#anyway please enjoy the very eclectic mix of songs here

[sovinly]

I want #1 for All Of Them please!

Oh gosh, you are a DELIGHT

Phi: Tiptoe - Imagine Dragons

This has always struck me as a Phi song? She just has this quiet, head-down determination to succeed and do better, be better, that no one saw coming - not Crestmaker, not Seath. I think that juxtaposition of cautious tiptoe and hope/determination is very Phi.

* Bonus Phi/Terry song: Be My Luck - Oysterband - So, like, they didn’t meet in a bar, but the whole aesthetic of this song, that folksy, worn-in sound, that in-between space that turns into an invitation of something more, really just feels like them. If they had met in a bar? Would totally have been like this.

Mero: Health to the Company - Blackmore’s Night

One of the things that’s great about this song is that it’s really versatile in tone? And like, it can absolutely be cheerful, which is part of why it works for Mero, who believes in people and that people can be better when they work for one another, she is also haunted by the losses she’s had and fearful of losing people in the future. Also, she’s a bard, leading songs like this is definitely in her wheelhouse.

Okay, this is long, so here is a cut, and all the NPC songs are below!

Adilet: Freedom of Falling - VÉRITÉ

I am now departing radically from the literal lyrics, because the feel of this song and the refrain seems to suit for me. It’s just that, for someone as generally upbeat as Adilet, and as much as they appreciate the changeability of a non-physical form, they have a lot of conflicted feelings about existence. There’s a great contradiction in the idea of falling and freedom, and that people don’t seem to generally get close to them. Like, they have some friends! But I am now emotions about this AI who, living on a station, naturally has limited interaction with the physical world.

Athan: The Weight of Love - Snow Patrol

Okay, have to tread a little carefully around stuff because player knowledge. I don’t think it’s spoilers, but I don’t want anyone to feel spoiled. But Athan is the sort of restless person who knows what he wants, and what he wants is what he has now, an inn and information on his own terms. He traveled half the galaxy to get it. There was freedom in going to Mir, and absolutely the weight of love, because he is so in love with his husband. And now I am emotions about them.

Kian: Falling Apart - Michael Schulte

I mean, looking at the lyrics, I guess there’s room to interpret this as a mournful song, but in this context, I’m interpreting it more as finding oneself in falling apart, and in recognizing the triumph and the loss of history simultaneously. The instrumentals are so gentle, and for me it’s about quietly being in love and finding freedom and goals, because being in love (even this utterly, peacefully so) isn’t enough. But helping people is, making a life is. And it’s also... the loss of a home, the difficulty of adapting to disability which is difficult even when not stigmatized.

* Bonus Athan/Kian song: Your Love Could Start a War - The Unlikely Candidates - Space imagery! Fierce devotion! Love as a revelation and a revolution! Entirely how they feel about one another, and a large part of what brought them to move to the outskirts of space together. (I realize this makes this sound like there’s potential for homophobia in their background? There is not, no space homophobia, that is not a thing.)

Lorraine: Storm Song - Phildel

I feel like this one is a little more self explanatory, considering Lorraine’s drive to make sure her children are safe and, uh, I feel like a storm is an excellent metaphor for my favorite adventuring party. But also, Lorraine has so much anger and regret at how things happened, and so much determination to make things right, to strike swiftly and silently and completely. But the softness, the delicacy of the vocals is... very fitting for a woman who is so reserved and quiet and steel down to her core.

Niko: Edge of Seventeen - The Wind and the Wave

In my continual reinterpreting songs that are supposed to be romantic (which is like all of them, WHY), Niko’s whole thing about loneliness and being lost and searching fits in very well with this? Like, she’s a paladin searching not just for redemption, but also a better understanding of herself and her craft. She’s trying so hard and so quietly! And though it’s not quite the right brand of folksy, the light, airy sounds of the refrain resonate with her whole windsoul genasi self.

Devon: Thistle & Weeds - Mumford and Sons

The relatively bare instrumentation and subdued vocals here for most of the track work well, I think, for Devon and his relative lack of familiarity with music and the world in general? And also there’s the fact that Devon has been utterly torn up and thrown over for the sake of greed, and also that he very cautiously cultivates growth and resilience. I don’t know that it’s a full-arc Devon song, but I think it’s definitely a where-Devon-is-now song.

Loren: Until the Forest Knows - Jhameel

Everything about this song feels Loren so well, I think. There’s a sort of brassy brightness to the music itself, and the affectionate tone of the speaker is super appropriate. Also, just, that it’s about hope and growing out of fear and into yourself, especially considering how huge of an impact seeing the forests of Nosirion-1 and Alorvin’s grown buildings has had on her. It’s just a sweet, thoughtful song for a sweet, thoughtful, anxious girl.

Ren: Spirit Cold - Tall Heights

It’s a little weird to me that this song feels so much like Ren, because their musical style is so utterly different than this. Like, I feel like they would not be about this song until they did a substantially different sounding cover of it. It’s a little too hipster and not quite folk enough for them. But the lyrics and the feel of it, struggling to maintain a sense of self in radically altered circumstances, is very much their preoccupation. They’re both a very independent person and also very attached to their twin, and new life circumstances and adjusting to pain and recovering from trauma is… a lot.

Seb: Heavy - Birdtalkers

I tend to think of Seb and Ren’s prevailing philosophy as “This Too Shall Pass,” but Seb particularly, I think, values trying to shed pain and to search for healing. It’s part of why he’s a cleric (and a cleric of Mishakal, Our Lady of Universal Space Healthcare, specifically), because he seeks healing in healing and helping others. He’s an easygoing and cheery guy, but there’s a weight and pain and responsibility equal to Ren’s on his shoulders, and I feel like the subtext (and the overt text) of this song fits very well with the way that he tries to cope and survive.

* Bonus! Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel in NYC) - Fall Out Boy is definitely a Ren-and-Seb theme. One, they were definitely both pop-punk teenagers, this is a Fact of the Universe, and two, the anger-despair-defiance of hanging on and surviving is also a thing.

Aluarashi, That Which Deepest Is: Haru no Umi/The Sea in Spring - Michio Miyagi

This was a tough one? But I like this arrangement because it’s varied and almost playful at parts, which struck me as very much the side of Aluarashi you got to see navigating their cave (and speaking to them). I’d say this is still too reductive, but since it’s spring’s sea, I guess that does imply that there’s three other seasons too. XD

Bizza: Sleeping Sickness - City and Color

Like I said earlier, I was going back and forth here, but I’ll talk about this too. It works so well in both a metaphorical and a literal sense. It’s plaintive and tired and honestly, there’s a bare honesty of exhaustion that’s very Bizza too. He continues to both need and deserve a very good nap.

[madzilla84]

Mad I know it’s not technically your birthday for like 6 more hours BUT as an early celebration of you, can you please rant about what dnp’s opinions of your favorite Beatles albums/songs would probably be 🥺 (also hi miss you ly)

whaaaa thank you bb!!! the best gift is the opportunity to ramble about the beatles *and* dnp. MY BRANDING <3 (miss you too; ugh one day things will be different and there will be drinks and nerdery again ;_;)

I know you sent this last night, but it took me A While because it’s something I had to think about quite a bit! (plus i have been working oh no)

(under a cut for ur dashes)

It’s mainly tough to actually narrow down my favourites in the first place because I’m always like. What even are my favourites. I thiiiiiiink I’ve rambled before about what their favourites might be? But as for their opinions of my faves … I’ll cherry pick a few because otherwise we’ll be here all day sdkdsj

lbr, there must be some i love they’d be pretty meh about, but because the beatles’ catalogue, even without the solo stuff, is so varied in style, there’s bound to be something they’d like, even a lil bit. I feel like Phil might gravitate towards the more well-known stuff, as it’s more nostalgic? The stuff everyone knows, even if they’re not and have never been a fan and never deliberately listened to their music, they just know it anyway because it’s in the collectibve psyche? There’s a familiarity to those sorts of tracks I think he’d just enjoy … album-wise, I reckon he’d like the red and blue albums the most (which are essentially ‘greatest hits’), and nothing wrong with that! I started with those myself… but loads of tracks on them are likely to be ones he knows, even vaguely. If we’re talking proper albums, and favourites of mine, I reckon the movie soundtracks might appeal (especially alongside the movies which he might like), particularly Help (side 1 anyway). And the stuff on Blue like Lady Madonna (my fave when I was a kid) or Hello, Goodbye. The upbeat stuff.

*IF* he chose to delve a bit deeper then I think he’d probably like the stuff around the Rubber Soul/Revolver era (which is right after Help anyway). Particularly Rubber Soul, and track wise I think particularly hmm… Norwegian Wood, Nowhere Man, lotsss off Revolver. I could probably pick tracks from every album that he might like, though, which is why I went for red/blue.

Dan’s a bit more of a wildcard as his music taste is all over the place (which I’m sure he would call ‘eclectic’), but he’s also more likely to do a deep dive and listen to some of the more niche stuff (inasmuch as anything by the most famous band in the world can be ‘niche’, but you know). Of my faves, I think he’d particularly dig … one that springs to mind for some reason is the version of ‘tomorrow never knows/within you without you’ from the ‘love’ (remixes) album. It’s just. So good. And I think he’d enjoy it… I think he’d really enjoy the vibe of the lyrics of ‘within you without you’, but that particular mix makes it a bit more … accessible? than the original version (which I developed a big appreciation for a couple of years ago, but some people don’t enjoy the sitar-heavy songs much, which is fair enough), and it has more of a heavy beat. IT’S SO GOOD did I mention that?

I feel like he’s more into lyrics in general, so there might be some that jump out at him for that reason … from among my particular faves, I dunno why i vibe so hard with hey bulldog but i DO, and maybe he would too; I’m not thinking of any particular person (like, definitely not phil, or anyone really), it’s just so much A Mood in general. Also the fact that it’s a brilliant song that then devolves into John and Paul’s Weird Shenanigans at the end feels very … on brand. And of course I feel like he’d have an appreciation for the piano-heavy stuff; Paul McCartney never had any formal piano training either, and also learned to play by ear, by himself, and he’s done ok for himself so you know. (I Would Die if Dan ever played a beatles song on piano uuuuuuuu) Top choice for those for me would be the opening of You Never Give Me Your Money or Martha My Dear but that’s just me ofc

If he were feeling soppy - and he can’t fool me, I know he does sometimes - there are so many to choose from, especially Here Comes The Sun or In My Life or, if I can veer into solo for a moment, Maybe I’m Amazed. (And ooooo also solo, but Watching The Wheels by John, hashtag relatable). And definitely Don’t Let Me Down, and I’m A Loser (the much more self-disparaging cousin of Nowhere Man), and ofc they would vibe a bit too hard with You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.

This sort of (unavoidably) veered off from which of *my faves* they would like and more into which ones they’d like in general, oooooops.  And it was probably mostly nonsensical. But man, I wish I could drink wine and listen to Beatles with them ;_; (Yeah ok, they might be bored after ten minutes but whatever!! ;))