#the song is also a complete banger

[shakingparadigm]

fav alnst round so far? (mines is round 6 because i love pain and sorry to break it to you but I literally had no reaction when best boy ivan died.hes dead guys accept it.)

Favorite ALNST round... I'd have to say ROUND 5. The concept of the whole thing is just so spectacular not only in set design but in character dynamics as well. The despair and mockery that lines the whole thing is fantastic.

I particularly adore the way this round further connects the concept of death with the color white. The stage which Luka and Mizi perform on is fully white in color because it's built from the bones of an ancient creature, something of a memorial site. In certain shots, the spine of this creature is very clear. The whole area is ethereal and invokes not only a sense of reverence, but unease, too. It's haunting, almost hollow, and just like its origin, lifeless.

The moon that shines behind Luka is almost as big and bright as a white dwarf, a dying star that has exhausted itself of life.

And of course, the association with death is further emphasized once images of Sua appear.

There's something to be said about the fact that this stage is from the bones of an ancient creature, one that was respected enough for its bones to be repurposed in its honor. A deep reverence, worship, even.

It's painfully fitting for Luka to dance upon the remains of a creature so revered while he toys with Sua's image. A form of mockery, of disrespect, especially to the one who worshipped her. In both the literal and metaphorical sense, he tramples over dead gods.

It's important to note that in this round there are two performers but three participants: Mizi, Luka, and Sua. The feeling of death is something that permeates throughout the entire round because everyone involved has been forced to face it. This shared trait manifests itself as their most striking visual aspect: their white attire.

With the insight gained from Luka's relationship with Heperu, it's safe to say that Luka has experienced the feeling of death firsthand. He has quite literally died and then come back to life.

There's the factor of his purple fingertips, a result of his weak physical condition that keeps him on the precipice of life and death. Combined with his extremely pale complexion, his imperturbable disposition and obssession with heartbeats, Luka seems like a body on its way to a corpse, desperately clinging onto his last hopes of life. Staving off the coldness of death for as long as possible and monitoring his own body so that demise is confined to just the tips of his fingers.

Sua's connection to death is obvious. She has died, she is death.

A point of interest, however, is the fact that while everyone is dressed in white, only Luka and Sua share the colors of white and black. They both have these colors in their design, but in opposite places. The black of Sua's design lies on top of her white, while vice-versa for Luka as his lies at the bottom. It works exceptionally well with their state of their characters. Sua as the dead that crosses into the living, and Luka as the living that toes the line of death.

As someone who watched her god die in front of her own eyes, Mizi dons a gown of pure white just like the others. The difference is her second color, a light pink layer resting atop her dress.

Pink has associations with innocence and childishness, and in its more washed out and subdued state (light pink = pink mixed with white, innocence tainted by death) it's a perfect fit for the circumstances.

It's only during her aggressive outburst, when Mizi has death directly pointed at her that the pink layer begins to rip. Completely shedding her innocence, giving way to complete white. Dressing her for death.

Luckily, Hyuna arrives just in time (clad in black, life) to save her.

ROUND 5 has always been a complete masterpiece to me, and the more I think about it the better it gets. A dying man trying to stay alive, a white-clad widow and the haunting apparition of her dead god all performing this sick dance of death upon the bones of a creature who was exploited for spectacle and performance.

[sleepanonymous]

(lyrics updated 25/01/24 thanks to an anon source)

Open your eyes and say hello To the fact that you made plans and they were overthrown Chasing the hope that you could leave From the first mistake to the last intake of breath you breathe

Time and time again they tell you, The future fits with all the letters Wishing you could take back what they told you was not yours Decisions made for desperate measures When time ran out before you even Made your choice Its not a fair reflection of you

Reach for the light (Let inspiration heal the wounds they caused) This life is yours (Every second wasted incomplete) Take back the light (The fight inside you re-ignited) Evermore, this is your choice

Everyone will tell you what they know But the fact remains that you dont know where you should go What the hell is going on Cause somewhere along line everything you had went wrong

Reach for the light (Let inspiration heal the wounds they caused) This life is yours (Every second wasted incomplete) Take back the light (The fight inside you re-ignited) Evermore, this is your choice

You are not a faliure

I was thinking about reformatting them and fixing the spelling but decided against it. This man can't spell the same way I couldn't spell at his age and it makes me oddly happy. I also thought about retitling the mp3 to Faliure but also decided against that for the same reason lol.

[mapletine]

wing photocard bc i can’t get this au out of my head

[aunmenosheteroenespanol]

Bobby Nash + David Kushner Burn

[turtlemagnum]

i know this is a really minor thing, but. when barry the chopper was introduced by saying "They called me... The Butcher!!!!" and then immediately said his name was barry i was like OH SHIT??? BARRY THE BUTCHER???? GREAT NAME BRO and then he started calling himself barry the chopper and it's like. c'mon bro. you had that name right there. you literally just called yourself "the butcher", you're telling me you're gonna pass up that perfectly good alliteration right there? for shame.

[sillysymbol]

i enjoy the girl in red cover of girlfriend is better

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

3, 14, and 20 for the music ask game! :)

Oooh, fun!! Thank you for the questions!! <3

3. A song you’d choose to introduce someone to your favorite genre

This one is hard, because I don't think I have a favourite genre! I listen to a little bit of everything, honestly.

If I had to pick a genre that I love and that's relatively less popular, I'd go for jazz! And in that case, I think a wonderful introduction to the genre is anything by legends Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, especially when they sung/played together -- and I'd recommend this version of Summertime as a starting point. It's an incredible piece, full of technical ability, emotion, virtuosity and atmosphere, and it showcases a lot of what I love about jazz as a genre.

14. A song you love to sing along to

So many. So many. I *adore* singing and I love my music, so I'll honestly sing whatever I'm listening to and have a great time with it (as long as I'm alone, and even in company sometimes!). If it's not within my range, I'll find a way.

I'm especially fond of songs that allow me to be a bit dramatic -- stuff like Italian heartbreak anthem Maledetta Primavera or, for a more international example, Holding Out For A Hero (yes, I do all the voices -- and the poses, of course).

20. A song you’d put on a playlist for the person who sent you this ask

Ooh, interesting! To be honest I mostly associate you with classical music, and you seem to be fond of it, so I think I'd fill a playlist for you with my favourite classical pieces :) what would you say to the Duo des fleurs from Delibes' Lakmé?

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

BENIDORM FEST 2024 - PARTICIPANTS

Yesterday (november 11) all 16 participants of Benidorm Fest 2024 were revealed - the songs will be revealed on december 14th. I wanted to make this post talking about all the possible representants of Spain in ESC 2024, as a little intro to them and how their songs might sound like. As always, everything will be below the cut :)

ALMÁCOR

Arturo Almarcha Corella, better known as Almácor (Villena, 26) is an urban artist that started his career in 2019. He has released an EP since then, and has collabed with artists like Henry Mendez or Chimbabala. This year he was nominated in the Best New Urban Artist in the Los 40 Music Awards. His most popular song is DE TO', and his last released song is Pop Tech.

ANGY FERNÁNDEZ

Angy Fernández (Palma, 33) is a LEGEND and our very own emo princess, she's an icon. Her leap to fame was being the runner up in the first edition of Spanish X Factor, in 2007, but she became a phenomenon when she starred in iconic teen drama Física o Química (2008-2011) as Paula Blasco. She also released various albums and songs, like the hit and iconic emo bop Sola en el silencio. After the show she has appeared in various TV programs like Tu Cara Me Suena, and has continued making music as well as acting in theatre, cinema and TV shows. Her last released song is Dualidad.

DELLACRUZ

Jorge de la Cruz Correa, better known as Dellacruz (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) is a Canarian urban pop singer that started his own singing career in 2019 after ample experience as a songwriter; he has written songs for artists such as Sergio Dalma, Xuso Jones, or Dvicio, among many others. His most known song is La Trama, whereas his last released song is Tocamos Cielo.

JORGE GONZÁLEZ

Jorge González González (Madrid, 35) first rose to fame after competing in OT 2006, and he since has been in two Spanish preselections for ESC 2009 and 2014. He has also participated in The Voice and in Tu Cara Me Suena, where he won in the 2020 edition. His most famous song is Por Besarte, and his last released song is Agüita.

LÉRICA

Lérica is a duo composed of Tony Mateo (San Fernando, 29) and Juan Carlos Arauzo formed in 2015 that sings pop infused flamenco and urban music, and have collabed with very big artists like Belinda, Gente de Zona, Abraham Mateo (brother of Tony Mateo), Cali y el Dandee or Juan Magán. They have 14 platinum albums and 9 golden ones, and are right now the most listened to Spanish duo in terms of streams. Their most famous song is Flamenkito, and their latest released song is Un Rato pa Siempre.

MANTRA

Mantra is a pop band made out of Carlos Marco (Alacant, 31), Paula Pérez and Charly Weinberg (Madrid, 25), born in 2020 when the three friends decided to start a project together. All three have been in the music industry for a long time; Carlos Marcos is the most-known of them, as he was part of the boyband Auryn (alongside Spain's representant in ESC 2021, Blas Cantó), who participated in the ESC 2011 preselection. They have an up-beat and positive attitude in their songs, and have released their first album in 2023. Their most popular song is No Te Esperaba, and their latest single is ¿Te Acuerdas o No?.

MARÍA PELÁE

María Peláe (Málaga, 33) is an icon and a flamenco singer known for her witty and ironic lyrics, with a modern spin on traditional sounds. She started her career in 2016 after studying Anthropology and Social Work in university, and so her songs usually have a social message. In fact, in 2023 she was awarded the Rainbow Award by the Ministry of Equality for her work in the LGBTQ+ scene. A song I really recommend of hers regarding this is La Niña, a very fun song about wlws (also the music video is soooo). She has released two albums - the second of which won an Odeón to Best Flamenco Album, and has participated in various TV shows like Tu Cara Me Suena. Her most popular song is Por si te vas, and her latest single is Letra Menúa.

MARLENA

MARLENA is an indie pop duo composed by Ana Legazpi (voice) and Carolina Moyano (guitar) that formed a band in 2017 when they decided to participate in X Factor Italy. They became friends with Damiano and Victoria from Maneskin, and decided to name themselves after one of their songs, Torna a Casa, where the name Marlena appears. They even sing some of Maneskin's song in their concerts. In 2021 they were nominated for Best New Artist or Group in the Los 40 Music Awards, and have collabed with Nil Moliner, La Pegatina or Despistados. I listen to their song bailamorena at least once a week (i wish i was joking), tho their most popular song is Me Sabe Mal. Their latest released song is Red Flags.

MISS CAFFEINA

Miss Caffeina, formed by Alberto Jiménez (voice), Sergio Sastre (guitar and keyboard) and Antonio Poza (bass) is definitely the biggest name this edition. They are a staple in the indie rock scene since their inception in 2006, and are especially staples in music festivals all over the country and abroad. They have realeased three albums and an EP, and their most known song is the modern classic Mira Cómo Vuelo, with over 13 m views on youtube. Their last released single is Para toda la vida.

NEBULOSSA

Nebulossa is an electropop band formed by María Bas (voice) and Mark Dasousa (producer, synths). They debuted in 2021, and define their formula as MPYMS (A lot of Pop and a lot of Synths), basing their music on the sounds an rhythms of the 80s. Their most popular song is GLAM, and their latest song is 1N84.

NOAN

Noan (Zarautz, 25) is a pop-rock indie artist that debuted in 2020. He has collabed with zzoilo or El Sueño de Morfeo, and I personally really enjoy his collab with Paula Koops, Odio que te Quiero. His most popular song is ME MATA(S), and his latest song is Zero (which is a cover btw).

QUIQUE NIZA

Quique Niza (Madrid, 20) is a musical theatre actor who has been performing all of his life; some of his notable roles are Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and Danny Zuko in Grease (I saw him live here, and he's incredible!). He has also appeared in some TV shows, like UPA Next and Días Mejores. He has only released one song so far, Ardo.

ROGER PADRÓS

Roger Padrós (Polinyà, 26) is a Catalan singer and piano player that first rose to fame as a participant in The Voice. He has since released an EP and an album, with songs both in Spanish and Catalan (he has confirmed his song for Benidorm Fest will be in Catalan). He is also the resident musician of Casa Batlló, in Barcelona. His most popular song is Digue'm, and his latest song is El Buit.

SOFIA COLL

Sofia Coll i Benito (Barcelona, 24) is a singer, actress, and dancer who rose to fame as a participant of The Voice Kids when she was 14, although she didn't release music until 2019, with songs that mixed Spanish and English. She was one of the protagonist of the TV show Bany Compartit (I watched the first episode while writing this, it's really fun and I really recommend it! Episodes are around 10 minutes long, and you can find all of them in RTVE Play and Youtube; they're in catalan, but there's Spanish subs available), and she was one of the dancers in Rosalía's mv for Fucking Money Man. Finally, she participated in the Catalan music contest Eufòria this year, ending up 4th. Her most popular song is Tú Mente y Yo Corazón, and her latest song is Génesis: Alive.

ST. PEDRO

Pedro Hernández, better known as st. Pedro (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) is an urban artist, rising to fame due to The Voice, where he participated in 2017. Through the program he met Juanes, his musical godfather. He has know collabed with Alizzz in Miami, where he lives now. His most known song is Cerca del Sol, and his latest song is No es lo que toca.

YOLY SAA

Yoly Saa (Pontevedra) is a Galician singer-songwriter singing in Spanish that has been making music since 2020, although she has also composed for other artists such as Luz Casal o Malú. She has released an EP and a full album, and participated in Dúos Increíbles in 2022. Her most popular song is Todo contigo, and her latest song is Mal de altura.

[lyssitalennon]

god help me when it's time to record fashion fairytale

[potatobugz]

what if I made. one of those music playlist thingies but for Eridan. smiles

[britneyshakespeare]

you know those conspiracy theories that are like paul mccartney died and was replaced by a doppelganger avril lavigne died and was replaced by a doppelganger........ that’s me about dan balan

[pandaemoanium]

so apparently Seahaven released a cover of Title Fight's Lefty a few days ago im gonna scream, time to bust out the ol' two-tone emo haircut again and go sob on the floor

[doctorweebmd]

Also whoever drew all those lines under Katsuki’s eyes in the OP you get a smooch

[nintendont2502]

god life after football took its time growing on me but now that it has? its *stuck* there

[vivelegalite]

dear dead boy detective (especially paynland) enjoyers: have you yet heard of the biggest gift bestowed upon the fandom so far, aka jayden's charles playlist? the one he mentioned in interviews? well, he dropped it on twitter at 19th of may. and man, do i have stuff to say about it.

there's a lot of 80's bangers, for sure, great to get into the mood and character, but some of the choices...

i'm gonna focus on a few of my favourites, songs that made me go insane when i saw them. honorable mentions: - category 1 (so devoted the lines blur): ain't no mountain high enough by marvin gaye and tammi terrell, there is a light that never goes out by the smiths, inkpot gods by the amazing devil - category 2 (family life): family line and summer child by conan gray, seventeen going under by sam fender, matilda by harry styles, father by the front bottoms - category 3 (being queer in the 80s): smalltown boy by bronski beat, boys don't cry by the cure - category 4 (there's no heterosexual explanation for this one): good luck, babe! by chappel roan, yellow by coldplay, fight or flight by conan gray (is this about monty? the cat king? i need answers!), the prophecy by taylor swift, arms tonite by mother mother, sweet by cigarettes after sex, head over heels by tears for fears

this list is by no means complete or comprehensive!

and now, the songs that made me go the craziest: (they're predominantly in charles' pov as it's his playlist)

found heaven by conan gray

the only reason this song made it into the list and not the honorable mentions instead of smalltown boy is that it makes almost the same point, just so much more explicitly. i don't think i have to say much about it, it's a story of a young person griping with their queerness, being forced to leave home, a common theme of the playlist. "you're in love, you found heaven" when he chose edwin over his own afterlife, heavily implied to be heaven, and built his heaven with him on the mortal plane? ouch! (and we see this same notion repeated in another bop from the playlist, heaven is a place on earth by belinda carlisle).

2. like real people do by hozier

"i miss kissing" charles rowland, 202X romantic meaning aside, the verses show a sort of a common understanding the boys have around the manner of their deaths and their lives before it. we already know from the show they don't really talk about it, with edwin not knowing about the severity of the abuse charles suffered. it feels like one of them saying "let the past be past, we're together now, yeah?". but also, jayden: can there ever be a platonic explanation for this? ghosts can't touch, can't feel, so they wish they could just kiss like "real" (alive?) people do?

3. flaws by bastille

not the most romantic song, but i absolutely love how well it fits their dynamic. despite his edwardian brand of repression, edwin truly is the one that's more open about his feelings (recognising of course that in this case, the bar is so low it's in hell. haha, get it). edwin has worn his flaws upon his sleeve, and charles has held them buried - eg. bottling up all of his anger and resentment towards his family and his own death. the song presents a very sweet outlook, in which their flaws are brought up to the surface (for example, charles' outburst against the night nurse in episode 4), but they learn to accept them as they are, an extension of themselves.

4. a pearl by mitski

you know it's gonna get intense if there's a mitski song in the mix.

the song is about a person who finds love in their partner, someone who treats them way better than they've ever been treated - and yet they cannot bring themselves to reciprocate the affection ("it's not that i don't want you, sorry i can't take your touch") despite reciprocating the feelings themselves because of the trauma. charles is known to bottle things up ("you're growing tired of me and all the things i don't talk about"). the person in the song recognises the love the other person holds for them ("you love me so hard and i still can't sleep"), which reminds me of charles' response to edwin's confession. not a "no", but a "maybe, as time passes".

5. fair by the amazing devil

this one made me genuinely gasp when i first delved into the lyrics. it's simply so sweet, such a genuine and domestic portrayal of love. at first i thought it was way too open about being a love song (normal text instead of the subtext i'd be used to) for jayden to choose it with edwin in mind, but... there's no one else it can really be about. it's far too domestic, too "established" to refer to crystal. refers to a relationship that's laster for a longer while.

the narrator in the first verse is a person deeply in love with the other person, someone who loves to make his lover laugh and simply drinks in their presence. the "he" in the song i believe is charles, while the "she" refers to edwin. edwin promises to fight off anyone - or any feelings pulling charles down (we can see this in the first episode: "you ever think... what if death did catch us? she'd force us to go to the afterlife and split up" "i will make sure this never happens."). charles feels left behind by the world (seeing as he clings to crystal at first, refering to her as "someone their age who's still alive") and believes edwin to be so much stronger than he's ever been. i'm not going to break down the song verse by verse, but if you read it yourself while subbing out "he" for charles and "she" for edwin you'll see just how sweet (and... strangely very in character?) the song is.

6. work song by hozier

if the previous song made me gasp when i saw the lyrics, this one made me go "NO WAY" out loud when i saw the title. the first one verse is just pure toothrotting sweetness, but the chorus is what i want to draw attention to:

when my time comes around lay me gently in the cold, dark earth no grave can hold my body down i'll crawl home to her

HELLO? charles, who keeps escaping death and afterlife to be able to stay with edwin? charles, as he literally takes his last breath with edwin right there, choosing to be by his side rather than move on? charles, who keeps choosing him despite night nurse's promises and threats? charles, who literally crawled through hell for him?

verse 2, to me, can be interpreted as referring to when charles died. edwin found him at his worst, and he "woke" up with his presence comforting him. he was shivering due to hypothermia and his injuries. edwin didn't ask him about what happened or pushed him, he simply listened. the lines "i didn't care much how long i lived, but I swear, i thought i dreamed her" are pretty self explanatory.

in verse 3 we still see the same attitude of "damn the afterlife, at least we have each other" as charles portrays througout the series. they're free, and heaven and hell are simply words to him.

7. orpheus by vincent lima

i literally have no words for this one. it fits too well. if you want commentary for this one, just... i don't know, rewatch the staircase scene.

8. francesca by hozier

(cracks knuckles) this is the big one. the album francesca is from, unreal unearth, is based on dante alighieri's divine comedy, a fourteenth century poem about a man venturing into hell, purgatory and eventually heaven. the eponymous francesca is one francesca di rimini, a woman who was politically married off to a man older than her, called giovanni malatesta. francesca didn't love him, and eventually fell deep in love with giovanni's younger brother, paolo. the two carried on with the affair for years, before being murdered by giovanni upon his finding out. francesca and paolo are mentioned in canto v of the first book, inferno, as two souls damned in the second circle of hell, lust. their punishment is to be permanently locked in a hurricane, swept away by the winds the moment they manage to get close enough to touch one another.

as opposed to their portrayal in the poem, the song is from the perspective of paolo, explaining that no matter the punishment, he wouldn't change anything about his life because he got to know, and love, francesca.

the first verse brings to mind the scenes in hell, especially on the staircase ("do you think I'd give up? that this might've shook the love from me? or that I was on the brink? how could you think, darlin', i'd scare so easily?" as an echo of charles' "sorry. no version of this where i didn't come get you"). "my life was a storm since i was born, how could i fear any hurricane?" could relate to charles' tumultuous family life, an assurance that nothing he has to deal with while by edwin's side will faze him given the things he's lived through. no, despite everything he's suffered through, charles wouldn't do anything differently - because his (admittedly shitty) life led him to edwin ("i'd tell them, put me back in"). we already know charles would choose him over heaven, willingly sacrificing his own afterlife to stay with a boy he's known for hours, someone kind enough to keep him company as he drew his final breath. all of it - his father's abuse, his schoolmates' bigotry, the pain of his own death, as well as everything he's gone through since - he'd do it all again, for edwin.

"for all that was said of where we'd end up at the end of it" could be taken as an allusion to the fate the boys would meet at "at the end of it", when they're finally caught by death and separated, or as more of a general "if you sin, you will go to hell when you die" (up to you to decide what the sin itself would be - an interpretation that would work with other songs on the playlist is that one such sin would be same sex attraction). then their hearts ceased, they never knew "peace", nor did they want to find it in death. their deaths were too soon, them being ripped away from life, but even though it would break his heart: charles would ask to do it all again.

the outro, i think, beautifully pulls it all together: heaven is not fit to house a love like theirs.

to wrap it all up:

jayden, what were you cooking in there? what do you know??