gelvaan’s summers (and in those moments, Imogen had been so sure that the three of them would be okay).

but of course, that’s not how it unfolded, which becomes clear in that build up to the bridge. so when it climbs and climbs to the “maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much, maybe this thing was a masterpiece til you tore it all up” is Relvin and Imogen, being left by Liliana, feeling hurt and betrayed and not good enough in such different but also achingly similar ways. 

“running scared, I was there, I remember it, all too well” is Imogen and Liliana, a decade apart, running from Gelvaan, from Relvin, from a town that wasn’t enough and desperate to find more but equally terrified for that murky unknown at the same time. 

and then — “you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest” is Imogen. the experience of Liliana slowly but surely drifting away from being Imogen’s mother in a way that felt like such a betrayal. 

everything after this is all of them, everything from “time won’t fly” to the “it was rare, i was there” is all of them, losing each other at the same time and not being a ble to do anything as it happens. 

then those last three lines: “wind in my hair, you were there, you remember it all” is Liliana to Relvin; “down the stairs, you were there, you remember it all” is Relvin to Imogen; and “it was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well” is Imogen (to both of them, but to herself more than anyone else). 

anyway. moving on. 

wouldn’t come back is about the uncomfortable ease with which Imogen understands Liliana’s choices and decisions, when it comes down to it. because she left too, just like Liliana, and then she did it again years later, from people she really did truly love and a life she cherished, and this song is Imogen writing about those choices and those parallels and understanding both the hurt on the side of being left behind and the desperation of needing to leave. 

enchanted is about Laudna. every note, every line, every second, every piece of the story, is all all all Laudna, because I was lying to you about forgetting romance because c’mon. about first meeting Laudna years ago and thinking that she should, by all accounts, be intimidated seeing someone who’s music she’d listened to for years, who’s a household name in a way Imogen has only ever dreamed of being, in a way Liliana was, but Laudna was so shy and flighty back then, so soft and holy shit, she was - is - beautiful, her voice even more … musical than Imogen had heard in the interviews and clips. so that’s enchanted. 

and long live is, of course, about Bell’s Hells. about how they made each other better,  about how they saved each other at points when they were so afraid of what the world had in store for them, about how they made each other the most authentic versions of themselves, and how, as Imogen wrote this album, she was so isolated from all of them by her own making, how all she had was the memories of how that used to be, but that’ll still be worth everything to her. 

so that’s tethered. 

(oh as a little treat: the song Laudna is working on that afternoon while she and Imogen hang out in the apartment is Apple Pie by Lizzy McAlpine xo) 

I’ll wrap it up there so that this doesn’t become as long as the chapter itself, but: hope this gives you some music to listen to and a world to think about in the two week wait before next CR ep! 

give me music recs for this au if you think of any, tell me what you think of the songs I’ve already told you about, and for the sake of ease: here’s a playlist for y’all (will update it every week with new songs as I add them to the plot in the fic). 

love, chim ⚡️

[proxythe]

What kind of music can you see the P3 cast listening too? Your latest post just made me wonder that. Also just curious, what music do you listen to normally? I ask everyone this lol

im kind of unbelievably horrible at knowing music genres, let alone trying to assign specific genres to characters but i’ll try my best 😭 guys plz dont cook me if its bad im not that big of a musichead plz plz

Anyways. firstly, since minato and kotone both canonically listen to the p3 ost, i can assign them hip hop/rap/pop off rip. if it’s in their playlist, i think we can gather that they enjoy it.

minato - alt rock, pop punk, gothwave, video game osts. i say video game osts bc i yhink minato would like sitting around in a video game afk just to listen to the background music. i dont think minato is a goth but i feel as if gothwave has a sound he’d find enjoyable

kotone - alt rock, hip hop/rap, pop rock. she loves to lip sync to it and u can hear the song she’s lip syncing to bc i also know kotone probably turns her volume to max so loud you’d think she’ll damage her ears someday if not soon

yukari - dance pop, new wave, pop. she’s one of those people who hates country and sucks at listening to music outside her preferred genre. secretly likes a few alt songs but she’d never put them on her main playlist

junpei - hip hop, r&b. probably also a pop enjoyer, but honestly he’d like anything if it were catchy. he loves to dance and it sucks bc he’s really good at it so nobody can make fun of him

fuuka - alt/indie, pop. she’d also enjoy video game music, like minecraft ost and she cries to it. i think she mostly likes slower music. music that makes her feel like her soul is leaving her body and ascending to a different plane of existence

mitsuru - classical. rich girl… but i also think the girls would influence her taste to expand more and she’d find herself enjoying the worst songs you’ve ever heard in your life. it’s ok tho since it’s her first time branching out. she’ll grow…

akihiko - whatever’s on the radio, mostly enjoys upbeat faster paced music that can easily hype someone up. he’s kinda that one pic that’s like “Gym Beast Playlist” and the first song is hi high by loona

shinjiro - death metal, old school hip hop. death metal came to me bc i was thinking about casual outfits for shinjiro and i really wanted to put him in a death metal shirt bc of the font lmfaoo. but i prefer more old school hip hop for him and occasionally other things like old school rock music. he hates that new shit

ken - pop, alt/indie. ken is a kid so his taste is just beginning to form. he only knows pop radio. i also think ken’s music taste is music where you’d hear it and be like “god how does anyone like this” but he’s a child so he’s allowed to get away with it. and i say indie bc i also think ken is the type of person to be sad so he listens to more sad music as if it won’t make his mood worse. he goes on youtube and types “sad music playlist” when he’s in a bad mood

aigis - feel like she focuses more on the lyrics than the sound 😭 it’s her first day on earth she hasn’t yet learned that u can listen to music for the vibe instead of the lyricism. even then, i think aigis would probably enjoy almost any kind of music bc she thinks the creativity is beautiful

koromaru - adding him bc i think he’d have shinjiro’s taste from how much he loves him. he hears death metal and it puts him right to sleep…

ryoji - similar to aigis, but he’d probably heavily prefer whatever music the protagonist also enjoys. he has his own thing for classical music as well. he plays the piano and stuff …

+ thanks for asking what my taste is. i personally prefer to listen to a lot of rock, punk, metal, etc. if my cutesy art doesn’t make it so incredibly obvious BUT i enjoy anything as long as it sounds pleasant to my ears ✌️

[piece-of-the-pie-if]

Hey author, how are you? 💕

I'm curious to know what kind of music the RO's like. Who are their idols? Any artists/genres that are a guilty pleasure for them?

Any kind of music they pretend to like just 'cos it's popular? *discreetly looks at Kinsley*

Hello nonie~ I'm doing good thank you!

this kind of question is hard for me, personally, to think about because of my own relationship with music and music artists (which is why this took so fucking long) which is to say I love music and don't really pay attention much to artists beyond the fact they make the music I love (lmao I really don't care about celebrities, I find it quite concerning that so many people idolise them so much... like your(general) fave is just a guy at the end of the day lmao) (that being said I can understand having an influence and following the *work* of an artist you really connect to) and I find it hard to make hard line distinctions between genres, aha 🤭

That being said, let's have a look at some music! (This is an excuse to show off my extensive and exhaustive music reach and taste, so thank you!)

Dylan──they're open to all types of music but they only really purchase R&B albums! Artists like Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Prince, Alicia Keys, Frank Ocean, SZA, Kehlani and Miguel are all artists Dyl owns albums (and vinyls!!) for! Dyl introduced Kin to R&B and they usually listen to the artists she likes more when they're together (Beyoncé, Victoria Monét, Lionel Ritchie etc) They like ‘Foreign Language’ R&B too, artists like BIBI, DEAN, Cherrie, Girl Ultra, Adi Oasis, ØZI, Yseult and Lous And The Yakuza.

Shay──the real eclectic listener! He likes next to every genre of music, Rap, Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, K-pop, J-rock, Folk, Funk, Phonk, EDM, Heavy Metal, Grunge, House, Synth, Soul... even Country... Country Fusion! Shay likes artists that kind of... don't have a genre? Like Sleep Token, Twenty One Pilots, Pink Floyd, Oingo Boingo, Lene Lovich, David Bowie, Gorillaz, Poppy, Bring Me The Horizon, Afterlife, Seventeen, Red Velvet and Hannah Wicklund. He definitely love finding new music as well as sharing new music! (Watch the YouTube/Twitch channel that's got a segment dedicated to reacting to new music!! Like HTHAZE!)

Kinsley──lmao she doesn't mind Popular music but, like, the last Taylor Swift album she actively sought out was 1989 (she's partial to This Love) and Kin would rather die than be subjected to Trap music. She's very into genres like Alternative Indie, Indie Rock, Neo Soul, and R&B artists like Hozier, Florence + The Machine, Lorde, Phoebe Bridgers, Lizzy McAlpine, Searows, Reneé Rapp, Ethel Cain and Noah Kahan. Her R&B influence is mainly from being Dylan's friend but she does love artists like Beyoncé (she really loved her self titled album and especially Virgo's Groove off of Renaissance), Victoria Monét (particularly the Jaguar II album) and Khalid as well as older artists like Mary J. Blige, Marvin Gaye or Lionel Ritchie!

J──they tend to listen to music for the beat, the bass, the instrumentals more than lyrics. They like heavier genres like Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Alternative Rock, Punk Rock, Nu Metal, Grunge and other genres like EDM, Synth, Techno and Trance. They also listen to Italian artists quite a lot, mainly because J wants to keep up with the language (because their father refuses to speak it or teach them) so artists like Måneskin, Jovanotti, Lacuna Coil, Max Gazzé, Vanerus, and even Vivaldi. J also listens to anything their sister recommends them, even if it's the most bubblegum pink pop shit they've ever heard─if Bells likes it they're listening. Shay will also introduce them to the wonders of J-rock and K-pop which bend genre all the time!

Theo──a Pop lover! Or rather, Theo tends to stick to listening to the radio or the Popular Playlist on Spotify! They tend to like more instrumental artists like or soundtrack artists like Hans Zimmer, Hiroyuki Sawano, Danny Elfman, Vangelis, Rachel Portman (who was the first female composer to win an academy award for best original score!) and Michael Giacchino over anything else and they 'broaden their horizons' by being dragged to Jazz bars and open house cafés by C (and MC) so it's not like they're stuck in one/two genre's!!

Bonus! Some Modern/Nu Jazz artists C likes: Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Masego, Cherise, Camille Munn, Blue Lab Beats, Kasami Washington, Esperanza Spalding, Snarky Puppy, GoGo Penguin, Mathilde Widding and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah!

[queer-and-nerdy]

this has been tumbling around in my mind for the last week so now i have to expose all of you to it. shoutout to @wellgoslowly for listening to this in person

lockwood LOVES listening to classic rock and metal (as well as a few older pop-punk but he'll never admit to it). anything from the seventies and eighties (he pretends that no other era of metal exists and if you even say the phrase "nu metal" around him he WILL see red and draw his rapier). it doesn't matter who the band is or what subgenre they are, as long as the song was released pre-nineties he loves it, although he tends to prefer more mainstream bands and artists (respect) like ozzy osbourne, judas priest, kiss, etc. the only band he will break this rule for is metallica - they are his all-time favorite band and i will die on that hill. and when i say he WORSHIPS james hetfield... that is an UNDERSTATEMENT. james is like a pseudo-father to him. he doesn't want to put posters on his walls so he keeps a scrapbook of pictures cut out of old magazines of james, lars, kirk, cliff, even jason and rob. he is a number one dave mustaine hater and will defend lars's drumming skills until he's blue in the face. lucy got him a signed copy of ride the lightning for his birthday one year and george didn't see either of them leave lockwood's room for a week. there are only three things he loves in this world: his family, his friends, and james hetfield.

lucy, i feel like, has the most whiplash taste in music. like, yes, we can all agree lucy is your average indie pop listener and i am a major supporter of that hc (i know what linnie’s playlists sound like) but i guarantee you when she shuffles her most-listened-to playlist it goes from crane wives immediately to cannibal corpse. she loves death metal, deathcore, goregrind; the nastier the better (except for black metal - iykyk). the era doesn’t matter to her either although she tends to gravitate toward the older stuff. think opeth, cryptosy, morbid angel, deicide, obituary, venom, slayer, even xavlegimaofffassssitimiwoanindutroabcwapwaeiippohfffx - she loves playing the “can i figure out the name of the band given the logo” game and if she loses she listens to them. she finds it a great way to unleash her stress and anger without hurting herself or others or even taking it out on a case. she doesn't like to mosh (autism) but she loves watching people in the pit at concerts. she drags lockwood and george to the store to help her pick out plushies to give to corpsegrinder. one night she goes to a taylor swift concert and rushes out at the end to make it to sanguisugabogg in time. she's also a big female-rage/female-led fan (fem supporting fem yk how it is). if there is even a single fem-presenting band member she is instantly ride-or-die (within reason, of course). any time conquer divide/castrator/cyrpta do an eu tour she essentially becomes a roadie.

george. oh, george. my beloved kin. the only one who understands me and i him. his taste in rock and metal is... i don't know a better way to describe it other than neurodivergent fruity. it needs to have some kind of element to it that he can latch onto other than just the music - costumes, over-the-top production, detailed lore, etc. like lockwood, he doesn't really care about the subgenre; as long as he likes the sound he'll listen. he tends to frequent more of the nu/prog/melodic/symphonic side of metal, though. he's your average autistic ghost fan and makes it everyone else's problem. he knows all the lore and has dedicated his life to every incarnation of papa (primo is his favorite but he loves them all). he can tell the ghouls in every era apart in an instant and is a consistent quintessence ghoul kinnie. he will not hesitate to get into twitter beef to defend his opinions (bro's in the trenches of toxic ghostwt). he's one of the most well-known ghost accounts on every social media platform and actively writes fanfiction (about the characters, NOT the real people), character analyses, and essays. he's also a HUGE sleep token fan (he understands their lore better than vessel himself and has created a youtube commentary channel just to break down each of their songs) and ice nine kills fan (he's a number one ricky armellino lover and has forced lockwood and lucy to watch all of the horror movies that the silver scream one and two are based off of). he loves avatar and made his own ringmaster costume (lucy walked in on him trying to recreate johannes's makeup and slowly backed out of the room; the situation was never mentioned again) and when chris motionless unveiled his new hair he screamed so loud that the others thought someone had broken into portland row (lockwood had to restrain him while lucy hid his laptop to prevent him from ordering purple hair dye). he has a ziplock bag of (definitely expired) marshmallows that he calls his “rammstein concert care package.” he pretends to be a gatekeeper but the instant someone mentions even a passing interest in any of his favorite bands he will burst into tears.

skull enjoys smooth jazz.

[anzu-kaiba]

Azure Week 2023 "Reunion" Fanmix

Possible songs; love 'em? Hate 'em? Let me know!

I've got 27 songs that fit this year's primary theme of "reunion" and/or our seven themes:

second chances

unexpected

perspectives

promises

celebration

healing

rediscovery

I tried to get songs from either Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters' original 2000-2004 run, or from the last year (2022-2023).

And because I suck at musical discovery, I had to ask AI (Claude.ai, Bing Chat, and GPT-4+plugins) to help me out. 😆 Of course, I listened (or already know) almost all of the below songs, and think they somehow either fit Seto Kaiba, Anzu Mazaki/Téa Gardner, or their relationship in line with this year's themes.

Do you agree? Disagree? Have other song suggestions for a Throwback Track or maybe something Instrumental or International? Got a wider variety of genres than I have here (which, to be fair, skews "pop")? Suggest 'em here! Want to make cover art for this album? PLEASE DO! 🤩

The below tracks are arranged alphabetically by artist, not anything else (e.g., album, year, theme, etc.)

Try Again - Aaliyah

Hello - Adele

The Story - Brandi Carlile

Bam Bam - Camila Cabello feat. Ed Sheeran

Beautiful - Christina Aguilera

The Scientist - Coldplay

Clocks - Coldplay

One More Time - Daft Punk

Best Part of Me - Ed Sheeran feat. Yebba ← Is this like Game of Thrones, where Ed Sheeran shows up even when you don't want him to? Oh well, I liked this song. 😝

Lost Without You - Freya Ridings

2 Sides of Me - Hinder

Scars - James Bay

I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz

The Heart of Life - John Mayer

Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

Reunion - M83

Home - Michael Bublé

I Lived - OneRepublic

Hey Ya! - Outkast

Everything About It is a Love Song - Paul Simon

Back to You - Selena Gomez

When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes

Welcome to my Life - Simple Plan

It's Been Awhile - Staind

Beautiful Day - U2

A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton

Reunion - The xx ← Okay, yes, it's the second song with that exact same title, but at least it exists! Bing wanted me to believe Taylor Swift released a track called "Reunion" on Red (Taylor's Version), and I thought I was going crazy when I couldn't find it! 😵‍💫

If folks like these songs, I'll put the music videos up on a playlist on YouTube, and put together shareable playlists of the available songs on Apple Music, Spotify, etc.

[mysterionrisez]

idk much to ask about for hcs, but what genre of music do you think each of the main 4 likes (and craig's gang if u wanna)? :D

it took me a bit to get to this bc this question means so much to me you dont understand . ANWAYS

stan: ...very generic answer but like. midwest emo. dad rock. and like.. emo / pop rock too??? he could rock w/ some fall out boy, but not like patd cuz its too theatre kidsy. and OBVIOUSLY the front bottoms and alex g and modern baseball!! if we learned anything in band in china its that he very much treats music like an outlet for his emotions. and on that note he listens to metal too, but mostly when he is mentally at his worse.

kyle: i dont think i could pin him down to one genre, he's a big music guy but stays within the constraints of "music with authenticity but not to the point that it makes him look pathetic". so he's not listening to the front bottoms like stan is because that's just.. TOO raw, and hes caught up in the "lack of music conventions" in stan's music taste (he doesn't know a thing about music theory so he'll get pissed if you ask why). at the same time like kyle would NOT be into overproduced shit you hear on the radio u feel me. he curates his spotify playlist moods well, new wave/folk/indie rock/r&b at his neutral state and hip hop/punk/harder rock when at his other neutral state (pissed off). he doesn't listen to music when he's sad he just sits there in silence with a thousand yard stare

cartman: once again, expected answer, but he's a bubblegum pop girlie, so like britney spears/lady gaga/justin timberlake/beyonce OBVIOUSLY!!! he also likes hyperpop but the types that lean more into the "pop" part than the "hyper" part like charli xcx and carly rae jepsen. he hates listening to anything that isnt fun and stan and kyle dont like anything too fun so every road trip where they pass the aux across the group is a warzone

kenny: quite literally will listen to anything and everything. falls into the industrial pop / electropop scene frequently because he loves that it all sounds very New! he is a very social individual so he's most likely to put on what will get a rise out of his friends, he puts on 100 gecs and nine inch nails everytime he gets the aux because they bitch about it the entire time. its funny. he prefers to have noise on 24/7 and will even listen to pop country if it means unlocking new emotions

butters: will also listen to anything but to a worse degree. kenny has a rationale for what he listens to and why he enjoys it but butters just hears a song and decides its the best thing he's heard in his life. he's well versed in the girlypop scene through cartman but he also thinks that ajr is genuinely #deep. you know those overproduced songs that sound like they'd be in old navy commercials??? yeah. butters would listen to that shit.

but also worth mentioning hes not really a music person like he doesnt have spotify and most of what he listens to is through his friends

craig: just straight up does not listen to music. he doesnt hate it but there is no urge and he is DEEPLY noise sensitive, and a lot of music is unpredictable. more likely to put on a tv show he's already seen 437587354 times if he needs sound in the background.

clyde: college frat bro vibes like hes into really fake diluted edm like chainsmokers and calvin harris kinda bullshit. he is NOT a music guy and just searches "top hits" and listens to whatever spotify spits at him.

tolkien: another will-listen-to-mostly-anything soldier! he's most accustomed to stuff his parents play around him, so a lot of 60s rock, blues, jazz, swing, shit like that. he's a mild-tempered guy with a mild-tempered taste in music, he'll go crazy for a good guitar solo/bassline like jimi hendrix. because of that he's offput by anything too loud or raunchy like kenny's music but he's desperate to fit in with his peers so he makes it work

jimmy: not very notable because i think he has generic music enjoyment however i do think he's one of weird al yankovic's top streamers on spotify. he and kenny team up to create the worst queue at the house party. he's the one tossing in witch doctor and crazy frog

tweek (just for fun): is very scared of lyrical music trying to communicate Themes and Ideas to him so he listens to car crash sfx type a beats just to get the demons out

wendy (also for fun): dykezilla who listens to laufey and phoebe bridgers and beabadoobee. what can i say.

[waywardrose-archive]

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY | 7

stranger things | eddie munson x reader | rated e | 5.6k

spotify playlist | for @punk-in-docs​

fem/witchy/goth!reader, magic, slow burn (for me), friends to lovers, series-typical horror, period-typical sexism and homophobia, historical inaccuracies and anachronisms, drug dealing and use, smoking, alcohol use, masturbation, fantasizing, one-bed trope, making out, fingering, dirty talk, consensual pursuit and capture, oral sex (f receiving), handjobs, condoms, piv sex, tags will be updated as needed

Eddie would have to wait until  his lunch break to see this new, hot, weird chick. He wondered which  flavor of weird she was. Art weird? Theater weird? Band weird?

Weird weird?

He shrugged. He liked weird.

In other words, you’re the new girl in town, and Eddie is intrigued.

note: Nothin’ but smut. 🖤 Check the #em tagd tag ⬇️ for previous chapters!

-

7

After you agreed, Eddie stood with a groan. His back popped. You grinned, though certain yours would do the same. He mumbled something about his numb ass, but turned to offer his hand. When you took it, he pulled you onto unsteady feet. You wobbled in your loose boots and grabbed his other arm.

“I got you, sweetheart,” he said, and put a hand on your hip.

“Thank you, honey.”

His cheeks pinked.

You smiled — probably looking as giddy as you felt.

“You like it when I call you ‘honey’?” you asked.

“You can call me whatever you want.”

“Can I call you mine, then?”

His lips parted, yet he remained quiet.

You continued, “Or should I call you Eddie Muffin?” You held back a laugh, voice going reedy as you asked, “My little muffin man?”

Playful now, he growled, “Little?!” and shoved his icy hands under your jacket.

You squealed and tried to get away. He yanked you to him, wriggling his fingers under your top.

“I’ll show you little.”

“No!” You squirmed. “Please—!”

His hands found your bare skin; touch so chilly, it nearly burned. You yelped, pulling away and hopping over the wheel stop. He gave chase with clawed hands and snarling lips. You dodged around the few parked cars, snickering despite your heart knocking hard in your chest.

“You’re gonna get it!” he said, grinning.

You laughed. “Oh yeah, Muffin Man?”

You darted around a car and attempted to keep enough distance between you and his icy hands. He stalked you around it, eyes flashing with mirth and lust. Heat pooled low in your belly as clashing urges of making him work for it and allowing him to catch you warred in your head.

“Yeah, I’m gonna catch you and kiss you and make you scream.”

“Scream in horror,” you said, acting scared and putting your hands to your cheeks. “Oh, Eddie!” You jogged towards the motel, cackling. “You demonic muffin!”

The staccato thump of his boots got closer and closer. You darted to the left. His fingers slipped over your jacket. You glanced back in time to see him lose a boot. It hardly deterred him. He cursed as he ran unevenly after you, hopping over litter and other debris. He didn’t appear to care about getting hurt. He was too focused on you.

You pivoted and ran towards him to corral him to the motel’s sidewalk. His eyes widened, though he didn’t slow. You swerved around him, giving him a wide berth and sticking out your tongue.

He reached for you as he laughed. “Don’t show it if you aren’t gonna use it!”

“Who said I wouldn’t?” you asked as you sidestepped his grasping hands.

Your loose boot caught in a crack. You tripped, but kept yourself upright by pinwheeling your arms. You skipped away from the crack, which was more a chasm than anything else. You now had to make up for the loss in distance. He gained on you by the second.

You hopped and hit the ground running. The sidewalk was only a few yards away. Your lungs nearly burned from how hard you’d been racing around the parking lot. You focused on the splitting paint of your room door and kept moving—

Until Eddie’s arm wrapped around your middle.

He jerked you against his front, wrapped his other arm around you, and lifted you off the ground. You kicked your feet with a squeak, almost losing your boots. His hold tightened, and he turned to the parking lot.

“Eddie, what...?”

“Gotta get my boot.”

He carried you to his deserted boot despite your protests. You weren’t light, and you certainly didn’t want him hurting himself. However, he ignored your fussing. He set you on your feet briefly to slip his boot on, then he picked you up again.

You giggled at his ridiculousness and let your legs sway as he walked to the door.

“I can walk,” you said.

“And run and jump — I’m quite aware.”

“Then you can put me down.”

“Nope! Not yet.”

You groaned as if tired of his shenanigans and flopped your head onto his shoulder. He chuckled in response, breath tickling your ear. The sky was a melding of orange and lavender. Gilded pink clouds streaked the domed expanse.

Once at the motel door, you fished the key from your jacket pocket and had him lower you enough to unlock it. You closed the door for him, dropping your key on the broken bed. He marched to the other bed, lowered you to the floor, and turned you by the hips to face him.

High color stained his cheeks and nose, reminding you of the pink clouds outside. You wanted to taste that color and feel the heat of his blood just under the surface. You put your hands at his nape to draw him down. He resisted, though, moving his head back each time you moved forward.

“Eddie...”

“Lie down.”

“Kiss me first.”

He unclasped your hands and brought them forward.

“I’ll kiss you when you lie down,” he said.

You huffed, latched onto his jacket, and flopped onto the bed, dragging him with you. He landed with an ‘oof’ and a chuckle before nestling his hips between your thighs. You ducked to kiss his throat, dragged your teeth over the delicate skin. Against your lips, his pulse hammered below the corner of his jaw. You sucked at it as you ran your hands over his heaving chest.

He rolled his pelvis with a soft groan. His sleep pants left little to the imagination. The hard ridge of his cock jerked against your belly. You wanted it all: his cock, his lips, his tongue, the salt of his skin.

You mouthed to his ear, nosing under his unruly hair, and sucked at the lobe. His hips hitched as he shivered and gasped. You nipped at the fragile rim of his ear. He whispered a curse, sagging on his elbows.

Sliding your hands down his sides, you breathed, “Kiss me.”

“Fuck, I can’t say no to you.”

“Then don’t.”

He lowered himself until his chest pressed to yours. His hair curtained your face. He took your mouth like you imagined he’d take your cunt, demanding and overwhelming. His tongue tasted of weed and artificial orange.

You slinked your hands over his hips, then between his legs to fondle the hot mound of his erection. He gasped against your lips as he rocked into your palm. You reveled in the fact he let you do it, that you could touch him until check-out at noon.

Voice slinky, he said, “Fucking teasing me.”

Before you could say anything, he forced your wrists above your head. Your breath sped at his hold. In silent reply, you planted your feet on the bed and circled your pelvis. He moved with you, like he couldn’t help himself.

“Want it bad, don’t you?”

“Don’t you?” you asked.

“Oh, yeah.” He spread his knees and fanned opened your jacket. “Can feel your hard nipples.”

You didn’t have time to be self-conscious. He rose on an elbow to drag the hem of your pajama top up. It was a caress over your stomach, your breasts. He stared at your peaked nipples. His eyes darted to your face to check in. You bit your lip and pushed your chest towards him.

He latched onto a nipple, sucking and digging his teeth around the tip. Your mouth dropped open as you arched and buried your hands in his hair. Every hot pull went straight to your pussy. He gathered your breast in his hand, the rough pads of fingers rasping at your skin, and squeezed it to draw more of you in his mouth.

You wanted to plead, but you didn’t know for what. More? Harder? Wilder?

Fuck yes to all of that.

You whimpered, “Eddie, shit.”

He released your nipple, breathing heavily. The sudden chill of his spit evaporating tingled to your toes.

“Yeah, me too.”

He reared up to throw off his jacket and yank his t-shirt over his head. You sat forward and ran your hands across his smooth torso, thumbs tracing the dip going up the center of his body. He caught your hands just below his tattoos; his dusky nipples hard under your palms.

You met his dark eyes before looking a path down his body. He had enough muscle definition and the hint of a farmer’s tan coloring his forearms. He was gorgeous. You wanted to mark him, leave your lust in scratches and bites and hickeys.

Your cunt pulsed at the sight.

“Jesus Christ,” he said and dove in to kiss you.

His lips crashed against yours, teeth nipping and tongue teasing. You held onto his shoulders, his neck, the heavy hair at the back of his head. He pushed an arm under your jacket, around your ribs.

You realized you’d forgotten all about your jacket.

“Help me,” you said while wiggling to free your arms.

Together, you scooted up the mattress to leave your jacket behind. You shoved it away until it fell off the bed. Neither of you were graceful, yet it didn’t matter.

He ducked to kiss your throat and follow the neckline of your top to your upper chest. He cupped one of your breasts, touch burning through the thick fabric. You whined when it wasn’t enough. You wanted to feel his skin.

“I got it,” he said, and unbuttoned your top with shaking fingers.

You smoothed his hair away, ruffling his bangs, as he went. Once finished, he gave you a coy grin before ducking to kiss between your breasts. He held your neglected breast to steady it as he kissed its nipple. His fever-hot mouth had you groaning and clutching at him.

A muffled groan agreed with you as he sucked.

Just as it got to be too much, he slunk lower. Like leaving breadcrumbs, he sprinkled biting kisses down your stomach to the waistband of your pajama bottoms. He inched them down, exposing the top of your underwear.

He buried his face with another groan, nose nudging at the dip of your bellybutton. His humid breath heated your skin.

You breathed, “Eddie...”

“Smell so good.”

You arched your back as you held onto his flexing shoulders.

“Don’t stop.”

He met your eyes, his own dark with need.

“Yeah?” he asked, shifting down the bed.

You whimpered an affirmative and straightened your legs. One booted foot hung off the bed. Your inner thighs burned; your pussy steamy and soaked and quivering. You didn’t know where you wanted him now. You just wanted all of him.

He hooked his fingers under the waistbands of your underwear and bottoms.

“Lie back, let me—” He swallowed. “Let me do this.”

You nodded as he tugged your clothes down your hips. He trailed kisses along the curve of your belly. Each touch of his soft lips had your stomach and cunt fluttering in anticipation.

He paused to kneel and twist off your boots. You wiggled your toes and wondered if you should push your bottoms down for him. He liked to do things himself, but you wanted him too badly to wait.

Before you decided, Eddie turned. He took hold of your waistbands again. The fabric hid the triangle of your pubic hair and your upper thighs. You bit your lip, wanting him, yet not wanting him to judge. You knew you weren’t perfect—

He frowned.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay, just...”

He crawled up to kiss you once more. You deepened it automatically as you ran your hands over his hair, his shoulders, down his inked arms. You could kiss and rub your bare skin against his all day.

He pulled away a scant inch.

“You know I think you’re beautiful, right?”

You smiled and glanced at his red mouth as your face warmed further.

“So are you.”

“Not like you.” He brushed his nose against yours. “Let me see you, baby, taste you.” His eyes closed. “God, I want to feel you on my dick.”

Heat bloomed in your chest and raced to your cheeks at his unexpected words. You figured he’d get you in bed, strip you, and fuck you. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am. You should’ve known better. Last night, he’d wanted to be close to you, pleasure you, and experience climax with you. He’d sucked your wetness from his fingers, too.

On top of that, you didn’t know when you’d get such an opportunity to have him like this again.

You kissed him, held his face, breathed in the clean musk of his skin. You had to remember this moment.

You broke the kiss to say, “Whatever you want.”

He blushed, rosy and perfect.

Without a word, he straightened and worked your clothes down. His boot caught in the rumpled sheets, making him lurch with a laugh. You laughed with him and brought your legs together to assist. He pulled off your clothes, cast them aside, and kicked away his boots.

His smile dissolved as he studied you.

“Goddamn.”

He gripped your hips and maneuvered between your legs, shuffling down the bed. You almost protested, but your words died as he kissed your belly. You fisted the sheets when he continued to nose against your skin.

He wrapped one hand around your hip, the other holding your inner thigh open. He kissed down your belly, beyond your bush, and traced a thumb up your wet slit.

“Tell me if I do something wrong, okay?”

“‘kay,” you said as you laid your head back and closed your eyes.

“‘kay.”

He eased your labia apart. The cooler air made your pussy clench. You were completely exposed. His hair tickled your inner thighs. A warm puff of air displaced the cooler. His mouth was right there. You were about to look when the velvety flat of his tongue lapped up your folds.

You encouraged him with a sound. He lapped at you again until he pressed the lower part of his face into your pussy and pushed his tongue inside you. He frenched your hole. You gasped and stared open-mouthed at the ceiling.

He returned to licking, catching your clit at the top. With each drag of his tongue, your hips jerked. Sparks sizzled up your spine. You wanted him right there and whined for it.

He shushed you and slipped a finger inside. The new fullness only added to your growing pleasure. He pumped his finger in time with his lapping tongue.

You moaned because this was new. No one had ever been this coordinated.

He slowed as the fullness in your dripping cunt increased. Another finger. He was working you open, stretching you for his cock. The very thought made you want it more, made you writhe.

He rested his temple on your thigh, his soft hair caressed your skin.

“Shit, baby, it’s okay.”

“Keep going!”

With a desperate, hungry sound, he licked a thick stripe between your folds. His silky, strong tongue swirled around your clit. You fisted his hair, because, yes, right fucking there.

He groaned and kissed your clit.

“Eddie, please!”

He pressed your hips to the bed. You realized you’d been flexing and humping into the air. You wouldn’t apologize, though. It was too good for an apology.

A third finger joined the two inside you. The stretch was body memory. You remembered this fullness. It didn’t hurt. His fingers glided together, stroking nerves you could never reach.

He groaned when you pulled his hair. He flicked his tongue over your clit. Pleasured cracks crazed over your body. Your muscles tightened, yet you felt more fragile as he pumped his clever fingers and licked your clit.

“Circle it,” you said, breathless. “Like last night.”

He swirled his tongue again without having to ask. You pulled at him and keened. All your focus, all your feeling, centered between your legs. Those cracks became fractures. You gasped, like the air had gone thin. It was too much. Those fractures became fissures until you shattered like fine glass.

You cried out, cunt throbbing and ears deafening. Everything blurred. The only things that remained were his driving fingers and unrelenting tongue.

You snapped back to writhe and twist under his unyielding hold. Your cunt kept throbbing. Your heart thundered in your ears. You finally collapsed in broken, blissful pieces.

You hid your hot face in your elbow and groaned. No one had ever made you feel that good. You hadn’t known someone could give you an orgasm like that. Tears gathered at the corners of your eyes, but you laughed. Your brain signals were all fucked up.

Eddie’s thighs pressed to the back of yours. The light changed as he blocked the lamp with his body. The mattress dipped next to your shoulder, and gentle fingers pried your elbow away from your face. You opened your eyes to find him blushing and glowing with sweat.

“Hi,” he softly said as he lowered himself.

You grinned. His breath smelled like pussy.

“Hi.”

Your pussy.

“You good?”

You snorted. “Oh, yeah.”

You pulled him in for a kiss, tasting the salty-sweet tang of yourself on his tongue. You swept his hair from his face as he kissed you. He trailed a warm hand down to play with your breasts. Your cunt clenched again, empty and needy and ready. So ready.

The ridge of his clothed erection burned against your thigh. You clutched at his pert ass to pull him against you. He gasped into the kiss, eyes going hazy. His hips jerked.

“I have condoms,” you said.

You’d bought a 10-count box from the pharmacy the other day. Along with candy, a magazine, a word-find book, a pack of hair clips, and a small eyeshadow palette you hoped was worth the price. The clerk hadn’t blinked twice at your basket. Maybe it had been presumptuous to buy condoms, but it was better to have them and not need them than vice versa.

You continued, “We can—” You swallowed, throat dry. “—if you want.”

Eddie’s cock pulsed.

“Are... you sure?” he asked, though his eyes darkened.

You nodded and wet your lips. He swooped in to kiss you hard. You moaned into the kiss as you squeezed his ass. A fervent need you’d never known built until you were rocking your hips and pulling at him.

He wrenched himself away to hover over you on hands and knees. His flushed chest heaved with each panting breath.

“Shit, I’m gonna blow the second I’m inside you.”

“That’s okay. I want you to feel good.”

You dragged his sleep pants down until the waistband rested at the base of his cock.

“Can I?” you asked.

He gulped and gnawed at his plump bottom lip as he looked between your bodies.

You added, “Please?”

He nodded, saying, “Okay.”

You pulled them down to mid-thigh and stared at his pretty cock, which was flushed dark and glossy at the tip. It made your mouth water. You wanted to touch it, kiss it, suck on it; find every sensitive point and exploit it until he came with a shout.

You glided your hand down the length of his cock, thick precome wetting your palm, and fondled his tight sac. He moaned and spread his thighs as far as his pants would allow.

“Ah fuck, this is a bad idea. You’re gonna make me come.”

“You can.”

You ran your fingers to the tip and traced the flared crown. The skin was velvety, precome slick. The heat and heft of it had you imagining it throbbing in your hand and dripping pearly drops.

You looked at his strained, blushing face.

“Show me how you like it,” you said. “How do you do it?”

Eddie guided your hand to wrap around his cock, firmer than you expected. He twisted your hand as he had you stroke it. His hold fell away as you found a rhythm.

He rocked counter to you, his eyes squeezed shut and lip between his white teeth. You watched the red tip thrust through the circle of your hand and had a wicked thought. You dipped your free hand between your legs to gather some extra wetness.

When you added your wet hand around his cock, Eddie choked.

“Oh, Jesus— That’s— Fuck, I can’t...”

You kept stroking him with both hands, twisting them like he showed you.

“Are you going to come on me?” you asked.

“God, yes, I’m gonna cover you in it.” He moaned. “Come on your tits.”

You hummed to encourage him.

“Gonna send you home to your parents covered in my come.”

“So nasty, honey.”

“You like it.”

“Yeah,” you whispered. “Yeah, I do.”

“Shit, shit— So good.”

“C’mon,” you said, stroking him a little faster.

His head tilted back, exposing his elegant throat and the lush pink that suffused his skin from chest to cheek. He was gorgeous like this: stomach curling forward as his hips thrust, wild hair clinging to his beautiful face.

His cock got harder in your hands as he cursed brokenly. He crested over you with a groan and thrust with your hands two, three, more times. Then his mouth dropped open, and he came with a ragged sound. White threads of come gushed across your torso, landing high and warm, nearly dowsing your nipples.

You stilled your hands to commit the sight of him to memory.

Eddie let his head hang as he caught his breath. His hair shrouded his face. While you wanted to see him, you wouldn’t demand it. You knew he needed a moment.

In the meantime, you released his cock and brought your hand to your face. His come mingled with yours streaked the inside of your thumb. You licked at it. The briny-bitter-tang lingered on your tongue. Somewhere underneath was the bite of smoky clove. It wasn’t off-putting.

You thought of the future, of giving him head and drinking him down. You’d have that bit of him inside you, like making him yours in every sense. You didn’t understand why that gave you such a feeling of possession.

You looked up to find him watching. You smirked and cleaned your thumb before showing him your tongue.

His jaw flexed.

You swallowed for show and thought, You’re mine now.

He descended upon you, his chest smearing his come between your bodies. He grasped the hair at the back of your head and pulled. You gasped and arched your neck. He took advantage to kiss you deeply. His tongue slithered over yours, tasting himself in your mouth.

You moaned; him a second behind.

He sucked at your bottom lip. Your stomach swooped like it was the first kiss.

“So good to me, baby,” he said, then kissed the corner of your mouth. “Always so good.” Then your cheek, your jaw. “Want you so bad.”

You grasped his shoulders and bent your legs around him. Something solid and long nudged your belly. His cock. He was still hard.

“Can you go again?” you asked with a grin.

He chuckled, sounding incredulous while nuzzling your neck.

“Yeah, I think I can,” he said.

“Get a condom.”

He kissed you before rearing up and grabbing a corner of the top sheet to wipe his come from your body.

“I thought you were going to send me home covered in come.”

He smiled impishly.

“I’m not done with you yet.”

“Why, Edward Munson, you nasty boy.”

His eyes sparkled at the tease as he wiped his chest and stomach.

“And you’re a dirty girl. I’ve got you all over me.”

“It’s a good look on you.”

“I agree,” he said with a cheesy wink.

You laughed. “Go get a condom!”

He shuffled off the bed and kicked out of his pants, cradling his dick the whole time. You scooted to the head of the bed while he went for his duffle. You almost corrected him, but stopped when he produced a small box of condoms. Evidently, you weren’t the only one who traveled prepared.

You finally shrugged off your pajama top and lounged against the mound of pillows. Letting your knees rest to the side, you watched him tear open the box and pluck a thin packet from inside.

He turned, his cock heavy between his lean legs. You pressed your thighs together at the thought of him soon being inside you.

“Spread those legs for me, sweetheart,” he said.

You slid down to recline on your elbows.

“Spread ‘em,” he repeated, eyes twinkling.

You bit your lip as you swayed a crooked knee up. He stared at you as you stared at him. His erection hardened further to slope away from his thighs. You couldn’t maintain any sort of eye-contact. The rugged lines of his body drew your gaze like metal to a magnet. His slim hips sported the perfect v-lines pointing right to his cock, which jutted from a sparse patch of brown pubic hair.

That desire to touch him — kiss him — all over swept through you again. You wanted to know every inch of him. You yearned for his body tight to yours, his cock to fill and warm you.

Your stomach fluttered for the nth time this morning. You clutched at the sheets with quivering hands. You had no poetry to describe him. Not really. He was just Eddie. Your Eddie. Talented, funny, smart, and surprisingly sexy: Eddie.

You met the dark heat of his eyes.

“Wow,” you breathed. “You’re...”

You shook your head, at a loss for words.

He grinned with a touch of self-deprecation or defensiveness, like you hadn’t been ogling him for the past minute.

“Weird?” he said to finish your sentence.

“Incredible.”

He let out a bark of a laugh as his cheeks reddened.

“Incredible?”

Remembering how he’d described you, you said, “Beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

He played with his hair and almost dropped the packet.

“Yeah?”

“Uh, yeah. Now come here.”

He put the packet between his teeth and crawled up the bed. You glanced at his crotch, watching his cock swing between his legs. Holy shit. You hadn’t had sex in a while. Holy fuck. Yes, you’d just jerked him off, but that was not the same. You were out of practice — not like you’d had a lot of practice before moving to Hawkins.

You reached for him to hide your apprehension. It would be fine. Couples had sex every day.

He spit the condom to the side and asked, “Still with me?”

You drew him down for a kiss instead of replying.

He’d been making you feel amazing. The kiss was no different. You lost yourself in the feel of his full lips on yours. You combed through his hair, damp with sweat at the temples.

His knees knocked into your legs as he maneuvered between them. You rolled onto your back and spread your thighs. He cradled your breast and stroked the stiff nipple with a thumb, making you sigh.

“Keep going,” you said.

Wasting no time, he put a hand between your legs. He sucked in a breath like he was the one whose nerves sang. He found your tender clit to give it a few gentle circles. Your cunt throbbed with each rotation. You bit back a needy whimper as you hung onto him.

He slid a finger inside you and groaned.

“Pussy’s so hot.”

You flexed your hips to encourage him. He then slowly pumped a finger as he glanced between your face and groin. It felt good, yet at the same time a tease. You told him to add another. When he did, you exhaled at the delicious fullness.

“Good?”

You said, “Mm-hm,” with your lips clamped between your teeth.

“Fuck, let me...”

You nodded frantically, not caring what he wanted to do to you.

“Yeah, yes, do it.”

“One more, okay?”

“Now who’s teasing who?”

His smile was short-lived.

“This is killing me too, but—”

“I know: you don’t want to hurt me—”

He kissed you like a demand. You demanded right back, sucking his tongue and pulling at his shoulders.

You groaned as he squeezed a third finger in your aching cunt. The weight and stretch of it comforting and gratifying. And not enough — even though it was Eddie filling and touching you.

He pushed his fingers deep, stroking the front wall of your cunt. Sweat broke out on your back and at your hairline. Heat suffused your body from your center outwards. The pillows beneath you were stifling, and you wrenched them away.

“Enough,” you said. “I’m ready.”

He whispered a curse and eased his fingers out. The emptiness left you bereft, yet you ignored that as you watched him kneel between your legs. Pink finger imprints decorated his shoulders. His swollen, red lips reminded you of a wound. His flushed cock dripped clear precome onto the bed as he tore open the condom packet.

He rolled on the translucent condom, brows furrowing. You sat up to assist, but he gave you a look that had you leaning back on an elbow. Instead, you held his hip with your other hand and savored his smooth skin.

Once satisfied with the condom, he stopped your hand with his own.

“Lie back,” he said.

You did and let your bent legs drop open.

“Get down here and kiss me.”

He looked at your pussy and wrapped a hand tight around the base of his cock. He wet his lips and hovered on an elbow above you. Finally, he pressed his lips to yours.

In a natural pause, you whispered you wanted him.

And you did. You didn’t care if this was the only time. You wanted him to know.

The tip of his cock ran through your slick folds until it caught at your hole. He cursed against your lips.

You said, “It’s okay. I’m ready.”

“I’ll go slow.”

You breathed to release the tension in your muscles. He began that gentle, decadent push inside. With how wet you were, he sank to the hilt. You groaned and held the back of his arms to steady yourself. His cock was definitely not his fingers, yet it didn’t hurt. Nevertheless, you felt invaded and pushed to your limit.

“Jesus Christ,” he said as he bent his head.

His hair brushed your forehead.

As you acclimated, you said, “Give me a minute.”

He rested his head on your shoulder.

“Can do.”

Your cunt pulsed as it relaxed. He grunted against your collarbone. You were full to the solar plexus. His cock twitched deep inside you.

A small sound bubbled out at the feeling.

“Ready,” you said, though you weren’t sure if that was true.

Eddie grunted an affirmative and widened his stance. His groin ground against yours, making you clutch at his sides. He kissed your neck before slowly rocking his hips. You drew your knees higher, which had him sinking impossibly deeper.

He groaned and wrapped an arm behind your shoulder.

As his pace quickened, the bedsprings squeaked. The shimmying bed propelled your hips up to meet his. Each slap of his pelvis fucked an abrupt sound from you. He was so deep, his cock sliding over every lit nerve in your dripping cunt.

He pulled you to meet a thrust. It angled you differently; the shaft of his dick rubbed at the underside of your clit. You moaned and tensed and dug your nails into his skin.

He growled a ‘fuck,’ held you tighter, and thrust faster. Your cunt almost clenched, but it couldn’t. He was too thick.

He fucked you harder, cock pistoning deep — as if to draw something out of you. Your eyes went wide, your mouth opened soundlessly, as you clung to his flexing back. You didn’t know it could feel like this.

“Ah, Christ,” he moaned, then caught your lips in a kiss.

The bed clanked with his thrusts, sounding like it might break at any second. It sounded like you felt, because you didn’t know if you would make it through whatever was building.

You gasped against his open, panting mouth. He crashed into you, again and again. You twisted under him, tensing and grinding. You clamped your knees to his sides as your thighs jittered.

“That’s right, baby, c’mon.”

You moaned something like his name.

He shoved a hand between your bodies and rubbed hard on your clit. Near mindless, you stared into his eyes as he ground into you. You saw the second his climax took over. His cock throbbed. His dark eyes went unfocused as his fingers tensed. Calluses rasped over your clit. That was all it took to wrest you into a devastating orgasm with him.

Eddie hugged you, his heaving chest pressed to yours. Humid breath heated your neck where he’d buried his scalding face. His hair clung to your damp skin. You hooked your ankles behind his back as your cunt continued to pulse out of sync with your heart.

He smelled so good, all delicious sweat and musk. You mouthed at his slick shoulder.

His hand smoothed up your spine to support your neck. He lifted himself to meet your gaze. His face was pink and dewy with those vibrant eyes of his holding something so warm, so fond, so devoted, you couldn’t mistake it for anything but love. It radiated from his heart like a personal star.

You smiled as happy tears pricked your eyes and guided him down for a kiss.

-

Is there a joke about muffs in there somewhere? Probably.

QUESTION: Should I start a Stranger Things taglist? Are writers still doing those? If you want to be added to one, please comment or send a message.

[lucky-clover-gazette]

one for the books

modern bookseller au • 4250 words • teen

this is my second and final entry for the 2022 @fsadventanthology! look out for more amazing art and writing from the fandom throughout the month of december. a special thank you to @vagueandominousvibes for organizing this event and accommodating my panicked pms as i completely switched ideas at the last second.

"It began with strictly customer-employee interactions—Mystery Guy asked Vio if he knew any good books about dragons, and Vio asked if he was looking for something more Middle Earth or middle grade (the answer was both). The first actual purchase the guy made was a TJ Klune book—Vio forgets which one—accompanied by an experimental and exceedingly gory graphic novel. It was around the two-week mark that Vio noticed he never asked Green, or Blue, or even Red for recommendations or small talk. This idiot identified the most antisocial employee of the bunch and decided yeah, this is the one I’ll tell all about my middle school Warrior Cats phase."

read it on ao3 or under the cut:

Not even the independent bookstore is immune to shitty corporate Christmas radio. 

For eighty-five percent of the calendar year, Vio and his coworkers are allowed to play their own music at a reasonable volume. The store manager is surprisingly flexible in the music she allows in the store—while Green’s lo-fi video game soundtracks and Vio’s classical music fit the whole bookshop vibe well enough, Blue’s fixation with 2000’s pop-punk isn’t nearly as appropriate. But still, Zelda lets him play it, and when it’s really dead she’ll even give Red the aux, even though his preferred tracks rarely come without an explicit content warning. 

That exact kind of freedom is easily the best part of Vio’s job, really distinguishing the Bookseller Experience™ from other retail positions he’s held in the past. Here he’s encouraged to offer personal recommendations to customers, and write shelf talkers for his favorite books, and curate perfect playlists for long seven-hour shifts. He’s still working, and it’s still retail, but sharing his oldest and deepest passion with every stranger who happens to walk through the doorway never fails to feel special. 

Except, apparently, during the months of November and December. Can he put up a uniquely themed display of underappreciated novels? Nope, every surface is reserved for bestsellers and regional gift guide selections. Can he play his own music? Not when customers can be so easily lulled into purchasing special hardcover editions by the crooning voice of Bing Crosby. 

This entire holiday season, there have been two Grinches in the bookstore—one on the designated Seuss shelf, and the other behind the counter. Vio stands there now, absolutely miserable in a purple sweater and his well-worn scrunchie, counting down the seconds until he finally can close up shop. 

“Got any fun plans?” asks Red, his only other coworker at the moment. Zelda and Green are off visiting Green’s dad a few towns away, and Blue took the day off to do some last-minute shopping. Vio, meanwhile, hadn’t even considered taking off Christmas Eve. It’s not like he’s getting holiday pay or anything, but it’s better than sitting around alone in his apartment. This is the first time in his life that he won’t be able to make it home for the holidays—thanks, retail—and he’s putting on a brave face about it, but… 

“I’m fine,” Vio says, tearing apart a post-it note in his chapped hands. He watches the snow fall through the show window, equally charmed and inconvenienced in anticipation of his walk home. 

“I didn’t ask if you were fine,” Red said, completely genuine and even a bit concerned. “I’d ask if you’re okay based on that answer, but, well, y’know.” 

“Sorry,” Vio says, shoving the shreds of paper into his pocket. He regrets wasting it with his idle fidgeting, too ashamed to relinquish it to the recycling bin. 

 Red stares at him with a placating smile. “Actually, can you do me a favor?” 

Vio raises an eyebrow, the yes implied. 

“Wrap my gift for Blue, please,” Red says, grabbing a softcover book from the staff hold shelf. He’s been obscuring it for a week with a poster for the newest Louise Penny mystery, out of his fiancee’s sight and mind. 

Jesus Christ. Red is only a year older than Vio, and he already has a fiancee. 

“Special order?” Vio asks, admittedly pleased by Red’s request. Vio is, hands-down, the best gift-wrapper among the bookstore’s staff. He takes every opportunity to go to his little corner and do his little process and curl his pretty little bow and incidentally avoid actually interacting with the customers themselves. Very few things can fully get Vio in the holiday spirit, but give him a stack of six hardcovers and a fresh roll of non-denominational colored ribbon and he’s Mariah fucking Carey. 

“Yeah, and it got here just in time!” He hands the book to Vio, who takes a second to examine. It’s a manga—no surprise there, Blue’s the go-to guy for that section—with some vaguely gay shit on the cover that they’d probably display in June. 

“It was on backorder for so long,” Red explains as Vio begins his meticulous wrapping process. “He still thinks it is, with the supply chain, so I know this’ll totally blow his mind.” 

“Do you think he got you a book too?” Vio creases the white-and-gold wrapping paper and reaches for the tape dispenser labeled ‘FOR GIFT WRAPPING DO NOT MOVE.’

“Maybe! Probably! We do get a 30% discount, so it’d be silly not to do gift shopping here.” 

Vio knows all about that. He had shipped his parents’ gifts last week, hand-wrapped of course, with a little note that he tried not to make too melancholy. Otherwise, he wasn’t really on the hook for gift-giving or receiving. All of his college friends had left town after graduation, and most of them are working retail as well. 

“Thanks,” Vio says, his voice softer than he’s allowed it to be all day. He’s been stuck for hours in this mental place between ‘Christmas Eve means nothing to me because I’m alone,’ and ‘oh my god it’s Christmas Eve and I’m alone.’ 

“Thanks for what?” Red asks, passing Vio the blue spool. Vio measures it with expert concentration and begins the exhilarating process of ribbonification (not a technical term). 

“For asking me to do this,” Vio says as he uses a pair of scissors to curl a little bow. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a bummer all day, I know you probably don’t want to be here either.” 

Red shrugs. “I really don’t mind, but I appreciate your saying so. I know it’s your first Christmas alone. I’d invite you to join me and Blue, but you don’t seem like the third wheel type.” 

“No, I am not. And besides, you guys deserve a cozy romantic night together.”

“And you act like you’re so above Christmas stuff,” Red teases as Vio hands him the wrapped gift. “I bet you’d love to be all cuddled up with some cute guy by a fire.” 

“Shut up,” Vio says, hiding his face behind his hand. Really? Is that all it takes to make his blush? Apparently so, and he hates it. 

“I mean,” Red says, suddenly serious, “there is that guy. You know, the one who’s been coming in specifically to antagonize you for over two months.” 

“He’s a customer,” Vio says, although of course he knows exactly what Red is suggesting. “He’s here for books, and I think he works down the street so it makes sense that he’d stop by often.” 

“He must have been working a lot these past few weeks, then, and only on the exact days that you happen to have shifts.” 

Vio didn’t know that part of it, and he’s sure his expression tells Red just as much. He still won’t take the bait, though, because the situation Red is suggesting simply isn’t something that would happen in real life. In a contemporary romance novel, sure, or a fanfic—but not in the real world, with an annoyingly handsome purple-haired enigma who can’t possibly be younger than twenty or older than twenty-five. 

Not that Vio’s speculated  about his age or anything, because that would be super weird. Even weirder would be for a service employee to hit on a customer, or vice-versa, so the age thing doesn’t even matter in the first place. There are just too many power imbalances at play between them, and so many unknowns, like the guy’s name and job and if he even likes men, or Vio specifically, because what a weird assumption to make based on vague flirtation— 

“Okay, so you’re freaking out,” Red says, shaking Vio out of his… whatever that was. “And you’re shredding the wrapping paper.” 

Vio looks down at his hands and groans. Dammit, again?

“Hey,” Red tries to calm Vio as he steps back from the counter. “Just try to relax. I’m sorry for teasing, I promise I don’t know anything more than you do. We’ve all just noticed, over the holiday season, that this guy seems particularly interested in your mystery book display, and, well, you. It’s sweet. We like when he comes in. We like seeing you happy.”

“That asshole doesn’t make me happy,” Vio argues, glancing over at the shop’s single current creative display. He’d adapted the idea from a popular Valentine’s Day tradition—blind date with a book—and the mystery titles, only described with a few selling points, have been selling surprisingly well. Customers seem to enjoy Vio’s bullet-point lists, giving them a clue right on the wrapping paper as to which books would be best suited for their loved ones. And Vio enjoys writing the short descriptions, especially for lesser-known books with particularly unfortunate cover designs. It’s a great little project, and in a lot of ways has gotten him through the sales season—except, there’s been one hitch.  

Back in November, right around the time Vio had launched his new display concept, this random guy just started showing up to the store a few times a week. This isn’t abnormal customer behavior—every store has its regulars, after all—but this person in particular had uniquely annoyed Vio from the start. He’d just wander around the shop for like twenty minutes at a time, browsing every section in his stupid jacket with the stupid pins and stomping his stupid Docs on the carpet Vio had just vacuumed the night before, and forget the fifty-something customers who walked on the carpet before him, it’s always this person specifically who Vio resents for the mess. 

And then the guy started talking to Vio. 

It began with strictly customer-employee interactions—Mystery Guy asked Vio if he knew any good books about dragons, and Vio asked if he was looking for something more Middle Earth or middle grade (the answer was both). The first actual purchase the guy made was a TJ Klune book—Vio forgets which one—accompanied by an experimental and exceedingly gory graphic novel. It was around the two-week mark that Vio noticed he never asked Green, or Blue, or even Red for recommendations or small talk. This idiot identified the most antisocial employee of the bunch and decided yeah, this is the one I’ll tell all about my middle school Warrior Cats phase.

Once the display went out for the real holiday season, Mystery Guy had immediately gravitated towards it. He began to spend his entire visit poring over Vio’s descriptions, using what Vio assumes is prior knowledge and only sometimes the internet to make an educated guess.  And every single time he’s visited since, he’s been able to clock at least three of Vio’s newly-added titles without fail. 

Of course this nerdy game of cat-and-mouse has escalated over the past month, with Vio writing increasingly vague descriptions of the most obscure titles he can find. But Mystery Guy is apparently a fucking psychic, because he still manages to pin Vio down more often than not. He seems to enjoy messing with Vio, sometimes pretending to be clueless before pulling the title out of nowhere at the last second. Vio wonders how many tabs he has open in Safari, exclusively to search up niche books based on Vio’s descriptions. He kind of hopes it’s enough to crash the phone. 

Vio has tried every genre on the shelf to stump this scourge of a customer—poetry, history, cookbooks, and most recently even romance, which is like his least favorite literary genre ever! He had to resort to fucking Goodreads to distinguish between these generic-ass books, each with a cover so uninspired it looks like it was designed using Canva in under eight minutes. It’s like every romance novel published after 2020 is a variation of one or more of exactly three premises—fake-dating, enemies to lovers but not really enemies, like they’re owners of rival bakeries or something, and/or Capital-H Horny. And because of the literal creature of darkness haunting his display, Vio has been forced to immerse himself in the world of trendy romantic fiction just to get ahead. The next time Mystery Guy visits the store, Vio will either finally outsmart him or literally tear him limb from limb.

He’ll have to wait for the new year for his victory, though. Undoubtedly Mystery Guy has better things to do on Christmas Eve than harass Vio. He probably has a partner, just like everyone else Vio knows, because cuffing season is real and people are desperate. Meanwhile, it’s like any potential suitor of Vio’s has to pass an entire emotional obstacle course to even be allowed to hold his hand, and there’s nothing Vio can tell his brain or body to make that less of a fucking problem. Him, cuddling someone in front of a fire like he’s in some lonely gay idiot’s cottagecore AU? Would admittedly be lovely, but not going to happen any time soon. 

The sound of the store bell startles Vio to attention, and for just a second his heart lifts. But it’s just Blue out there, all bundled up in a parka and badly hiding a bouquet of roses behind his back. 

“Oh, he didn’t,” Red says, already running to the door. He lets Blue in and envelopes him a hug, only groaning slightly when he makes contact with the thorns. 

“Hi,” Blue says, passing Red the flowers and giving him a quick kiss. He cranes his head towards Vio, who just stands behind the counter like a moron. “Hey, Vio. Merry Christmas Eve.” 

“You too.”

“What time is it?” Blue asks Red, although Vio’s the one in front of the computer. 

“6:55,” Vio says. “If you want to take off, I can handle closing on my own.” 

“Are you sure?” Red asks, his eyes sparkling as he already begins to pack up his things. 

Vio nods. “I’m sure. It’s my gift to you.” 

“Thanks, Vio,” Red says, clearly wanting to give him a hug but also aware of Vio’s prickly reactions in the past. 

“Don’t forget the book,” Vio reminds him, nodding to the wrapped manga. 

“What book?” Blue calls from the entryway as Red shoves it in his large reusable tote bag. 

“You’ll find out later!”

It takes Red no time l to vacate the store, arm-in-arm with Blue, leaving Vio behind to wait out the last four minutes he’s required to keep the door unlocked. There’s no way a customer would come in this close to 7, not on Christmas Eve, not—

“Hey, Vio,” says a gut-wrenchingly familiar voice, somehow reaching his ears before the bell above the door. Mystery Guy leans in the doorframe, arriving with a freezing gust of air as he shoots Vio a grin. “Looks like you’re about to close, my bad.” 

Vio rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re letting in the snow. You’ve got three minutes.” 

Mystery Guy raises his eyebrows in genuine surprise, as if he hadn’t expected to get this far. He wears the same heavy black jacket as usual, with the pins Vio has never been close enough to make out, and wouldn’t you know it, his Docs are caked with snow and dirty rock salt. He steps fully inside and shuts the door behind him, matching Vio’s semi-defensive pose. 

“Can I help you?” Vio asks, picking up a post-it note and immediately putting it back down. 

“Maybe,” says Mystery Guy, walking over to Vio’s mystery book display. “Looking for a last-minute gift for someone. Wasn’t sure if I was gonna have the guts to make a move until like ten minutes ago.” 

“Girlfriend?” Vio asks, putting a hand on his hip. Mystery Guy shakes his head. “Boyfriend?” 

“Not sure yet.” 

It has to be the stupid romance books giving Vio brainrot, making him think what he thinks must be happening. 

“Well, what does this… person… like to read about?” 

Mystery Guy considers. “It seems like a little bit of everything. He has pretty varied interests. They can get kinda niche, honestly.” 

“How niche.” 

Mystery Guy picks up one of Shadow’s newly-added books, weighs it in his hands, and scans the description Vio wrote. “Looks like… a combination gluten-free and keto cookbook themed around 90’s sitcoms.” 

“80’s. That’s not his thing, though, he probably just thought it was too obscure for annoying customers to guess.”

He examines a paperback from all angles, as if trying to see through the wrapping, and then reads the description again. “A graphic novel—no, manga—based on a popular Nintendo franchise that he describes as, and I quote, ‘significantly gayer than anyone would ever expect it to be.’”

“Well, whatever Bowser and Luigi get up to in their free time is their business.” 

This makes Mystery Guy smile, like really smile, and Vio feels like he’s winning and losing at the same time. 

“And let’s see,” Mystery Guy says, reaching for a mass-market paperback with a disproportionate-looking bow, “romance novels, apparently. He appears to be a big fan, based on the not-at-all snide or derisive commentary on the tin.” 

Vio wants to protest Mystery Guy’s accurate interpretation of his writings, but he’s too busy being impressed that the guy knows how to use ‘derisive’ in a sentence. 

“Would you, uh,” the guy begins to ask, stopping himself halfway through the sentence. Gone is the confidence, at least during this pause, and he proceeds with obvious caution. “Would he not be interested in… romance? As a genre?” 

Vio shakes his head. “No! I mean, yes! I mean, what?”

“Because I—fuck, it’s gotta be past 7:00 at this point, and I had this whole plan to be all charming and suave but then I ran late in the storm and it’s like I’m standing here now and regretting every decision I’ve ever made up until this point, because you’re basically a stranger and in a position where you can’t turn me away and sure, in a movie this would be perfect, but in real life I’m just acting like a total creep—”

“What’s your name?” Vio asks, crossing over the room to join Mystery Guy at the display. Closer to him, Vio can see that his gloved hand is shaking. “It’s not very fair that you’ve been able to see mine this whole time, while I’ve had no choice but to call you unkind things in my head.” 

“Shadow,” Mystery Guy says, and it’s not like it doesn’t make sense.

“Okay, Shadow, I’d be happy to help you find the perfect book for your desired recipient.” 

They avoid contact, both staring at the wrapped volumes on the display as if they’re the most interesting things in the world. Vio selects one and slides it into Shadow’s hand, hoping that a solid object to hold will help keep him steady.

“He might not be a fan of the contemporary romance genre,” Vio says, genuinely surprised by the levelness of his voice. Maybe talking to dozens of strangers a day about books has made him immune to social anxiety, just as long as the topic of discussion is literary. “But romance can be found in nearly any story, in one way or another. He… it sounds like he…” 

Shadow clears his throat. “It’s you, Vio, you can give up the bit.” 

Vio shakes his head. “Nope, I committed already, I’m seeing this through."

“Fair enough,” Shadow says with a grin. ”Now tell me more about this guy, he seems cool.” 

Vio wants so badly to continue the banter, but knows for the sake of his own comfort he has to press pause. He turns to Shadow with a serious expression. “Honestly, before I really start talking about him… he’d probably want you to know that he has a few minor concerns. He’d like to maybe learn what you do during the day, like for work, when you’re not busy antagonizing your local bookseller. What brought you to this town, what your ulterior motives were for becoming a regular at the shop, if you had any at all. He… he just wants to make sure you’re safe, and he apologizes if that’s an offensive thing to question.” 

Shadow nods, seeming to understand Vio’s hesitation. “I work at a gallery downtown, just a few minutes away from the shop. I moved  here after graduating art school because this happened to be where I got offered a job. It’s lonely being in your early twenties in a college town, so sometimes it’s nice to just sit in a cafe or browse my local independent bookstore and feel like I’m a part of something. It’s pure coincidence that, on my first visit to this bookstore, I read several shelf-talkers written by some nerd named Vio who seemed to have similar tastes to mine. So I took out a few of his recommendations from the library—sorry, I don’t have the space to own books right now—and thoroughly enjoyed them. I wanted to talk to him more about books, maybe even ask for his number, but I am not a master manipulator so I settled for being a pest instead. From there it just escalated, because it’s cute when he gets all pissed off, and I enjoyed the challenge he created for me with the wrapped books.” 

Vio exhales shortly. “So, uh… if you were to ask for his number now… would it be just as a friend?” 

“If that’s all he’s interested in, sure.” 

“It’s not,” Vio says firmly. “He, uh, told me so.” 

“Glad to hear it. Does he happen to have any favorite foods, or beverages, over which we could hypothetically discuss our tastes in literature on this snowy Christmas Eve?” 

“Pumpkin soup and evil root beer.” 

“What the hell is evil root beer?” 

“Normal root beer,” Vio explains, “served in a fancy glass so he can gesticulate during his pretentious literary diatribes.” 

“The fanciest glass I have is a Garfield mug.”  

“Works for me.” 

Both Vio and Shadow smile, and finally they come face-to-face. They’re not going to kiss or anything—not yet, anyway—but they both can feel the potential. They gaze into each other’s eyes like they’re romantic leads in a novel Vio would give one generous star, and it’d be tacky if it was anyone else, but not when it’s them. And while kissing doesn’t feel quite right in this particular moment, leaning forward to gently touch foreheads just does. 

“I live like five minutes away,” Shadow mutters, unable and unwilling to move. “I usually feed Pinecone—my cat—around 7, so maybe I’ll head out now, grab pumpkin soup ingredients at the market on my way, and you can come over once the store’s all closed up.”

Vio nods, slightly disrupting the forehead touch that feels so inexplicably cosmically correct. It’s like, in any conceivable universe where Vio and Shadow both exist, they will inevitably end up just like this. 

“What’s your address?” Vio asks, allowing himself to close his eyes. God, it’s been a long day. 

“I’ve got a shitty one-bedroom apartment above the Tower of Spirits liquor store. I stole half of my furniture off the street after the mass exodus of college students in June.”

“You’ve really been here since June?” Vio asks, disregarding the furniture part because for some reason it also feels cosmically correct. “You must have been so lonely.” 

Shadow nods. “Lonely, I’m good at,” he says, finally pulling away. “Believe me when I say, I’ve had lots of practice.” 

Vio nods. “Yeah. Me too.”

“It’s the not being lonely that really freaks me out,” Shadow admits, and it’s like wow, that’s some deep shit to say when Vio just learned his name ten minutes ago, but haven’t they technically known each other for months? Shadow has already read some of Vio’s favorite books, and for Vio that’s about as intimate as passing second base—hell, even third, depending on the book. 

And it could have been a truly beautiful moment between them—one for the books, pun intended—if only the goddamn Chipmunks hadn’t started singing about Christmastime. 

“Oh, fuck this store radio,” Vio says, retreating behind the counter and pulling the plug. “I’ll see you in like twenty minute, I can Venmo you for the soup ingredients later.” 

Shadow looks like he wants to argue with the Venmo thing, but just shakes his head instead. “Sounds good.”

“Oh, and wait,” Vio says, grabbing a pen and a post-it note, “what’s your number?” 

Shadow gives it, and Vio knows this is one piece of paper he will never absentmindedly shred. At least, not until he has a second to enter it into his phone, and then it’s totally fair game. 

Vio hears the ring of the bell and goes to lock the door behind Shadow. Through the glass he watches flurries of snow punctuate the pitch-black sky—and in it, he sees his own dark reflection. It’s just him, of course, a blonde guy in a purple sweater and scrunchie, still visibly tired but noticeably less miserable than he had been an hour ago. He sees a guy who isn’t alone on Christmas Eve, who probably won’t find himself anywhere near a fireplace but will most likely end up cuddling his months-long crush by the night’s end.

He gives himself a smile and decides he can skip the vacuuming tonight. Call it a gift to himself, although several closing tasks still stand between him and Shadow’s apartment.

Vio turns his back on the darkness and gets to work. 

[the-dirt-eater]

maybe I make a pinned post. as a treat. this blog is a mess. it’s got everything i love in it, so it’s not specific to anything. welcome to the train wreck etc

call me dirt! she/her, genderqueer-ish lesbian. deemed autistic via peer review. (not diagnosed bc that shits mad expensive. but my therapist says that I am ‘very likely’ autistic so.) I’m a menace and I sometimes bully people as a love language. please please tell me if something I say is too far for you and I’ll try to be more careful <3

use my ask box for anything! but especially music recs and fun facts :D

I’m 22 so minors… be cautious? I’m not always gonna be pg. curate your internet experience to your needs.

TERFs, SWERFs, ace/aro exclusionists, pro-lifers, anti-palestine, anti- sex ed, anti- critical race theory, or any other flavor of bigot not allowed. i’ll stomp you into a paste :)

also I will block accounts that look like bots. if u follow me and don’t have any activity on ur acc imma block u. i’ll usually give people a day to like put a profile pic up but if you don’t you’re gone. <3

i’m not always good at tagging. my bad

more specific stuff about me past the cut :3

super into plants and bugs and mushrooms and music. can crochet and learning to knit. I rarely do art but I’m slowly learning to be better at that too.

specifically currently interested in:

• punk/rock/indie music

• tarantulas

• jumping spiders

• isopods

• cockroaches

• california native plants

• terrariums

• minecraft

• cats :3

• pet web games (horse isle 2, star stable)

also interested in (but less knowledgeable about):

• internet culture and history

• queer culture and history

• freshwater aquariums, including

- fishkeeping (bettas, comet goldfish, koi, various small tropical fish)

- shrimpkeeping!!!!

- aquascaping/aquatic plants

- low maintenance systems (no filter etc)

• video games and streaming

I watch way more youtube than is probably healthy so there’s that too.

omg I nearly forgot fandoms!!

currently obsessed with fall out boy and twenty one pilots. also into:

• hannibal

• good omens

• our flag means death

• heartstopper

• community

• doctor who

• some minecraft/gaming youtubers and streamers (ranboo, tommyinnit, nihachu, grian, technoblade. ik he’s gone but still)

• hermitcraft but i’m not up to date ever

• unus annus (rip)

• dan and phil

• wings of fire

probs more that i’m forgetting

music I like is. a bunch of genres tbh. indie, folk, punk, rock, some pop, video game music, some classic 2000s-2010s emo bands. very specific flavors of country-adjacent stuff. some psychedelic rock. more that i can’t think of. I have some halfway decent spotify playlists :P and here's my last.fm page

some bands/artists i like:

fall out boy

twenty one pilots

paramore

the crane wives

hayley kiyoko

los campesinos

the oh hellos

chloe moriondo

chappell roan

STRFKR

miracle musical

wallows

jack stauber

sir chloe

hozier

girl in red

jackie hayes

yea that’s me :) enjoy your stay here. drink water etc. bye!

last edited 9/2/2024

[tomurasmoleunderhislip]

Type of music Tomura would listen too:

This is just my opinion don't attack me 🙌

I feel like he would love heavy metal,goth metal, death metal and nu metal. I already made playlist for heavy metal and nu metal since these two are my fav type of metal and I can see it as his playlist too. You can check it out if you want

(IMAGINE TOMURA IN BAND SHIRTS AND THESE CHOKERS GAH DAYUMM 🛐🛐🛐 sometimes I forget that I'm artist and that I can draw anything I want 💀 well the only problem is will which I don't have).

I'm planning to make one for death, goth and black metal as well I'm just currently way too lazy to do anything at all so it won't be anytime soon 🤡.

He would vibe with other genres as well like pop, rap, rock etc. Anything but country music (who likes that garbage bffr💀). His music taste is pretty moody like mine, here's example he'll listen for some time to Eminem's songs than switch randomly to Lady Gaga, than something depressing and out of nowhere heavy metal just like me fr.

Here's bands I think he would like:

Dang it didn't let me put more pics ong okay anyways and: System of down, Linkin park, Deftones, Cannibal corpse, Ghost, Get scared, Drowning pool etc...

Probably forgot about some but when I remember I'll just edit this post.

Also he would really like goth music omfg I should write one day headcanon about him with gothic s/o (or I can just write few here but idk).He thinks goth culture is really cool though.

Goth bands he likes: Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, The cure, The cult, Christian death, The damned, Type o Negative etc... I also made gothic playlist If you are interested into it and don't know where to start :)

I'm still working on it 🦇

What else did I wanted to say ohhh as for other genre's he loves rap music but more older one's than new one's. I got a feeling he would listen too: Eminem, Tupac, Dr. Dre, Snoop dog, 50 cent etc.

When he would be in mood for pop music he would listen too: Lady Gaga (who doesn't like her🔥🔥), Britney Spears, Lana Del Rey and Rihanna.

He'd like punk/rock and rock music too.

For punk/rock bands he would listen too: Ramones, Misfits, The damned, Green day, The clash.

And for rock: Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Ramones, The clash, The doors, Rush, Green day etc, London after midnight (Ik I put some same bands for rock and punk but it's punk/rock music so yk what I mean 😭😭😭)

(sorry my brain is fried don't mind me).

- That's all :-) -

[jjjordiiii]

Srry gals and a couple guys for breaking my "logging off for 2nite but I just had to share this song

It's another sex machine song. Idk how to classify them so I'll just do what Spotify does to anything that doesn't sound "normal" and say that it's indie. I'd even call it emo since the EP portrays more complex emotion other than whatever Taylor Swift sings abt.

Scratch that it's not indie at all because there's hardly any lofi inspo it's def emo since PTV is considered emo and the term emo can be a bit floppy since majority of 3rd wave was pop punk (if I'm wrong with the number lmk or just tell me to kill myself I'll kno what u mean.)

For any people who get a major hard on for obscurity (like I do) this band might be an amazing fit into your playlist. Pls don't gatekeep them unless the vibes abt someone are off. I only fw gatekeeping if it's to not have a whole genre ruined by basic bitches and/or racists.

I'm one of those 23 >_< and I found out about the band by randomly talking with my friend and said something about how sex machine is probably a band name (not even kidding. You could ask him but he doesn't use tumblr and all he uses the internet for is gay black and brown men and Xbox)

Also srry for the lil rant but this is like the one place where I can express myself to people who I can believe are real beings and not just filler my brain created.

Love sex machine tho, hope they continue to make music.

Goodnight (hopefully fr this time)

（╹◡╹）♡