#they do a lot of linking older songs in this album

[clouds-of-wings]

Because Spotify doesn't really know that much about my listening habits and because I enjoyed writing this kind of post last year I'll once more make a post about my ACTUAL musical favourites this year. So here goes! Album time!

Grendels Sÿster: Abstieg in die Traumkammer (2024, heavy/folk metal) -- This was by far my favourite album of the year. It came out this August. First album by the band, and what a debut! The album has an English version too (which you can also find if you click the link), but I vastly prefer the German one. The lyrics are really excellent and they fit so, so well with the character of the German language. Musically I would say they sound like "early Týr with a female punk singer", the lyrics feature retellings and re-imaginings of various mythologies and mythological themes of the world, ranging from Norse to Greek to (on their EP) Hinduism or even Tolkien's Valar. They once called their genre NWONOEM (New Wave of Nerd-Oriented Epic Metal).

Other albums I liked, in no specific order:

Kornalyn: Intemporel III (2024, folk) -- Kornalyn has been at this for a few years. He's a French anarchist and folk musician who records modernized versions of traditional leftist & worker songs. He's versatile, he's talented, he's got spirit and a great voice. Worth checking out whether you're a comrade, a history enthusiast or a folk fan.

Alice Longyu Gao: Let's Hope Heteros Fail, Learn and Retire (2023, hyperpop) -- Okay, I'm versatile too. Or at least not so set in my ways that I can't appreciate different genres than I normally listen to. Alice's hyperpop songs have a chaotic artistic spirit that I find charming. In a way, some of her songs are pretty metal-ish too - they remind me a little of old SOAD songs. She's funny, she's innovative, she's a delight.

Stonefield: The Light of Lies (1990, prog rock) -- Some awesome prog rock from the 90s. The singer sounds like DIO. If you like the hammond organ, CLIK TEH LINK! If not, click it anyway, you may start to! When I tried to find out which year the album was from, I found their EP The Eyes of the Dawn (1989), which is also so fun.

Alvader: Hereniging (2024, folk metal) -- Hey you! Do you like Heidevolk? If you found this post through the folk metal tag I bet you do. In this case definitely listen to this band. It's made up of ex-members of Heidevolk and sounds a lot like the "original".

HammerFall: Avenge the Fallen (2024, power/heavy metal) -- What can I say about this one. It's HammerFall. It rules by default. It sounds like all their other albums. HammerFall are one of the few bands where that's a compliment.

molllust: In Deep Waters (2015, symphonic metal) -- There is no music I like better than symphonic metal that takes the "symphonic" part really, really seriously. molllust are one of the few bands that do. Between Janika Groß's gorgeous orchestrations and her operatic voice, this is one of the bands that give me hope for the genre. At first I actually found their older stuff too inaccessible, but after I listened to the newer and more straight-forward Mother Universe album a lot last year, In Deep Waters became a lot more approachable to me.

Wintersun: TIME II (2024, Extremely Delayed Technically Complete Symphonic Death Wish Metal) -- I still can't believe my eyes, or ears. Am I dreaming? Is this the real life? It's really out! And Nuclear Blast didn't even give it a digibook edition (I have the one of TIME I and thought I might have a matched set one day). Is this because their corporate overlords don't care about physical media or are they just so DONE with the album, and Jari in general, that they didn't make more of an effort out of spite?

Norrsinnt: Djupt inni skoga (2024, folk metal) -- Somewhere between heavy folk and very folky metal. A collection of songs the artist released individually over the past years, but the album only came out a short while ago. He fortunately seems to have decided against using an AI image as cover art in the end, so I don't feel bad listing this album here. Oh, there are albums that I found this year and liked musically which I'm not listing for this reason, definitely! I'm glad this one isn't among them, because I've known all these songs for years and I'm quite fond of them, and of the power and originality of the vision behind this project.

Nightwish: Yesterwynde (2024, symphonic metal) -- I didn't expect too much from this album, but ended up really liking it! My favourite parts are, of course, the orchestral passages. I like how Nightwish are still capable of evolution, new paths, instead of being stuck in the 2000s. And, after all, what could be a more fitting topic for music that's as larger than life as symphonic metal than just the totality of existence, the universe, the human equation, the meaning of it all?

Romuvos: Spirits (2024, folk) -- Pagan Folk, immersive, meditative, dark. I don't have much to say about this, other than that I have listened to it a lot this year.

KAMIJO: ??? (????, symphonic power metal) -- I usually only have albums on this list because I'm old-fashioned like that, but that's really unfair to Kamijo, who's my top artist of the year on Spotify and whose greatest songs are spread out across a multitude of single bonus tracks and short EPs. So I will link his song TEMPLE and say doumo arigato gozaimasu, vampire prince rockstar-san, nay, -sama!

---

I also continued my exploration of the world of opera. Since I think I'm beginning to know my taste, there were a lot of works I started and didn't finish, but some I liked very much. My favourite was L'elisir d'amore (1832), which I watched in two different versions and listened to all summer. It's a rather light-hearted one, but the music is nevertheless dramatic, it's fast, it's powerful and... somehow rich. And it's just pretty, I'm not immune to the charms of the easily lovable Italian opera, or of Rolando Villazon and his musical and comedic talent. I'd definitely recommend this recording even to people who have never watched an opera before.

I also really liked Eugene Onegin (1879, can't find the recording now) - much more tragic than the one above, few operas I've watched had a better plot, I read the novel it's based on afterwards - as well as a whimsical 1979 recording of L'incoronazione di Poppea (1643) and a gorgeous staging of Atys (1676, only French subs here, sry). Baroque opera is superior to the later stuff according to me. The beautiful music, the melancholic observations on life in the libretto, the way the operas always seem to reach for the divine, beyond the limits of mundane human existence - it strives for perfection, and my ears think it comes close.

And that's my musical breakdown of the year :)

[melit0n]

Part three to the Sleep Token FX post. Some of these I've picked up on my own, and others have been pointed out to me by @reveries-of-my-mind and @moonchild-in-blue through their reblogs of my original post about Vore. A lot of these FX bits are more obvious, so I decided to just put TMBTE in one post.

Part three includes: Take Me Back To Eden

Part One -> One, Two, Jaws and The Way That You Were

Part Two -> Sundowning and This Place Will Become Your Tomb

+ If I've missed something, feel to add your own thoughts!

Note- some of these are FX, others are sound mixing and music bits I wanted to mention. Any song you don't see mentioned are songs that I couldn't find anything to pull out of them. Plus, reminder; these are my interpretations, I'm sorry if you can't hear what I hear, or you think something different.

Chokehold

- Lots and lots of digital, glitchy FX which sets the mood for the album. This is also repeated throughout all the songs in the album, which works with their algorithm-esc, robotic theme (both lyrically and musically) in their songs for this one.

The Summoning

- Unfortunately, everyone's favourite jazz-metal amalgamation doesn't have any other SFX notes other than carrying on Chokehold's glitchy FX motifs.

Aqua Regia

- Jazz café ambience shown throughout the song, also, every single instrument other than the main paino is echoed and or muffled.

+ Fun fact! Aqua Regia is Latin for Royal Water. It's a concentrated solution of Hydrochloric and nitric acids, and is one of the only acids that can dissolve Gold; it's used in the jewelry trade to test the purity of Gold. Not a clue what Vessel is trying to get across with that, but his obsession with chemistry and biology motifs strike again.

Granite

- The screetch of the guitar chord at 2:32, right before the breakdown, sounds almost like a car hitting the breaks and skidding. Works well with Granite's theme of car crashes. You can almost imagine someone having an argument in the car, and the screetch is a result of things going a bit too far.

Vore

- Like I said in my original post, in the beginning (first fifteen seconds), along with the scratchy guitar chord, there are chewing and swallowing sounds. The song is quite literally from the point of view of being stuck in the throat of a God.

- At 3:23 to 3:30, there are bird noises similar to the ones at the start of TMBTE! They're incredibly subtle, but they're there. If you can't pinpoint it, there's a squeaking noise at 3:27, which is just a bird tweeting!

Rain

- From 3:55 to the end of the song, there's rain, which is obviously very fitting. Not specifically rain tapping on a rooftop, but more so rain pouring down a gutter, at least to me.

Take Me Back To Eden

- From 0:00 to 0:40, there's echoed animal noises, like if you were to stand in the middle of a rainforest. The song starts of in absolute silence, only broken by nature; not a human made noise to be heard. It's quite literally Eden. These sounds are there throughout the song, they just get much harder to hear the longer Vessel sings and the more instruments they later on top of eachother.

- At 1:42, there's either a Lion's or a Tiger's roar.

- From 3:10-3:16, there's the sound of thunder.

- A lot of the jingles you hear in The Summoning are repeated here! E.g; 3:40 and, more clearly, at 4:50 and 7:50.

- The lyrics "we were tangled up like branches in a flood; it was no accident" are direct refrences to the lyrics in Chokehold.

Euclid

- The song is 5 minutes and 13 seconds long, but Vessel only starts singing at the 13 second mark. The first lyric? "Just run it back, give me five whole minutes". We, as the listener give him five whole minutes to say what he's gotta say. Further, the song ends on the exact same piano chord that it begins with; the song, in of itself, is a loop. Anytime you play Euclid on loop, you are running it back and giving him five whole minutes. One of the reasons Euclid is my favourite (next to Aqua Regia) for this album.

- The lyrics "the night belongs to you" and "this bough is broken through" are lyrical refrences to The Nigh Does not Belong to God from Sundowning and When The Bough Breaks from One. The oldest album, and ST's first produced album.

- From 4:02 to the end of the song, a verse from The Night Does Not Belong To God is played. It completes the produced album trilogy, and, with the five stages of grief, allows for acceptance and healing. Euclid not only loops itself, but loops the three albums together. Sundowning, TPWBYT and TMBTE are an endless loop that can and will be played as many times as needed for Vessel, for you, as the listener, to heal. To accept change. To realise there's more than denial, anger bargaining and depression. And I think that, in of itself, is beautiful.

---------

Album Notes: Sleep Token really put their whole soul into this album huh. By far, it's the one that uses SFX the most, and rounds out Sleep Token's own genre as a whole. We see snippets of older songs used throughout the album, both lyrical refrences and actual chunks of old songs taken out and placed within other ones. 10/10, would cry to again.

Thank you for reading through all my thoughts and feelings, whoever you are. Remember, the night belongs to you; worship <3.

[kingofbodyrolls]

Songs of the Heart (m) | pjm | series masterlist

When your landlord hikes the rent on your city apartment, you escape to the outskirts of town, trading the urban sprawl for the quiet hum of a modest house. But serenity takes on a different tune here—day after day, the air carries hauntingly beautiful melodies from your neighbor’s home, songs so raw and aching they seem to tell of a heartbreak too deep to heal. Worried for the unseen soul behind the music, you muster the courage to knock on their door, only to find Park Jimin—a famous singer-songwriter whose voice has graced countless hearts. But the man before you is more than his songs: an enigma wrapped in melancholy, a single father with a story veiled in mystery. As his melodies weave into your days, you can’t help but wonder: can you uncover the truths hidden in his lyrics, or will his heart remain a song you cannot play?

🌸 Pairing: jimin x reader (female) 🌸 Characters: Jimin, OC (reader “Y/N”), Yoongi (reader’s older brother), Namjoon (reader’s best friend), Hwa-Young (Jimin’s daughter), Jimin’s parents, OC’s parents, Seokjin (as Jimin’s manager). 🌸 AUs: musician!au (not completely idol!au), single dad!au, slice of life!au 🌸 Trope: strangers to lovers / neighbors to lovers 🌸 Genres: slow burn romance / fluff / angst / smut / comedy 🌸 Rating: mature/explicit/R18  (this is mature/explicit content, so minors, please do not interact.) 🌸 Word count: 70.4k 🌸 Warnings/tags: past heartache and small misunderstandings, mention of past bad relationships, crying, pain (emotional), hurt (emotional), stereotypical assumptions, protective and oblivious big brother Yoongi, Hwa-Young is so cute 😭, mention of grief and sadness, past character death (Jiwoo), just a lot of FEELS, it’s a bit sad, but also very heartwarming, mention of past illness, mention of past domestic abuse (hitting), mention of past emotional abuse, love (so much fucking love it’s insane), dancing (yes, it’s a warning), detective big brother Yoongi (he’s not actually a detective), a filler chapter, fluff, small scandals, angst, kissing, heated moments, smut, unprotected sex in the form of; biting, marking (hickies), multiple orgasms, cum eating, cockwarming, dirty talk, nasty smut, filthy smut, praise kink, oral (male and female receiving), cum licking, hair pulling, scratching, soft aftercare, possessiveness, pussy rubbing, ruined garments, overstimulation, begging, fingering, a lot of feeling, so, so, so much fluff and love 😭 🌸 Status: finished! 🥳 A chapter will be released every Sunday! 🌸 Read on AO3? [link] 🌸 Read or listen to the teasers? [link] 🌸 Author’s note: I’ve had this idea floating around in my head since Jimin’s Muse album dropped—and the title? It hit me like a lightning bolt. But the plot? Oh, that took some time. Months, actually. The original idea just wasn’t it, you know? But then, on this one random November day, the characters finally spoke to me. And I swear, it was like I had to write it. Originally, this was supposed to be a one-shot, maybe a two-shot if I got a little carried away, but... the characters and this story are too precious, too delicate, to rush. It’s like planting a little seed and waiting for it to bloom into something beautiful 🌸 I can already feel it taking shape, and I want you to join me on this small ride—don’t worry, the chapters won’t be as long as my usual brain dumps (and there won’t be too many, promise!) I really hope you fall for this sweet, tender, and oh-so-heartfelt version of Jimin as much as I have 🥹💜 This whole series is a birthday gift for my lovely friend @remmykinsff 🥹💜

🌸Chapter #1 - Rebirth Word count: 5.6k | read → chapter one

🌸Chapter #2 - Who Word count: 8.8k | read → chapter two

🌸Chapter #3 - Alone Word count: 5.5k | read → chapter three *Releasing on Sunday 29th of December

🌸Chapter #4 - Face-Off Word count: 6.8k | read → chapter four *Releasing on Sunday 5th of January

🌸Chapter #5 - Showtime (m) Word count: 12k | read → chapter five *Releasing on Sunday 12th of January

🌸Chapter #6 - Like Crazy Word count: 8.3k | read → chapter six *Releasing on Sunday 19th of January

🌸Chapter #7 - Closer Than This Word count: 6k | read → chapter seven *Releasing on Sunday 26th of January

🌸Chapter #8 - Slow Dance (m) Word count: 11.2k | read → chapter eight *Releasing on Sunday 2nd of February

🌸Chapter #9 - Be Mine (m) [END] Word count: 6.2k | read → chapter nine *Releasing on Sunday 9th of February

Are you excited? Because I’m EXCITED! I know, I know—I’ve probably told you this about a million times already, but this story is so, so precious to me. And this Jimin? Ugh, don’t even get me started. I honestly can’t even find the words to describe how much he means to me 😭💖

That said, this is probably my last series (cue dramatic music 🎻). I’m like 99% sure, mainly because I scrapped another series I had planned—it felt a little too close to something I’d read recently. So yeah, this feels like the perfect (and emotional) way to close me writing a long series.

If you’re as excited as I am (or just a little, I’ll take it!), please let me know! Your enthusiasm fuels me more than caffeine ever could. And if you want to join the taglist for this one, just leave a comment, send me an ask, or slide into my DMs 🫂✨

Let’s make this last series an unforgettable one 💜

🌸Series taglist: @13-manggaetteok @mima795 🌸permanent taglist: @nora12379 @jeonsbabygirlsworld @fancypeacepersona @ktownshizzle @pjmxxjm @ajoonniice @kookiewithluv

[prontaentrega]

how to post songs as mp3 files and avoid copyright

a bunch of people were asking how to post music on tumblr so here's some kind of tutorial n_n there's probably a thousand better ways to do it out there but this is what i do and it works for me

Step 1: Acquiring music

Before you post any music you gotta have it as an mp3 file. Bunch of people mentioned mp3 converters but my favorite way has always been to just download discographies from blogs. You google "(band) complete discography free download" or something like that and something's bound to show up. If you've doing this for a while you'll skip this first part and go straight to the places you know will have it- here's some of my favorite blogspots for it - but they're all very specific to the stuff i listen to (mainly punk and latin american rock).

These type of sites tend to be genre-specific so if you're looking for, say, a prog rock band, maybe you'll have more luck searching for prog rock downloads websites. The older or more obscure the band, the easier it will be to find. And you'll find that a lot of these sites are not in english- you have to get comfortable visiting and downloading from sites in spanish, portuguese, russian or what have you and your life will get easier.

Don't limit yourself to blogs or music download-specific sites. Some people post album dl links on youtube. When i was in high school i downloaded The Black Parade from DeviantArt. The internet is far and wide and you can find stuff anywhere

But what if i can't find an album like this?

Alternative 1: Legally

Go find a record store and buy the album you want. You can also check the artist's bandcamp or any other website where you can buy their music and get it as a file on your pc (no streaming shit). Some albums are out there for free, legally! If you know an artist who uploads their music to tumblr you can just right click on their mp3 upload and download it directly :^)

Alternative 2: The classic

you can pretty much google youtube mp3 converter and click any link and it'll do the work. Here's a link from a safe piracy subreddit. You paste a youtube vid's link and hit convert/download etc.

I've also heard some people say Lucida is good (lets you download songs and albums by pasting the spotify/bandcamp/wtv link) but i can't say it has worked for me- always gives me a network error. But maybe it works for someone else.

Step 2: I got the music- now what?

Now you post it! Some songs (obscure or copyright-free enough) will just let you post them like that. Most songs won't. For a lot of them you'll have to add some silence or edit the metadata.

Adding silence to a song:

Option 1: Get audacity for free. Go to File > Open on the top bar and open the song you wanna add the silence to. Make sure you're at the start of the track (it says 00h00m00s at the bottom). Go to Generate > Silence... on the top bar also. Choose how long you want the silence to be, click "generate". You'll see a straight line appear at the start of the track- that means it worked. Go to File > Export > Export as MP3 to save it. You'll see a pop up where you can edit the metadata (things like artist, year, genre, etc.) i like having my audio files with metadata but for the purpose of tumblr posts you'll want to leave all that empty- if it's got that info erase it. Click "Ok". Done!

Option 2: Do it online on audiomass. Go to File > Load from Computer, open the song. Click on the white square with the S (insert silence button). Choose how long you want it to be, click "insert silence". You'll see a straight line appear at the start of the track- that means it worked. Go to File > Export/Download. Make sure it's mp3 format, i always save it as 256kbps but it's not neccessary. Click export. Done!

Some songs let you get away with only 5 or 8 seconds of silence. I try to have it be as short as possible, but most songs will need 10 seconds of silence. Sometimes even a little more, if even with the 10 seconds it doesn't let you post it try adding 0.25s more and checking.

I always play the file i just exported, to make sure everything's right.

Editing the metadata:

I'm gonna be honest i don't know how necessary this is but the audio post format works in mysterious ways so it's always better to be one step ahead. If you got it from youtube to mp3 or already added the silence then your file won't have any metadata, unless you didn't clear it when exporting from audacity. if you got it legally or pirated from any blogspot type site and didn't edit it at all it will probably have metadata. To edit it you have to right click the file > Properties, go to the "details" tab, and there you'll see things like title, author, year, genre, etc. You can just click on any section and change or erase it, then click "Ok".

As a last thing, it's generally better if the file is not saved as the song's name. Just name it anything else.

Compressing the file:

I almost forgot but there's also a size limit. I don't remember it at the moment because i've only had a problem with it once, but if you do just google "compress mp3 file" and go on any website to do it LOL

Step 3: Posting it

Now just go make a new audio post. Upload the file from your pc. If there's an error sometimes it'll tell you what it is (you don't own this song/the file is too heavy/etc) but sometimes it will just delete the audio post format and not tell you anything. If there's any error make sure you did everything (the silence, the metadata, the size, the file name). Maybe go back and add 0.5 or 1 more second of silence at the start. Sometimes tumblr just won't want you to post a song even with every step done right- nothing to do about that :( Sometimes you can try back after a while and it will let you post the song- sometimes it won't. There's no real logic to it tbh.

But if everything goes right it will upload correctly. Now you can add the song's title, artist and album info, and album art or whatever image you want n_n Hit post and done!

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

Inspired by the "we had King and Lionheart on 8tracks" post going around and prompted by the latest work by Lyv, a musician doing fan songs for BG3 characters, who reached Dame Aylin and (very correctly) concluded "yeah, this one needs to be a 7-minute metal track" - here's my personal selection of things I listen to to instantly hop into my Aylin mindset. I mean, I loved 8tracks and I have King and Lionheart on all my playlists forever, but here I think I'm going for an older feel, when we had LiveJournal posts of pertinent lyric extracts with mp3s of the songs and YouSendIt links expiring in a week.

Aylin, for me, tends towards bombastic and cheesy symphonic/power metal, with lavish guitar solos and dramatic lyrics about fighting dark lords and riding dragons and seeking magical swords, lovingly crafted labyrinthine fantasy lore stretching over and across albums, often delivered in somewhat awkward English. But also just a lot of big, loud feelings that I love listening to metal for. She was made to grace album covers, is what I'm saying.

Without further ado, under the cut I give you my 8 Metal Tracks To Fly Around And Smite Your Father-In-Law To (but it's actually 16 because I provided an alt option for each song).

Seeking Vengeance by Unleash the Archers

Like a wave of death, I wash over all who stand in my way, there's no redemption now

Self-explanatory in all things, I'd say. Big, powerful vengeance song with moments of nuance, in that we get "I am the falling blade" and "Who have I become? I know not where I've gone to" both packed in there. And also, the song just slaps.

Alt: Afterlife, the song that provides a counterplay with "I won't waste my freedom, vengeance will not make me whole". And also some killer instrumentals.

2. Spillways by Ghost

All your faith, all your rage, all your pain It ain't over now, and I ain't talking about forgiveness

Dealing with anger and darkness that exist within you and needing to find an outlet to stop it all from overflowing? Say no more. Ghost is a fave of mine but most of their stuff wouldn't really fit here, theme-wise. This song is perfect though.

Alt: Hunter's Moon is another one of my go-tos to ponder some inevitable violent vengeance.

3. Where Angels Fear to Fly by Battle Beast

They say the darkest hours are just before the dawn That we must die to be reborn I'm still alive, I'm ready for the pain When I fall, I'll rise again I spread my wings and like the midnight sun I will be rising

Five million years ago I saw these guys open for Nightwish and sing about Guts and Griffith from Berserk and got hooked. This is a far more recent offering, and it's both a banger and super on the nose for what I'm looking for here.

Alt: Wings of Light which hits the spot in a very similar vein.

4. NightSky by Kamelot

I'll stay with you all through your pain Blood of my blood Remember your name 'Cause when the night sky is coming down I'm watching over you And when the darkness falls Just close your eyes Remember your name

This is unironically my Selûne song and my brain loves tying it into the whole "Nightsong was only ever a curse" thing.

Alt: Silent Goddess prompted by that one kickass fanart that quoted it.

5. Rain of Fury by Rhapsody of Fire

Rain of fury my blade, like wings in the mist Hold my breath in the shade, both my hands on the hilt A thousand sparkles collide, igniting the cave There's nowhere to hide, I'm the valorous, the brave

These guys won my heart a couple of decades ago when they first sang about winning the dark lord with an emerald sword and they never fail to get me pumped. Some classic stuff to really get you going, get you on that quest, get you through that dungeon.

Alt: March Against the Tyrant, primarily for the gentle farewell-before-battle "Let me feel once more how much life you have on your lips" opening.

6. Charcoal Grace I: Prey by Caligula's Horse

I could bind my heart to anger And hold my breath for bliss that was promised me While the desperate hands of vengeance demand to deliver me

I actually have a very hard time picking between Part I and Part IV (and I usually don't listen to one without the other) - in fact the entire very heavy suite about reckoning with a horrible father is… something else. This is absolutely an outlier style-wise and genre-wise as it's pure prog, but it really taps into a specific brand of anger for me and I love it.

Alt: The aforementioned Charcoal Grace IV: Give Me Hell aka "Give back the years you stole and beg me".

7. Amaranth by Nightwish

Caress the one, the never-fading rain in your heart

Listen, this one is here purely because I imprinted on the music video with the wounded angel when I was 15. But also there's a couple of amaranth-as-tied-to-immortality "never-fading" references in it so it stays.

Alt: Sleeping Sun for a calm, sad, yearning time.

8. The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight by Blind Guardian

Proudly it stands Until the world's end The victorious banner of love

A non-angry one to end things on! Blind Guardian is one of my favourite bands ever and so they were bound to be here. It's been really hard to stick to one two songs per artist. Anyway, I wouldn't go with this one as super directly applicable lyrically as it's a Tristan and Isolde song, but the chorus gets me, I love listening to it, and I maintain it has the correct Vibes.

Alt: When Sorrow Sang, aka the Beren and Luthien song off their Silmarillion album, for all the obvious mortal/immortal reasons.

[mak3itr7ght]

Pair: Jimin x fm!reader

Words count: 1235

A/N: just a very quick and out of contest scenario I imagined after listening 'Who' for the 192939939th time🫡 Hope you like it!

"Three minutes before getting on stage" the assistent announced before exiting the dressing room.

"Oi, so how was that date?" Hoseok approached his friend and roommate, Jimin. "Who was..oh, yes, that actress"

"I don't even want to talk about that-" Jimin cut his friend out. The older chuckled. "Was it really that bad?" He sat on the chair next to Jimin's, resting his chin the palm of his hand, curious.

"I went back home in the middle of the date because I couldn't stand her- she was so arrogant, and oddly flirty..ew" Jimin frowned at the memory. "What about you? You're not dating in ages, bro, at least i'm trying. You practically gave up" the blondie tried to swap the conversation.

Hobi shrugged. "I'm into my job for now. I don't feel like dating for now. I have this strange sensation, like i have to wait" he murmured, zoning out as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"Hyung, you've lived too much in your studio, in my opinion" Jimin joked, making Hobi smak his arm.

"Ouch-" Jimin faked pain, but then leaned against his chair. His hyung's words made him overthink.

"Anyway, let's get on stage, it's the first time we perform in Rome and i want to give a good impression to italian armys~" Hobi jumped on his feet and walked outside the dressing room.

Jimin didn't react to those words, he just heard them and hummed in response, still zoned out in his own mind.

Love, what a strange concept, especially for idols. They used to sign contracts that forced them to not date someone, and then most of them used to do it secretly from anyone. The media were always ruthless when it came to this topic. Even having the same necklaces with a person that probably was just a stranger could start a whole drama. That was truly shit. And, in the end, the whole media player work almost unconsciously pushed idols to search for rumors and scandals to gain more popularity. It was sick and toxic. And thank God Jimin and his friends didn't fall for that, even if there were a lot of temptations. Fame is dangerous, terribly dangerous. Jimin kept wondering if not dating and choosing to focus on himself was the best decision or just unnatural for an idol, because for the audience, idols must date! Not matter about their sexuality, because Jimin knew some asexual and aromantic people, so he started dating here and there, even without putting too much effort.

But that day, Hoseok's words made him realize that maybe not dating was more normal than he thought. Maybe his mind was already subconsciously linked with another woman or man, and that he didn't met him or her yet, just like the lyrics of his song, 'who', which he struggled to write, because, to quote him, 'he even forgot the last time he had a crush'.

The blondie kept mental tripping while rocking on his chair. When Namjoon went inside the room to call him again.

"I'm sorry! I was lost in thoughts!!" Jimin stood up and rushed outside.

Mics checked, in-ear monitors checked, another day, another concert of BTS's comeback tour after their discharge from military service. It was pretty long, many dates in many places of the world, all sold out, of course. And that was the first time the group performed in Italy in almost 13 years of career. What a day. Everyone was excited.

The concert started with their new title of their new album and the hours passed quicker than usual. A small break and then the solo-performances started. Jimin was the fourth, ready to perform 'Who'. He felt a strange sensation, like a tingle in his chest.

"No, i can't die now, come on. At least when I come back at the hotel" he told himself, trying to calm down and joke on that sensation.

And then, there he was, dancing and singing on stage, the choreography was composed to suit the concept of 'I love you, but I didn't even meet you yet', so Jimin had to dance with severals girls trying to find the right one, ending up alone on stage. That night, he felt that song more close to his self. While enjoying the Armys' cheering, shouting, crying and clapping he stared at some of them in the front rows. He loved his fans so much, recognizing his fame, the whole group's fame, was thanks to them. So he always used to look as many of them as he could, trying to remember at least vaguely their faces.

As his eyes met with one of them, that feeling on his chest intensified. I know what y'all are thinking and no, it wasn't like he fell in love, he just felt like he knew her, very deeply, just a veiled sensation, that kind of sensation that you can't even recognize or study enough because it's so delicate and fragile, yet unbreakable, and it's always there, you don't know it at all, but it's there, it gets louder when you're silently trying to sleep, and it gets quiter when your mind just turns off and focuses on the loud daily life. That was the moment Jimin felt that little pinch in his chest and it lasted less than a second. He didn't even see her properly, it was dark, the lights where flashing here and there and he was still boosted by adrenaline. That's why he stayed on stage even more than he had to and felt someone calling him from the backstage, it was Jungkook, ready to start with his 'Standing next to you' performance.

Jimin shook his head and rushed off the stage, quickly forgetting about that trance state he went in unconsciously. He went back in the dressing room where the other members were getting ready. Hobi approached him, a worried look in his eyes. "Oi, Jimin?" The brunette put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What happened? You seem off all of a sudden" He added.

Jimin just hugged him, out of nowhere.

"What's with this affection??!" Hobi scoffed, patting the younger's back before pulling away. He was slightly more worried at that point.

"I just felt like it.." Jimin commented, as he sat on one of those uncomfy couches near the mirrors.

Hoseok exchanged looks with the other members before looking back at Jimin. "You know what? I think tomorrow we should visit Rome"

"That's risky, we will have to prevent Jungkook from starting acting like a Roman warrior when we'll get into the Colosseum-" Yoongi laughed and the others followed.

Jimin chuckled too. Visiting the city, yeah, it sounded pretty good. Sounded...somewhat, right.

"Now now after the solo-perfromances, there will the the big pause and then the last-quarter of the set list, so let's revise the songs." Namjoon took the paper with the set list while one of the stylists where adjusting his hoodie.

"I think Armys will be happy to hear Airplane pt.2 again~" Taehyung commented while chewing a candy. "The audience is pretty cheering today~ I definitely want to comeback here next time" He added.

"I'll return here to perform The astronaut with Coldplay in a few months~" Jin pointed out, smirking.

"Why we took so long to come here?" Jimin wondered suddenly.

"Don't know, but now we're here and I think we'll have a great time" Hoseok patted his shoulder before standing.

[vampylily]

Transcription of Fall Out Boy's interview with Rock Sound

Since I was going to read the article anyways, I thought I'd transcribe in case it'll be more accessible to read for others. The interview with Pete and Patrick goes in depth on the topics of tourdust, evolving as a band, So Much (For) Stardust, working with Neal Avron, and more.

Thank you to @nomaptomyowntreasure who kindly shared the photos of the article! Their post is linked here.

PDF link here. (more readable format & font size)

article in text below (and warning for long post.)

Rock Sound Issue #300

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

WITH THE TRIUMPHANT ‘SO MUCH (FOR) STARDUST’ CAPTURING A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF FANS, FALL OUT BOY ARE RIDING HIGH, CELEBRATING THEIR PAST WHILE LOOKING TOWARDS A BRIGHT FUTURE. PETE WENTZ AND PATRICK STUMP REFLECT ON RECENT SUCCESSES AND THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM TWO DECADES OF WRITING AND PERFORMING TOGETHER. 

WORDS: James Wilson-Taylor

PHOTOS: Elliott Ingham

You have just completed a US summer tour that included stadium shows and some of your most ambitious production to date. What were your aims going into this particular show? 

PETE: Playing stadiums is a funny thing. I pushed pretty hard to do a couple this time because I think that the record Patrick came up with musically lends itself to that feeling of being part of something larger than yourself. When we were designing the cover to the album, it was meant to be all tangible, which was a reaction to tokens and skins that  you can buy and avatars. The title is made out of clay, and the painting is an actual painting. We wanted to approach the show in that way as well. We've been playing in front of a gigantic video wall for the past eight years. Now, we wanted a stage show where you could actually walk inside it. 

Did adding the new songs from ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ into the setlist change the way you felt about them?

PATRICK: One of the things that was interesting about the record was that we took a lot of time figuring out what it was going to be, what it was going to sound like. We experimented with so many different things. I was instantly really proud. I felt really good about this record but it wasn’t until we got on stage and you’re playing the songs in between our catalogue that I really felt that. It was really noticeable from the first day on this tour - we felt like a different band. There's a new energy to it. There was something that I could hear live that I couldn't hear before. 

You also revisited a lot of older tracks and b-sides on this tour, including many from the ‘Folie à Deux’-era. What prompted those choices? 

PETE: There were some lean years where there weren't a lot of rock bands being played on pop radio or playing award shows so we tried to play the biggest songs, the biggest versions of them. We tried to make our thing really airtight, bulletproof so that when we played next to whoever the top artist was, people were like, ‘oh yeah, they should be here.’ The culture shift in the world is so interesting because now, maybe rather than going wider, it makes more sense to go deeper with people. We thought about that in the way that we listen to music and the way we watch films. Playing a song that is a b-side or barely made a record but is someone’s favourite song makes a lot of sense in this era.

PATRICK: I think there also was a period there where, to Pete’s point, it was a weird time to be a rock band. We had this very strange thing that happened to us, and not a lot of our friends for some reason, where we had a bunch of hits, right? And it didn’t make any sense to me. It still doesn’t make sense to me. But there was a kind of novelty, where we could play a whole set of songs that a lot of people know. It was fun and rewarding for us to do that. But then you run the risk of playing the same set forever. I want to love the songs that we play. I want to care about it and put passion into what we do. And there’s no sustainable way to just do the same thing every night and not get jaded. We weren’t getting there but I really wanted to make sure that we don’t ever get there. 

PETE: In the origin of Fall Out Boy, what happened at our concerts was we knew how to play five songs really fast and jumped off walls and the fire marshal would shut it down. It was what made the show memorable, but we wanted to be able to last and so we tried to perfect our show and the songs and the stage show and make it flawless. Then you don’t really know how much spontaneity you want to include, because something could go wrong. When we started this tour, and we did a couple of spontaneous things, it opened us up to more. Because things did go wrong and that’s what made the show special. We’re doing what is the most punk rock version of what we could be doing right now. 

You seem generally a lot more comfortable celebrating your past success at this point in your career. 

PETE: I think it’s actually not a change from our past. I love those records, but I never want to treat them in a cynical way. I never want there to be a wink and a smile where we’re just doing this because it’s the anniversary. This was us celebrating these random songs and we hope people celebrate them with us. There was a purity to it that felt in line with how we’ve always felt about it. I love ‘Folie à Deux’ - out of any Fall Out Boy record that's probably the one I would listen to. But I just never wanted it to be done in a cynical way, where we feel like we have to. But celebrating it in a way where there’s the purity of how we felt when we wrote the song originally. I think that’s fucking awesome. 

PATRICK: Music is a weird art form. Because when you’re an actor and you play a character, that is a specific thing. James Bond always wears a suit and has a gun and is a secret agent. If you change one thing, that’s fine, but you can’t really change all of it. But bands are just people. You are yourself. People get attached to it like it’s a story but it’s not. That was always something I found difficult. For the story, it’s always good to say, ‘it’s the 20th anniversary, let’s go do the 20th anniversary tour’, that’s a good story thing. But it’s not always honest. We never stopped playing a lot of the songs from ‘Take This To Your Grave’, right? So why would I need to do a 20-year anniversary and perform all the songs back to back? The only reason would be because it would probably sell a lot of tickets and I don’t really ever want to be motivated by that, frankly. 

One of the things that’s been amazing is that now as the band has been around for a while, we have different layers of audience. I love ‘Folie à Deux’, I do, I love that record. But I had a really personally negative experience of touring on it. So that’s what I think of when I think of that record initially. It had to be brought back to me for me to appreciate it, for me to go, ‘oh, this record is really great. I should be happy with this. I should want to play this,’ So that’s why we got into a lot of the b-sides because we realised that our perspectives on a lot of these songs were based in our feelings and experiences from when we were making them. But you can find new experiences if you play those songs. You can make new memories with them. 

You alluded there to the 20th anniversary of ‘Take This To Your Grave’. Obviously you have changed and developed as a band hugely since then. But is there anything you can point to about making that debut record that has remained a part of your process since then? 

PETE: We have a language, the band, and it’s definitely a language of cinema and film. That’s maintained through time. We had very disparate music tastes and influences but I think film was a place we really aligned. You could have a deep discussion, because none of us were filmmakers. You could say which part was good and which part sucked and not hurt anybody’s feelings, because you weren’t going out to make a film the next day. Whereas with music, I think if we’d only had that to talk about, we would have turned out a different band.  

PATRICK: ‘Take This To Your Grave’, even though it’s absolutely our first record, there’s an element of it that’s still a work in progress. It is still a band figuring itself out. Andy wasn’t even officially in the band for half of the recording, right? I wasn’t even officially the guitar player for half of the recording. We were still bumbling through it. There was something that popped up a couple times throughout the record where you got these little inklings of who the band really was. We really explored that on ‘From Under the Cork Tree’’. So when we talk about what has remained the same… I didn’t want to be a singer, I didn’t know anything about singing, I wasn’t playing on that. I didn’t even plan to really be in this band for that long because Pete had a real band that really toured so I thought this was gonna be a side project. So there’s always been this element within the band where I don’t put too many expectations on things and then Pete has this really big ambition, creatively. There’s this great interplay between the tour of us where I’m kind of oblivious, and I don’t know when I’m putting out a big idea and Pete has this amazing vision to find what goes where. There’s something really magical about that because I never could have done a band like this without it. We needed everybody, we needed all four of us. And I think that’s the thing that hasn’t changed - the four of us just being ourselves and trying to figure things out. Listening back to ‘Folie’ or ‘Infinity On High’ or ‘American Beauty’. I’m always amazed at how much better they are than I remember. I listened to ‘MANIA’ the other day. I have a lot of misgivings about that record, a lot of things I’m frustrated about. But then I’m listening to it and I’m like, ‘this is pretty good.’ There’s a lot of good things in there. I don’t know why, it’s kind of like you can’t see those things. It’s kind of amazing to have Pete be able to see those things. And likewise, sometimes Pete has no idea when he writes something brilliant, as a lyricist, and I have to go, ‘No, I’m gonna keep that one, I’m gonna use that.’ 

On ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ you teamed up with producer Neal Avron again for the first time since 2008. Given how much time has passed, did it take a minute to reestablish that connection or did you pick up where you left off? 

PATRICK: It really didn’t feel like any time had passed between us and Neal. It was pretty seamless in terms of working with him. But then there was also the weird aspect where the last time we worked with him was kind of contentious. Interpersonally, the four of us were kind of fighting with each other…as much as we do anyway. We say that and then that myth gets built bigger than it was. We were always pretty cool with each other. It’s just that the least cool was making ‘Folie’. So then getting into it again for this record, it was like no time had passed as people but the four of us got on better so we had more to bring to Neal. 

PETE: It’s a little bit like when you return to your parents’ house for the holiday break when you’re in college. It’s the same house but now I can drink with my parents. We’d grown up and the first times we worked with Neal, he had to do so much more boy scout leadership, ‘you guys are all gonna be okay, we’re gonna do this activity to earn this badge so you guys don’t fucking murder each other.’ This time, we probably got a different version of Neal that was even more creative, because he had to do less psychotherapy. 

He went deep too. Sometimes when you’re in a session with somebody, and they’re like, ‘what are we singing about?’, I’ll just be like, ‘stuff’. He was not cool with ‘stuff’. I would get up and go into the bathroom outside the studio and look in the mirror, and think ‘what is it about? How deep are we gonna go?’ That’s a little bit scarier to ask yourself. If last time Neal was like a boy scout leader, this time, it was more like a Sherpa. He was helping us get to the summit. 

The title track of the album also finds you in a very reflective mood, even bringing back lyrics from ‘Love From the Other Side’. How would you describe the meaning behind that title and the song itself?

PETE: The record title has a couple of different meanings, I guess. The biggest one to me is that we basically all are former stars. That’s what we’re made of, those pieces of carbon. It still feels like the world’s gonna blow and it’s all moving too fast and the wrong things are moving too slow. That track in particular looks back at where you sometimes wish things had gone differently. But this is more from the perspective of when you’re watching a space movie, and they’re too far away and they can’t quite make it back. It doesn’t matter what they do and at some point, the astronaut accepts that. But they’re close enough that you can see the look on their face. I feel like there’s moments like that in the title track. I wish some things were different. But, as an adult going through this, you are too far away from the tether, and you’re just floating into space. It is sad and lonely but in some ways, it’s kind of freeing, because there’s other aspects of our world and my life that I love and I want to keep shaping and changing. 

Patrick: I’ll open up Pete’s lyrics and I just start hearing things. It almost feels effortless in a lot of ways. I just read his lyrics and something starts happening in my head. The first line, ‘I’m in a winter mood, dreaming of spring now’, instantly the piano started to form to me. That was a song that I came close to not sending the band. When I make demos, I’ll usually wait until I have five or six to send to everybody. I didn’t know if anyone was gonna like this. It’s too moody or it’s not very us. But it was pretty unanimous. Everybody liked that one. I knew this had to end the record. It took on a different life in the context of the whole album. Then on the bridge section, I knew it was going to be the lyrics from “Love From The Other Side’. It’s got to come back here. It’s the bookends, but I also love lyrically what it does, you know, ‘in another life, you were my babe’, going back to that kind of regret, which feels different in  ‘Love From The Other Side’ than it does here. When the whole song came together, it was the statement of the record. 

Aside from the album, you have released a few more recent tracks that have opened you up to a whole new audience, most notably the collaboration with Taylor Swift on ‘Electric Touch’. 

PETE: Taylor is the only artist that I’ve met or interacted with in recent times who creates exactly the art of who she is, but does it one such a mass level. So that’s breathtaking to watch from the sidelines. The way fans traded friendship bracelets, I don’t know what the beginning of it was, but you felt that everywhere. We felt that, I saw that in the crowd on our tour. I don’t know Taylor well, but I think she’s doing exactly what she wants and creating exactly the art that she wants to create. And going that, on such a level, is really awe-inspiring to watch. It makes you want to make the biggest, weirdest version of our thing and put that out there. 

Then there was the cover of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, which has had some big chart success for you. That must have taken you slightly by surprise. 

PATRICK: It’s pretty unexpected. Pete and I were going back and forth about songs we should cover and that was an idea that I had. This is so silly but there was a song a bunch of years ago I had kind of written called ‘Dark Horse’ and then there was a Katy Perry song called ‘Dark Horse’ and I was like, ‘damn it’, you know, I missed the boat on that one. So I thought if we don’t do this cover, somebody else is gonna do it. Let’s just get in the studio and just do it. We spent way more time on those lyrics than you would think because we really wanted to get a specific feel. It was really fun and kind of loose, we just came together in Neal’s house and recorded it in a day. 

PETE: There's irreverence to it. I thought the coolest thing was when Billy Joel got asked about it, and he was like, ‘I’m not updating it, that’s fine, go for it.’  I hope if somebody ever chose to update one of ours, we’d be like that. Let them do their thing, they’ll have that version. I thought that was so fucking cool. 

It’s almost no secret that the sound you became most known for in the md-2000s is having something of a commercial revival right now But what is interesting is seeing how bands are building on that sound and changing it. 

PATRICK: I love when anybody does anything that feels honest to them. Touring with Bring Me The Horizon, it was really cool seeing what’s natural to them. It makes sense. We changed our sound over time but we were always going to do that. It wasn’t a premeditated thing but for the four of us, it would have been impossible to maintain making the same kind of music forever. Whereas you’ll play with some other bands and they live that one sound. You meet up with them for dinner or something and they’re wearing the shirt of the band that sounds just like their band. You go to their house and they’re playing other bands that sound like them because they live in that thing. Whereas with the four of us and bands like Bring Me The Horizon, we change our sounds over time.  And there’s nothing wrong with either. The only thing that’s wrong is if it’s unnatural to you. If you’re AC/DC and all of a sudden power ballads are in and you’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to do a power ballad’, that’s when it sucks. But if you’re a thrash metal guy who also likes Celine Dion then yeah, do a power ballad. Emo as a word doesn’t mean anything anymore. But if people want to call it that, if the emo thing is back or having another life again, if that’s what’s natural to an artist, I think the world needs more earnest art. If that’s who you are, then do it. 

PETE: It would be super egotistical to think that the wave that started with us and My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco has just been circling and cycling back. I remember seeing Nikki Sixx at the airport and he was like, ‘Oh you’re doing a flaming bass? Mine came from a backpack.’ It keeps coming back but it looks different. Talking to Lil Uzi Vert and Juice WRLD when he was around, it’s so interesting, because it’s so much bigger than just emo or whatever. It’s this whole big pop music thing that’s spinning and churning, and then it moves on, and then it comes back with different aspects and some of the other stuff combined. When you’re a fan of music and art and film, you take different stuff, you add different ingredients, because that’s your taste. Seeing the bands that are up and coming to me, it’s so exciting, because the rules are just different, right? It’s really cool to see artists that lean into the weirdness and lean into a left turn when everyone’s telling you to make a right. That’s so refreshing. 

PATRICK: It’s really important as an artist gets older to not put too much stock in your own influence. The moment right now that we’re in is bigger than emo and bigger than whatever was happening in 2005. There’s a great line in ‘Downton Abbey’ where someone was asking the Lord about owning this manor and he’s like ‘well, you don’t really own it, there have been hundreds of owners and you are the custodian of it for a brief time.’ That’s what pop music is like. You just have the ball for a minute and you’re gonna pass it on to somebody else. 

We will soon see you in the UK for your arena tour. How do you reflect on your relationship with the fans over here? 

PETE: I remember the first time we went to the UK, I wasn’t prepared for how culturally different it was. When we played Reading & Leeds and the summer festivals, it was so different, and so much deeper within the culture. It was a little bit of a shock. The first couple of times we played, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, are we gonna die?’ because the crowd was so crazy, and there was bottles. Then when we came back, we thought maybe this is a beast to be tamed. Finally, you realise it’s a trading of energy. That made the last couple of festivals we played so fucking awesome. When you realise that the fans over there are real fans of music It’s really awesome and pretty beautiful. 

PATRICK: We’ve played the UK now more than a lot of regions of the states. Pretty early on, I just clicked with it. There were differences, cultural things and things that you didn’t expect. But it never felt that different or foreign to me, just a different flavour…

PETE: This is why me and Patrick work so well together (laughs). 

PATRICK: Well, listen; I’m a rainy weather guy. There is just things that I get there. I don’t really drink anymore all that much. But I totally will have a beer in the UL, there’s something different about every aspect of it, about the ordering of it, about the flavour of it, everything, it’s like a different vibe. The UK audience seemed to click with us too. There have been plenty of times where we felt almost like a UK band than an American one. There have been years where you go there and almost get a more familial reaction than you would at home. 

Rock Sound has always been a part of that for us. It was one of the first magazines to care about us and the first magazine to do real interviews. That’s the thing, you would do all these interviews and a lot of them would be like ‘so where did the band’s name come from?’ But Rock Sound took us seriously as artists, maybe before some of us did. That actually made us think about who we are and that was a really cool experience. I think in a lot of ways, we wouldn’t be the band we are without the UK, because I think it taught us a lot about what it is to be yourself. 

Fall Out Boy’s ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ is out now via Fueled By Ramen

[elextricbeauty]

Hello!!!

This is an updated version of my introduction, which will unfortunately replace my original one since I have a lot more followers. Feel free to skip it.

Welcome to my blog!!

I often post about stuff on my mind or when I'm bored, meaning my blog doesn't have a certain aesthetic at the moment. 

More often than not, I post about Lana Del Rey, but I still love other movies and may make references too.

Harry Potter 🪄

Melanie Martinez 🧚

Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children 🏚️

Fear Street 🪓

The Hunger Games 🏹

The Tudors 🗡️

The Virgin Suicides 👑

Scream 🔪

Priscilla 💄

Thirteen 🚬

Along with that, I often just use most words, and I very recently started making mood boards. 

Now for more details about me.

I am 15 years old

I am Bisexual.

My MBTI is ESTP.

I do like fan fiction so feel free to message me snippets of any work you are working on, and I will judge it fairly.

With that also said, I will not be reading any fan fiction with pedophelic relationships; this includes any universe where a person is originally 18 or older but, due to time travel, is aged down to a minor. 

I will also not be reading NSFW content, and any of that content will result in you getting blocked.

I won’t be having any of my social media accounts in this area due to the creepy men and women on the internet, but I do have Pinterest and TikTok with some of my pins and fun reposts. 

So if you're interested, please message me, and I will give you my username.

But I also recently found a master post with every unreleased Lana del Rey acapella, cover, demo, instrumental, monologue, music video, album, and song. 

Message me if you're interested. 

I also have two Spotify playlists for just-released Lana and Mel music that I have been listening to lately, so message me if you want the link to that.

My blog is supposed to be a safe place for everyone of any race, gender identity, or lifestyle. 

So please dni if you are racist, transphobic, or homophobic. 

Please don't bash ships in my comments or show hate to those who support them in my comments. 

Feel free to ask me any questions you have, and I promise I will answer them. 

I also love getting messages from people, so don't hesitate to message me if you're upset about something or just to say hi.

Anyways, thank you for reading all of that have a great day!!

[ur-fav-is-older-than-discokid]

General Blog Info

(Repost because tumblr thought the original info post was mature content??)

The blog's name is kind of a misnomer. This is a blog for characters that existed before May 18th of 2009, which is the release date for Punch-Out!! Wii in North America, the game in which Disco Kid was introduced. This blog is not for characters who are older than Disco Kid's canon age (20). That would be lame.

Of course, I can’t run this blog all on my own. I need your guys’ suggestions! Here are the rules for submitting characters.

1) This blog is for characters that existed before May 18th, 2009, not characters older than 20 in canon. (For example, despite being a child, Link from The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker could be posted to this blog, since WW came out in 2004. King Rhoam from The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild would not count for this blog because even though he is an old man, BOTW came out in 2016.)

2) I say characters but submissions can be anything. Fictional characters, places, real people, books, video games, TV/movies, songs, albums, other??? Get creative. (The reason real people are OK here is because this is a fact-based blog and not a hc one. If a celebrity’s age and birthday are public knowledge, I don’t think they’ll be uncomfortable with a random tumblr blog pointing it out QwQ)

3) Surprisingly (/s), I am not familiar with every piece of media that’s ever existed. So, if you send in a request and I get information in the post wrong, please feel free to send an ask or a DM or whatever and correct me! I won’t be offended, and I’ll update the post, no hassle. If the date of a character’s first appearance or of something’s release would be confusing to an outsider, consider writing the “birthday” directly in the ask! You don’t have to do this, but it’ll prevent me from getting things wrong on accident ^^

4) Only content disqualification is like, explicitly seggsual stuff. Suggestive things are okay, as are characters from suggestive things, but if the character/media is straight up poon I'm not doing it bc I wanna keep this blog mostly SFW (ignore the bad censoring, trying to repost the intro without having it flagged)

4.5) Do not submit characters from the Persona series, especially not the protagonist of P5 (he wouldn’t even count!). Not trying to be a dickwad but the entire series is a CPTSD trigger for me and the sight of that specific character is enough for me to start reliving trauma so like. Just don't.

5) I have the right to refuse any submissions so use common sense on whether or not what you're submitting is inappropriate, in bad taste, or hateful.

6) | promise l'll get to everyone's submissions eventually so please don’t send me 500 asks for the same character!!!

Post schedule: I’ll have at least one post per day that’ll be a character of my choice, because while I’m getting a lot of requests as I’m writing this, it’s bound to die down eventually lol. Also, it’s my blog, I wanna share my things, too :p Alongside my submission, I’ll post submissions I have on queue; Up to nine per day, for ten tagged posts, max. I don’t wanna tag spam too much, which is why there’s a limit of ten. If my queue for the day is full, don’t worry, though!! Your ask will be posted the next day, or a following day if I’m really full for some reason.

[zot3-flopped]

There were and are so many reasons for Harry not to speak about Larry theories.

I think most importantly: Harry never talks about anything personal in detail, so why would he break that rule for something he surely thinks is nonsensical (if he thinks about it at all)? He's been clear about his rule since he was 17.

It's not that Larries have got an actual handle on his personal life, it's that to debunk them would come close to giving something that isn't work, and he says every album cycle, three or four times, that he's not doing that. (His haters never listen to him, though.)

Secondly he worked so hard, straight out of the gate, on expanding his fan base. He went into film: a good way for GP to get to know his name. SOTT not being pop, HS1 not being pop, both of those coming out in the run-up to Dunkirk being released: none of it was an accident, surely. (Some anon said maybe he delayed SOTT release till the others had had a go, to level the playing field a bit, but I don't think it was about that, I think it was tied to Dunkirk release.) Now people could see him in promo and when they google him there is a solo album right there.

He also did covers that were classic, beloved older songs: The Chain, Big Yellow Taxi, Sledgehammer especially. Like I don't think this is cynical, he clearly loves music from those eras: I just think it is super smart to have multiple, shareable clips out there so a whole different audience can go, oh wow, he's actually good. I didn't see the others do this at all (and they didn't have to do it via BBC radio, they could record something themselves, but they didn't). Niall has Lizzie McAlpine and Post Malone covers but those guys don't mean a lot really to a wider, older audience.

What I'm getting at (sorry this is so long!) is that if he's talking about Larry theories, or Louis, then he's keeping that link with 1D alive, and I for one think he wanted to break away very clearly and work on his new fan base. I think his 1D fans see this as a betrayal but that is because they think very simply and they don't want to be replaced.

But they have been replaced many times over, sad for them but they aren't the good quality fans. They are the annoying ones who talk a lot about 'the boys' 'they are still best friends' and cry for a reunion every time one of them says the name of another. They hold all of the 1D members back actually. Harry has said he wants to do his thing, it's different every time, go back and listen to the old stuff if that's what you like, doesn't bother him.

Also there is the Larry madness that makes them immediately turn anything Louis says into part of their conspiracy. Harry doesn't need any of that negative attention. Louis needs it or his audience dies (it is already happening). I am sure Harry sees Louis say something, and sees the result, and he is never going down that route, it is a waste of everyone's energy.

Lots of perceptive points here!

[nights-flying-fox]

It's Not Pain (It's Applause)

So!! I learned today is one of my fav albums' anniversary, and of course i had to write something quickly based on a song in the album!! I present you this Dimension Hopper Leo AU fic, which is just Hop looking through his adventures and thinking at late night hours. I didn't check it for any mistakes, so i hope everything is correct haha!! The song that the fic is heavily inspired is "Battle Cries" by The Amazing Devil :]

(Also Null belongs to @noxvee6 and Twin-Sync AU belongs to @little-banjo-frog ^^ )

Tagging @tmntaucompetition because it is mentioned here too, even if not very detailed hehe

《 words and ao3 link will be added later, I don't think there are anything that needs warning, but if there is please tell me so I can add!!》

☆ ☆ ☆

 He had never thought he would see an older version himself from an outside view, let alone himself. But fate had surprised him. Perhaps it wasn't fate at all, but his choices.

 Turning the pages of the notebook he wrote his discoveries in, he sighed. He looked at the pictures of Neon. He was one of the future versions of himself that he had met. He had ended up being a great friend to him, teaching him some basics. He smiled at the picture of him being busy as a leader. Neon had given him hope, maybe one day he could be like him. He was afraid of the possibility and the responsibility, but those were just a few details next to many good possibilities. 

 He still regretted not asking him some things, but who knows, maybe one day he would. And maybe one day he could annoy the heck out of him, tell him he met a Leo with hair, pointing out his lies. (He was aware he could never know about that possibility, but it was worth teasing the old man.)

He also was one of the people who had proven he wasn't alone. When alone, at night he thought about how without his family he wouldn't go far, he would remember him just like others. He would answer the question of who would save him if he fell (but could they save him when he fell in the deepest part of it all, when he would accept he wouldn't be able to go back home?).

 Leo shook his head. He didn't want to think of any possibilities about the future. He had found a moment of relaxation, a calm hour. Who would've known it would be so hard to rest while visiting almost every timeline that exists? Somehow, trouble never stopped finding them. Make it a villain, a plot twist, or a war. There always was something to do, even if he didn't belong. Even if he had his own war to win, a home to reach.

 He turned the page, humming at the image of the four turtles who had recently discovered they were a family. Honestly, they  must've been idiots to not notice they were related. Or maybe it felt like that to him because these faces belonged to his family as well. Whatever, he was happy to have met them and to know fate had reunited them. They had a lot to catch up to, just as Leo would when he would reunite with his family. 

 Turning pages he came across the picture of younger Big Mama and Lou Jitsu. He cringed, remembering the way he ended up in the past. They sure had an interesting love story, but it definitely was not Leo's cup of tea. 

 He turned the page quickly. After a short while he ended up seeing the grumpiest Leo in the universe. Null's big frown was visible in the picture. His smile returned, big and genuine. Who would know a version of you who wanted you dead would end up being as close to you as your real family? Leo hoped to see him soon, tease him by calling him his big brother. He was sure Null didn't mind, but the guy would do the favor of rolling his eyes and going along with it. He was proud to know him, seeing how he grew to be a better person. He hoped he was proud to know Leo as well.

 And then there were the pages dedicated to the competition he had found himself in. Various alternative versions of his family were all over the pages. He wasn't even sure if he knew all of them. He still grinned, it was fun. The other Leo and Donnie– they were team Twin-Sync–  had become great friends of his, and multiple pictures of them together decorated a single page. He had also gained a new fear towards mushrooms, and had found a new fun game to play. Who would know Muppets could be so bloodthirsty? Game nights were wild…

 He closed it and sighed, so many memories. So many dimensions and timelines. He was happy for all of them. Everything he had learned, everything that helped him become someone better. Everyone he had met and knew and helped. Every time he hopped somewhere new, it felt like restarting a new work of art– at least a Mikey had used that metaphor once he explained to him his adventures. And so many times he was told to hop away once he could, but so many times Leo refused. He couldn't stand to see his family in danger (again). And no matter the pain, it was worth it. Everything was worth for any version of his family. With them he felt like he could summon the Gods and the stars. Heck, he even felt like they were Gods. (He pushed back the memory of an older self of his saying that they were just kids.)

 And there were times he had trouble with those versions. Some that didn't trust him, and some that he had to not trust. There were bitter moments, but there were good ones too. (He swallowed down the pain of the words he had heard from some. The way some wield them as if he was an enemy.) They tried to get rid of him, sometimes. They must've forgotten Leo was stubborn. They could say goodbye, but he won't.

 Leo took a deep breath. It was crazy how he had ended up here. Everywhere. Whatever. It was as if he was walking in the darkness searching for light, but the darkness grew. (And he was afraid he was sinking so deep it was too late.) But he wouldn't give up (even if everything felt like going against him). He wouldn't turn his nights into them, especially when he was about to hop again. 

 Maybe one day he would do everything. Enjoy the calm, or show his skills in a fight. Maybe he would make a season finale, find the right portal. The smiles of others that he reflected would be truly his family's. (And no longer his mask would hide the tears.) Instead of staying, he'd keep hopping as much as he would keep hoping. (He would hide his fears with every new beginning.)

 And he would take a sigh. (And the battle cries in his mind would be buried deep.)

 And every time, it will be worth it for them. It can't hurt him if he'd have people he loved with him.

 (He wouldn't scream. Maybe he was at the end of all the things. It wasn't the time to ask himself how he was.) As long as he believed, he was okay. He was fine.

 Maybe tomorrow was the day. And finally, maybe everything would be over.

[edge-oftheworld]

a snapshot in time of my CALM orchestral arrangement

so I just discovered that this is a thing you can do on tumblr and i've been debating putting it up here (i'm not even sure it's legal) but at this point, to me it's worth the (very slim) lawsuit risk to show you guys the inspo behind making this blog. for @bluewrite who i've been meaning to email this to for ages but never got there. for @tleeaves who i think got a slightly older version as did @ghost-of-you but this is also for all of you who've heard me rattling about music things, for people i've gotten into 5sos by talking about this project such as @thevagabondexpress (thank you for drawing the U2 link).

anyway, as you probably know i'm a classical violist. i know my instrument and i know a fair amount of music theory and i know how to play the keyboard/piano as well and at the start of this project i knew very little about building orchestral scores or anything about wind instruments at all. i'd written arrangements and original pieces before but only for strings-only orchestras, and though i'm alright at pulling out instrumentation from songs my experience is largely in the more classic 2000s pop/rock/worship with very minimal synth activity and max 3 part harmonies. to say this was a challenge is an understatement.

it's also not finished yet. i've gone back and forth on this getting feedback from a bunch of people, much of which i didn't understand and wasn't ready to implement. i've also found ashton and calum's videos explaining these songs in more detail and the acoustic version of teeth and best years with the actual chords of the songs and now, differently to the week tfofu came out but similar, i'm on it again, noticing things. noticing musical trends. most of this was done by pure sound intuition and a handful of piano scores arranged by @/keudae on youtube i bought and played to get a feel of the songs. I feel really stoked to have picked up on the whole lover of mine setting us up for lonely heart and being a bit like ghost of you and some of the themes within the album!

but there is a lot i didn't pick up on. especially in the last movement i don't truly feel like i did any of those songs justice. nor lonely heart. and there is a stark difference between the quality of the songs that were played at the RAH and the ones that i only had a studio version to work off (my strings background comes out here). i've also looked at all the 22 individual parts and realised, hey, i want to be in the 5sos spirit and make every single one of these fun to play and right now the only one that is is the cello which carries luke's main melody line but it's also kinda working too hard.

and that's the thing i know, probably apart from that one keychange into lonely heart from ghost of you, this for the most part sounds good and i want to share it here before i rejig it too much, make it too much more orchestral, so we can remember it and see it evolve. because i have a bunch of juno and guitar and percussion and harmony parts i haven't put in. general song vibes. shake up the choruses and make them a variation on themselves each time. maintain the atmosphere it's got but add more layers to it, be more true to the original songs. make something i would be proud to show 5sos if the opportunity ever arose, something that would actually astonish them and I think I can. because their musicality in this album is astounding, and something i haven't seen in heaps of other artists, and i want to recognise that and draw it out in something that can do it justice like an orchestra.

[babylaptop]

setting up an ipod is harder than you fucking think

just spent the last life four+ hours setting up this ipod classic 4th gen. here's a summary of all the problems i ran into:

(1) ipod had files in it. they appeared as gray and un-editable on itunes, so i thought reseting the ipod to factory would be the fastest and easiest solution.

turns out the last step of the process is connecting ipod to a wall power source. i do this. nothing happens for at least an hour. ipod is stuck in "connect to the wall" icon screen no matter what i do. the internet says it needs to connect with an actual apple firewire wall connector, which i do not have. tried using my ipad's charger with a usb-to-usb-c adapter that i own. didn't work. eventually figured it out the problem had to do with the amps it needs to get defibrillated. i remember that i own a pretty hefty power bank with a 5v/2.1a output. it works. ipod is reset. i have a nice fun time adding the 6 or so songs i have downloaded on my computer (:

(2) i had downloaded soulseek a while ago and gotten frustrated with it but decided to give it another spin since piracy experts on reddit sing it many praises. it seems to have a heavy culture of egalitarianism: a pop up window informs you that a lot of people's download's are restricted only to other people sharing files.

__(2.1) it prompts me to enter my account and password but i don't have one. there isn't an immediatly visible 'create account' link. i google this. eventually i find this soulseek forum where a ton of normies are asking questions pretty regularly. excellent. i search my problems and someone else has already made a post and had the question answered. thank you normies. also: google groups is still a thing???????

the inability to create an account is a weird bug. someone's answer tells me how to circumvent it.

__(2.2) i still can't search for anything. there are no files in this wasteland. i turn on my vpn. put my humble six songs in a folder and share it. voila!!!!!!!

soulseek is actually VERY cool. you can browse other people's music folders, which opens an incredible secret world of possibilities re: finding new music similar to your tastes. EXTREMELY exciting. feels like i'm in a cool secret club of the internet. feels like the old internet.

i download one (1) lana del rey song that's stuck in my head. choose .flac (a lossless audio file) because i want to be fancy.

(3) ...........itunes doesn't read .flac files

__(3.1) searches: what files does itunes read? > which of these files is best for lossless audio? > how do i convert .flac files to itunes-compatible file types? > download foobar2000 > click around till i figure out how to convert .flac files to .wav files.

__(3.2) it works! (: the songs are now in itunes! (:

............but the metadata (album cover, genres, artist, album, etc) doesn't transfer. i don't want to manually input it again. searches: how to keep metadata when converting files? tutorial is slightly different from the version of foobar i have, but i eventually find the setting to keep the metadata.

(4) it works! (:

.............but it won't transfer to my ipod ): i get the message: your ipod can't read this file <- paraphrasing.

okay. searches: what kind of files can an ipod classic 4th gen read? (perhaps they are different from the files itunes can read. this is, after all, the last version of itunes ever released, many years and itunes versions after the ipod classic 4th gen.)

this information isn't in the wikipedia page. this isn't in the ipod wiki. can't even find this model in the official apple pages. it's mentioned in several reviews but it's the wrong model. christ almighty. ok. here it is. found it. allegedly it should be able to read it. ok. why isn't it.

read through forum threads. some people say older ipods get fussy with high bitrates. (search: what is a bitrate? oh ok. higher bitrate > higher audio quality. got it.)

bitrates reccomended by foobar: 180-300something. lossless file bitrate: 2000 and change. hm. surely that's a huge difference.

i convert the .flac file to .mp3 instead.

__(4.1) it works! (: the files are in my ipod! (:

.....but goddamnit, i'm stubborn, and this goddamn ipod is supposed to be able to read apple lossless files (basically a .flac file, but designed to be used with apple products. lol.) i don't want a lameass mp3, i want lossless goddamn quality! even if this brick of an ipod won't be able to play it! it's the principle of the thing!

______(4.1.1) okay. try to fuck around with bitrates in the settings of the apple lossless conversion on foobar. foobar is like "you don't have the right encoder pack, bitch" <- paraphrasing.

oooh. surely, this is the problem. i download encoder pack.

______(4.1.2) foobar is like: "you don't have the right encoder pack, bitch" <- paraphrasing.

me: [crying] but i did.

foobar: bitch.

______(4.1.3) search: why is foobar calling me a bitch? > reddit thread: look closely at the sphynx's riddles three: it doesn't say "you haven't downloaded the encoder pack." it says: you haven't installed the encoder pack. (<- NOT A JOKE.)

go to C: > program files > foobar > find the encoder pack i downloaded > click on all the .exe files. powershell windows appear and dissappear. basically: stuff happened. i'm certian.

_____________(3.4.3.1) i'm STILL getting the riddles three message, but the same reddit thread says: if you know you solved th riddles three, you can just ignore it (: so i do.

__(4.2) .flac files seem to have been successfully converted to apple lossless files !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

....but i am back to "your ipod can't read this shit!!!!!!!!!"

do some more searches > turns out it's a weird itunes glitch. the thing is just moody. try turning it on and off. try disconnecting and re-connecting. try resetting your ipod again.

try uninstalling and installing again.

(5) "iTunes Library.itl cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes"

.......................to be continued. if i don't kill mysuelf first.

[daydreamgoddess14]

Landslide pt. 1

MASTERLIST here

Summary: Jason approaches a singer/songwriter about a request for Ted Lasso Season 3.

Jason Sudeikis/Reader Insert (OFC, no use of y,n/l,n)

Rating: General for now... we'll see how it goes 🤭

Disclaimer: I absolutely own none of these songs, I also don’t want to diminish Sam Ryder’s contribution in creating Fought and Lost. This is all completely fictional. I also know nothing about the music industry so this is drowning in artistic license! 

Playlist Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1crFZfdqL1fspNXb80u5sK?si=e90f5f8f357b4647

It leans very Swift heavy but also has songs that I feel fit the main character and her style. I've never created a playlist for a fic before but it seemed appropriate given the main character's profession.

Songs used in Chapter 1: 

If I had a gun - Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (piano cover version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xvoxDXxdok)

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac (piano cover version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5JP43fk_SM)

Chapter 1

“Have you checked your emails yet?” A voice sounded through your apartment.

“Not yet, why - anything good in there?” You ask, your head deep in the fridge searching for eggs.

“Marcus wants to talk to you, he said he’s text you?”

“Yeah, he wanted me to show up at a couple of his Canadian dates but I’ll be in Spain. Or France... Europe, I’ll be somewhere in Europe.” You emerge somewhat triumphant, a two egg omlette will have to surfice.

“You’ll be in South America actually.” Your assistant Lily takes a seat at the counter and slides a coffee over to you.

“Oh. Well, I won’t be in Canada that’s for sure. I already told him I couldn’t do it, I wonder why he’s still asking.” Lily passes your phone over and goes back to attempting to tackle your inbox while you drop a message to Marcus.

Hey, sorry I missed you. Can’t do Canada - I’m in South America that week. Thought we’d talked about it already? Would love to catch up with you & Carey when you’re back in L.A though. Let me know xx

You’d actually met Carey long before Marcus. The same age, you’d crossed paths a lot in your early and mid twenties when she’d been an up-coming actress and you’d been a struggling musician. You’d drowned many, many sorrows together in dingy South London pubs, you’d been in the audience at her first performance of The Seagull in London and you’d followed her to New York to watch her Broadway debut. In contrast, she’d cheered you on in dark clubs and pubs for endless weeks and months. When she’d reconnected with Marcus, he’d tagged along to a couple of gigs and asked you to join the band for a number of their shows. Eventually you were added to the billing on your own, and supported them on a range of tour dates. From there, your career had really taken off. Now, you were regularly selling out arenas and festivals. Next on the masterplan was a worldwide stadium tour, but that was some way off. First you had music to write for a new album and a summer of festival appearances planned.   

“Aha! Figured it out!”

“Did we miss an email?”

“Not entirely, it went to junk so it’s not really your fault. Or mine.”

“What is it?” You ask, pushing the eggs around the pan.

“Hang on, just reading now… It’s from a Tom Howe?” You look blankly in reply, the name sounds vaguely familiar but you’ve no idea where from. “Hi, I’m trying to get in contact with you regarding Ted Lasso season 3. Jason came across some of your older work and the sound is a great fit for the show. He asked if I could reach out to you to discuss further. You also come highly recommended by Marcus Mumford who I believe is a friend we all have in common. Don’t hesitate to give me a call on the number below or reach out via email. We don’t have too long on this so would appreciate speaking with you. Best, Tom” Lily finishes reading the email on her device just as your phone rings.

“Do you just not read your emails, or?”

“I’m a bit behind! It’s been a busy few weeks.” You dump the eggs onto a plate and team them with a toasted muffin.

“Ah yeah, the life of a superstar.”

“You should know, you’ve sold out more gigs than me.”

“Not true… maybe still true but not for much longer.”

“If you say so. How are you? How’s Carey and the kids?”

“All good here, they’re missing you though.”

“I’m back in a few weeks, we’ll have a day out. Lily just read me the email from Tom.” “What do you think?” “I’ve no idea, I need to hear it again. How on earth did you think of me?”

“I didn’t. Well, I did. I play your stuff all the time. We were working on Season 3 and it just so happened that Jason heard some of your really early stuff and liked it. He asked if I thought you’d work with us so I said I’d ask - or rather Tom would.”

“That makes sense. He said something about a tight timescale?”

“Kind of, the show premieres next month but we’re thinking of you for the back half of the season so wouldn’t need anything from you till early May.”

“Do I get an idea of what you need?” “That’s where you’re better off talking to Tom and Jason. I daren’t spill any secrets, I’m not getting in trouble.”

“Ok, I’ll get in touch with Tom and set something up. Is he based in L.A?”

“He’s there at the moment, yeah. Why, are you still in New York?” 

“Yeah, I’m here til the 13th I think? But I might be able to get there early.” You reply, looking to Lily for confirmation who nodded, stealing the last bit of your muffin.

“Ok, definitely call Tom, cos if the timing won’t work then he’ll need to think of something else. Let me know. I’m in L.A at the same time as you so we’ll catch up.”

“Love to Carey and the babes.”

“See ya darlin’.”

“Right, I’d better read that email again properly before I call anyone else.” You sit next to Lily who opens the email back up for you. You can see that Marcus and what appears to be Jason have both been copied in. It had been sent earlier the following week so had been stagnating in your junk folder for about 6 days. “Shit.” You mumble, realising. “What’s the time in L.A?” 

“Umm 8.30am.” Lily checks. “Acceptable enough for a work related call?”

“Fuck it, I’ll leave a message if it’s not.” You read the number from the email and dial it from your phone, taking a deep breath. “Hi, can I speak to Tom please?” Tom was, it turned out, really lovely. You’d grown up not a million miles away from each other in various parts of London and he was a similar age to your older brothers. You instantly felt at ease with his good humour and musical knowledge. He’d explained that they were looking for a specific song to be used towards the very end of the season in a highly emotional moment. Though he and Jason had heard your recent music, it wasn’t until they’d been with Marcus who was listening to your much older back catalogue that the penny had dropped for all of them. In the days that had followed, Marcus had given them a masterclass of sorts, sending them copies of your early work and showing them how it had grown as you had and how your new music still has similar themes and styles. You’d blushed furiously while pacing in your apartment. Marcus hadn’t exactly been telling the truth about just how in depth your music had been discussed in recent days. You admitted that you wouldn’t be in L.A for another two weeks and questioned whether it would be a problem, he thought not and you’d promised to respond to his email. You hung up feeling elated at the prospect of a new project to get stuck into.

From: vialilyevans@gmail.com

To: thowe@gmail.com

CC: mmumford@gmail.com, djs@gmail.com

Subject: New Project

Date: 27th February 2023

Hi Tom, 

It was great to finally speak to you earlier, I apologise for missing your email - thankfully Marcus set me straight. From what you’ve said this project sounds really interesting, I’d love to hear more about it. As discussed, I’ll be in L.A from 13th March but can be there earlier if you have time? I know that’s pretty close to the premiere so I understand if you think we can’t fit this in - there’ll always be something else! On the off chance I am still in luck, I’m going to spend a couple of days binge watching 🙂

To: vialilyevans@gmail.com

From: djs@gmail.com

CC: mmumford@gmail.com, thowe@gmail.com 

Subject: RE: New Project

Date: 27th February 2023

Hey,

Thanks for reaching out, I won’t speak for Tom on how much time we have, but I really want to make this work so happy to hang on for as long as possible. Here’s hoping you can turn a track around in 24hrs, I guess?! It would be great to meet with you as soon as you can make it to L.A, then you could also attend the premiere if that sounds OK? I'll get the details sent over to you. We can meet first and then figure out next steps. Don’t worry about timing, that's on me.

JS

You’d received a reply within minutes. Literally minutes, and you were buzzing. It was from Jason himself. You’d only been half joking about binge watching, you’d done that already with Season 1 but had run out of time recently for Season 2. Now you were even more itching to watch it. Though you had no idea of storyline or what kind of song they were looking for, you could tinker with melodies and riffs. Tom had talked specifically about family, love and fighting for what you believe in so you could use those basic prompts to get you started. Over the following week, you'd worked on some new music and planned to bring your trip to L.A forward by a week. You were going to be there for up to 4 weeks. The information had come through inviting you to the season 3 premiere of Ted Lasso, so you'd made sure to catch up on season 2 just in time. But first came the initial meeting with Jason and Tom. You almost wished you could get away with waiting till the premiere but knew that wasn't realistic and you could totally understand why they'd want to get to know you sooner. L.A afforded you a little more anonymity than New York and with Tom's studio as the meeting place, you had a reasonable cover for being there if you were to get noticed by anyone. You slipped out of your Uber and followed a path through a pretty little courtyard. You'd gone for a denim skirt and Bon Jovi t-shirt, it felt miles warmer in L.A and you'd tricked your body into believing that Spring had fully arrived. You pressed the door buzzer and waited patiently. Lily had offered to go with you but you were still very much unused to having a real life assistant and still attended most meetings, interviews and events alone. 

"Hey, you made it! Come in, I'm Tom. You're alone?"

"Yeah, it's easier to go unnoticed." You smiled stepping into the entryway. 

"I wouldn't know, thankfully no one knows who I am."

"After the few months I've had, I'd wish the same thing." You follow Tom through the building, a handful of offices, a small kitchen and then into a corridor with a recording studio on either side.

"I don't pretend to keep up with gossip so I'll just have to take your word for it." He admits, you're grateful for that. It had been a rough 6 months or so. Your last relationship with a well known actor had ended abruptly - in that you'd escaped. He'd then leaked all over social media and outlets such as Deux Moi that you were 'emotionally unavailable', 'manipulative' and 'high maintenance'. He'd placed horrible, false comments that you'd supposedly made about your fans and friends, and he'd tried to alienate everyone against you. There had been a pile-on of negative press about you. Say nothing the management team had said, do nothing, stay calm and quiet they'd insisted it'll blow over. Bullshit. You'd gotten a little drunk and joined a friend in playing a dumb Tik Tok game where she'd asked what your 'Ick' was… you'd replied "Boyfriends who gaslight you and are emotionally and mentally abusive and then try to blame you in the media to make everyone hate you'' with an arched eyebrow and a knowing look. She'd posted it to Tik Tok and within minutes Twitter was ablaze with your retort. It had completely taken over the press tour for his new movie and overshon his interviews. Other exes of his had posted similar confirmations and praise of you on their socials. You’d then gone totally dark on the subject and not commented any further. Your team were still picking up the pieces from the escapade but you had so far been hailed a bit of a hero and it appeared that people were leaning more on your side now than they had been. It was only a matter of time before he’d produce some other lies though, at which point you fully expected that you’d have to go public and go all in on substantiating your initial comments. The how and the when preyed on your mind heavily. Tom led you into the studio on the right, a huge mixing desk took up much of the space but there were a couple of desks and sofas, space for downtime and collaboration. Beyond the mixing desk you could see into the studio itself with its acoustic panels and sound deadening equipment. Jason sat at the mixing desk, elbows up on the table typing on his phone. He turned and smiled at the sound of the door opening.

"Hey, glad you could make it. I'm Jason." You hold out your hand to shake his, his large hand engulfing yours. Your skin instantly felt like it had been set alight. He was tall, broad and ridiculously handsome. Binge watching the show had given you an almighty crush, so you'd sought out his other work too. Once you'd found out how funny he was, you were done for. Get a fucking hold of yourself you thought. It had not been so long since a man had touched you that you should be this affected by him. But, oh those eyes. And that smile is really something. He takes off his baseball cap and drags his fingers through his dark hair, greying at the temples and if you’d focused for any longer than half a second on that alone you couldn’t be held responsible for your actions. He greets you like he's known you for years and as Tom gets the meeting going, he's charming, attentive and so quick witted it makes your head spin a little. "I'm looking for a song specifically about the relationship between hope and failure and perseverance. That's the basic outline at least - I can't tell you much more than that." He apologises. You whip out your phone, 

"Just taking some notes, that OK? I get it, you don't want some rando knowing the ending." He motions for you to go ahead, smiling as your fingers frantically move across the screen on your notes app. 

"Yeah you might spill the beans on Twitter."

"It was Tik Tok actually."

"Ah how's it go? 'Tik Tok made me do it'?"

"And a lot of wine." You smirk, "Can I ask, how you feel about season 3 generally? For the song, I promise I'm not fawning over you to get information."

"I don't know if it's the end of the end, if that makes sense. It could carry on in different ways." 

"I'm just trying to figure out if it’s a goodbye to the characters, or to this chapter of their lives… from what you've said the song needs to be really personal. I want to make sure the emotion is there. Are you really sure I'm the right person for this?"

"I'm sure. I've heard enough of your music to know that this is what we need, I know you're more than capable. Between what you can do and what Tom already knows I need, I'm completely confident." Tom nods in agreement having stayed silent for much of your conversation. 

"So is this like The Voice? Do you guys have a list of people to see?" Tom laughed, 

"Not at all, we're hoping you're it to be honest. Though since you're here it would be great to hear you sing if you're happy with that?" 

"I didn't bring anything with me, so as long as you don't mind sharing your piano or a guitar?"

"It's all yours." He gestures into the other room and you head through nervously. They both join you, not wanting to listen via speakers. You stop for water first, and then flip through your notebook to find a suitable song, settling on something reasonably new but not so well known. You'd been performing for the best part of 20 years, you knew every note, every line, but performing in front of two people was about a million times more nerve wracking than two hundred people, or even two hundred thousand people which was exactly what you had lined up in the summer at Glastonbury. You closed your eyes, honed in on the piano at first, allowing yourself an extended intro to give you time to compose yourself. 

If I had a gun,

I'd shoot a hole into the sun,

and love would burn this city down for you.

If I had the time,

I'd stop the world and make you mine,

and everyday would stay the same with you

Hope I didn't speak too soon,

my eyes have always followed you around the room.

'Cus you're the only God that I will ever need,

I'm holding on and waiting for the moment

for my heart to be unbroken by the sea

You didn't play the full song but it was one you were extremely proud of. You let the piano trail off and risked a glance at Jason and Tom who were grinning at each other. Jason let out a whistle, 

"Y'know how you always wonder how people are gonna sound when they sing live and it sometimes doesn't live up to expectations?" He said mostly to Tom. You’re stomach dropped, oh god, were you about to fall into that camp?

"Yeah. Yeah that was pretty special." Tom agreed, vocalising Jason's thoughts. You breathed a huge sigh of relief. 

"Thank fuck for that. I haven't done that one for ages. You scared me then!” You said more to Jason.

"It's a beautiful song. I could just use that for the show to be honest, but I'd regret not working with you on something original." Tom said, as he did so, his phone rang so he left to take the call, “Sorry, be right back.”

“Any chance of another song?”

“I don’t see why not, while we’re waiting for Tom.” You flipped back through the notebook again, this time choosing a classic cover you’d done for years and years. It had been one of the first songs you’d learned and the lyrics seemed to change meaning for you in different chapters of your life so that it always fit you.

I took my love, I took it down

I climbed a mountain and I turned around

And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills

'Til the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky

What is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

“Holy shit.” He mumbled, sitting on the piano bench next to you. You could see through the glass that Tom was still on the phone. You run your hands over the keys playing mindless notes and melodies, no real intention behind, just filling the comfortable silence. You feel him leaning against you a little as he watches you play, the narrow bench not quite big enough for two.

“I played it with Stevie Nicks once.” You say quietly. “I actually thought I was going to die. It’s like I have this black hole in my memory, where I remember meeting her and then I remember coming off stage and we had a couple of drinks together, but I can’t for the life of me remember actually singing it with her.”

“I think that’s probably to be expected. Our brains do weird shit and make us feel like idiots.”

“That is definitely the truth.”

"I would really like to get to know you a little better while you work on this," Jason admitted almost hesitantly, "if that's OK with you?"

"I'd like that a lot." You smile, he returns it, relieved. 

“So how did it go?” Lily asks when you call her from the Uber ride home. You’d stayed far longer than any of you had probably anticipated, throwing ideas around and experimenting with melodies. You can’t help but gush over just how much fun you’ve had - probably for the first time in weeks. 

“I can’t wait to get started, they were both so welcoming.”

“And Jason?” Lily asked, knowing about your crush. You pause slightly, it’s been hard to know who you can actually talk to recently. With your ex on a campaign to smear your reputation, it’s hard to know who is really on your side. You know that the comments he’s made are all false but it still worries you that some people will believe him over you. 

“He’s just… lovely. And my god he’s gorgeous, like up close in person? He’s insanely handsome. I felt like a creep staring at him!” Lily giggled along with you,

“Oh my god, I didn’t realise this crush was like a full on crush?!”

“Neither did I!” You admit. “Tom had to take a call so we were just mucking around at the piano for ages.”

“You had to sing?”

“Of course I did! They want to know that I’ll be the right fit for what they need.”

“What did you sing? How was it?” Lily knew you hadn’t sung properly for weeks, you were rusty and unprepared and it made you anxious just thinking about it.

“I did ‘If I had a gun’ and ‘Landslide’. It went ok, my voice is a bit rough, but nothing some decent exercises won’t help.”

“Classics! I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you. I wasn’t expecting this… connection. It’s weird, like he saw me immediately, like he’d known me forever. I feel like someone’s just plugged me back into real life.”

“You should write a song about that.” She teased.

“Well, I need to. They want to move forward with me so I need to bring my A game.” You reply, anticipation fizzing in your belly.

~~~~~~~~

Let me know what you think! I'm excited to get started on this 😊 As usual, my inbox is open!

[foxes-that-run]

Little Freak

Did you dress up for Halloween? Little Freak is a sweet song, Harry is thinking about an ex and looking at the relationship with distance. It has many references to Taylor. It was written when he was in Tokyo Oct-Dec 2018. Taylor had her last Reputation concert 21 November, 2018 in Tokyo.

Little Freak was written on bad rental gear, he said it went through 19 versions before finally being on Harry's House. Ophelia is possibly written at the same time, it references Tokyo. TBSL is similar, references Taylor in a similar way, but Harry said it was written in Bath later.

To Howard Stern, Harry said if a song didn't make a previous album why would it make this one, however noted 2 songs on Harry's House are older, but they fit sonically on the album. There is another great post here.

Lyrics

Little freak, Jezebel You sit high atop the kitchen counter Stay green a little while You bring blue lights to dreams

Jezabel is possibly a reference to 'Slut!' Taylor also references this line in the opening of the Bejewelled MV "the prince would not have anything to do with that Harlot again."

Harry references kitchens in Haylor songs Sunflower Vol 6 (kiss in the kitchen), Two Ghosts (fridge light washes the room white), here it is a device to remember a calm intimacy with his muse

A Blue film is an adult film, the last line is a wet dream.

Starry haze, crystal ball Somehow, you've become some paranoia A wet dream just dangling But your gift is wasted on me

The starry haze, crystal ball is a reference to the Ready for it...? MV. Which is about Harry, he also referenced it in To be so Lonely. Ready for it also references a sexual dream "In the middle of the night, in my dreams (eh) / You should see the things we do (we do), baby" It was an impressive tour open too.

The paranoia refers to the complicated nature of their relationship (Fine Line, DBATC) he is asked about her a lot and while their songs imply they interact, they are almost never seen together so they may work hard at that.

The wet dream, just dangling, to me means unfinished business with her that he doesn't know how to resolve.

He feels her musical gifts are wasted on him, (they aren't Harry, you're the best muse)

This producer video comments on the use of a Linn drum machine as something Jack Antonoff uses on Taylor Swifts songs. (26:30)

I was thinkin' about who you are Your delicate point of view, I Was thinkin' about you I'm not worried about where you are Or who you will go home to, I'm Just thinkin' about you

This verse refers to another Haylor Reputation song, Delicate, which also tells of sexual tension. However, here Harry uses the song title to flatter her and adds that he is not feeling possessive, just thinking of her.

Did you dress up for Halloween? I spilt beer on your friend, I'm not sorry A golf swing and a trampoline Maybe we'll do this again

This verse refers to Taylor and has links back to their time dating.

Taylor does dress up for halloween, like this 2014 1989-era Pegacorn. Harry and Taylor were also both in Tokyo a few weeks after Halloween

The spilt beer is often thought to be this photo of him with Karlie Kloss on a fashion persons yacht. It looks like water in front of him but I like to imagine this is it.

Blank Space MV Taylor took a golf club to a classic luxury car. Harry has many nice classic cars. In the Red era when they first dated Taylor had a trampoline on her tennis court and it also featured in the 22 MV.

in the close he asks maybe we'll do this again, I interpret that as maybe be together again one day. Olivia, WITW and Someday maybe have similar messages.

Tracksuit and a ponytail You hide the body all that yoga gave you Red wine and a ginger ale But you would make fun of me, for sure

Above I have a grab from Miss American, which was filmed during the Rep tour, in most of the back stage, home or recording scenes she is wearing a variation on a tracksuit and ponytail.

Red wine and ginger ale mixed is a seltzer type drink, here it is an 'easter egg' as there are red wine references in a lot of Haylor songs: DBATC (My time, my wine..), Clean (You're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore), Maroon (The burgundy on my T-shirt when you splashed your wine into me), Olivia (This isn't the stain of a red wine, I'm bleeding love) and Grapejuice ("Give me something old and red")

I disrespected you Jumped in feet first, and I landed too hard A broken ankle, karma rules You never saw my birthmark

In the last verse Harry has started reflecting on how things ended, he acknowledges he disrespected Taylor. This may refer to the time in Now that we don't talk.

Harry broke his foot playing football while on tour in Ireland in October 2015, this is close to the time period in NTWDT, Harry includes a reference to Karma, Taylors maybe album, evential song from that time period.

Harry has a birthmark on his back so many think this means he has and will never turn his back on her. (I have seen another fandom say this means they were not intimate, dude- strangers on the internet can link to it)

to me the birthmark is not literal, I think she never saw his full self because of his age & the band. He spoke to both Howard Stern and Zane Lowe about all of his adult decisions being made as part of a group from 16-20. It was in a context of leaving One Direction. To me this emotional coasting (he says he was 'away' in TBSL) was a factor in the events of NTWDT and Is it over now?

But both of these are true, he won’t turn his back on her and he wasn’t his full self then.

[trashbag-baby666]

in the high school au, you talk a lot about Bucky loving Nicki Minaj, what are some of the others favorites? Songs/artists?

Screaming about music is my fav 🗣️🗣️ I’ll link what I have for MOTA playlists here!!! (Friend me on Airbuds here!)

•Bubbles LOVES Weezer. He’s so annoying about it too, Buddy Holly has to be on every playlist. His favorite song is Undone.

•Croz tells him he looks like a virgin when it’s only Weezer showing up on his Airbuds.

•The Blue Album is banned during any of Croz’s pregnancies.

•Bubbles and Croz both share a deep rooted love for Fall Out Boy, especially early day fob. Bubbles would actually die for Infinity on High or From Under the Corktree.

•Everett’s favorite song is Monster by Kanye West with Roman Holiday by Nicki Minaj coming in at a close second. (Roman Holiday is John’s favorite Nicki song too)

•Benny likes a lot of 90s grunge/butt rock. He dabbles in a lot of 2015-2019 rap. Losing My Religion by REM is definitely his favorite song. His top three favorite bands are Green Day, Limp Bizkit, and Nirvana. (Benny's playlist)

•Gale LOVES Mitski, Fiona Apple, and Kate Bush. No one likes Mitski the way Gale likes Mitski. Similar to @ihearteugeneroe , Gale’s life was ruined the day Running Up That Hill had a resurgence on TikTok.

•Dougie is in a similar music boat to Everett and John. They’re the Nicki Minaj/Ice Spice/Pinkpanthress girls. He would listen to Kanye West, let’s be real. He listens to SOME country music like Luke Bryant, Shania Twain, and a lot of fiddle playing country. He did grow up on a ranch after all..

•Brady is a Swiftie through and through. But Daddy I Love Him is his favorite song, although before ttpd came out it was either This Love or Getaway Car. He fought tooth and nail to get tickets to both night one AND two for Denver. He made him and Ham outfits for the show. Night one, they both dress up as Speak Now. (Ham is purely being dragged along for this.) night two, they did Midnight.

•Ham has an interesting music taste to say the least…he likes Suicide Boys, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi, Bones. I could go on for Ham, eventually I will make him a playlist!

•Rosie listens to a lot of big band/jazz music. He just really likes the saxophone. If you get into Rosie’s car it’s all going to be organized big band or jazz playing. Benny starts doing karaoke to it, he picks lyrics from a song that sound similar, they don’t and sings.

•Ken listens to a lot of everything, his favorites are Mac Miller, Deftones, and One Direction. Currently one of Ken’s favorite songs though has to be One Of Your Girls by Troye Sivan.

•Curt likes loves Ghost and no one likes Ghost the way Curt likes Ghost. Especially as he gets older he’s more and more into Ghost. His favorite song by them is Rats.

•other than, Ghost Curt also listens to a lot of Mac Miller, Blackbear, Deftones, and whatever John’s hyper fixated on at the moment.

•Lmk if you’d guys like more and want to see specific character playlists!!!