#stvlti's mixes

[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

[silenthillmutual]

P209 of my likes has me tagged by @stvlti for my lockscreen, homescreen, andast song i listened to on Spotify...since i closed out if that last one before work i guess it's just my recently listened mixes!

I tag @aslice-ofcake , @milk-teeths , @gaytarokujo , @soupcans , @bipolarreigen and whoever else wants to! Just tag me :p

[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. Kiss With A Fist - Florence + The Machine /// 12. Matador - Luvcat /// 13. I Come With Knives (Acoustic) - IAMX /// 14. Bells in Santa Fe - Halsey /// 15. Blood in the Cut - K.Flay /// 16. Trouble (Stripped) - Halsey /// 17. Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey.

Tracklist last updated on 7 Oct 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. Found Heaven - Conan Gray /// 07. Only in My Dreams - The Marías /// 08. Routines in the Night - Twenty One Pilots /// 09. Jesus Lived In A Motel Room - HYUKOH /// 10. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V) - Pink Floyd /// 11. Writer In The Dark - Lorde /// to be continued...

Tracklist updated on 15 Oct 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

[stvlti]

Rose Wilson - a character-centric fanmix

artwork taken from the Robin (2021) #4 variant cover by Francis Manapul

I don't always have creative names for my playlists, but in my defense I made this one on a whim. anyway here's how I see Rose's character - heavy emphasis on her preboot characterisation.

► TRACKS

Seashore - The Regrettes // Beaches - Black Honey // Bad Girls - M.I.A // Smoke - PVRIS // DNA - Kendrick Lamar // Daddy Lessons - Beyonce // Snowcone - REI AMI // Cigarette Daydreams - Cage The Elephant // Midnight Sky - Miley Cyrus // Swimming - Kero Kero Bonito // Call Me a Saint - YONAKA

Note: the tracklist was edited on 16 May 2024.

[stvlti]

who gave Dick Grayson the aux cord? - songs from Dick's iPod

someone said Dick listens exclusively to Billboard 100 hits and I made a playlist about it

► TRACKS

This Is What They Say - Carly Rae Jepsen // Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars // Bye Bye Bye - *NSYNC // The Other Side - Justin Timberlake ft. SZA // Love Again - Dua Lipa // Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! - ABBA // Dancing Queen - ABBA // Wake Me Up Before You Go - Wham! // Don't Stop Believin' - Journey // Don't Stop Me Now - Queen // Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen // Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie // Starman - David Bowie // Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi // It's My Life - Bon Jovi // Wonderwall - Oasis // Everybody (Backstreet's Back) - Backstreet Boys // Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz // Happy - Pharrell Williams // Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars // Marry You - Bruno Mars // Teenage Dream - Katy Perry // 24K Magic - Bruno Mars // Kiss Me More - Doja Cat ft. SZA // Love Me More - Mitski //Cupid - Fifty Fifty // and more to come...

[stvlti]

Photo credit © Kuroneko Urbex 

01. Phobia - Nothing But Thieves // 02. No Church In The Wild - Jay-Z, Kanye West // 03. When The Fires Come - Kero Kero Bonito // 04. Say You’ll Go - Janelle Monáe. // 05. Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back - My Chemical Romance // 06. Five Years - David Bowie // 07. Lonely Hunter - Foals // 08. Come Back To Earth - Mac Miller // 09. Garden Shed - Tyler, the Creator // 10. Get on Back to You - Summer Salt  // 00. to be continued...

Based on a canon-divergent DCeased: Dead Planet continuity

[stvlti]

全部わかってしまったら...

Once I know everything, what should I do? — Misa no Uta

I had a few brainwaves about songs that totally work as Misa FST again, so I made another mix about her. This time I tried to stick to her anime canon characterisation as much as possible. There are also a few tracks about Light, Rem, and Takada in relation to her POV. 

01. Savages - Marina and the Diamonds // 02. Holding Out for a Hero - Nothing But Thieves // 03. Emperor’s New Clothes - Panic! at the Disco // 04. Honeymoon - Lana Del Rey // 05. Immortal - Marina and the Diamonds // 06. Psycho - Muse // 07. Explosion - Zolita // 08. INTERLUDE: Devil Inside - London Grammar // 09. Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel in NYC) - Fall Out Boy // 10. 我們他們 - Ivana Wong // 11. Coming Down - The Weeknd // 12. Savage - LIGHTS

► LISTEN ON:  8TRACKS | SPOTIFY | TUMBLR (defunct)

(Other Misa Amane fanmixes can be found HERE and HERE.)

May 2020 update: due to various licensing issues, not all tracks in the 8tracks version may be playable. I have therefore also added a Spotify link, but please be aware that that version is missing the London Grammar track. the Tumblr version is no longer live.

Notes, translation, and commentary under the cut. Content warnings for song lyrics: drug use, ableist and abusive language, infidelity.

Haha, it’s not a Misa Amane fanmix from yours truly without an Ivana Wong song. Well, below is a translation of it. (Original lyrics can be found here.)

“我們他們” (Us; Them)

The gull sees the upper half of the sky’s colour1 The bat remembers the lower half of the hill’s shadow

The figure2 expresses dissatisfaction in the body also Light and shadow3, how do we differentiate from the other half? What are “we”? What makes “them”? 

Even if I opened my eyes, Gazed at that moon that is only half of itself, Differences4, let us not mind them first, Let us enjoy the full moon together 

Could we exchange our feelings with each other? Assuming that our positions are swapped with one another? 

The morning flower is grateful for the first half of spring’s sights5 The red maple regrets the second half of autumn’s eyes6 Looking back at “us”; understanding “them” What are “we”? Who is knocking on the door? 

Even if I opened my eyes, Gazed at that moon that is only half of itself, Differences, let us not mind them first, Let us enjoy the full moon together 

Could we exchange our feelings with each other? Assuming that our positions are swapped with one another? 

The paper crane moves to reside7 in the upper half of the sky The bullet buries itself in the lower half of the sea of flames Understanding “us”; looking back at “them” 

Grey hues, how do we judge shades of black and white? In the centre, how do we criticise the left and the right? Who are “we”? What makes “them”? Who is knocking on the door? Who is willing to answer the door?

Notes:

“天色”:  I’ve transliterated this into “sky’s colour”, but the phrase is usually taken to mean the time of the day (as evidenced by the colour of the sky), or the weather (again, as evidenced by the sky)

“身影”: I translated this into “figure”, as in a person’s figure. “Form” is a good alternative translation. Yes, it may seem to redundant as the line then goes on to refer to the person’s “body”, but that’s the point of the polyptoton I suppose.

“光影”:  I transliterated this into “light and shadow”, but in most instances the phrase is colloquially taken to simply mean “shadow”.

“偏差”:  I translated this into “differences” as it flows better, but that actually generalizes the original denotation a bit. A more precise translation would yield words like “deviation”, “divergence”, etc.

“春光”:  A literal translation would be “spring’s light”, but “光” (light) can sometimes taken to mean sights or scenery, as in “風光”.

“秋水”: This one takes a bit more contextualizing. Literally, it translates into “autumn’s waters”, but at times it’s been used idiomatically as a metaphor for clear, limpid, feminine eyes. I mashed the two denotations together to produce the current translation, “autumn’s eyes”. I am unsure which denotation the songwriter intended, probably both? (Well, that’s the norm in Chinese poetry and lyrics, metaphors and double entendres tend to be inherent in most visual imagery.) In any case, I made sure to include a nod at the idea of watery, feminine eyes because it’s Misa we’re talking about here, in this mix.

“寄居”:  A more unequivocal translation would be “moving away from one’s home to live someplace else temporarily”.

(This translation + notes have been adapted from the version at @pocketsizedthoughts​.)

More about this song later. I’ll go through the tracks one by one.

To be honest, knowing this was going to be my 3rd Misa mix gave me expectations for myself. I tried to affect the kind of intertextuality I achieved in my second Misa mix, where I sustained lyrical references between its tracks and the stuff in my first Misa mix. Hence, the inclusion of Lana’s Honeymoon on this mix again, to hark back to the aesthetics on my second Misa mix. I also included The Weeknd’s Coming Down as a cheeky nod to Halsey’s song of the same name (which is included in my second Misa mix). Halsey and The Weeknd’s songs are very different animals though – here’s some graphics I edited to compare the two songs in the context of Light, Misa, and Takada’s triangle. (More on this comparison later.)

The idea for this mix came about when I first listened to LIGHTS’s Savage. I thought it would make a fun bookend to Marina’s Savages (which asks the existential questions of human nature reminiscent of Light’s Kira), sort of like an antanaclasis of the word. But more importantly, LIGHTS’s Savage (“What do you do when a man don’t love you?”) reminded me of the realisation Misa achieved in Misa no Uta (“zenbu wakatte shimattara dousureba iino?” / “once I know everything, what should I do?”). (Again, please read Kim @casuistor’s brilliant dissection of Misa no Uta for a better understanding of how the scene shapes Misa’s anime characterisation in comparison to manga!Misa’s characterization.)

So, there was the starting point for this mix. You can see that I’ve uncreatively used the quoted lyric from Misa no Uta as the title for this mix. The cover artwork is my attempt at mimicking the anime’s shot of Misa staring out towards the sunset as she contemplates her usefulness to Light in Misa no Uta (a scene that, as Kim pointed out, is then paralleled in her suicidal contemplation at the end of the anime).

Unlike my first two Misa mixes, which are decidedly canon-divergent in the way it characterizes Misa (i.e. much brasher, and more autonomous than even Misa no Uta suggests), I tried to stay closer to the anime characterisation whilst branching out a bit to include the POVs of her surrounding characters as well. Sure, Marina’s Savages sounds like it could potentially be a monologue for Light and Misa both, but Emperor’s New Clothes, Psycho, and Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel in NYC) unmistakably represents Light’s voice in this story. In other words, the tracks with masculine vocalists are all Light’s theme tracks. You can also tell by the bombastic sounds and boastful and grandiose tone of the lyrics – they suit Light’s character as he is in canon.

I also gave Rem a voice; I figured she deserves to finally be included in a mix about Misa’s story. I only recently discovered Zolita and her song, Explosion, which works so much better than any previous candidates I had in mind as a theme for Rem. (The narrator in the song is speaking from a sapphic POV, for one.)

And though Takada wasn’t exactly given a track that narrates from her POV, she is also referenced in her relation to Light in the tracks Devil Inside and Twin Skeleton’s. The latter from Light’s POV of course (“I need a new partner in crime”); the former from an objective POV. You’ll also notice that Devil Inside is designated the “Interlude” of the playlist. It may not have neatly divided the mix into two equal halves, but it does mark the point at which Takada enters the narrative again as part of the Kira squad. “Here comes a woman, with a look in her eye,” indeed.

Anyway, enough of me waffling about the general course of the mix’s narrative direction. I promised a track-by-track breakdown. Here it is.

 Savages

As stated, this works as an opener for the Kiras in general, questioning human nature and its capacity for violence and destruction. The song does retain a certain tone of self-deprecation and self-awareness that I think places it a bit further away from Light’s egomania though, hence I thought it more fitting for Misa’s perspective. The line, “I’m not afraid of God, I am afraid of man,” cements this, anyway. 

(There’s a chance Marina intended for “man” to be an encompassing term for human beings regardless of gender, but I think it fits Misa if we interpret it as a gendered term; she is a victim of two crimes committed against her and her family both by male criminals, after all.)

“Are you killing for yourself or killing for your savior?” Here’s another line I’ve twisted slightly to suit the meaning of my mix. I’m sure Marina was referencing suicide bombers and other sort of religious terrorists out there, but if we turn this around, Misa is also literally killing for First Kira, who she sees as her “savior”.

You can hear it on the news You can watch it on TV You can read it on your phone You can say it’s troubling

These lines also fit well with Light’s rhetoric of seeing crimes on the news day-in day-out, and just the general relationship the Kiras have with the media towards the last arc of the story.

 Holding Out for a Hero

Don’t laugh, I know you’re probably thinking of the Shrek OST. No, hear me out. I specifically chose this cover of the song because it has this darker edge that is absent in most covers of the song, which obviously suits the tone of Death Note as a series. But also, Conor Mason’s wailing vocals simply make for a good expression of Misa’s desperation before she was “saved” by Kira.

Where have all the good men gone And where are all the gods? Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds? Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?

Well, the idea of “the gods” is just too cheeky a reference to Kira’s self-proclaimed godhood for me to not include this track. The idea of this hero being “larger than life” is also very fitting for Light’s kind of Kira, who wishes to reform the entire world on an abstract level. 

The line, “streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds”, perfectly encapsulates the idea of the “rising odds” of crime on the street. Plus, it corresponds to the lyric from Misa no Uta, “Hold my hand in the dark street”. Sort of. The fairytale image suggested in the next line is also something Misa herself has voiced in canon, calling Light her “knight” in shining armour.

And of course, I also chose this song for its latent intertextuality… “It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet” – a nice little nod to Taylor Swift’s track, Superman, as is included in my second Misa mix.

Emperor’s New Clothes

(Finders keepers, losers weepers)

Welcome to the end of eras Ice has melted back to life Done my time and served my sentence Dress me up and watch me die If it feels good, tastes good It must be mine Dynasty decapitated You just might see a ghost tonight

Oh, yes, there’s no doubt by the sound of the bombastic trumpets and the self-indulgent lyrics that this is a song fit for Light’s entrance. “Finders keepers, losers weepers” – that’s just him talking about the Death Note. Whoever finds it, keeps it, and he will rise above while L and other adversaries lose to him.

Now, I’ll admit that this song is better placed as a “comeback” song for when Light regains his memory (“I’m taking back the crown”). It’s even suggested in the very first verse, the one I quoted (“Done my time and served my sentence”). And I’ve always been aware of this – long before I made this mix, I made an edit for this idea of the song being an FST to EP25. But I needed a definitive song for Light’s introduction into this mix, and this song is most characteristic of him. So just… turn a blind eye ear, and focus on the opening line, “Welcome to the end of eras”. It’s Light’s way of saying it’s Kira’s era now (the era of the New World).

Honeymoon

This is just such a perfect song for Misa’s character, I couldn’t resist including it again on this mix. The combination of its lush, orchestral sound and Lana’s croons really channel Misa’s romanticism and penchance for fashion and style. And of course, the imagery of the singer’s lover being a criminal pursued by his enemies is just a perfect fit for Misa’s relationship with Light. (I mean, look at this gifset. It’s a perfect match for the lyrics, jesus.)

As mentioned in my notes for the second Misa mix, the lines, “There’s nothing to lose now that I’ve found you,” and, “There’s no wonder every man in town / had neither fought nor found you,” really punctuate Misa’s entrance into the story – at this point in the narrative, she is the only one to have found First Kira, and it gives her peace of mind now that she has found her “savior”.

So, this track offers a twofold reference. There is the obvious reference to my second Misa mix, in which this song basically opened up the rest of the mix and set the stage for the narrative there. And then the very idea of “finding” someone or something also functions as an echo of the little notion of “finders keepers” in Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s a cheeky little parallel I’m going for here: while Light finds a purpose in a tool with which to create his New World, Misa finds a different purpose in an object worthy of her affections. Hence, why I inserted this song right after the other one.

Immortal

This track is included as a spotlight on Misa’s character. Although I’ll admit, the desire to achieve godhood in the opening line is less characteristic of Misa than it is of Light, the logic that Marina works through in the lyrics to arrive at the conclusion that “Love” is the only thing that can achieve immortality is quite like Misa’s worldview. She is a strong believer in the power of love, and all that stuff.

By the bridge, this song is in full-swing Misa mode:

No, I don't wanna be afraid, Afraid to die, die, die I just wanna be able to say That I have lived my life, life Oh, all the things that humans do To leave behind a little proof But the only thing that doesn't die is love, love, love

“Oh, all the things that humans do / to leave behind a little proof,” – this line gives this song just a touch of self-awareness and deprecation that, again, distinguishes it from Light’s character. But it is just like Misa to face death with courage or bravado, as she did during confinement and would rather beg for death than reveal First Kira’s identity. It is also like her to say that having loved and be loved would give her existence a bigger meaning.

Psycho

Love, it will get you nowhere You're on your own Lost in the wild So come to me now I could use someone like you Someone who'll kill on my command And asks no questions

This is the opening verse of the song. Yes, ironic, isn’t it, in the way it counters the beliefs espoused in the previous track? That is exactly what I intended. Of course, in canon, Light would never voice these thoughts to Misa’s face. But it does create a good contrast to Misa’s character, and reveals the core nature of their relationship – built around lies and promises of false love.

The rest of the song sounds even less like something Light would say to any of his supporters. I’ll admit, when I first found this song, I just thought it would work as an expression of Light’s inward attitudes towards the other Kiras. Mikami, in particular – he is indeed just a foot soldier to Light’s sergeant (which is the story acted out by the two monologuing voices in the background of the track). But for the sake of this mix, let’s just ignore this separate thread… Anyway, Misa is also a pawn for Light to use, she even says so when she first throws her affections at Light. Yeah, you get the idea that I’m not a proponent of their relationship by now.

Explosion

It's a mindless love affair One hot mess of bleach blonde hair

As stated before, this track is intended to be an interjection from Rem about her feelings towards Misa. I particularly chose to place it at this point in the mix because in canon, Rem does issue a threat and a warning to Light the night Misa offers to be used by him: after he callously states that he could just kill off Misa if she is going to be difficult about his fake-dating covers with the other girls, Rem tells Light that she would kill him if he causes harm to Misa in any way, shape or form.

That is the gist of the line, “Don't call me about him I don't wanna hear / Put him out of your mind just make him disappear.” In my mind, there is no doubt that Misa must have at some point felt put off by the callous attitude Light displays towards her. At least, with the way she expresses her disagreement with his decision to date several girls at once upon their first meeting, it’s safe to say she does feel frustration in her relationship with Light. And as we can see from the conversations between Rem and Misa, the two obviously trust each other; there is a roommates vibe going on between them (in anime!canon, at least). It’s not such a stretch to imagine Misa spilling her guts, including her relationship troubles, to Rem at some point.

But lesbian!Rem takes a bit more headcanoning. I know that this isn’t confirmed canon by the anime, but hey, gay!Rem is a real thing in the musical, and I’m always going to stan the idea of Rem being a lovesick fool for Misa. She has “feelings” for her, after all. Hence, “Are we sisters or are we lovers?”

So then, the last line of the song, “you’re mine, you’re mine, you’re mine…” isn’t really a confirmation of the two being romantically involved together. It’s more an exclamation on Rem’s end, an expression of her possessiveness and overall concern for Misa’s safety and happiness (especially knowing Light’s god-awful treatment of her).

Devil Inside

I designated this track as the interlude because the slow start of the song provides a bit of a lull in the mix, which is perfect for preluding the switch in narrative direction to introduce Takada’s character. 

The other reason it’s only an “interlude” and not a standalone track is that it is a relatively short song; this cover stops just short of the bridge of the original. As such, I don’t have much to add in commentary either. I’ve pretty much already said all that I have when I pointed out earlier that this song introduces Takada – the point in canon when she is enlisted by Light as a potential Kira-proxy:

Here comes the woman With the look in her eye Raised on leather With flesh on her mind Words as weapons sharper than knives Makes you wonder How the other half died

Again, this is a bit of a pick-and-choose-your-context kind of song. Takada is certainly not “raised on leather”. Actually, when I first heard this song 2 years ago, I had conceived of it as more of a study of Light and Misa as a couple. Misa has “the look in her eye”, because she has the Shinigami Eyes. 

However, that would also be unfaithful to the canon characterisations of them and their relationship. (Misa may wear leather on occasion, but she is not a wielder of words as weapons…) And anyway, Takada also gets the Shinigami Eyes later on in the series. And she certainly has more of an eye for ambition and sociopolitical fame than Misa does. So she has a “look in her eye” in both senses of the word. And since she is a news anchor, with the kind of intelligence a To-Oh graduate has, she certainly has the ability make her words hurt if she wants them to. (Case in point: her pissing contest with Misa at their dinner “date” right before the pop music festival. She is the one to go on offense first.)

But what I like about this song is still how it pairs the woman and the man in the lyrics by their crooked, murderous nature. Check out the parallelisms between the 2 verses:

Here come the man With the look in his eyes Fed on nothing But full of pride Look at them go Look at them kick Makes you wonder How the other half live

By this part of the song, it’s fair to say this can refer to both Light’s relationship with Misa and with Takada at once. “Look at them go / look at them kick”: Misa’s relationship with Light is falling apart, but Takada’s relationship with Light doesn’t exactly end in rainbow and unicorns either. “Makes you wonder / how the other half live”: easy, the women don’t. (Takada is killed by Light, and Misa dies indirectly because of him when she commits suicide.)

Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel in NYC)

Another song with masculine vocals, this one for Light’s POV on his and Takada’s relationship. Bar the bit about how this hotel is located in NYC, most of the lyrics fit the scene in Ep.32, where Light has a ~secret rendezvous with Takada at the hotel.

I will concede, the line, “I don’t want to remember it all,” is also out of character for Light considering that he would probably saw off his left toe before he’d be willing to give up his memories again, but yeah… just ignore it :/

I just need enough of you to dull the pain Just to get me through the night till we're twins again

Ahh, this one is a bit obscure in meaning, but someone pointed out that the twin imagery is more alluding to people who think alike, and Takada certainly started becoming Kira’s unofficial spokesperson before Light even enlisted her to be one, because they share the same ideals about justice. (But also, I’ve always thought that there are similarities between Takada and Light’s looks. The hairstyle, the kind of clothes they wear, etc. Takada’s the closest option to a genderbent version of Light in canon.)

'Til we're stripped down to our skeletons again

Following the same logic in the line, “I just need enough of you to dull the pain”, the idea of being “stripped down to skeletons” is another display of brutal honesty and genuine emotions from the narrator of the track. Except, I do believe that in the context of Light being the speaker, this should be taken with a grain of salt. He is an adept liar, after all, and in canon he does lie convincingly to Takada about his affections (or lack thereof).

'Til we're saints just swimming in our sins again

This line takes the POV out from the immersion however, since Light and Takada most certainly will no acknowledge their actions as being “wrong” or “sinful”. They do see themselves as saints, but only saints, in their actions as Kira / Kira-proxy.

And there's a jet black crow droning on and on and on Up above our heads droning on and on and on Keep making trouble 'til you find what you love I need a new partner in crime and you shrug

The last line in the verse here is the one quoted in my mix annotations, and it’s pretty obviously a variation of what Light says when he appeals to Takada. What I want to talk about, actually, is the imagery of the crow. The crow is often used as a symbol of Death or as an omen for some other trouble. Here though, the former connotation works, as Ryuk is literally poised above the Kiras in all instances as he watches in entertainment. But the risk of being caught by the task force or the SPK is also a constant danger that hangs above their heads.

 我們他們

The original meaning of this song is far from apolitical.

Grey hues, how do we judge shades of black and white? In the centre, how do we criticise the left and the right?

These lines condense the imagery of borders and binary opposites throughout the song into a very clear message of how what’s right and what’s wrong are often not clear-cut ideas that one can just pick apart and confine to two separate groups. There are shades of grey in every discourse.

(And while the phrase, “the left and the right,” is referring to the two opposing political ideologies, it also makes for a good wordplay for rightness and those that are righteous. Light and the Kiras are self-righteous. (But to be honest, they are also quite right-wing conservative in their beliefs about the death penalty…))

Again, in the same vein as Immortal and Savages, this awareness of the arbitrariness of moral judgment without excluding the speaker’s own flaws from the same observations suits Misa’s character more than it does Light. She understands very well the grey morality of her actions (sacrificing the few that get in their way) whereas Light is more inclined to wave away those murders of the innocent with the justification that it’s not the same when he does it because he’s “God”.

But I also chose to include this song in the track-list because the divide between “us” and “them” can simultaneously reference the differences between Misa/Light’s faltering relationship and Light/Takada’s increasing closeness. (“Us” = Misa/Light, “Them” = Light/Takada.) So then, the idea of someone “knocking on the door” to Misa/Light’s relationship, and Misa questioning which one of them is willing to open the door to external enquirers, is a nod to the track, Dollhouse (as featured on my second Misa mix), which presents the idea of a dysfunctional marriage and its imperfections being hushed up from the outside world.

And at the chorus, we have the navel-gazing that really characterizes this song as a Misa theme track:

Even if I opened my eyes, Gazed at that moon that is only half of itself, Differences, let us not mind them first, Let us enjoy the full moon together

Ironically, although Misa has the Shinigami Eyes, the ability to see through lies of fake names and such, she is willfully blind to Light’s emotional manipulation for most of the anime. Even after her realization in Misa no Uta that she should not longer be needed once she “knows everything”, she chooses to stay with Light. And that is exactly what is represented here, in this chorus. Even if she “opened her eyes” to the lies between herself and Light, gazed at a Raito (月; “moon”) that only shows half of his whole self, and realise the distance between them, she will not mind it and continue to stay with their shoddy excuse of a holy union. (Oh, yeah, in Chinese culture, full moons have the connotations of family reunions. So the imagery of a “full moon” here can mean two things: (1) the illusion of Light being his whole self in front of Misa, or (2) their marriage itself.)

P.S. I’d like to think the line, “The bullet buries itself in the lower half of the sea of flames,” is a neat little echo of the lines, “There are guns that blaze around you / … / And a fire that surrounds you,” from Honeymoon.

 Coming Down

Again, masculine vocals = Light’s POV. This song may be the least in-character for him, however, since The Weeknd’s lyrics always retain a little bit of self-deprecation, and this song’s no different. We could read these lyrics from a different angle though, and imagine Light apologizing / acting the victim as another tactic to manipulate Misa’s sympathies. That’s what a lot of manipulative partners do, anyway. And those with battered woman syndrome do tend to believe the abuser’s excuses, believing that the abuser will be better “next time”.

But, as pointed out by the juxtaposed graphics in my edit, he is clearly two-timing Misa and Takada.

Pick up your phone The party's finished and I want you to know I'm all alone

He is not really “all alone”, because he had Takada on the side. And he only asks for Misa as a second-choice, he only returns to her when the “party” (rendezvous with Takada) is over.

The refrain, “I always want you when I'm coming down,” is just like Light when he tries to sweet-talk with Misa, making Misa feel wanted and loved by the man she is forever infatuated with. But like the edit, it’s also a direct reference to the Halsey track of the same name, Coming Down, on my second mix. Both songs are of course talking about the experience of coming down from a drug-induced high, but as discussed in the other mix’s notes, I am taking this as a metaphor for coming down from some sort of delusion. While for the Halsey track, I am talking about a canon-divergent Misa letting go of the delusion that Light would ever reciprocate her feelings in a way she wants him to, for this track, I am talking about Light taking a few steps back from delusions of grandeur and full-blown prideful dismissal of the rest of the world. Specifically, I am thinking of the scene in Yellowbox Warehouse, where towards the end when he is begging for his life, he asks for Takada, then Misa. He needs Misa at his most vulnerable, when he can’t accept his defeat.

 Savage

But then, fate denies Light from reuniting with Misa, even if just to use her. While Light begs for his life, Misa sits in the Teito Hotel, memories erased, and none the wiser. Ironically, Misa’s involuntary inaction parallels her doubts about her own feelings since, as mentioned in @casuistor’s meta, Misa is aware of the fissures in her relationship with Light. Even before she learns of Light’s death, she is starting to lose faith in her marriage, as she knows that Light no longer “loves” her the way he did in the first part of the series. And that moment in Misa’s life is, in essence, what this track captures.

But I didn’t choose this track simply for its resemblance (“What do you do when a man don’t love you”) to the mix’s titular lyric of Misa no Uta, or the nice little bookend it makes relative to the opening track, Marina’s Savages. There are other nuances to this track that makes it a perfect closer. For one, it recounts the start of the relationship, right before the decay began.

I was hangin' next to you By a thread from so high We were heaven and the moon In the center of my eye And now it shines on you And I would kiss your crown

These lyrics at once recall (1) the moon symbolism in Light’s character (thus corresponding to 我們他們); (2) how he entered Misa’s life when she spotted him through Shinigami Eyes vision, subsequently becoming the “centre” of her universe; (3) how the two once reigned as God and Goddesses of the New World, from a “heaven” of their own (which, by the way, is intended as a reference to Halsey’s Young Gods from the second Misa mix), yet (4) even in their high places, Misa was always living hanging on by a thread, emotionally-speaking, because she was always dependent on him; and (5) how Misa viewed him as her king, whose “crown” she would worship with her love (and this, in turn, corresponds well with the decadent imagery in Emperor’s New Clothes).

The religious imagery continues in the second verse of the song, as well:

So just say it like you mean it Won't you scream it out like it's religion You were the priest and the prophet You were my scripture and my conviction

Again, this sums up how Misa viewed Light as her savior at the start of the series, and how he was a symbol of her convictions and beliefs about the karmic occurrences in her life (i.e. the criminal that killed her parents getting killed in turn).

But if Light is a god, he is not a forgiving one, as he is capable of unleashing a “flash flood of cruelty” (like God did in the Old Testament to wipe out His flawed creations). I think by the end of anime!canon, when Misa is clearly struggling with alcoholism even in EP.33 (during her dinner with Takada), she is most definitely aware of the cruel side of Light.

The cruel actions of the singer’s lover is elaborated in the hook of the song:

But when you hung up the phone and you blocked my number I was alone in the rain and thunder

This feels a bit like a direct answer to The Weeknd’s Coming Down. It really shows that even though Light can call Misa on a whim, basically ensuring the Misa is at his beck and call, this is not reciprocated, because he is not easily accessible from Misa’s end.

And finally, in the chorus:

What do you do when a man don't love you? He takes the sun from the sky above you How do you fix the damage? How do you break the habit? I never knew you could be so savage

As discussed before, when the singer makes the final accusation, within the context of this mix, it really turns the question around to accuse Light that is no better than the mere mortals that is deemed “savages” by Kira’s judgements (in Marina’s Savages). But the line, “How do you fix the damage / How do you break the habit,” is also very telling of Misa’s psychological state. She knows of the faults in her relationship with Light, but she cannot find it in herself to quit it.

[stvlti]

Snowfalls 2.0

a belated winter / festive playlist, adapted from a 2013 mix of the same name.

01. Introduction to the Snow - Miracle Musical // 02. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes // 03. White Christmas - Bright Eyes // 04. White Teeth Teens - Lorde // 05. 我好愛你 - Ivana Wong // 06. O Come O Come Emmanuel - Sufjan Stevens // 07. Baby, It’s Cold Outside - Glee Cast (Darren Criss, Chris Colfer) // 08. My Boots - LIGHTS // 09. You Bring the Snow - The Crookes // 10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Daniela Andrade

► LISTEN HERE

[stvlti]

💀  SPOOPY VIBES  💀

a halloween playlist

01. This is Halloween - The Nightmare Before Christmas OST // 02. Thriller - Michael Jackson // 03. Somebody’s Watching Me - Rockwell // 04. You’re So Creepy - Ghost Town // 05. Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs // 06. My House - PVRIS // 07. Vampires Will Never Hurt You - My Chemical Romance // 08. Evolution - Ghost Town

► LISTEN HERE

okay, it’s done! i put this together real quick though, so it’s a bit cash compared to the work i usually put into my mixtapes. i might come back to edit it later as well...

[stvlti]

♕  MISA-MISA皇后到着!  ♕

the following notes were originally hosted under the URL @stvltiloqvent.

Queen Misa-Misa Arrives

In celebration of Misa’s birthday (25 Dec!) here’s a summative mix for Misa's life story. This mix is mostly based on manga!Misa's hidden depth (as I interpret it), as well as anime!Misa's song and death.

01. Fucked My Way Up to the Top - Lana Del Rey // 02. Still Sane - Lorde // 03. Bubblegum Bitch - Marina and the Diamonds // 04. Bad Girls - M.I.A. // 05. (One of Those) Crazy Girls - Paramore // 06. Bloody Mary - Lady Gaga // 07. 小團圓 - Ivana Wong // 08. Candles - Daughter // 09. 27 - Fall Out Boy // 10. Carmen - Lana Del Rey // 11. Valley of the Dolls - Marina and the Diamonds // 12. 小團圓 (from Octave the Musical) - Ivana Wong // 13. Little Susie - Michael Jackson

► LISTEN ON:  8TRACKS | SPOTIFY | TUMBLR (defunct)

(There is now a "sequel" to this fanmix! Check it out HERE.)

Notes and additional meta under the cut. Content warnings: referenced sexual abuse, alcoholism, drug use, suicide mention and linguistic ableism

May 2020 update: I finally found my translation notes for the Ivana Wong track! now added under the cut as well. and as per my other fanmixes, the Tumblr player option is no longer live. 

  01. Fucked My Way Up to the Top

When i picked this song i didn’t mean for the chorus to be understood literally - Misa is probably the least promiscuous person in the series. However, Misa certainly does in some way hustle in (as in, put a lot of effort into) her modelling work. Obviously, the refrain, “this is my show,” is also an apt literal description for Misa’s work in the film industry, aside from describing her work as Second Kira.  

  02. Still Sane

(CW: potential linguistic sanism in the lyrics)

After setting a bombastic intro with LDR’s song I thought it would be a good idea to examine Misa’s humble beginnings. Hence, a more honest song from Lorde (whose real-life rise to the top of the charts at age 17 might as well mirror Misa’s hardwork as a teenaged model). Check out the second verse:

All work and no play Never made me lose it All business all day Keeps me up a level

Like I said, hustle.

The song starts off admitting the speaker’s apprehension towards the entertainment industry – both in terms of her own success thus far and also her adjustments to such success:

Today is my birthday, and I'm riding high Hair is dripping, hiding that I'm terrified But this is summer, playing dumber than in fall Everything I say falls right back into everything I'm not In the swing of things But what I really mean is Not in the swing of things yet

I’d like to comment particularly on the line, “everything I say falls right back into everything I'm not”. A bit of a fanon interpretation that’s perhaps not too far off the canonical mark: Misa probably went through a lot of trauma, seeing as she canonically witnessed her parents’ murders, whose perpetrator went unpunished (before Kira came along); she also almost died at the hands of a murderous stalker, which led directly to Gelus’ death and her possession of a Death Note. So, as fanon interpretations go, Misa’s cheery exterior is only that – a front she puts on. Everything she says is everything she’s not on the inside.

I'm little, but I'm coming for the crown I'm little, but I’m coming for you I'm little but I’m coming for the title Held by everyone who’s up

These lines that I’ve highlighted on the mix could be taken both literally or not. When Lorde penned these lyrics she most likely meant her age by “I’m little”, which could apply to Misa too. But of course, Misa is also physically quite small.

Only bad people live to see their likeness set in stone What does that make me?

“Likeness set in stone” means statues or sculptures; Lorde is asserting that only “bad people” see statues/sculptures made for them while they are still alive, most likely because they will be the one to put the statue there (see: narcissistic and power-hungry people). However, “bad people” takes on a different meaning in the context of Death Note, as the Kira’s are supposed to be superior to the “bad people” they judge. Yet, here the speaker is obviously reflecting on their place in this pair of binary opposites – just as anime!Misa does starting from Misa no Uta, in which it is implied that she is aware of the moral greyness in her work as Second Kira.

  03. Bubblegum Bitch

Ahh, if I could c+p the whole Electra Heart album onto this playlist I would, as the eponymous character from the concept album simply resembles fanon!Misa too much (self-centred, vain, and a heartbreaker who eventually breaks her own heart). Electra Heart’s invented personality (as seen in the music videos) especially reminded me of my own interpretations of Misa’s gender performativity – that her fitting Ohba’s patriarchal archetypes of feminine fickleness and irrationality coincides with a decided adoption of certain traditionally feminine traits is not unlike Electra Heart’s own experience.

But, more to the point, parts of her femininity is also genuine – take away her miniskirts and chirpy voice is her tendency to let her emotions get the better of logic, which is mirrored in Electra Heart’s demise (and is only to be expected of any human being, really).

By the way, the notebook pun is wholly intended in these lyrics:

Oh, dear diary, I met a boy. He made my dull heart Light up with joy. Oh, dear diary, we fell apart. Welcome to the life of Electra heart.

  04. Bad Girls

Live fast, die young Bad girls do it well

I was looking for more Rem and Misa-specific scenes to add to this playlist when I remembered this song. These lines, as I intend, are to be associated with Misa’s torture in L’s captivity. Just before Rem erases her memories, she begs for Rem to kill her while she’s still young. But the “bad girls” part of the refrain also fits Misa, as this song is about girls going against ingrained patriarchal traditions that seek to keep girls silent and without agency (questionable stereotypes included).

Looking in the rear view swagger going swell Leaving boys behind cause it's legal just to kill

This is a continuation of the theme explored in Electra Heart, where the female protagonist claims to go through (relationships with) boys and coming out the unharmed one (because she is the heartbreaker). But, here the metaphor extends to murder, which might just be a tad too literal in Death Note context.

What we got left is just me and you But if I go to bed baby can I take you?

The second line reminded me of Misa’s sexual advances on Light starting from the Yotsuba arc, lol.

 05. (One of Those) Crazy Girls

(CW: linguistic sanism)

I deliberately placed this song a few ones after “Still Sane” because ~character progression. In its original context the song’s protagonist goes from being sure they’re “not like those crazy girls” – girls that are driven irrational and stalkerish by their love” – to becoming “one of those crazy girls”. And so does Misa appear to be emotionally unstable when she first introduces herself to Light: driven by devotion she is willing to kill her friend who sent her Sakura TV tapes off for her, and in jealousy she threatens to kill Light’s other romantic interests.

The key similarity is in the chorus, where the lyrics go, “Baby, are we over now? / Maybe I can change your mind?” It reminds me a lot of the way Misa compromises with Light’s conditions at first (e.g. only meeting each other once every other week) despite her infatuation, but it is a compromise that erodes as time wears on: her second visit happens way before their scheduled meeting, and her efforts in getting Light to go on a date night with her parallels the sentiment, “maybe I can change your mind”.

 06. Bloody Mary

Ahh yes, here’s the religious symbolism we’ve all been waiting for. The song on its own is written about Mary Magdalene as a figure of prophecy and loyalty to Jesus – or as Lady Gaga put it, the ultimate “rockstar’s girlfriend”. “Love is just a history that they may prove / And when you're gone I'll tell them my religion's you,” these lines that I have quoted on the mix illustrates Misa’s loyalty to Light beautifully.

When Pontius comes to kill the king upon his throne I'm ready for their stones.

Whether as Second Kira or without memory, she is willing to risk her safety for Light. As Second Kira she nearly commits suicide in captivity rather than to sell him out; without her memories, she says yes to L’s Yotsuba-infiltration plan without a second thought for her personal safety because she’d like to help memoryless!Light catch Kira.

I won't cry for you I won't crucify the things you do I won't cry for you, see When you're gone I'll still be Bloody Mary

Throughout the series, whenever Light as Kira is incapacitated and “gone”, Misa is there to be his voice and prophet. And she won’t crucify him, because she is his biggest supporter.

 07. Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet

Originally, this song illustrates a wife’s infidelity, written from the PoV of the other man. However, specific lines of the song just resonate so well with Misa’s character, and it’s not as if her relationship with Light is a healthy one anyway. Think just after Yotsuba arc, when Light and Misa get engaged.

Head like a steel trap Wish I didn't I didn't I didn't I didn't I didn't I didn't I didn't I don't just want to be a footnote in someone else's happiness

As previously mentioned (see Kim/@casuistor’s meta), anime!Misa knows there are cracks in her and Light’s relationship. And like her state of understanding in Very/@dressed-to-keehl’s fic, she knows she will never give Light as much happiness as someone like L/Ryuzaki or Takada could, mainly because she is aware of the differences between their intellectual capabilities. And so her engagement/wedlock is like a steel trap.

Does your husband know the way that the sunshine gleams from your wedding band?

This being a rhetorical question, it is pointing out that the husband fails to notice the small details that speak of her loyalty.

Peroxide princess shine like shark teeth It's a sign (it's a sign) It's a sign (it's a sign) It's a sign - what if you peaked early?

“Peroxide princess” denotes the peroxide used to bleach one’s hair bottle blonde (i.e. Misa’s hair). To shine like shark teeth, however, implies trouble – that peroxide princess Misa’s appearance can only bring trouble. The next lines explain why: just as her artificial appearance may eat somebody else alive, it may also be a sign that she’s peaked early. She made huge success with her efforts in the entertainment industry, landing roles in American films during the second arc, but because of her early engagement with Light and her willingness to do as he wishes, she abandons further potential developments (both as an actress/entrepreneur and also as a Kira with powers of the notebook and eventually the eye, when she forfeits her memories). As such, she’s already reached her peak.

Keep a calendar, this way you will always know

Pertaining to the context of infidelity, to “keep a calendar” is to keep track of your lover’s times and schedules, so you’ll know if they start cheating on you. This sadly applies to second-arc!memoryless!Misa as Light starts seeing Takada.

this entire section is now redacted as I have later removed the song from the tracklist. this song felt much more shoehorned in than the other tracks as its lyrics didn’t focus on Misa’s POV enough.

 07. 小團圓 (Little Reunion)

Full lyrics translation is hosted here.

Flipping open your novel mirth   which chapter did it subside?

Opening with this very provocative line, this track introduces the start of the second arc in Death Note, the point in Misa’s life where all the happiness and mirth begins to subside, and all that is left are hard times ahead. It marks her regaining her memories and becoming Kira again, and the resumption of her relationship with Light as one purely based on their Kira partnership and not on any underlying goodwill Yotsuba!Light had shown towards her while he was memoryless. The rest of the track goes on to compare the ups and downs in life to an autobiographical novel from an introspective POV. 

To know to bear   settle for wear   keep one’s calm   in the worst of times In truth, you fear both pain   and bitterness too   no wonder you make a slightly dumber decision then imperfections will seem rounded then life will be a better play

The core idea of carrying on and enduring it all despite the ups and downs encapsulates Misa’s entire character in the second arc. For one, she definitely plays dumb and chooses the “dumber” decision even when she starts to suspect infidelity on Light’s part.

It is worth noting that the song title, “Little Reunion”, is likely an homage to the romance novel of the same name, penned by famed Chinese author Eileen Chang. In the context of this fanmix, this the reunion between Misa and Light as Kira, although their reunion is only in name to help Light keep up appearances.

  08. Candles

(CW: referenced sexual abuse)

On its own, Lorde’s first lyric, “Today is my birthday and I’m riding high”, would not have made sense in relation to Misa, but this song answers the idea of a birthday and ties it neatly to the idea of an abusive relationship.

I'll do whatever you say to me in the dark Scared I'll be torn apart by a wolf in mask of a familiar name on a birthday card

This song focuses on the abuse from Light and imposed upon Misa towards the second arc, because as we all know in canon, it was Misa who threatened Light into a relationship at the start. However, without the presence and guaranteed protection of Rem, Misa is much more vulnerable and susceptible to abuse and manipulation. In this context, the metaphor of the big bad wolf and the little red riding hood is adequate. And the mentions of birthday and birthday candles continues throughout the song, signalling an end to innocence and blissful ignorance on Misa’s part – because, as noted earlier, she becomes aware of the cracks in her relationship with Light.

I personally do not believe Misa would ever suffer from sexual abuse at Light’s hands, because she seems canonically to be the allosexual counterpart to Light’s (grey?)asexuality. However, the metaphor still applies in whatever other abuse she suffers – emotional, verbal, and so on.

Well I have brittle bones it seems I bite my tongue and torch my dreams Have a little voice to speak with And a mind of thoughts and secrecy

Though Misa may have her own thoughts, they are to be kept in secrecy, because she needs to “do whatever [he] says to [her] in the dark”. Instead, loyal as she ever is to Light she must torch her dreams, abandon her career at Light’s first request.

 09. 27

(CW: referenced drug abuse in lyrics)

I was not going to include this track as the next discusses very similar themes, but I realised Misa more or less dies at 27 and this song would be very apt. Pete Wentz writes about his own struggles in relation to the infamous Club 27 in this song, and I think the same themes of offstage hollowness, of desperation to feel the same high (either from being in the spotlight or from “sunshine” shot into the veins) and success other dead and “bottled” stars have felt, apply to Misa. All this comes back to the idea of peaking early (from “Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown...”) and dying young, although of course it is not as glamorous as initially perceived (see “Bad Girls”). And it does not help that when Misa returns home she returns to an empty nest at best – certainly, if home is where the heart is, Misa is fucked, because there is no one there to return her love.

 10. Carmen

This song continues the sentiment in “27” but turns the tragedy up some more. It is also more specific to Misa, as Carmen’s character also has “cartoon eyes” that she bats when she is in the spotlight. Like Carmen, Misa is loved by all the boys and the girls, and like Carmen, she has become “famous and dumb at an early age” (dumb being a relative concept, of course, but she most certainly did not pursue further education).

She laughs like God, her mind's like a diamond

... A recollection of her earlier glory, when she was a God in her own right, as a powerful Kira. And her mind was as brilliant and strong as a diamond, although all that has passed.

 11. Valley of the Dolls

The ending of Misa is very much like Electra Heart’s. Though she has gotten quite far in her life, due to endless unfortunate circumstances (starting from the murder of her parents to the collapse of her relationship with Light), she dies the death of a shooting star: brilliant at her peak, but fading fast.

 12. 小團圓 (from Octave the Musical)

I included this variation of track 07 as a sort of reprise to recall the idea of Misa enduring it all even as life devolves into nothing but misery. As noted earlier, this idea is presented in the line, "在最壞時候懂得吃  捨得穿  不會亂" (in the worst of times, to know to bear [pain], settle for wear, keep one’s calm), which most poignantly is where Ivana’s vocals come in again after the piano solo in this version.

  13. Little Susie

(CW: discussion of suicide)

This is a requiem for Misa Amane. “Little Susie” was originally written about child neglect, but it applies pretty well to Misa as well, for she has been pretty much all alone (at least emotionally) since her parents’ death.

It was all for God's sake For her singing the tune For someone to feel her despair To be damned to know hoping is dead and you're doomed Then to scream out And nobody's there... 

She knew no one cared...

The repeated mention of Susie’s “tune” ties pretty well to “Misa no Uta” also. As said before, that is the first sign of distress in Misa’s character in the anime – it might as well be a cry of despair.

Susie’s death in the song is a fall down the stairs. Misa is implied to commit suicide at the end of the anime, so she too falls to her death.