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stellayuta · 11 months ago

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Love on The Grid - Formula 1 AU! Yuta Okkotsu - Pt 2.

Your likes, comments and reblogs really encourage me to write more! So do interact with this post and let me know your thoughts 🧡

PART 1

synopsis: One-night stands were nothing but a necessary painkiller for your inability to cross paths with true love. Your most recent find at a Vegas Club was no different. He was boring, obedient, SLOW! You leave him high and hanging hoping you'd never see him again until you find yourself gawking at a supersized billboard of him on a Vegas highway with the title 'LEGEND RETURNS TO VEGAS'.

genre: some s*xual tension, a lot of fluff, thrill and angst

content: 18+ only. Formula one driver! Yuta x f! reader, use of alcohol, swearing, mentions of sex

word count: 5k

a/n: part 2 came soon because i'm so pumped lolol. Note, In this story, Megumi and Toji aren't related.

WARNING: always use protection!

You sat in your hot, plastic seat with bated breath, like a thousand others, keeping your eyes trained on the asphalt of the track.

Even though it was November, temperatures in Vegas were no good - either that, or the revelation that your hookup from last night is a world-renowned athlete is making you nauseous.

You were in the most uncomfortable position in the entire stands combined, smack in the middle of a fired up Noritoshi and a spiteful Kokichi, who were planning on probably shouting at the top of their lungs for their favorite driver on the grid.

"When's this starting?" You turn to Miwa, a bit nervous.are You nervous to see that man, Yuta, in the middle of his job? What if he doesn't perform well - that would be embarrassing. Oh well, no one here knows about us anyway so it's fine. Except for his number one fan Noritoshi maybe.

"Well, they're almost done with the formation lap, so they should line up at the start line soon. Red Bull's Geto has the pole with a surprise front line seat for Ferrari's Gojo. King Okkotsu is sitting third with Ferrari's second, Itadori Yuji. Then it's Red Bull's Mahito followed by Merc's Toge and - " he goes on and on, speaking jargon and names You don't understand.

"Noritoshi." You stop him in the middle of his enthusiastic speech. "You understand that none of what you said passed through my brain right?"

"Ah well, none of it matters!" He cackles. "When the race begins - you will know who you'll cheer for and who will have you at the edge of your seat. Who gets your heart pumping." He says, fisting his chest. The last bit seemed a bit unintentionally personal but you roll your eyes at him anyway.

The drivers are soon done with their 'formation lap' which Kokichi is nice enough to enlighten you - is a circle they do around the track to prep their tyres for the race and check the tracks and engines. You also see now that Pole is the car sitting first in the starting lineup, as you narrow your eyes at dark, red and blue car zooming its way to ease into the frontmost bracket. That must be the bane of Noritoshi's existence and the Object of Kokichi's desire - Geto Suguru.

Behind him is a flashy red car that earns a deafening roar of cheer as he comes into position. That must Gojo Satoru.

Music Recommendation:

Behind him, and you find yourself looking really keenly. You spot the teal and midnight black hues of a fiery car, followed by another deafening roar and a partial standing ovation. So that's him. 'Mr. Cute Dick, I don't drink, I am not a virgin'. You smirk at thought of such a wallflower being at the center of one of the hottest sports in the world, in a championship with the highest stakes.

"Looks like Y/N is an Okkotsu fan." Noritoshi claims, grinning sarcastically at Kokichi who replies with a grimace. "No, I clearly saw her looking keenly at Geto."

"Ah, shut up the two of you." You snap. "Let me watch!"

The both of them exchange glances at your sudden interest but humor you as the crowd waits with a chilling silence. The five red lights light up, sounding a beep and you can hear your heartbeat in that moment as they turn green without warning and the race is on!

The set of 20 cars pick up speed at a maddening rate and are soon accelerating through the curves and straights of the track, tailing one another. The commentator is particularly zealous, and you find yourself listening to him with a lot of attention. Your eyes never leave the Teal and Dark vehicle with his tiny head popping out the cockpit, protected by his shiny, silver helmet.

For around 30 laps or so, nothing changes, and the people have started chatting amongst themselves. You slump back down into your seat.

There is some action going on at the back of the line-up with a few of the cars overtaking and re-overtaking one another.

"Well, this is boring…" You admit.

"It has its moments." Noritoshi states. "Oh wait, what's that-"

You turn to the track so fast, your vision goes blurry, and You nearly miss the spectacle.

The second red is quickly closing in on Yuta's Teal but Yuta swivels out of the way just in time, apparently surprising his tail-end as the driver, Itadori, loses control and touches the back of the first red car, Gojo's. Both of them start spinning dramatically and are vaulted out of the race at one of the turns.

"Collision! In the Top Five! Both Ferraris are out!" The commentator is roaring out now, with several people standing to get a better view.

You yourself are concerned for the Ferraris that seemed to have lost some parts of the car, leaving behind a trail of debris. But soon enough, both drivers emerge from their respective cars, with the taller one giving the crowd a thumbs up. He removes his helmet and a layer of clothing to reveal striking snow-white hair and dazzling smile. This sport is too fucking dangerous.

"The collision will be under investigation for sure to see if Ferrari's Number 3, Itadori is at fault! For now, the safety car is out."

You train your gaze on Yuta again. He seems to have taken a different route from the track now, heading towards a group of people, clad in suits and uniforms similar to the colors of his car.

"Hey, what's he doing?" You ask Noritoshi. You almost hear Kokichi mumbling "Oh shit." under his breath.

"That's a pit stop. Change of Tyres. Now is a brilliant time for this." Noritoshi says, his lips quivering. Is he really that excited for Yuta.

"The Safety Car has been taken off and with Mercedes' Number 7 quick thinking, Okkotsu takes the lead of the race!" The commentator announces earning a barrage of cheer from the crowd and a giant sigh from Kokichi.

"But not far behind him is Red Bull's Number 4, Geto, fastest car of the crop, who is looking to overtake… He has the DRS on and, and…." You don't need to listen to the commentator anymore because You see it happening and You almost let out some weird feral choke as Yuta barely, barely manages to keep his lead and the vicious, red and blue car accepts defeat, staying behind. You finally breathe out when You see Yuta gaining some speed and maintaining a good distance between him and Geto.

Kokichi pokes your shoulder and gives you a look of immense worry when You realize You are literally gripping your hair at the roots with both hands.

"ah, hah!" You laugh nervously, letting go off your now scrunched up hair. You lean back again as they announce the final lap and with no difficulty, as the checkered flag is waved, Yuta's Mercedes finishes first, with Geto behind him, followed by the other red bull, Mahito.

All of us rise to give the winners a standing ovation as confetti is blasted into the air and fireworks decorate the already shimmering Vegas skyline. You watch in wonder at the colors in the sky as Yuta pumps his fists up, getting out of his car and running over to his team.

"Good win, bro." Kokichi smiles at Noritoshi, who You now notice is on the verge of tears.

You see Yuta remove his helmet, but You can only make out his dark hair from this distance. You don't stop yourself from pouting at the disappointment. Why do You feel like You deserve being close to him right now. Maybe your good-luck suck off today guaranteed his win.

You see him disappear into the pavilion and ask Noritoshi if we can take a closer look at them.

"Close is not close enough to get their autographs but I can get you close enough to see their faces." Noritoshi claims and You give him a smile of gratitude.

"Geez Y/N. Did I really convert you in one race? Can't say if I'm prouder of you or myself." He jokes.

We stand for the Japanese national anthem as we cheer for the winning drivers receiving their trophies and drowning each other in champagne. Geto Suguru doesn't seem to be too keen to join into the racket, but Mahito wants to push the whole bottle down Yuta's throat. You smirk at the view. No teetotalling today?

As the crowd disperses out of the stands, we make our way through as well. You are tightly holding on to one of Miwa's and Momo's hands, each.

Noritoshi guides us through a few sections of the crowd and through a few random nooks and alleys of the arena until we reach what seems like a back gate. You see that a sizable yet dealable crowd is already standing there with Cameras and posters and shirts in hand.

"Well, this is a guarded secret, so not many know." Noritoshi winks at us. Today You are glad You became friends with his girlfriend, Momo.

We join the rows of people, but you fight your way to at least the second from start row, earning a lot of swears and some chick even trying to pull your hair.

You gaze at the gate with hope. One last look. Just to curb your excitement. It's just excitement nothing else. I'll be done after this. I'll go back to your city and drown yourself in work. None of this ever happened…. but why do You feel oddly bitter.

Is it because You realized Yuta and You are worlds apart? You are just an ordinary, honest worker - a commonality. Whereas he a star athlete, loved by the masses and with access to as many options as he wants. But what You have learnt from your past is, people can be as special or common as they want - a person who wants to find options, will always go out in search of options.

And as if to prove your point, You feel an ominous buzz in your hands right as You hear the doors open. You check your phone to see the screen flashing "Megumi Baby." right onto your face. You don't react or move; You simply glare at the screen. You are unable to breath as memories come flooding in.

Promises, nectar-soaked words, caressing your face with the deepest look of love. His bare back shining with sweat as he pounded into a girl from your workplace that YOU had introduced to him as your coworker. Him turning around, expressionless, leaving without giving you an explanation. Him telling you that you were expecting too much of him and You should have never assumed we were a thing since he was just trying new things in life.

All of it comes back to me, not particularly with ease. It washes over you like a tsunami. Completely drowns me. It's not until the incessant shouting of the crowd brings you to your senses that You snap out of your trance.

"Yuta! Yuta!" the people cheer. "Look here, please, just once. Yuta!"

You stare in horror as You spot Yuta's back getting into his matte black car. You are only able to see a small fraction of the back of his head and his white shirt.

You missed your chance.

You look back at the still ringing phone and want to smash it to bits. Fuck you, Megumi. Fuck you.

The first thing You do is cut the call and block his vile number. Then You try to scream out Yuta's name too in a futile attempt to get his attention, but You are not loud enough.

Amazing.

You start laughing to yourself now.

What was the point of this?

You recall yourself looking in the mirror at your apartment, coaching yourself to make this a pleasure trip. You would hookup with the best guy You could find, forget Megumi for good and move on with your life. So, whatare You doing now?

That guy Yuta would probably head to some lavish after party now and have a string of the prettiest girls in the world willing to suck him off. What use is it down?

The realization nearly brings you to tears. You should have never tried. You slowly retract your raised hands and sink back into the crowd, letting them continue their cheers. You turn back and slowly make your way out of the crowd and towards your friends.

"Wow, Y/N. Even Noritoshi and I didn't go that far in. You good?" Kokichi asks.

"Y/N, sweetie, you look like you're about to throw up what's wrong?" Momo asks me, cupping your face while Miwa rubs your arm.

"Megumi called…" You admit and all of them show a violent shift in expression.

"You haven't blocked that asshole yet?" Miwa asks, furious. You shake your head. "I just did."

"Y/N. You better not maintain any contact with him. He's the absolute scum of-"

"Hey, hey there miss." Suddenly our discussion is interrupted by a polite voice. We all turn around to see two men in suits and glasses standing tall and strong, waiting behind us. They look oddly familiar somehow with the waxed-up hair and somber faces. One of them has a scar near his lips and the other has his hair in a messy bun.

"Miss, are you the one who took Mr. Okkotsu out of the Four Seasons Club last night?" One of them, the bun guy, asks in a business-like fashion, pointing at me. Ah, now You remember them. The two lookers from the club last night, hiding Mr. wallflower behind their broad backs.

Scarface gets a call before You could reply though.

"Yes, Mr. Okkotsu. We're on our way. Well, we have a surprise for you." he tells Mr. Okkotsu mischievously. You narrow your eyes at the word "Surprise."

Scarface exchanges a knowing look with Bunhair and both of them cage you in.

"Would you like to see Mr. Okkotsu, again? It's not like we can force you, but he gave us specific instructions to find you and let him know."

"I didn't make him out to be a stalker you know." You say sarcastically, pondering if You should accept their offer. your friends do give you a strange look and You almost want to tell at least Noritoshi what's going on. But before You can take a call, You get a beep from your phone. This time it's a fucking EMAIL from Megumi.

Jesus, this man.

"I'm coming." You say abruptly. "I'll meet up with you guys later." You tell your friends as they give you looks of utter confusion.

"And burn this shitty device please." you say, tossing your phone towards Kokichi. "At least until I get some sort of restraining order against Megumi."

You exchange a look with Noritoshi and he knows in his heart that You will certainly get an autograph for him.

The two men take surround you as they guide you towards the waiting car. A matte black Lambo. They make sure to hide you from prying eyes, which isn't too hard with their gigantic muscular bodies.

You take a deep breath before You open the door and slide in.

Yuta and you share a good 10 seconds of absolute silence. Honestly, he looks like he's about to fracture his jaw from how wide his gaping mouth is getting. The two men climb into the front and openly laugh at his expression.

"Really, Okkotsu?" they say in unison.

"Wh-wh-wha-" He stutters.

"If you're that offended to see me, I can get out." You tease him, knowing he's going to grab your arm and make you stay. That's exactly what he does.

"Sorry, I was just surprised." He regains his composure. "Well, it's good to see you again, after last time…"

Uff, he shouldn't remind you because you wouldn't be able to control your cheeks getting flushed. There is another round of awkward silence before he decides to continue.

"Ah, right. You left your undergarments in the room last night, I thought you'd want them back so I-" before he can say anything else you slap your palm onto his lips, turning an embarrassing shade of tomato red.

"Not here, not right now!" You whisper-yell at him but his bodyguards/managers/goons/whatevers are quick to catch onto the conversation. Scarface who's driving the car gives you a perverted whistle without turning back and Bun-guy merely hums to himself, pretending to not have heard anything.

"T-Toji, that's impolite!" Yuta shouts at the scarface driver, turning red himself.

"It's not an uncommon thing with you. Aren't you creating quite a collection anyway?" The bun-guy butts in, leaving Yuta defenseless.

"Todo!" he yells at him too and slumps back into his seat, hiding his face. You study him. This was the champion race car driver an hour ago - and now he's a blushy, awkward, highly embarassing puddle.

"Collection, so you do this a lot huh?" You poke him.

"Absolutely not!" He sits up again. "Last night, I just…"

Now you're interested. Sounds like he broke a rule for you.

"Last night what?"

"Well, I just-"

"Oh my god, speak up, Okkotsu!" Toji screams from the wheel.

"Nevermind!" Yuta retorts and grabs your hands. "Are you coming to the after-party or not?"

"Well, I don't have a gown or anything…" You reply, looking down at your very non-party like clothing - a pin strip pant suit.

"Honestly…" He looks you dead in the eye. "You look so gorgeous, I don't want others to stare too much but if you want a dress, we can make a stop. I'll cover it, don't worry." He assures me, feeling a bit less awkward now.

For that compliment, he deserves to see a pretty dress on you and probably a flick to the forehead for making your heart race.

Todo seems to have a good eye for stores because the boutique he takes us to has a brilliant selection of clothes from classy to elegant to teasingly hot and even a corner for some sexy stuff.

You take some time to think and pick out a silvery satin cowl neck dress that compliments your cleavage and stops just a few inches shy of your womanhood. You also pair it will sparkly, strappy heels. You'll just have to make sure to walk properly to not expose anything… unless. When you walk out of the fitting room, you find Yuta waiting beside the billing counter, on his phone, matching your colors, in a light grey tux and black shirt-trouser set. He has combed his hair in a side part, looking rather sharp and you can smell his fresh cologne from a distance. He hears the clacking of your heels and looks up, his lips parting slightly at the sight.

For a moment when your eyes meet, everything stills, like the two of you are the only people in this room. The magnetic pull is something you have never experienced before, not even with Megumi, who you once thought was the love of your life. You walk over to him quickly, tucking your hair behind your ear and give him a twirl. "What do you think?"

"Might have to punch anyone who looks at you wrong tonight." He admits, sheepishly.

"W-What?" You mumble, looking away. Megumi could never. All he told you was to dress modestly so the men won't look. Never did he say he'd protect you. Maybe he never had the balls or talent to.

"Okay, you two get back in the car." Toji yawns at us, getting impatient or perhaps slightly weirded out by the clear tension between us.

The drive to one of Las Vegas' most affluent casino clubs was short and silent. You weren't really mentally prepared to see celebrities and big shots, partying away.

"This will be the best night of your life, I promise." Yuta assures you, intertwining his fingers with yours. You let him only because it calms your nerves. There are a few questions you need answers to though.

"Why are you doing this?" You ask and see Yuta's brow furrow.

"Are you uncomfortable or anything? You can't tell me-"

"It's not that... it's just..." you start. "It really doesn't make sense."

"I am not the most spectacular lay in the world." you admit. "I'm sure you have the world's most exquisite looking women dying to get time with you. I just don't see how being with me can benefit you."

You notice yourself putting yourself down and try to stop but your self-esteem is at an all-time low. That was one of the prime reasons you didn't want to meet up again with anyone you hooked up with during this trip. You wanted to leave feeling all parties involved had the best time of their lives and had no complaints.

Maybe lust got the better of Yuta and he'd come to his senses any minute.

"I think I liked the fact that you had no idea who I was..." He says and you raise your brows.

"I'm sorry I was unaware-"

"Nope, it's a good thing... I felt like I could just be the party loser, Yuta, for once... not a papped, scrutinized driver, Yuta. It felt oddly liberating." He admits.

"Plus, I-" He starts but swallows his words. "Do you remember what we talked about on the way to the hotel?"

You were not paying too much attention back then, being bowled over by the need to fuck someone, but... what did you say?

"Kids, we're here. Catch up later." Todo lets you two know, looking back. Before you could get off though, Yuta leans over.

"Are you going to tell me your name now or not?" He says. The shadows must be playing tricks on your eyes because in the dark, illuminated by paparazzi flashes you find your heart drumming inside your chest, unable to break eye contact.

"Y-Y/N. My name's Y/N." You say finally.

Yuta smiles wide at this and grabs one of your hands, opening the door to his flashy car and the light, noise and cheers hit you all at once.

He helps you get out suddenly, facing a sea of stunned yet curious people, you find yourself wanting to cry from embarrassment.

Oh no. no no no no no! What were they going to print about you now? What will you tell the managing director at your company about this PR scandal?

"Relax." Yuta holds your hand firmly. "I'll make sure only the news you want gets out." He reassures you, find your fingers again, locking them into his and you feel slightly better as you guys make our way to the inside, walking the red carpet.

The casino obviously is so maximalist, it hurts your eyes to say the least. There are people dressed in grandeur lining up at food tables, cigar tables and alcohol tables. There are some playing a few rounds of poker or gambling away at the machines. You are unable to focus on any one spot because all of it is so grandiose, you can't help but gawk at everything!

When people spot the two of you though, they quickly make their way over. Yuta is today's champion after all - this party is for him. They have a lot of good things to say to him - words of admiration, congratulations, words of passive aggressive envy but what all of them have in common is the looks of confusion or judgement they throw at you. One side-eye with a raised brow and they excuse themselves. Sure, no sparkly dress can make you look like one of them, but you had no idea 'big'-shots had the smallest sense of morals and social etiquette. Yuta introduces you as a 'good friend' to them and although it stings at first, this is a necessary step. It's what you would want and would cause the least amount of headache for the both of you. You aren't really friends or aren't really dating after all.

'One time Hookup-ers' isn't exactly a PR friendly term.

"Sorry about them. Most of them lack manners." Yuta says nervously but you reassure him that nothing they say can dent your self-image.

"No amount of looks they give me can change the fact that I'm not drowning in daddy's money, but my own." You smirk at him, leaving him impressed.

The two of you go through a few more people until you finally get to retire to a corner table of the giant ball room.

"How do you do this?" you ask, staring up at the magnificent chandelier crowning the hall.

"Well the boys never stay back for these kinds of things, we run off to different parts of the city to get wasted." He replies. "Just not before race night." You look at him with some mischief tingling behind your smile. He takes this chance to lean in closer and bump noses with you.

"And you thought I was inexperienced, didn't you?"

"So that's how you aren't a virgin...hmm, adventurous."

But Yuta shakes his head. "I've dated before. We ended things and I'm just beginning to explore my options now..."

"You must be spoilt for choice." You try to boost his ego, smiling wider as you feel his breath fan your face. Oh, how you could use a kiss right now. A kiss with everyone watching.

"I'm not spoilt for good choices." He says. "Having a choice doesn't always mean they're the best option for you." Damn, that's harsh. You cup his cheek in your hand and gaze into his dark blue eyes.

"And yet you gave me a chance-"

Before you can finish though, you hear a pair of boots slapping the ground while running in your direction.

"Okkotsu Yuta, you were supposed to give me the post-race comments. The media is waiting!" You hear a woman yell out as she approaches the two of you. She is dressed in a simple yet elegant navy-blue ensemble. Her eyes look disappointed, but her beautiful face, with its under-lip mole, maintains its poise. Yuta greets her with a sigh.

"I will, I will." He tells her. "Rika, let me off for today at least."

"No can do, Yuta." she shakes her head, getting her phone out.

"You can give me a few phrases and I'll piece together something coherent." she offers but Yuta doesn't want to hear it.

"Um, kind of in the middle of something?" He reminds her, circling his arm around your back.

The woman, Rika, gives you a pointed look. "You get one of those every other week. This is important business Yuta."

What does she mean those? You slightly free yourself from Yuta's embrace and look at him, confused. He looks as unaware as you are.

"Rika, you-"

"Yuta, you should stop toying with chicks. New one every few days. And when they want to get serious with you, I have to deal with all those calls and messages." Rika rants on and Yuta's eyes are getting wider by the minute.

For a second, you feel an empty pit in your stomach but before it can show on your face, you stand up.

"So that's how it is, huh?" you corner Yuta who looks aghast.

"Why am I even surprised?" you mutter, walking away from them. You remember Megumi's deadpan face as he walked out after you caught him and his mistress together. Yuta will be the same.

You reach for the balcony door to get some fresh air, but you feel your elbow being grabbed. It's Yuta. Huffing and very worried.

"W-wait, Y/N." He pleads.

You choose to keep your face neutral.

"It's fine. it's not like we were dating. Maybe, tell that woman to be mindful about her language though because the next time she addresses me as if I'm some object, I'll punch her." That threat, You are very serious about. This was a bad idea after all. You don't belong in the world of racecars, and parties and high-profile vips. You are happy with your computer and 3 cups of americanos, building prolific, useful software, from your cramped up office.

"Listen, Y/N... She was lying!" He tries to reason, and you take a look at him. You mentally give him thirty seconds to explain himself. He takes the cue and wastes no time.

"She's the one I dated. She has been my manager for a long time, and it has been some time since we split. I thought she had moved on since I saw her with another driver a while back but looks like she's still bitter." He explains frantically. But who he has dated isn't even your concern.

"I don't want to deal with fragments of your past, especially ex-flames, Yuta." you say bluntly. "I'm sorry, I have to leave now. Goodbye. Thanks for the evening."

You free yourself from Yuta's clutches, stifling a sob and heading towards the exit. You may have been seeing things, but you see a fluff of white follow you out from the corner of your eyes. It wasn't Yuta though.

Why did you care? It shouldn't matter.

No amount of love could bring people a universe apart, after all.

To be continued....READ PART 3 HERE!!

a/n: Okay there is practically no smut here but the plot needs some build up. Part 3 gonna be out soon and it's going to have a lot of smut, stay tuned guys!

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melmedardaapologist · 2 months ago

Note

Kinda related to your last post but if someone wanted to know the most they possibly could about Mel, which media should they be looking into? Obviously the two seasons of Arcane give us the most in-depth canon knowledge about her character, but there's also a bunch of supplemental stuff coming out recently and I'm having a hard time keeping up. Is it an Ambessa book and two or three short videos as well? I'm also seeing there's a comic maybe? I don't play League which probably contributes a lot to my confusion. Are there some interviews with the cast/creators that you think help lend insight to her character as well?

Of course! Within the Mel Medarda expanded universe, we so far have:

the book Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf by C.L. Clark, which details the time between Mel's failure and her exile to Piltover, and while Ambessa is technically the main character, we get a lot of insight about the brutality Mel was trying to avoid having happen in Piltover as well as how she got her first tattoos

the Arcane Artbook has some early concept art and creator's thoughts on Mel, I have a copy so I might post all relevant pages to this blog for archiving purposes, and then the account @art-of-arcane sometimes posts additional concept art and the 3d modeling

the music video Blood Sweat & Tears, which recounts a vision Ambessa received while pregnant with Mel, it's also recounted in the Ambessa novel but I would still watch the original for the full experience

the LoL Season trailer Welcome to Noxus - Bite Marks, which isn't Mel focused and is, from what I can tell, to promote in-game events and isn't a show, but it does show Mel's immediate arrival in Noxus

the Mel Motion Comic | The Fourth Principle video, which is more of a character study regarding her thoughts about mercy, but does introduce us to a cousin of hers that has similar sigils

the LoL video The Roots of Empire | Origins of Noxus, a short piece (but gorgeously animated) that focuses mostly on Leblanc being ominous, but again reinforces Mel's importance in the world of Noxus (and possibly that the Black Rose will want to keep destabilizing Clan Medarda)

for the game itself, there's the Mel Voice - Special Interactions video that has short dialogue with other significant characters, due to the fact that LoL is basically a PvP game this does mean that the characterization is a bit odd and contradictory at times but it has its moments

she also has a very lovely champion theme The Soul's Reflection

more speculatively, there's the Iron & Chains show, which so far we only have leaks of, but it appears that Mel will be a main character with Swain as her mentor (and LoL is also heavily advertising with Mel at this moment, so I doubt she'll be missing from future projects)

unfortunately I don't really keep track of interviews, that's my weakest link in regards to material, but I know there's one hour-long interview with Toks Olagundoye here

That's all I can remember right now, I usually keep afloat of info by regularly scrolling through the #mel medarda tag and seeing what other people have noticed 😂

#arcane #mel medarda #league of legends #mcu: medarda cinematic universe

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noodledesk · 3 months ago

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my goals for the year :)

This will most definitely change. But directionally, here's what we've got:

🌻 Create a garden on my balcony: I've been thinking of growing tomato plants on my south-facing balcony for a couple years now. I've been aspiring towards working with plants. Now I need to go beyond watering a houseplant and wringing my hands when they start killing themselves and dying.

🎨 Paint my coffee table and decorate it: I really enjoyed painting my "community chairs" with my friends last year and they've become one of my favourite things in the apartment. Let's keep going; I got a coffee table off Facebook Marketplace for $25.

📖 Start and finish the Artist's Way: I'd like to get to a point where drawing and writing feel very natural, very joyful, and feels more honest. I'm very used to trying to operationalize my creative process. This probably needs the sort of spiritual healing that people seem to get from Julia Cameron's Artist's Way.

🫂 Make intergenerational friends: I don't hang out with enough babies and I don't hang out with enough grannies. That's a lot of joy and wisdom I'm missing out on! Not to mention delicious food. Plus my skill in being able to connect devices to Wi-Fi is most appreciated by this demographic.

🧘 Find better ways to release stress that actually release stress: I do a lot of activities that are supposed to release stress. But I am still a very stressed person, so I think I'm probably not doing the right things.

✌️Maintain my emotional vibe: Basically regulating my emotions better. Get in tune with urge surfing. But also if I'm feeling joyful, to share it with other people and worry less about its appropriateness.

🦜 Talk to more people whose work I find interesting: I'm shy to talk to people about their work but I want to know what possibilities are out there beyond making slide decks that are marginally interesting and poorly researched lol.

🎹 Pick up music again with guitar or with jamming with my band: I miss that spiky, focused feeling of jamming with other people. I'd also like to do some structured learning of an instrument. Probably piano or guitar.

✏️ Write my blog posts with less polish, more curiosity: More rigor on research, more googling, more interesting examples. Spend more time digging around instead of stuck wondering how to phrase something. Focus less on voice and style. This will come naturally with reading more and taking walks and talking to interesting people.

📚 Study more: I need to read up. I am foolish and not proud of it! I'd like to read more, engage with what I'm reading more, and take some classes. Probably about data analysis and design.

💡Try new things in my career: Writing this blog has been really fun and rewarding, but I think experimenting with other mediums will also be fruitful. Maybe trying out YouTube again or reviving the poetry podcast, or drawing on greeting cards; I just want to try something that I can fuck up and then learn from. I'm also thinking about how my 9-5 job shapes all of this exploration.

🥕 Figure out a food system: Get better at managing the admin / planning side of cooking: groceries, ingredient prep, meal planning, nutrition planning. I feel like I can reduce a lot of my food-related stress by planning more effectively.

I wrote more about this on my substack. And if you'd like to see how I'm keeping track you can check out my Notion template :)

#goals #mine #diary

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edupiii · 8 months ago

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The other night I went on a tangent to my friends about the music in Murder Drones and how it’s hard to compare the albums since they are each amazing in their own ways. Despite this, my friend insisted that I compare them, so I did. After writing everything out, she said I should post it so that’s what’s happening!

Welcome to an informal essay about the music in Murder Drones

In this essay, I will be going over the 4 albums created by A.J Dispirito and the strengths within each album. This essay is to show that the music between the albums is unable to be compared to one another as they are all astounding and work wonders for the atmosphere of the overall show.

Feel free to disagree with me and let me know your thoughts!

Murder Drones Pilot Mini-Album

The pilots album could be considered the weakest of the 4. It doesn’t have that many tracks that are reused throughout the other episodes. BUT- it is very strong as it has “Murder Brings” which is the trailer song for the pilot and it’s kind of a banger. I find it not as good as “Eternal Dream” “BITE ME” and “FOREVER” but it’s still super fucking good. In the first album we also have “Click”, “Gin Rummy”, “UZI THE DRONE KILLER” and “Goth Girl Anime Lover VS Wholesome Killer Boy” which are all very good songs that get you hyped for fight scenes. There are a few more mellow songs in the pilot’s album, making it not stand out as much. Despite that, it is also the very album that brought us the iconic Murder Drones theme music, which has been a staple in all future songs throughout the series. It’s not looked at as much as the other albums but it worked for the pilot and that’s all it really needed to do. It was good and is still good.

Murder Drones Volume 1

Next is the first official MD album. Once again, it can be overlooked like the pilots soundtrack since it doesn’t have super gut punchy, kick assy music. HOWEVER- it has a very eerie tone to it since it’s going over the second episode (with the Eldritch J monster) and it takes place in Dolls Room which is scary as fuck. It also gives us a few really good adrenaline pumping songs like “Aaaaahhh”. The song Bathtub” is in this album and it is spooky and intense which I love! Classic horror vibes. We also get “Uuugghhh” in this album which is possibly one of my favourites since it keeps going from energetic to spooky and I find that really funny for some reason (also the scenes this song was used for is hilarious). “Get Prommed” and “The Knife Dance” are INCREDIBLY ICONIC and have that addicting saxophone in it along with lots of grove. I really like “Spooky Flashback? oooooo” since it gives us a first look at the Elliot Manor and what kind of music we will be hearing in the 5th episode. Mind you, it’s not as good as the songs in the 5th episode but for foreshadowing, I think it works beautifully as it just gives us a small idea of what the manor was like for N, V and J. I think the first album is often overlooked but just like the pilot album, it has some wicked shit in it that you can’t ignore.

Murder Drones Volume 2

The second album I think might be my favourite because of the music used for the Elliot Manor flashbacks. There’s something so saddening and cold yet cheerful about them that I just cant shake and I adore them. It’s most definitely the soft piano that does it for me. Im a whore for soft piano music. We also have “Falling…For You??”, “Gentle” and “huggie wuggies” which PULL on my heart strings. The mellow music in this album is so well done and make me weep like a small child. DONT GET ME STARTED ON ETERNAL DREAM- I could write an entirely different essay just on that song alone and its relation to V’s entire character, however, I’m pretty sure that has already been done by many more qualified people than myself so you may go read those.

Then we’ve got the scary music in this album, which is a HUGE leap forward compared to the pilots album and the first album. Songs like “Solver Uzi”, “Heh, Nothing Personal Kid”, “SENTINEL 000D”, “…wow…ok THATS Pretty Dark” “literally just noise (your favourite)” and “Earth” are all phenomenal songs that give the spooks and scares. They are eerie and are drenched in anticipation for what is going to happen next. They give so much emphasis on the danger that these characters are in and can make you feel the same way. They freak you out and that is their job. Personal bias to the second album but it is phenomenal. I feel like people might not listen to the softer music in it which I totally understand, but I love it a lot.

Murder Drones Volume 3

And finally, we have the third album.

To start off, this shit goes incredibly hard with its scary stuff. They injected some sort of chemical into this album. I think it might be the chimes and whispers and church music. They added more eerie sounds in this album and I LOVE IT so much. The album starts STRONG with “When you forget to pray” which is so scary and gross and eerie, I love her. It fit the church scene so well and the song itself is disgustingly horrendous with its churchy vibes yet it makes them sound anything but holy. “Callback Ping”, “Absolute Solver” “…Hey guys, just wanted to say what’s up” and “……run” are TERRIFYING! nothing more can be said about those other than that. They scare the shit out of me and I can’t deal with that. Im pretty sure there is screaming in these ones as well, so that adds to the charm of spook. “Die Mad” is a bit spooky but it GOES SO HARD. UNREASONABLY HARD. But then it gets all soft and sad and makes me weep.

Speaking of weeping; “Hang Out?” and “Falling With You” MAKE ME WANNA KILL MYSELF. YHEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH AAGUUUUUGHHHH-

And finally, the kick ass shit in this album is probably what defines it from the others. Each album has eeriness to them or a few songs that get you pumped; but this album? We’ve got “Eternal DESTROYER” 3 different versions of “BITE ME”, “…Uzi and N: The Drone Killers”, and “YOU’RE FREAKIN’ GROUNDED” which all are such good fighting songs and get you hyped up. They are the songs that get YOU wanting to kick ass, and I love it.

Like the others, there is a few mellow songs in this album, but not a ton. “FOREVER”, “ur aight”, and “haha yea dude, that’s sick” are all very good songs since they take place during scenes of walking or talking, not really any big action. Despite that they are all chillish and are incredibly catchy, they all still carry that eerie feeling that something isn’t right and that’s perfect for the series since we continuously know that something isn’t right.

In conclusion, all 4 of the albums created for the Murder Drones series are incredible in different ways. They each have strengths as well as songs that stand out. I wouldn’t say that one is better than the other since they all have songs that fit the episodes that they premiered in. A.J Dispirito has been very consistent with the quality of their music produced throughout the shows run time, keeping a balance of action, eerie, sweet and scary. I think that music for this series may be difficult to make since there’s so many jumps from goofy to scary to cute and so on. You can definitely see Dispirito’s improvment in their work throughout the series, but every song they’ve created has been excellent.

#murder drones #murder drones music #murder drones discussion #in this essay i will #i hope you enjoyed my autistic rant. i wrote this at 2am and took me about an hour #i had a lot of fun writing this #idk if you could tell but i love music so much #informal essay #music essay #uzi doorman #murder drones n #murder drones v #murder drones nuzi #murder drones cyn #murder drones absolute solver #callback ping

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nitrokiraru · 1 year ago

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madatowa drama cd notes as someone who has very limited jp knowledge. i am simply using my 4 yrs of high school japanese, google translate, and a dream. just posting this for fun so it’s not like an official translation or anything it’s just basically me describing what’s happening to the best of my ability and also being insane about them

major events that happened that i could make out as like a tldr

-mada reunited with someone he knew when he was little

-towa learns abt mada’s past, mainly around a guy named “kurahashi”

-mayu eiji and kotarou appearance :D being sillies as always

-two yowie moments. first one in an alleyway second one presumably in their home. both are freak nasty as usual madatowa shenanigans

notes:

track 1

-LOTS of fighting noises in this

-towa and mada have a coffee and say it tastes like shinkoumi. some dudes come up to em and try to fight

track 2+3

-somebody notices them and gives them a job. presumably to fight people

-towa fights some people and it riles him up

-this part has already been translated but i just wanna scream abt it here bc!!!!!! towa brings him and mada into like an alleyway or something and he goes “hit me. it has to be you.” and mada says something like “you really are a lost cause/what am i going to do with you, huh?” hits him n his mouth fills with blood and towa kisses mada to make him taste it dnnsjdjd ❤️

-they have a quickie in the third track in said alleyway like the freaks they are

track 4

-a character (acquaintance of mada) called him “kei” which was kinda crazy to me since nobody called him that in the vn

-theyre in south america i believe? it’s funny in drama cds when they go to a country outside of japan and still speak japanese

-this character knew mada when he was little??? omg

-KAGA MENTION

-somebody came up to towa and madarame and said “forget everything you saw/heard today”?!

-there’s a VA in here that lowkey sounds like koujaku dmmd but idk how to check

track 5

-it’s funny how some tracks in here are like 2 minutes and the next one is 20

-dude i forgot how good nitroplus’ like sound effects are these mfs sound like they’re in my ROOM

-towa n mada having a convo abt the previous day. i think they may be arguing slightly? tone feels passive aggressive

-birds chirpin’ and towa’s breathing. he just woke up

-he just said madarame in the softest voice ever… 💔💔

-i think he woke up on their bed and mada left before he did

-towa: where did you go?😕 *track ends*

track 6

-footsteps. towa in a coffee shop once again

-MADA FIGHTING THAT DUDE HE KNEW

-cut back to towa. beep beep boop. towa calling somebody? ITS MAYU KOTAROU AND I THINK EIJI OMGGGGG T__T I MISSED EM

-i missed mayus silly voice

-they keep talking about somebody named “kurahashi” related to mada and kaga

-sasaki and toono mention?

-mayu: did something happen between you and madarame? did you two fight? (in the most teasing lil shit voice ever)

towa: *exhales smoke probably abt to hang up the phone* i’m done. -__-

eiji: HE WAs JUST KIDDIN-

-eiji: mata!! (see you!)

kotarou: mata na.

mayu: mata ne~ ^__^

the difference in tones was cute

-towa walks out of da shop. the dude from before comes up to him and asks if he wants to know what he and mada have been doing

-he like grabs him?? menacing music playing

-ok towa said let me go i think he pushed him up against a wall or something

-this dude is asking towa if he knows abt mada before he joined the takasatogumi. some massive lore bits goin on here (i understand about 20% of it)

-from what i got: madarame and kaga had a promise. lots of talk abt this promise. lots of talk abt madarame’s history with his siblings and takasatogumi. this entire bit is probably really interesting lore wise but i can’t understand most of it…💔 apologies

- enter madarame from the distance to save towa from this dude’s grasp

-he walks away.

-madarame: that guy…what happened?

towa: nothin. we just talked

madarame: really?

towa: yea. (he lyin)

track 7

-they go back home (i think) and enter.

towa sighssss. towa and mada talk time it seems ^__^

-madarame’s voice is so soft when he’s w him…cries

-towa: mentions something abt kurahashi

music: gets Suspenseful

-towa talks abt the stuff that dude told him

-towa ran away into a room?! (once again this would make me more sense if i even understood the weight of that dudes words and the lore of what happened)

track 8 (pretty sure this is the beginning of disc 2? however i’m listening from dlsite so it just shows up as track 8)

-this track is 20 minutes oh god pray for me as i try to even figure out what the hell is happening

-towa goes to see kurahashi and some dude tells him he needs an appt lawl… he lets him in tho

-“you came after all, towa” *suspense music starts*

-there’s a new takasatogumi?¿

-the dude who calls madarame “kei” is here telling him this. actually i think this is kurahashi i’ve just been calling him “the dude” this whole time but maybe it is kurahashi LMFAO i’ll just call him that

-wait the interrogation/euphoria music is playing? they’re still doing this segment in the drama cds omg

-towas voice still remaining the sexiest shit ever god

-IS HE TRYING TO SEDUCE INFORMATION OUT OF HIM or is it just his voice. maybe both

-more lore bits abt mada that i can only get bits n pieces from

-towa provoking da hell out of this mf.

-literally what the HELL is happening some other dude came in i hear clothes rustling and towa said Unhand Me

-HELLO GLASS JUST BROKE THAT SCARED ME WHY ARE NITROPLUS’ SOUND EFFECTS SO REALISTIC

-ITS MADA LMFAKOOK HE BROKE IN AND ASAID “towa. u in here?”

-the guy who sounds like koujaku is back apparently w him. they saved towa :D

-OK WHERE DID EIJI MAYU AND KOTAROU COME FROM I MISSED SOMETHING. i did.

track 9

-more kotarou eiji and mayuuuu. looks like they’re with towa and madarame now

-ok they left lawl

-everything’s all chill now i think that last track was the drama. i can’t wait until somebody translates the whole thing so i can actually understand what da hell happened

-once again their voices when they speak to each other alone are just 💔💔..

-it got a bit intimate at the end there i think i’m abt to hear a secks scene ngl

track 10

-YUP THE JAZZ MUSIC PLAYIN AND THERES KISSIN

-blood and knife(?) mention oh it’s abt to get real crazy in here

-mada: want me to cut you (non-verbatim ish)

towa: yes…..!!

-i’m punching the air.

-*cut sfx* mada: did that hurt?

towa:… feels good

-towa is such a fucking freak (affectionate) my god

-i think mada is licking the blood up oh my goodnes i’m abt to pass out and i’m only 2 min in

-oh he’s . towas whimpering . i’m normal (yes they’re fucking now)

-towa: cut me more. i want it to hurt

-mada keeps cutting him and towa keeps doing that little whimper FAWKKKK I CANR

-after they finished

towa: you’re covered in blood.

mada: whose fault is that?

towa: yours, isn’t it?

-ok that just changed me and i am very glad i bought this CD so i can now listen to it for the rest of time.

track 11 (last one!! ;_;)

-outside ambience. towa talking abt da sky

-at the coffee shop again talking w da waiter

-melancholy music playing.. why am i feeling emotional

-if i heard this correctly mada and kaga had coffee together that tasted like what they’re having rn?¿ madarame talking more abt his past but like. fondly i guess

-madarame said something that kind of gagged towa but IDK WHAT IT WASSSS HE SAID “who knows”

ARKTA song once again for the ending! AND IM DONEEE

ok so. i’m not gonna give a full review since i didn’t understand all of what they were saying but i saw on twt some people are going to start translating it? so perhaps i’ll relisten once a translation is out and give my full thoughts but as of now i loved it regardless. i missed towa and madarame a lot i love their dynamic 💔 just a bunch of freaks fighting mfs occasionally and going anywhere but still sticking beside one other. im rly glad i actually bought it because i get to listen to it whenever AND it’ll probably feel like the first time once i finally listen to it along with an eng translation so i actually know wtf is GOING ON

anyways hi and thank u if u read this whole thing. ’m gonna buy the rest of them soon and also make a review post but probably not as long. the reason is because god i MISSED TOWAS VOICE SO MUCH LOL i must hear it again. that is all

#my txt #slow damage #madarame kei #madatowa

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shepscapades · 1 year ago

Note

Have you ever thought about making a playlist for the DBHAU characters? I'd be interested in what music they all would listen to or songs that relate to them.

WAOUGH thank you for reminding me-- there's actually. okay. okay so, there's actually... (checks writing on hand) 9 DBHC playlists currently LFKGJDLKFG

The way i like to organize playlists is, as i develop a character's lore/think about them more, i tend to put/look for songs that represent moments/feelings throughout their overall story in chronological order, rather than putting things on the playlist that are like, things the character would listen to or just general vibes. So each playlist is built to kinda... take you through their whole emotional journey :3 LFKJGSDFG although!! Usually, i will try to find a song i think is a good overall representation of the vibes, story, and character! Like, a title track :>

I think the only playlist that's currently closest to it's "finished" form or version is Etho's, which i've actually been meaning to share for ages LKFKLFJG but i keep getting this feeling that I would rather write up a quick explanation for what each song represents before I post it here, so i haven't gotten around to that yet :(

Though, there's a link to the Etho playlist in my stream discord LOL so a few people have access to it haha

Just for those who are curious, the dbhc playlists I currently have are:

Etho (Finished! Or like. i would have to find a PERFECT song to fit something new into the song lineup i think)

Tango (This one's pretty close overall... there are some gaps here and there but it's pretty long right now so i need to do some trimming too)

Jimmy (a short collection of vibes i haven't really organized yet)

Ranchers (I dont know if I'll do anything fancy with this playlist yet, it's kind of where i've been dumping songs that i cant quite fit on either jimmy or tangos playlists)

Xisuma (this one just kinda happened, but it's pretty fleshed out right now, especially for s8... not anywhere near finished but i've been listening to it nonstop lately. this man is destroying me rn)

Doc (also just kinda happened. i listen to this one a lot for the bops and vibes because most of the songs on this are kinda. ahem. yknow. he's kinda.)

Bdubs (this one is also kinda short! its got like 8 or 9 songs so i haven't really been focusing on it a lot-- it's kinda where i dump songs that are either hyper-specific for something from bdubs' pov or doesn't quite fit anyone else for dbhc)

Mumbo (this one is really short (5 songs) but i really like the songs on there so far hehehe, i haven't been focusing on it too much since i haven't been thinking about him too much lately but i love the vibes :])

[REDACTED]

#dbhc ask #dbhc #ask #anon #dbhc music #NEW TAG!!!#i'm gonna go back and add that tag to the spotify wrapped stuff that's for dbhc #but yeah!! i wouold love to share the music because it portrays story beats that i cant really explain or portray any better--#but i dont really want to post songs without being able to explain what they mean first yknow? hopefully that makes sense

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morunderscore · 3 months ago

Text

Explaining EVERY song on my c!owen playlist

PART ONE (tumblr only allows 30 images per post)

Firstly, the playlist . I made this playlist quite some time ago and in my humble opinion, every single song can be related to C!Owen from the Outsiders SMP. I've ordered them from 'early days', to 'reunion and post-reunion', number 21 showing the divide. Buckle up there's only 60 songs.

The Search- NF; War of Hearts - Ruelle; Solider, poet, king- The Oh Hellos

These are pretty obvious choices for the beginning of the playlist. They all canonically feature in Outsiders, specifically The Reunion. It wouldn't be a c!Owen playlist without these divas.

What are you willing to do to survive?- Alioof

One of the fan made Outsiders SMP songs. Not only does it encapsulate the entirety of the SMP, but also key points of Owen's character-"Unable to breathe, always on the attack. Praying that no one sees through your disguise"- This shows what Owen's like in the post-reunion episodes. It's greatly on point for a song released at the beginning of the SMP.

When Memories Snow- Mitski

This song portrays 'early days' C!Owen in my opinion. The opening lines of the second chorus- "And if I break could I go on break?"- this senitment is reminicent of how Owen spent his time slaving away protecting the wall. Truely this song really speaks to the "I quit" video. I feel that this song really shows how he could've been feeling during that very short era.

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?- Tyler, the creator

This song is literally the aftermath of Apo revealing that he pulled the lever. Idk what else you want, it's literally just that.

Rolling in the Deep- Adele

This was the audio for my first EVER edit, which was unsurprisingly (considering my track record) a pie duo edit. I don't particularly view this song as a really C!Owen song, but I want it there for my own sanity.

Scott Street- Phoebe Bridgers

This song tbh is just very pie duo coded. The chorus of " Do you feel ashamed when you hear my name?" Literally screams pie duo, especially post- reunion. But we aren't at that point yet so it's more prison visit. It was also my 2 year Reunion edit, so it had to join the playlist

(from this point onwards I couldn't keep the same image spacing, so sorry i'm desperate here)

Easier- The Crane Wives

Easier really fits the era of Owen's character that this part of the playlist focuses on. He doesn't "care that [apo] pulled the lever" only that he was betrayed and lied to. Out of context I have so much to say about that omg. But yeah, lyrics like "and if I were not myself, would this be easier?" really push this view in my opinion.

The Deal- Mitski

The Deal is roughly around the time of the 'I quit' era of Owen's POV, just like the other Mitski song... weird... I feel that he relates to this song. At that point, he's tired, doesn't want to leave and his best friend just betrayed his trust. The chorus of "I want someone to take this soul I can't bear to keep it, I'd give it just to give and all I will take are the consequences, will somebody take this soul?" kinda pinpoints my view of c!Owen's mentality in this arc.

I don't like my mind- Mitski

Right, I'm seeing a pattern here. This song is ALSO about the 'I quit' arc. I feel that the lines of "With all its opinions about the things that I've done. So, yeah, I blast music loud and I work myself to the bone" really illustrates what he feels on guarding the maze for this long

Just Take My Wallet- Jack Stauber's Micropop

During one (I don't remember which one) Reunion anniversary, my friend @/ minjeungsno1fan suggested that i edit this song. Practically the song feels like the way c!Owen's character plays out, from "Your mama's crying for you", "Those times are echoing through me" and "What's the kindest way to say you took away my friend? What's the kindest way to say you took away my friend, my buddy? What's the kindest way to say the end?" He's going through everything, from his past to killing his own best friend. It also made me cry once that's important.

Class of 2013- Mitski

The idea of c!Owen and this song hit me deep (like a javelin whoa who said that?!) one night at like 2AM. We are told in 'Spill Your Guts' that C!Owen's mother isn't as intense as his father in hating the demons. The line of "Mom, am I still young? Can I dream for a few months more?" is one, soul destroying and two feels like something "maze!Owen" might say if he found out what he went onto do. Idk it came to me and it just NEEDED to be added to the playlist for maximum angst potential.

Safe Ship, Harbored- The Crane Wives

So, I have a absolute banger of an animatic to this song in my head. Like it's epic. Like the first part up until the chorus are of him guarding the maze entrance, "I am a safe ship, harbored. A safe ship, harbored. Losing all of my good years to the shallow water", and constantly staying and gatekeeping it. Then as we get to the rest of the song it transitions into him regaining his memories and killing the demons. Finally it comes to the meltdown in the second chorus, "Where does your faith fall? Where does your faith fall in me? Don't break the bottle, don't waste your blessings on me". No one trusts him anymore so the lyrics now fit. The final "I wasn't born a safe ship Someone wore me" is of c!Magic leaving him to die (yay!)

The Hand That Feeds- The Crane Wives

Like two years ago, I fully planned out an animatic to this song that i never actually made. This is the main reason it's here ngl. The line of "My papa was a howlin' man, traded in his youth. Sold his dreams and all of his days for the great American ruse" was the main driving point behind the idea.

I bet on losing dogs- Mitski

ok literally as I'm writing this section, it started playing what the freak. This song feels like C!Owen at practically any moment from the 'I lost my best friend' episode onwards. Nobody truly trusts him and are still kinda scared by him. These are evidenced by Owen's speech to Graecie on how there "is no leadership without respect and without respect, power is nothing" and that no one but Soup checked on him after he was stung. "I bet on losing dogs. I know they're losing and I pay for my place by the ring" sums this up quite neatly. He also is just my baby who's done nothing wrong ever /sar.

O Superman- Laurie Anderson

To be honest, this whole song feels very C!Owen, from the lines referring to the mother, "So hold me, Mom in your long arms" remind me of the times that C!Owen mentioning missing his mother. "I want to go home" comes to mind. But it can also be related to the darker sides of his character, such as through lines such as "Cause when love is gone, there's always justice. And when justice is gone, There's always force" and "This is the hand, the hand that takes".

(don't ask why it changes for one image omg)

Call Them Brothers- Regina Spektor and Only Son

i saw an edit that I cannot find to Call Them Brothers and it genuniely changed my life. omg this song is so pie duo. As we are inching towards Reunion territory, this verse feels VERY Reunion, "The hunt is on, everyone's chasing, everyone's chasing a shot. A shot rings out, nobody wants it, nobody wants it to stop" -That's literally the Reunion.

Night Shift- Lucy Dacus

This song kinda encapsulates the feelings behind the Fruit trio and C!Owen in my opinion. "You got a 9-to-5, so I'll take the night shift" just really feels like the amoninity between the trio, especially after the fallout of the levers and especially post-reunion. God they're so tragic.

Just For Once- Starkid, Lauren Lopez

The whole song gives off the feeling of someone tired. Obivously in the song it's referring to a middle-aged woman but c!owen'a practically there so it fits. The last few lines really hit home, and I in fact made an animatic to it a while ago. "The other day the Johnsons borrowed my tap shoes, their eldest daughter is beginning tap. It was no bother, I never ever use them. I used to dance" really feels like someone who has lost their touch with something they once loved, in this case, c!Owen and his weapons as he buries them the episode before the reunion in hopes to get things to go back to the way things were.

Allies or Enemies- The Crane Wives

This song marks the turn into The Reunion and post-reunion songs in the playlist. This song is the one used for my one year anniversary of the reunion edit, I think it really suits c!Owen because of it's context if used with the reunion. The chorus of "Are we allies or enemies? This will be the death of me, this will be the death of me. All is fair in love and war, but I can’t fight with you anymore" really sums up the reunion conflict between C!Apo and C!Owen. They were best of friends and yet because C!Owen cannot set aside his prejudice, he kills Apo.

Anything Else But You- The Moldy Peaches

There's really only one line in this song that relates to this playlist, but I like it and I make the rules. The line of "The pebbles forgive me, the trees forgive me. So why can't, you forgive me?" feels like the conflict within the reunion.

One of the edits I made of the reunion uses this song, specifically the repeated outro of "I know it's for the better, know it's for the better". The idea behind the edit was that a full stop and comma would be used after every "know it's for the better". The full stop represented C!Owen and his refusal to move on from his past and his want to break down his friendship with C!Apo. Whereas the comma represents C!Apo and his want to leave the past behind and just go back to the clearing as friends. Sad times, sorry to Darcy who I still reference this edit to cause it killed her xoxo.

Take Me To War [LIVE]- The Crane Wives

Are you kidding? This song is SO c!Owen! The whole song just feels like solider Owen, the one we saw at the peace treaty. And it includes this pre-chorus, "All of the fire I've swallowed, all of the sparks that went dark in my gut, I am always burning up" cause you know. Meltdown. ha.

I'm Your Man- Mitski

Woah this album hates to see me coming. There is also a five minute video of me sitting in a Cafe Nero explaining how incredibly Reunion coded this song is somewhere, I'll try find this video but let you know it's crazy. Anyways this song is so Pie Duo coded, the first half is C!Apo betraying c!Owen with the whole lever fiasco, "You believe me like a god. I destroy you like I am". However when it gets to the second chorus the betrayer has become the betrayed. The line of "Others were never to blame after all" feels like something c!Owen would mockingly say. Stay tuned, this song is also going to be my 3 year Reunion anniversary edit.

Vampire Empire- Big Thief

this song doesn't really correlate too much with c!Owen lyrically. I more associate it with him vibes wise. I also used it for an edit once, that's the main reason it's on here. However, the line of "I am empty 'til she fills, alive until she kills" and the third verse of the well know "well i walked into your dagger for the last time...". really feels like the relationship between c!apo and c!owen, especially at the reunion.

Real Men- Mitski

I feel that this song encapsulates the feelings C!Owen has about his past, probably seeing his more naive self (both in the maze and before his district burnt down). The second verse of "Little boys cry and look around for comfort and always get what they want, little boys see toys and say 'I can take that!' Oh, you are my little boy" really seems to fit C!Owen's character. The idea of him 'taking' what he wants- aka the lives of the demons- is very fitting to his character. Whilst he doesn't expect the demons to unexpectedly drop down dead, he ultimately wouldn't be against this happening (this can be seen when he's talking to himself about how to kill Krow and he suggests just slitting it's throat.).

Circus- Lindsay Mendez and Drew Gasparini

This song is VERY c!owen, although obviously excluding the romantic subplot that comes in three verse in. The way the song talks about the victims, "Just close your eyes and be lucky that I found you. No one will know. Okay, here goes, It's easy as 1... 2... 3!", "Good afternoon, miss, you are my second victim. First one was trouble, not to worry 'cause I fixed him" are very reminiscent of how c!owen killed both c!apo and c!guts. Overall it fits the plotting and scheming of C!Owen from 'Spill Your Guts' to 'Tooth and Nail'.

The Garden- The Crane Wives

The garden feels very much like the time when c!owen was plotting the demons demise. The repetition of "the crows" both "laughing at my expense" and "they have their pound of flesh" kinda reflects c!owens plotting towards C!krow. Originally he has no idea how to kill it, hence the "laughing". Then later, in the fight with krow, he's literally scarred by it. The Garden also features the lyrics of "the devil knows my name" and boy do those demons know his name, hell it was used as propaganda in the human-demon war! "Won't you cut down that apple tree for me?" is also a fun added bonus.

Down the River- The Crane Wives

The original meaning of Down The River really does fit C!Owen, especially with all the lying he does when trying to locate items or information to use against the demons. He does not want to take responsibility for his actions and the consequences of what he did, saying he 'deserved to die in battle' . The lyrics of "Sure, you can forget about all the things you've done. But what about the rest of us?" feels like how he attempts to manipulate C!Magic to let him out of the cell before he dies, although failing due to his previous demon-killing actions.

I hope you enjoy so far! These are just rambles at this point tbh... but i have put a lot of time, thought and effort into this playlist, so thats fun!

#outsiders smp #owengejuicetv #c!owen #spotify playlist #guys theres still 30 more songs to go smh help #outsidersblr #owengejuice

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cloama · 1 year ago

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I just heard Coco Jones’ new track, Here We Go(Uh Oh), a song definitely for the girls who still aren’t ready to go No Contact with their on again/off again ex. It’s something relatable for the twenty-somethings to screamiing along to in the car as they drive to afters. I did. It relate but I will tell you why that doesn’t matter. Because R&B. Storytelling is back, baby! Paint us picture, Miss Coco.

I really enjoyed the cinematic music video that accompanies the song. She’s going all in on the back half 20th century nostalgia here, with a little bit of everything. The cover art is cute 70s nod. No clue if that’s going to impact the entire album rollout but I’m sat, regardless. Having a retro aesthetic while singing about likes and posts is so anachronistically pleasing to me. She’s such a star and I really like this choice for a single. This track is going to get spins because it is so relatable to so many. Coco is going right up there with SZA and Summer Walker who are actual titans of Female Singer-Songwriters but don’t get the credit they deserve despite the numbers numbering. That is because they’re R&B artists and I encourage you all to go back to listen to them if you haven’t. R&B didn’t stop after your need for middle school slow dances. It’s still here and writers are still crafting stories. Coco is absolutely on that path to being an all-star writer and I’m excited to see her lock into this next phase of her career.

Back to my hope for the song… I believe this song will help keep up the momentum. It’s radio ready, with a classic sample that will drive spins to the original track as well as her own. Here We Go has a verbally stoccato chorus which is fun in R&B bc you can clap 👏🏿 your 👏🏿 hands emphatically along to the words and mean that shit.

By the second chorus I was ready:

🎶I 👏🏿know👏🏿when👏🏿said👏🏿say👏🏿good👏🏿bye👏🏿you👏🏿ain’t 👏🏿mean👏🏿no👏🏿good👏🏿bye👏🏿🎶

It reminded me of the “oh oh oh oh oh’s” in the original track.

Speaking of the Lenny Williams sample: it works. I am one of many who are tired of the lack of artful sample. This, to me, was artful and useful. The song being full length with a verses, choruses, and bridge (silly thing to point out but songs have gotten ridiculously short these days) means the sample comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome, But it comes in just under the gun. I didn’t get tired of it. Why? Her steady melodies in each verse sail your through nicely and then you smack right into that fun choppy waters of the chorus. When the next verse hits you’re ready for another go. It feels exactly like going round and round with a partner. Come on, musical theme! Come on, melodic device!

This is absolutely my favorite thing about this track. Coco Jones is a super talented young woman. I genuinely hope it’s a hit.

4/5

#going to keep writing about things I do like bc it’s good for me.#coco jones #music #r&b #new music Friday #I’m a week late but shut up.#no I’m not #SoundCloud

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hooked-on-elvis · 1 year ago

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AND THEN, ELVIS MAGIC STRIKES ME... AGAIN ✨

... ON MY BIRTHDAY! 🎂

Okay, so... Sometimes special things cross our ways unexpectedly. I feel we gotta keep ourselves sensitive enough so we can catch the drift or special things can go unnoticed.

I'm gonna share something that just happened to me, so it has nothing biographical about Elvis here -- but in a way it has everything to do with him and his magic pouring onto his fans when we less expect it. ✨

It all started with:

I have a huge Jensen Ackles crush aside from my Elvis Presley burning passion. A few minutes ago I was peeping Jensen's Instagram profile and his last post was one congratulating his wife, Danneel Ackles for her birthday, which is one day previous to mine (March 18) ♥ -- Yes, today, March 19, is my birthday. Okay, very cute but so what?

Then I went to Danneel's Instagram , just because I was already there. Scrolling through her feed, I crossed a funny video of Danneel and Jensen reproducing the video clip of "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. It was a celebration for their 10th wedding anniversary. 🥹

Danneel and Jensen Ackles video, shared on her Instagram account:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ᴅᴀɴɴᴇᴇʟ ᴀᴄᴋʟᴇs (@danneelackles512)

instagram

Official music video:

youtube

Cute, isn't it? I love those the Ackles, oh god. They are such a match! 🥹🩷

Okay, since I've never heard the song before, and I loved it very much, I decided adding it to my Spotify's playlists (yes, to some of them, not just one... it's a real good track this one!). But... talk about how surprised I was when I learned the title of the album that song was released in is "GRACELAND".

Isn't this odd? I know, some people just don't believe in nothing like magic... to some folks everything is just coincidence but I can't help but think this... this album getting to me today, and the way it happened, was kinda a gift from EP to me, on my birthday. 🥹

It's nothing related to his own work or anything but I'm a huge music lover, huge, and I love discovering new songs, specially if they are from the past. I think somehow, someway, this was kinda a gift to me. "Oh, just because the title of the album?" -- Sure but also the way that album crossed my way so randomly like that.

I gotta say I haven't checked on Jensen Ackles' instagram profile in a long while -- no kidding -- let alone his wife's IG! I'm actually not checking anything on Instagram for some months now. So why today? Why clicking on THIS specific video on Danneel's IG? Why visiting her IG, by the way?

You can say all you want as think as you'd like... call me silly, it's fine... but I'll take it as a special gift from Elvis to me. Songs I didn't know before, an entire new album for me to appreciate on my birthday and forever on. ♥

One can spend its life thinking such thing as magic is BS, that it doesn't exist. One can chose to spend its live life in such uninspired, cold, lame way, sure, but... appreciating the little things and believing every little thing is a miracle and a gift to make me smile a little more it's the way I chose to spend MY life -- I feel it's not even a choice, actually. It's just who I am.

Anyway... I know it's a silly, small little thing but this was so random it surprised me greatly.

The song "Graceland" doesn't directly mentions Elvis by name, but ya' know... Elvis and Graceland are a single thing. Anyway... I just felt like sharing this here because:

1. It really impressed me how randomly this thing happened.

2. The album is amazing, so I recommend you to listen to it.

Listen "Graceland" (1986) by Paul Simon on Spotify:

I have felt Elvis Magic in some occasions before, but today it was so special. I feel he's just being a friend and giving me a record for me to enjoy my day. Awwww. I'll never forget this. 🩷✨🎂🥹

#elvis magic #thank you el #I know it's you #✨#birthday vibes #birthday girl #turning 29 and still keeping that child innocent in my heart #thank you very much #paul simon #graceland #1986 #Instagram #Youtube

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yourknifemyside · 4 months ago

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My name is Brandon, and I am really bad at doing new things. Let's try to fix that!

I recently had the thought when trying and failing to compile one of those Topsters lists of my favorite albums. I thought to myself, "man, I am bored of always listening to the same things. I've listened to the same things for the past seven years. How do I tell which ones are my favorites anymore, they all sound exactly the same!" So, I decided then, that going into 2025, I would wipe the slate clean. As far as my "favorite albums of all time" list concerned, as of right now, I have never listened to a single album in my life! This year, I'm going to attempt to listen to a ton of stuff, old and new, and completely rebuild a catalogue of music from scratch. If I haven't listened to it since the ball dropped, it doesn't exist to me yet! This tumblr blog is for keeping a journal of everything I listen to this year and beyond, new finds and relistens alike. And for fun, we're throwing games, movies, and tv shows in the mix as well. We're just gonna keep track of everything old and new that I get to this year. This is the place for my unfiltered thoughts on whatever. This truly exists for nobody but me, but maybe you will find something worth sticking around for. I wouldn't count on it, but either way, you're more than welcome to tag along for this journey of discovery / rediscovery!

Here's a list of the most important tags I'll be using to group my posts, as well as a reference key for any little icons that may pop up from time to time!

Tags:

#music - music listening journal, mostly albums

#games - video game backlog catalogue

#movies - feature length films

#shows - tv shows, cartoons, anime

#brandoncore - collection of the most essential, personal favorite things I've posted about

#recap - monthly wrap-up posts, including a brief list of things I did, but didn't post about

#bonus - extra posts related to music, games, movies, and shows

#nuzhof - winning teams from throughout my years of playing

#whocanrelate! - intrusive thoughts in the form of bars

Icons:

✨ is for post subjects that are new to me, I am experiencing them for the first time!

🔁 is for post subjects that I am relistening to, rewatching, or replaying!

💖 is for subjects that are officially, professionally certified #brandoncore, and find their way into the pantheon of brandoncore things.

I really considered not giving anything number scores, because I feel like people put too much stock into the number signifying how "good" something is. Unfortunately, my brain truly just loves to rank things and give them ratings, so we're committing to that. To give you an idea of what to expect, I think I'm generally a lot more positive on the shows and movies I watch, since I'm criminally underexposed to a lot of what's on offer in those mediums. Games and music are definitely where I'm more critical and harder to please, I'd say. Some have called me a hater in the past, but really, I only hate because I love so passionately... there needs to be a balance to everything! Everybody's internal scale operates differently, so for transparency sake, I'll be outlining my exact (loose) definition for the vibes of my own score scale:

Occasionally I might add a + or - modifier to a score to further adjust and represent my exact thoughts on something. This just means that within its number rating, I lean a smidge higher or lower on it than its peers.

Like everything else with the scores though, its all just silly and for my own brain's enjoyment, and the easiest, fastest way to sum up my feelings on something. A lot of the time the most personally resonant things for my are the 7s and 8s of the world, my little imperfect masterpieces. There's more to the story than just a score :)

Well, that's me! And that's what this is! I hope you find something of value here if you went out of your way to read all of this! Special thanks to @teddydeer for the lovely visuals on this post, I spent two days trying to make it look good myself and uh, she blew mine out of the water in the space of about an hour >_<

#introduction #music #games #movies #shows

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lyraoctaviawrites · 1 year ago

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Welcome to the Octaviaverse!

This is the side blog for @lyraoctavia and I will be posting everything relating to my writing, artwork, music, games, etc here from now on. I thought it would be better to split the two to keep things more focused on the ridiculously expansive interconnected universe I’ve created over my many years as a human being, featuring literally dozens of ideas because I am a slave to my own creativity and my work is never finished. Sound good? Of course it does!

What kind of stuff do I do?

Writing: I like to write stories, usually fantasy, with epic, sprawling worlds, intricate magic, sarcastic and often completely ridiculous humour, identifiable characters with a ton of emotional development and campy ass villains who will entertain you so much that you’ll want to grind them into a fine paste with a large boot. However, I wouldn’t be adverse to also writing some slice of life stuff too. I am a certified Alice Oseman fangirl after all. I tend to not shy away from commenting on certain serious issues (e.g. abuse, death, self harm, attempted suicide) as well, so a lot of my works contain trigger warnings. However, I don’t enjoy writing explicit sexual content or stuff with a ton of blood and gore so don’t expect any of that.

Games: I am currently a game design student so most if not all of my game ideas are just that. Ideas. Ones that I will undoubtedly be crafting into the incredible experiences I know they have the ability to be. Most of my ideas are for platformers or RPGs with very little in-between and will all have, hopefully, perfect blends of story and gameplay. I personally hate when a story based game is bogged down by too many cutscenes, especially if the gameplay isn’t really that interesting so I’ll always try and strike a balance or find a workaround. My games all have amazing stories to tell but a story ain’t all a game is. Might as well make em fun first, right?

Music: I got a little less to say about this one. Most of my music writing is for my games that don’t exist yet, so I literally have hundreds of tracks just kinda sitting around waiting for me to use them. Sometimes I make other music but that’s rare. Most I’ve got for now are a couple remixes and the score concepts I’ve made for an animated series of Into the Phantasm (please gods let this happen, it would slap so dang hard).

Art: I draw cartoon characters and that’s about it. I am not a professional artist by any means, but my silly little guys can’t just stay sitting in my head forever, sometimes I gotta put ‘em on a page, even if I ain’t some modern Picasso.

Current WIPs

Into the Phantasm (epic fantasy 5 part book series)

Finished works

A Penguin’s Tale (stop motion movie)

News

The prologue of Into the Phantasm (the first three chapters) is available to read and the book 1 rewrite is going smoothly. Hopefully it’ll all be available soonish.

A new project is peeking its head over the horizon and may very soon be upon us like a mighty storm. For now, I shall call it Project Jeans. Stay tuned for more information.

#writeblr #writers of tumblr #writerscommunity #queer writers #Lyra Octavia #Octaviaverse #female writers #introduction #writeblr intro #writers on tumblr #writing #writing community

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7grandmel · 1 year ago

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Todays rip: 29/04/2024

slider dank version

Season 8 Featured on: The Joke-Explainer 7000™'s Highest Quality Rips: Sunrise

Ripped by Mitchell

youtube

So, it's been more than a week since it happened: the glorious 4/20 event of SiIvaGunner Season 8. Are we all in agreement that it was fucking amazing?

Look, I love the olden internet days and all what Unregistered Hypercam 2 brought as much as anyone else, those anthems of YouTube's earliest beginnings as heard in rips like Unregistered CyberSpace 4-5: Arrow of 2009 are well worth remembering - but the truth is, that I was just a bit too young to get to experience it all in a way that I can tangibly recall. My age was still in the single digits during the Dreamscape's reign - but in contrast, I remember every little bit of how MLG and Montage Parodies rose in popularity, and how they eventually fell out of style. And like I said back in we are number one but with outdated memes over it, it was as if they died out right as SiIvaGunner itself was taking off, like the torch was being passed from one to the other. All these years later, I presume even the SiIvaGunner team themselves were getting nostalgic for the sheer chaos of it all - and so, the age of MLG was celebrated for a day straight on the 20th of April, 2024.

It was a fantastic day across the board, and it was really hard to pick just one rip from it to feature on here. It featured everything from the typical Snoop Dogg rips a la Ganja Man 9: Hash Blunt Hash (Shorty's Stage), to genuinely excellent melodyswaps using songs featured in MLG parodies, to rips not even prominently featuring music, spoofing MLG edits more directly in a genuinely super nostalgic way. In the end, I had to go with slider dank version, just for it being the most whollistic rip choice possible - a cacophany of noise using all corners of MLG, and in said noisiness perfectly encapsulating the ""appeal"" montage parodies had back during their prime. That, and just like with slideless, I feel like there's just something special about Slider rips in particular - they've been around for so long, posted with both such frequency and such enduring quality, that a meme getting Slider'd feels as if its being inaugurated into the SiIvaGunner Hall of Fame. Seeing my beloved MLG get that very same treatment felt like a prophecy come true, a story in the making since the very beginning of SiIvaGunner, realized at last.

But, okay - what exactly IS slider dank version? It was maybe a bit wrong of me to describe it as just noise, because it does have a throughline carrying its melody from start to finish - Smoke Weed Everyday, that is. This isn't a meme medley that changes sources with every half measure of the song a la Memey Hell - rather, other MLG-related sources instead play like accents onto the base melody, little flourishes that make the rip feel more complete. The rip would've been a great listen with JUST the main melody edits, the pitchshifting on Snoop's vocals are fantastic as-is, but each little flourish just adds more than the last. I think a big reason why it works so well is because of how Slider as a track is composed of a lot of call-and-response segments: The melody plays one segment of four or five notes in a steady rhythm followed by a pause, and within said pause the music leaves just enough room for a different melody cue to "respond" to the lead melody. My favorite example of how that's used in slider dank version in particular has to be the airhorns at 0:25 - Snoop's pitch-shifted vocals are met with the infamous airhorn sample which is ALSO pitch-shifted into the aforementioned response melody, and the two sources keep playing off one another for the rest of the segment.

All your other, uh, "MLG Favorites" are here and accounted for as well, I love the hitmarker sounds as the melody starts up at the very beginning, and how the responses before the airhorn segment are just small audio clips like "NICE MEME", "Mom get the camera" and more - it lets the rip add in just about every part of MLG possible incredibly seamlessly. Perhaps most seamlessly is when Slider's melody changes midway through to a slightly less upbeat segment, as it does in the original track, only here being paired with Enya's Only Time - a song you may not recognize by name, but one that was used CONSTANTLY for shitposts about characters dying in MLG compilations, the theme song of all "RIP in Pepperonis" and "liek if u cri evrytim :(" comments all over the internet. And hey, Semi-Charmed All Star - All Star itself even makes it into the rip, taking over Snoop's lead melody duty toward the end of the rip before it loops, along with everyone's favorite Darude Sandstorm. The list goes on - you're surely getting how much fun of a listen this rip is by this point, right?

And like, I know MLG stuff isn't for everyone - there's a reason it all died out, and I'm sure many viewed this event as to be taken purely ironically. But shit, I dunno, sometimes loud DOES equal funny - and though my perspective may be tinted by nostalgia, Montage Parodies are undeniably a part of internet history, a brief but nonetheless HUGE part of online culture, and one that we need to acknowledge happened no matter its obnoxiousness. They weren't all funny, sure - but rips like slider dank version don't feel like they're made to remind us of how terrible things were, but rather how much fun they all COULD be when done right. Not that SiIvaGunner is spearheading an MLG revival per se - but the entire event gave me a ton of nostalgia for something I only recently realized that I was missing. Nice meme indeed, Mitchell - and I suppose that with THIS. IS. SOLEANNA., we've now come full circle on your rips, in paying tribute to all corners of the internet's shitposting history.

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magentagalaxies · 4 months ago

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1 & 2 :-p

thank you!!

"1. Song of the year" and "2. Album of the Year" are such a tossup for me bc there are so many songs i've listened to that have defined specific moments this year and also 2024 has been such a good year for new music??? like idk how so many of my favorite artists' album cycles somehow happened to sync but i'm genuinely considering making a post ranking every new release i listened to in 2024 bc i have a lot of thoughts. anyway all this to say in my attempt to choose one album and one song i accidentally chose 3 albums lmao enjoy

Song(s) of the year: "Midwest Indigo" and "Oldies Station" by twenty one pilots

i have a complicated relationship to the band twenty one pilots. they were THAT band for my angsty 13-year-old self and while i still feel a lot of nostalgia for their early work, i haven't considered anything they've done a "favorite of the year" since middle school. that is until their 2024 album "clancy"

the trouble with the angsty bands you attach to in middle school is sometimes as you grow up, the music doesn't grow along with you. but jfc if "blurryface" was the perfect album for me leaving behind my childhood and becoming a teenager, "clancy" feels tailor-made for all those complex emotions of a final semester of college.

"midwest indigo" is a song about anxiety and seasonal depression, sure, but it's told in such a mundane and relatable way (it's literally just that feeling of "FUCK it's so cold out here. FUCK why isn't my friend texting me back it's been 2 minutes. FUCK my therapist just rescheduled again." but none of these things are the end of the world, you just keep going.) also the instrumental is so tight and it's very fun to loudly sing along to in the car

"oldies station" on the other hand is the only time twenty one pilots has made me cry since i was a preteen. (or should i say "times" bc i swear i teared up the first like 20 times i heard this song). it's such a hopeful song about mental health but never in a way that feels like it's bullshitting you. it's not "everything is going to be fine and perfect forever", it's "yeah your mental illness might never go away but you learn to manage it even if your progress isn't always liner. and someday you'll be at a red light and your favorite song will be considered oldies and you'll have one of those moments like i'm so glad i stayed alive to see this" fuck i'm tearing up just writing about it lmao.

it just felt really special to see this band i kind of "outgrew" suddenly meet me exactly where i'm at, bc i've made a lot of progress on my mental health in the past 2 years and had plenty of "oldies station" moments, while also dealing with trying not to fall apart over "midwest indigo" type stress. i don't expect everyone to have the same emotional connection i do to these songs but they are some of my favorites of 2024

Album of the year: Stick Season by Noah Kahan

ok this section is gonna be shorter bc i'm being more general but basically even tho it didn't come out in 2024 i listened to stick season (specifically the "we'll all be here forever" version with the bonus tracks) in full for the first time on january 9th 2024 and i have been obsessed ever since. literally 21 of the top 22 songs on my wrapped are every track from this album. i went as "noah kahan" for my halloween costume. i went through a phase where i would sing along to the entire album at least once a day

stick season is actually pretty different than my usual music taste (i don't tend to like more acoustic production and there's a huge country influence in a lot of the songs) but its songs are each so well written, both with poetic lyrics and strong hooks, and even tho it's not a "concept album" with a specific story the whole album has such a cohesive theme and sense of place that by the end of the "we'll all be here forever" version it feels like you just watched a movie. highly recommend

also i find it very sweet that of my top 2 albums, "clancy" is an album i can bond over with my dad (he's honestly a bigger twenty one pilots fan than i am, he got into them when i was in middle school and he keeps up with their music much more than i do) and "stick season" is an album i bond over with my mom (she got into noah kahan a few months before i did and there were times when i'd call her while at college and we'd just go off on a tangent about how good the album is)

anyway honorable mention to MOUTH CONGRESS's "Valley of Song" i honestly wouldn't say it defined 2024 for me quite as much as 2023 bc so far most of my associations with it are seeing it come together before the release, but it's definitely among my top albums that released this year, give it a listen if you haven't already

anyway thank you for the ask!!

End of year ask prompt

#can't believe i genuinely thought to myself ''oh this will be a short post bc there isn't a scott story this time''#anyway apologies for the super long answers to everything lmao i just really love music #i also think i felt the need to justify my twenty one pilots pick bc ik a lot of people find them cringy (which like. i won't deny)#but i was SO impressed with their new album for both the songwriting and sentimental reasons #and then i felt the need to say stuff about stick season to balance it out even tho it's one of the more mainstream recent releases i love #i somehow made it through the year without listening to ANY of the big pop girlies' new albums aside from taylor swift #like i have not hear brat at all and i still haven't heard more than 2 songs by sabrina carpenter in full #nothing against them it's just not typically my type of music #and sometimes when something is ''inescapable'' in pop culture i like to see how long i can go before i have to consume that media #even if i know i'll like it. it's like a pretentious little game for me lmao #anyway fuck i'm rambling again. hope y'all like hearing my thoughts lmao

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