#this song kills me so I thought I'd put it up here in case some people haven't seen it

[voiceshearingyouloud]

Unreleased Hozier song, 'Unknown'

[yevmarie]

Light My Fire | Chapter 7

Masterlist

< Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 >

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Female Reader

Word count: 2.3k

Pronouns: you, she/her

Warnings: angst, mentions of depression, swearing, mentions of physical abuse towards other people, detailed description of typical TWD violence, differences from the main plot may occur, bad English (not my first language).

Taglist: @your-shifting-gurl @bae-live-0 @richardsamboramylove55 @deansapplepie @snailss @denisecabrera @dreamtofus @duckybird101

You were sitting near the tent, trying to occupy your mind with the book you had taken at the beginning of the outbreak when you left home. The novel was so good that you binge-read it after Rick got to the hospital. That was the only thing that distracted you somehow, almost the cure for the hours spent crying after calls with Lori, who always said the doctor's forecast had been discouraging.

Now, everything was different. Although you reunited with your friend, other things were bothering you. Thoughts rushed after every sentence being read.

Is Merle alive? Will the group come back? Should I tell everything to Rick? But that fucker Shane almost killed me today. Shit! The neck hurts so much I'd probably have bruises forming a 'necklace' in a day. Shane is scaring the hell out of me. Why is he doing that to me? Did I deserve it after all my love given to him? I think I deserve just nothing good. If any good is even left in this world…

You cursed to yourself, noticing that familiar Depression FM finding the 'right' radio wave in your mind. The host today is so cruel; he plays that shitty song with the lyrics derived from your brain. And that fucking cassette tape is broken, repeating every verse again and again. You knew what to do in such cases.

"Ms. Y/LN, there's one technique that helps to get rid of repetitive unhealthy thoughts. But it needs practice as any of them. So close your eyes and imagine a bus stop, some familiar one to you. Perhaps near your work. This must be the place you know well to add realism to your brain."

You put the book aside and leaned back on the tree to relax your body. You closed your eyes, took a deep breath, and imagined the bus stop near your office. This is a busy street full of office workers fussing around and cars honking.

"Good. Now imagine the bus you are waiting for."

You are standing in your uncomfortable office outfit, praying to catch the bus quicker and get home. And here it is!

"When it arrives, come up to it."

You make several steps, slightly losing balance as some teenage girl pushes you, aiming to get in faster than you to take a seat.

"The doors are opening, and you get in but notice one unpleasant thing… The people inside only talk about you. About your insecurities. They literally repeat your thoughts out loud, saying them to you in your face."

"You don't deserve love," an old grumpy lady says, looking at you with side eyes.

You take a step further, aiming for the part of the bus with fewer people, finding a man wearing total black: a leather jacket, jeans, massive boots, and bike gloves. He is saying nothing to you. He's not even looking at you, listening to whatever music is playing in his earphones.

"Love? Don't be ridiculous," the teenage girl who had pushed you before chuckled. "She just deserves nothing good."

Another step up to the man when he finally turns to you. Pale blue eyes, three-day stubble, a bit outgrown haircut, two cute moles on the face, one above his thin lips. Although his frame is wide and the outfit is brutal, he doesn't seem like that. He's calm.

"Daryl?" you whispered, standing up too close to him, the haunting scent mixed of his cologne, leather, and tobacco hitting your brain, sending waves of excitement through your veins.

"Yeah, talking about Daryl," a clerk sitting near you, reading a newspaper, caught your attention, "He thinks you are useless."

"Reckless," a woman cooing to her baby corrected the clerk.

"He talks to you out of pity," another voice said.

"He's not interested in you," added yet another.

All the hurtful voices meshed together, making your tears swell in your eyes. Daryl took off his earphones and passed them to you. You plugged them in and heard… Nothing! Except the silent echo of your heartbeat. You noticed people were still talking to you but couldn't hear them. Daryl cupped your face with his calloused, warm palms, still looking into your eyes. His gaze was calm, gentle, and loving. He leaned closer, narrowing the space between your faces, looking down at your lips; his breath tickled your sences as you savored the moment with anticipation.

"Ms. Y/LN, after hearing everything the passengers have told you, would you get off the bus?"

"No," you whispered, closing your eyes and feeling Daryl's lips touching yours in a sensual kiss.

FUCK!

You opened your eyes and threw the book away towards the tent.

"So, have I fallen for Daryl?" you asked yourself, desperately sighing, as surely daydreaming about the hunter wasn't planned, when suddenly you saw a familiar woman figure approaching you - Lori.

"Y/N, can I ask you to look after Carl and Sofia?" the woman's expression was concerned, obviously stressed out by something. You only nodded in consent, not wishing to talk, and stood up to go for the children. But your hope of no dialogue with the woman was dispelled in a second when she gently grabbed your forearm.

"We need to talk, Y/N."

"Enough talking for me today," you mumbled and stepped forward but were stopped again by Lori's touch.

"Please," she begged sincerely. "I… I'm really sorry for all that," her voice shaky. "I didn't know you still had feelings for him."

"You never asked," your response was just a guillotine, cutting off all potential reasoning.

"If you had only told me before… Perhaps I'd still be devastated, but I knew you were fair to me. And after some time, I'd accept it," you looked at your crying former friend and felt the pain hit your chest.

"Look, I'm not aiming to hurt you. Just trust me, it doesn't bring me any satisfaction. I'm not a monster. I just want to let you know I've always expected some tricks from Shane but not from you. Because you know what? I've always thought friendship is stronger. Love just comes and goes. But you betrayed me."

"Okay, okay," Lori nodded, sobbing, and was going to walk away, but you stepped aside and appeared on her way.

"I could overcome it and forgive you one day. But if Rick doesn't… He just doesn't deserve all of this."

"He'll never know," her answer outraged you. She was so sure you wouldn't tell Rick.

And honestly, she was right and wrong at the same time by saying this. You face the dilemma of telling Rick everything you know and destroying his family and friendship with Shane. Or you just step back and lose another close person like Rick because you'd not be able to even look into his eyes and act like everything is going fine and finally betray him by keeping silent. You didn't know what to do, and this tortured you.

"Then I'll just be nice to you for the love of Rick and Carl. I can't offer more; I'm sorry," you turned around and walked toward the campfire, leaving Lori alone. "I'll look after Carl and Sofia." 

Hours later, when you were spending time with the children, the camp was shocked by another event: Shane beat up Ed after he hit Carol. You felt sorry for the woman and reasoned her to have her rest, though you had planned otherwise before, and took your duty to help in the kitchen and stew the squirrels for the group. 

It was getting darker; the group was having dinner, but no one returned from the run to Atlanta. You saved the portions for the men and started cleaning the place you called the kitchen. You couldn't have your rest; otherwise, you would go crazy. Or eat as the food stuck in your throat again. Your nerves were being torn to shreds. 

But Amy's wrenching scream cut off the silence you mistakenly considered agonizing.

"Walkers!" people yelled. 

The chaos burst in seconds, resulting in fussing, cries, and shooting. The latter bothered you the most as it was uncontrollable, and you were scared to take a slug. You ran to the table and took a knife, scanning the situation around. Lori and Carl were hiding behind shooting Shane; that's good. You were looking for Carol and Sofia, who were near Shane as well but were more vulnerable to attack. 

You were going to run to them but heard upcoming rasps just near yourself. Turning around, you stabbed the walker's head, hearing the gut-wrenching sound of tearing skin and breaking skull. The blood spraying on your face and the smell almost made you vomit. The body fell on the ground when another walker approached you, snapping its teeth and stretching its arms to you. You kicked it in the chest so you had more space for maneuvering, swaying your arm holding the knife to damage the skull of the lying dead. 

You stood up, taking a deep breath and wiping the sweat off your forehead. Other shooting noises were reaching the camp. You heard Rick's voice calling his family when you fell, being pushed down to the ground. Your chest took a pasting by falling flat on the ground, and the air from your lungs was beaten away. You realized the snapping teeth were inches from your skin, so at least you needed to push it away from you to kill, but the body was so heavy you couldn't make a move. 

Suddenly, you felt the weight above was lifted from you, thrown somewhere away, and shot, so you jumped out of your skin, instinctively closing your ears. Then, your body was lifted easily as if you were a featherweight. An arm tugs around you, pushing your back into someone's body. 

"Ya okay?" you know this gruff voice.

You quickly nodded and squizzed his forearm, thanking god Daryl returned to the camp. 

"Stay behind; it's clear there," the archer freed you from his hug and continued shooting the dead. 

Several minutes passed when the last walker was down. You were panting, trying to catch your breath, and dropped to your knees as your muscles were aching. You looked back and saw Rick hugging his family. Carol and her daughter were safe, but the field around the camp was covered with dead flesh — the bitter payment for your close people to be alive. 

"Y/N," you heard Rick approaching you, helping you stand up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," you nodded, standing up, but your legs were wobbling, so the sheriff had to help you keep your balance by holding you by your back.

"Where's Merle?" 

"He escaped, but we couldn't find either him or his body."

The hope died in your eyes, turning your gaze to as black as night. 

"Y/N, can you tell me something?"

"Hm?" you hummed, fluttering your eyes open as if you were returning from a trance. 

"Did Merle and you..?" 

"No," you cut short his question and were trying to walk away, but Rick stopped you, standing next to you, gently holding your shoulders. 

"Is it because of Daryl?" by an odd coincidence, the name mentioned made you stiffen so that Rick's touch read your tensity.

"What do you mean?" 

"Do you like him?" 

You stiffened even more, and the opportunity to lie about something faded. Considering you were talking to the sheriff, who was too good at reading people. Furthermore, when they were close ones. 

"No. We just became friends," you put his arm aside, hinting you'd like to walk away. This dialogue was leading to some strange course. "Rick, I wanna sleep, let's talk tomorrow, okay?" 

Your friend nodded and stared after you walking away. 

"So, why do you sleep in Daryl's tent?" you stopped and turned around to the man. 

"Because you got back, and there's not enough space for four of us."

"You had already moved to Dixons. There was no stuff of yours. Or you are a medium." 

"Rick, is it cross-examining?"

"I just wonder why you behave so strangely. If you like some of the brothers, it changes everything. I'll insist on searching. If you don't have feelings but still hang out with them when your family is here. Then I assume you'd had some fighting with Lori and…"

"Hey man," Shane appeared out of nowhere, approaching Rick. "Let's discuss our plans for tomorrow. We need to do something with the bodies." 

You mentally thanked your ex and quickly walked to the tent. Getting inside of it, you noticed the archer was already sleeping. Perhaps he was so tired he didn't give a damn where he was going. And at least it's his tent. You grabbed your blanket to move to Merle's, but Daryl's voice stopped you.

"Ain't sleeping. Get inside. It's better to stick together if another horde is coming. Not gonna touch ya," the hunter's sleeping voice made some magic to you as you got in and laid down back to him without hesitation. You covered yourself with the blanket, but it was too much already as you were flushed red, and all your blood was running in hot impulses through your body.

"Is it okay?" Daryl wanted to reassure himself you were fine with this. 

"Yeah," you replied. 

"So, if Rick noticed, then when will you accept you have fallen for Daryl, Y/N?" you told yourself and shut your eyes tightly as if it would help you fall asleep faster.

< Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 >

[stedes-tarty-pink-robe]

IWTV Season 2 Episode 5 Thoughts

Great episode. It went so many places emotionally. We get Louis wising up, Armand in full predator mode and a shift in the alliances. It's no longer Armand and Louis as a "united front" against Daniel but Daniel and Louis united in pursuit of the truth.

Some thoughts as I watched:

- Young Daniel didn't have "fucking in a coffin" on his bingo card, but he wants it now that it's an option.

-  I think this episode is warming me to Danlou

     Present Daniel: did we bang back then?

     Present Louis (laughing it off) I'd never. (Gets serious) Unless you want to do it now.

- Young Daniel: "Are you the Zodiac Killer?" Daniel ... baby. I know you're high, but really? I'm glad you grew more of brain in later years. As current Daniel put it, you were a moron.

- Uh, oh. Louis's suicidal ideation popping up again. He was not just recounting the feelings from back then. He was actively longing for the sun as he spoke to Young Daniel.

- Yikes at Young Daniel presuming way too much too soon. Comparing himself to Louis's loved ones after one night is ludicrous. Didn't deserve to almost be killed for it, but yeesh.

- Louis hit hard with that speech about how dull Armand is. He doesn't need the Fire Gift for that burn.

- Holy shit. Loumand's going full A Marriage Story. These resentments needed to be aired out, but not like this. They're two vipers who know exactly where to inject their venom to make the other suffer.

- Ouch. I hate being right in this case. Past Louis walked into the sun. And here modern Louis is, his heart breaking as he realizes he had a suicide attempt he wasn't aware of.

- Oh, wow. Louis tried to reverse uno Lestat into seeking him out by publishing blatant slander just like Lestat got Louis to seek him out by sending him a love song but using his mistress's voice. God. They really are two fucked up peas in a pod.

- Poor burnt up Louis. Armand may have saved him from the sun, but he is holding that grudge something fierce. He's in full coven leader mode, dealing with witnesses and interrogating Daniel with a brutal practicality. Reasserting his dominance on Louis (emotionally) and Young Daniel (the whole shebang of torment for being the easy scapegoat). Armand is so frightening when he puppeteers Young Daniel and breaks him down to the worst aspects of himself. As Armand previously said, he's good at finding the vulnerability in the object.

- I do not believe for a second that Armand was going to let Louis go. That coffin scene is Grade A manipulation on Armand's part to guilt Louis into staying. Sure, the emotions Armand claims are real - the best manipulations have truth to them - but Armand's expertly wielding them to achieve his goals - make himself look like a love martyr and Louis feel like a bad person if he doesn't stay.

- Armand being the gentle death, soothing Young Daniel as he washes him and coaxes him into accepting an early grave. How much was Daniel's dumpster fire of a personal life the result of him chasing a high and how much was because Armand mindscrewed him into thinking that such a disappointing life was inevitable?

- Louis upped his manipulation game, too. He got Armand to spare Daniel by reaffirming the vows so to speak.

- Aww. What Louis told Young Daniel was so sweet. While Armand's words guided him to self-destruction, Louis's gave him hope in his darkest times.

- Oh, fine. Danlou can join Loustat in my prefered ships in this adaptation. You won me over, show.

- Yes! Louis finally realizes Armand scrubbed his brain like it was a crime scene. That throbbing neck vein doesn't lie. Louis is big mad at Armand.

[door]

my friend asked me for murder show recs and i put together a list of a bunch of them and thought i'd also share it here in case anyone else who was not raised by the glow of mystery! on pbs might want an intro. extremely subjective commentary, obvs. enjoy.

hello. welcome to the world of finding television shows about people getting killed comforting. it's fucked up, but who isn't. here's a list of the ones i like and why and where to watch them.

midsomer murders (1997-current): this is one of those sterotypical "it ran for 25 years and did nearly 18 episodes" british shows. it was adapted from a book series, which are the early eps. they're really fucked up and great imo. the later ones lose that sharpness, but until seasons 20+ i think it's a really solid show. the theme song is performed on a theremin. pluses: every great british actor shows up at least once, incredibly great deaths, lots of hyper niche hobby groups, tom barnaby is the best. minuses: showrunner brian true-may quoted as saying that his version of "english countryside" is entirely white. he was booted from the show at that point, however. i've watched the entire series 2-3 times, except for s5e3 "Ring Out Your Dead" because there's a death in it that i found particularly tragic the first time i watched it and have no desire to revisit it (but ymmv). robyn's fave ep is s3e3 "Judgement Day," because a brass band plays the show's theme song at a village fete and also Orlando Bloom is run through with a pitchfork. (ACORN)

Poirot (1989-2013): truly the goat. David Suchet bodies this role. i don't know how familiar you are with christie, but hercule poirot was her recurring detective character, a fastidious little belgian living in 1930s England. in this show, it's the late 1930s for 20 years, and the sets and costumes are so good. not a single streamline moderne property in england is overlooked. the early episodes are short--40ish minutes each--but they transition to 90 minutes at some point. they adapt all of the poirot books, with the big ones--murder on the orient express and death on the nile--done as higher budget tv movies. (BRITBOX)

marple (2004-2013): another christie adaptation, with 2 actresses playing miss marple in sequence. they also adapted a bunch of non-marple stories to have miss marple in them. set post-WWII, mainly countryside english mysteries. (BRITBOX)

miss fisher's murder mysteries (2012-2015, film in 2020): set in 1920s melbourne, mfmm follows independently wealthy private eye phryne fisher. it's an adaptation of modern novels, so it's less conservative than the christies. phryne's best friend is a suit-wearing lesbian doctor. it's a sharp, smart show, and phryne herself (as well as her relationship with buttoned-up detective jack robinson) is very sexy. it ran three seasons and was followed by a crowd-funded film in 2020, which isn't GOOD, but it is FUN. there's another a spin-off set in the 1960s called miss fisher's modern mysteries, which follows phryne's niece. again--not good, but fun. nothing beats the og series tho. (ACORN)

lewis (2006-2015): this is technically a spin-off of the inspector morse series, which started in the 80s, but i've never watched it so you should be fine. this follows very un-academic inspector lewis and his very academic assistant DS hathaway in EXTREMELY academic oxford england. i really dig the pacing of this, as well as how profoundly weird smart people can be. the big downside is the actor who played hathaway is laurence fox, who's a real stinker of a dude. right-wing, racist, etc. so. ymmv. (BRITBOX)

vera (2011-current): vera is a nearly retired, irascible, set in her ways detective in northumberland. she heads her own department, so part of the appeal is definitely trim youngsters dashing to do her bidding with a "yes mum." she drives a huge old land rover, wears a raincoat everywhere, has no patience for class barriers, and in short i love her. in the newer seasons there is also a detective in her squad called Jaq who is a very cute butch. (BRITBOX)

dalgliesh (2021-current): adaptation of pd james novels following detective-poet adam dalgliesh. set in the 1970s, which sets it apart and which i quite enjoy. his character is really sensitive and thoughtful is a way that's unusual for cop shows. (ACORN)

annika (2021-current): i'm gonna dive into some of the weirder ones now. annika is still pretty serious, but the title character has a habit of breaking the 4th wall to loop the audience in on the meta nature of her thoughts--usually relating to a book or story. it's set in glasgow and they investigate marine crime specifically. annika is played by nicola walker, who full disclosure i find VERY attractive. she's norwegian, she's odd, and she's trying her best. she has a teenage daughter who's gay. (PBS)

queens of mystery (2019-current): this one is VERY odd. think british murders meets pushing daisies. there's a narrator, and occasional technicolor flights of fancy. it follows a very serious detective who was raised by her three aunts after her mother was killed. she comes back to work in her home town and has to navigate both sides of her life, plus still wanting to know who killed her mother. production was interrupted by covid, so the main actress changed between seasons, but the new person is also very good. (ACORN)

brokenwood mysteries (2014-current): this one is sort of...sillier than the rest? it's a new zealand show set in a small town. it's fairly queer (although not nearly queer enough), and one of the things i love the most about it is it maintains a roster of recurring characters (which i think is only possible because of the small size of the NZ film industry). pretty good maori rep, especially jared, a local who seems to know or be related in some way to everyone in town. i adore him. he's off the show now, and i miss him. (ACORN)

mcdonald & dodds (2020-current): set in bath, this is an odd couple partnership of an ambitious young cop lately from london and a shy older cop who has lived in bath all his life and hasn't seen action in a decade. their interactions are funny and lovely, and it's refreshing to see a black woman character allowed to be ambitious. (BRITBOX)

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

Okay so I wanted to talk more about the poll listing Hero as a villain song and how little sense it makes to me. Admittedly Les Poissons also doesn't make a ton of sense as Louis is more of an antagonist not a villain but at least Sebastian sees him as a villain so it kind of works. But Hero is called well Hero for a reason, and classifying it as a villain song is strange to put it mildly.

The first lines from Hero that most fans heard where:

I would die Without regret, I'd offer up my life With zero reservations I would fly Into the sun, if that would keep our dream alive

I say most fans heard as those are the lines the song starts on in R/WBY during the Gravity fight. The first lines of the song are:

Take my hand I'm here to protect you Nothing will stop me Understand There's no sacrifice that I won't make I'll risk it all to keep you safe Trust me to be strong I'll be your hero, just hold on

Now regardless of which lines a fan heard first, both convey that James is willing to die to protect people. He is willing to sacrifice himself to protect people and keep them safe. That is not the mindset of a villain. It doesn't meet any criteria for a villain song. TVtropes describes a villain song as: "The Villain Song is an over-the-top, gloating cackle about their Evil Plan, philosophy of life, or why they do what they do" They also mention a villain song can be someone else singing about the villain and what they've done like Cruella Deville or it can be a villain trying to trick or manipulate someone to do what they want like Friends on the Other Side or Poor Unfortunate Souls.

Now lets take a look at every version of villain songs. Hero doesn't discuss some evil plan or really any plan. It's about James's desire to protect people, which definitely isn't villainous. James isn't singing it so it's not him talking about his philosophy and their is no mention about why he does what he does, only a desire to help people. No one else is even singing the song so its not like Cruella Deville and again their is no villainous deeds being discussed so even if someone else was singing about it, it doesn't work as a villain song.

Now some people might argue that it is James tying to manipulate people but again, James is not singing it, so he can't be manipulating someone when he is silently fighting a known terrorist and trying to stop him form destroying Amity Tower and killing everyone. And again, even if he was singing it, it doesn't make any sense to be "manipulating" Watts as Watts works for Salem and is helping end the world. He is not a hero in any sense so the argument James is manipulating a villain because he is a villain despite his only goal at the moment being to stop a terrorist makes no sense.

So, the song doesn't match any sort of definition of what a villain song is. Furthermore, the lyrics are not those of a villain. RW/BY songs are said to be the characters own inner thoughts. A villain would not think about being willing to die for someone or a greater goal. They would not think about offering comfort and kindness.

Now this goes more into head cannon territory but for me parts of Hero like:

Deliver you from harm Shelter in my arms The fear will surely fade Know right now the plan I made will guide us home We'll survive this storm

or: Hope's not gone, just hold on

Are words James wishes might be said to him. Just look a t how happy he is when he's told Ozpin is back and in Atlas.

Vs how crushed he is when he finds out Ozpin is gone again.

For me personally this always read as someone who is tired but carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders because their isn't anyone else who can carry it. He has to but hopes their is someone who can help him, but when he realizes that isn't the case he continues carrying the burden and continues to stand tall and offer hope and shelter to people the best he can.

Back from head cannon territory, I want to focus on this line here: Hope's not gone, just hold on

Offering assurances that the war is not lost, that they just need to keep holding on and not lose hope. Those are not the inner thoughts of a villain. They're the inner thoughts of a Hero. The very name of the song.

Even if we could convince ourselves that Hero has lyrics of a villain song. James is not yet a villain when the song plays (yet is used vey loosely here as volume 8 is just. So bad. He shouldn't have been a villain ever but that's another post). He is actively fighting Watts, someone who works for Salem, someone who is trying to end the world. He is actively working to keep people alive when this song plays. Trying to apply Hero as a villain song to an arc that happens in a volume the song never plays in makes little sense.

The writers themselves said the ending of volume 7 was supposed to be a trolley problem with no clear right answer. So calling him a villain in volume 7 also just doesn't work based on the writers own words. But again, even if the writers now say James was clearly the villain at the end of volume 7, that doesn't fix the issue of James clearly being the hero in the Gravity fight where the song Hero plays.

I don't know how else to put this, but saying Hero is a villain song is so laughably wrong it's crazy I have to discuss this at all.

[veliseraptor]

Been ruminating on possible permutations of yi city again recently and honestly I think due to his guilt complex Xiao Xingchen might have an easier time 'forgiving' (put in quotes bc forgiveness as a concept is not always entirely applicable to xuexiao) Xue Yang for tricking him into killing Song Lan, compared to if Xue Yang just straight-up killed Song Lan himself. What are your thoughts on this?

oh hmmmm. been turning this one around in my head for a bit (since you sent this ask) and thinking, because I think...hm. I don't know that "forgive" is the word I'd use here, even in the loosest sense. I actually don't think that, when it comes to Xiao Xingchen's feelings about how he was tricked into killing Song Lan, he even ever processes to the point of feeling anything coherent about Xue Yang's role in it. I think he gets as far as "my beloved companion is dead" > "I'm responsible for his beloved companion's death" and never takes the extra step to "Xue Yang is responsible for me killing my beloved companion." which is what destroys him! or at least a big chunk of what does. not what Xue Yang did (or not just that) but what Xiao Xingchen did.

this is not to say I don't think Xiao Xingchen is very upset (understatement) by what Xue Yang has done, or that he doesn't recognize his culpability. just that I think in that moment Xiao Xingchen is much more preoccupied with his own culpability than anything else.

I do think that Xue Yang's responsibility for Song Lan's death is one of the highest hurdles to clear in any speculative scenario where things aren't immediately cut off by Xiao Xingchen's death, in terms of, like, any kind of continuing relationship between Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang that's not solely antagonistic. more even than the other murders, though I think Xiao Xingchen would feel a little bad about that. if Song Lan is conscious and independent I think that can mitigate some of the anger, but I don't think it erases it.

but I also think that Xiao Xingchen would not view Xue Yang's actions as a mitigating factor in his own guilt. for Xiao Xingchen, the fact that Xue Yang manipulated him into killing Song Lan by mistake vanishes in the enormity of the fact that he killed Song Lan. the argument that could be made that Xiao Xingchen was nothing more than Xue Yang's weapon, and as culpable as a weapon would be (the same argument Wei Wuxian makes about Wen Ning, actually), wouldn't mean anything to Xiao Xingchen in terms of absolution.

I don't think Song Lan would feel that way. but Xiao Xingchen would, and I don't know that there'd be any talking him out of it. possibly he could live with it, given compelling enough reasons to do so, but he would never forgive himself, or believe that he wasn't at fault.

so I guess...it's not so much that Xiao Xingchen forgives or doesn't forgive Xue Yang, it's that the blame he would place on Xue Yang about Song Lan's death is completely drowned by the blame he places on himself.

I think if it had just been a matter of the murdered villagers, that might not be the case. I think, with that knowledge, Xiao Xingchen would be more capable of separating out his own responsibility from Xue Yang's (though...still not great). But everything with Xiao Xingchen's Song Lan feelings, particularly his preexisting Song Lan guilt feelings, is so big and personal and cuts so deep that Xiao Xingchen can't make those distinctions anymore.

[currentlyfckingurmom]

Her Song part 6

LED lights flash on beat with the electric guitar. Everyone is practically screaming, singing along with the band's cover of "Heaven's On Fire" by KISS. VIP night was technically supposed to be over an hour ago, but everybody is having way too much fun for me to end it now. Plus, I'm getting mad tips.

And I'm fairly certain that a few people snuck in alcohol, but I'm going to pretend I don't notice. Ash took Syd home an hour ago and agreed to watch her, so what do I care if people get a little rowdy. Except Zach. I'd be alright if he dialed it back a notch and kept his hands off Florence's body for five seconds.

God, I wish I could be drunk right now.

"Y/N, hey! These nights don't usually go this way!" I hear someone yell from behind me. I turn around to face them, and see a beautiful woman giving me a hazy smile.

"Oh, hey, Willow! I didn't know you were here!" I yell back over the music. Willow goes to school with Ash, and we may or may not have worked together at a certain club in the past. I've always loved hanging out with her, but I guess I've never thought of pursuing anything more.

"Yeah, I got here a couple of hours ago. It's been way too long since we've hung out. You wanna go grab a drink after this?" she asks as she steps closer to talk over the music.

"Uh, I don't know if I should. I mean, Ash is watching Syd and..."

"Come on, they'll be fine. Knowing them, they're probably already asleep. Just one drink."

I mull it over as my eyes travel across the room, spotting Florence dancing with Zach. With a sigh, I reluctantly agree. "Yeah, okay. Why not?"

"Yes! I promise you won't regret it," she celebrates.

"You better hope not," I joke with a small smirk. "I'll have the band wrap up and then close down, okay?"

"Deal," she says with a wink, sauntering back off into the crowd.

Laughing, I cross the room and beckon over one of the band members. I tell them to play one more song and they agree, so I walk back to the cafe bar to shut everything down. When the music stops, David turns the lights back on and I send Ash a text.

Me: Hey, I'm going out for a drink with Willow. I don't know when I'll be back so just put Syd to bed, please.

Ash: Willow as in the hot chick you used to work with at the club?!? Get it, girl!

Me: I'm gonna kill you. It's just a drink.

Ash: Oh, right. I forgot you have your heart set on the Brit. Don't worry about Syd, she's already out for the count. Don't forget to use protection! ;)

Me: That's not how that works. But thank you.

Florence comes up to the counter and says, "Hey, we're gonna head out. Tonight was a lot of fun."

"Good, I'm glad. Will I see you tomorrow?"

"You can count on it," she promises with a sweet smile.

Just then, Willow waltzes over to the counter and drawls, "You ready to go? I believe I promised you a night of fun."

Florence smiles bitterly at Willow, sending her a glare before turning around and walking away. She stops at the door and says, "Don't miss me too much," with a flirty wink. What the hell was that about?

"Damn, my bad. Didn't mean to piss off the illicit affair," Willow quips.

"Wait what?"

"She was totally jealous. Look, I don't wanna step on anyone's toes here-"

"You aren't, I promise. She has a boyfriend."

"Well in that case, can I buy you a drink?"

"Maybe once we actually get to a real bar. You might wanna save some of your moves for later, cowboy."

"Oh, don't worry. I've got plenty of moves I'd like to show you," she practically whispers, her eyes darting between my eyes and lips.

I clear my throat and say, "Yep, that's- that's good. Great, so we should get going."

Fumbling with my keys, I lead her out of the store and lock the doors behind us. We spend the next few hours at a bar downtown, laughing and singing and drinking way more than we probably should.

I walk her to her apartment since it's only a few blocks down from mine. Pausing in front of the doors, she looks down at her feet and says, "I had a lot of fun tonight, Y/N. It's nice hanging out with you outside of...that environment."

"Yeah, it's nice to be fully clothed and not have creepy men slipping dollar bills in our thongs," I deadpan. "Honestly, though, tonight is the first time I've gone out in a long time, and it was really fun, so thank you."

"Anytime," she whispers with a smile. I take a step back to walk away, but she asks, "Wait, can I- can I kiss you?"

Instead of answering verbally, I cup her cheek and pull her into a gentle kiss. It's slow and sweet, and everything a first kiss should be, but there just isn't that feeling of fireworks and warmth. It doesn't feel the way Florence makes me feel every time she looks at me.

I pull away and say, "Goodnight, Willow," before walking away.

"Goodnight, Brandy," she teasingly calls after me, using my former stripper name.

I spin on my heels and yell, "No way. Do not call me that, asshole! If my legs aren't wrapped around a metal pole, then Brandy is not my name."

She laughs and I flip her off, walking backwards down the street toward my apartment.

~

The next morning, I awake with a loud groan, followed by, "Ash, turn off the fucking lights!"

"That's the sun, sweetheart. Can't exactly turn it off. But I can give you advil," she says, plopping down next to me on the bed and handing me a bottle of ibuprofen.

"Ugh, you're a godsend. I could kiss you right now," I mumble as I take the pills with a swig of water.

"I know. Speaking of which, how did last night go?" she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

"It was fine. We had fun. Hence the hangover."

"Don't hold out on me now, Brandy. Did you kiss? Fuck? Buy a house and get married?"

"Oh my god, what is it with everyone calling me Brandy lately? And we kissed goodnight. But that was it."

"Really? You don't sound very excited."

"Yeah, I mean...it was nice. But-"

"But you'd rather be locking lips with the hot blonde Brit?" she finishes for me.

"God, you're so weird. C'mon, I need to get ready for work."

"I had David open it up, since you were slightly incapacitated. So take your time."

I took a quick shower and got ready for work before waking Syd up and forcing her to get ready. I ended up having to carry her to the car because she fell back asleep.

Eventually, we made it to the store. And only an hour late. I really need a better alarm clock...

"Morning, David. Sorry I'm late," I greet him.

"Mom refused to wake up. It's all her fault," Syd accuses me.

"Yeah, right. Don't lie; we're late because you wouldn't get your ass out of bed," I correct her.

"You said ass! That's a dollar in the swear jar."

"We don't have a swear jar. And you said it, too."

"It's fine, guys. And don't worry, your favorite customer hasn't stopped by yet," David interjects from behind the counter.

"Thank you, David," I sigh, ushering Syd to go do something while I put my bags in the back room and get ready for the day.

The bell above the door rings as I walk back out into the main area, and I look up to see Florence with a tired smile adorning her face.

"Good morning, Florence," I greet cheerily, before noticing that she looks kind of upset. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's nothing. Just tired, that's all. How was your night?"

"It was alright. Not worth how tired I was this morning, though," I joke as I make her tea.

"So...Willow, huh? She seems nice. She's very pretty."

"Uh, yeah, she is. We aren't- I mean her and I aren't, like, together or anything," I stutter uncomfortably.

"Right," she mumbles under her breath.

I turn around and grab a sharpie, writing "I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys" on the paper to-go cup. She barely even looks at me as she pays. She leaves without so much as saying goodbye, and I sigh heavily. Why is she so upset?

"Hot damn. Trouble in paradise?" David says with a low whistle.

I scoff and mutter, "What paradise?"

~

"Secrets I have held in my heart are harder to hide than I thought. Maybe I just wanna be yours, I wanna be yours."

[imagineee-123]

I saw your post about opinions on ai art and thought I'd give you my opinion. As a young artist, I despise it. I worry that my peers and the generations below me will see ai art generators and think 'why should I spend years learning to draw when I can just press a few keys and have what I want in seconds'. I worry that companies will use ai art and not tell anyone about it. I'm tired, I'm so tired of seeing wonderful drawings online and then having to go through their profile and zoom in on all the drawings to find ai type flaws. It feels like an insult to hundreds of years of culture and hard work.

I feel like a lot of the psychology behind ai art bros (not including companies) isn't 'hahahaha I'm going to steal art and put it through a digital meat grinder to make what I want and they can't stop me' instead, most of them believe that it's transformative, that it's ok to make and profit off of other peoples art as long as it's transformative and artists have created transformative work for hundreds of years so it's ok for them to do it too. I honestly believe that there will only be massive public backlash once ai starts digging it's claws into film and song, since only then will influential people start worrying about their jobs. (Actors, songwriters, ect)

Although I definitely do see hope. Even though many artists are giving up and leaving the internet, things like nightshade are being made, some ai users are tired of the ai not generating what they want and taking on art, ai companies are losing money because in a case of pure irony, even with subscriptions, their users don't want to pay them and their stocks are sinking. This is arguably the biggest art event in all of history, but I believe that maybe we can win it to an extent. Ai art will never fully disappear, that's just how it goes, but we can still put regulations on it....so yea. That's my 5 cents, sorry if I clogged your inbox, have a nice day/night

I really appreciate your reply! This is definitely a unique take. I really like how you mentioned the view from the other side when it comes to individuals and AI, I don't see people talk about that much.

I've sadly heard of/seen AI advertisements and such from major animation studios and even a prestigious school (Disney, A24, and Gobelins is what I'm referencing here), along with Starbursts using AI in an ad, and Airheads holding an AI movie competition. A recently trending TikTok audio is also an AI generated song (how the hell you spell chauffeur). But.. I've seen plenty of backlash for some of these things. I do agree that, unfortunately, we all have to wait for those in influential positions to care before anything changes.

I haven't seen too many people talk about AI in a more hopeful manner, but I do admire that. I don't think AI art will "kill" art in its entirety just for the reasons you listed towards the end. At the moment, AI is kind of a buzzword or hot topic, so there's a lot of attention to it. It'll eventually lose a lot of that spotlight focus over time. All we can do is speak our minds and protest in the ways we can while we await regulations around AI "art".

There's so much to discuss about this topic, and I really appreciate different opinions about it being shared. It does help me better understand the topic and think of things I probably hadn't noticed about it before. I love having conversations like this. Thank you for reaching out and replying to my post!

(Completely unrelated sidenote. It was like 12 a.m. when I wrote this. Spelling is hard when you're tired hdhdhudjwiw)

[resurrection-of-soul]

Flashback | PSYCHOBREAK 11

Writer: Akira (日日日)

Characters: Rei, Adonis, Koga, Kaoru

Rei: What the heck, you're gonna make me cry… It's enough to move even my weary, withered heart. I've been thirsty for so long… But right now, strangely, I feel satisfied.

[ For the best viewing experience, please read directly on my blog! ♪ ]

Rei: ~………♪

Adonis: Oh? Sakuma-senpai, where did you get that guitar?

Rei: This is the temple belongin' to bouzu's family, yeah? I remembered leavin' a buncha instruments in their storehouse, so I went and grabbed 'em just now.

Koga: What are you, a couple that just broke up?

Rei: Emotionally, it really does feel like that. Even though we're cooperatin' like this at the moment, I don't think there's a~any hope of us gettin' back together. Even if he wants us to, I'm to~otally not into him anymore. Cause y'see, right now, I'm in the mood for new encounters ♪ ♪~♪~♪

Adonis: Ohhh… What a great song. Even though the melody is very aggressive, when you listen to it, it makes you feel strangely uplifted. Oogami, you composed a song like this all by yourself? That's amazing.

Koga: Y-yeah… But it's just that the person performin' it is crazy skilled…. In Sakuma-senpai's hands, even a mediocre song'll become a masterpiece.

Rei: Aw, he's feelin' shy. How nice it is to be so young n' innocent~. I wanna regain those kinds of pure feelings too~ Or rather... I'm sure that's exactly what Pup was hopin' for when he named us UNDEAD. Just like Adonis-kun, he sensed I was feelin' down, though in his case it mighta been subconscious… He was hopin' t' help me regain my liveliness so I could be revived. What the heck, you're gonna make me cry… It's enough to move even my weary, withered heart. I've been thirsty for so long… But right now, strangely, I feel satisfied. I suppose, more than a million compliments… What I wanted was someone's pure feelings. ♪~♪~♪

Kaoru: Ohhh~ I don't really get what's going on here, but you guys sure are lively, huh~?

Rei: Yo, Hakaze-kun. Nice entrance, ya nailed the "executive comin' to check in on his employees" vibe. Just when I was startin' t' worry ya wouldn't show, too.

Kaoru: There's no way I'd be a no-show… After all, as the one who hired you to exterminate the "vampires" it's, like, totally my duty to make sure you guys don't slack off, right? I never thought I'd end up being part of a group as weird as "UNDEAD," though.

Rei: You're also an aspirin' idol at Yumenosaki academy, ain'tcha? So you'll be a valuable asset.

Kaoru: Don't get your hopes up, 'kay~? I'm notorious for slacking off at school. But, well, if I wanna protect my workplace — my place to belong — then I guess I'll have to put in some effort for once. What a pain, just kill me now~♪ So, that said, I totally made some promotional flyers to hype up tomorrow's showdown. Hand them out to your friends, 'kay? Though with the exception of Sakuma-san, who's super well-connected, it'll probably be a drop in the bucket. Also, I got a fancy stage all set up. Or well, not just me personally, but all the guys who run the shops downtown. They're super enthusiastic about helping out. I would have liked to get custom stage costumes too, but, like? I didn't know your measurements, and I figure there's probably not enough time to get anything made, anyway.

Rei: That's fine by me~ It ain't like our enemies are gonna be all that thorough either, so it'd look better if we just sing in our school uniforms, rather than showin' up in full costume n' comin' off as total try-hards. It'll be fair n' square; a real, proper match.

Koga: Hmm… So the reason we haven't seen ya at all up 'til now ain't cause you were slackin' off, you were actually busy gettin' a buncha stuff ready. I'm seein' you in a new light, Hakaze…senpai. Ya step up to the plate when it counts.

Kaoru: Yup, yup! I'm the kind of man you can rely on~ Really, it's true ♪

Koga: Yeah. Ya seem irresponsible at first glance, but you're actually a reliable guy. I'll remember that.

Adonis: Yes. You have been filling in the gaps we did not notice. It's a big help.

Kaoru: Even so, I still think we're, like, totally unprepared~ I mean, honestly. We've got the venue all set up, but we're seriously lacking in terms of practice, aren't we? The live to exterminate the "vampires" is tomorrow, isn't it? At this point, aren't we basically just winging it?

Rei: Well that's exactly why we're havin' this little get-together, yeah? It's also a chance for us to get t' know each other, since we're a newly formed unit n' all.

Adonis: It is more of a reorganization than a formation, though.

Rei: Ahaha. Funny how Adonis, who's the least familiar with Japanese, is the most precise about the meanin' behind words.

Adonis: Words are important.

Rei: Sure are. In this country, there's a belief known as kotodama¹. I heard about it from a good friend of mine who passed away recently—

Koga: Hasumi-senpai ain't actually dead, y'know… Even though he decided to work from behind the scenes, he's even more fired up about this than us. He even went and convinced his parents to let us use this place for practice without us even askin'.

Kaoru: He needn't have bothered, though~ We could've just, like, practiced at my family's live house.

Rei: 'Tis a good thing, ain't it? The weather's lovely today, and there doth lie a certain sense a' refinement in singin' n' dancin' beneath Mr. Sun's rays. We're gonna be huntin' "vampires," thus let us soak up their greatest weakness n' amass as much of its power as we may. ² ♪~♪~♪

Kaoru: A-are things really going to be okay like this~? You're talking, like, super optimistically and all, but do we have any guarantee that we can actually defeat the "vampires?"

Rei: Nobody knows the future. Not even me, obviously. But, somehow, I feel like things'll work out. For some reason, there's some gramps-like guy inside my head agreein' with me, goin' all, "Aye, 'tis exactly so," too.

Kaoru: What do you mean, "some guy inside my head"? Are you drunk?

Adonis: I asked the same thing earlier.

Rei: I'm perfectly sober. We're the ones who're gonna get rid of the delinquents, so there's nooo way I'm gonna go around breakin' the law like 'em. Without descendin' to the level of our enemies, we'll become like the sun and burn away the vices which corrupt the earth. Leave it to me. I'm feelin' oddly good, so I'll give it my all in tomorrow's performance. I can't say for sure what'll come after, but I can guarantee ya this much, at least.

[ ☆ ]

← Prev | All | Next →

Kotodama, or the soul of language, is the belief that words, especially names, hold power. Words must therefore be chosen with deliberate care, as they can have real effects on you and the people/things around you. You know how in shows and movies, martial artists always yell "Hyah!" or smth along those lines prior to attacks? That practice is rooted in this principle, with the idea that a confident, aggressive shout lends power to the attack. (Which is also why every shounen anime ever has the chars going around shouting their attack names.)

Rei is speaking in a haphazard mix of his delinquent and archaic old man speech for these lines. Yes, it does sound just as bizarre in JP as it does in ENG.

[tackyink]

Convention haul! There wasn't barely any BG3 merch and the only thing I was interested in was gone before I found the artist's table. Still, my poor wallet...

First is the last volume of a very cute fanzine I've been reading for years, two Ace Attorney prints and a DS charm with the least heterosexual lawyers ever, all by the Wonderpun folks, Paula and Diego, who I barely see once a year for five minutes but are really lovely and funny people. They are exquisite pun artists and regale us with fanzines solely dedicated to them, not to mention the constant stream Diego posts on Twitter. They also make assorted merch for Pokémon, Ace Attorney, Yakuza, Resident Evil... There's a ton, check them out yourselves. Here's their online shop. All the JJK stuff is from an artist that didn't include any kind of business card and now I can't send you to his social media. OTL The print and Geto charm are for a friend.

As if this were exonerating at all, I feel I should stress that the fanzine and all its extras were already paid for because I joined the crowdfunding campaign this summer.

I also picked up a cheap set of dice and Fire Emblem cipher cards because you know, it's been a long time since I spent any real money at a convention. Prices are inflated, you can buy everything off the internet nowadays, and I had left the Artist Alley pretty unscathed, so I knew I wasn't going to spend much more.

Then I found a retro videogames stand with Japanese imports. They had Vita games. Japanese otome Vita games.

THEY HAD THE ONE HAKOUKI GAME I'VE WANTED TO GET FOR 10 YEARS WHAT THE HELL

They also had Amnesia World for the same price and I thought about going back for it if I didn't spend a lot the following three days.

One shop had a bunch of YYH figures, including two I'd never seen of Hiei and Kurama that put together replicate the cover page of the Two Shots chapter, and sent a video to a friend who's a huge Hiei fan but couldn't make it to the con to ask if I should get it for her. She took three days to make a decision. More on this later.

After this, we found a place that sold vintage haori and I kind of fell in love at first sight with one. The sign said they were 30€ and up, but I have a vintage silk haori with some damage on the sleeves and that one was already 50€. I'd never seen one in good condition for less than 60€. Knowing that the price would be way out my budget, I asked anyway.

It was just 30€.

Excuse the shitty picture, but !!!! Those cranes!!! The lining!!!!!

And remember the lady who ran out of her stand to do my hair? This below was the result. 10/10 marketing tactic.

At this point I'm repeating over and over inside my head "This is fine" like the dog from the meme. I'm getting extra pay this month, no harm done, it's not like I spend money the rest of the year. This is it, I've already seen the entire venue, I'm immune to temptation, I'm probably not getting that second game. <-this is not foreshadowing

Before calling it a day, I asked my friends to try and find again the retro games shop to remember exactly where it was in case I wanted to go back, because the next days were going to be much busier and it's always difficult to move with so many people.

Turns out on the way there there was another import shop I had glossed over because it sold mostly trading cards and CDs, but I went to look at the table anyway because haha what's the harm you already know where this is going. (⊙x⊙;)

The harm was basically half the recent group discography of Quartet Night. ಥ_ಥ They were pretty cheap, but I painted over the price because I'm still embarrassed and pissed, why the hell did I have to look. I am now the not so proud owner of the Quartet Night single where they dressed the idols as bullfighters without shirts and I can't even be angry about it because the song was good. Look at this. The second hand embarrassment is killing me. Anyway! Not getting the game for sure.

The next two days passed without any further damages to my wallet, which were admittedly quickly forgotten as soon as I got tackled by the girl I totally don't have a crush on when she saw me dressed as Hancock and whose dinner I paid for only because she treated us to a lot of places when we visited her city this summer. That night, before the last day, I had to insist to my home-bound friend to make up her mind already because I couldn't be glued to the phone while wearing cosplay, pushing a wheelchair and socializing with people I only see twice a year.

I'd decided the first day I'd get the Kurama figure only if she told me to get her a Hiei as well. She sent me a text past 12 AM saying she wanted it. In the morning I receive a message from the friends I was arriving to the venue with every day saying that after three days they cannot fucking move and are tapped out. I cannot fucking move either because Hancock's shoes destroyed my feet, but I go anyway, as soon as I can, because I'm a woman on a mission to retrieve a friend's husbando.

I went straight to the shop before joining up with anybody else and the Hiei figure was gone from the display case, along with another Hiei, the only Kuwabara and one Kurama. Mission failed. I asked one of the sellers about the Kurama one and she told me all except the one on display were sold out, so there was no box, and it was for the best because I was able to store him inside my bag. Here he is. I'm jealous of his sweater.

After that, I joined my totally-not-a-crush for the rest of the morning and went to a panel where they gave us a bit of sake and Kobe beef while we waited for our other friends. The rest of the day went well, we saw a lot of people and said goodbye to everyone, and instead of going to the Korean BBQ place we had planned, the remaining four of us moved the dinner to the sandwich/pizza/crepe place across the street from our incapacitated friends.

I am now taking a vow of poverty until April.

[fawnforevergone]

Currently Known Hozier "Unreal Unearth" Lyrics (Part Two)

PART ONE: "Currently Known Hozier "Unreal Unearth" Lyrics (Part One)"

This is part two of all the currently known lyrics from Hozier's upcoming album; I spent ages finding these so I thought I'd collect them in one place and share in case anyone else was curious !! (Note: All of these leaks have been from Hozier himself, I wouldn't post them if they weren't! All sources will be linked above each song.)

This post is huge, sorry in advance before you click "keep reading" !!

DISCLAIMER: Sorry if any of the lyrics end up being incorrect! It's hard to hear what's being said through some concert videos at times, but, nevertheless, enjoy!

Source: Hozier's Youtube !!

(10) "All Things End" A two-tonne weight around my chest feels like It just dropped a twenty-storey height. If there was anyone to ever get through this life With their heart still intact, they didn't do it right. The last time I felt your weight on my chest, you said, "We didn't get it right, but, love, we did out best." And we will again. Moving on in time and taking more from Everything that ends. And all things end. All that we intend is scrawled in sand And slips right through our hands. And just knowing That everything will end Should not change our plans When we begin again. I have never known a silence like the one fallen here, Never watched my future darken in a single tear. I know we want this to go easy by being somebody's fault, But we've gone long enough to know this isn't what we want, And that isn't always bad. When people say that something is forever, Either way, it ends. And all things end. All that we intend is scrawled in sand And slips right through our hands. And just knowing That everything will end Should not change our plans When we begin again. Source: A Pre-Sale Postcard !!

(11) "To Someone From A Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe)" The feel of coldness only water brings. There are some things no-one teaches you, love, That come natural as a dream You didn't know you were in. And, darling, all my dreaming Is only put to shame. And, darling, all my dreaming Has only been given a name. Source: Hozier Live Show !!

(12) "Butchered Tongue" As a child, it was the place names, Singing at me as the first thing. How the mouth must be employed in Every corner of itself to say 'Apachiacola', Or 'Hushpeckena', like 'Gweebarra', A promise sung of somewhere else. And, as a young man, bless to pass so many road signs And have my foreign ears made fresh again On each unlikely sound, But feel home hearing the music That few still understand; A butchered tongue, still singing here Above the ground. And ears were chopped from young men If the pitch cap didn't kill them. They are buried without scalp In the shattered bedrock of our home. You may never know your fortune Until the distance has been shown Between what is lost forever And what can still be known. So far from home To have a stranger call you 'darlin' And have your guarded heart be lifted Like a child took by the hand. In some town that just means home to them, With no translator left to sound, A butchered tongue, still singing here Above the ground. Source: A Pre-Sale Postcard !!

(13) "Anything But" In a shot, I'd swap my body for a body of water, Worry the cliffside top as a wave crashing over. I'd lower the world in a flood, Or, better yet, I'd cause a drought. If I was a riptide, I wouldn't take you out. Source: A Pre-Sale Postcard !!

(14) "Abstract (Psychopomp)" The poor thing in the road, Its eye still glistening. The cold wet of your nose, The earth from a distance: See how it shines, See how it shines. Source: Hozier's Youtube !!

(15) "Unknown / Nth" You know the distance never made a difference to me. I swam a lake of fire, I'd have walked across the floor of any sea, Ignored the vastness between all that can be seen And all that we believe. So, I thought you were like an angel to me. Funny how true colours shine in darkness and in secrecy. If there were scarlet flags, they washed out in the mind of me, Where a blindin' light shone on you every night And either side of my sleep, Where you were held frozen like an angel to me. It ain't the being alone. It ain't the empty home, baby. You know I'm good on my own. Sha-la-la, baby, you know, it's more the being unknown. So much of the livin'. love, is the being unknown. You called me angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me. You smile, now, I can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth. And, what's left of it, I listen to it tick, Every tedious beat, Going unknown as any angel to me. Do you know I could break beneath the weight Of the goodness, love, I still carry for you? That I'd walk so far just to take The injury of finally knowing you? It ain't the being alone. It ain't the empty home, baby. You know I'm good on my own. Sha-la-la, baby, you know, it's more the being unknown. And there are some people, love, who are better unknown.

We have nothing for the closing track, "First Light", but that's all the more exciting !! REMEMBER TO STREAM ON THE 18TH OF AUGUST !!!!!!!!! okay, cool, bye :]

[strangefellows]

OH RIGHT

I didn't mention here but earlier this month I watched the live action One Piece - I'd been excited for it for MONTHS because while I'd read some OP like a decade ago (back when the US had monthly SJ) I'd only gotten to Skypiea and then the next thing I remember reading is the Sabo flashback after Marineford; at the time the comedy aspects and the art style put me off so I'd never gotten Into It Properly, stuck with Naruto and Bleach - and uh.

I may have binged the entire manga in the span of 8 days. All 1092 chapters. (Well its 1093 now but that's my first caught-up chapter lmao.)

Oops?

IN ANY CASE: Rambling about thoughts under the cut:

Fav character wise, tied for first place favorite are Sanji and Zoro, but honestly Sanji wins if I had to choose one; on top of the fact that cooks are a weakness of mine, WCI came directly for my throat. Outside of the Straw Hats, though, I adore Sabo (which I'd already decided a decade ago solely off the flashback that destroyed me even back then with no context) but Law is my absolute favorite from the rest of the cast oh my god Dressrosa ALSO came for my throat with Law.

Honorable mentions are Shanks (Hot Dad coded and a redhead!), Buggy (the OPLA did wonders for that but he's a glorious disaster anyway), and Crocodile (don't @ me it's 80% because of That One Theory). Also Luffy is probably my top favorite Straw Hat after the Idiot Duo because it's impossible not to like him once you get used to him. I like almost everyone though.

Obligatory list of ships: ZoSan (my one weakness, couple that bickers constantly but would also kill/die for each other), Lawffy (LawLu?), Frobin, NamiVivi, Usopp/Kaya because OPLA, Buggy/Shanks [it's Cid/Nero FFXIV coded okay they're divorced as hell], and Kid/Killer (Wano....Wano got to me...)

Favorite arcs are definitely Thriller Bark and Impel Down pre timeskip, but post timeskip Dressrosa and WCI are pretty evenly tied.

Uh. IDK what else. I can't wait for OPLA S2 please I need to see live action Ace and Smoker and Bon Clay (#CastADragQueenForMr2) and Crocodile.

OH RIGHT I also watched movies 11-15 and I can rank them easy:

Film: Red (UTA....MY DAUGHTER...I was a bawling wreck...the music fucked too)

Film Z (ALSO GOT ME VERY EMOTIONAL, that song they kept singing ended me)

Stampede (the massive ensemble guest stars slapped and Bullet was legitimately terrifying)

Film: Gold (I liked meeting Nami's ex-girlfriend and A+ Final Fight Scene)

Strong World (Shiki for someone who's like the only solidly canon movie boss you were very underwhelming dude)

I have a few theories that I like/etc but we won't throw that onto the fire here lmao. So excited to see where the final saga goes.

[dizzy-and-friends]

A lead brick, and a glass oven.

"She's dead, Leaf. Let it go. Stop this." Ten minutes after Umi pulled a gun on me, she finally held it at a low ready, just itching to take my leg out from under me. the conversation got really stale. She followed me onto this old balcony, watching the banquet through the tiled colours of stained glass and fake moonlight. Umi didn't have to chase me, I was here the whole time. This was my new grave-stone. 70 story tall Glass Bottle full of rich flats. If she shoots me here, at least I'll die before i hit the weird fake concrete. Her arguments were stale, and honestly, so were mine. We were both winded, tired, hungry. Thirsty... Her gun was met with my gun. My suit matched the white metallic finish, and all the dirt and blood from my hands. Quite a pair, Its a shame i never got this suit dry cleaned. I'd fill you in on the details, but... "She's alive, I saw her. If she died, you killed her. Don't bullshit me, Umi. We've been through too much. I saw her face, I kissed her on the fucking cheek before she got dragged out. My lips almost melted on her face, Umi, I know she was alive."

Umi grimaced at me, she hates this part of the talks. Every time she has to put me out, cool me off, its this whole missing girl case. It ate me up. It burned me. I was upside down about it. Umi probably orchestrated the whole thing to fix some bullshit between me and the girl's father. She obviously thought I was off my bullshit - but really I was just off my meds. I was going underground.

"You're a peace talker, Leaf. Always have been. You're not supposed to kick doors. You left that behind in the Eurocare death-squad. Leaf, please. Ira is gone. IRA. Is no more."

Umi had a way with words, she spoke in riddles. I didn't always understand them, because of this fucking language barrier. Her weapon stayed in I've gotten way better at it. I tend to learn how to speak local dialects faster when I'm deeper with the crowd. So I took my jacket off, maybe ease her mind a bit. I was only armed with the pistol and a dead-switch. Hooked to several metal pipes of her favorite colour. I was a walking cluster-mine, and at this height we were only a stone's throw away from the Glass wall between me and the Ocean of stars and red Sand on the other side of this stupid mars-dome thing. Umi didn't even look that surprised, so i guess she expected it.

I always hated colony life.

"Darling, I don't speak mandarin too well, you know that. But you're making this hard to believe." I paused to scratch my temple with the barrel of my pistol, finger floating just over the trigger. Umi stepped back, and had a little bit of a sweat in her tough girl poker face. Umi makes a great mom because of that poker face. Her kids can't ever get a read on her, and to be honest, I'm struggling with it too. At least now she had her gun pointed at me properly. I was a threat, suddenly. "I just can't understand your plot, here. You don't cut my brakes, ram my car, take my Glitter and throw it all in the fire. I invented fire. I put that fire out for you. Every night i sang that song, I danced those steps. Each Night I kept the fire down for you."

Umi was silent for a moment while i brought my gun back to face her, generally speaking. At this point she'd need a sixty hard head start to avoid the debris.. and this little patio was only big enough for a bed and a camera to point at it, so we didn't have much choice but to talk it out. "Then I'll Say it in french, dumbass."

Umi didn't like talking to me in my language, she always said it made her feel stupid. I She spoke okay, I could understand her just fine after all these years. "She is gone, Leaf. Stop the game. No more bombs, no more guns. You're bleeding me dry, and once I'm off the table you're going to start hearing choir bells and a burning piano. There are bigger issues at play here, and Andrea is good as dead, too. Close the book. Stop." When you work for these assholes, you really learn to speak one way, and talk another. There were a dozen ways I could interpret her weird stresses, and dumb accent. None of the obvious ones were new to me. I did not ask her for shit I already knew, though. I wanted to hear her admit that she tried to glass me and my date. I wanted to know where the girl was taken. The only reason her captors would still be alive is that she was too injured to fight back. "I know it hurts, but i respect your ability to really 'dumb it down' for me. Maybe they are dead. I know you can't let me go, not after all this. If i stop now, if I close this book... How do you plan on getting me out of it? Kill me? That's not very shrewd."

Umi would have rolled her eyes at me, if it weren't for the guns and explosives involved. She groaned and shifted her shoulders. Her stone like position on the balcony was a little more sloppy. I finally got her angry at me. "Pull your head out of your ass king, we are both dancing tonight because you have the trigger, and I need you to cool down before we all go through a hole in the glass. This is not you. You don't work like this. Innocent people die if you don't stop this" Umi was people-people. She enjoyed the old worlds idea that business on the streets doesn't mix drinks with the civilians. But unfortunately, this dome killed its last civilian. Admitedly, i was tired of the systema, and the drugs, and the turf war. We had to make dirty deals for fucking water pumps to get fixed some times. These people were idiots, and swimming around a sinking ship like rats in oily water. "INNOCENT isn't really what we like to do here on mars! S'long as syndicat is operational, as long as you have a job, every one in this god damn dome is dirty." I was a little pissed off, and the heat in my voice could have caused steam from the dew on my cheeks. I was crying when she found me, and haven't had good time to stop and finish that cry.. hard to choke that shit back for 20 minutes straight. Umi let me catch my breath, really let me cook on that ideal of innocent civilians for a moment - then she stuck her nose in my fucking business again.

"What about Valeriya? -- I was livid. Beside myself. I interupted her, and the conversation devolved from here. "What ABOUT IRA!" I screamed, hot spit flicking through my teeth and down my lips. I heaved each breath through my nose like a bottle rocket. Both hands folded around my gun to meet her eyes with the barrel. Slowly she breathed, and she let me cook off. She opened her mouth to speak again as I dropped a long sigh of grief. "Think, Leaf, -- What about The kids? I've been working for years to de-escelate" Umi used that saccharine tone to speak through my anger, but I was a hot iron in the ashes of a dead blacksmith. Just waiting to be put in the water, so i interrupted her repeatedly. "Fucking joke, Umi? don't fucking joke!" i was loud, Black-out mad, and still huffing my breath. Umi raised her voice to get over my emotional bagge. " DE-ESCALATE this shit, bring it off the streets. We work at the arcade now, you know that! You made that with me! Its working, Leaf, just slow down and think." She preached to me about this shit constantly. She felt like some kind of saintly mother-sister-thing. The proud body of nourishing justice just waiting to see the end of the violence to tell the people that it was her idea the whole time. Umi wanted to be the last boss standing at the end of the seven year war, when all hell breaks loose and corporate gets involved. "You're JUST playing the same shit, there is no progress here. We're not disarming the gang war. We are the gang wars. The entire club is just a gangwar. How many tables, bullet holes, how many wom-" Umi tried to interrupt me. It didn't go well. "Too many, too many, i know. I know. Just" "YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT, UMI. WHERE IS SHE?" I took four steps forward and put her gun over my heart, and exposed the wires under my dress shirt that lead to the heartbeat signal. The bomb was wired back to my life and her life was wired to my death. The commotion stirred my cuff-links enough to expose my watch - a digital reminder of the death trigger. She screamed at me, "LET HER GO! I ALREADY FIXED THIS THREE YEARS AGO. I TOLD YOU TO TAKE A VACATION." the saftey on her 45 dropped and her hand was cool, steady. She was ready to let her kids live if it meant raining glass all over the city below. I didn't buy her bluff, but i let her take the gun from my chest to my head. My hands were resting low now. "Bullshit... I muttered, and ripped the cables out of my arm. "leaf, no, no no." The whole harness of wires came with it. The signal flatlined, my smart watch said so at least. I looked at her beautiful eyes and used my singing voice. "Lets take a nice cold walk."

Nothing happened, of course. Not to us. Not immediately.

".. You were bluffing.." two miles away, the dome's rain system went off. The emergency sirens started blaring. It was loud, the sky shook. I took one of the pipes from my vest, and unscrewed the cap, to take a sip of the clean water inside. "No, I just always loved the rain. I like to think Ira enjoyed the rain, and shitty coffee, too. You capsule lovers always think i'm going after the glass. You worry so much about being sucked into space or getting stuck in the sand, that you never worry about the water." Umi looked up, but the falling rain burned her eyes a little. Unusual for martian simulations of rain. The thunder wasn't real either but i thought it was a nice touch. "There is no redemption here, Umi. It is all Pear Shaped now.. Coporate will be around to fix this shit soon. Go hug your kids."

Umi was rubbing the shit out of her eyes, and I gave her my old sunglasses from my coat pocket. My hat covered my eyes, so I picked that off the ground and put my coat back on. I handed her the entire dome on a silver tray. All she has to do is survive the fall. Once coprorate kick the doors in at the star-port, this whole mafia-mob-triad bullshit love game will wither in the sun. Theres no one on earth that would think a dome with dirty water could turn a profit. Umi shot me in the arm, and i was lucky she wasn't aiming for anything good. She took one of my water cans and walked off.

"You're welcome, and go to hell. You're an evil woman, Leaf.."

[mlobsters]

supernatural s5e16 dark side of the moon (w. andrew dabb, daniel loflin)

not knockin' on heaven's door 😥 this song breaks my heart already from how they used it in this scene:

s2e13 houses of the holy

SAM I don't know, Dean, I just, uh ... I wanted to believe ... so badly, ah ... It's so damn hard to do this, what we do. You're all alone, you know? And ... there's so much evil out there in the world, Dean, I feel like I could drown in it. And when I think about my destiny, when I think about how I could end up ... DEAN Yeah, well, don't worry about that. All right? I'm watching out for you. SAM Yeah, I know you are. But you're just one person, Dean. And I needed to think that there was something else, watching too, you know? Some higher power. Some greater good. And that maybe ... DEAN Maybe what? SAM Maybe I could be saved.

there's a reason i've only read a couple post-series set in heaven fics. emotional damage.

like jabbing every emotional soft spot i have with a stick

DEAN It’s okay, Mom. Dad still loves you. I love you, too. I’ll never leave you.

MARY You are my little angel. How 'bout some pie? Okay.

DEAN What?

SAM I just never realized how long you’ve been cleaning up Dad’s messes.

jfc dude. so sam's first memory is thanksgiving with some random girl's family, then his second is running away? guess we're poking dean's soft spots with a pointy stick too

DEAN Is this Flagstaff?

SAM Yeah. (He pets Bones.) Hey, boy.

DEAN This is a good memory for you?

SAM Yeah. I mean, I was on my own for two weeks. I lived on Funyuns and Mr. Pibb.

DEAN Wow.

SAM What?

DEAN Well, you don’t remember, do you? You ran away on my watch. I looked everywhere for you. I thought you were dead. And when Dad came home…

SAM Dean, look, I’m sorry. I never thought about it like that.

i didn't think it was possible for an episode to make me cry as much as that djinn episode but hey they did it. good job. what the fuck

DEAN Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This? This is the night you ditched us for Stanford, isn’t it? This is your idea of heaven? Wow. This was one of the worst nights of my life.

okay so. is this a plot point, someone trying to drive a wedge between them or something. because this is fucking awful.

DEAN C’mon! Your heaven is somebody else’s Thanksgiving. Okay. It’s bailing on your family. What do you want me to say?

fucking AWFUL.

latest thing i read in fic first and thought there was no way it was canon. soulmates.

ASH Mm-hmm. Yeah. See you got Winchesterland. Ashland. A whole mess of everybody-else-lands. Put them all together: heaven. Right? At the center of it all? Is the Magic Kingdom. The Garden.

DEAN So everybody gets a little slice of paradise.

ASH Pretty much. A few people share—special cases. What not.

DEAN What do you mean ‘special’?

ASH Aw, you know. Like, uh, soulmates. Anyway. Most people can’t leave their own private Idaho’s.

i missed ash. he was a fun character and his actor did a great job bringing him to life

ASH This ain’t the first time here. I mean, you boys die more than anyone I’ve ever met.

DEAN Really.

ASH Ah, yeah… you don’t remember. God! Angels. Must’ve Windexed your brain.

i'd always wondered about that, all those times they died before, what happened before they were revived.

my pamela. glad to see her too. little wary of the soft sell on saying yes to michael though

DEAN So he’s just going to sit back and watch the world burn?

JOSHUA I know how important this was to you, Dean. I’m sorry.

DEAN Forget it. Just another dead-beat dad with a bunch of excuses, right. I’m used to that. I’ll muddle through.

JOSHUA Except… you don’t know if you can, this time. You can’t kill the Devil, and you’re losing faith, in yourself, your brother, and now this?

a) whenever dean talks shit about dad i'm like DAMN STRAIGHT b) hopeless dean makes a self destructive dean, can we not again, please

great. cas is a hopeless mess too.

SAM We’ll find another way. We can still stop all this, Dean.

DEAN How?

SAM I don’t know, but we’ll find it. You and me, we’ll find it.

that was one thing i did look up in future seasons because i'd seen so much samulet fix-it fic. i always thought he tossed it in some random public trash, but this makes it even easier for sam to just pocket it.

Mama take this badge off of me I can't use it anymore It's getting dark, too dark to see I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door

Mama put my guns in the ground I can't shoot them anymore That long black cloud is comin' down I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door

[birlwrites]

hi there!!

i was wondering if you have a playlist for atfhv, and if you don’t or don’t want to share it (which is totally fine, obviously), are there any songs that you associate with the story, or even certain characters or relationships/dynamics? i’m really curious about that <3

— 💌

hi!! (this post got LONG because i thought i wouldn't have much to say on this and then discovered i have a ton to say on this and didn't want to cut any of it - there are. so many songs listed at the end ajflshgsjdhfd especially because i started putting in little snippets of explanation and now this post is monstrously long oops. but same goes for atfhv so i don't know what i expected. there's a TL;DR of songs i associate with particular characters/relationships at the end)

i don't have a specific playlist for atfhv - i tend to make them for moods rather than fics and switch around accordingly, but tbh what i ACTUALLY do is pick one song and loop it so i can concentrate

there was one ~dark academia ambience~ youtube video i used to listen to a lot but i'm looking for it now and i think it got deleted which is TRAGIC. it had a really nice balance of fireplace to piano music and the piano was playing this like... two-minute-long piece with lots of arpeggios and would just start over again from the beginning and it was GREAT. :(

there's also this ambient noise mixer (slytherin-themed, appropriately enough) - i usually decrease the frequency of the door closing since it distracts me and turn up the fire since i like fireplace sounds

i most recently looped the killing kind by marianas trench for like 3-4 hours during a writing session - it escalates SO dramatically afsjghsdkfj, like 'set those ghosts alight chapter 24' dramatically (if you need your memory refreshed, that's the chapter that begins with regulus visiting bellatrix for tea post-coma)

but that's all the stuff i listen to while i'm writing. with regard to songs i associate with the story, it never really occurs to me to go looking for lyrics that line up with certain characters/relationships? but there are songs that *aurally* line up with atfhv in general - like, on a vibe level. here are some of those, in no particular order:

(i also went and looked at the lyrics for most of these to see if there was anything interesting to comment on there afjslghdkjsf. ALSO there are a few that i do in fact associate with particular characters or relationships but they're kind of buried in the list - so i put those in a shorter list at the end of the post)

arsonist's lullabye - hozier - one thing about me is that i like bass. also in this case the lyrics kind of sort of fit! ok moving on

tempt you (evocatio) - nothing but thieves - this one has a very *particular* vibe that doesn't always quite line up, mostly because it's slow and not a particularly intense song (kind of like arsonist's lullabye). but i like it and sonically it fits so on the list it goes! in general, songs by nbt tend to have appropriate vibes for not just atfhv, but also like......... most of my regulus-centric fics afjslghsdkf. see the second bullet point list for more

i like the way you die - black honey - again not what i'd call a SUPER intense song (although more so than the previous two), but it's crunchy. this is the sort of song i'd listen to while writing a Regulus Roast™ that isn't super defensive (the defensive ones involve much more tragic/angry music)

i feel like a god - deathbyromy - similarly crunchy, also a good one to write to because it's fairly repetitive. (i get distracted REALLY EASILY by music which is why this is a concern) i'd say this song is also one where the lyrics actually kind of sort of fit, but more so for a future stage of the fic

dream boy - waterparks - for cynical evan angst in an appropriately bubbly package

honey oil - aurora view - MORE CRUNCHINESS, i really don't have much more to say on this one afjslghdkjf the vibes just work

a little wicked - valerie broussard - okay so one ironic thing is that spotify's algorithm has decided that what i really want is Girl Power Villain Era Songs™. this is very much one of those. but the vibes still fit atfhv. (the song itself would fit, like, an AU of atfhv in which heather specifically goes backstabby)

dynasty - rina sawayama - another one where most of the lyrics fit, although not all of them. the vibe of this one fits a little *less*, especially post-bridge, but before the bridge it fits more

everybody wants to rule the world - lorde - this is kind of in the vein of arsonist's lullabye and tempt you (evocatio) in terms of vibes. also has the benefit of getting grander towards the end which is an arc i like in a song because it fits atfhv

enter sandman - rina sawayama - ok i know i've heard the original version of this song but it's totally been eclipsed by rina sawayama's cover in my mind. anyway this is all about vibes and tbqh we haven't really reached the point in the story at which this truly becomes appropriate vibes. but we will. it's got a sense of grandeur that fits like................ later stages in the story. part 2 and part 3 stuff, whereas atm we are squarely in part 1

frankenstein - rina sawayama - i'd have to do a bit of a left turn to really make these lyrics fit atfhv, but they don't.... *not* fit atfhv? by which i mean regulus specifically. he's not at this point in his arc yet and when he does reach it i don't think it'll go quite like this, but i like the song so! close enough

paper mache man - the funeral portrait - in this song the singer is a little more removed (aurally) than i normally go for - with anything regulus-related i like when the singer's voice is like. RIGHT there. yay deep third person limited pov. so the singer's vibes aren't perfect but the rest of the vibes fit

ok more on specific nothing but thieves songs:

tempt you (evocatio): talked about this one above, listed here for the purpose of having everything in one place

forever & ever more: this is one that i associate more with stga than with atfhv, but it fits certain scenes of atfhv (mostly Intense Plotting Sequences but later on we'll get to Intense Magic Sequences which is when i'll really bring these vibes in. stga has a lot of Intense Magic Sequences which is why i associate this song really heavily with that)

your blood: i associate this one VERY heavily with sirius and regulus, with regard to their relationships with each other and also with orion. it is also a beautiful song and the singer's use of raspiness is top notch and also there are some incredible octave jumps okay this is totally unrelated to atfhv moving on

number 13: CRUNCHY. crunchy is always good. this is a song i do *not* associate with regulus afshglshdjf - it's too. bouncy? which is totally giving you the wrong impression of what the song sounds like but like. the bass is too bouncy for this to be a regulus song. this is a sirius or barty song

if i were you: also crunchy and there's a particular riff in this song that makes me think of someone digging their heels in and that's atfhv all over. you will be able to identify that riff it's everywhere. historically i am bad at telling the difference between guitar and bass just from listening unless they're doing really obviously guitar-y or bass-y things so i actually have no idea if this riff is on guitar or bass but it's one of them and it's fabulous

you know me too well: this is on the list almost entirely because of the bass part

hostage: pure vibes

free if we want it: another one i associate with regulus and sirius - which i think is probably a recontextualization of the lyrics but whatever afshlghsdkjf

futureproof: pURE vibes, the lyrics do not go with atfhv afjslhgdjf

short list of songs i mentioned above that i associate with certain characters or relationships:

your blood - nothing but thieves: sirius and regulus, and orion

dream boy - waterparks: cynical evan angst

a little wicked - valerie broussard: if heather backstabbed regulus this would basically be the ANTHEM of that fic (were it heather-centric)

free if we want it - nothing but thieves: another sirius and regulus one, most likely recontextualized

okay i........ think that's all i've got with regard to music? there are a lot of songs on this list that i associate with regulus in terms of vibes but not in terms of lyrics. but also some of it is that i just really like bass and crunchiness and songs with a darker sound and so that bleeds over into the songs i associate with certain things because those are just the songs i listen to afjslghsjdfd

[dancersmirrorball]

Taylor Swift Folklore Sentence Starters

Tracks 1-4

"I'm doing good I'm on some new shit, been saying yes instead of no."

"I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn't though."

"If you wanted me, you really should have showed."

"But we were something, don't you think so?"

"If my wishes came true, it would have been you."

"If one thing had been different, would everything be different today?"

"When you are young, they assume you know nothing."

"You put me on and said I was your favorite."

"A friend to all, is a friend to none."

"To kiss in cars and downtown bars, was all we needed."

"You drew stars around my scars, but now I'm bleeding."

"I knew you, leaving like a father, running like water."

"How did a middle-class divorcée do it?"

"The wedding was charming, if a little gauche, there's only so far new money goes."

"Their parties were tasteful, if a little loud."

"There goes the last great American dynasty."

"Who knows if she/he/they never showed up, what could have been?"

"I had a marvellous time, ruining everything."

"And it took you five whole minutes, to pack us up and leave me with it, holding all this love out here in the hall."

"I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending."

"You were my crown, now I'm exile seeing you out."

"There is no amount of crying I can do for you."

"You didn't even hear me out, you never gave a warning sign."

"I gave so many signs."

Tracks 5-8

"If I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes too."

"I swear I loved you, 'til my dying day."

"I didn't have it in myself to go with grace, cause when I'd fight you used to tell me I was brave."

"And if I'm dead to you why are you at the wake? Cursing my name, wishing I stayed, look at how my tears ricochet."

"I can go anywhere I want, just not home."

"And I still talk to you, when I'm screaming at the sky."

"I'll show you every version of yourself tonight."

"And when I break it's in a million pieces."

"Hush, I know they said the end is near."

"I can change everything about me to fit in."

"And they called off the circus, burned the disco down."

"I've never been a natural, all I do is try."

"Are there still beautiful things?"

"Cross your heart, won't tell no other."

"Love you to the moon and to Saturn."

"Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long."

"I've been meaning to tell you, I think your house is haunted."

"Then you won't have to cry, or hide in the closet."

"Whispers, of "are you sure?" Never have I ever before."

"I can see us lost in the memory, August slipped away into a moment in time, cause it was never mine."

"Your back beneath the sun, wishing I could write my name on it."

"Back when we were still changing for the better, wanting was enough, for me it was enough."

"To live for the hope of it all, cancelled plans just in case you called."

"Meet me behind the mall."

Tracks 9-12

"I've been having a hard time adjusting, I had the shiniest wheels now they're rusting."

"I have a lot of regrets about that."

"I'm here in your doorway."

"I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying."

"My words shoot to kill when I'm mad."

"You're a flashback in a film reel, on the one screen in my town."

"What started in beautiful rooms, ends with meetings in parking lots."

"And that's the thing about illicit affairs, and clandestine meetings and longing stares."

"Take the words for what they are, a dwindling mercurial high."

"Don't call me kid, don't call me baby, look at this godforsaken mess that you made me."

"You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else."

"And you know damn well, for you I would ruin myself, a million little times."

"I used to think I'd meet somebody there."

"Time, curious time, gave me no compasses, gave me no signs."

"Isn't it just so pretty to think, all along there was some invisible string, tying you to me?"

"Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire."

"One single thread of gold tied me to you."

"Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven."

"They strike to kill, and you know I will."

"What do you sing on your drive home? Do you see my face in the neighbours lawn?"

"Fuck you, forever."

"Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy what about that?"

"It's obvious that wanting me dead, has really brought you two together."

"The master of spin has a couple side flings."

Tracks 13-16 + The Lakes

"Some things you just can't speak about."

"Only twenty minutes to sleep, but you dream of some epiphany."

"I think it's cause of me."

"This time it was true."

"The worst thing that I ever did, was what I did to you."

"Would you tell me to go fuck myself? Or lead me to the garden."

"The only thing I wanna do, is make it up to you."

"So I showed up at your party."

"Our coming-of-age has come and gone."

"And it's just around the corner, darling; cause it lives in me."

"No I could never give you peace."

"All these people think love's for show, but I would die for you in secret."

"You paint dreamscapes on the wall, I talk shit with my friends, it's like I'm wasting your honor."

"Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other."

"I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best."

"But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me."

"My twisted knife, my sleepless night."

"My winless fight, this has frozen my ground."

"Stood on the cliffside screaming, give me a reason."

"Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in."

"Don't want no other shade of blue but you."

"No other sadness in the world would do."

"You knew it still hurts underneath my scars, from when they pulled me apart."

"Darling this was just as hard."

"I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones."

"Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you."

"I'm setting off, but not without my muse."

"I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze, tell me what are my words worth."

"I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet."

"While I bathe in cliffside pools, with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief."