#Take Me To Church is an essential enemies-to-lovers song

[distort-opia]

I saw a lot of song recs so I'm gonna join in. Do you think take me to church by hozier suits batjokes? I see it as a duet between the two of them. Like the intro is bruce talking about joker

My lover's got humor

She's the giggle at a funeral

Knows everybody's disapproval

I should've worshiped her sooner

If the Heavens ever did speak

She's the last true mouthpiece

Every Sunday's getting more bleak

A fresh poison each week

"We were born sick", you heard them say it

My church offers no absolutes

She tells me, "Worship in the bedroom"

And then joker's part

The only Heaven I'll be sent to

Is when I'm alone with you

I was born sick, but I love it

Command me to be well

A-, Amen, Amen, Amen

what do you think? I am not very familiar with tumblr so my formatting is maybe off.

Mm, you could spin the song as a Batjokes-y duet... although to be honest, for me Take Me To Church is much more of a Hannigram song, and I can't really apply it to a different ship. 'I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies' and 'I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knives' is just... so Will and Hannibal. Not to mention the church imagery and religious motif that's so poignant in season 3 of the show, and that applies here so well.

From Hozier's songs, It Will Come Back kills me with the Batjokes implications:

"Don't let me in with no intention to keep me Jesus Christ, don't be kind to me Honey, don't feed me, I will come back"

The whole song is very Joker in DotF to me :) Because Bruce did let him in (as shown in that flashback), and the whole story is pretty much Joker... coming back.

[thelaurenshippen]

this month's mixtape is Desperate Hollow! I write notes to all of my playlists and this month, I also wrote a ton about the process of working on this story, so if y'all are interested in that too, I'm happy to post that writing here! just let me know. but for now, music and rivals-to-friend-to-enemies-to-lovers feelings.

here are the basics that you need to know: Tex Bullock (a name he chose at 11) joined the notorious Barlowe Boys after he was orphaned at 8 years old, with Barlowe taking him under his wing. Sawyer Watson was similarly orphaned years later and fell in with the gang when he and Tex were both 14. they did not like each other at first. but fast forward thirteen years and they've become the best of friends, with feelings beyond friendship buried in both their hearts, when a confrontation with Barlowe leads to Sawyer shooting Tex in the chest and leaving him for dead. 

fast forward again, seven years this time, and Sawyer has been living in a dead-end town (Desperate Hollow, of course) when who should roll into town, horseless and clearly running from something, but Tex. 

that is, more or less, everything you need to know that happens in the first few chapters. okay, let's get into it: 

1. "Bottom of the River" - Delta Rae

This playlist was started so long ago, in 2019, and since then I've honed so much about the story, even though I haven't touched this playlist. As a result, a lot of the songs are seeking a vibe that I hadn't quite clicked into - this is definitely a vibe song. It sounds to me like dragging yourself across dusty plains, hoping that salvation will come find you soon, either in the sight of civilization or in death. Essentially: where Tex begins.

2. "Born This Way" - Bear and a Banjo

Though both Sawyer and Tex have their own playlists (which I'll be sharing over the next two months) as well as several different ship mixes, there are certain songs that are more one or the other on this playlist. Sawyer's life before joining the Barlowe Boys was fairly peaceful - as a Black man living in Montana, he didn't exactly have it easy, but he had parents who loved each other and loved him. That sense of family is something he never quite gets back with the gang.

What happened to my freedom, separated my family/Bringing me to the foreign place/Now I'm focused on surviving in the midst of evil/Don't think it's ever gonna be the same

Fun fact! This song is actually from a fiction podcast about a fictional musical collaboration. 

3. "Devil's Backbone" - The Civil Wars

Meanwhile, Tex was raised by a criminal father, his mother having died when he was eighteen months old. So when Barlowe found him and showed him the kind of affection and guidance his father never did, it was easy for Tex to fall into line on the criminality side. Sawyer is a lot more moral than Tex in a lot of ways - he's never killed anyone, whereas Tex has earned himself a pretty fearsome reputation. Sawyer doesn't always approve of what Tex does but...that doesn't mean he doesn't have a weakness for him all the same. 

Don't care if he's guilty, don't care if he's not/He's good and he's bad and he's all that I've got

Also, Sawyer was raised in the church whereas Tex's dad was probably? Irish Catholic but I don't think he ever talked about God with Tex. Neither one of them is very religious anymore, but I love the line Oh Lord, oh Lord, what do I do?/I've fallen for someone who's nothing like you

4. "Tell That Devil" - Jill Andrews

I found this song because it's the theme for  Wynonna Earp, a delightful supernatural Western with lots of queerness. 

I gave you all I got to give/I know that ain't no way to live/so I told that devil to take you back - so much of the conflict between Tex and Sawyer is about loyalty, to each other and to Barlowe. I think this could work in multiple ways--either one of them saying it to Barlowe, or Sawyer saying it to Tex. 

5. "I'm a Wanted Man" - Royal Deluxe

This is a Tex song - both how the world sees him and the way he sees himself. 

I would kill again to keep from doing time is more or less a plot point, and you should never ever trust my kind is a central conflict within him. 

If you asked me to change/I don't know if I can/I'll always be who I am

Royal Deluxe is all over these playlists - they make "outlaw rock" which in my view, is essentially cowboy-outlaw roleplaying fanfic. I'm so glad it exists. 

6. "I'm Bad" - The Last Vegas

More of a vibe song, but I do think this is a little bit how Tex sees himself sometimes. He doesn't relish violence, doesn't actually really want to be an outlaw, but it's pretty much all he's ever known -- this is my note from 2019 or whenever I first wrote the notes and I don't have much to add to it (other than to say I'm not sure Tex doesn't relish violence. It's complicated. I did tell you the story got darker). Hindsight being 20/20, if I were to remake these playlists now, this would go on the Barlowe playlist. But this and the Tex and Sawyer playlists have been so baked for so long, I can't conceive of any other song placement. 

7. "Raise Hell" - Brandi Carlile 

If Tex has an anthem this is it. For some reason, I didn't end up putting it on his personal playlist, because I think it fits the ~vibes~ better.

I've been down with a broken heart/Since the day I learned to speak/The devil gave me a crooked start/When he gave me crooked feet - This is sort of the companion to "Born This Way". Tex's father took a lot more shape since I wrote this initial note, but it applies even more now. Tex was never going to walk straight (dual meaning intended). 

I dug a hole inside my heart/To put you in your grave/At this point it was you or me/And mama didn't raise no slave/You took my face in both your hands/And looked me in the eye/And I went down with such a force/That in your grave I lie - I was coy with my notes on these lyrics previously, but it does work on multiple levels - Tex and Sawyer both have to bury each other in their hearts after that deadly confrontation and, for seven years, Sawyer thinks he put Tex in his actual grave. Which, from his perspective, might as well be his own grave for as much as he wants to exist in a world without Tex. Anyway, yeah, graves are a thing in the book. 

8. "Dangerous" - Royal Deluxe

Mostly a vibes song - I like to think of this as a theme song of sorts, for when Sawyer and Tex were in their early twenties, perfect partners, taking the West by storm and becoming figures of legend. 

9. "Blood on My Name" - The Brothers Bright

As I said, Sawyer is the less violent of the two, doesn't like being an outlaw at all really but that doesn't mean he isn't deadly. Tex wears his anger like a well-worn coat, but Sawyer's rage is buried deep.

Yes, Sawyer's rage is buried deep, but it's also different from Tex's - it's a simplification, but Tex spends most of his life angry at himself, Sawyer spends that time angry at the world. After Sawyer shoots Tex, those positions switch. Tex is the one who has blood all over his reputation, his name, but Sawyer's one kill (so he thinks) haunts him in a way killing never bothered Tex. 

There's a reckoning a-coming/And it burns beyond the grave/With lead inside my belly/'Cause my soul has lost its way/Oh, Lazarus, how did your debts get paid? - brain goes brrrrr at this re: Sawyer, but I've got to save some thoughts for the actual book. 

10. "Gun in My Hand" - Dorothy

Why did love put a gun in my hand...Why did love put a knife in my heart - I mean, that really says it all.

All the talk of redemption, revenge, opening up scars...delicious. 

Was it for the thrill of pushin' my hope to the edge - if I think about this too long I'll spontaneously combust. 

11. "Desperado" - Rihanna*

Okay, okay, okay - this is the keystone song of both this playlist and their relationship. I love it. It's modern and cool but has that old West swag and, okay, look, this might be a stretch, but "Desperado" sort of sounds like "Desperate Hollow" said with a drawl and GAH. I love this song.

I'm not tryna go against you/Actually, I'm going withcha/Gotta get up out of here and/You ain't leaving me behind/I know you won't, 'cause we share common interests/You need me, there ain't no leaving me behind - the premise of this story initially really hinged on one fact: that Tex and Sawyer needed each other to get out of Desperate Hollow.

There ain't nothing here for me anymore/But I don't wanna be alone - I have so much to say about this lyric but I don't think I can without writing an essay that gives away the whole book, so I'll shut up.

If you want we could runaways/running from any sight of love - again, if I speak--

12. "Heaven and Back" - Emily West

I don't know, I just wanted to end this playlist on a kinda romantic song! this is one of those songs that just feels like them and I can't describe why.

A big reason this song is on the playlist is that, back in 2019, I was building a pitch for a big studio that ended up going nowhere, but the exec I was working with sent me this song at the same moment I was putting the final touches on this playlist and it just clicked in my brain. 

I want you to be my man/I want you to be more than a friend/I dare you to break our plans

[ettadunham]

A Buffy rewatch 2x10 What’s My Line Part 2

aka if you’re the Slayer and I’m the Slayer then whose shirt is this

Welcome to this dailyish text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and point out / hyperfocus on one detail in it in 10-3k words. Or maybe go through each and every random scene I choose. Rules are fake.

And today I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well What’s My Line Part 2 holds up. Like you know what, Kendra is still great, and Xander and Cordelia’s relationship is still baffling.

What’s My Line is technically the first two-parter of the show, although people often treat the very first two episodes as a 90-minute-pilot. However, while those told one continued story, Welcome to the Hellmouth was still very much a pilot that set up not just those threads that are then resolved in The Harvest, but the entire season, nay, the show at that.

Part 1 of What’s My Line meanwhile is only setting the stage for its conclusion, and as a result has much more difficulty standing on its own I think. And I’m not just saying that to justify how I almost completely ignored what happened in the episode itself when choosing my rant yesterday. Well, maybe just a little... But I’ve also just watched Part 2, and holy crap, so much more stuff is happening here.

Before jumping into the excitement, let’s start with some quotes, and the best kind of them at that: out of context.

Willow:  I mean, two Slayers at the same time?

Willy:  What are you gonna do with him anyway? Spike:  I'm thinkin' maybe dinner and a movie. I don't want to rush into anything. I've been hurt, you know.

Okay, so the latter is pretty much hinting at stuff that’s essentially canon, while the former is literally just me taking a line out of context entirely, but you know what, deal with it.

Like dealing with this 90s fashion statement.

I know, right? Fabulous.

You know what else is fabulous? Kendra.

(God, I’m killing it with the segues today.)

I commented last time on how the accent was a weird choice when no one seemed to have warned Bianca Lawson in advance to prepare for that, but you know what, she’s making it work. And her and Buffy’s storyline here is actually much more interesting than I remembered.

I like that this isn’t a one-way street where Kendra needs to learn to loosen up and make friends. Because she’s also right when she tells Buffy that her relationship with Angel clouds her judgement. (She also ends up being right about them having to kill Angel at some point. Just saying.)

They even acknowledge each others strengths. When Buffy says that her emotions are her assets, Kendra’s answer isn’t to belittle her approach, but to say that while that may work for Buffy, it’s not what she prefers.

I love this song.

And yes, Buffy then tries to convince Kendra to utilize her emotions more, but I also like that moment during the church fight, where Buffy proposes for them to switch opponents. I like to think of it as her realizing that cop lady needed an opponent who had a much more sophisticated technique than her, while she was calling on her already sizable contempt for Spike to kick his ass.

And by the end of the episode, Kendra is still not a hug-person, and that’s okay.

It’s hard to talk about Kendra, knowing what will happen to her, but I really was pleasantly surprised by how much better her storyline is here than I remembered. She essentially serves as a contrast to Buffy, yes, but I like that it’s a contrast that they can both actually learn from.

Her line about being the Slayer being a calling rather than a job also neatly ties into what Buffy’s been struggling with during Part 1. Yesterday I likened Buffy’s apathy towards her future in lieu of her responsibilities to a burned out millenial in today’s job market. But Kendra’s observation puts that jaded approach into perspective.

Buffy doesn’t stand up to the forces of evil on a daily basis because she has to or because she doesn’t have a choice - she does it because she does have a choice. She has a choice to make the world a little bit safer and she’s the kind of person who would take on that responsibility time and time again.

They really are the best of girls.

Meanwhile Drusilla (there really is no easy way to segue to Drusilla from Kendra, huh) tortures Angel for what he did to her family. Which is... kind of fascinating? The way vampires retain certain parts of their human selves, and twist others seem to wildly fluctuate from person to person, and it will probably come up later on in these discussions.

This is also the episode where Xander and Cordelia start hooking up... And it’s weird, isn’t it? Especially the swelling romantic music that starts playing whenever they kiss. Which, when I was younger, would signal it for me that this is some grand enemies-to-lovers romance happening. Now that I’m older and more jaded it plays more like a comic effect highlighting how this will all obviously fall apart.

Eventually.

But at least my last two braincells are talking about monkey pants, and that’s just very on brand.

Aaaaand, I’m almost at the halfway mark of the season! I’m very prepared and not at all scared to get emotionally scarred by this show all over again.

Yeah.