#personalmephistopheles

[ante--meridiem]

💌

Your aesthetic absolutely fucks. You give off really passionate vibes about everything you're into. Definitely consider you one of my Cool Mutuals.

[whatsaboomlakalaka]

🦋 🎈💞

🦋what are you most insecure about when you post a fic?

GOOD ONE. atm im insecure about writing for a diff fandom for the first time in a while. not even about new people who will be reading my words, but about how people who subscribe to me for different things will react? which is SILLY bc when author's im subscribed to write for new things i don't care about all i think is "good for you, boo!" and then i either click in or i don't, its no big deal at all lol

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

i've answered this one already and its a big ol' changing bag depending on soooooo many things!! my mood. the ship. the genre i'm writing. so many things come into play lol

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

i answered this about writing so i'm gonna answer about reading now!! i love super interesting wordbuilding SOOOOOO much!! tell me all the weird nuances of your world. i want to know everything

✨ fic writers asks meme ✨

[romulus]

comrade monte @personalmephistopheles tagged me so i have no choice but to do this.

the meme is to pick your favourite song off every album by an artist of your choice so of course i am choosing my good friend miss sufjan.

for selection criteria i excluded based on lack of familiarity with the album (enjoy your rabbit, run rabbit run, aporia) and general inability to recall songs distinctly from one another (convocations). otherwise all album releases are covered here.

let us begin

A Sun Came (1999): A Sun Came

this one came down between "a sun came" and "kill", and though i love murder, the title track came out in front. the album as a whole misses more than it hits, but i think it's impressive how his first album demonstrates so many of his musical sensibilities and many of his production and instrumentation choices can be traced back to here. i'm a big fan of the stripped back, double tracked with falsetto sound, as you can see here. i find "a sun came" just that much more interesting than "kill" in terms of melody and lyricism.

(Greetings from) Michigan (2003): Romulus

its me!

Seven Swans (2004): Sister

im choosing this largely in part due to my fondness for sufjan bootlegs and several live performances of this where the crowd participation really elevates the song. check out the archive @/sufjanlive if you would like to find these live versions! though i enjoy the studio track here immensely as well

(Come On Feel The) Illinoise (2005): The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!

im a simple man. for a very long time i had planned for my first tattoo to be a wasp on my arm because of this song and im happy to say that wish has been fulfilled

The Avalanche (2006): Pittsfield

the vulnerability of the lyrics of this song, how it combines resignation with courage, does a phenomenal job telling this story of the innocence of youth being lost as a result of the shortcomings of a parent, but also of how that loss can be liberating. the hopeful, almost triumphant outro always gets to me. i also feel this is a song where sufjan's falsetto truly shines. i understand the reasoning behind why it wasn't included on Illinois, but i do wish it got more recognition outside of sufjan fans.

Songs for Christmas (2006): Sister Winter

acknowledging that i would exclude all songs that were not sufjan originals from this selection, even if i were not, sister winter would be my choice. it's not just one of my favourite of his christmas songs, but one of my favourite songs from his whole discography! what can i say i love a sufjan song that builds into an anthem

The BQE (2009): Postlude—Critical Mass

this is revenge for the all delighted people piano pieces being unavailable online

The Age of Adz (2010): I Want To Be Well

one of the most songs to lose your voice screaming along to. yeah sufjan!!! i am NOT fucking around!!

All Delighted People (2010): All Delighted People (Original Version) / The Owl And The Tanager

technically this is an ep, not an album, but there's no way i wasn't going to cover it. "all delighted people (original version)" plays my brain and my emotions in a most phenomenal way. the orchestration! the choir! i had so much to give in spite of all the terror and abuse!! i love the structure between the verses and the chorus and how the song changes as it progresses. "the owl and the tanager" evokes such brilliant imagery along with these heart-rending lyrics, and the way sufjan's vocal delivery goes between a whisper and a wail. i couldn't exclude it from this list; it's one of my favourite songs of his, and another one to seek out live performances of.

Silver & Gold (2012): Carol of St. Benjamin The Bearded One

this is another wonderful vocal performance from sufjan. i'm not a trained vocalist, but i can hold my own while singing most things. this is a real challenge for me! and the delivery and lyrics complement one another so well. an honourable mention to "barcarola (you must be a christmas tree)" because it makes me insane

Carrie & Lowell (2015): John My Beloved / Eugene

the summer of 2015 i think this was just about the only thing i listened to. i included two selections from this album for several reasons. the first is that it's my favourite sufjan album, and probably album of all time. the second is that "john my beloved" is my favourite sufjan song and definitely my favourite song of all time, so it wouldnt be fair to other songs on the album. the third is that if i were to list all sufjan songs from most to least favourite, all of this album ranks in the top 25. my most physical and visceral reaction to music was the first time i heard "eugene", a sensation which i can recall with perfect clarity. so it must be included

Carrie & Lowell Live (2017): Blue Bucket of Gold / Blue Bucket Outro - Live

i would kill a man if it would allow me to time travel and see this performed live and im serious

Planetarium (2017): Mercury

i was so excited when they announced they were releasing a studio version of planetarium! those who are not sufjanistas will never again have to suffer like a pre-2017 sufjan fan navigating all the performances of the project. i saw this video while they were doing press for the album and its just wonderful. another beautiful vocal performance from sufjan!! man i love him so much

The Greatest Gift (2017): Wallowa Lake Monster

i love a 7 minute narrative song where the last 3 minutes are an instrumental outro. im going to say it again but the vocals on this song!!! fucking!!! again, another b-sides album exemption i can understand, but the lyrics and imagery and instrumentation are so heady and lush that i wish it hadn't been delegated to a secondary release.

The Decalogue (2019): IV / V

i would get into ballet for sufjan. not the dance itself but watching it. i feel this is a good place to ask anyone if they know where to find everywhere we go because for the life of me i cannot track it down

The Ascension (2020): The Ascension

i first listened to this song while watching the youtube premiere with a bunch of other sufjan fans! this was my favourite off the album then and it still is now. on an album that structurally diverges in many places from his other work, it combines a familiar sufjan format (a longer song that builds over the song) with the pop sensibilities he's expressing on this album in a way that i find to be very successful.

A Beginner's Mind (2021): Lacrimae

perhaps its improper to choose a song off this album that is more of an angelo de augustine vessel than a sufjan track but i really love this one. because the songs are loosely inspired by movies, i find a lot of them to be fixated on the source material, sometimes to their detriment. this one is considerably stripped back compared to other songs and i think it's a fantastic way to end the album. i was tempted to choose "olympus" but i enjoy the vocals of "lacrimae" too much to choose anything else.

if you read all of this thank you! i'm not going to tag anyone at this time, but if we are mutuals and you enjoy doing these kind of things on tumblr let me know and i'll keep you in mind for the future! go and enjoy the abundance of the world around you

[pilferingapples]

@personalmephistopheles replied to your post “I can’t believe I’m watching Les Mis 2000 again  I can’t believe it’s...”

Javert is from WHAT now?

sorry , I misspoke: 

How COULD I get his Tragic Backstory wrong:

You know nothing of Javert, he was born in...to a wealthy family of landowning bounty hunters...

He was a...victim of..scum like you...

he watched his nemesis die in prison labor tooooooo

[bondsmagii]

I'm PRETTY sure I initially found you through being mutuals with vestris, but then started following after discovering espionageshitposts

moved over from espionage shitposts to just regular shitposts welcome to hell

[bookish-huntress-art]

OC Commission for @personalmephistopheles ! Thank you so much!

[mumblingsage]

#suddenly I realize I have no idea of the plot of David Copperfield For what it's worth, neither do I, and I read the damn book (granted it was in 4th grade but STILL)

Wikipedia didn’t help a whole lot, either–bildungsroman, I guess? Loosely framed by a love story? 

Dickens was paid by the word and it might show in his “plot” “outlines”…

[kmclaude]

Well, first of all, I like you as a person and have a ton of respect for you both as a person and a fellow creator. Second of all, your work is fuckin' excellent and I'm always curious to see what you're up to.

❤❤❤

(i’m glad to get know you and to get to follow you in return -- thank god for, what, elisabeth fandom? for us crossing paths)

[ante--meridiem]

@personalmephistopheles

1) This makes me very happy

2) Comforting to think that however much I complain about academia I can at least know I'll never have as bad a time with it as he did

3) ....Wow you're right I really have only been on here for academiablogging lately (which is a good thing! Means I'm focusing successfully)

4) Well I do spend all my time transcribing spells theorems into my spellbook zettelkasten, so the reason for comparison might be somewhat apt.

[the-lemon-is-in-play]

personalmephistopheles replied to your post “why is it so expensive to do … everything ??? ?? ?? enquiring minds...”

ok prufrock

i’m gonna squeeze capitalism into a ball and roll it straight into the trash monte

but also i definitely roll my trousers and i wore mostly white today so uhhh... this callout might not be totally out of line

[romulus]

10 Fanfic Question Tag Game

i was tagged in this a month ago lmaoooo but it’s 3am and im a little wired so lets do this

Tagged by @personalmephistopheles 1.) What’s your favourite genre to write? i don’t really write a genre but i really love to write genre fiction. i love pulling from tropes and one of my fics is a noir au and i love it. tropes in fiction are really fun to use and also subvert idk its fresh its sexy. if fic is set in the same universe its still fun but being like “it’s a science fiction story now” im like hello. yes

2.) Do you pull inspiration from real-life, or do you pull things from other books/fanfiction you’ve read? i pull a lot of inspo from myself i feel, which is why i write for the fandoms that i do, becuase the characters i end up writing from the perspectives of tend to be ones that i relate to/project onto? so in that way i sometimes take my own thoughts and feelings and write them as the character. which is why my fics are really flowery and melodramatic but that’s just how it goes i think. i pull a lot of inspiration from music actually? i like the emotional beats from lyrics and such. when i’m writing i usually have a playlist for my main character, if not others at the very least. 

3.) Do you tend to write one-shots, short stories, or longer things? i have ideas towards longer things but multi-chapter fic is really exhausting to write so i’m trying to learn how to do something shorter. right now i’m working on a fic i’m hoping will be like 20-30k which isn’t like. short but it’s not a novel lmao

4.) Do you prefer to write description or dialogue? i love love love description i love thinking about things and especially like. nature and hands and expression and feelings and thinking about things and like, what scenery looks like and the slight twitch of someone’s lip and the cool graze of sweat on your forehead!! dialouge is fun but i sometimes struggle with voice and description comes a lot easier

5.) Favorite fic/book of all time? my favourite fic ? depends. uhhh for my hero it’s probably do what you will, if that’s what you want or come on play me something. not easily conquered and ESPECIALLY the thirteen letters is amazing. mdzs i’m obsessed with anything by etymologyplayground but my favourite of theirs is if you were made for me and then detention_notes’ series from season to season. for books i really liked the book theif, all the light we cannot see, the secret history, the imperial radch trilogy, but idk i’m not big into picking favourites of things. like these are all works i have read multiple times that i’ve enjoyed and that i can see from my bookshelf rn that im like “i liked this” but no book has been earth-shattering for me. 

6.) Favorite trope? Unrequited Love . that and slow burn mutual pining but especially one sided pining but oh my god when they are both in love but for reasons they can’t control they can’t be together....whatever that;s called i love it

7.) Are you the kind of person to work on more than one wip? ....yeah......i tried not to but i failed..........

8.) How long have you been writing for? i wrote my first fanfiction in uhhh summer of 2018? did not publish it anywhere. first published fic was december 2018. first time writing ever was when i was 6 so like 16 years  

9.) Do you tend to write more during the morning, afternoon, or evening? i pretty much exclusively write between the hours of 10pm-3am

10) Do you prefer to post and update your wip chapter by chapter, or do you prefer to wait until your wip is 100% finished before sharing it? im trying my best but chapter by chapter updates. i used to have a buffer now i don’t its been since december that ive updated or even wrote something for my main fic im a trash master

[pilferingapples]

@personalmephistopheles replied to your photoset “I feel like We, As a Fandom, really need to talk more about 2000...”

I'm Marius's vaguely appalled and confused expression

if context helps, the context is that Javert just arrested the law school, where he has been posing as a student, 21 Jump Street Style! I mean, it doesn’t help me, but it might theoretically help you! 

[doyouhearthefranzising]

personalmephistopheles replied to your post “of course it's the french version that has the aesthetic paint...”

I mean. True

remember the olden days of 2013 les mis fandom when that j’ai tué ma mère scene was all over the place?

[geektaire]

personalmephistopheles replied to your post: Also… I’m a middle school teacher now? … they are...

omfg!!!

ikr? I scared the shite out of some of them yesterday when they were out of their seats (I’m the new teacher so we have a power struggle thing going on) and it’s 7th grade so they’re basically my size? so I can walk around them and just stand next to them and go ‘so... I take it you’re not reading?’ making them jump cause they never see me coming... 

lol...

on a more serious note I got a break on my admin fight with the mexican board of education actually adding lgbt stuff to their units on sexual health... so I’ gonna try and play that angle with the director... oh and yeah, the school is fully bilingual so there’s this bunch of little mexican kids I’m gonna end up teaching to say mate and massive and all the britishism I ended up catching by the end of the year.... 

[falyros]

Commission for @personalmephistopholes of a cool canitaur gunslinger/paladin!

[oswinstark]

Girl she STILL going. With such hits as “Hare Krishna isn’t a cult you’re just racist” and “despite the fact that Hillary isn’t in this election I’m going to keep bringing her up in a post about a completely different candidate” and “I’m a white lady who knows everything about racism” (last one could be untrue but like......let’s be real) She also talks like she isn’t even American so who tf knows 🙄