#stvlti makes stuff

[stvlti]

What if they gave Jaime Reyes' Blue Beetle a pair of antennae

[silenthillmutual]

i was tagged by @minotaurmutual to post my 9 favorite first watches from 2023 :] thank you i love this kind of thing !

i need to watch more stuff for the first time in 2024, i feel like i did a lot of rewatches this past year. and i don't know if i can say i enjoyed vampire's kiss in the way everyone else seems to have, but i certainly did think about a it a lot.

not sure who all to tag for this... @horrorknife and @adrianicsea and @sanguinaryrot and @stvlti... if anyone else out there watched enough movies to make it then consider yourself tagged!

[13eyond13]

Hii for the fandom ask game I'm shooting two of your questions right back at you because when you asked me them they made me immediately wonder about your answers, 23 and 25! Also: 1, 8, and 16!

omg thank you for so many asks!

23. The fandom you're curious about because of a mutual:

@stvlti posting on my dash about the new Scott Pilgrim anime got me curious enough to start watching it recently! I read those comics back in college and thought they were pretty great, as was the Edgar Wright movie. And the anime seems like a very good adaptation of it so far. Can't explain how funny it is as a Canadian to see Canada as the setting for an anime, either... I just feel like we have such a bland normie country to set things in, hahaha

I'm also getting very curious about a ton of different manga thanks to the recs I've received on my blog recently! (X)

25. A piece of advice for taking care of yourself in fandom spaces:

HMMM.

I think the main thing I get people asking me about here sometimes is how to make more friends in the fandom, especially when you're new and don't know anybody. I think the main bits of advice I have on that front is:

(1) I SWEAR YOU AREN'T BEING SNUBBED/INTENTIONALLY IGNORED, YOU'RE PROBABLY JUST NOT ON OTHER PEOPLE'S RADARS AT ALL

So follow a bunch of other bloggers in that fandom and interact with their blogs first! Like their posts, send them polite/friendly asks looking for their takes (this is especially easy to do when people reblog ask memes), and be brave enough not to go on anon when you do it so they can see your lovely face and actually potentially make a connection with you! Most people LOVE getting asks and are flattered when somebody else asks for their thoughts. If you're genuine with your interest it shouldn't take long for other people to start taking interest in you back.

Which leads to my second point of:

(2) MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY ARE POSTING THINGS ON YOUR BLOG ON A SEMI-REGULAR BASIS! People will probably click on your blog once you start interacting with them, and they will most likely only follow you back if you actually have stuff on your blog that shows your interests/personality/the kinds of things they can expect you to be posting on their dash! You can easily stock up a bunch of posts into a queue if you're worried about spamming the dash or don't want to be online 24/7 too, so it will keep your blog active without you actually having to be there all the time.

ALSO DO NOT HAVE TOO MUCH SHAME TO LITERALLY ASK YOUR FOLLOWERS TO SEND YOU ASKS. Reblog fandom ask memes, it's a great way to give people a template of questions to bug you nicely with, and answering one ask often leads to receiving another ask!

(3) DO YOUR OWN THING WHETHER OR NOT ANYBODY IS CONSTANTLY PATTING YOU ON THE BACK. First and foremost I'm usually making myself laugh here on my blog and hoarding all of these posts for myself, so even when I'm not getting constant feedback from others I'm still having a good time and posting on the regular! I'm SUPER glad that other people get something out of it too, but I think when it comes to blogging you should treat your blog like your own personal little kingdom where you are making the rules, and other people can follow or unfollow as they please.

And finally:

(4) YOU WILL EVENTUALLY LOSE A FOLLOWER OR TWO, BUT SO DO I AND SO DOES EVERYBODY ELSE. Try not to obsessively check your follower count or to take it as a huge calamity if your count goes down instead of up once in a while! It WILL eventually go back up again, and you genuinely have no idea why it dropped most of the time (it probably wasn't anything majorly personal - maybe somebody just is no longer in your fandom, maybe Tumblr is clearing out some porn bots, maybe a follower is deactivating their blog - or maybe you DID post something that somebody didn't like, but that's ok, it's probably better if they aren't following you anymore anyways!) And you should ALSO block/unfollow people freely if they're really making your blogging experience uncomfortable - at the end of the day you don't really know them and they don't really know you, and you will both probably move on and forget about it not too far down the road.

1. List 3 positive things about your current fandom(s):

(1) Genuinely extremely chill and cozy, and almost always has been in my experience!

(2) People have the best sense of humour here. IDK I think I took it for granted that all fandoms were like that but anytime I venture into other ones I find myself being a bit disappointed that people just aren't as funny in general a lot of the time

(3) OMG thank you everybody for all the delicious fanfic and fanart, and for continuing to still make it steadily even in 2023

8. You hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc.):

I'm gonna advocate for a ship I don't even have a ton of personal investment in and say meronia! God, stop sleeping on this pairing already and/or acting like it's way more problematic than it actually is, you silly ancient fandom you (no, they are not basically related, they simply went to the same school in their childhood for a bit). These two definitely deserve to have their relationship a bit better explored!

16. A tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate:

Watari had an entire-ass family of his own, apparently!

Isn't that weird to think about? There is actually SO MUCH unanswered stuff about how his relationship with L actually was set up, especially if you are just going by the original manga serial and aren't using the one-shots or the anime or LABB novel to flesh out L's backstory or any Wammy's lore. And sometimes I think it might be neat to see people exploring it in totally different ways that would still be 100% plausible based on what little we know!

[ask meme]

[stvlti]

(credit to @s-mscott​ for the lovely Wally-ball illustration)

Wally, stuck in the speed force: *sees someone run past him* What the fu-

Sonic the Hedgehog: *slows down and turns to him*

[3dnygma]

Alphabet Soup Tag

tagged by: @stvlti - thank you Eugenia <3

tagging: @kcgane, @redruinz , @princegrisejoie, @robinllordtaylor, @colfernygma, @fbilesbian and @obfonteri

A: Age | 18

B: Birthplace | Austria

C: Current time | 18:12

D: Drink you had last | water

E: Easiest person(s) to talk to | there are so manyyy. the TFV squad, Julia, Ella and lots of others! can’t even name all of them :o

F: Favorite song | I’m currently obsessed with Space Oddity by David Bowie but my all-time favourite is probably High Hopes by Kodaline

G: Grossest memory | when I was a kid I threw up in the car once and that wasn’t really nice. besides, we were on our way to a wedding and I was wearing my favourite dress D: but it luckily didn’t happen too far away from home, so we quickly went back and I put on another dress

H: Hogwarts house | hufflepuff!

I: In love? | I’m currently not in a romantic relationship but I love my friends and family very much

J: Jealous of people | ohhh yes but it happens less frequently now because I’ve realised that everyone’s got different talents and that many people who act like they’re the best actually have a lot of issues that they are denying

K: Killed someone | ehm no??? that would be weird...haha.

L: Love at first sight or should I walk by again? | you should def walk by again lol

M: Middle name | Maria

N: Number of siblings | none

O: One wish | meeting Cory Michael Smith. I have other wishes as well (travelling, finding someone to love...that stuff) but this wish is just extremely important to me, especially because it’s something that I could achieve if I’m lucky enough. thinking about this makes me so emotional though so I’m going to stop right now before this gets too long.

P: Person you called last | my dad!

Q: Question you are always asked | 

R: Reason to smile | for me personally? I’ve found several hobbies and passions that make me happy. I’m also incredibly happy to have found a wonderful bunch of ppl through DN and/or Gotham.

S: Song you sang last | Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid (played it on piano as well)

T: Time you woke up | 07:30 because my first lesson was cancelled and I got to sleep an hour longer

U: Underwear color | black

V: Vacation destination | I want to visit NYC and London again (will be visiting London in February so that’s great!), also the US West Coast and Japan

W: Worst habit | picking my skin :/

X: X-rays | ehhh I think I had like one when a horse bit my finger once

Y: Your favorite food | oh boyyy probably rice with curry and vegetables

Z: Zodiac sign | Scorpio

[anythingbutdead]

Six movies that I will always watch

Tagged by: @stvlti

I’m bored so not only I’m listing six movies I’m also gonna make it a long post hahahahaha.

Here’re six movies I watched more than once for entertainment.

The Addams Family & Addams Family Values: both of which I watched more than twice and the last time I watched them with my sisters...not sure if they even understand the movies but they seems having fun so.

Fight Club: I watch it again once with my friend K but the violence in this movie shocked her. Sorry girl but I thought you were used to the bloody violent kind in American “horror” movies so I didn’t warned you as I should. Sorry.

Primal Fear (1996): Edward Norton was in it plus it’s about MID so I’ve got to watch it. It’s also kinda makes me understand whats mean “good acting” I mean isn’t that what everyone everyday doing like acting “normal” show emotions or interest towards someone/things and stuff? Also when you are in doubt of humanity it sure did reminds you humans ARE capable of doing both good and bad things. I shipped Aaron/Martin and probably my first rare pair.餓死在北極圈要自割大腿肉嗎難道可是我現在割不動【躺平

Identity (2003): Also a movie about MID. It’s kinda fun to watch? I don’t even know why but the first word I thought of this movie is “fun”. I’m so glad they are just voices in my head and rarely can control my body completely. (Or at least I have no memory of that.)

Constantine (2005): I’m also into the supernatural aka things nowadays science can’t explain yet. As one said: It’s a great movie to convince people quit smoking. 順說這套我吃Chas/John。或者看成無CP都可以這套romantic storyline??? You mean Lucifer and John??? They I shipped too even tho I rarely ship ships that have huge age difference.

Men In Black: This movie series!!!!!! like gosh I used to watched the animated series when I was young even though I didn’t understand a word. It’s really fun to watch. Both the movie and animated series.

I’m gonna tag: @byk23 @livelongandkeepshipping @yaysatan @aglassroseneverfades @moonshapedhouse

What’s your favourite movies?

[stvlti]

No thoughts in my head except for these 2 little guys

(original templates by @deven895)

[stvlti]

This is my baby and it's out!! Omg y'all I spent the last 2 weeks working really hard to make sure this post can go live at the planned date. Please, support us!! You get to support a humanitarian cause and support our crafts at the same time x

P R E - O R D E R S   O P E N   J U N E  1 5 - J U L Y  1 5 !

God’s Eye is a Death Note Tarot project crafted with love by 65+ artists and authors. We’re proud to be supporting charity, and all profits will be donated to the International Rescue Committee!

Digital - $15, app, a standard res .pdf with all cards and fics The Deck - $30, app, .pdf, deck of 80 cards, guidebook with all fics The Minor Bundle - $40, app, .pdf, deck, guidebook, 3 stickers, 1 holographic print, 1 double-sided charm The Major Bundle - $50, app, .pdf, deck, guidebook, 6 stickers, 2 holographic prints, 2 double-sided charms The Fool’s Bundle - $100, app, .pdf, deck, guidebook, 6 stickers, 2 holographic prints, 2 charms, limited edition L & Light dakimakura, free national shipping

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🔒100 ORDERS: All physical orders get a free, bonus holographic Mikami & Takada postcard designed by Eden! 🔒200 ORDERS: All physical orders will get a free, bonus Death Note tarot themed lanyard featuring Light, L, Misa, Near, and Mello, designed by kokuhaku! 🔒300 ORDERS: Card quality upgrade; all the physical cards will be silver gilted and shiny and all physical orders will get a free, bonus holographic Matt sticker designed by babelfell!

GIVEAWAY

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[stvlti]

Bad Habits | a Sladick fanmix

cover art edited from a panel in Deathstroke: Rebirth (2016)

i made the panel edit after seeing a similar sladick edit on twitter/x and then made a playlist about it. if you could tag playlists on Spotify this would have #enemies to lovers #toxic situationship #i can make him worse etc etc. enjoy you gremlins.

► TRACKS

You Know Me Too Well - Nothing But Thieves // Babylon - SZA ft. Kendrick Lamar // Teacher's Pet - Melanie Martinez // Trouble - Halsey // Francis Forever - Mitski // Your Dog - Soccer Mommy // Magnetic Field - Lights // Transform - Daniel Caesar ft. Charlotte Day Wilson // Open Arms - SZA ft. Travis Scott

[stvlti]

Call It Family Business | a JayRoman fanmix

for legal reasons this playlist is a joke.

remember when Roman Sionis canonically called himself daddy? i stopped taking him seriously after that. anyway, listen to this one for laughs but don't play it in public. that Tommy Genesis track is a whole warning.

► TRACKS

Call Me Daddy - 11:11 // Off To The Races - Lana Del Rey // Primadonna - Marina // Bust Your Knee Caps - Pomplamoose // Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood // Loft Music - The Weeknd // Daddy - Tommy Genesis // Freak - Doja Cat // Hot Mess - Cobra Starship // How to Be A Heartbreaker - Marina // Diamonds - Megan Thee Stallion ft. Normani // I Come With Knives - IAMX // I Like The Way You Die - Black Honey

[stvlti]

love is the knife in your hand | a Dune fanmix

I finally put all my songs for FeydPaul (derogatory) onto a playlist. This started out as a shitpost which may explain some of the wack song choices. All bangers though, promise

► TRACKS

01. Gimme What I Want - Miley Cyrus /// 02. SIMP - Full Tac, Lil Mariko & Rico Nasty /// 03. Dictator - REI AMI /// 04. I Can See You - Taylor Swift /// 05. Hardcore Romance - Beach Weather /// 06. Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode /// 07. Burn the Witch - PVRIS, Tommy Genesis & Alice Longyu Gao /// 08. House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls - The Weeknd /// 09. ecstacy - SUICIDAL-IDOL /// 10. Tennessee - Kevin Abstract & Lil Nas X /// 11. Beggin' (cover) - Måneskin /// 12. Kiss With A Fist - Florence + The Machine /// 13. Matador - Luvcat /// 14. I Come With Knives (Acoustic) - IAMX /// 15. Bells in Santa Fe - Halsey /// 16. Blood in the Cut - K.Flay /// 17. Trouble (Stripped) - Halsey /// 18. Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey.

Tracklist last updated on 14 Nov 2024.

► META

I wasn't going to add a write-up to this one – it was supposed to be an ironic playlist – but then I couldn't resist coming back to add better and better song choices to the tracklist. It deserves a short explanation now, at the very least.

The tl;dr of it is that I was inspired by this fic and this fic and this fic. The different interpretations and dynamics of Feyd/Paul's relationship shown in those fics form the cornerstones for the relationships portrayed in these songs.

Some of these dynamics may seem contradictory to each other. That is by design. Many of the songs in this playlist are meant to go both ways: depending on your interpretation of Feyd's character and your specific flavour of canon divergence (which lbr is where 90% of FeydPaul scenarios play out), you could justifiably swap the dominant / submissive voices in the song lyrics between Feyd and Paul. Take "Dictator" by REI AMI for example:

The front part of the song is dominated by, well, a dominant persona:

I am not your queen, I'm your dictator

Bend the fucking knee, yeah bitch that was an order

Whatcha say to me? Huh? Bitch speak louder

You know I reign supreme, nah, you can't imitate her

The song takes a 180° turn in the back half, switching up the beat, the tempo, the instrumentation, the cadence; going from rap verses to singing; and going from braggadocio to a vulnerable confession in its lyrics. This forms, for all intents and purposes, a second distinct "voice":

You're so mean I'm scared to say "I wanna leave"

Cause every time I try, I get a tighter leash

You never know

Everything I do when I'm feeling low

Always about you, that's the way it goes

The way it goes, just the way it goes

Cold, why you gotta treat me so cold?

You say you love me but I don't know, don't know

The original song intends for both voices to reflect 2 sides of the same speaker, which could also work in the case of Paul (the first voice being the strongman leader he presents himself as in front of his followers, but also the dom persona he takes on to exploit Feyd's vulnerabilities in the bedroom; the second voice being the insecurities he has in his feelings for Feyd, which he can admit only to himself). But these 2 voices also work well as a dialogue between Paul and Feyd: Paul as the dominant voice and Feyd as the submissive, plaintive one, in a Feyd Lives AU / any AU where Paul holds all the bargaining chips; or Feyd as the dominant voice and Paul as the submissive, confessional one, in a Feyd wins the duel / Paul is captured by the Harkonnens AU. Ymmv.

There are a few songs where it only fits a specific interpretation of the dynamic though. The more fics I read, the more I think about the political positioning either of the boys take up in canon, the more obvious it is that any way you slice it, Feyd is at a disadvantage. He doesn't have Paul's prescience or the Voice, among other Bene Gesserit training, to say nothing about his Mentat abilities. (This is excluding the AUs that assume Feyd, being another prospect for the Kwisatz Haderach bloodline, has some level of prescient abilities akin to Paul's.) This is true even before Paul consumed the Water of Life and gained full access to his ancestral memories, and once he unlocked the Other Memory, Feyd is simply no match for him. So tracks like "Matador" and "Bells in Santa Fe" work better if you think of them as speaking from Feyd's POV:

Your cape is crimson

And you're waving it, snarling

The air is full of danger

I only wanted to put on a little skirt, a little show for you

...

I came crawling in on all fours

Knocking at your door, knocking at your door

I don't wanna bleed anymore

I just wanted love, but you wanted gore

You're my matador

While Feyd is the gladiator with a number of wins in the Geidi Prime arena under his belt, Paul is named after his grandfather who fought bulls for fun. Feyd is a Harkonnen, which is etymologically related to the "härka", Finnish for the bull. When they meet each other blade for blade, Paul is the metaphorical matador to Feyd's bull, not the other way around.

I'm also a fan of simp!Feyd, which is how we ended up with Lil Mariko & Rico Nasty on the track list (lol). But on a more serious note, I like my Feyd softer and besotted with Paul, with or without the context of Paul as Emperor ordering Feyd around. In that light, it's obvious who would be the one to come crawling, begging for love from the other man.

Leaving through the door without a word

You won't even notice, little bird

Better off dead so I reckon I'm headed to hell instead

So don't wait for me, don't wait for me, wait

It's not a happy ending

...

But, Jesus, you've got better lips than Judas

I could keep your bed warm, otherwise I'm useless

I don't really mean it, 'cause who the fuck would choose this?

Self loathing hours with Feyd lmao. I don't believe Feyd is capable of shame, but he bested Rabban in currying favours with the Baron and securing the na-Baron title. He must have a mind for politicking, and in a Feyd Lives AU, he would know full well that he is only useful to Paul's empire insofar as he amuses him and keeps his bed warm. It also really only makes sense for Feyd to call Paul "little bird" and not the other way around, seeing as Paul is the one who brings the Atreides hawk symbol to their union.

Speaking of union, I went back and forth on the inclusion of the Lana Del Rey track until I remembered that she wears a wedding dress in the music video. I've never paired "Ultraviolence" with my ships, not even for my most fucked up faves, for mainly 2 reasons: (1) I don't like to romanticise the domestic abuse detailed in the original context of that lyric. I prefer a dynamic where both parties retain a degree of control and reciprocity in the fucked up shit they do to each other. But in the case of FeydPaul the pain kinks just write themselves, and they would be fully reciprocal. I can see Feyd being the masochist to Paul's more violent tendencies as much as I can see Feyd enacting his learned sadism onto Paul. They would both enjoy it. Also, as every shipper knows, in another life these two would've been betrothed to each other according to the Bene Gesserits' breeding programme.

Heaven is on earth

I will do anything for you, babe

Blessed is this union

Crying tears of gold, like lemonade

It's literally a wedding song!

(2) I never included "Ultraviolence" in my ship playlists before because the lyrics are kinda cringe. "tears of gold like lemonade"? really? But then again, FeydPaul is largely a Romeo & Juliet type of pairing - they're star-crossed, they're madly in love, and they're teenagers! They would be the type to make cringey promises to each other.

[stvlti]

linger like a sandwalk - a playlist for Dune Part Two

I'm back 💃 after 2 years of not posting new playlists for my fandoms 💃 this new Dune movie is living in my head rent free 😮‍💨 of course I had to make fanmix for this one to try and consolidate my thoughts.

Tracks ⏏️

Bloodline -- Gabriels  //  No Church in the Wild -- Jay-Z & Kanye West  //  Mary Magdalene -- FKA Twigs  //  Pink Matter  -- Frank Ocean  //  Smother -- Daughter  //  Say You'll Go -- Janelle Monáe  //  A Time of Quiet Between Storms (Dune Part Two OST) -- Hans Zimmer  //  Your Blood -- Nothing But Thieves  //  The River -- Kero Kero Bonito  //  Bad Religion -- Frank Ocean  //  Telekinesis -- Travis Scott ft. SZA & Future  //  Transform -- Daniel Caesar ft. Charlotte Day Wilson

Meta ⏏️

An explanation of the song choices & related thoughts on the film *

(*) I still have not read the book *lies down* As soon as life slows down I swear I will. The 2 Denis Villeneuve films combined already make for a rich narrative and storyworld however, and this playlist is very much based on that.

▶️ Bloodline -- Gabriels

It's the bloodline This thing came before you Bloodline

I wanted to open this playlist on something that gets right at (one of) the core themes of Villeneuve's Dune, and to me that is the idea of bloodlines, legacies and self-fulfilling prophecies.

Birth rights can be stole Truth is you were always alone Tears in your hands Seems you lost before you began Your ancestors' blood fed the soil and the sand

I think a point that many filmgoers miss - and is also a point I missed on my first viewing of Part Two - is that the Lisan Al Gaib prophecy and Paul's claim to it is wholly manufactured. Upon rewatch, several lines in the 2 films jumped out to me: 'On Arrakis, a path has been laid' (Mother Mohiam in Part One), and first Paul (during his first meal in Sietch Tabr) and then Lady Jessica's declaration that they must persuade the non-believers that he is the Lisan Al Gaib so as to ensure their continued survival among the Fremen. Irulan's later commentary, 'these are our religious patterns', cemented this fact for me. We are reminded that The Bene Gesserit has sent missionaries to the Fremen over decades and centuries, creating the religious circumstances for Paul to consolidate power among the natives. He has as much a claim to the title of the Mahdi / Lisan Al Gaib as any other outerworlder from the Houses of the Imperium - that is to say, he isn't really the Chosen One. 'Birth rights can be stole', and this is a birth right he stole.

Yet, he does undoubtedly hail from his mother's Bene Gesserit lineage and, through consuming the Water of Life, inherit the ancestral memories of both his masculine and feminine forebearers from both the royal bloodlines and the Fremen lineage of Reverend Mothers. (We see this during the montage after he takes the WoL, falling through a super cut of the faces of the Fremen Reverend Mothers who came before him before eventually finding a vision of Alia on the sand dunes.) His 'ancestors' blood fed the soil and the sand' on which he now stands as the (false) prophet that will lead his Fremen tribe to ruin...

It's the bloodline Don't let it destroy you Bloodline

... and in ascending to the title of the Mahdi, he will undoubtedly lose everything that made him Paul the individual in the first place. Greater prophecies, plans and conspiracies will eclipse his humanity. This is the real bloodline that drives him to war and genocide. 'Don't let it destroy you' - but maybe it's already too late.

▶️ No Church in the Wild -- Jay-Z & Kanye West

I mean, come on, this song choice is just too obvious isn't it?

Human beings in a mob What's a mob to a king? What's a king to a God? What's a God to a non-believer who don't believe in anything? Will he make it out alive? Alright, alright No church in the wild

'Mob' = the Fremen and their Fedaykin guerilla troops. 'King' = Rabban, and later Feyd-Rautha, and the Harkonnen regime. 'God' = Paul as Mahdi and Muad'dib, the desert terrorist. 'Non-believer' = Chani and her brethren among the Northern skeptics.

But the sonical landscape of this song also played a huge part in my inclusion of the song on this list. I'm a lover of words before all else, but something about Dune made me want to curate a sonically coherent playlist that accompanies the story in lyrics as much as it does in sound. The grueling, forward momentum of this song's iconic beat lends itself to the raids the Fedaykin warriors launched against the Harkonnen-controlled spice fields.

▶️ Mary Magdalene -- FKA Twigs

In my head I call this the quintessential Bene Gesserit song. Listen, and read the lyrics:

A woman's work A woman's prerogative

The song makes it clear from the very first lines that it's about the woman's birthright and sovereignty. Most of the Bene Gesserit ladies we see in this film have roots in the royal bloodlines themselves. In that, they have a claim to a particular prerogative. Yet they also actively govern the domain of procreation, descendancy, succession, and survival of royal bloodlines. That is the nature of 'a woman's work' in this storyworld.

A woman's touch, a sacred geometry I know where you start, where you end How to please, how to curse Yes, I learnt you needed me Yes, I'm here to open you Yes, I know that your heart is blue (So cold)

FKA Twigs' darkly seductive vocals paired with this particular verse really evokes that entire Lady Fenring/Feyd-Rautha sequence.

I fear before the fire True as Mary Magdalene Creature of desire Come just a little bit closer to me Step just a little bit closer to me

The seduction continues here, but there's power inherent in the 'creature of desire' Mary Magdalene represents. Her story and her iconography bears a heavy resemblance to the Bene Gesserit sisters and their relationships with the men of the Imperium and its court.

I can lift you higher I do it like Mary Magdalene I want you to say it Come just a little bit closer 'til we collide

A woman's hands So dark and provocative A nurturing breath that could stroke Your divine confidence

I really fuck with the Mary Magdalene allegory in this song, and the chorus nails the mythos and authority she commands in modern reimaginings of her figure in relation to Jesus' mythos. Yet there's something softer in the latter half of the chorus - the devotion she shows to her partner is on equal footing, less of manipulation and more of the muse she can be for him to realise his full potential. With the arrival of the second verse we truly see how important she is to a man's dominion. 'A nurturing breath that could stroke [His] divine confidence': that is the power of Lady's Jessica's love for and devotion to Leto Atreides.

A woman's war Unoccupied history True nature won't search to destroy If it doesn't make sense

Of course, it would be remiss of me not to point out that certain parts of the Bene Gesserit's characterisation functions as a manifestation and perpetuation of Frank Herbert's very of-its-time misogynistic, gender essentialist ideas of a woman's station and the (only) avenue through which she derives her power in the material world - her womb. (Miss me with that radical feminist bs.) But we also see, in the film, Princess Irulan's character: a female historian whom the film suggests would have been happier free from the trappings of the Bene Gesserit programme and her Imperial lineage. 'A woman's war; unoccupied history': Mary Magdalene is a prime example of how for most of history, women are often anonymous (as that Virginia Woolf saying goes), their histories are often erased and deemed as unimportant; Irulan's inner thoughts and history are also cast aside and given no voice in the Dune narrative, but in an ironic twist, she dedicates her life to documenting the history of others.

▶️  Pink Matter -- Frank Ocean

What do you think my brain is made for? Is it just a container for the mind? This great, grey matter Sensei replied, "What is your woman? Is she just a container for the child?" That soft, pink matter

This song provides more of a male - or at least, androgynous - perspective on the question of the Bene Gesserit breeding programme ('Is she just a container for the child?' / 'My God, she's giving me pleasure'). But it gets right at the core of the question of whether the women in this universe, and the avenue through which they gain power, is truly confined to being 'just a container for the child'. I also really liked the direct parallels Frank Ocean's lyrics draw between the womb (pink matter) and the mind (grey matter), as the other main source of power Jessica drives from is through her mind and the prescience becoming the Reverend Mother has afforded her.

▶️ Smother -- Daughter

In my head I call this Lady Jessica's song.

I want all that is not mine I want him, but we're not right In the darkness, I will meet my creators And they will all agree that I'm a suffocator

I think it's more intimate than either of the 2 songs that come before this one, and centres Jessica squarely in her role as a mother before her place as a Bene Gesserit sister. She knows she will meet her creators - the generations of mothers and Bene Gesserit sisters who came before her - and she knows they will disapprove of the path she has manipulated to suit her ends, first for Duke Leto (in bearing him a son) and then for her son's survival (in spreading propaganda of him as the Lisan Al Gaib among the Fremen tribes). Now I know that the films sort of reduce her to a one-dimensional villain in Part Two, but I've heard that she is a lot less gungho about their little homegrown personality cult of Paul as the Lisan Al Gaib / Mahdi in the book. In fact, his accelerated transformation into a religious figurehead and his willingness to exploit the Fremen for that, at the cost of his own humanity, seems to be an unintended outcome that she regrets. She has unwittingly become a 'suffocator', in that regard - a mother killing her own child's humanity in his metaphorical cradle as soon as she exposed him to tales of the prophecy.

Oh love I'm sorry if I smothered you I sometimes wish I'd stayed inside My mother

▶️  Say You'll Go -- Janelle Monáe

Say you'll go to Nirvana Will you leave Samsara? Or in the words of Dhammapada, "Who will lead? Who will follow?" Our love will sail in this ark The world could end outside our window Let's find forever And write our name in fire on each others' hearts

Something about Janelle's crooning vocals against the symphonic strings and melodies just makes this a timeless love song. I love including it in for my ships 🥺 and I think it rather fits PaulChani, the star-crossed lovers that they are. 'Let's find forever' is my 'I will love you as long as I breathe'.

But of course, the question of whether Paul will go south looms over their heads like the Sword of Damocles. 'Will you leave Samsara? ... Who will lead? Who will follow?'

▶️  A Time of Quiet Between Storms (Dune Part Two OST)

Among the Dune OST, this song holds a higher and special place in my heart because of the way it celebrates their first on-screen kiss, but is also used as a reprise of sorts at the end of the film as Chani walks out on Paul. It's a bittersweet track. And it's lived in my mind rent free much the same way that last shot of Chani, with her quivering lips and angry eyes, has.

This brings me to the name of the playlist: the PaulChani tragedy, and just, the film as a whole, has definitely lingered in my mind. It has dragged against my thoughts gently, but persistently like the rhythm of a sandwalk.

I also chose to place it in the middle of playlist to sever it into 2 parts, much the same way the film is severed into 2 parts: before Paul undergoes the Water of Life ritual, when he is still an idealistic boy who actively rejects the title of the Mahdi for fear of the wartorn future he's foreseen, and afterwards, when he claims the mantle of the Mahdi.

▶️  Your Blood -- Nothing But Thieves

You know it's your blood that I bleed Tell me that there's some way that I'll get through the night I carry your moral disease I don't wanna be something I'm not to stay alive

You guys don't know how long I've wanted to put this song on a fanmix!! I've called this Joey Wilson/Jericho's song from the moment I heard it 😂 but I think the same themes can be found in Paul's story too, specifically his first scene right after recovering from the Water of Life ritual. 'We're Harkonnens.' And his realisation that that's how they'll survive: by becoming Harkonnens. It's the Baron's blood that he bleeds, and conflicted as he is about that, eventually he'll come to realise that he has to 'be something I'm not to stay alive'.

▶️  The River -- Kero Kero Bonito

Holy mother Receive our hearts in your arms And let our souls pass The day the rain returns again

These 4 lines are repeated throughout the song, almost like a prayer. It reminds me of the way Stilgar holds onto those same 4 words, 'As it was written', throughout the film as an affirmation of his religious convictions - the belief that the true Mahdi will bring paradise one day and with it, the rain.

When Earth is submerging And heaven is open The river will carry all of us to Where we belong ... Then a torrent crashes down Releasing the jungle swelling in the ground And as was foretold our time is out

▶️  Bad Religion -- Frank Ocean

If it brings me to my knees It's a bad religion This unrequited love To me, it's nothing but a one-man cult And cyanide in my styrofoam cup I can never make him love me Never make him love me

This song places us in Chani's pov. To her, Paul's meteoric rise of notoriety among the Fremen is 'nohting but a one-man cult'. She loved him as he was - an outsider who stayed humble and learnt her ways, and earned a place among her Fedaykin brethren. But as a power-tripping outerworlder claiming to be the Mahdi - she doesn't recognise him, and she 'can never make him love [her]' again, not as the man he has become.

▶️  Telekinesis -- Travis Scott ft. SZA & Future

I could've took the pain and I could've went out sad Streets stepped in and raised me, but I ain't have my daddy

So I'm gonna be honest: this is actually the track that started this entire project for me 🙈 But you see it, right? Travis Scott as Paul's voice, and SZA as Chani's...

I can see the future, it's lookin' like we level through the sky I can't wait to live in glory in eternal lastin' life

The fact that 'I can see the future' is the refrain of this song. In its original context I'm almost certain that Travis meant it less literally, and more in the realm of being able to guess the trajectory of his career as he continues to top the charts as a hip hop superstar. But it lends well to the context of Paul's religious myth-making as well. 'Eternal lasting life' and all that.

How can I sleep when you're out catchin' bodies? I still wanna be with you, trust me, I know that's insane ... We both ain't shit and it's workin' for me Workin' for me, yeah I can see the future, I can see the future

The thing that breaks my heart about the ending of the film is that you can see Chani still loves Paul, but not who he has become. I also like that the song flips the refrain around and has SZA sing it too. Except when she says, 'I can see the future', she says it self-deprecatingly. It's a future of more heartbreak and betrayal (by way of mutual infidelity) and ruin.

▶️  Transform -- Daniel Caesar ft. Charlotte Day Wilson

If a leopard never changes its spots How can I change what I've got? Transform, transform, transform, transform We don't punish the tiger for catching its prey So how am I the one to blame? If it's in my nature Transform, transform, transform, transform

One thing rewatching these films has made me realise is that Paul's 'sudden flip' to becoming a coloniser exploiting the Fremen's religion for his own gains in Imperial politics after drinking the Water of Life is actually less of a plot twist and more of an inevitability that has been advertised since Part One. Towards the end of the first film, he says to Liet Kynes that he intends to marry one of the Emperor's daughters and make a play for the throne. In Part Two, during his first meal at Sietch Tabr, he says to his mother that he must convince the non-believers that he is the Lisan Al Gaib. He may not have intended to bear the mantle of the Mahdi, perhaps he was foolishly, idealistically looking for a different path towards revenge and the throne, but he has never been above playing the game and utilising court politics to secure his 'victory', so to speak. He was born of royal blood and forged in those politics. It's in his nature.

It's never over until life ends Lay down beside me, do it again

These 2 lines reminds me again of that promise Paul and Chani exchanged: 'I will love you as long as I breathe'. (And if I remember correctly, Chani said something to the effect of 'I will be here for you as long as you stay who you are' as well.) I didn't want to end this playlist on a downer ending, hence this song choice.

If you've made it this far into my meta-commentary, thank you! Hope you've enjoyed this playlist ♡

[stvlti]

the last of the (false) prophets | a Dune fanmix

I've made the general Dune Part II mixtape and I've made the ironic FeydPaul mixtape, it's time for a Paul-centric playlist. This one is also made in the context of Part II because that film has bewitched me mind, body and soul 😔

► TRACKS

01. Eat the Acid - Kesha /// 02. Brutus - Emma Blackery /// 03. DNA - Kendrick Lamar /// 04. THE REV3NGE - Joey Bada$$ /// 05. Burning - Yeah Yeah Yeahs /// 06. Darwinism - Halsey /// 07. Found Heaven - Conan Gray /// 08. Only in My Dreams - The Marías /// 09. Routines in the Night - Twenty One Pilots /// 10. Jesus Lived In A Motel Room - HYUKOH /// 11. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V) - Pink Floyd /// 12. Writer In The Dark - Lorde /// to be continued...

Tracklist updated on 18 Nov 2024.

► META

I think the song choices are pretty self explanatory, so I'm not gonna write a big long song-by-song breakdown this time. I do have some notes on the choice of cover artwork and the pov of this playlist though.

If it isn't apparent by now, Paul isn't my fave character in Dune canon – Feyd-Rautha is. So why am I making a playlist dedicated to a character I don't even love?

In my years of consuming and creating art for my fandoms, I don't think I've ever come across a morally grey character that's half as complex and intriguing as Paul. Sure, I'm familiar with corruption arcs and self-styled messianic figures (Light Yagami from Death Note comes to mind). I've written for and continue to love characters who underwent cataclysmic deaths and resurrections, and came back wrong (see: Jason Todd from DC/Batman). And sure, Paul's character arc can similarly be boiled down to these familiar story beats of resurrection and corruption, but he's no angel at the start of his journey. He's aware of the trajectory of his story in ways these other characters aren't by virtue of being a seer of prescient visions. To walk clear-sightedly into his own ruination is such a fascinating thing to me.

Those familiar with the Major Arcana suit of the tarot cards will know the significance of The Fool: he is at the start of his journey, appearing to walk leftwards off a cliff with an optimistic smile because he's as yet unburdened by higher knowledge of lurking dangers. Like The Fool, I have Paul facing leftwards on this cover (flipped horizontally from the original Dune 2021 IMAX poster), because he too is embarking on a transformative journey when he enters the Arrakis deserts. The difference is, of course, that he becomes aware of his terrible destiny as a messianic figurehead for a holy war as soon as he sets off for this journey. And so it isn't with carefree optimism but the knowledge of his ruin hanging heavily on his shoulders that he takes his first steps into the desert.

The other major difference between the playlist cover and the Fool's tarot card design is how much smaller Paul's figure is in the composition of the whole image. The desert background easily dwarves his figure, which is something I've always loved about the IMAX poster. Despite all his visions of futures where he ascends to the mantle of a messianic leader, he is still just, at this moment in the canon timeline, a child. Small, and all alone in his journey. Not even his mother Lady Jessica would come to understand the weight of the transformation he will undergo.

Many of the songs on this playlist were ones that didn't make the cut for my general Dune playlist. But as I went along I realised it's grown into a love letter for Paul's character from the perspective of a sympathetic reader. "Found Heaven" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" only make sense as monologues addressed to Paul.

Your heart is breaking as you leave that door

You never meant to start this holy war

But you're trapped, pack your bags

Don't look back

Don't be scared, little child

You're no demon

Rewatching Dune Part I really brought it home for me just how much of a child Paul still is when he enters the Fremen's deserts. He is frightened out of his mind by the knowledge that he will come to be the figurehead for whom millions will wage a holy war to the devastation of entire planets and deaths of billions, and it's a burden for him to bear alone. Did anyone ever stop to tell him not to fear?

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun ...

Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky ...

You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,

Blown on the steel breeze ...

Come on you raver, you seer of visions,

Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

If I'm not mistaken, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" was written for Pink Floyd's own Syd Barrett, a genius lyricist whose declining mental health forced him to quit the scene too soon. Obvious parallels to Paul's madness aside, I like the metaphor this adds to Paul as not only a prophet but a painter / artist – which he is to an extent. He is an architect shaping the world into a future only he sees. The tragedy is of course that visionary artists often go where their lovers can't follow.

Now she's gonna play and sing and lock you in her heart

Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark

I am my mother's child, I'll love you 'til my breathing stops

I'll love you 'til you call the cops on me

But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power

I'll find a way to be without you, babe

[stvlti]

Jason Peter Todd - a character-centric fanmix

posting that Dune playlist got me looking into my Spotify history and realising that I've got so many mixtapes locked and loaded in the chamber 😂 this one has been out for a hot minute now. if you followed me for my Jason Todd-posting, you're in luck today!

► TRACKS

Growing Pains III - Logic // Second & Sebring - Of Mice & Men // Styrofoam Plates - Death Cab For Cutie // Echo - Kevin Abstract // Bust Your Knee Caps - Pomplamoose // Pain Everyday - clipping. // Brutus - Emma Blackery // King of the Damned - Palaye Royale // I Like The Way You Die - Black Honey // The Lighthouse - Halsey // The Kids Don't Wanna Come Home - Declan McKenna // The Villain I Appear to Be - Connor Spiotto // Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood // Independent Horror Film - Corporate Hearts // I Want To Be Well - Sufjan Stevens // You First - Paramore

[stvlti]

But I Know We'll Meet Again | a Protagoneil fanmix

love songs for The Protagonist/Neil from Tenet (2020)

i didn't even know that i'd made this playlist public. i guess i thought i'd keep adding more songs to it. this is as complete as it'll ever be. Playlist title from the Vera Lynn track.

► TRACKS

See You Again - Tyler, the Creator // No One Said This Would Be Easy - The Postmarks // When Time Was On Their Side - Husky Rescue // If I Had A Gun... - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds // Blue - Troye Sivan // Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back - My Chemical Romance // Maybe We're Meant To Be Alone - Bad Suns // Lonely Hunter - Foals // Same Soul - PVRIS // Lovesong - The Cure // Mariners Apartment Complex - Lana Del Rey // We'll Meet Again - Vera Lynn // Historians - Lucy Dacus

[stvlti]

Still A Boy Inside My Thoughts | a JayRoy playlist

Inspired by the arc in Red Hood/Arsenal (2015), this is a fanmix for their breaking up & getting back together vibes. The title is taken from the Rex Orange County song on this playlist. The cover art is from a panel in Red Hood/Arsenal #13.

► TRACKS

To Build A Home - Patrick Watson (The Cinematic Orchestra's cover) // Eventually, Darling - Declan McKenna // Old Wounds - PVRIS // Why Even Try - Hippo Campus // Still I Try - The Honey Trees // Free If We Want It - Nothing But Thieves // Smoke Signals - Cavetown ft. Tessa Violet // Why Am I Like This - Orla Gartland // Pluto Projector - Rex Orange County