#ANNOTATING THE LYRICS IMMEDIATELY

[mvnsvn6]

Have a mini fic about Steve annotating books and Eddie finding it really hot🖤

So obviously, Eddie's a bookworm. Before he had any friends, he spent the better parts of his childhood at Hawkins Library after school and Hawkins Middle's library during any recesses and lunches. He constantly read books, this was before Wayne got him a guitar and before he got into dnd, and being a bookworm tremendously helped him fuel both of those hobbies later on. But before then? The library was like a second home to him. 

And so, recently founding out that Steve reads, like a lot, is something of a revalation. It's not that Eddie thinks the guy is stupid, but he figured the guy spent time doing other productive hobbies at home. But the guy reads, and as previously mentioned, Eddie considers himself a literature connoisseur of sorts. Writing book reports and essays were one of the few things he actually excelled at in high school. 

So anyway, he found out that Steve is a book nerd by finding one of Steve's books open on his bed. Not really the strangest thing that Eddie's come across in Steve's room if he's being honest, and not the biggest indicator of nerdiness, until he focuses his attention and acknowledges the bright colors sprawled across the pages. 

A burst of rainbow colors underlining what Eddie guesses are his favorite parts of the story or important stuff he wanted to remember. And obviously, Eddie has to ask him about it. and Steve explains to him that he has a whole color key and it's made up of romantic lines that make him feel warm, sad stuff that makes him tear up, stuff that is word for word undoubtedly Steve Harrington sprawled on a page. Steve won't tell him which color is which, too embarrassed by it, but he lets Eddie read through them, and then he stares at Steve in unyeilding fondness. 

The look reflected on Steve's is not the same, mostly anxiety and insecurity, which Eddie immediately wants to soothe. It's so so sweet he thinks but Eddie's mouth translates the words into, "That's so fucking hot." Which, shit man, it is but he hadn't meant to say it out loud. 

"Shut up, dude, don't make fun of me right now." 

And listen, books are everything to him, this is no joking matter. They inspire his own stories, whether through a dnd campaign or writing song lyrics. It's honestly probably the most attractive thing a person could do in Eddie's opinion, he didn't know how hot until right about now, but he'll die on this hill. Annotating your books is hot. 

"Listen to me when I say this Steve, while that is the nerdiest thing I've ever heard and I'm, ya know, me. It's also about the most attractive thing that's come out of that pretty mouth of yours, like ever."

And Steve folds his arms across his fucking beautifully sculpted chest and narrows his eyes just slightly, raising a judgemental eyebrow at him. 

"You're being serious."

Oh he's never been more serious about anything in his life. 

"Uh...yeah? Yes. Oh my god."

Yeah, real eloquent Edward. 

Whatever, his heart is pounding profuesely against his rib cage because holy shit Steve is a book nerd and Eddie wants to kiss him fucking yesterday. So he gets on all fours on Steve's bed to lean forward and basically attacks his mouth before he can even think about it. 

And when he pulls back, Steve's pupils are blown wide and his breath has picked up pace, and Steve keeps bouncing between looking at Eddie's eyes and his lips. 

"You just kissed me."

It comes out disbelieving. 

"Yeah and with your permission I'd like to continue, like stat, immediately, now."

"You're insane."

And hands weave through curls and pull. 

Eddie tumbles foward, ending fully sprawled on top of Steve, and, jesus christ, body pressed impossibly close to his. 

And after they're romantic, read: nerdy horniness, little makeout session, he forces Steve to read the annotations himself, going through all the books that are important to Steve. He has to stop himself from moaning to really emphasize how hot he finds it, and to make Steve slightly embarrassed, but refrains. Just lets him continue. 

Eddie has never been so in love in his life.

[florsial]

More bartylus hc

-They are both fucking pretentious in their own ways (12 Owls Barty??? He would be on his knees for Lady Macbeth) (only cuz he thinks of Regulus when he reads her lines)

-Regulus is lokie more a Hermia variant from Midsummer Night's Dream and Barty reminds me of a more unstable Helena variant tbh

-People think that Regulus is the one who reads more but it's actually Barty. He reads the Song of Achilles and doesn't stop crying for DAYS, Regulus refuses to touch that book.

-He also was the first outta the both of them to read Jane Eyre and most of his annotations were about Reg

-Barty's first copy of Frankenstein belonged to Regulus so it was already annotated. He spent more time reading the annotations than the actual text. So Regulus had to get him a clean copy.

-Regulus likes to wear tinted chapstick because the look of being really pale with red lips makes him think he looks good. So this leads to his drinks being stained with red lips. Barty loves it, a simple act that makes his heart flutter.

-Barty drinks his coffee straight black while Regulus' coffee is just more sugar than anything

-Regulus has a variety of teas that he switches from daily, Barty just drinks black with cream and sugar.

-Regulus subconsciously taps his fingernails against a table or wherever, and normally it unnerves people (cuz he's a Black so they think he wants something from them) but Barty likes to zone out to the sound since he likes the steady rhythm Regulus taps on.

-Trans Regulus Black with expensive hair accessories that he doesn't use anymore and Barty Crouch Jr who has too much hair and not enough patience (and def not the style to pull off expensive hair clips)

-ULTRAVIOLENCE IS REGULUS' FAVORITE ALBUM I SAID WHAT I SAID HE IS BLASTING MONEY POWER GLORY ON REPEAT AND SCREAMING OUT THE LYRICS OF I FUCKED MY WAY UP TO THE TOP, BARTY LOVES IT WHEN HE GETS TO SING THE ENDING OF BROOKLYN BABY WITH HIM AND HE SO IN LOVE WHEN REGULUS SINGS THE BEGINING OF COLA

-Anyways Barty would like Måneskin, like cmonnn, him playing VALENTINE and thinking of Regulus?? Screaming his heart out to ZITTI E BUONI??? BABY SAID for the angst?? OWN MY MIND???? And him being Italian ig

-The Pantheon is hiding a snake in their dorms which likes to wrap itself around Regulus' neck, and Barty just stares

-Regulus comes back in 6th year with his hair cut and Barty chokes on his bitter ass coffee and coughs so violently a first year slytherin asked if he needed to see Madam Pomfrey

-Barty is pretty good with romance and sad movies, Reg is not, he actively balling his eyes out to fucking Disney movies. But Barty will not shut up during mysteries, he will immediately go on insane rants about the ending. And Regulus can’t hide his expressions when watching horror while Barty is watching with his brows permanently pressed together

[theorphicangel]

𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞!𝐛𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

author’s note: I keep getting gojo brainrot on my feed and it’s making me absolutely sick so I must write to heal

cw: a little nsfw, 18+, oral sex (f.receiving), fem! Reader, praise,

- I’d like to start off by saying…the most obvious which is that he’s annoying

- you have an essay due tmr?

- you are getting absolutely no peace.

you need to go the libarary to study?

- okay, he’s by your side with his cheap supposed “noise cancelling” headphones but he’s misunderstood that they’re not noise cancelling for everyone else because you can still hear the song lyrics

- “baby…could you turn that down?”

- “what? no, it’s noise cancellation you can’t hear anything.”

- “but—” he slides them back on before you finish

- BUT however when you do need space to revise for an exam or prepare your project he will give it to you undoubtedly

- but that also means he’ll burst into your room every 30 mins or so to make sure you’re stacked up on snacks or that you’re hydrated

- “did you drink water? I heard your brain needs water like all the time so you need to drink water ‘Kay?”

- “Satoru, you’ve brought me 5 water bottles”

- but that’s not to say he won’t help with your revision, in fact he’ll make sure you’ll be able to recall info

- and boy does he have methods

- “what was the answer to that one again?”

- you moan lightly in response your, thighs trembling with his two fingers deep inside you, and at your failure to provide an answer he removes them,

- you whine at the emptiness and he tuts shaking his head, “c’mon you know this one.”

- shutting your eyes, you blurt out the answer

- “that’s my girl, you’ll pass this exam in no time, one more question and then I’ll let you cum.”

- in between your cries and mewls, he praises you for what you’ve managed to recall with him between your legs

- and yes, as per the image at the top he will give you a cd 💀

- “Satoru…what is this?”

- he deadpans you, “can you not read it? It says-“

- “no, I know what it says dumbass, I mean why?”

- “can a guy not do something nice for you?” and then he has attitude🙄 “I’ll take it back then.”

- you’re obviously quick to reject that notion for sureeeee

- if you’re an English major he will not leave your books alone

- “what is this? Shakespeare?”

- he’ll open it up and recite a random page in the most god awful British accent stumbling over the words

“That doesn’t even make sense, why is this guy famous?”

- however, maybe he’d get into pride and prejudice…slowly

- it probably take him a long time to read each page, trying to make sense of who is who

- “so nobody likes mr darcy already? Damn, he didn’t even do anything.”

- but when you show him the movie version he would so swoon over it immediately

- he would play it for one of your movie nights calling it your favourite when it’s actually a secret favourite of his

- and he be quoting everything mr darcy says

- he makes fun of your handwriting constantly if you annotate your books/ or write down notes OR if he missed a lecture and obviously copies up from you

- “is that supposed to be an a?”

- “it’s an e!”

- “ s’not my fault it looks so similar!”

I shall make a part two if I can think of more annoying college!bf gojo🧍🏿‍♂️

reblogs are much appreciated 🫶

[signanothername]

Thoughts on Wonderful Nothing by Glass Animals in relation to killer? I got some killer vibes from it and wanted your opinion!

Omg wdym some vibes this is a very Killercore song

The thing is when I listen to it I can imagine it as a Killer and Nightmare relationship kinda song, but the best part? I can see it as a song that fits Killer after he’s escaped with Color from Nightmare

Like the song has this very obvious struggle in which the singer can’t stop being an absolute bitch to their partner yet still very much love them and look for their validation which is something that completely fits Killer, cause i can still imagine Killer being an absolute bitch to Nightmare after his escape, yet still very much has that sorta fucked up feeling of nostalgia in which he misses Nightmare’s presence

Killer looking for validation is so REAL with these lyrics 👇

“Here's my state of mind

Give me destruction

Tell me I'm scrumptious

I'm a fucking delight”

Then there’s that 1992 lyric followed by the chorus that’s basically just Killer ripping Nightmare a new one

“Buy a better mood, buy a point of view

Yours went off in June 1992

Get some attitude, get some nuance, too

Get me solitude and a good excuse when

I come back in with a one-two

Sucker punch in the gut, here's a tissue

Truth hurts when it points right at you

Sit down now for some ground rules, thank you”

The beautiful contrast and contradictions in lyrics just makes me go insane cause it just feels so much like Killer y’know??? Like how “I just want to make it out alive” is followed closely by “I want you to bury me alive”, it reminds me a lot of Killer’s love for pain in stage 2 yet his hate for it in stage 1 CHCHCHCH

THESE ENTIRE FUCKING LYRICS

“You got big ideas, they're as shit as you

Trying to self-combust, just for an excuse

Say, "I might throw up, " just to leave the room

I'd say, "Burn in Hell, " but they'd hate you too (fuuuck i love this one this will definitely leave a mark kn Nightmare hcchchch)

In my mind, I'm annotating you (such a Killer thing to do, Killer is extremely observant and has a big tendency to study people around him, especially if he finds them intriguing… cough Nightmare cough)

What is that you're wearing? Oh, it's too much booze

Did your mum tell you, close it when you chew?

Now, scuttle home, go and lick your wounds (Killer telling Nightmare to fuck off is so real)

I'm a fly inside of your facial goop

I'm a little hair sat inside your soup

There's the rub, maybe I'm the fool

I'm trying to stop, but I still love you (Killer basically being unable to stop feeling nostalgic even after Nightmare’s abuse)

Like HELLO?????

Anyway really good song, can’t expect any less from Glass Animals and this is going to my Killer and Nightmare playlist immediately hchcchchchhc

[bladesmitten]

Six-Song Soundtrack

tagged by @dragonologist-phd yayyy! i love playlist games :3

Rules: If you're tagged, make a new post with links to music and/or lyrics describing the following:

An event that defines your character's past

How your character sees themselves

How others view them

Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic)

A major fight scene

End credits song

Only one of my OCs has a proper playlist so far so I'll be taking songs from it (Guess who) (Yes it's Ajax) -- lyrics annotation under the cut!

An event that defines your character's past: Elephants by Them Crooked Vultures - befits an unapologetic charismatic cult leader of the god of murder

How your character sees themselves: Torture Me by Metric - measure the rightness of your path by the pain you flagellate yourself with

How others view them: God of the Dead by Darren Korb - he's a beast in battle and his high charisma manifests through intimidation

Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic): Strange Effect by Unloved - Ajax and Wyll babeyyyyy need I say more

A major fight scene: Never-Ending Performance by Yu-Peng Chen - soundtrack for the Orin duel fight in a timeline where she doesn't immediately transform into the Slayer and they have a kind of Last Agni Kai fight. Also this is a fun and very unsubtle reference to the character that inspired Ajax lolllllll

End credits song: Phoenix (League OST) - the work is never done: he needs to resist the Urge forever, he needs to undo all the harm he has done, he needs to live, etc. A reference to Withers' resurrection bit

Elephants by Them Crooked Vultures

I plucked from the garden of wretched beliefs I offer a rose and smile with harmless teeth Then slick back my hair, you know the devil's in there Alone in the garden

Torture Me by Metric

Get the rope, tie me to the bedposts 'Cause I can't find within myself the happy host If I find my peace of mind, torture me If I seem too serene, torture me

Strange Effect by Unloved

You make my world seem right You make my darkness bright, oh yes You've got this strange effect on me And I like it, and I like it And I like the way you kiss me Don't know if I should But this feeling it's love and I know it That's why I feel good

Phoenix (League OST)

A million voices in your head that whisper, "Stop, now" Another twist of the knife, turn of the screws It's all in your mind and it's fighting you Arm yourself, a storm is coming Well, kid, what you gonna do now?

tagging @ikarons @asharaks @fllagellant @baronmpontmercy @vampireposter

@thedragonagelesbian @the-eldritch-it-gay @dekarios @isayashai and anyone else who wants to do this! <3

[desmorotu]

vincent’s playlist 🫧 (a glimpse)

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒

☆ as the world falls down - david bowie (at the Summit, if Lovely was revealed to Vincent instead of greeting guests with him, this would have been the song that played while they made their way to him. just like in the Labyrinth, this song gives that mystical, romantic feel. he’d stare in awe, mouth agape until he swallows thickly or until Sam comes up to close it for him LMAO. he’d chuckle in disbelief, looking deeply into their eyes with his kohl-lined ones and stuttering his words. he’d lick his glossy lips and trace his gaze down. “ex-fucking-scuse me? you look incredible, Lovely.”)

☆ square hammer - ghost (loves the intro, the lyric cadence, the sound of papa’s voice, and especially the thought of seeing it live. he was more of a rocker kind of guy growing up, always adorning band tees and silver chains of some kind. the year he was turned, in fact, was when he was the most into the style part of the subculture. after he turned he had decided to keep most of his piercings, including his triple lobe, helix, eyebrow, and nose ones. he fears that taking them out will heal them immediately because of his power, even if he knows it’s not technically true. he keeps this kind of music near and dear to his heart.)

☆ lovesong - the cure (loves driving to this song. whether it’s sunshine, rain, clear skies or cloudy, this song has to play at least once. he puts on his sunglasses and bobs his head to the beat, glancing over at Lovely often and smiling to himself when they’re doing the same. he plays it when they’re at home doing chores too, having a mini dance party for themselves. they go out to goth clubs often for the same atmosphere and to get new songs on their lists.)

☆ kiss me until my lips fall off - lebanon hanover (loves the bass. he sways his whole body if he chooses to dance, raising his hands above his head and “plucking cobwebs.” he likes reciting the lyrics to Lovely as a silly way to ask for kisses. loves the drums and the deep tone of the vocals, humming it to himself even if he’s not much of a singer.)

(suggestive/sexual annotation below)

☆ not my type: dead as fuck 2 - motionless in white (“she loves me ‘cause i like to give head like a zombie—eat! eat! eat!—‘til her insides are on me” …those lyrics low key [high key] turn him on and they burn a fiery heat into his chest. as a man with an oral fixation on both the giving and receiving end, the thought of his lover being so desperate to have their mouth on him sends his thoughts into a carnal frenzy. simultaneously, the lyrics make him want to grab Lovely, throw them on any flat surface, and let the lyrics speak for themselves. he always has his mouth on them, whether he’s kissing their neck + shoulders, back, hands, arms, chest, stomach, thighs—anywhere they’ll allow him, really. there’s rarely a time where Lovely doesn’t have hickeys, but it’s not always in a sexual light. he just likes to have his mouth on them.)

☆ dive in - pierce the veil (this song strikes a chord in his heart for a reason he can’t explain; perhaps it’s the piano mixed in with the intense guitar and drums? perhaps it’s because the song goes too fast for him to focus on his thoughts? he plays this in his headphones on full blast when he needs to pay attention to anything other than his mind. his favorite part is the octave jump and the beat drop near the end!)

☆ props and mayhem - pierce the veil (he doesn’t branch out too much when it comes to music, so a lot of his playlist is just ptv. he loves the lyrics and finds solace in them, despite how vic fuentes probably does not understand that he wrote lyrics relatable to a vampire and his supernatural culture. the song strangely reminds him of his last few years as a human. when this song plays, he thinks about the stranger from the Surge line. he hopes they’re peaceful.)

(slightly suggestive annotation below)

☆ god complex - violent vira (when he listens to this song, his movements instinctively get more sensual and calculated. it’s not intentional, but the slow feeling of the music brings him to be a more captivating “predator.” sultry eyes, wet lips, and smooth touches often bring Lovely to a state of “aroused confusion,” as they call it. it’s like a switch; as soon as the song’s off, he goes back to normal. in most cases, however, the song ends long before Lovely is done with him. if vincent had a sex playlist, he’d think of adding this song.)

☆ love gun - kiss (SAM SHOWED HIM THIS SONG!! he absolutely loves the sick ass bass line and the cool lyrics. he agrees with sam’s sentiments that paul stanley’s voice is one of the best in rock history. he feels cool as fuck when this song comes on—especially when he’s driving. he drums on the steering wheel and taps his free foot in the floorboard. when he’s able to dance, you bet he most certainly will. he wishes he pursued his talent on the guitar, but he unfortunately no longer practices.)

☆ rosemary - deftones (“TIIIIIME SHIFT.” he loves the build up, the guitar, the seeming desperation in the vocals, and the overall tone of the song. he has to bite his knuckles to shut down the feeling that this song gives him. he breaks out in goosebumps and he loves how full and warm the sound is, especially when listening with headphones. he doesn’t really like how long it is, but it’s a personal preference that he excuses for the “dope ass vibes,” as Lovely likes to say.”

refer to vincent’s playlist cover at the bottom :)

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒

vincent is honestly the inspiration behind the song association in general, but asher’s song happened to come on while casually listening and i couldn’t help but make his post then and there. this one stays in the same kind of realm of music for the most part; i feel like vincent isn’t a super musical person anymore but he used to really enjoy it and is trying to get back into it. these are just my opinions! in my mind, vincent is on the goth side of things with a mix of a bunch of different musical subcultures thrown in. if you want more, lmk :3 (i will make them anyways, but if you desire a specific character then you need only ask!) @morgansplace

i wanna write mini fics but UGHHH i don’t think my writing is good enough smh. maybe i’ll do it anyways at some point.

k bye 💟

[squanchys-standup]

lyric critique~

the tortured poets department uses a lot of religious buzzwords. this is not the same as making a religious metaphor.

ex.

verses from guilty as sin

“i choose you and me, religiously.”

“without ever touching his skin, how can i be guilty as sin?”

vs mitski’s i’m your man

your an angel, im a dog

or you’re a dog and i’m your man

you believe me like a god

i destroy you like i am

you see the difference?

quoting genius’s annotations-

“this heightened status immediately highlights how intense and profound their connection was, with the other person being so trusting of her it is comparable to a religion.

this recontextualises the first line of the song; the subject is angelic because they were pure in their devotion, and mitski, now, considers herself a “dog” for not having valued that.”

also taylor has used the phrase “guilty as sin” in another song before (carolina). so it kinda seems lazy. you run out of phrases?

[cyberkatsworld]

Kitze's Digital Diary pg. 1

🌻✎ᝰ.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

Dear diary: I originally wanted to post this yesterday but I didn't get time to work on it so all of this happened yesterday (⁠*⁠﹏⁠*⁠;⁠) Also I'm really bad at writing in actual journals so I think this would be better and maybe I'll just rewrite all of this in my journal ^^ idk how often I'll do this but i hope you guys enjoy <3

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

• I didn't have school today yay! But I did have school assignments to do. I didn't complete one fully since I couldn't find the motivation to do it so I'll probably have to do it in lunch, I don't mind tho cuz I get to listen to my music !!

• It was a really nice day and I almost rotted the day away in bed but @heavenlyangels02 convinced me to go outside so I did!! I'm really glad I did cuz it felt so relaxing. I started to re-read Heaven by Mieko Kawakami since I couldn't remember where I stopped plus I wanted to annotate it. Also does bullying really go undetected in Japan? These kids are literally making him drink chalk water and swallow random shit...

• While I was reading I was listening to Preacher's Daughter by Ethel Cain and OH MY GOD!!!!! THE LORE IS FUCKING CRAZY LIKE....I got into it thanks to @julia-bonkers it's my new obsession now. My fav song from the album is House In Nebraska but my fav lyric is "God loves you but not enough to save you." it just hits so close to home it's crazy

• by then I think it was 5 pm and my dad needed to go on errands so I went with him! I was so lucky enough to find the Tragic Kingdom CD by No Doubt on my spring break so I played the CD for the first time in the car!! I only new two songs going into it, Excuse Me Mr and I'm Just a Girl, but the rest of the album is so good!!! After, we stopped by IHOP and I got the cali roasted turkey melt with mango lemonade it was so yummyyy.When I got home I immediately went to bed and went onto yt to watch a deep dive on Ethel Cain's album. I gotta go now but I'll write again soon <3

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

[ihavebeenallthingsunholy]

pete Wentz lyric annotations are like getting punched in the face- repeatedly. this was immediately after a reference to on the road by jack Kerouac. Peter. stop

[bestworstcase]

to what level do you place faith in drawing story conclusions from the lyrics of RWBY songs? I find them extremely interesting to analyze, but in reality I'm aware that it's been said before that the lyrics aren't ever written with one specific thing in mind. that being said, either way, I think Guide My Way draws connections between Ruby and Salem that are quite interesting

well, i’ve heard that about the lyrics before, but never having seen the actual statement in context for myself, my inclination is to assume that “the lyrics aren’t written about any one thing” didn’t mean what the fandom seems to have generally taken it to mean, and instead meant something more along the lines of “the song lyrics are written to convey emotion and theme and are not necessarily literal.” because it is self-evident that’s how the songs are written.

in general, i think serious analytical interrogation of the songs requires an examination of their narrative context, i.e. their actual location in the story and what the lyrics communicate about that particular scene. song placement is non-arbitrary. why does ‘red like roses pt ii’ accompany the nevermore fight? because the absence and the idea of summer rose is everywhere and ruby decapitating this monstrous grimm while the music screams i needed you, you left me, how could you gives us a glimpse behind her mask.

consider ‘until the end.’ the fanon interpretation that ‘until the end’ belongs to summer or ruby is so ubiquitous that it’s annotated as such on the fandom wiki. because the lyrics “heavily imply” it, apparently. but that is a bananas way to read the song, which also makes it a good case study to explain how i go about analyzing them and why i do it that way.

the first thing i look at is where the song is in the story and what it’s doing there. ‘until the end’ marks ozpin’s decision to return from his self-imposed isolation and plays underneath his monologue, which begins as a meditation on fear and builds to a kind of rhetorical invitation to transcend fear. and then salem arrives in atlas. so this is a crucial turning point for the story: it’s when all the lies and secrecy have to end, because ozpin chooses to rise above his fear and salem is committed to revealing herself.

so, is ‘until the end’ about ruby or her mother? does it make sense to interpret the song that way? immediately before ozpin comes back, ruby has her heroic moment, forcing cinder to flee, but once the monologue/montage begins, the narrative makes a deliberate point of moving her out of focus. it lingers instead on penny, winter, cinder, and ironwood. it’s not her moment, not her song.

the structure of the scene, in fact, unambiguously signals that ‘until the end’ is ozpin’s song. it begins when he speaks. the first two stanzas are literally the subtext between the lines of his speech.

step two is to look at the song itself. what is it about? what story does it tell? ‘until the end’ is about regret, and shame, and longing for reconciliation, and resolving to try. that fits for ozpin in this moment, poised between months of hiding and the steps he takes to atone for his mistakes in the next volume, which supports the contextual argument for reading ‘until the end’ as his song. 

from here, we can start to pick the song apart in more detail. i think the “you” in the second stanza tricks people into looking for a subject, but if ‘until the end’ is an exploration of ozpin’s mindset as he makes the decision to come back and try again, it makes quite a lot more sense to interpret the “you” as ozpin talking to himself. and if we do that the whole thing clicks together. 

the first stanza is his doubt, his despair, his dread. “we try so hard, but what are we fighting for? we’re losing all our strength, how can we give more?” i’m so tired. i never wanted this. it’s never going to end. i don’t even know what i want anymore. 

the second stanza answers the first with his sense of duty and the self-hatred intertwined with that. “time falls away; pain always finds a way to stay. the tears that you shed may find a tree to water, but only when you’re stronger.” it will always hurt. pain is inevitable. your suffering serves a greater purpose; if you were stronger, you could see this through.

the third stanza rejects that old way of thinking. ozma tried so hard to bury the past, but the lamp forced him to relive it, see it with new eyes, think about it again after all this time. “to live free or die, it’s all the same. the enemy was right, there’s no reclaiming. in waves of shame, we’re desperate to make amends, but through a simple soul, we lie complacent.” salem was right: nothing can go back to how it was. the gods will never be appeased. too much has changed. i made so many mistakes. i want so badly to make it better, and instead i’ve been doing nothing, waiting for someone else to be the savior i couldn’t be. 

the final stanzas bring that realization to the inevitable conclusion. “love brings us dreams, but grief makes the heart burst at the seams. as light fills my eyes, i’ll picture me beside her, and pray that i’ll inspire. […] i promise i’ll be here until our story has been told, til our bodies break down every door, til we find what we’ve been looking for, and stare with pride into the face of fear; in our finest hour, i’ll be standing here.” i came back for salem. she rebelled against the gods for me. i’m going to keep trying until we find each other again.

and then he does. salem’s monologues in V1 and V3 were addressed to him; ozpin’s monologue in V7 is likewise addressed to her. ‘until the end’ sketches his emotional journey from the broken man who fled in shame and terror from the truth to the one who found the strength to rise out of that darkness.

the final step is to think about how literally to take the song. remember, their purpose is to convey emotional and thematic subtext—which means that we shouldn’t just assume that they’re exact portraits of a character’s conscious mindset. subconscious impulses, buried feelings, forgotten memories, idle dreams, all of that is fair game. and even songs that do articulate conscious perspectives are going to be distillations. are we hearing a fleeting burst of adrenaline-fueled bravado (try ‘ignite’) or a persistent and deep-seated self image (like ‘bad luck charm’) or something in between? it depends. it’s important to factor what a character says and does into our interpretation. 

with ‘until the end,’ i think the decision to clip the song after the second stanza and develop the music into an orchestral rendition of ‘fear’ is probably meaningful. the monologue doesn’t build to a resolution. it builds to a question. “will you be proud of that person? will you forgive them? will you understand why they felt the need to do the things they did? will you even recognize them? or will the person staring back at you be the very thing you should have feared from the start?”

and that is a thought that fits neatly into the gap between the second and third stanzas of ‘until the end.’ the second stanza is, ultimately, the voice of ozma’s fear; the monologue responds that fear itself is not worthy of concern, only the choice of what to do with it; the third stanza answers the monologue (he’s ashamed; he can’t forgive himself yet, but he wants to make amends; he’s able to see his mistakes and his reasons clearly now). so i think ‘until the end’ describes the complete arc of an emotional journey ozma has committed to but only just begun. 

and then you just poke and stretch and stress test that against everything else in the text until you’re either satisfied that it’s cogent or convinced it doesn’t hold water. ultimately the songs are just subtext with a bullhorn. 

…anyway.

back to ‘guide my way.’

because it follows from ‘red like roses’ and plays under ruby’s reclamation of herself from the shadow of her mother’s pedestal, there’s not really a question of ‘guide my way’ being about anything except ruby’s evolving view of summer, right. “i” is ruby and “you” is summer.

and that makes me VERY UNHINGED because ‘guide my way’ picks up an important thematic thread from ‘sacrifice’:

show them gods and deities blind and keep the people on their knees

and

you were born to hypnotize them all they said their prayers can you hear me up there?

note that the accusation salem makes of ozma in ‘sacrifice’ isn’t that he sets himself up as a god but rather that he blinds people by showing them gods. hypnotizes, you might say. and then we have ‘the infinite man’ “creat[ing] gods among men” and ‘world of remnant’ “with enough training and focus, a user’s aura can turn them into something much more than just a man.” civilians in this world do not have their aura unlocked and semblances are not a matter of common knowledge outside of huntsman circles. this is what salem means—

–and summer rose was the best of those quasi-divine guardians. the perfect fairytale hero. the paragon. and now ruby’s looking back on that hero-worship and reaching the same conclusion salem did. blind and keep the people on their knees. you were born to hypnotize them all. it’s nothing but smoke and mirrors.

AND THEN. 

ruby obliquely compares summer to salem (“what survives after all the dust has gone?”), ozma (“were you there til the end?”), and penny (“were you at least called a friend?”).

what’s the uniting thread here? 

rebellion. 

or, more specifically, the moment when a choice to rebel became commitment. penny broke the rules and planned to stay in vale because ruby called her friend. ‘until the end’ is, as discussed, about ozma breaking free. and of course any possibility that salem would ever bow to the gods again vanished when they killed everyone.

i think—on some level—when she left the tree, ruby knew. she’s felt that pressure herself. she knows exactly what it’s like to shatter beneath it. the blacksmith showed her that summer wasn’t perfect, that she lied and left with raven, and gently connected those choices to the desperation ruby feels, trying to carry the same impossible burden. and the answer is not “give up” but rather “choose yourself.” and ruby already believed that summer didn’t die that night, that salem captured her and made her into a hound instead. and she knows, they all know, that salem persuaded hazel to her side by playing to the grief and rage he felt over gretchen’s death. 

and while i doubt ruby has consciously done the math, she’s smart enough to put the pieces together and i think, subconsciously, she does feel an inkling of suspicion that maybe—maybe—summer chose not to come home.

[charliespringverse]

iwbft — tuesday: a brief summary of my annotations

all highlighted quotes: 136

· ouch/ow/owie: 12

· real/felt/relatable/so true: 5

· aroace: 2

· ☹/☹☹/☹☹☹: 9

Rowan is on his front, one arm slung over Jimmy's chest. Jimmy's head is tilted ever so slightly towards Rowan. — i've woken up like this with at least half my friends

The shipping itself isn't a major inconvenience to any of us. If anything, it keeps the fans interested. They think Judgement Day will eventually come and there'll be a big reveal that Rowan and I are secretly in love. There won't. We're not. — @larry shippers in the year of our lord 2023

It's always sort of been Rowan and Jimmy, plus Lister. We still love him of course. But that's just the way it is. — PAIN (note: this is all caps, huge, and triple underlined)

'I talk about The Ark all the time. I don't know why this was a surprise.' 'Fereshteh, it was a little bit of a surprise to me too.' 'Why?' 'I suppose... I suppose I never thought you actually cared about this band that much.' — parents vs actually listening to and validating their interests (failed, always)

Juliet chuckles weakly and looks away. I know she's had some bust-ups with her parents in the past. — understatement of the millennium

I'm an optimist. I like to believe that love exists. — it Does it just isn't always romantic/sexual. but it exists So Much

'I feel bad... feeling so happy when they're probably upset,' — ur so close to getting it queen

'Can't we just go home?' Lister mumbles. 'No,' she says. — foreshadowing innit

Rowan and I follow him immediately, like there's a string attaching us — ... invisible string addition to the folklore trilogy?

Lister tells us to go away, but Rowan just walks up to him and starts rubbing his back as he throws up. — ♡ listerowan bestieism

There's a big window on one side of the bathroom. Big enough to climb out, probably. We're on the ground floor. We could just climb out and run. Get up and go. — FORESHADOWING INNIT

Being trans has been a pretty you can big part of my life so far, thanks, but that shouldn't be particularly relevant here, in an interview about our music. — u can Never escape other ppl's obsession w ur transness

Dave laughs and says again, 'Now that's honesty.' — FUCK YOU DAVE (note: this is all caps, huge, and quadruple underlined)

I ask God to give me a bit of extra patience. Because every time Mac speaks, I sort of want to put an entire bag of cotton wool in his mouth. — what God is for x

Being a male fan of obscure old bands is, for some reason, more acceptable than being a female fan of a twenty-first-century boy band. — (also the obscure old bands are rarely that obscure. they're one direction for old white men)

They know exactly who they are. They put it in their blog about' page, they put it in their Twitter bio. I never know what to put in my Twitter bio so I usually just put an Ark lyric in there. — and when u enter ur confident aro-ace era? what then?

I like to think God does have a plan for everyone. But I also think there's too much shit in the world for all these plans to be perfect ones. Or maybe God doesn't have time to write a plan for everyone. And some of us are just trying our best and getting it a bit wrong. — i think this is why faith doesnt work for me

Everything's still there, though. My journals, my guitar, my main laptop, my childhood teddy bear, and the knife that Grandad gave me when I was sixteen. — now i want to know what he would admit to in one of them essentials interviews

It'd be useless as an actual weapon, since it's completely blunt - you can run your finger along the edge and not even get a scratch. — hhhh foreshadowing innit ☹

Not that he particularly goes seeking it. Everyone just wants to be friends with Lister Bird. — and yet he cares most abt getting closer to the two he shouldn't have to try for ☹

David [Tennant] thought she wanted a selfie, when in fact she was just trying to find the nearest toilet. — iconic

'Now, there'd better be some fucking Capri-Suns somewhere around here.' — me @ every function

When they were together they both seemed to stop worrying about everything else in their lives - Rowan was no longer an overworked band boy and Bliss was no longer a struggling student. They were just together. — ☹ justice for laimondi

Then he leans in and presses his lips against mine. Oh. Okay. Fine. This is fine. Can't say I realised this conversa- tion was going in this direction, but fine. — BAD (note: this is all caps, huge, and double underlined)

'But we're gods, Jimmy. What's better than that?' — pain. suffering. agony. heartache. torture, torment, anguish.

Holding it makes me feel real. It reminds me that I was born. That my life is something other than this birdcage I'm trapped in. Isn't it? Isn't it? — has his therapist ever discussed depersonalisation with him?

[spongeofaces]

hi!! if possible i'd love to get a romantic matchup >< (sorry for being anon, i know its not preferred for you but i feel a bit more comfy this way if thats okay!!) ALSO WARNING i'm going to yap a ton here.

first things first, you can call me yun if you must !! i'm an enfj in terms of mbti BUT i find myself to be somewhat of an ambivert! my friends describe me as super quiet at first but the more i get to know someone the louder i become, and i get a lot more open! i personally really love hanging out with my friends but sometimes i just get drained so .. but otherwise hm i feel like with people who i'm closer with i'll probably be more blunt n banter with them more but again i walk on eggshells more with people im not familiar with. i love reading, art, nd trying new hobbies, right now i lovee crochet and crafts!

in terms of what i want in a partner, maybe someone who i can be truly comfortable around. someone who doesn't care about the way i act with them, and also someone who i'd be able to treat as a friend too, like being able to banter with them and not having to show them my best self and knowing they'll still love me for that! but through that also the small romantic things that scream "you're my partner" — also a bit like leona i've something with wanting to be someone's first choice and while thats not a trait persay do with that info what you will! i'd love someone who wouldn't mind me being clingy even if i'll do my own thing at times! and someone who wouldn't mind me being vulnerable, even if they can't give good advice they can just listen.

for traits — as long as they treat me well i guess, and honesty too. i don't need someone whose live revolves around me but also not someone who's distant from me 24/7.. a nice balance in between you know! like i said, small acts are cute to me too. i think bantering is cute in relationships but ofc not too much just! also i find possessiveness cute to some extent.. something i just don't like at all is dishonesty but oh well. someone who is the personification of the lyric "i know he did you wrong but we're not all bad" im a sucker for that (this isnt needed im just yapping)

my love languages are quality time, physical touch and gift giving! i'm not one to initiate physical touch but i do really like it. i am shamelessly touch starved and so i require someone who would enjoy things like cuddles (im a shameless little spoon too btw) but ofc we can work our way up to it im bad with words so gifts are the way to go.. defs related to my hobbies like annotated books if they like reading or just crochet stuff bc..

ofc spending time with them is super super important to me but as i said not 24/7 BUT also there are exceptions it depends i just like someone who can stay by my side and make me feel loved

i think i'm yapping too much so lastly maybe none of the first years because i see them all as platonic bffs ☆ and no teachers just in case

SOOOOO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG!! I hope the end result is okay 🙇‍♀️

---

I match Yun with...

🐙 Azul Ashengrotto 🐙

-:-:-:-

He may attempt to suggest otherwise, but this man is a hopeless romantic. Azul can be both confident and completely awkward in a relationship, not prepared to open up immediately, but not planning to lie either. It may take some coaxing, but the more time he spends with you, the more willing he becomes, even feeling safe enough to admit his insecurities and doubts. Azul is very, very nervous admitting it, but he doesn't want to keep things from you. As much as he wishes he wasn't, Azul is afraid that if you see anything but his best, you'll think less of him. But, you don't, which only makes him love you all the more.

It'll take a lot of time for Azul to gain enough confidence to ask for contact, but if you ever accept, he's going to be the hugger of huggers. He'll start small. Oh, you're sitting on the couch? Well, maybe he'll put an arm around your shoulder. Feeling sick so you've got to lie down? He could subtly shuffle over to crouch beside you and hold your hand. Only to keep you company, not because he wants to... is what he tries to tell himself. Eventually, Azul will get more bold and less ashamed with his actions, just popping over whenever he feels the need for the comfort of your touch. He'll back off if you tell him he's being too much, so just be honest with your boundaries.

Very willing to banter. He'll go back and forth with you for hours if you let him. He finds it incredibly entertaining. Sometimes you might catch Jade listening in from across the room; hopefully not for blackmail purposes.

As soon as he finishes classes and his work at the Mostro Lounge, he seeks you out; whether to take you out on a date, to help you with schoolwork, or just to be by your side. Azul wants to spend as much time with you as he can, while you'll have him.

If you give him a lil crochet octopus, he may just die on the spot. It'll be sitting on his desk 24/7 - along with any other gifts you make for or give to him.

You'll find yourself being treated to delicious dishes constantly. He won't admit he's doing it for your sake, he'll just lie and say that he's trying to test whether the dish is good enough to be added to the lounge's menu by watching your facial expressions as you eat it. Any positive feedback will be met with a flush and him trying to subtly hide his face behind his sleeve.

He'll always make time for you, even on his busiest days. He's ready to listen fully to whatever you have to say, or rant about. Azul doesn't care if you stumbling around the words, or can't quite get the right meaning across, he'll patiently wait until you've said your piece.

Extra tidbits:

MBTI Compatibility - Snippet taken from www.crystalknows.com:

ENTJs are likely to trust ENFJs who express themselves directly; ENTJs appreciate it when ENFJs participate in discussion or share ideas with them. ENFJs tend to trust ENTJs who try to build meaningful, personal connections with them; ENFJs will feel connected to ENTJs who are considerate and compassionate.

When did he start liking you? After his overblot, when the two of you were talking in the museum. He found the way you smiled endearing, although it wasn't until much later (and numerous occasions of teasing from the tweels) that he figured out why.

How'd you two get together? It was abrupt. Floyd was in a bad mood one day and he got sick of watching Azul pine after you. Like, just grow a spine and confess already? Jeez... So, as Floyd's unpredictable self does, he grabbed Azul by the collar, dragged him across the courtyard to your side, confessed for him, and walked off grumbling, leaving behind a very, very, flustered and indignant Azul. This was not how he planned to ask you out!! His heart is absolutely pounding. Oh, by the seven, how embarrassing... Floyd is definitely gonna pay for that later. (Floyd, in fact, did not pay for that later, because you accepted. Azul almost fainted, ngl)

A song for the relationship:

I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend by Hot Freaks.

Other options: Lilia and Cater.

[kangaracha]

NEVERMORE; AN ANNOTATION chapter 4 (interlude: mayday, mayday)

Read Nevermore | Masterlist | Nevermore Masterlist

---

Summary

This chapter opens with a similar set of messages back and forth between two unknown parties as the District 9 chapters did - this time reporting Chan as a 'glitch' and informing someone on the other end of the line that they do not know where he is.

We cut to a new location of 'deserted white halls flooded in blue light', where a phone is ringing. A man named Shanyu answers, receiving the message that District 9 has been 'unlocked' and its patients have fled into the city beyond. The boy on the other end of the line insists that his forces are not enough to catch them all and that he needs the assistance of something called the Isekai. He also informs us that a door to Miroh is open and reachable in the city.

Shanyu assures him that he will deal with it, and hangs up the phone. He hesitates before he makes a second call, and then decides against it for now, opting to wait.

Notes

This small insert is the first chapter to really go off the rails from what we see in the music videos - none of this is based on any media, but instead serves to set up future characters and worldbuilding for videos such as Miroh.

This chapter is titled for the song Heyday; not a song particularly associated with the SKZ cinematic universe, but a song I thought fitted the character of Shanyu, who is a member of the Six, the current ruling power of the Cle. Like the lyrics of the song, the Six are at a peak in their power at this point of the story, comfortable to the point that Shanyu casually describes himself as a god.

This isn't an entirely correct description though; he goes on almost immediately to bare a kinder heart beneath what he tells us in his own words is a mask of indifference, saying, 'his voice iron to disguise the weakness of his heart at the picture of the boy’s plight'. The hesitation to immediately make the call that will send people after Stray Kids, too, paints a different picture to what the opening of this scene tells us - very quickly, we realise that Shanyu is a multifaceted character and one that we're very likely to see in the future, even though we don't know he is one of the Six yet.

I felt the interludes were important to include as a break from the straight prose of the story from the POV of different SKZ members, adding a different dynamic and shaking up the flow of the story just as the world of the Cle bends and twists around our characters. I included the messages between Shanyu and District 9 at the start of the chapters for the same reason - to keep changing it up and throwing readers off the pace, just as the experiences in this world do the characters.

Originally they were also utilised as breaks between different arcs, though as the fic got longer I have inserted clearly marked partitions instead for clarity's sake, leaving these interludes as random inserts that you'll come across without warning.

They also serve a purpose of giving occasional insight into the world through the eyes of characters that are familiar with it, rather than SKZ who are always several steps behind. It's important, with a story like this that attempts to explain a whole new set of rules to a reader, to break down the learning process into digestible chunks, rather than throwing them in too blindly; this one, for example, introduces Shanyu far earlier than he is needed, reinforces the concept and importance of a 'glitch', and also quickly summarises what happened in the last chapter - District 9 is broken, the people have escaped, they are headed towards a city in which there is a door to Miroh (a word that readers will immediately recognise and be able to use as a guide moving forward).

[thesinglesjukebox]

CALVIN HARRIS FT. ELLIE GOULDING, "MIRACLE"

Some of us believe in miracles, some of us don't...

[5.84]

Taylor Alatorre: This song made me check if my computer was Y2K compliant. This song made me surf the alt.politics newsgroup to find out the date of the next WTO conference. This song made me "borrow" my weird friend's Prima strategy guide for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. This song made me call up my local PBS station to see if it had any plans to air episodes of Serial Experiments Lain. This song made me print out and annotate the lyrics to my illegally downloaded copy of NOFX's The Decline EP. This song made me contemplate making an "Acceptable in the 90's" pun. This song re-taught me HTML.</br> [9]

Leah Isobel: I need Kingdom Hearts AMVs set to this song and I need them immediately. [8]

Jonathan Bradley: It's vintage trance rather than blockbuster eurodance, but Calvin Harris's '90s pastiche is more dead-on than anything found on the Planet of the Bass. Precisely, it's a dead-on recreation of "Children" by Robert Miles, though perhaps Ellie Goulding has been recruited to provide a point of differentiation. It took one-and-a-half listens to remind my that the odd warpings of her cellophane voice go from novel to vertiginous very quickly; they might be more welcome here if they were either less glassily pristine or more. The breakbeat at the end is its own work of miniature history: the years going on and club trends shifting to drum and bass. [6]

Edward Okulicz: When I first heard this song I was sure it must be a sped-up remix thing a la Robin Schulz/Oliver Tree's "Miss You". How could it not have been? It's just so much. I would suggest that if they want to squeeze any more virality out of this song, they might get some mileage by slowing it down. But then it might lose that tasty early 00s UK mainstream chart dance-pop energy it's channelling so well. [6]

Hannah Jocelyn: This gets a [6] because the way Ellie Goulding sings "Oh No" makes me think of Webcomic Name. But also because Goulding sounds the most like herself she has in years, after eras upon eras of producers wasting her fascinating vocal timbre. How many vocalists have a soprano voice that husky? How many have that weird vibrato? Goulding's voice already sounds sped-up before Harris even touches it, and if it is sped up, I need to hear the version of "oh no" that sounds like "MacArthur Park." [6]

Crystal Leww: Calvin Harris is like the cat with nine lives of EDM, having gotten his start during the days of freaking bloghouse, blowing up during peak girly-ass EDM, continuing to thrive through the UK pop-house era, and sliding and funk waving bouncing through the late-aughts. I thought that finally he would retire to hitting the play button on prerecorded headlining sets in Vegas and Ibiza, but alas, he's hopped on trance during a time when it's back, baby. Trance's grand return is something that's been building with a very specific set of underground dance nerds for a while, in a bunch of different formats (see: the hypertrance crew, the hard trance pop song edits, and the latest point of arrival for PC Music/-adjacent gang), and Calvin Harris takes it all the way to UK #1. "Miracle" joins him back up with Ellie Goulding, who was one of his best collaborators during the peak girly-ass EDM era (twice). Goulding's vocals have always felt like an intimate whisper - they're there and they emote, but they never overwhelm - perfect for a track that needs to speed and glide on the clouds. This may be a sanded down, corners smoothed out version of whatever is happening in the underground but damn if Calvin hasn't always been good at making a hook. [6]

Nortey Dowuona: Fuck Calvin Harris and anyone who wants him to make EDM. [3]

Scott Mildenhall: In lesser hands, this would be a facsimile, losing all joy in a vain search for an excuse to exist. In the hands of experts, it is joy afresh. "Miracle" is at one with its euphoric essence, granting it the space to diffuse and reveal itself not as pastiche, but as a reminder of the power of piano presets. Ellie Goulding in trance alien mode is the perfect fit: human, but not distractingly so. [8]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: I listened to this song twice this year, both times in the passenger seat of my middle aged uncle after not having seem him for years, stuck in traffic in Shanghai, singing along with broken English and appropriately and awkwardly bumping our heads. He thought it bumped. [6]

Ian Mathers: I can't remember if I've ever felt dismay when the beat comes in before, but on first listen that's exactly what happened. I'm not even sure why! It's not like I was much enjoying the song before that; maybe it just suddenly seemed clear this was going to be exactly what I'd expect from the combination of these two artists, neither of whom I love. It felt like I could have predicted the rest of the song from that point, and that's kind of how it played out. [3]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I love dumb dance pop -- My favorite Madonna song is "4 Minutes"! This is too dumb even for me. How do you even do that? [3]

Katherine St Asaph: This kind of pop-trance was already a massively guilty pleasure for me because of the accumulated secondhand disgust of trance purists. "Miracle" has an additional source of guilt in being a pop-trance track by Calvin Harris, who has been around long enough that his releasing a Robert Miles rip this hacky has to be either condescension or a bit. Clearly I have no standards. [9]

Alfred Soto: Give me more anonymous dance tracks like "Miracle," which it isn't but it will do. Jessie Ware would do well to cast off her pearls before the swine who helped perpetuate her approximation of failed euphoria. [7]

Aaron Bergstrom: We have DJ Sammy at home. [3]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: What the hell... this literally ends right as I'm starting to believe how good it is? [4]

Brad Shoup: Feels like I should be rating the progressive-trance remix in my head, one that's 12 minutes long, shamelessly milks the piano decay and pushes Goulding to match the urgency of the BPM. She's as centered as ever, despite Harris's breakneck rave tempo: nearing the end, he tosses out some breakbeat like an anchor. But in my head, it's still going. [6]

Thomas Inskeep: I know I should be accustomed to it in 2023, but when I come across someone such as Harris who clearly has zero musical integrity, who'll do anything for hits -- well, it still catches me off-guard. And no one hops from one dance/pop trend to another faster than Harris. (Allow me to remind you that his 2007 album I Created Disco was pretty good!) Which is all to say that I shouldn't be surprised to hear "Miracle" hopping on the '90s trance revival bandwagon. He's got the ability to make it sound right, but by no means does that make this good. I disliked '90s trance at the time, and find it even more loathsome now as a big-budget no-ideas Hollywood sequel. Goulding could literally be any other female singer, as generic and over-processed as her vocals are here - and she's never been the most (ahem) distinctive singer to begin with. Truly, almost impressively awful. [1]

Will Adams: In our 2022 Amnesty post-mortem, I wrote about Romy's "Strong" and how trance music had been bubbling up in the pop landscape. Fast forward a year, and now we have mainstream acts -- Tove Lo, Icona Pop, David fucking Guetta -- all dialing up the tempos and the sawtooth synths. I should've known Calvin Harris -- who has contorted himself to align with the electronic genre du jour for over fifteen years -- would hop on the train, but "Miracle" still came as a welcome surprise. I spent better part of my tenure at the Jukebox yelling about how much I love trance, and this is no different. In the tradition of euro-trance classics, there are, at most, two key elements at play: the Robert Miles piano; the lyric "are you too cynical to believe in a miracle?" The rest is routine: the accelerated heartbeat BPM, a feather-light vocal from Goulding, reverb galore, all in service of creating that dream-like state on the dancefloor, when you close your eyes but still feel the strobe lights on you. [7]

Jackie Powell: I'll preface this by saying "Miracle" was my top song this year. When Spotify wrapped told me what I predicted was true, I wasn't surprised. "Miracle" was a song that stuck with me throughout the good and the bad in 2023. It was with me when I couldn't get out of bed, when I was driving or walking to my destination, when I was exercising, when I was transcribing an interview, and even when I was writing. I'm not the only one who proclaimed that the third Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding collaboration was an addictive listen. It's an earworm. It's meant to be looped. Calvin Harris knows how and when to introduce new sounds, something that happens from the first verse right into the second chorus. Those introductions stimulate the brain and since I've listened to the track so many times, I can anticipate each dynamic shift and new sound that arrives. I feel like a conductor when I know exactly when the "boots and cats" percussion finally hits. The lyrics aren't really groundbreaking on this track and they aren't supposed to be. To enjoy "Miracle" at its fullest, the appreciation comes in the diverse sounds, and its velocity. Hat tip to Chromatica producer BURNS who provides the listener with a similar type of movement and constant tempo changes following the drop in "Rain on Me." But that is to say, the most stunning part of the "Miracle" experience isn't what makes it the most addicting. It's Goulding's vocals. Not only does the melody written in give her the freedom to use her voice at its most natural, but this is a song that not many other pop artists could pull off convincingly. You want to know what her voice is going to do next because it's so unpredictable. This is a track that is exemplary of the fact that Goulding is a generational talent, her unique timbres and range aren't contained but rather are given a space to play. And if you can't hear that alongside techno and Eurodance beats, have no fear: Harris and Goulding put out a "Church version" of Miracle, stripping back until this version is truly all about Goulding. There's a euphoric sound when she's harmonizing with herself during the second verse. It's so satisfying and soothing. It's so stupefying and even a bit moving. [10]

[keeperofthebox]

sunny made a post about songs so i shall do it too since it gave me the courage 😌 here's 1 out of 2 lyric annotations of the most replayed songs on my bon voyage playlist... i'll type out the second one in a bit ^_^

our song - radiator hospital

this song is about getting cheated on which isn't quite adrien's situation but the imagery brought up in the lyrics really really just makes me think of him 😭

btw this might be LONG

chapter 2 specifically but really any moment in the fic where chat noir is begging marinette to look at him or touch him or pay attention to him and she isn't and he knows it's because of "adrien". but he still HATES it. but he knows that she is exhausted because everything going on is insane but he still can't help but make it a self-put-down because he is SPIRALLING

when she left to go stand on the roof of felix's apartment building to talk to "adrien" 😭😭😭 any time she would have briefly interacted with "adrien" while they were in paris dealing with one of their friends or her family getting akumatized 😭😭😭 chat noir has stood there and watched his girlfriend turn into that shy awkward marinette he's used to and leave to get privacy with "her boyfriend" so. many. times. over the course of their journey. but mostly i think of when she went to take that phone call

he's BITTER he's RESENTFUL because he wants marinette to look at him, he doesn't feel loved or cared for, he's starved for attention so he does often feel like she's not loving him right even though considering their situation that's not fair 😭😭😭 because she doesnt know his identity under the mask 😭😭😭

and like i said its NOT fair so he feels SO guilty for having these kinds of thought spirals. everything hes doing makes him feel guilty. hes being so hot and cold with her and sending such mixed signals.

+ "you know i won't"... he's subconsciously thinking of all the grand and dramatic things he's done for her as chat noir and ladybug as proof of his devotion to her & their cause. and he hasn't processed how all of the times ladybug REJECTED him after those gestures is affecting him right now. he feels like that same guy throwing a temper tantrum over her not being open enough with him, and coming back to her every time with his tail between his legs. she should know he'd never hold it against her he's loved her so much this whole time and there's like this hurting resentful self hatey tone to it and AGH

TIBET BABY. his feelings about that DAMN SLEEP MASK!!!! any time they have to get up immediately to go deal with an akuma. any time he woke up and ladybug was ignoring him or out doing something. every other morning like how they trade off on who's transformed 😭

when she finally cuddled him after days and days of him suggesting it and he felt like he was on top of the entire world and having the best time of his life but he was the only one feeling that elated... and then that moment being destroyed when marinette confronted him about what happened in chapter 3 at felix's apartment 😭😭😭

he is trying to lift marinette's burdens on top of his own and it's crushing him

THIS TIME the "if you're thinking that we're through" is about felix's major fuckup in chapter 4 😭 chat noir wont blame her if she needs to dump "adrien" over that

literally this is just. literally. marinette is struggling she has the weight of the world on her shoulders and although adrien is trying to help her carry it i don't think he understands it fully because he's so lost and confused with his own issues (which is FAIR he is FOURTEEN 😭😭😭)

but when he does see those moments of how sad she is like... he cant comfort her the way he wants to because he's chat noir to her. not adrien. he can't make a sound he has to just lay there paralyzed because if he moves to console her the way he wants everything will be ruined

in chapter 5 when he's briefly convinced marinette is going to leave him for luka 😭😭😭 the perceived betrayal of her hugging him. its objectively fine that she was hugging him adrien was just freaking Out. because he'd been thinking over and over in different ways "marinette is going to leave me for luka" working himself up into a panic and then she hugs luka and it was like seeing a worst nightmare prophecy get fulfilled

two things... first, him running immediately after the luka hug. sort of like "marinette is definitely going to leave me and marry luka and i'm not gonna stick around and watch". but more importantly, him creating distance between himself and marinette after that situation gets resolved. he still wants marinette more than anything and it is her inability to truly "see" him at the heart of the issue but hes the one saying hes gotta go

but he loves her so he can't accept that he blames her for any of it

if you actually read this far thank you sfghjshf hope you enjoyed me being unhinged about my Own Blorbo

[afpwestcoast]

Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM, 5/26/23

Amanda Palmer returned to Meow Wolf seven years after playing an epic show with Jason Webley for the Grand Opening. This time she had Brian Viglione in tow as the Dresden Dolls opened a 3-night stand at this amazing venue. To get just the merest hint of how unusual this venue is pay attention to the backgrounds in the photos below.

I bumped into Amanda cruising the gathering crowd in her pre-show kimono and when asked what she was doing she replied, “I’m looking for a victim.” “For what?” I asked.

“My affection.”

Alrighty then. I generally just go with stuff like this and it (usually) becomes clear (eventually).

The Meow Wolf exhibit The House of Eternal Return was open until 10:00, and the performance venue is part of the exhibit, so doors for the show were at 10:00 and the show didn’t start until 11:00. This meant that Amanda, who had been wrangling Ash all day, was very tired by the end, but it didn’t seem to impact her performance much, although there was less intra-song banter than usual.

As has become customary of late the band ripped through the first five songs of the set with hardly a pause, and overall the set was tight in spite of some technical difficulties. Brian sang backing harmonies more often than typical and Amanda experimented with some echo reverb on her mic during select sections of several songs with mixed results: in some places it enhanced the ambiance of the song, but in others it was a bit distracting. Overall it was a solid kick-off to this short residency.

Annotated Set List:

Good Day Brian started on guitar before switching to drums, but Amanda crashed and burned on this one almost immediately, forcing them to start over. They finished flawlessly and continued to torch through the set without looking back.

Sex Changes

Gravity

Bad Habit

My Alcoholic Friends This was the first song I noticed Brian singing harmony in places.

Some piano tinkling seemed to tease Missed Me, but just as it seemed to maybe start to morph into something else Brian announced that one of his tom-toms was dying and had maybe 2 more songs in it. Amanda responded that the low G on her keyboard (or her “low G string,” as she called it) was also giving out. They basically shrugged and soldiered on.

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover) This song was dedicated and sung to Sam, the 22yo (dubbed Sam the Zygote) who was the victim Amanda had chosen during her pre-show prowl.

Missed Me F’real this time. At one point a stray drumstick flew over Amanda’s head and Brian tried to blame the sound guy, but Amanda wasn’t buying it.

Mrs. O

Delilah (featuring Veronica Swift)

Whakenewha (pronounced Fuckin-A-Fa) Right at the start of the song Amanda noticed someone in the audience filming and asked them to stop, but rather than stop the song and speak to them she sang her admonition to the tune of the song, and then started the song over from the top without missing a beat.

War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

Amsterdam (Jacques Brel cover) Amanda continued her tradition of singing this one from the balcony, but it was a little odd in this case because the balcony had windows. Because everything about this venue is a little odd.

Mandy Goes to Med School with just a soupçon of “Careless Whisper” by Wham! as has become tradition.

(commercial to buy merch and, most importantly, join the Dresden Dolls eMail list for info on upcoming shows - a full tour was promised once the new album is done)

Coin-Operated Boy Through some musical alchemy this song transformed into “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS - complete with kazoo solo! - before morphing back.

Half Jack 

——

Girl Anachronism This song turned into a bit of a hot mess as Amanda first mangled the chord progression, and then later the lyrics, resulting in two stops and restarts. My advice would be to just power through. Girl A is not some delicate shrinking violet of a song that needs precision. It is a powerful enough song to cross the finish line with a flat tire, some blown pistons, and flames shooting out the engine. Just go for it!

Sing

Photo Gallery:

The Dresden Dolls take the stage!

Amanda!

Brian!

Delilah!

Amsterdam!