#bluesy personal

[vipier]

listen for as much as tristan fixates on music, at least in his modern verses, I should be all rights have some kind of proper fleshed out musician au for him. the problem being he’d hate the attention and performing in general probably. but if I did, he’d be a guitarist or drummer in a band, OR a solo folk artist who writes the most gut wrenching heartbreaking songs but is incredibly reclusive and known for being kinda cold in one-on-one interactions which doesn’t really fit with the passion in his music.

[musicallisto]

DEAR DEVOTED DELICATE???????? YOU'RE HERE????? omg 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 hi ♡

Also, uhhh, if you're up for it... 🌊

— now playing … ılı.lıllılı.ıllı. personal jesus - johnny cash (originally by depeche mode) 1:23 ──♡─────3:19

[princessmadelines]

whoever started the ‘country music bad’ trend is a filthy filthy liar. there’s so much good country music out there

[martiusmensis]

Act Your Age, Jeno NCT DREAM and KARINA aespa

[sleepdepravity]

I have absolutely no good idea what the plot of the body beautiful is but some of these songs are real nice

anyways apparently it was such a flop that one of the co-producers (who was a panelist on the game show "What's My Line?") could not recognize one of the cast members when he appeared as one of the contestants on the show, which absolutely delighted the show's host.

[kazbiter]

very interested in how the storyline of ronan's sexuality is developed in the dream thieves as a battle between kavinsky and gansey while adam is almost never present in these scenes, which makes it even more interesting that we found out in CDTH that ronan was set on adam the moment he saw him. i think that ronan is attracted on some level to both gansey and kavinsky (you can draw the lines of how much romantic intention you think he hold towards either of the yourself, that's a rabbit hole I would need a whole other post to go down) but more so I think he was attracted to the IDEA of both of them and certain qualities that each possessed, and that the real question wasn't does ronan want gansey or kavinsky because we know he wants adam but rather who's qualities resonate more with who ronan is, or who he is choosing to be at this critical moment in his character development. kavinsky is a dangerous thrill and often comes wrapped in ronan's other favorite self destructive attempts to outrun himself, while gansey is ronan's history and proof of his deep capacities for loyalty and love. he tells kavinsky it was never going to be me and you and that it's not going to be ronan and gansey because that was never the question- maggie was obviously always planning on bluesy and pynch. the answer to who ronan WANTS in adam. the question of who ronan IS- that's what he's trying to decide here. his self hatred is such a heavy weight on him and theme in tdt, and the kavinsky/gansey dichotomy represents the the path he will choose to take to deal with it- keep try to drive faster than his demons or accept that he can still be loved even if he isn't the person he once was. the dream thieves my beloved ronan lynch my beloved

[luvtak]

if you had forever, lfx x reader

✰ genre/tw fluff! a little hurt comfort? kisses, pet names, unedited <3

✰ w/c 1197

✰ hi my loves!! this one has been in my docs for six weeks now loll and as yesterday was my 21 birthday I felt now was the perfect time to post it!! i love you all 🤍

The air was hot, starting fires on your skin where the water didn’t touch, rising up and down your calf as the waves came and receded. Even with your eyes closed you could see it, blue green water rushing closer and closer until it falls back, that familiar shhhh rising in your ears as the salt-water reaches your legs. Skin sticky from sand and sunscreen, goosebumps rising on your thighs… cold water running down your legs like your lover's hands. Your friends sing along to the music flowing from half-broken speakers, a simple pop song from your childhood that everyone knows the words to. 

You can hear them singing along, voices mingling together as they follow the chorus–good, bad, and gravelly; the song of summer. 

Even from the outskirts of the party, you can feel the joy seeping into your sun bitten skin, mingling into the bluesy sadness that’s crept up on you. All the laughter, all the smiles remind you of fuzzy pictures of adolescence, here one day gone the next. Days just like this, nothing but a photo in a long forgotten album, waiting for this one to join them. 

Your boyfriend is around here somewhere, enjoying the salt air and the fast-paced sound of his youth. You came here together, but you haven’t seen him since your first drink–about three drinks ago. He’s probably somewhere with Chris or Jisung, getting into trouble… He’s probably having the time of his life, smiling that smile that rivals the sun, and giggling at his friends. He probably looks beautiful. 

It’s this reason why you’re yearning for him, staring into the wide expanse of the ocean and begging for him to show himself soon. The last drink seems to be working its way through your veins with the unwanted guest of melancholy; tainting your blood with the familiar fear that this will be the last time you do this. If Felix was here he’d hold you close and smile away the doubts, he’d remind you that as long as he loves you there’ll be beach days and good friends, oceans and laughter. If Felix was here, you wouldn’t be so sad, but you can’t seem to find him.  

You’ve always been adept at the blues, wearing your sadness like it was a career rather than a fleeting feeling. Anxiety pooling in your belly like a sick desire for the worst to come, worries tickling your tongue, and pounding through your brain. The feeling eating at you now is one your know well–it’s the sinking acknowledgment of time moving, the melody of birthdays and holidays past, a happiness that is so diluted with sadness that the joy barely exists. 

It's hard to explain why blue skies and your friend's voices make you sad, maybe it’s the tide turning… A siren song reminding you to hold them close. You wish you could find your boy, bury the listless worries into his chest, and rise again clear headed. 

Countless minutes have passed by, just staring at the water, watching the waves pull in and ease itself back out. Breathing in and out in time with the tide, one with the living sea. 

You hear him before you see him, the quick steps through the sand and his deep breath alerting you to his presence. The one person you wanted to see, staring at you like it's not your heart he’s made a home out of, like you’re just a pretty girl he wants to take a bite out of. 

He’s devastating to look at, gorgeous and dreamy like a prince out of a storybook. A boy so beautiful he must’ve been born from the sun; radiant and blinding, and somehow he belongs to you. 

The stars are peeking over the waves now, blinking down at you like his eyes when he first wakes up; the friendliest constellations you’ve ever seen. 

“What’ya doing all the way out here?” his voice, brings a warm pool of light to sit in your gut. Oh how special this boy is.

“Nothing, just needed a couple seconds to myself.” you say. 

“Does that mean you want me to go?” 

“Never.” 

Felix’s eyes, impish and fairylike, are alight with mischief. He’s looking at you like he’ll trick you and tease you and make you fall in love with him before the sun comes up, as if you weren’t already. His body hasn’t moved an inch, made no move to touch you, yet the way his gaze rakes over you mirrors all the times he’s felt your skin before. You can almost feel him, wrapping his hands around you and settling his rosebud smile down your neck. 

With catlike grace, he moves closer, settling himself down next to you in the sand, and still he won’t touch you. 

“Did you get sad again, Honey?” he’s slightly slurring, sliding one word into the next, but the warmth in his voice pierces your heart. You’re not sure how to answer, was it sadness? Really you think you missed him, yearned for his company in such a silly way that sucked all the happiness out of your lungs; took too many shots of nostalgia without his hand to hold and had to sit down. 

“Just a little, but it’s better now that you’re with me.” 

“My love, I’m always with you.” 

You’re shocked, not for the first time, at the casual way he confesses his love to you. Speaking words of romance as easily as muttering off a grocery list–It’s the sincerity that gets you, the full body awareness that this is the truth.

 At once, your arms slide over his shoulders and rest against his neck; breathing in the assurance that his scent gives. He responds in seconds, so fast you think this is what he’s been waiting for–waiting to touch you until you grasped for him. His hold is tight andeverything you’ve ever wanted, and his heart is beating so fast. 

In his kiss is every wish you’ve ever made, safe and seductive all at once. 

“I love you so much” murmured in between kisses, and you don’t know who says them. All you know is the feel of his lips on your skin–the spellbinding way he unspools you, untangling anything else but him from your mind. 

There's no way you can go back to the party after this, covered in sand and kisses; drunk on Felix and his liquid courage, yet no part of you longs for home. You would stay like this, breathing his air and warming his bones. 

If you had forever, every day would be like this–in love and dreaming into him. If you had forever you’d double not his veins to yours and live inside his skin… If you had forever, every moment would be this kiss. 

Yet time keeps moving, and eventually the sand cools and the music is turned down. Felix moves away, close enough his nose swipes against yours, but far enough you can’t catch his grin. He’s smiling that perfect smile, the one that sinks ships in your belly and brings home to your heart. 

“Should we go home, My love?” he asks.

And who are you to refuse him?

LUVTAK © 2023

[happilyfeatherafter]

Dean’s VOs in The Winchesters (season one!)

(LISTEN ALONG WITH AUDIO HERE)

Dean episode 1: 

( Ten Years After's "I'd Love to Change the World" ) ♪ ♪ 

March 23, 1972. The day Dad came home from the war, and the day he met Mom. Now I know this story might sound familiar, but I'm gonna put the pieces together in a way that just might surprise you. And in order to do that, I have to start all the way at the beginning. 

[END OF EPISODE]

What they didn't know is that the Akrida weren't just a threat to Earth, but to all of existence. Now, like I told you, there's gonna be some surprises. Hell, I'm still trying to find all the puzzle pieces myself. But I'll explain everything. And until then, I'll keep picking the music. 

♪ ♪ Spread them wide ♪ ♪ Rich or poor ♪ ♪ Them and us ♪ ♪ Stop the war ♪ 

Dean episode 2: 

( punchy, percussive music ) ♪ ♪  The ties that bind a family together can be complicated. Parents raise you, teach you what's right and wrong, and in some instances, how to kill monsters. But no matter who you are, there comes a time when you have to break from them and make your own way. And if you're not careful, things can get pretty ugly. 

Dean episode 3: 

( dramatic music ) ♪ ♪ ( screams ) ( sizzling ) ( growling )  There's no map to being a hunter. No playbook. You gotta follow your gut. But that can only take you so far. Truth is, you can't do it all on your own. You need other people to help guide the way... Your friends, your family. Otherwise you just end up lost. 

Dean episode 4: 

( eerie music ) ♪ ♪  Fighting the battle between good and evil isn't easy, especially when the first monster you have to face is the one inside yourself. ( soft dramatic music ) 

Dean episode 5: 

( dramatic music ) ♪ ♪ Spending a lifetime of hunting monsters takes its toll. There comes the time when you gotta let out that pain inside you. If you don't, it'll eat you alive. 

Dean episode 6: 

(Lata) I am centered. I am at peace. I create my own path, and I walk in it fearlessly. (end Lata)

Hunting has a way of changing a person. After a while, right, wrong, good, evil, they all start to look the same. And then it makes you start to wonder, "Who's really the monster here--them or me?" 

[END OF EPISODE]

Hunting's not for everyone. You have to be strong, stay sharp, make tough decisions, and it's not easy, But then again, the righteous things never are. 

Dean episode 7: 

( birds chirping ) Comes a time in every hunt when the fightin' starts. And the difference between winning and losing isn't whether you have the holy water, the wooden stake, or the silver bullet. It's whether you've got the grit to get the job done. (Mary on radio)

Dean episode 8:

(John Moran’s “Rebel”) ♪ ♪ Being a hunter, it means living a life of sacrifice-- not a lot of room for dreams. But you open your heart and get a little lucky, you'll find you gain more than you lose. ♪ ♪

Dean episode 9:

( mellow bluesy music ) ♪ ♪ This isn't how I saw things going when I pushed over that first domino. Thing is, I've had more than a few dances with free will and fate, but as my dad used to say, "Fate is what you make it."

Dean episode 10:

Hunting and happy endings don't usually mix, so when you get your chance, you got to ask yourself, "How far will I go to get it?"

Dean episode 11:

Being a Hunter means always being on the move, No matter how hard you plan, no matter how hard you work, at a certain point, we all run out of road. It's what we do with those crossroads that defines us.

Dean episode 12:

♪ ♪ ( carnival music resumes ) ♪ ♪ ( giggling manically ) ♪ ♪ ( shrill giggling ) ( whispering voices ) ( strange sounds ) 🤡🤡🤡

Hunting's a dishonest business. You gotta lie all the time about who you are and what you do. But the hardest lies aren't the ones you tell other people. They're the ones you tell yourself.

(Mary to John) Another day looking for this mystery man and still nothing. It's like this guy's a ghost. (End Mary to John).

Dean episode 13:

*RECORD SCRATCH* HE’S HERE!!!!! We’re going in universe baby.

(Opening scene, dramatic music ) ♪ ♪ 

Dean: John Winchester. 

John: Sir, can I help you? 

Dean: This is for you. 

John: Where did you get this? Who are--  [...] One ticket for Lawrence, Kansas. 

Ticket lady: Okay.

BOBBY, IT’S FREAKIN’ BOBBY!!!: We're not supposed to meddle with things, ya idjit!

Dean: You always said if I was gonna be stupid, I might as well be smart about it. 

Bobby: Yeah, that does sound about like me. We're not even supposed to be here. 

Dean: Come on, the letter was meant for him. I just, uh, you know, gave it a nudge. 

Bobby: You keep an eye on things here. I'm gonna get the damn cavalry. 

Dean: How you gonna do that? 

Bobby: I got no freaking idea. One last hunt, huh? 

Dean: One last hunt. ♪ ♪

[Insert finale including lots of chat about the ‘ruggedly handsome' mystery man here. For Akrida!Queen exposition science: You're here to talk about the man with no name...he was digging around in things that should have stayed buried. ... The Akrida. You see, our mysterious friend isn't from around here. There's only so much he could do. His hands were tied. Credit where it's due... he did manage to stay ahead of me for a while, but... I can assure you that he's not going to be a problem anymore. ... Well, there's this portal. You see--I'm sure you've heard of it. It's not quite up to code yet, but I managed to pry it open just enough to toss a certain someone and his car into it. No human can survive that gateway, so his body will be torn to shreds for centuries. Anyway, this, um... this old journal... it's all that's left of him.]

Back to the end of the show:

( electricity crackling ) ( engine revving ) ( engine revving ) ( dramatic music )  ♪ ♪ 

John: Mary! ... How did you guys survive? 

Dean (gestures at Baby): She kept Mary safe... me too. Of course, there's not a lot that can tear me apart. I'm already dead. I was stuck in the world between worlds, so I stayed close to that portal, and as soon as I saw baby come through, I hopped in and grabbed the wheel. 

Samuel: So who are you? 

Dean: I'm a Hunter, just like you. But I'm not from this Earth. 

Ada: And how did you get here? 

Dean: When I died, I made it to heaven. And she was waiting for me. So I went for a drive, and then I took a little detour. 

Latika: Through the multiverse. (Dean points ‘bingo’.)

Carlos: S-so what were you looking for? 

Dean: That's a good question, Carlos. I was looking for my family. See, I come from a long line of Hunters. I guess I was hoping that somewhere out there was an Earth that had a version where my family had a shot at a happy ending. When I was driving, I caught wind of the Akrida. Turns out that they were one of Chuck's last creations. 

Millie: Who's Chuck? 

Dean: God. It's a long story, but, uh... basically, he's a real dick. He left the Akrida behind to wipe out all of existence in case he failed. Well... he failed. Eventually the Akrida were going to make their way to my world, and I got family there, so I couldn't let that happen. 

John: T-the letter, why did you-- 

Dean: I took my little detour. The rules were simple. Don't mess with anything. Well... I gave it a little nudge. Thought it might need a little help. Looks like it worked out pretty well. So now that the Akrida are gone, you all can choose your own destiny. You can write your own story. 

Jack: And you can get back to yours. 

Dean: It's all right. It's all right. They're--they're with me. This is Bobby. That's Jack. They're family. Excuse me. You okay? 

Bobby: I told you I'd figure it out. Didn't say I wouldn't get us in more trouble. Look at 'em. Man, this is all kinds of weird... seeing Samuel with a full head of hair. 

Dean: Right? ( chuckles )

Jack (~~or is he?~~): Dean. 

Dean: Yeah. No, I know. I know, Jack. 

Jack: When I restored things, I wanted mankind to make their own fate. That meant no interference from on high, anywhere... no exceptions. 

Dean: I couldn't let our world get destroyed. Sam's still down there, okay? He deserves a good, long life. Hell, they all do. ( indistinct chatter ) So, if you want to cast me out of heaven... so be it. 

Bobby: If we're taking a vote, I'd say you give the guy another chance. 

Jack: There's always another case with you Hunters... even in death. Well... if you're going to meddle in things, finish what you started. After this... it's time to get around to the... "there'll be peace when you are done"... part of the song.

Dean to John: Listen, um... b-before I go... I want to give you two something. My dad... he, uh... Kept a Hunter's journal, looked just like this. I lived my whole life by that damn thing. Well, this is my Hunter's journal. So if you're gonna stay in this game... This will help guide you through it. 

John: Thank you. 

Dean to Mary: I know you're thinking about quitting Hunting. Believe me, I understand. But you need to do me one favor. Keep an eye out for a yellow-eyed demon. And if you even catch a hint of that son of a bitch... I need you to use this. 

Mary: Your family... did you ever find a version where they had a shot of a happy ending? 

Dean: I think I did. 

John: You never told us your name. 

Dean: Hetfield... James Hetfield. (Hetfield is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica.)

( Nick Drake's "One of These Things First" ) ♪ ♪ (Dean, Bobby and Jack vanish with baby). 

Transcripts from: https://tvshowtranscripts.ourboard.org/viewforum.php?f=1550

[saintjosie]

SKIRT GO SPINNY GIRL??

yes it is i! the skirt go spinny girl!

also the girl who is occasionally recognized from these videos!

1) a reminder

2) reverse mulan

3) you think i’m hot and that makes you gay*

4) wonder woman halloween

(* auli’i cravalho, aka moana, saw this one on instagram and loved it so basically i called a disney princess gay and she said YUP)

and also i make music!

1) HYPERBEAM! - the most popular bc it’s an adhd stim banger

2) Inheritance - my first and the song that made me go viral on tiktok for the first time bc i sang this in front of my company when i came out at my job (14k people in the company at the time so it was DRAMATIC)

3) The Lost - a darker experimental bluesy/electronic song

4) Euphoria - MY FAV bc it’s a song that sounds like how gender euphoria FEELS for me

5) The Star - folky sad girl acoustic song, VERY SAD much religious trauma, consume with caution (or don’t if ur like me and like consuming emotional dramatic stuff that makes me cry bc it’s cathartic and wonderful)

AND

i’m also coming out with an album later this year! it’s about the early days of my transition and some of the songs i’ve put out already will be on there but redone.

it’s been something that’s been brewing through the last three years of my transition and it’s deeply personal, emotional, and (hopefully) relatable. it’s folky, bluesy, electronic music that is jam packed full of trauma and triumph and i can’t wait to share it 💜

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Hi Elanor! I wondered if you could recommend any welsh language bands because my only sources rn are the folk stuff that shows up when i search spotify and the rownd a rownd incidental music. I particularly like swing/electroswing, funk, ska, classic rock, and numetal, but am open to most things

I mean Rownd a Rownd is a banger...

Well, here's my overall Welsh music playlist. It's very much my personal tastes, so a lot of Welsh speakers would probably look at it and stagger, clutching their pearls, demanding to know where the Bryn Fôn is, but I personally think he's a cracking lad whose music sucks ass, so there's that

(Prediction: this time tomorrow the notes on this post are going to be full of scandalised Welsh speakers yelling at me in Welsh that I'm a heathen.)

In terms of genre I'm. So so bad. At being able to tell them apart. I cannot stress enough that I don't understand music genres at all. I only understand My Personal Genres, which are very much driven by my synaesthesia. HOWEVER I shall take a stab at this

Swing/electroswing: try Band Pres Llaregub! They have a song called Cymylau which might be a good starting point maybe. I think that might be electroswing. Maybe Pontydd, by Mared? Most of her stuff is more singer-songwriter, but that one has a good swingy, bluesy kind of vibe.

Funk: Kizzy Crawford, start with Sbio maybe. Um, maybe Adwaith? I think they get described as funky punk. Also try Rhyddid, by My Phormula ft EADYTH. And mayyyyybe Carwyn Ellis

Ska: Derwyddon Dr Gonzo, so I'm told. Anweledig (they're funky, too.)

Classic Rock: There's a lot here. Yws Gwynedd (Sebona Fi), y Bandana (oh god they have so many... Geiban, start there), Candelas (Llwytho'r Gwn), Betsan (Ti Werth y Byd).

Nu-metal: Oh god, um... The Night School (start with Edrych i'r Dyfodol), Alffa (start with Gwenwyn), Glain Rhys (Plu'r Gweunydd; listen into the second verse before deciding, but she does have an Evanescence vibe).

I may well be WAY OFF with most of these, as I say I don't understand genres at all. But hopefully these will be a useful starting point if nothing else!

[milkgemini]

Last Call II

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x f!reader

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: This is SMUT! 18+ Minors DNI (i’m not gonna ruin the surprise by telling you what happens ;)

A/N: im so sorry that this took forever babies! i genuinely didn't think anyone was interested. this is for the person who requested part 2 on anon. ily. 

“It’s just here to the left” Jake’s head nodded towards his house.

The heels of your boots clicked as you walked by his side, your hand stuffed in the pocket of his coat from how freezing the night temperature was. 

His hands were warm, a strong contrast against your icy fingers. He rubbed his thumb against your knuckles in his pocket. 

He took your hand from his coat pocket, and held it in his grasp as he guided you up the steps to his home.

As you both approached the front door, he let go of your hand in search of his keys. The outside world was silent. The only sound ringing in your ears was the jingling of his keys, as you watched the condensation leave your lips into the frigid winter air. 

You wrapped your arms around his left arm, seeking any warmth you could find. He huffed a laugh through his nose in response.

Jake twisted the key, unlocking the door and inviting you inside. 

“It’s not much, but it’s mine.”

Your eyes scanned the room. His living room had a gray theme. Gray couch, accentuated by a dark blanket folded on the back of it. 

He had a stack of records piled in the corner leaning against what looked to be an expensive record player. 

Your fingertips traced the dark abstract painting he had hung on the wall. 

He went through the stack of vinyls behind you, flicking through the cases.

“Do you have any requests?”

You walked towards him to view your options.

Your eyes immediately caught the deep red album cover. One of your favorites, you’d recognize it anywhere. 

“Ouu this one please!” you almost yelped to him.

“Ahh, “Coming Home”. You have good taste.” he responded as he placed the vinyl on the turntable.

You could feel the warmth begin to rise against the skin of your cheeks from the compliment. 

The bluesy song began playing in the background as he stood from his crouched position, sliding his hand against the curve of your lower back. 

“Can I get you something to drink?” he asked.

“Well, what do you have? Don’t disappoint the bartender.” you quipped back to him with a smirk on your face.

He chuckled and responded, “Just about anything you can think of. Try me.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, watching him retrieve a glass from the cabinet and turning to face you, waiting for your request.

“Surprise me. Something sour, and don’t hold back.” 

“My kind of girl.” his voice was raspy, sending a chill down your spine. 

He quickly prepared your drink, sliding it across the counter to you, just as you had done for him earlier that night.

As you put the glass to your lips and took a sip, he began preparing his own. 

Simple. Whiskey on the rocks.

You winced as you watched him sip the straight liquor.

“Did I disappoint?” a slight frown splayed across his face.

“Not at all! Mine is great. I just… I don't know how you can drink that.”  the disgusted look remained on your face.

“Understandable. But this is Blanton’s.” he raised the glass to you and took another swig.

From your experience behind the bar, you knew that was expensive stuff.

“I’ve never tried it before, so I guess I shouldn’t make assumptions…” you mimicked his actions and pressed your lips to the rim of the glass, your eyes looking up at him. 

He stood opposite from you on the other side of the island in the kitchen.

“Would you like to try?” he offered as he began to round the corner, coming to your side. 

Your stomach was tight with nerves, from the man you were alone in the room with, and the thought of tasting the bitter liquor.

“Only because you asked so nicely” you reached for the glass in his hand and he pulled it back from you. 

Your eyes met his with confusion behind them. 

“If you're going to try it, you’re going to do so my way.” his voice was laced with lust. 

As he stepped closer to you, you could smell the deep cologne against his skin. His tan chest adorned by a silver medallion necklace. 

His pointer finger was curved and rested underneath your chin, tilting your head up to him. 

He pressed the pad of his thumb against the front of your chin, parting your lips for him. 

His fingertips against your jawline. Tilting your head back, he pulled your lower jaw down, opening your mouth for him.

He took a sip of the auburn liquid from the glass, and hovered himself over you.

Slowly, the liquor trickled past his lips into your mouth.

He used his pointer finger and middle finger to press against the underside of your chin, closing your mouth. 

“Swallow.” He commanded. 

You looked up to him, your eyes wide.

He watched you gulp it down, and before you could even register the burn from the alcohol, his lips smashed against yours.

His hands held your cheeks tightly.

His kiss was needy, begging for you with his lips. 

The tip of his tongue flicked against your bottom lip.

You opened your mouth for him, inviting him inside. 

You felt the warmth of his tongue slide against yours. 

As the kiss deepend, he pushed his hips into the side of your thigh. You felt his hardened length constricted against his jeans.

His saliva mixed with yours in your mouth as you swallowed him down. 

You trailed your fingers against the bare skin of his chest. Reaching the waistline of his jeans, you traced along the elastic band of his underwear. 

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, darling.” he mumbled against your lips, his grip on your cheeks remained tight. 

You hooked your pointer finger underneath the band, pulling him closer to you. 

He wrapped his hands around your hips, pulling you off of the bar stool you were sitting on. 

You stood before him. Your height reaching just beneath his chin.

Jake snaked his fingers through your hair at the nape of your neck and tugged the locks, arching your neck back for him.

His soft lips attached to the sensitive skin of your neck, planting quick kisses and flicking his tongue against you. 

“Second door on the right.” his voice vibrated against you as he continued kissing against you. 

He spun you around by your hips, playfully pushing you towards the direction of his room.

As you walked down the dark hallway, you reached your hand behind you. He interlocked his fingers with yours as you led the way. 

You pushed the door open and scanned the room. His duvet was a deep navy blue, neatly made which surprised you. 

Before you could even reach the bed to sit, you heard the door shut behind you.

Jake began to undo the buttons of his shirt as he watched you perched on the side of his bed.

“And what do you think you're doing?” he questioned, you could hear the smirk in his tone. 

“I’m sitting, Jacob. What does it look like I'm doing?” you were playing his game right back with him. 

He smiled to himself, looking down at the floor. 

You sat on your hands, your nerves coursing through your body, unsure of how he would take your snarky remark. 

His shirt fell from the floor as he took a step towards you. 

“On your knees for me.” he ordered and you complied, embarrassingly fast. 

His hips lined with your eyes as he unbuttoned his jeans. You assisted him with the zipper, pulling it down painfully slow. 

Your bottom lip was tucked tight between your teeth as you looked up to him, fingers tucked under the band of his underwear, tugging them down his hips. 

He helped you pull both his pants and underwear down past his hips, his cock springing free and slapping against his lower stomach. 

You licked your lips at the sight of his length, wrapping your hand around the base of him. 

The tip of his cock rested against your plump lips as you pressed soft kisses to the head.

His hips bucked towards you, needing to feel the warmth of the inside of your mouth.

He laced his fingers through the hair at the back of your head, slightly pulling you towards him.

You flattened your tongue against his length, licking a stripe against it from the base to the tip, your eyes remaining locked with his. 

His lips were pursed as he watched your every move from above. 

“C’mon baby. Taste it.” he applied pressure to the back of your head, pushing you against him. 

You opened your mouth slightly, only letting the tip in. Your tongue swirled around the head, as you brushed the wet skin of the inside of your lips against him.

A breathy moan escaped his lips, edging you on even more.

You lowered your jaw, opening your mouth wider for him. 

“That’s it baby. Let me in.” His words alone caused you to squeeze your thighs together, desperate for any sort of friction. 

You bobbed your head down his length slowly, allowing the skin to become wet with your spit. 

You picked up the pace of your motions, paying close attention to the tip each time you pulled back off of him, your fist still wrapped around the base of his cock with a tight grasp. 

“Just like that, fuck.” he moaned to you, barely a whisper. 

His words encouraged you each time. You wanted all of him. Craving the feeling of the tip of his cock brushing against the back of your throat. 

You flattened the palms of your hands against the bare skin of his thighs, looking up at him with doe eyes as you inched your mouth down his cock. 

He gripped your head with both hands as he began slowly thrusting into your mouth.

He looked down to meet your eyes, silently asking for permission.

You moaned with him in your mouth, granting him the access he so desperately craved.

He held your head as the pace of his thrusts picked up. His cock sliding against your tongue, you opened your throat for him. 

Tears formed in the corner of your eyes as you held back your gags from him. 

Jake felt the tip of his cock brush past your uvula, his eyes rolling in the back of his head. 

He gritted his teeth, trying to hold on as best as he could. 

“You’re filthy. Letting me fuck your face like this.” he spoke to your between thrusts, his fingers tugging your hair at the roots. 

You flattened your tongue, allowing him even farther down your throat, breathing through your nose. 

He pushed your face against him until your nose brushed against his small patch of hair.

He held you there a few seconds as you gagged around his cock. 

Jake pulled you away from him by your hair, a string of saliva hung from your lip attached to his tip. 

He swiped the pad of his thumb against your lips, gathering your spit before slipping it between his own lips. 

You moaned at his actions. 

He pulled you to your feet by your hair. 

“On the bed,” he pushed you back against the mattress.

His hands quickly found the button to your jeans, undoing them and tugging them down your legs. 

He held your legs in the air as he pulled each pant over your feet.

Starting at your ankle, he traced his lips against the inside of your legs, leaving wet kisses in his path. 

He curved his finger under your panties, pulling them to the side.

His pointer finger traced lighty down your lower lips, avoiding the place you wanted to feel his touch the most. 

You bucked your hips up to him, craving the feeling of his fingers. 

He parted your lips with his pointer and middle finger, his eyes scanning over your wetness for him.

His pointer finger ran up your slit before he brought it to his mouth to taste you. 

“Even sweeter than I imagined.” He sucked his finger, pulling it past his lips with a pop. 

You blushed before him, laying against the mattress. 

“Please, Jake.” you begged for him.

“What is it darling? Tell me what you want." He played with you with his words. 

“Touch me.” Your words were strained, you needed him.

His fingertips traced circles over your hardened nipples, hidden behind the thin top you wore. 

Your back arched off the bed, enjoying his touch, but needing more. You shook your head at him, a moan falling past your lips.

“Lower.” you wrapped your fingers around his hand, guiding him down your stomach. 

His hand reached the band of your panties, brushing the back of his fingers against the lace.

He swiped the back of his fingers against your clothed core. 

“Here?” he teased. 

You hooked your thumbs around the band of your underwear, pulling them down yourself, and spreading yourself for him.

“So needy, aren't you?” he pressed the pad of his thumb against the top of your slit, not parting your lips just yet. 

“Yes, Jake. I need you. Please.” you pleaded with him.

His cock twitched at the sound of you begging for his touch. 

His position changed, crouching before you, his face between your thighs. 

You watched from above, as he flattened his tongue, licking a stripe up your slit. 

His cheeks hollowed as he accumulated saliva to the tip of his tongue, letting it roll down from him and dribble onto your lips. 

You whimpered as his spit rolled between your lips. He watched your reaction with a smug look on his face. 

He pointed the tip of his tongue and explored the wet skin between your folds, rolling his tongue over the bud of your clit. 

Your hips rose from the bed at the feeling of him flicking against your sensitive bud.

He attached his lips around your clit, gently sucking. His eyes were trained on you from below.

You pressed the back of your head deeper into the pillow as you reached down to tangle your fingers in his long brown hair. 

Just as he did to you before, you pressed him further against you. 

His tongue circled the rim of your entrance as a high pitch squeal came from you.

He laughed to himself between your legs at your reaction. 

The tip of his tongue inched further inside of you as he licked against your walls.

He pressed the pad of his thumb against your clit, moving in slow circles around it. 

Jake left open mouth kisses to your entrance as his finger played with you above. The mixture of both pleasures created the familiar warm feeling between your hips to rise. 

“I’m..” you could barely make out the words to him.

“I know, pretty. I can feel it. Go head, cum on my tongue for me.” he instructed you. 

His words had the power to ruin you. 

With his voice vibrating against your wet center, you began to come undone against his mouth.

The walls of your entrance began to quiver for him as he pressed his tongue against you to feel it. His thumb never faltered against your clit. 

He toyed with you through your orgasm as your walls contracted for him. 

Your eyes squeezed shut as you let yourself feel every touch from him. 

As you came back down to earth, you lifted your head from the pillow to peek down at him.

His mouth had left your lower lips. He pushed the hem of your shirt up towards you to trace a line up your stomach with his tongue. 

You arched yourself from the bed to assist him in yanking your shirt over your head as he unclasped your bra behind you. 

He ripped the straps from over your shoulders to immediately find your nipples. He circled his tongue around the hardened bud, followed by his lips wrapping around them tightly.

He sucked against them, but not without scraping his teeth against the sensitive skin there. 

You sucked a breath through clenched teeth at the sensation. 

He crawled up further, his warm bare skin pressed against yours. 

His lips met with yours once more, leading in with an open mouth kiss. His tongue shoved into your mouth, licking into you. 

His mouth remained against yours as he gripped the base of his length, sliding himself against the wetness of your folds.

You groaned into his mouth each time the tip of his cock brushed over your clit. 

Your hand snaked down between your bodies, pressing his length down to be met with your entrance, signaling to him you wanted him inside of you. Now.

You couldn’t take it anymore. You desperately wanted to be stretched by him. 

He didn’t even have it in him anymore to tease any further. He wanted to feel your tight walls around him.

Without breaking the kiss, he pushed himself inside you slowly. 

You felt every inch as he sank deeper into you. 

You parted from him only to moan in pleasure from the stretch of his girth. 

He smoothed over your hair, tucking it behind your hair, before placing a quick kiss to your forehead. 

It was like he was preparing you for what was to come next. 

He leant back against his heels as he gripped his palms around the bones of your hip. 

He thrusted into you, watching himself as your walls sucked him in each time. 

His bottom lip tucked between his teeth as he caught a glimpse of your slick glistening against his length. 

His right hand left your hips to find your mouth. His thumb brushed against your bottom lip. You parted your lips for him and he pressed the pad of it against your tongue. You closed your mouth around the digit sucking lightly against it. 

Jake’s eyes rolled back as your tongue swirled around his thumb.

He pushed himself into you harder, the tip of his cock brushing against your cervix. 

He retracted his thumb from your mouth to tap the side of your thigh.

“Turn around for me.” he commanded you.

You left your position to find yourself on your hands and knees, your back arched in front of him. 

Without warning, he smacked his palm roughly over the curve of your ass. A groan following from you. 

With both hands, he gripped your cheeks to spread you apart for him. 

He held the base of his cock and positioned himself at your entrance again.

Slowly, he slid himself inside of you from behind. The different position allowing him to thrust even deeper into you. 

Before he reached the hilt, you felt as his spit dripped against your backside, landing directly against your hole. 

You whined at the feeling as he rubbed the saliva against you.

He thrusted into you rough, as his thumb pressed against a place no one has touched before. 

He kept his thumb in place as he added pressure, unsure of how you felt. You could sense he wanted more. 

“Do it, Jake. Push it in.” you moaned to him in confirmation. 

“So fucking dirty for me.” he growled back to you, as he pressed his thumb deeper inside you, filling both of your holes. 

You arched your back more at the feeling. Feeling so full of Jake from every angle. 

He pushed himself into you, watching himself as he thrusted in and out. 

His thumb was pressed fully inside of you, the rest of his four fingers splayed across your lower back. 

He wiggled the finger inside of you, and you gave a strung out whine in response. 

Jake felt as your walls began to clench around him. Your wetness leaking down your thigh at the sensation of him pushing his finger into your ass, while his cock was shoved all the way inside of you. 

With his free hand, he slapped the side of your thigh. 

“Let go for me. Let me feel it.” he grunted to your between thrusts.

He started to pull his thumb from inside of you, just to push it back in at the same pace as his cock. 

Your body gave no warning as you abruptly lost yourself to him. 

You panted into the pillow as your orgasm washed over you. Your walls quivering around his cock as you push back against him, needing to feel every inch. 

You clung to his length, begging him to never leave from inside of you. 

With a choked sob, you felt it as Jake’s cock twitched inside of you.

Before he could ask, “Inside, please.” you confirmed for him before he lost his grip on himself.

The sound of your soft voice begging him to release inside of you sent him over the edge he was so tightly gripping onto. 

You felt as he leaked inside of you, spilling out onto your legs, running down your thighs.

He didn’t stop. He watched as he fucked his cum back into you. 

You whined at the wet sounds alone as he pumped into you. 

He stilled himself inside. 

“Gonna pull out now, okay?” His voice was soft with concern. You nodded your head to him from above. 

First, he slid his cock from you, immediately missing his fullness. 

Next was his thumb. He was slow and cautious with you. You hissed as he pulled it out. 

With both palms flat against your ass, he spread you for himself as he watched his cum leak from your pussy. 

Shock was beyond what you felt, as he licked a stripe up your slit, collecting a mixture of his cum and your own on his tongue. You squealed to him, as your head was turned against the pillow, trying your best to watch him. 

He dropped onto the bed, laying next to you, grabbing each side of your face with his hands before pressing his lips onto yours. 

You opened your mouth, tasting the saltiness of his cum against his tongue. 

Jake let out a final moan into your mouth, before parting from you and smoothing your hair down with his hand. 

He stared into your eyes, with a smile spread across his face. His gaze continued until he laughed to himself. 

“What?” you laughed back at him.

Before he could respond, he ran a hand over his face as he continued to laugh.  

“Do you treat all of your customers this well?”

Taglist: @gretasimp @writingcold @wowkakashi  @spark-my-nature @starshine-wagner @cassy-face @averagemisfit03

[sluttylittlenewsboy]

Starting a tag game! Provide a little information about yourself and have people cast you in musicals!

Voice: Alto with a lot of growling and a very bluesy/country sound

Style: Dark clothes and extreme makeup, very out there sometimes

Personality/Attitude: very shy, timid, quiet

Totally no pressure tags! @the-woild-is-y-erster @saveugoodmadam @eponine-thenadier

[ceruleanwhore]

I was just listening to the OtGW soundtrack in the car and I realized that there’s stuff in the music that actually backs up my kinda crack theory that the Queen of the Clouds is actually the Beast, or at least is tied to the Beast somehow (if we’re going with the idea that the show is Dante’s Inferno, the Woodsman and Adelaide could represent two of the three beasts from the Dark Wood of Error while the cloud lady could be the third.) First, I just want to take a moment to introduce my theory since I haven’t posted about it before. Basically, a while ago, as I was thinking about the ending of the series and trying to figure out what Greg wished for and how he ended up going from the Queen of the Clouds to being in that daze under the Beast’s control, it occurred to me that maybe they were one and the same. Part of this comes from how information about the Beast is provided to the boys and, by extent, the audience. We start off with generic fear about a nameless, nondescript ‘beast’ but, in “Songs of the Dark Lantern”, we are told for the first time that the Beast tells lies and also that the main thing he does is turn children into trees that he harvests for oil to fuel his lamp. To me, this says that he can’t just sneak up behind a child and turn them into a tree but, rather, that he tells lies because he has to lure them in somehow and trick them into becoming the trees. Also, the Beast is known for his lies and we see the Cloud Queen showing Wirt to Greg and lying to him about how Wirt has already been claimed and is too far gone and there is no way for him to go home with Greg. The other main piece of evidence for my little theory here is what Greg is doing with the Beast at the end, how he’s acting, and what exactly he’s saying. He’s doing stuff like putting a teacup on a rock so the sun sets behind it, because he had been told to catch the sun in a cup, and the Beast praises him for this, using a soft tone of voice like a normal person would use with a child that really isn’t befitting of a ‘beast’ at all. And yet, after being shown to do a task that the Beast asked him to do and praised him for completing, Greg is still saying to Wirt that he “did it,” that he “beat the Beast.” Well, if he was even the tiniest bit grounded in reality, there would be no way in Hell he’d be saying that as he’s been going around serving the Beast himself while his physical condition gets significantly worse and he even starts coughing up leaves. This clearly indicates that Greg is out to lunch, mentally, and I think it strongly supports the idea that Greg does not know at all that it’s the Beast who’s having him do stuff like catch the sun in a cup or that it’s the Beast who’s praising him. What I think it is is that, in his head, this is all stuff he’s running around doing for the Cloud Queen in order to set up for or earn whatever his wish was and she’s the one he sees and hears and thinks he’s talking to. Now, as for how the soundtrack further supports this, I’d like to start with singing in the series. Most characters don’t sing at all and few have their own songs, but something that just became clear to me is that, like what Lin Manuel Miranda did in Hamilton, each character who really does sing their own songs gets their own signature style of music. For example, Jason Funderburker (the frog) gets that kind of bluesy sound like in the opening theme and the song “Over the Garden Wall”  while Greg has that really upbeat kids’ music, like with “Potatoes and Molasses” and “Adelaide Parade.” More importantly, though, the only two characters in the whole thing who ever sing opera are the Beast and the Queen of the Clouds. Other bits include the part where Greg is ‘Greg’ to literally everyone except the Cloud Queen and the Beast, who both call him ‘Gregory.’ Additionally, there’s the scene at the start of the last episode when the Beast is talking to Greg and he says “Anything is possible if you set your mind to it, right?” which sticks out because we’ve never seen Greg say that to the Beast or even just around him, but he did just say it to the Cloud Queen not that long ago. This one’s a bit of a stretch but there’s also how the light reflects in Greg’s eyes both as he enters the dream and when he’s talking to the Queen of the Clouds which reminded me of the “you have beautiful eyes” part of the first episode when those wild, glowing eyes of the corrupted dog reflect in Greg’s own eyes. Moreover, the lyrics of “Everything is Nice and Fine All the Time” and “Forward Oneiroi” have some bits that sound kind of sinister, which doesn’t make sense if the Cloud Kingdom and their queen are actually just good and nice. Specifically, “Everything is Nice and Fine” has a couple mentions of lies, which is something that throughout the series really only comes up in the Unknown when it comes to the Beast or fear of him, and there’s one line that really sticks out to me of “Our songs are filled with love, the sweetest lie/And we can send them down to you with a little shove.” The cherubs in this Cloud Kingdom are literally coming out and saying that love, or maybe just their love, is a lie so their songs, including the one they’re singing about how everything is nice and fine all the time, are “filled with” a lie. Not to mention the line of “Lasso a cloud and make the flowers grow,” which is eerily reminiscent of the task Greg is given later on of “lowering the sun out of the sky and into this china cup” in how it’s such a whimsical yet surreal and impossible action. I’m also just going to put the lyrics to “Forward Oneiroi” here real quick so you can see them:      Forward, cherubs, hear the song      A child's wishes call us on      Descend! Descend!      'Ere he 'scapes, for dreams      Our winged wind hath made      For only beneath the veil of sleep      Can we Oneiroi act on men. The first thing I want to talk about here is the actual Oneiroi. From what I found, Oneiroi were lesser deities of dreams in some forms and areas of Hellenic paganism who were led by Morpheus, who tended to take a human shape in the dreams he visited. If the welcome wagon is all the Oneiroi who are addressed in the Cloud Queen’s song, then that means that she, as their leader, is the Morpheus figure, as in a powerful being who isn’t actually human but takes a human shape in dreams. Also, that second part of “Descend! Descend!/'Ere he 'scapes” sounds genuinely threatening. If the dream is so good and “everything is nice and fine all the time,” why would Greg ‘escape’? And now I’ll  put in the lyrics to Beast’s part of Come Wayward Souls too because I want to compare these two songs:      Come, wayward souls      And wander through the darkness      There is a light for the lost and the meek      Sorrow and fear are easily forgotten      When you submit to the soil of the earth Okay so where I’m going with this is that these songs feel very similar to me, both in tone and musicality as well as lyrical content. If you took “Forward Oneiroi” and swapped out the words “cherubs” and “Oneiroi” for “children” or “souls” and then just put it in a darker sounding minor key, I think it would feel about the same as “Come Wayward Souls” and I definitely could see that song being one of the Beast’s. I would also point out how the lyrics of both the Beast’s songs have this weirdly encouraging, light, hopeful tone, which makes sense given that he waits for kids to get lost and give up and then he comes in and scoops them up. In “Wayward Souls,” he says “There is a light for the lost and the meek/Sorrow and fear are easily forgotten/When you submit to the soil of the earth,” which yes, sounds kinda ominous with the part about submitting to the earth but, really, is putting light and hope out there. It’s saying that, if you just go with him and submit to the earth, there is a light for you, some beacon of hope, and you can forget the sorrow and fear you’re currently feeling. He does the same in “The Jolly Woodsman,” too: “When the fog of life surrounds you/When you think you've lost your way/Come with me and join the forest/Come with me and join the play.” Lastly, I want to compare the kids’ choir part of “Wayward Souls” and “Potatus et Molassus” to “Everything is Nice and Fine.” For reference, the full choir part is “Grow, tiny seed/You are called to the trees/Rise 'til your leaves fill the sky/Until your sighs fill the air in the night/Lift your mighty limbs/And give praise to the fire.” The first thing that sticks out is how much this choir of children who we know to be the souls in the edelwood trees are talking about reaching up to the sky with the branches of their trees, which reminds me of lines like “So hitch a ride into the sky,” “The softest clouds and rainbow skies ain’t gonna lie,” and “Everyone is sittin' pretty on top of the weather,” from “Everything is Nice and Fine.” I thought I’d already said it but I just looked back and apparently I didn’t say that, with the idea that the Cloud Queen is the Beast, there is also the idea that everyone we see in Cloud City is just the not-yet-sacrificed souls of the children in the edelwoods, and stuff like this kinda goes with that. Another thing I noticed that makes sense to me, though idk if it’ll make sense to everyone, is that “Potatoes and Molasses” is to “Potatus et Molassus” as “Everything is Nice and Fine” is to the children’s choir part in the Beast’s song. I would even go so far as to claim that the whole point of the “Potatus et Molassus” reprise is to draw attention to “Everything is Nice and Fine” and then call into question everything from the Cloud City stuff. I say this because, as I said previously, each character who sings their own designated songs has their own designated style and Everything is Nice and Fine is in a similar style to Greg’s own style (it’s a bit different though, so it’s not like they just used Greg’s style because it’s his dream or something) while “Potatus et Molassus” is in the same exact style as the “grow tiny seed” stuff, to the extent that the children’s choir is even used in that song. So, when I look at Greg in episodes 8 and 10, I think that what’s going on is that the Beast doesn’t just come up and talk to you as this ominous, scary shadow guy with antlers and weird eyes but, rather, he can be subtle and manipulative and do shit like get inside of your head and manipulate you. After all, Satan’s a liar and a conjurer too and, with the Inferno view of OtGW, the Beast is Satan. My bet is that, at the start of episode 10, Greg is aware enough to know that he’s no longer in his dream but he sees the Queen of the Clouds rather than the Beast and imagines that she’s there to guide him through whatever tasks he needs to do to get Wirt back and go home or whatever. Once there’s the tree starting to grow around him, I believe that, in his head, he succeeded and then was back home or maybe some other nice, cute, safe space like Cloud City with all the other souls. When he sings “Potatus et Molassus,” in whatever is going on in his head, he’s just having a good time wherever he is, singing “Potatoes and Molasses,” like how he and all those other children heard a lilting soprano instead of an ominous bass when the Beast sings. (Sorry this was so long btw)

[eye-of-the-phoenix]

I want to like CRY so much

I just finished replaying it and I have so many opinions, as always. This game is unique for me in that I WANT to like it so badly but it just doesn't quite work. However, I stubbornly replay it and ponder what it could have been because I wish I liked it more. I especially feel this way because I live in New Orleans and its just so CLOSE to being good!

More thoughts under the cut.

PROS:

I actually think they did a great job with the setting. It's raining so hard that the power goes out and the streets are too flooded for cabs? There are weird creatures and bugs around every corner, some of which are messing with your belongings? The best food is from some sketchy stand served by some random Shorty person? Accurate, welcome to New Orleans. I can even forgive Bess for eating crawfish with the shells on with a spoon.

The characters are also good. Lamont is completely underutilized to where I'd never believe he was the culprit, but I can imagine running into all of these people throughout my day and it makes sense that they would all also interact with each other off-screen.

The core mystery is really interesting. It's the classic Nancy-gets-sucked-in-to-a-case-on-vacation scenario, but she really does stumble into the situation by accident in this one and has a personal stake because she gets attacked by the skeleton man. The progression is believable as she starts to unravel the skull mystery and discovers that Bruno's death was actually kind of suspicious.

My favorite ND trope, secret room/hideout/study revealed midgame, with a lot of things to look at and click on, is present.

CONS

The music is kind of a miss. It's not bad, but it should have been so much better. It has this boring CLK old-timey feel and they kind of missed the mark in my opinion. I think a more upbeat track with some brass, maybe something bluesy, maybe something modern would have added more variety.

The puzzles. THE PUZZLES ARE SO TEDIOUS. I hate that we find this book Bruno wrote and it's just a walkthrough to getting a bunch of eyeballs through various boring puzzles for the sake of padding the game. I use a walkthrough for like half of this game every time because I don't find the puzzles fun. My least favorites are the sneeze contraption because there is ZERO confirmation as to whether you're on the right track when you do it, and the tombstone pun puzzle because walking back and forth around the cemetery is SO TEDIOUS and it has zero replay value.

Bruno's house doesn't make sense because it's fairly spacious and kept up on the bottom story and the top floor that we can access is just two horrible moldy rooms. Bruno, you dropped dead from breathing in black mold in your own house, not a heart attack. Trust me when I say I know it's humid and wet here, but there's just no reason for the upstairs to be that uninhabitable indoors.

On a related note, I wish there was more to explore, and no, the cemetery doesn't count. There should be more rooms for Nancy to snoop through (where is Henry sleeping?) and like one more place for Bess to go. Or more things to do and click on in Zeke's aside from just looking at that one box a million times. Or the option to poke around Renee's table when she's away. NOT nearly enough snooping for me.

It's so dark. It's too dark. It could have been like 10% lighter or had a partial daytime element so that I could actually see what I was doing even a tiny bit.

[herrlindemann]

Oor - September 2004, Interview with Richard

Three years after Mutter, Rammstein comes back with Reise, Reise with a more human sound. Guitarist Richard Kruspe explains why open laughter is allowed.

Has Rammstein gone soft with Reise, Reise? Not exactly given the criticism of first singe Mein Teil and the accompanying video clip. But the Berlin group has certainly changed. Look at those pictures. The militaristic and post-apocalyptic poses have given way to a more comical image. They have shot a few more series: at the edge of a swimming pool, on the beach, in the sauna and in a bullfighting arena. And listen to Amerika, and Amore, and Reise Reise’s title track. They are accessible and infectious tracks with a victim (see box). Self-awareness Richard Kruspe calls it. In 2004, Rammstein dares to take a step back from himself.

Los is Kruspe's favorite new song. It is also the clearest thing that Reise, Reise is a different album than Sehnsucht (1997) and Mutter (2001). Kruspe wrote it for Mutter, but it was shelved until they decided to play the riff acoustically. "It's not what you would expect from a German band, especially not from this German band. It is a simple, AC/DC-like riff, which gives a bluesy feeling when played acoustically. It's unlike anything we've done before," says Kruspe. And yet Rammstein, unmistakably.

“We decided that a few things had to be changed when making this album. For me personally, this first and foremost meant that work had to be less tense. Previously, the aggression in the music was paramount and the mutual friction in the band was also an important factor in the recording process. This time we consciously tried to leave the egos outside the door more. Give each other a little more space. And I think that's why this album sounds a bit more human than its predecessors. We used fewer machines, which was also a goal in itself. The live feeling had to be there. No more having to figure out our own songs afterwards, because we've been cutting and pasting too much.

We used to be more on each other's skin because… everyone had their hang-ups and because in a band with six people you just have clashing characters. Rammstein has no leader. All six of us are equal, which means that each of us fights for his place and there are sometimes endless discussions. That causes problems. In fact, it can lead to major crises. At the time of Mutter I had very clear ideas about how the music should and should not sound. I was pretty rigid about that, but luckily at some point I realized I had to let go of that and see the whole picture — a dynamic six-man group. It was a particularly intense period, in which I finally decided to live in New York, I literally had to distance myself.”

Kruspe was not alone in struggling with his place in the democratic whole that is Rammstein. Each band member has opted for a form of self-therapy.

"Of course it's quite a bit. Over the years you get a certain vision of your work and your music, which does not necessarily correspond to that of the five others. Just deal with that. When I once started the project — because Rammstein was a project, I didn't have a permanent band in mind — my starting point was that I wanted to work with similar musicians. Everyone has the same input. It has remained that way and gradually no one has ever allowed himself to be commanded by another. Maareh… There is always a kind of chemistry between people. Men, women, it doesn't matter. With the six of us, that chemistry is quite explosive.”

This means that Rammstein is standing at the mixing desk in the studio. "You! More bass! More guitar! More drums! That's really how it goes. That's why we also need a producer [for Reise, Reise was just like on the three previous studio albums Jacob Hellner]. He gets twenty, thirty percent more out of the songs. And the work would never get done otherwise. What we do notice, now, after ten years, is that some of us have become less fanatical. Not everyone has an opinion on every aspect of music. Can't either. But to admit that you have to turn off your ego. Well, that has now happened. For the new album we wrote more as a band. That is different from before and that is important, because when you write as a band, it is easier to discuss. »

Kruspe does not discuss the lyrics: “Till actually writes poems, not lyrics. Sometimes they fit, sometimes they don't. That is simple. Some of his poems have nothing to do with my feelings, but have such a strong story that I can go along with it completely. It helps that I've known Till for about eighteen years. I know where a text like Stein um Stein comes from. A man who bricks up his wife because he doesn't want to lose her. The biggest problem for a human being is letting go. That even plays a role in Mein Teil. To give things away, to renounce, to distance myself. Very difficult: Such a theme means that I can identify with that text. That's enough.”

A project, then, was Rammstein initially. Kruspe once shared a flat with Oliver Riedel and Christoph Schneider. Together they began to develop musical ideas, without any suspicion of worldwide success. Second guitarist Paul Landers, Till Lindemann and keyboardist Christian 'Flake' Lorenz later joined them; the latter only under the necessary pressure.

Kruspe: “With Mutter, Rammstein has made a big leap, especially in Europe. We have become a stadium band. But we never thought about any success. It started with an idea. We wanted to try everything. Success or no success, grow big or stay small, that did not occur to us. A band has its own dynamics, which you cannot plan. When we got success that was nice, but what do you do with it? A man must follow his intuition. Even if after ten years you are no longer as free as when you started, you should still try to keep working from a certain naivety. Switch back to the time when you were open-minded about your music. It was Picasso who said later in life that it would take him all his life to paint like a child again. That's it: learn everything and forget it again. We try and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Of course you can't take it too literally, because you grow as a person and you are always influenced by new things. But it is a good starting point.”

That said, Rammstein is not enough for any of the members to fully satisfy creativity. Kruspe doesn't want to limit himself, so he puts some of the music he writes aside for other projects. “New York helps me with that. When I'm there, I'm not so overpop Rammstein. And that makes it easier for me to write and play. In a sense, I've already put this album behind me and I'm working on new ideas. I'm working on now… I can't say too much about it. Not a band, but a nice project that will interest people.”

Reise Reise’s second single, is Amerika, with the irresistibly jolly chorus 'We’re all living in Amerika, Amerika ist wunderbar' (later it becomes 'We're all living in Amerika, Coca-Cola, Wonderbra').

“The claim that Germans have no humor is outdated. Germany has become self-aware in the last decade — and humor comes when one develops self-awareness. Amerika comes directly from our band humor. It's not a political statement, we don't do that.

I believe that everything in life should be in balance. You don't eat a whole cake, a piece is enough. A look at America shows us that there is a lot out of balance there. America controls the whole world and that is a bit too much. But it's not a black and white story. It is also the people themselves, in the US and abroad. I remember the first time I drank Coca-Cola. Dude, that was cool. It tasted good, it felt good, the marketing of that brand worked perfectly for me. Isn't that nice? It's just well done. Now I know how much sugar is in it, how bad it is for you. I make a choice. Anyone can do that. Coca-Cola, Hollywood… It doesn't take that much effort to look beyond that.”

Rammstein made his breakthrough in America with Sehnsucht. David Lynch used the group in his movie Lost Highway and a Lollapalooza tour did the rest. Kruspe: “I think that the theme and the visualization of Sehnsucht came at just the right time for many American young people. However, in America everything moves very quickly. You can suddenly be successful, but you can also forget it in no time. An American band therefore has to tour endlessly, visit radio shows, make a noise. As a German band that is impossible, because you already put a lot of energy into your own country and Europe. When we toured for Mutter, we found that we simply had no strength left to restart the whole story in America as well. Plus, after September 11, 2001, America took a much more restrained attitude towards foreign groups. Patriotism was rampant, even when it came to pop music. Now it could come again. Rammstein has a certain cult status. Rammstein is cool, you know. And in Germany it helps if you prove yourself in the US. They look at you differently. America remains the largest music market; if you grow up in Europe, you want to go there. Not for the music itself. Interesting trends and developments have long ceased to come from the States.”

At the time of their first album Herzeleid (1995), Rammstein was a band from 'the former East Berlin'. Today those words hardly have any value. Kruspe has seen Berlin change. West Berlin was a different world. The capital of darkness. A dark, depressive atmosphere. “When I ended up there, I didn't feel comfortable at all. [Kruspe fled east to west via Hungary and Austria shortly before the fall of the wall.] Yes, West Berlin was substantially Easier than East Berlin. Now you can also find a lot of merriment in the city. East and West have drawn together and that gloom that David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Nick Cave deliberately sought out is largely a thing of the past. I am someone who quickly feels at home somewhere. Not in the sense of family or friends, but in a general sense. In New York it is easy to get to know people, but it is very difficult to make friends. The city has so much energy, which I don't feel in Berlin. In New York, capital of the world, you want to go out and feel part of something bigger, of a whole. You feel lonely in your apartment. In Berlin, the capital of Germany, the situation is reversed. There you feel lonely when you walk on the street and it is nice to be at home. Now I still fly back and forth. A month here, a month there, so I can't say I feel completely at home in New York yet. I am someone who tries to live intuitively. I went from the countryside to the Berlin suburbs, then to Berlin itself, now to New York… I am a wanderer. After 25 years in and around Berlin, I also feel the call of other places.”

Back to Los for a moment. What sets that song apart from the rest of Rammstein's repertoire is the primal feeling that emanates from that acoustic riff. For once no associations with drinking and sea shanties, but American roots. Still, Kruspe says, "I've never been a fan of American rock culture. I liked English hard rock much more than American hard rock. Only with bands like Faith No More and 24-7 Spyz did I start listening to Americans. Metal itself bored me. The aggression of Metallica, for example, appealed to me, but I went more for the melodies of Judas Priest. What do I find nice Americans now? Queens Of The Stone Age. Dave Grohl. But I listen more to the latest Killing Joke, or the Cure.

My own guitar sound is very metal. Why? Well, why do men prefer to ride a Harley… A metal guitar wall is the best thing there is. I get rid of my inner aggression with it. But you won't see me fiddling for hours on all kinds of guitar loops, I find that boring. I once studied guitar for a year or two to get better, but don't ask me about my guitar heroes. I find Depeche Mode's Martin Gore infinitely more inspiring than any guitarist.”

[impala-dreamer]

I've seen you talk about Radio Company before, and I've always meant to listen to their music, but I never got around to it for whatever reason (life? LOL). If you could pick one or two songs to listen to first, what would you recommend? (Not including "Sounds of Someday," since that was played on SPN, meaning ive technically heard it already. If you don't feel like answering this, no worries! I'm enjoying your writing! 😊)

Hello, my darling!! Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy my work :)))

as for Radio Company...

It's hard to pick one or two songs overall because all three albums are vastly different in style and song writing. 'Keep on Ramblin'" is a full on country album. Vol.2 is very bluesy. Vol.1 is Jensen screaming about SPN and Cons and Misha for 10 songs lol So.. it's really up to your personal tastes. Don't go back to SoundsOfSomeday. IMO- one of their worst songs. lol

Anyway, in that vein, here are 2 songs on each album that I believe are the best and I go to before any other:

Vol 1 - "Bound" and "Off My Mind" are my faves, Cannonball a close third. (but Beka, those are Steve songs! no. they're RADIOCO SONGS AND STEVE IS IN RC AND A HUGE PART OF IT AND HE"S AMAZING ON HIS OWN WHY DONT YOU GO LISTEN TO 'SPOT IN THE CORNER' ALBUM AND TELL ME HE"S NOT AN EPIC MUSICIAN!?!?) oo, sorry. I get goin on Carlson and I can't stop lol

Vol 2 - "Anyway That You Want Me" and "Dead To Rights". Although, I will say, this is my favorite album and I enjoy every single song. So, just start with this whole album and you'll be happy ;)

Keep On Ramblin' - "Every Light" and "Ain't No Tellin'" are probably my top faves. "Right Kind of Trouble" a close runner up. Now, it took me a long time to appreciate this album but it's grown on me. It oooozes Dean Winchester's Swan Song and I love it. I really do. And try to listen to 'Every Light" without slamming the steering wheel on "Boooze and cheap tattooooos along the wayyyy" I dare you.

So, uh... yeah! I hope you dive into the great band that is Radio Company. Give it all a listen. It's really fun to hear how Jensen finds his true voice throughout the albums and how his songwriting grows. As I said before, I'm a huge SCarlson fan, so check him out too. "Between You and Me" is one of my faves by him. You won't be disappointed.

Happy Listening!