#discover a new favorite duet

[linghxr]

My 2023 in Mandopop/Chinese music (update & recs)

It’s been too long since I last shared some music recommendations/updates on what I’m listening to! Admittedly, I haven’t been discovering as many new artists because I’m busy listening to 薛之谦 on repeat. But we'll focus on the new.

You can check out my Spotify playlist featuring these songs (plus bonus ones). In addition, I’ve included YouTube links below.

五月天 / Mayday 五月天 is a legendary band, so of course I knew of them and had heard a few of their songs over the years. But I never proactively sought out their music until recently. I still haven’t had time to dive into their back catalog, but I’ve already found some songs I really love.

《我又初恋了》 I actually really didn’t like this song the first time I heard it, but it wormed its way into my brain. It’s just a lot of fun! Non-serious songs can be good too.

《转眼》 My favorite 五月天 song <3. I’m probably too young to fully appreciate the lyrics, but they make me feel so nostalgic and bittersweet, like transitioning to a new chapter of life and leaving the old behind.

《因为你 所以我》 This song didn’t stand out to me at first, but it grew on me! I caught myself humming it a lot. It‘s kind of corny, but it sounds so full of hope.

陈奕迅 / Eason Chan I first started listening to 陈奕迅 a couple years ago after my Album a Day August challenge, but I’ve found that his music has grown on me over time. I believe I’ve only mentioned him once before, so I thought now was a good time to highlight my favorite of his songs.

《之外》 This is probably my favorite 陈奕迅 song. The lyrics convey a sense of hopelessness, but the overall song has a smooth, light sound.

《娱乐天空》 You know a song is good when it’s over 6 minutes long but feels like it flies by! It makes me want to get up, get moving, and be productive.

《烟味》 This song is dramatic, and I love it for that. Also has a hint of orchestral flavor.

《淘汰》 One of 陈奕迅’s most well-known songs—for a good reason. It has big Cpop ballad vibes but is definitely livelier.

白举纲 / Bai Jugang You’re going to notice several mentions of 披荆斩棘 in this post. That’s where I “met” 白举纲. I instantly liked his voice and loved seeing him with his “brother” 高瀚宇 and “dad” 张晋! You may also see his music under his English name, Pax Congo.

《被动失控》 This is the only song on the list you could headbang to.

《Shy Boy》 I love this song because it’s cute and includes a children’s rhyme that I learned as a kid: 找啊找啊找朋友 找到一个好朋友.

苏诗丁 / Su Shiding At some point last year I did a one-month free trial of Apple Music. It was an interesting experience because the recommendations were very different from what Spotify tends to show me. I’m glad Apple Music led me to 苏诗丁!

《LUCIFER（傲慢宗罪）》 All I can say is that this song exudes coolness and confidence. It also has a fair bit of English, but honestly I had to look up the lyrics to tell what some of it was.

《梦幻病》 This song is from the same album. It’s dreamlike but gets more frantic as it builds. Overall, it’s just a bit…unsettling.

队长 / Young Captain I learned about 队长 from a random post on Instagram about his concert in Malaysia. I think these songs might have gone viral on 抖音 or something. I was surprised I liked them so much because they both have some rap (I’m not a rap fan), but it was love at first listen.

《11》 I love how this song builds towards the end. I spend the whole song waiting for the crescendo, and it’s great payoff.

《楼顶上的小斑鸠》 This song is like the slightly mellower sibling of the one above. But I ended up liking this one even more.

金志文 / Jin Zhiwen 金志文 was another artist who Apple Music recommended to me. I definitely need to explore his discography more but haven’t had the chance to do so yet. But he has some good stuff so far!

《自娱自乐》 Smooth and relaxing but in a fun way. Simple and no-frills but will put a smile on your face!

《远走高飞》 This one feels like enjoying the breeze on a beautiful sunny day. I also enjoy the duet with 徐佳莹 version.

163braces 163braces started out as a YouTuber posting song covers. I have watched a couple of her covers, but they didn’t leave much of an impression on me. I was pleasantly surprised by her foray into original music. I look forward to hearing what she does next!

《控制》 The song I would want as my “soundtrack” if I were a video game character. It’s energetic and loud.

《murmur》 Honestly this song is pretty similar to the first one. Sometimes I have trouble distinguishing them. But hey, if ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

小鬼 / Lil Ghost 小鬼 did what I can best describe as “pulling an MGK” by going from more rap to kinda pop-punk? That MGK album was my guilty pleasure when in came out, so I’m all for 小鬼’s new direction.

《Last Day》 This song really gave me MGK vibes. It’s about half in English, but I often don't even notice when he switches between languages.

《不良少年》 I just know I would have loved this song so much in high school. It’s an angsty teen anthem. 

《为明天写封信》 I can totally imagine this song playing at the end of a 2000s teen movie! Maybe while showing a montage of the main characters graduating.

《无所求必满载而归》 by 陈粒 / Chen Li This is technically cheating because I have recommended 陈粒 songs before, but it was at least a couple years ago. I heard this song covered on 披荆斩棘的哥哥 and immediately looked up the original. Honestly I should have known it was a 陈粒 song because you can totally tell it’s her style.

《轻红》 by 曹杨 / Young I keep coming back to this song! It’s from a drama soundtrack. I was super surprised the first time I listened to it because I thought it was going to be a typical ballad based on the first ~45 seconds or so—it wasn’t. There is also another version by 陈雪燃 (the king of cdrama OSTs). But I actually prefer the 曹杨 version.

《时光机》 by 吴克群 / Kenji Wu I was introduced to 吴克群 via 披荆斩棘2. He was instantly one of my favorite contestants after his team’s amazing 《新地球》 performance (check it out). This song is bouncy and a little dreamy. I kinda want to hear a remix with Harry Styles’ As It Was. I just wish it were longer than 3 minutes!

My Spotify Wrapped

I have a tradition of sharing my Spotify Wrapped, and I wanted to continue the streak in some form. So here's a quick rundown.

Top genre: 华语流行音乐 Representative city: Taipei Minutes: 21,750

Top artists

薛之谦 / Xue Zhiqian

林宥嘉 / Yoga Lin

五月天 / Mayday

李荣浩 / Li Ronghao

陈奕迅 / Eason Chan 

Top songs

《木偶人》 - 薛之谦

《狐狸》 - 薛之谦

《骆驼》 - 薛之谦

《转眼》 - 五月天

《后来的我们》 - 五月天

Also, fellow Mandopop fans should check out the Mando Gap newsletter. I stumbled upon it this year, and I know it’s going to be a great resource for discovering new artists in 2024!

[goginaporter]

lyrical analysis of love you forever

or, breaking down ricky's love (confession) for gina

we're a little under three months out from the series finale of high school musical: the musical: the series. I've spent those months freaking out over rina and appreciating the beautiful arc they got in s4 that closed out their story over the course of the series. there are a million special moments that rina has in s4 (I mean, a rain kiss? can I have this dance? a duet together about their commitment to each other despite uncertainty? we really got it all) but one definitely stands out among the rest. love you forever is ricky's declaration of love for gina that he sings to her at her press conference for her new movie that, as far as he knows, is about to send her across the world. this post is gonna be a line by line analysis of the lyrics, as well as talking about everything that brought them to that moment and that made it special. enjoy <33

I've been wishing on a falling star for too long

this line opens the song and is such a beautiful callback to when there was me and you, the song ricky all but serenades gina with in 1.06 (the lines it references: I thought you were my fairy tale / A dream when I'm not sleeping / A wish upon a star / That's coming true). wtwmay is a song that gabriella sings after troy's betrayal in hsm and when ricky sings this line, to me, it represents a callback to his past relationship with nini. he was holding on to nini and that relationship too tight, wishing on a falling star. as gabriella says, wishes on stars just "don't come true" and for ricky, this relationship ultimately ended in failure. however, as much as this line signifies the crash and burn nature of that relationship, it's also a reference to the start of his relationship with gina in that bunker room as he strummed on a guitar, in a similar fashion to love you forever, to these lyrics.

I've been running, I don't know what from

this line references the conversation that ricky had with ej in 4.05 when ej forces ricky to reckon with the fact that he runs away from those he loves when faced with hard realities and that this tendency hurts both those around him, but also hurts him. it's incredibly full circle when you pair this with the fact that ricky is singing the song on the guitar ej gave him after they sang speak out, where ej tells him that "you'll probably get more use outta this than me" (4.05). i think it's really cool that this line also references gina's similar character flaw of running when things get hard, which she also sings about in second chance (Maybe I'm safer when I'm on the run / No time to open up my heart / Maybe I'll hide behind my walls again / Instead of tearing them apart) (also important to note that second chance is non-digetic and ricky has never heard gina sing these lyrics). so fascinating that ricky and gina have the same habit of running, with ricky running back to things that are familiar and gina pushing forward to leave things in the past before they can hurt her.

But you and I've become a sacred kinda home

this is one of my favorite lines of the song, especially because this theme of finding a home is such a critical cornerstone for both ricky and gina's arcs throughout the show. ricky's home life in s1 turns on its head when he discovers that his parents are separating. pairing this with his breakup with nini nearly sends him into a spiral, but he finds a new home of sorts in the theater program, telling gina "it's just nice to have somewhere to go after school every day, y'know" (1.05), which she herself resonates with, affirming his feelings.

of course, at the beginning of s2, we find out that ricky and his dad are moving to an apartment after his mom moves out. this drastic shift, the loss of his childhood home, is again disorienting, and again paired with changes with nini, what with her moving to denver. in 2.02, he tells nini that she is his home, which is really interesting, placing that kind of pressure on her. but what's even more interesting is that he knows he's moving, knows from the beginning of 2.01, and yet nini does not find out about his new home until 2.03 on valentine's day, months later. this is juxtaposed to gina showing up to his apartment that same episode. it's especially special that ricky is placed in the same situation that gina typically faces, the unpacking and getting accustomed to a new space. it is those undertones that serve as the undercurrent for their conversation. the apartment is in disarray when gina arrives, and remains that way for much of the season. gina, however, is endeared by the messy environment of the apartment and jokes along with ricky to put him at ease. by the time we return to it in s4, it's (naturally) much more lived in, with clothes strewn about, pictures of gina, and aptly placed posters lining the wall of ricky's room.

as I mentioned earlier, ricky calls nini his home in s2. this line says that he and gina together have become a home of sorts for each other. singing this to gina is important for ricky, but it also speaks to the unpredictable nature of gina's childhood, where she moved from city to city, never staying in one place for more than a few months, which she tells ricky in 1.05. by the end of s1, we think that she has to move again, something that's harder for her now that she's made connections with the wildcats, namely with ricky. as we see in the flashback scene in 2.06, she tells ricky that she wouldn't quit on them if not for her move, that they would essentially remain close if she weren't leaving salt lake. of course, she doesn't leave and instead moves in with ashlyn. it's her first taste of stability that she can really remember, but as she tells carlos in 2.04, she feels out of place living in a house she doesn't own and with a family that isn't hers. these feelings culminate in gina wanting to leave, a subplot we see primarily in 2.05 and 2.06. after revealing to ashlyn what she said to ricky opening night of hsm, ashlyn sings home from beauty and the beast to gina, telling her that she has a home with ashlyn, not just physically, but within their friendship. there is so much symbolism in that one scene that we don't have time to get into but this moment definitely shifts gina's perception of what a home can look like. in s3, we learn that her mom is moving back to salt lake city where she'll be staying long-term to allow gina to complete her time at east high. in fact, it's in this very house that we get our first scene of rina in s4, with ricky sneaking into her window. one's room is a reflection of oneself, and ricky and gina are all over each other's rooms, both literally and figuratively, throughout the season. combining this with the connection between the two that only strengthens over the course of the season, it comes as no surprise that ricky sees his and gina's relationship as a sacred home.

I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love and I know it / No net, no fear, right here in this moment

my twitter account was littered with theories and thoughts and hopes for ricky's love confession to gina, but whether it was public or private, planned or spontaneous, the one thing that I knew I wanted was for ricky to say that he is in love with gina. so on august 9th when ricky got to the chorus of love you forever, tears started pooling in my eyes because the confession, which was already literally perfect, delivered my biggest wish. one of my favorite aspects of the song is how much it reflects their journey because these are all the words that ricky would tell gina in some big speech, evidenced by him practicing all throughout 4.07. but when it comes down to it, after references to moments between them and beautiful metaphors, it builds to him telling gina not only does he love her, but that he's in love with her. there's no doubt in his mind of this fact. the sky is blue, the sun shines, and ricky bowen loves gina porter. so much of ricky's love for nini was tied to fear, especially a fear of change. that his love for gina transcends fear, that he is confident in what he tells her both shows his growth in romantic relationships but also in how much gina has redefined what it means to love someone for him.

I've never been more sure of what I got, yeah / Cause this is so much more than puppy love, so

continuing with the theme of confidence, ricky tells gina that he's never been more sure of what he's got in their relationship. I know I'm bringing rini up a lot but that relationship is a perfect frame of reference for how much ricky has changed when it comes to love. both his singing of I think I kinda you know in 1.01 and his love confession to nini in 1.10, while genuine, are riddled with stuttering and uncertainty ("I think", "I don't know", etc.). when you compare the ricky of 1.01 and the ricky of 4.08 and how he attempts to use song to profess his love, the differences are stark, and that's the point. as he all but said in 3.08, everything he's known about love has been changed by gina and that is reflected in love you forever. I love the puppy love nod and think it's narratively important for so many reasons. for one, it's a reference to their first date, as well as to gina's childhood. in that vein, it seems to mirror what gina tells ricky in 4.02, that mack was a crush of her childhood. calling what they have "more than puppy love" also nods to their growth, not just over the course of the series, but even throughout the season. from dealing with scrutiny in the fallout of the documentary to gina's increasingly busy schedule to their temporary pause to gina nearly moving across the world, they've been faced with many problems, and while they didn't handle all of them perfectly, they handled them together and came out that much stronger.

I'll say it first, no matter what the cost / Here I am full heart, full stop / I love you

in 3.05, ricky talks to jet following the fallout of the real campers of shallow lake drama. he asks jet what he's running from and tells him that sometimes when feelings are hard to articulate, it helps to sing instead. with love you forever, we see ricky taking his own advice. I love that ricky is insistent that he tells gina "I love you" first, both because he wants to rectify mistakes from his last relationship, but also because gina says, in a talking head, that she doesn't want to be the first to say "I love you," (4.06) further cementing the connection that rina has. it also affirms that there is no doubt in either of their minds that they love each other and want to say it to each other. it's also important to note that ricky understands the risk of singing this song at this point in time. for all he knows, gina is about to board a plane that will be taking her to the other side of the world for six months. however, he sings this song, affirms his love for her, no matter the cost, because he just wants her to know. he loves her in salt lake, he loves her in new zealand, and he loves her forever. ricky sings that he is there with a full heart, full stop I love you. in an interview after s3's finale, tim federle, the showrunner, states that while nini will always have a small part of ricky's heart, gina has a way of making hearts race. this line, to me, symbolizes the notion that gina is his heart, that his love for her encompasses it. there's a beautiful analysis of ricky being gina's heart canonically that I think helps tie all of this together, establishing that gina is ricky's heart, just like he is hers.

of course, I would be remiss to not talk about the full stop of it all. as we see in a flashback in 4.06, ricky opens up to gina in their first meeting about how he struggled saying I love you to nini, his ex. after hearing this, gina presents him with a possibility you can tell he's never considered: "maybe you just don't love her, full stop." ricky stutters in response, but doesn't fully negate gina's statement, in fact telling her that he's "kinda" planning on telling nini through song later that night outside her window (ironic that this plan doesn't pan out for him twice in the show, both here and in 2.03). that he brings up this notion of full stop, where there's no room for doubt, in his confession for gina further proves how deep and real and true their love is for each other. super small thing before I move on but I love how "I love you" gets its own special moment of pause in the song to fully communicate the gravity of such a statement.

I never knew that I could feel so sure and so strong /How can three old words feel so brand new?

Again, this idea of being sure comes up again in this second verse/buildup to the chorus. ricky has done the love confession before. he's been in love before. but again, with gina, it's different. it's deeper, more strong, more secure. and so when he says these words, in a situation that mirrors his audition for hsm, of course it feels different. in that auditon, he was singing nini's words back to her. love you forever, in contrast, is all ricky. those three words do feel new because now he's singing them to gina and for gina, where previously he sang them for himself. also a really cool note about the parallels between ricky's audition and love you forever is that tim federle released the initial script for love you forever, and one of the descriptions writes that ricky "launches into the audition of a lifetime." this song, this confession, is the start of his forever with gina. of course these words feel new.

Mm, so rare, so real right here in this moment / And I'm starin' at the only thing I want, so

I tear up hearing ricky say that the love that he has for gina is both rare and real. both ricky and gina, at different points throughout the show, cast doubt on love. ricky says in a talking head in 1.01 that love is dead (fun fact: ricky is wearing the same denim jacket from that talking head during love you forever teehee). gina, in the 4.06 flashback, calls love lame. their faith in love ebbs and flows throughout the show, but once they are together, there's no question. it's why ricky encourages the seblos reconciliation in 4.06 or why gina tells jet to confess his feelings for kourtney in 4.08. if they've found this beautiful love in each other, where they got a second chance on love in every sense of the words, why wouldn't they want that for everyone else, for the people that they love?

the second half of this lyric, of ricky "staring at the only thing he wants," is my absolute favorite line of love you forever. ricky's eyes are naturally drawn to gina in nearly every episode of the show, whether she's looking at him or not, whether they're speaking or not. even before he recognized those feelings in himself, we could see it because she was always the apple of his eye. this rings especially true during love you forever, where ricky does not take his eyes off of gina the entire song, except when miss jenn turns the lights on. gina is the center of his universe and who he has been drawn to since she entered his life. there was a tweet after s4 aired that stated that ricky looks at gina as though he's falling deeper in love with her every time and this line captures that.

I wanna finish what we started in the stairwell where we met

the bridge opens with this line and it's so fitting. to suggest that committing to loving each other forever is finishing what they started when they had that first conversation in the stairwell is so insane and will always make me spiral when I think about it. this line all but confirms that ricky and gina began to fall for each other in that moment. that their conversation in the stairwell is what catalyzed their respective character arcs also all but confirms that they're soulmates, that there was an invisible string that connected them, inexplicably tying their fates together forever.

I wanna live like I have never even heard the word regret

both ricky and gina have instances that they look back on and wish they had done things differently. gina says so explicitly in 2.05 when speaking to kourtney. she alludes to her goodbye to ricky after hsm's opening night, stating that it was something she wishes she could take back. in 3.06, ricky tells jet that he wishes that he didn't let color war gina slip through his fingers, suggesting that he would've done things differently if he were more cognizant of his feelings for her. ricky never wants to feel like that again, that he's missed his chance with gina due to fear. he wholeheartedly embraces his love for her because he knows what it was like to live without it and doesn't want to live in a world where gina isn't his reality.

I wanna scream what's in my heart and I won't ever take it back

ricky and ej's duet in 4.05 is about speaking your truth and speaking even when it's hard. the song even has a line about "screaming out." where in speak out, screaming out solicits no sound, ricky singing this line in love you forever is him being able to vocalize the feelings in his heart. he also commits to never taking these words back. his feelings for gina are eternal and everlasting. this is important for gina to hear because words have always been unreliable to her. people that she cares about, whether her mom or jamie or even e.j., have made verbal commitments to her at one point or another, and each one of them has later reneged on that commitment, whether intentionally or not. ricky can say these words, can say "I love you" to gina, because he's been saying it through his actions the entire show. gina doesn't always trust words, but she trusts actions. ricky has more than proven his love for her, and it's this continued declaration through his works that allows these words to ring true for her.

'Cause I love you feels a lot like high school and forever after that

I made this observation a couple weeks ago but this line is so fascinating. when the season first dropped and I heard the line, I was a tad confused. what does it mean for love to feel like high school? I was listening to the hsm3 soundtrack when it all clicked for me. in high school musical, the final song they sing in hsm3, the last line is "I want the rest of my life to feel just like a / High school musical" with this line, ricky is basically saying that he will love gina for the rest of his life. throwing in a hsm reference is also incredibly fitting given that they've just completed the first night of their run as troyella, further cementing their legacy as the troyella of the show. i love that, even when the bridge is repeated, ricky and gina are the only ones to sing these lines. when the bridge is sung for the third and final time, ricky and gina are now together on stage singing the words "I"m in love, I'm in love, I'm in love" to each other in between the lines of the bridge. the song closes with ricky singing "I love you feels a lot like high school" with gina singing "and forever after that." I love this ending for two reasons: ending the song with rina singing together re-emphasizes that they're in love, and in love together (for the first time), as tim mentions in an interview. I also love it because even as the wildcats join to sing the bridge near the end of the song, ricky and gina are the only people to sing the lines "I'm in love x3" and "I love you feels a lot like high school." even though their friends step in to sing some lines, ultimately, the song is a love song for gina, about gina, and that's why it ends with her. as tim (love how much I'm referencing him) mentioned in an interview, rina is the beating heart of the romance of the show, and their friends coming in to sing along to ricky's love song for gina fully solidifies this.

[fuukonomiko]

More Actor/Hollywood BES AU

Thank you for the reception to the first set, I and my fellow conspirators BES nutjobs fans have more for you!

Ringo's 'hands' are actually prosthesis, unbeknownst to his fans. This is what they see when he is actually playing a concert. He takes them off when shooting for the series. His portrayal is true to his disability. (courtesy of @kaladinkholins ) It's a shocker when they discover he has no hands. Mikio is one of those amazing singer actors. Like he would be hella famous and getting roles in musicals/movies with songs. (Which is like every movie-) Then like a news publisher like tmz releases the fact Mizu and him was married and they released the divorce papers somehow to hurt Mizu’s career (from @doughnutshi )

Mizu's actress had been a child actor/Disney sitcom type and this is her first like adult role (by @apatheticallyromantic ) Mizu was one of those who started as a ten year old in a sitcom. She disappeared for a few years to 'find herself' and returned as an ass-kicking hero. The pegging scene with Fowler was one of the longest repetitive takes they did because Ise's actress kept laughing while ducked behind the counter. She had a hard time seeing through the mask and would accidentally poke Fowler's actor where she wasn't supposed to (he was wearing shorts the whole time and was such a good sport about it). Takayoshi's star used to be the lead singer in the hottest boyband in town. He turned to acting after they disbanded. When he shaved his hair for the role, his army of fans just about died.

Sword Father Eiji is legally blind and this helps with his portrayal. He usually orients himself prior to any shoot. He brings to set his guide dog, a black labrador named Boba. (@lillyblogsmizu)

The actress playing Kinuyo is the lead singer of a punk band. She is almost unrecognizable without her signature smeared mascara, powder white face and black lipstick. She has amazing, screeching, four octave vocals.

On downtime, the actors would hang out and jam. Takayoshi and Kinuyo would take turns singing or have duets, with Ringo providing guitar. Mizu sometimes joins in with her drums. 

Heiji Shindo’s actor is a known method actor and absolute prankster. He likes leaving gag gifts for the actors. His favorite target of shenanigans is Madam Kaji and Daichi Tokonobu as they all used to star in the same sitcom.

MORE BES HOLLYWOOD AU HERE

[munsons-hellfire]

Chapter 1: Everything All At Once

SUMMARY: You're set to perform a duet single (a new take on Lover Of Mine) with 5 Seconds of Summer, as well as a song from your album that was released three months ago. While back stage you have a run in with lead singer and guitarist of Corroded Coffin Eddie Munson, and things take an interesting turn after the award show.

PAIRINGS: Older!Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Pop Singer!Fem!Reader

PART 1 IN THE RUIN MY LIFE SERIES

CONTENT WARNINGS: NSFW, 18+ MDNI, Age Gap ( Reader is 30, Eddie is 44, smut, language, fingering (f receiving), oral (f and m receiving), unprotected p in v sex (wrap it before you tap it), aftercare, smut with a plot,

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a new series and another Eddie series. I adore Eddie and love him with all my heart. This series is heavily inpisired by Ruin My Life by Zara Larsson. I was listening to it one day, so I put it on repeat and just go the idea for this series. This is a reminder that I do not own any songs that are mentioned in here unless stated otherwise. I have never been capable of coming up with my own lyrics but there will be a few songs that are completely written by me (they'll make an appearance later). If you'd like to be tagged in this series let me know.

WORD COUNT: 4.4K Words

RUIN MY LIFE SERIES MASTERLIST

It was the night of the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. You were backstage getting ready to go on stage to perform a few songs with 5 Seconds Of Summer. The main song would be a newly released song of "Ghost Of You", it hit home with you and when you were contacted about the song you couldn't turn down the offer to perform the song. Your fiancé would've been so proud of where you had gotten.

You had your microphone ready to go in your hand, it was mixed with blue, red, and some pink. The blue and pink were your mother and father's favorite colors. And the red was in honor of your fiancé, it was his favorite color. Before you were set to go on and perform you had won a MTV award for Best New Artist. And you were honestly still shocked.

If it hadn't been for your parents and your fiancé, you wouldn't be here right now. The three of them had always supported your dreams to be a singer, to tour the world and just have fun while doing it. Unfortunately your fiancé couldn't be here, he passed away 9 years ago today as it turned out. And what was once a sad day each year you now had something that made the pain just a little better.

You started to make it big shortly after you had turned 30 and now you were here about to sing in front of a large crowd. Then you'd be leaving in a few weeks to start your World Tour for your new album that was as personal as it would ever be. A lot of the songs had to do with a lot of recent events whereas a few of them were about your parents and growing up.

The songs that remained were about your fiancé. While everyone speculated who those songs were about you hadn't really stated who they were about. You still weren't open to the idea of talking about your dead fiancé. Though one of the songs about him you would be singing tonight after you sang Ghost Of You. Then it would switch back to another song you had recorded with 5SOS.

Afterwards it would switch over to a few verses from one of your most popular songs from your album. It was written about the support you had received from your parents and fiancé. That song had been the one to get you discovered in the first place so it had to be on the album. It was titled Thank you, the title alone basically spoke for itself.

When doing the album you re-recorded the song and now here you were, all because of that song. Then you'd switch into a few verses and you would end off with a song that had been written about your fiancé. It was going to be a bittersweet moment for sure, being able to perform it on the day of the anniversary.

You were somewhat happy to be at an award show rather than moping around like you did over the previous 8 years since his death. You shook your hands in the air to get the jitters out of your body. You had done only a few small shows that had been leading up to this moment. But this award show would be your first time on a stage like this in front of a lot of people. So the jitters were expected of course.

"Someone's nervous." The voice of an older man ran through your ears. You looked over your shoulder to see the infamous rockstar, the lead singer and guitarist of Corroded Coffin, Eddie Munson walking up to you.

A soft but nervous smile graced your lips. "First time singing on a stage this big in front of a lot of people." You clarified even though you knew he didn't need the clarification.

Eddie had been in your shoes a long time ago, so he was familiar with the nerves. It also helped that you knew exactly who Eddie Munson was, he was a certified bad boy through the 90s and 00s. He was all over the place and a certain mess. He seemed to get a little better after the birth of his kids in 2004.

They were twins, he had a boy named Beau Munson and a daughter named Blair Munson. He had his twins with his wife whom he's been separated from for well over a year and is currently in the process of a nasty divorce brought forth by his ex-wife Heather (you assumed that she was trying to go after some of the money he had).

But you hoped that Eddie had been smart and made the woman sign a prenup before they had gotten married. You also knew that his son and daughter opted not to follow in his footsteps, they were both going to college. They had publicly stated what paths they had chosen for themselves.

Beau was studying to be a doctor, hopefully a Neurosurgeon. Meanwhile Blair was studying to be a Cosmetologist, she loved styling hair and coloring it. Eddie’s kids were nothing like him and it made you wonder how a certified bad boy who had two kids could be so different from their father. But then again your parents had expected you to follow in their footsteps before they saw your love for writing music and performing. So you really couldn’t judge the Munson siblings.

Eddie walked closer to you, the space between the two of you was closed off. “How about after you perform and I perform we get out of here and head back to my place?” Eddie had a smirk on his face as he asked the question and his warm brown eyes stared down at you.

You were new to the industry but you still knew enough to know what happens around here. “If you’re trying to get your dick wet you’re gonna have to try a little harder than that, maybe please me a little. A girl has needs you know.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I know what needs you got and I can show you exactly how I can take care of those needs.”

Your thighs clenched together after his words slammed into your ears. The smirk he had on his face only grew as he watched your reaction. He was getting you right where he wanted you. Before anything more could be said between you and Eddie, Luke came running up behind you, picking you up and spinning you around. You released a fit of giggles.

“You ready, pop star?” Like questions, a smile on his lips. You glanced over at Eddie for a brief moment, watching the smirk turn to a glare as he stared at you and Luke.

“Yes, I’m ready.” You breathed out, he set you down and you adjusted the strap on your left shoulder that connected to your outfit.

“Remember, just like we practiced. You’ll do great.”

You gave him a nod as he walked onto the stage. You gripped your microphone just a smidge tighter then looked over at Eddie. “Break a leg out there, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, Eddie. I’ll be around afterwards if you can find me.” A smirk graced your lips.

“Challenge accepted.” Eddie whispered as you walked out onto the stage following behind Luke. You wanted to say something else to him but instead you internally thanked your fiancé for sending Eddie your way.

───── ❝ ◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸ ❞ ─────

After you had gone on to perform you waited backstage, staying hidden but still in eye sight of the stage so you could get the full experience of watching Eddie Munson perform on the stage live in person. Sometimes you noticed that he would turn slightly off stage to look for you but you would move out of sight so he couldn’t see you. Overall you were having a blast playing this game with him.

As the award show came to a close you walked out of the building. The air felt nice and cooled you off a lot more than the fans were at a high enough setting and weren’t keeping you cool. You still felt hot, though maybe it was because you had been dreaming about what a night with Eddie Munson would look like. You heard that he was good in bed but you honestly just wanted to know for yourself.

“Whatcha lookin’ at sweetheart?” Eddie whispered in your ear when he came up behind you. You felt the heat rising to your cheeks.

“Just the stars, though you can’t see much.” You answered, turning slightly to look back at the older man. He had a soft smile on his face as he stared down at you.

“I can show you the stars.” There was a devious smirk that fell into his plump lips, you couldn’t help but smile at the comment.

“So we’d be skipping the after party?” In truth you didn’t want to go to it, you were never one to party and that wasn’t suddenly going to change because you were popular.

“Unless you want to go of course.”

“No, I think I’m good.” Eddie held his hand out to you and you took it in yours. Once he had a hold he took you to his car where the driver was waiting. The two of you climbed into the car and were heading to his place. “Can I ask you a question?”

“As long as it’s not about my kids, or the ex.” There was a coldness in his voice when he mentioned his ex. You shook your head.

“No, it’s not. I don’t like to pry too much into people. Why are you interested in me? I mean no offense but you’re for sure a fuck boy so are you lookin’ to add me to your list or whatever?” Before Eddie had met his wife and had kids he was a notorious fuck boy, having sex with anyone that wanted him. But after his wife he had mellowed out and even though he hadn’t been with her for a year he hadn’t gone to sleep with someone until he saw you.

“No list, I’m not like that anymore. I heard that version of Ghost of You on the radio, my daughter was listenin’ to it. Honestly your voice was just really appealing and I wanted to know what it sounded like in the bedroom. I want to know what your moans sound like, I want to know everything that your body does.” He leaned closer to you, his nose gently brushing your ear. He smiled triumphantly when you clenched your thighs together just because of his words. He really had an effect on you. Eddie placed his hand down on your thigh and slowly moved it towards your center. “We still have a bit of a drive.”

“What do you want to do then?” You asked, eyes on him.

“What do you want me to do?”

He watched as your small hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled it closer to the place where you desired him to touch. The smirk that he had on his face never left his face as he gently placed his fingers over your clothed core. You cursed yourself for deciding to wear pants for the after show that you knew you’d never go to. But that didn’t seem to stop the rockstar’s mission. He eyed you as he moved his hand up to your button and unbuttoned them.

His hand slipped into your pants and panties, his calloused fingers came in contact with your clit. Slowly he starts to rub your clit in circular motions. A soft whimper leaves your mouth as you throw your head back towards the headrest. The first five years after your fiancé passed you hadn’t been with anyone sexually. But afterwards you were with plenty, but no one had compared to your fiancé, at least until Eddie. He replaced his fingers with his thumb and continued to circle your clit, while his fingers moved down towards your center.

You moaned when Eddie inserted two of his fingers. Once again he started soft, but the more you moaned and called out his name his pace quickened. A third finger was added and you were in Heaven at the feeling of his large fingers inside you.

“Fuck.” You moaned your heading moving towards his shoulder to lean on it.

“You like that, sweetheart? You like my fingers inside you?” You could only nod, you felt your orgasm quickly approaching from just the pace his fingers were going. Eddie could feel how close you were to cumming on his fingers. “I can’t wait to have you on my cock, you’re gonna be so fuckin’ tight.” He felt you clench around his fingers at the mention. “Gonna make you cum so hard, but first I gotta get this first orgasm from you baby.”

Those words did it, seconds after he had spoken you were a moaning mess as you came on his fingers. You close your eyes trying to come back from a mind blowing orgasm on just his fingers. When you finally did open your eyes again, you looked up at Eddie who was licking your release from his fingers.

“Mm, you taste good.” He said after removing his fingers from his mouth. Eddie closed whatever space was left between you two and placed his lips on yours. You could taste yourself on his lips but you weren’t complaining. The two of you broke apart when the car finally came to a stop. “Time to take it inside, sweetheart.”

“Good.” You replied. A smile graced your lips as you followed behind the rockstar not bothering to button your pants back up given that they’d be coming off shortly. You followed after Eddie quickly, when he made it to the front door he unlocked it quickly and pulled you inside with him. Once inside Eddie pushed you back up against the front door and smashed his lips to yours kissing you roughly.

Eddie pushed his tongue out past his lips and towards yours, when he met your lips you opened them but you weren’t going down easy. Both of you were fighting for dominance in the kiss. But Eddie eventually overpowered you, he moved his hands down your body, his hand slipping underneath your shirt. Then he pinched your skin causing you to gasp and allowing him to win the battle.

The rockstar moved his hand from your shirt and moved it down to your thighs giving them a tap. You understood what he was doing and jumped up. Eddie caught you and turned around once your legs were wrapped around his waist. He moved quickly across the floor and up the steps heading to his bedroom. When you two made it to his bedroom he pushed through the door and kicked it closed.

Then he moved to his bed and threw you onto it, his touch leaving your body. A whimper left your mouth at the loss of his touch.

“Aw my poor baby, missin’ me already cupcake?” A new pet name but still having the same affect on you as the other ones did. Eddie smirks when he sees it pull a reaction from you. Before you could reply to the older man he was on his bed and hovering over you. He placed his lips back on you, pulling you into another searing kiss. Then he pulled away from your swollen lips and placed them on your neck.

Eddie sucked some of your skin into his mouth, then he released your skin with a pop. Eddie moved further down your chest kissing between your breast, the only skin really showing from your shirt other than your neck. He wrapped his tattooed fingers around the waistband of your pants and underwear and pulled them down your legs as quickly as he could. You watched through hooded eyes as he threw them to the floor and moved towards your center. The metalhead let his tongue out, he started from the bottom licking a long strip to the top to meet your clit. A moan left your mouth.

He pulled back, a smirk on his face as he looked up at you. “I can’t get enough of you, sweetheart. I think I could stay down here forever.” He said, brown eyes still on you. Seconds later you watched him lower his head down between your legs. His lips found home on your clit, he started sucking on it while two of his fingers played with your hole. You moaned again when he slipped in one of his fingers, then added another one.

“Fuck.” You breathed out, throwing your head back into Eddie’s pillow. He smiled and continued to suck your clit. Eddie pulled back, pushing his tongue out and flicking your clit. You felt his fingers curl inside you as he moved them at a faster pace. You could hear the squelching sound as his fingers pushed in and out of you. Eventually he added a third finger inside you, a whimper escaped your lips as he stretched it but felt amazing.

You were close to your second orgasm of the night and Eddie hadn’t even gotten his cock inside you yet. “That’s it, cum on my fingers.” You moaned again, feeling your orgasm hit you again. Eddie pulled back from your clit and slowly removed his fingers from your cunt. Eddie leaned up on his knees, while you watched him lick your slick off them. When you finally managed to come back down from your high you smirked at the man who kneeled in front of you.

“My turn.” You whispered. He watched as you crawled towards him, gripped his shoulders and pushed him back onto his bed. Your hands found their way to his pants and he unbuckled the buckle and button. Your fingers wrapped onto his pants and boxers and you quickly pulled them off throwing them somewhere in the room. You looked back at Eddie’s cock, your mouth falling open. You moved your hand forward wrapping it around his length. He gasped at your soft touch. You placed your fingers at the top of his head and smeared the beads of precum around his cock. Slowly you moved your hand up and down his length, leaning forward you pushed your tongue out and licked a long strip from the base of his cock to the top of his head.

Eddie moaned, staring at you with hooded eyes. “Jesus Christ, baby.” You smiled at the older man, you placed your lips around the head of his cock and lowered down onto him. Eddie’s hands moved to your hair grabbing onto it and moving it out of the way so he could watch you stuff your mouth full of his cock. Your nose touched the hair on his pelvis when you reached it. Eddie watched in amazement as you bobbed your head up and down his length. He was getting close but he didn’t want to cum down your throat not at first anyway. “Wait, wait.” Eddie called out.

“What?” You asked, when you pulled off his cock.

“I would love nothin’ more than to cum down your throat but I need to be inside you right now.” Eddie picked himself up from his bed and removed his shirt. You followed behind him pulling off your shirt and then unclipping your bra to discard them. Eddie flipped you around, a giggle leaving your mouth and something Eddie instantly knew he wanted to hear every day. He hovered over you.

His mouth moved down and took a nipple into your mouth he sucked on it, another moan escaping your mouth, this one different then the last one. Eddie grabbed a hold of his cock as he pulled back from your nipple. He spread the tip of his head through your folds, getting your slick on the tip of his head. Eddie lowered his cock down to your hole and looked up at you. You saw the look on his face and even though he had once been a fuck boy he seemed to had turned into a gentle man.

“Are you?” Eddie went to ask but you were quick to cut him off.

“I'm on birth control and I promise I’m clean.” You answered. He gave a nod of his head.

“I am too, in case you wanted to know. I just want to make sure you feel safe.”

“Eddie.” You breathed out, cupping his face with your hands. He stared into your eyes, it was clear to you that you might have been the first person he’s been with since his wife. “I feel so safe with you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want any of that.” Before Eddie had a chance to reply to you, you lifted your head up from the pillow and kissed him. He kissed you back of course, his lips soft on yours. When you pulled back you stared into his brown eyes. “Now, fuck me, please. I need to feel you inside me.”

“Beg me again, princess.” You could tell this was turning him on.

“Fuck. Me. Please.” The words came out quickly but sharp.

The two of you moaned when you felt Eddie slip his length inside you. “You feel so good, sweetheart.” Eddie lowered his head down in between your neck as you wrapped your legs around his waist. Eddie gives you a few seconds to adjust to the size of his cock. Your walls are warm and wet and continue to suck him in. When you finally send a nod to Eddie he pulls his body back and slams back into you. Eddie stretches you out, as he continues to pull out and slam back into you. “Your pussy was made for me.”

You moaned loudly, “fuck, Eddie.” He smiles at you as he picks up his pace slamming his hips into yours. The sound of moans and skin slapping on skin is the only thing that can be heard in the room. “Feels so good.” You babbled, getting lost in feeling him inside you. Eddie looked down where the two of you were connected and watched as your pussy sucked him back in again and again every time he pulled back.

“Gettin’ close, sweets?” Eddie asked eyes back on you. You nodded your head, too blissed out to use words. “Aw, look at that, got you all cockdrunk don’t I?” You gave Eddie another nod, just as another moan escaped your lips. He smirked and placed his lips on yours, kissing you passionately. You kissed Eddie back, the metalhead could feel you gripping his cock. “That’s it baby, cum on my cock.”

“Fuck.” You breathed out. Eddie moved his thumb down in between the two of you. It fell on your clit and started rubbing it at a fast pace. “M’ gonna cum.” You cried out.

You released a high pitched moan as you came on Eddie’s cock. You gripped him tightly, Eddie gripped his hand on your hip as his thrusts became sloppy. You were seeing stars like he had promised, and with you having hit your release he fell right behind you. His cum squirted inside you, filling you up. Eddie collapsed on top of you. Gently he removed his cock from inside you, you whimpered when he pulled out leaving you empty.

Eddie watched as his cum fell down onto his bed. He stood up and walked into the bathroom grabbing a cloth and a glass of water. He walked back into the room and set the glass down on the table. You watched with hooded eyes as he cleaned in between you. He threw the cloth near the closet and grabbed the water, handing it over to you. You thanked him and took a gulp of it. When you were finished you placed it down on the dresser and stood up walking over to the bathroom.

Eddie moved around his room grabbing some clothes for you to wear. He wasn’t about to kick you out, though you were certain he was going to because he had done it with people he slept with in the past so you assumed you were no different. When you came back out you looked around for your clothes.

“I guess I should probably get going.” You looked at Eddie, he was standing over by the window with a cigarette hanging on his lips.

“Why are you trying to leave?” Eddie asked, he put the cigarette out and walked over to you, pulling your naked body into him. This didn’t make sense to you in the least.

“I just thought that you’d, you know, want me to leave.”

“Nonsense, sweetheart. I have some clothes you can wear, you’re gonna stay here tonight in my room. If you wanna leave in the morning then you can.”

“Okay.” You smiled at Eddie, watching him smile back at you, the crickles around his eyes getting bigger. Eddie pulled away from you and grabbed a shirt and a pair of his boxers. You slipped into them and climbed into the bed with Eddie following behind you. Once the two of you were under the covers you found yourself being wrapped up in his arms, something you hadn’t truly experienced since your fiance had passed away. “I had a fiance.” You said, you weren’t sure why you were telling Eddie but you wanted him to know.

“Had?” He questioned. The older man watched you turn in his arms to look up at him.

“He passed away 9 years ago today.” You paused thinking of the next words carefully. You didn’t want to scare him off with the next bit of information but for some reason you felt that Eddie wasn’t going to go anywhere. “Before you walked up to me backstage I had asked him to send someone my way, who he thought would be good for me. I’m not saying this to scare you, I'm saying this to thank you, even if you don’t want anything after this night, thank you for allowing me to have something truly good.”

Eddie didn’t say anything, he just stared down at you. His old self would’ve been terrified for something like this. But now, he could see forever with you and he wasn’t quite ready to let that go. His grip on you tightened and he pulled you into his tattooed chest.

“I don’t want to let this go, whatever it is.” You smiled softly, nuzzling your face further into his chest. Eventually the two of you fell asleep in each other’s arms.

TAGS: @inhumanssxx @eddiemunsons80sbaby

[pencopanko]

Another Coco "What If" AU, but this time Héctor actually recorded some tunes

Heavily inspired by the story of how Ryo Fukui's album "My Favorite Tunes" was rediscovered through his widow, Yasuko in 2017.

°°°°°°

After the news broke out about de la Cruz's lies (and alleged murder) of his buried-by-time duet partner, musician, and songwriter Héctor Rivera, rumors of never-before-seen and extremely rare recordings of the latter performing either with de la Cruz or by himself circulated amongst certain circles, mostly fans of lost media and buried history.

Talks like this had been going around for ages, but it wasn't until mid-2018 when a shoe-maker family's son named Miguel Rivera came out with stories of how de la Cruz stole his great-great grandfather's songs and skull guitar complete with physical proof that the topic of lost recordings suddenly became one of the hottest topics in México. Miguel himself joined in on the hunt, which lasted for quite some time well past 2018 and was postponed due to the pandemic.

And then, in 2021. A miracle.

Either Mamá Coco had completely forgotten about it or it had been a secret that she had purposely kept to herself for Miguel to discover, but there were some other things she had kept hidden from her mother... five 78 rpm records pre-dating 1921, all sent by Héctor. Recordings of him singing by himself, with Ernesto, or just simple guitar arrangements of his other songs. Kept in secret by Mamá Coco somewhere in a corner of Miguel's hideout left unchecked after Imelda threw them out along with other objects related to music. Other 78s were later on discovered by a descendant of de la Cruz's inside the family estate and in various antique shops, all collecting dust. They were amongst the most important relics of Héctor's legacy, besides his red songbook containing the first composition for "Remember Me".

After efforts of digitizing came out successful (despite the damage done by age, the recordings were miraculously salvageable), "Recuérdame: The Lost Recordings of Héctor Rivera (1919-1921)" was released. Calling the album a sensation was an understatement. Rave reviews started coming out, stating that Héctor's warm voice reminded listeners of home and warm sunrays, and how one can feel the heartache and longing for his family from the way he strums his guitar alone, even if his voice is not as strong and commanding as de la Cruz's. His grito is oftentimes said to be addicting and infectious as well, with some claiming that they ended up doing it along. Others lamented over "what could have been" after listening to Rivera and de la Cruz's harmonizing and clear-as-day dynamic as a duet. Shortly after, the skeletal remains of Héctor Rivera were found in an unmarked grave in México City.

It not only solidified Héctor Rivera's legacy (thus directly affecting Héctor's overall health in the Land Of The Dead for the better), but it also largely improved the Riveras' overall economy with royalties from Héctor's never-before-seen music, in addition to the already booming shoe-making business and Miguel's own efforts as a musician. All because Miguel decided to steal a guitar that turned out to be rightfully his.

It is safe to say that Héctor Rivera is now considered one of the greatest songwriters and poets in the history of Mexican music.

[rainbowsky]

Happy Pride! 💖🌈🦄

Happy Pride, everyone!

I wanted to celebrate Pride this year by sharing some great up-beat queer anthems - songs from some of the groundbreaking queer artists who have been raising their voices to make the world a better place every day. Let's celebrate diversity together! 😘

Domo Wilson - Bisexual Anthem

Domo Wilson should really be the one to start the Pride festivities this year, with this amazing, amazing, amazing Bisexual Anthem. Songs like this are rare - great message AND good song. This woman is fucking brilliant. (Sexually explicit lyrics).

Brenda Fassie - Vuli Ndlela

Africa's first openly gay pop star Brenda Fassie is an incredible talent. Her voice, her style, everything about the way she sings is utterly captivating, compelling and packed full of emotion - whether it be joy or misery.

I discovered her a while back and had that tragic modern experience of falling in love with an artist and then immediately being pitched into grief as I learned about her difficult life and too early death.

Some of you might be familiar with the Chinese term, 'jaiyou' which literally means 'add oil' or more generally, 'go for it!' Vuli ndlela is a similar term that means 'make way!'

The song is about sticking it to gossipy neighbours on her son's wedding day (because they thought he'd never marry and find lasting love), but over the years it has become a popular anthem of empowerment and encouragement.

Troye Sivan and Gordi - Wait

Who can resist a dreamy, sweet duet with two queer darlings?

Muna - Pink Chiffon (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)

I've shared this song before on my blog but it's such a sweet, catchy, up-beat song it deserves to be shared again.

Beth Ditto - We Could Run

One of the greatest - and most consistently and criminally underrated - voices in music.

Kehlani - Altar

This isn't an artist I've followed in the past, but this particular song is so infectious, I absolutely love it.

Shae Diamond - I Am Her

In her own words:

"My name is Shea Diamond, Singer/Songwriter based in NYC by way of Flint, MI. I was born into a gender role that I did not accept & I didn’t feel like myself. Desperate to find the financial means to transition to my true gender, I committed a crime in 1999 & was sentenced to 10 years in a men's prison. While incarcerated, I found a community that shared my trans experience - it was there where I found my voice. I began writing “I Am Her” as a statement to a world that said I shouldn't exist. I wrote it as an anthem for all those that felt shunned for simply being who they were. In 2009 I was released from prison. Shortly after my release, I moved to New York City where I found a studio to record “I Am Her” and the means to create a video for my song."

Ria Mae - Bend

Canadian pop sensation Ria Mae, yet another criminally underrated artist whose work speaks for itself. Let's give her some love as her home town and province have been suffering intense and dangerous wildfires, and destruction to homes and wildlife habitat.

Janelle Monae - Lipstick Lover

I don't even need to say anything about this song that this stupid-ass 'age restriction' bullshit doesn't already say. 😅

It's worth the trip to YouTube.

Erasure - A Little Respect

I'll close this off with one of the best gay anthems ever written, and one of my all-time favorite songs. Never has it felt more relevant than it does today, with all the hate being thrown at queer people, all the backward redneck laws, all the churchy dicks trying to destroy the lives of people they don't understand. Like the line in the song:

What religion or reason Could drive a man to forsake his lover?

What indeed?

Happy Pride everyone! 💖

YouTube playlist of these songs.

[bjyxobsessed]

One of the best things about Xiao Zhan’s recent vlogs has been discovering new music and musicians! I am SO grateful to him for using a song by Sarah Kang, bcz I had no idea she existed and she’s now one of my new favorite artists 🥰💗 Such a beautiful voice! She’s an indie performer in the US and doesn’t have a huge following (yet!) So I got to thinking - how in the world did Xiao Zhan even hear about her??

Well, I think I might have found a clue 😏 I noticed that one of her Instagram followers is Henry Lau - who just happens to have been on SDC season 4 with Wang Yibo.

Sarah and Henry actually follow each other and have had some cute interactions! She is originally from South Korea, where Henry trained as an idol - I’m not sure exactly what the connection is, but it seems clear they know each other at least professionally!

It seems pretty likely to me that performers like Henry and Yibo (and Xiao Zhan) would talk about music and other artists, and make recommendations to each other based on those discussions. Or maybe they have a SDC captains group chat where they share about new artists they like? 😄

Either way, the ONLY connection I see for Chinese superstar Xiao Zhan to come across obscure US-based Korean talent Sarah Kang is through Yibo 🔥

But then again, anything is possible!

[risingrah]

Wish-ing for more

So, I recently saw "Wish", the 62nd animated movie from Disney, with my cousin. Funnily enough, we both had different backgrounds to the movie: For my cousin, she knew that the movie wasn't the biggest hit, but she had no idea it wasn't well received. For me, I knew that the movie wasn't well reviewed, but I was willing to give it a chance. After all, Treasure Planet was one of my favorite Disney movies.

Ultimately, we both had the same takeaway: there should have been more. It wasn't terrible, but ironically, it wasn't full of Disney magic. This was especially a shame given that it was essentially supposed to be a love letter to Disney movies.

Now, I think it's important to not just say I didn't love something, especially when I can articulate where I felt things were lacking. SPOILERS AHEAD. If you see ~~text~~, that reflects my own personal thoughts rather than the story.

Wish starts off with our protagonist Asha, explaining the background of the kingdom where she lives, Rosas. Rosas is a Mediterranean island ruled by the magical king Magnifico and his non-magical queen Amaya. Rosas is special because on the 18th birthday of a citizen, or when anybody becomes a new citizen, they offer up their wish--essentially their dream for their life--to Magnifico. They end up forgetting their wish in the process, which makes them stop pursuing it, but it also allows them to never have to deal with the pain of it never happening. The ultimate trade off to this though is that King Magnifico occasionally holds a "Wish Granting" ceremony, where he choses one or two wishes to grant, returning the wish to its owner but also giving them the ability to attain it.

Asha, a few months shy of her own 18th birthday, hopes to become the newest King's apprentice and prepares for her interview. She is then brought to the King's study by Queen Amaya, who tells her that she is aware how much Asha loves the kingdom and wishes her luck.

~~And this is where things get...well, rushed. Also, was it weird for Amaya to bring Asha to the King? Shouldn't that have been a knight or another servant or something??~~

While waiting for the King in his study, Asha is drawn to a book of forbidden magic, which Magnifico quickly appears and tries to deters her from, but not before she triggers the protective charm around it.

~~The vibe around this plot point is reminiscent of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" scene from Fantasia, where Mickey was the big-dreaming apprentice to another magician, which is a nice parallel~~

Asha clumsily makes her way through the interview, and after she and Magnifico connect over having lost family in their childhoods, Magnifico is drawn to show Asha where he stores all the wishes of Rosas. They then have a duet expressing how they desire to protect the wishes "at all costs".

~~To me this was...weird? Aren't they supposed to be kept safe and hidden? Why show this to a person who hasn't taken the job yet? Also, I felt a song here really should have been more about the wishes themselves rather than the desire to protect them. "At All Costs" reads more like a love song, even a little between Magnifico and Asha without the badly needed context, rather than be centered around the wishes. Instead, it should have been around all the wishes that Magnifico has granted, and the joy its brought to others and Rosas. It would set up the "reveal" a bit better, and "show, but not tell" people how precious the wishes are.~~

During the song, Asha discovers her grandfather's wish. Her grandfather is 100 years old today, and she quickly ~~too quicky!!~~ asks Magnifico if she would grant her grandfather's wish during the day's wish ceremony. Magnifico considers it, but ultimately refuses. He explains that her grandfather's wish to "inspire others" is too vague, and it could potentially be a danger to Rosas. Asha tries to argue that her grandfather is a good person and would never wish harm, but Magnifico flares in a sharp rage. He insists that only he knows best for Rosas and he will not grant the wish. Before Asha can go off, he insists that she join Queen Amaya on the main stage to watch him receive the wishes of new citizens while also granting a wish.

~~So, this was weird to me? Sure, there were promos that exposed the fact that King Magnifico was the villain, but it didn't need to be confirmed so quickly. But in addition, I felt it would have been more key for Magnifico to hold it together for at least a little longer, to make the audience better understand why Magnifico was regarded as such a beloved king. For him to slip so quickly so sudden felt...amateurish. He should have gotten lessons from Hans. But on the note of his refusal to grant Sabino's wish. I couldn't say he was wrong, really. A lot of problems around people having wishes is that they're vague. Like, if someone wished to be "happy", there wouldn't be a real way to know what would make them happy. A loving family? Wealth? Cocaine? World Domination? When Sabino wants to inspire others...well how? To do what? This is what makes the wish "dangerous" to Magnifico.

Now, it would have been nice if Magnifico was clear that the more specific and grounded the wish was, the more likely it would be granted. Or even that the reason he only grants one wish at a time could be because his magic is limited so he has to think in the terms of which wish has the most good. It would have allowed him to keep his "good" image to Asha while still making her consider people whose wishes were "rejected" should just have them returned.

That said, this was a fun shout out to the fact that Sabino, like Disney, is 100 years old. His wish to inspire the next generation is a sweet touchpoint to the way Disney has inspired others in its century.~~

After the wish ceremony, Asha is at her grandfather's birthday dinner along with her mother, all at different levels of disappointment at Sabino not being chosen. Eventually, Asha tells him his wish will never be granted because Magnifico has deemed it "dangerous." She wants to tell her grandfather what it is, but Sabino refuses. He adamantly tells her that he doesn't want to know what such a dangerous wish would be, even though Asha tries to tell him it wasn't to her. Asha leaves the dinner in tears.

Asha then sings about how she wants more for Rosas, that people who will never get their wishes granted should just be allowed to try to pursue them, even if they fail or get disappointed, than to just live without them. She wishes on a star, and...well, the star shows up.

The star can't talk, but it is clearly magic and can grant speech to other things, including not just the forest animals, but Asha's goat Valentino.

~~Note that Valentino has been in the movie the whole time to this point, but for the animal mascot didn't provide much value to me~~

When Asha asks how this is possible, the animals and plants of the forest sing a song, credited as "sung by Cast", that tells her that "We are all Stars". Afterwards, Asha tells Star what has been happening, and that because of her her mother's nor her grandfather's wishes would be granted. Star is shocked by this, and immediately suggests that the best solution to this problem is crime. Specifically, stealing the two wishes back from the king. Asha...agrees.

~~This is the plot point that I felt that the Disney Magic wasn't there. For starters, a lot of the time in Disney movies, people aren't just "wishing"--they do. They try everything they can themselves, and only when they're at the despair horizon does a macguffin come. Cinderella is a great example--she and her animal friends do all they can to finish the chores and get her dress ready, and it was only after her stepfamily tore the dress, and therefore Cinderella's "wish" to shreds, does she get magical help. Another example is Tiana, who worked and hustled her way to save up for her own restaurant, only for it to be tore to shreds by the racism/sexism machine, and was then granted help by her fate twisting with Prince Naveen. Or when seven-year-old Lilo wishes on a star, but only after the plot makes it clear that the friendless Lilo will be separated from her sister so soon after the deaths of their parents. I could go on.

I couldn't help but feel that Asha could have come up with "crime" by herself, we could have seen a "heist gone wrong" scene, and then Star would show up and give Asha the power/courage to try again. Especially since we see that Star's magic has mostly been just for 'fun' at this point, and offered no real ability beyond what Asha had herself. Asha asked her friend for a shortcut to the King's Study. Asha asked her friends to distract Magnifico so he wouldn't come back too soon. And ultimately, they could only save just one of the wishes--Sabino's--which Asha was also capable of doing.~~

As Asha is getting Sabino's wish back, Magnifico has been advised by Amaya to talk to the citizen's about the light that was seen last night--Star's light. Despite the citizens believing the light was from him, due to its warmth and radiance, Magnifico is convinced that it was from a potential threat. Magnifico informs the populace of this event, calling the light both a "threat" but also "from an amateur", and tells them to let him know any information. Asha's friend Dahlia questions him to stall for time for Asha, asking him how he knows that information and what would he consider information (evidence vs hunch)? Her questions motivate others to join in, and ultimately someone asks what could incentive people to provide it? Magnifico agrees that in exchange for information, he will perform another wish granting ceremony.

Magnifico returns to the castle, alone and enraged that his citizens are ungrateful. He laments that this is the "thanks he gets" for providing for them.

~~ The song had some odd lyrics, but this should have been the "mask off" scene. With the request to his people for information, we see just enough of the veneer's dark underbelly--"our enemy is both weak and strong"--and now in his private moment we can see how he really thinks and feels. Having the mask come off during Asha's interview was much too soon and made the citizens look more foolish than they should have been shown to be.~~

As Asha manages to barely leave the study in time, Magnifico decides to utilize the forbidden magic book to help track down the light. Asha returns home and gives Sabino back his wish, showing him that it wasn't dangerous at all. Sabino embraces it, and it returns back to him. However, this moment is cut off by Magnifico, who tracks them down. An informant ratted Asha out, and now, armed with new dark magic, he intends to punish Asha by destroying her mother's, Sakina's, wish. Sakina feels an intense feeling of grief as Magnifico absorbs the wish and found that it has increased his powers.

The five of them--Asha, Sabino, Sakina, Star, and Valentino--manage to escape, especially once Valentino convinces the knights' horses to let them go "as one domesticated animal to another". They managed to get in a boat and Asha rows them to safety until Star helps out with magic. As Asha laments that this is now putting all of Rosas at risk, she realizes that she has to go back and make things right.

Meanwhile, Magnifico is practically high off his new discovery. He proceeds to use the forbidden magic book to make a dark magic wand, using more wishes as ingredients. Amaya learns about this and is shocked to find how far her husband has fallen, and rebuffs his claim that Asha is a threat to the kingdom. Magnifico turns his staff on her to test her loyalty, and Amaya assures him that there is nothing more important to her than Rosas.

Magnifico then performs his wish granting ceremony, identifying his informant as Asha's friend Simon. Simon, who was the first of the friend group to turn 18, had already given his wish to Magnifico and his friends observed he seemed more "tired" and "boring" since. Magnifico grants Simon's wish to be the best knight in Rosas, but by infusing Simon with his dark magic making Simon a malevolent puppet for Magnifico.

~~ So, I did like the theme about how adulthood discourages wishing. While in childhood, potential can seem endless, but in adulthood, real life gets in more and more. You end up too tired, too busy, to remember your wishes and dreams, and this ultimately makes you a boring, uninspired person. I could sympathize with Simon, who barely an adult, longed to be the person who he was barely a few months ago--to have his dream back to make him a whole person rather than spend his life empty and unfilled, with hopes like Sabino to live to 100, but never have to granted. But the fact that he gained his wish at the cost of betraying his friends is what makes it become corrupted. It's a good lesson in that your wish is a part of you, but so is your character and your relationships, and trading one for another will never make you whole.~~

Asha, who has now donned a blue cloak to sneak back to Rosas, learns of the betrayal along with her friends at the ceremony. Asha also sends a talking mouse to relay a message to Amaya, assuring her of her loyalty and her desire to fix things.

Asha then reunites with her remaining friends, who go to "introvert's sanctuary" of one of their friends to regroup and decide what to do next. Here, they have another song where Asha explains that while this wasn't her intention for Rosas, she doesn't regret letting the truth about the wishes and their king's true character be known. Her friends, who have varying degrees of willingness to go along with things, eventually all agree to come to her aid. In addition. they're discovered by Amaya in the latter half of the song, who gives her allegiance to these children against her husband.

~~ Here, I honestly would have preferred to hear an Amaya song over the children's. I felt Amaya had a lot to work through, as it is clear that while she deeply loved her husband, she also loved Rosas and its people. I would have loved to hear her being torn between the love for the man she thought she married and the love for the citizens that are how his victims. To have her find the strength inside her to reclaim herself as not Magnifico's Queen, but the Queen of Rosas. ~~

The plan is for Amaya to tell Magnifico that Asha has been spotted in the nearby woods, and for Asha to distract him while he is there. Meanwhile, everyone else will be helping free all the wishes. While waiting, Star gives Asha a stick infused with magic before they return to Asha's friends to help out. Star however, doesn't give much in the way of an instruction manual. When Magnifico returns, Amaya finds that the magic-infused stick is capable to doing things from making things bigger, to making things move, to probably everything in between.

~~I felt this scene was sort of cute because between the blue cloak and the stick, it gave Asha the look of the Fairy Godmother. However, the movie later explicitly hits its it on the nose, so it's not much of an easter egg~~

Eventually, it's revealed that the Magnifico that Asha is facing is actually a glamoured Simon, and that the real Magnifico is still at the castle. Asha leaves him to his fate to fight a bear, following by a hoard of what I assume are "killer-but-not-really-for-Disney-purposes" rabbits.

Sure enough, Asha's friends and Star are struggling to free the wishes, but they eventually manage to do so through teamwork. As they run outside to bask in their hard work while Star swims amongst the wishes, Magnifico uses his dark magic to imprison them once again, including Star. He then turns all the wish orbs to stone and brings Asha up to him to further taunt her as he absorbs Star in his staff. At this point, Asha tries to take the staff back but fails. Magnifico then takes things up a notch and summons clouds to cover the sky to prevent further "wishing on a star" shenanigans, and ties down the people of Rosas.

At the despair horizon, Asha remembers that "we are all stars". Dahlia joins Asha in song, having the other citizens join in turn "to make this wish to have something more", a reprise of Asha's "I want" song that summoned Star in the first place. The people glow with their internal stars, which frees the wishes and restores them, as well as frees Star. The staff, having what I assume is a "1 occupant minimum" clause, draws Magnifico into it, imprisoning him in the mirror-line stone.

~~This moment, adding into a few other of his lines, makes me think of The Magic Mirror from Snow White. I would think that was more funny, except The Magic Mirror is a huge jerk of a boss in Kingdom Hearts 2.8 and I don't want to think about that anymore.~~

All the wishes return to their owners and Simon returns to normal. Simon apologizes to his friends and they forgive him.

In a new dawn, Asha is now helping Queen Amaya in helping everyone get their wish granted, even connecting people with similar wishes so they can help each other out.

As a goodbye present, Star restores the magic-infused stick Asha had broke earlier into a proper magic wand. Asha initially refuses, but someone points out her destiny is like a fairy godmother and she accepts.

~~Also, the movie does a final on the nose point that Asha's friends, that there are so many of, are the seven dwarfs~~ The end of the credits, we see Sabino playing music to the tune "When you wish upon a star", finishing up the narrative and encouraging everyone to keep wishing.

~~Like I said, this isn't a terrible movie. There are a lot of notes on its love letter to Walt Disney and Disney movies, and it's fun to catch them. That said, if the best I can say is that "this isn't a terrible movie", that's not super glowing praise. The expectations should have been higher and there was definitely more potential here than what they ended up with.~~

[lilypadlys]

Reset

Summary: Rain and Aurora both find themselves overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the ministry. They’re able to find solace in each other’s company at the lakefront.

Ship: Rain/Aurora

Word Count: 1,463

Rating: Gen

Tags: Tooth rotting fluff, cuddles, The princesses of Ghost having some quality time together

AO3 Link

Rain basks in the cool, dark, quiet of the lake. Shortly after his summoning, Rain had discovered the lake adjoining the abbey. It quickly became his favorite place to escape to. Whenever the noise and chaos of the ministry got to be too much, Rain could inevitably be found at the waterfront. Dipping his feet in while sitting on the pier. Swimming lazy laps back and forth. Sitting at the bottom of the lake and watching the fish dart by. Anything really if it meant finding solace in his element.

Tonight, he simply floats on his back. He lets the current gently steer him around; not minding if he gets carried far from the shore. The more distance from the light and noise, the better.

He’s fallen asleep out here before like this; lulled by the hum of cicadas and the lapping of water. He’d be perfectly happy to spend most nights out here if it weren’t for how cozy cuddle piles with the other ghouls could be. Even tonight he longs for some of that comfort. However, his need for peace and quiet is stronger.

Suddenly another sound enters the night. Someone with a soprano’s range is singing. It’s a welcome addition to the symphony of night sounds. The voice works its way in and mingles with the hum of insects and splishes of the water. It’s melodic. Haunting and beautiful. Rain instantly knows its source. Aurora.

He raises his head and sure enough, the petite ghoulette is perched on the small dock off in the distance. Rain turns over and ducks underwater. He swims over quickly, resurfacing to the side of the pier. He does so just in time to hear Aurora belt out an almost angelic sustained note that echoes across the water.

“That was beautiful.” He hums.

Aurora startles and looks around.

Rain waves to her from the water and she relaxes. “Hi Rain. I didn’t realize you were out here.”

“Yeah, the lake is really nice at night. It’s quiet.”

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to disturb you. I can go…” The ghoulette ducks her head shyly and makes to stand.

“No, it's okay.” Rain paddles over to the front edge of the dock and sets his arms on the ledge. “Stay?”

“Okay.” She nods with a smile, and settles back down.

“You can keep singing if you want.”

Aurora's smile widens.

Rain rests his chin on his crossed arms as he listens. Like before, her voice melds delightfully with the ambient sounds. It’s as if she’s conducting. The swish of cattails in the wind, the croak of frogs, and the push and pull of the water, following her lead.

Rain can’t help but want to join in. He hesitantly adds his own voice to the swell of sound. Aurora encourages him with a grin. Rain doesn’t sing much. At least not around the others; normally too shy too. But now, guided by Aurora, he finds a voice he didn’t know he had. When their duet comes to a grand finale of a preserved crescendo, Aurora laughs.

“I didn’t know you could sing!”

Rain shrugs, blushing. “Thanks.”

“You should join in with the backing vocals at practice. You’ve got an amazing voice.”

“Eh, I’ll stick to the bass. You, Cumulus, and Swiss have got things covered.”

“Hmm, alright.”

The two lapse into a comfortable silence. Aurora sits cross legged on the edge of the pier. Rain floats on his back again, but anchors himself with a hand on a dock support. They sit like this for a while, watching the stars move across the sky.

Rain can’t help but feel that despite the peace and calm, something’s missing. He wishes Aurora would fill the night with her haunting voice once more.

Rain breaks the quiet first. “So…you adjusting to life topside alright?” Aurora was a fairly new summon and had only been living at the abbey for a couple of months.

She takes a minute to contemplate the question; dipping a finger into the water and watching the ripples thoughtfully. “Hmm. It's really different from…down there. I think I like it. I’ve never had a pack before. Everyone is so nice and welcoming.” She pauses again before softly admitting, “It can get really overwhelming sometimes though. So many people and so much noise.”

Rain hums knowingly.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything! But, sometimes I just need to get away.”

“Yeah. I feel that. When I first came topside it was a lot like that for me too. I love the others, but man can they be loud.”

Aurora giggles. “Like, Swiss is really funny but where does all that energy come from? Oh and Dew is constantly up to something. And Mountain? I share a wall with him. He snores like a hell hound.”

It’s Rain’s turn to laugh. “I don’t envy you. Oh, just wait til Lupercalia and Samhain. The whole abbey gets sent into a frenzy. I have literally slept out here some nights because the others were partying so long and hard.”

“Geez, I may have to join you.” She snorts. Then flushes. ”If…that’s okay with you.”

“Please. It’s not like I own the lake or something. The more the merrier.”

"Okay! I may take you up on that."

After another easy silence, Aurora suddenly exclaims, “Oh! You can see Mars really clearly tonight.”

“Huh?”

Aurora points at the sky. “See that red star?”

“Uh…oh! Yeah!”

“And that one,” She points at a different twinkling light, “is Saturn.”

“Do you like astronomy?”

“I adore it!” Aurora grins from ear to ear. “As soon as I found out the abbey had a library, I read all the astronomy books I could get my hands on.” She waves her hands excitedly as she talks.

Rain pulls himself up out of the water to sit on the pier beside her. “And what’s that one?” He points. “It looks like it’s blinking?”

“Hehe, that's an airplane. But that,” She moves his arm to indicate a different light. “is Sirius. The North Star.”

“What about that one?” He points elsewhere.

“That's the big dipper. See that little star there? And the ones next to it? Then the square they make at the end?”

Aurora continues to point out all the visible constellations as well as explain which ones will become visible once the season changes. She even knows some of the stories associated with the stars from many different mythologies. Rain is just content to listen. Even though he’d come out here looking for solitude and quiet; what he’s found in Aurora’s gentle presence is truly what he needed.

Aurora is interrupted mid explanation as she fights to stifle a yawn.

“You getting tired?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“Let's head back then.”

“I can get back fine on my own. Don’t feel like you have to come in if you still want to sit out here for a while.”

“Nah, it’s getting late. I’ll walk back with you. Plus, if you're okay with it, I’d like to hang out with you some more.”

“Hehe, you sure? I must be boring you.”

“Of course not. I want to hear all about all the constellations that you haven’t told me about yet.”

“Okay! Do you want to crash in my room tonight?”

“Sure.”

The two ghouls make their way back to the abbey, Rain shaking himself dry before they enter. They pass the common room where the rest of the pack is still going strong, shouting and laughing over board games. Upon reaching Aurora’s room, the ghoulette flops on the bed.

Rain stops at the doorway. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna shower real quick.”

“Kay.” Aurora snuggles into her comforter.

Rain ducks into his room, and showers quickly. After drying off and changing into a clean tee and shorts, he heads back to Aurora’s room. When he enters, he finds her curled up in a nest of blankets, already fast asleep.

He quietly closes the door behind him and dims the lights before carefully joining her on the bed. Lifting the blankets up just enough to slide underneath, he lays next to her, his chest to her back.

The motion rouses Aurora and she sleepily rolls over so she’s facing Rain. She inches in close, pressing her forehead to his chest and tossing her arms around him. Rain wraps an arm around her back and nuzzles between her horns. Their tails meet and twine together.

Only in Aurora’s warm embrace does Rain realize just how strongly he’d been craving physical affection. He melts into her, letting himself relax. Aurora starts to hum a soft rendition of the song she’d been singing before, and Rain knows he’s done for. Together, the two ghouls drift off into peaceful sleep.

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

So for Music Meister, I get the feeling he'd be a sucker for someone who likes musical theater as much as he does. How does he react to a fem S/O being just as big of a theater kid as he is?

"Harmonious Melodies" Music Meister x fem!reader

As someone who was a theater kid in high school, theater kids can be an insufferable breed. Clarence is like this for a reason, guys, don't let your children get into musical theater.

TW: None

Okay lets be real right now, I don't know if you could really be AS BIG of a theater kid as him. Clarence was such a Theater Kid, other theater kids hated him. The backstage crew fantasized about set pieces falling on him. The senior in charge of being the sound technician had to be "convinced" to stop giving him the shitty mic. Don't even get me started on what the other kids in band thought of him. Because he was definitely in both.

He would be a total sap for anyone that comes close, though. There's a very good chance him discovering this information is a huge reason why he started dating his s/o. At least, it was even more incentive. Plus, given his natural talents and skills, she was obviously in awe of him with no hypnotizing necessary!

He's going to ask her what shows she was in. If she was reduced to a bit role or backstage, he'll state what a CRIME it is. That if it was up to him, he'd have given her the lead. oh wait, what a great idea- What follows can only be described as an obscene amount of hijinks and shenanigans involving musical numbers, dancing and far too much glitter.

If she was ever the lead or a major role, he's wanting a sample. Give him a monologue, a solo song- There's a half-decent chance he'd know the male part in a duet. Sing together with him, darling, the two of you can bring the house down!

If she had any aspirations for the big leagues, he'd support her all the way. Some of it may be less-than-legal but it's only because his girl deserves the best. If not, he knows he'll have an adoring fan in the front row with flowers for him. Red roses are his very favorite! Perhaps sweet pea if the florist has them in.

New show comes in that she wants to see? What a surprise, he's got two fantastic box seats just for them. A view to die for. He may or may not have hypnotized them off someone else. They didn't really want to see it anyways, it was just status for them. He and his partner will actually appreciate it.

And of course, he knows he can trust them on costuming opinions. Too garish? Not garish enough? Depending upon context, there's a delicate balance here.

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Kira Nerys

By Ames

We’re moving on in our character spotlight series from our favorite war criminal captain to one of the most well developed characters from the onset, Colonel Kira Nerys. From the moment we meet her in “Emissary,” we know exactly who Kira is, and the show wisely sends her on a complex journey within that grey area between terrorist and resistance fighter. Get you a Bajoran who can do both.

Ensign Ro may have set the mold for the Bajorans, but Kira grew outside of it and we’re so glad to get her perspective. So pick up your Bajoran phaser and get ready to take aim at some fascists as we celebrate A Star to Steer Her By’s favorite crinkly-nosed, red jumpsuit-clad militia officer in our Best and Worst Moments list below and on this week’s podcast (jump to 56:47). Walk with the Prophets, my child.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

What other show gives you a zombie space pope? There’s more going on for Kira in season one than for other characters because she really rocks it from the start. And Nana Visitor has the chops to give that special nuance to a character like this, especially in emotional scenes like her breakdown when she accidentally gets Kai Opaka killed in “Battle Lines,” and the moment she has with her reanimated corpse is nothing short of stunning.

If I leave here, I’ll die Speaking of great moments from season one, Kira makes the hard decision in “Progress” to save Mullibok’s life by ruining said life. Over the episode, she bonds with the obstinate Jeraddo farmer by helping him build his kiln only to destroy it in the end and set fire to his house to force him to relocate, and it’s clear it tears her up inside. Bajorans really never win.

Enough good people have already died. I won’t help kill another. But perhaps the best thing to come out of the season (and to some, the whole show overall) is her character arc in the stunning “Duet.” Kira spends so much of the show battling her Cardassian demons (figuratively and literally), that seeing her grow to accept that some individuals may be redeemable is captivating, heart-breaking, and truly impressive (and have we mentioned it’s only season one?).

A new meaning to being selfish We would be remiss if we didn’t include at least a mention of the excellent and mesmerizing performance Visitor gives as Intendant Kira in episodes like “Crossover.” Say what you will about the mirror universe (and we have), but Kira is a wonder to behold and the chemistry between her and herself is like lightning in a bottle. Zap!

Cardassians LOVE cosmetic surgery Speaking of mirrors, imagine waking up and the face looking back at you in the mirror is the thing you hate most. Kira’s relationship with Cardassians continues to evolve in the wondrous “Second Skin,” in which she bonds with her fake daddy Tekeny Ghemor, foils a Cardassian plot, and discovers a resistance cell within Central Command – her favorite!

I was playing a married woman This is one of those cute little Kira moments from the show that tickles us, but in “The Way of the Warrior,” it is just too hilarious that her response to being wooed by Lancelot (assumably while playing Guenivere) in the holodeck is to slug him. It’s so in character that we have to applaud it. Kira is always the first to choose violence, after all, though sometimes that can be a downside.

Major, tell me another story Kira spends the second half of “Starship Down” tending to a badly concussed Sisko, and working through character conflict. As I harped on in the Sisko post, Ben is double-fisting roles as both space station commander and Emissary to the Prophets, and that comes with deep significance to Bajorans like Kira, and this is her chance to talk to him about it. Love that for her!

The life you’re choosing isn’t for her There are a ton of great moments between Kira and Ziyal, from saving her life in “Indiscretion” to encouraging her painting in “Sons and Daughters,” but the one we’re highlighting comes from “Return to Grace.” Kira sees that Ziyal is on a dangerous path if she stays with her father, and the bond they’ve established makes her advocate she move to DS9. There’s truly no safe space for the girl, but Kira does all she can.

The baby just had a change of address Thank the Prophets the show didn’t introduce yet another baby when Nana Visitor got IRL pregnant. That’d be way too many babies, so it was rather ingenious to move the O’Brien baby over to Kira in “Body Parts.” And it also highlights just how like family this crew has become. Kira really takes one for the team by agreeing to incubate Kirayoshi for Keiko. Now if only their characters talked more…

I owed it to my father to get it right this time Yet another great character-development episode for Kira comes in “Ties of Blood and Water” when she learns that Tekeny Ghemor – her fake dad and one of our favorite Cardassians! – was up to some shady stuff in his past. And while this alters the relationship between the two of them, Kira again accepts how he’s changed since then to be with him as he dies.

Romulans gotta scheme! Come season seven, the Romulans have gotten added to the mix thanks to some nefarious doings by Sisko and Garak. And Kira is left to deal with their constant scheming. Typical Romulans! Throughout “Image in the Sand” and “Shadows and Symbols,” Kira stares down Senator Cretak in a huge game of galactic chicken, and Cretak blinks first.

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid Our final great Kira moment is also the last time she ever sees Dukat. In “Covenant,” he’s leading his own little pah-wraith cult, and when the going gets tough, the tough gets really Jonestown-y. Kira literally leaps in and stops the whole assembly from ritual suicide, revealing that Dukat had a placebo pill for himself and he’d had them all charmed. Stupid sexy Dukat.

—

Worst moments

Maybe the ends justify the means? One of Kira’s strengths is also frequently one of her biggest faults, and that’s how very wide her ethical grey area is. She’s able to justify doing lots of pretty messed up things, like a certain captain I could name, and we see this pretty early on in “Babel” when she intentionally infects Surmak Ren with aphasia disease and holds him hostage to find a cure. That’s pretty brutal.

Bajor is not Kentanna For most of “Sanctuary,” it’s rather nice watching Kira befriending Haneek and the other Skrrean refugees. Until they express interest in immigrating to Bajor, and then Kira’s NIMBY side really comes out. It’s not a good look, Kira, especially for someone whose people were in a very similar plight until very recently. And frankly, Bajor could use the laborers.

It’s like stepping on ants, Odo Because of that wide ethical grey area, we’ve noticed that Kira is almost always the first person to advocate just killing whatever the danger of the week is, no matter the consequences. In “Playing God,” an episode about killing Cardassian voles, she’s quick to jump to the option of killing the tiny proto-universe, even when Dax expresses she’s found sentient life in it. Yikes.

The people have chosen Winn We know from “Battle Lines,” mentioned earlier, that Kira has a super soft spot for Kai Opaka, and also probably feels guilty for trapping her on zombie planet a little. But it’s just a bad idea to let Bareil take the fall for some shady doings in “The Collaborator” because it sets up Winn for the win (wow, I didn’t even try to do that) in the big kai election, lest she sully Opaka’s name.

The distant memory of a touch It would be an understatement to say Kira’s taste in men isn’t great (and that’s not even including the fascist she ends up with!). The first of her various men is Bareil, who’s fine but boring as hell. Certainly not worth forcing Julian to keep him alive against all his medical ethics in “Life Support.” But Kira’s into the vedek, so we’re forced to watch her push his existence to the edge of morality and cringe at what he’s becoming.

Do you like me? Check yes or no. Lucky for us, Bareil is a thing of the past by season four (for now), opening up the opportunity for Kira to make more bad dating decisions. While Odo weeps, she sets her sights on Shakaar in “Crossfire” and viewers at home roll our eyes at how high school the whole ordeal is. Why have these resistance cell leaders downgraded to petty relationship drama? It’s beneath them.

Kira’s edgy artist phase We’ve said it myriad times before, but Bajor is a cultural disaster. When Akorem shows up in “Accession” and declares he’s making Bajor great again by reinstating their rigid caste system, it’s clear that Kira is uncomfortable but still refuses to oppose it. This is a Sisko episode, after all. Even though she can’t sculpt worth a damn, she goes along with the d’jarras like a sheep.

A little lower While Kira is surrogating the O’Brien baby, she and Miles randomly develop feelings for each other only because of their constant proximity in “Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places.” That’s just gross and unnecessary. Nothing again Miles, but men and women are allowed to be friends without wanting to bone. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones.

The phantom of Cardassia This one always bothered me. After several seasons of growth as a character, Kira seemed to have chilled out a little in her constant desire to murder Cardassians. So when “The Darkness and the Light” introduces a blast from the past whom Kira would otherwise have at least some empathy for, it strikes me as a character regression for her to fall back on thoughtlessly killing like she used to.

Same face, different universe Kira regesses again in “Resurrection” when a new Bareil is barking up her tree. Oh mirror universe, what have we done to deserve this? Sure, mirror Bareil is at least less bland than the original recipe, but who the hell is this Kira immediately falling for a boy in less than a day? That’s just not the character (that’s Jadzia, if anyone, whom we’ll discuss next week). Kira’d kick his ass.

That’s not what your mom said last night I may have given Sisko a little bit of guff for allowing this too, but I’ve got to give Kira even more. Whose first reaction when Dukat makes a yo mama joke in “Wrongs Darker than Death or Night” is to GO BACK IN TIME to check  on your mother’s sexual history??? What the hell, Kira??? Now the bigger debate is whether she should or shouldn’t have blown Dukat up. And fight.

Foul ball! Finally, I need to continue venting about “Take Me Out to the Holosuite.” Somehow, Ben held tryouts on a station full of beefy Bajorans, and still put Kira on his baseball team when she can’t even catch a ball. Kira plays springball in her spare time. She’s a resistance fighter. She was raised to have street smarts. How in the firecaves does she not know how to catch a freakin’ ball???

—

Praise be to the Prophets, that’s all! Keep your subspace communicator focused here for more character spotlights. We have someone who’s multiple characters in one next week when we discuss Dax! You can also go to warp five with us in our watchthrough of Enterprise over on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, grab some hasperat with us on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe take up sculpting if it’s something you’re actually into.

[grimalkinmessor]

11 and 15 for afofa please?

💚❤️

11. How do they feel about nicknames/pet names? If they like them, what pet names do they use? If they hate them, why do they feel that way?

AHH OKAY SO—this one, this one is a little tricky! Because I hc them as half French on their mother's side (which could still be true! Technically!) and AFO learned French once he discovered this, his favorite petnames for Yoichi are French endearments! Mon trésor, mon coeur, ma vie, à moi—notably anything that stakes claim :) Yoichi likes them too, because he has a language kink the size of Jupiter. (I'm not projecting I swear I promise—)

Yoichi nicknames for AFO are more...complicated?? Like, in the Absolute Power verse Yoichi calls him Taka-nii and then eventually aniki, the latter of which is All For One's favorite even though it implies a level of distance between them. But! I have a new headcanon born of the manga canon, and it's that before they knew what names were, they just called each other by certain words that they associated with the other most strongly: Takashi's is Tsukamu (掴む) which means "hold" or "grasp", and Yoichi's is Atae (与) which means "give". They used these until AFO found out what names were and subsequently gave Yoichi his name :3 Even afterwards sometimes the old ones still slip out if they're not paying attention.

15. What songs remind you of their relationship?

You are IN FOR IT my friend because I have a playlist a fucking MILE long for them >:3

↑ Classic song for them, classic song for any yanderesque ship.

↑ Yoichi my beloved 😭 Yoichi to All For One. The WAY that Yoichi @ All For One.

↑ Both of them. Yoichi is singing it in regretful melancholy and an acknowledgement that he wants his brother to die all while still loving him, and All For One is singing it sweetly and longingly, wanting to be together forever, even in death :)

↑ Only bombarding you with two Autoheart songs this time, because these two are my favorites for them, but please know that every Autoheart song is about them. Every. Autoheart song.

↑ THIS one is actually in both my AFOFA playlist and my Ichinii playlist. If you've ever heard it you'll know why :3

↑ Me when AFO. When All For One lamenting Yoichi's absence. When All For One lamenting Yoichi's death. Me wHEN AFO SAYING THE WORLD HAS LOST ALL MEANING NOW THAT YOICHI NO LONGER EXISTS WITHIN IT—

↑ Same as above 💞

↑ Okay, this one is another classic dark ship song; at least for me. It's in most of my ship playlists ngl. It's got that toxic codependent romance/abusive relationship vibe ✨

↓ All For One and Yoichi duet in this one 🙏 It's an argument, a lament between them, and I'll let you decide which verses are Yoichi's and which are AFO's ;)

And I literally can't put anymore but!!!! I HAVE LOTS!!!!

[xielexalt]

Xiel's Atelier Log #1 (April 2024)

I decided to start this blog detailing my creative endeavors and progress every so often, discussing the process and thoughts regarding recent releases and current WIPs!

1: "Buffer" ft. ZETHIEL ZERO (DiffSinger)

I commissioned Annoying Hyena to create this DiffSinger voicebank of ZETHIEL ZERO, based on 20 minutes of his Japanese singing data! He's obviously not the best quality DS, but I really like his vocal quality and how it differs from his RVC. I have some ideas for the future of creating an update of his DS that includes his English data, even more singing data created with RVC, and parallel training to help his vocal range, but that'd be for 2025 at the absolute earliest.

Regarding "Buffer," it's the first song Empty old City created as part of Kamitsubaki, and I fell in love with it instantly. I think I'm the first cover of it, and I really enjoyed tuning him as well to reflect some of the stylistic choices of Kahoca's singing. It's such an excellent song and I'm just. OBSESSED.

2: "Tera Tera" - Alcheglow SIDE B

I worked with Kezo, Pigeon, and Kori to make this chorus of Tera Tera for A Sekai Tour! I actually had two groups under "Alcheglow" entered in this event, but SIDE A had to be delayed a bit due to some circumstances. It's a super fun song that the rest of the team really liked, so I'm glad we made a fun final result.

In any case, I'm really proud of this mix and how it all came together. I did all the art and as well, and the simple video. I tuned Rikka and Pigeon tuned Chis-A, and one thing that's really fun about 2 tuners for a cover like this is that the vocalsynths blend into each other more "authentically" like they're actually two people singing, instead of their voices overlapping into one new resonance. Rikka is my darling favorite so I'm glad to use her. I also discovered ZETHIEL, arcdia, and Rikka's blend is pretty insane. I do have a ZETHIEL x Rikka duet planned at some point...

3: "Karen's Cleanup" - arcdia

arcdia's first solo cover coming back as a "revived" vocalist. The process to create her voice is to first sing normally as myself, then convert my voice with RVC into her voice. Although she and ZETHIEL ZERO share a voice essentially, it boils down to the song choice and expression that strongly differentiates them. arcdia leans into the sweeter charm and covers beautiful or sinister songs, while ZETHIEL ZERO leans into a "cooler" charm and covers melancholic and electronic songs? Additionally, ZETHIEL ZERO is strictly a vocalsynth, while arcdia is more of a "real" singer, especially because more "real" singing goes into her presentation than synthesized singing.

I really really love this song, and the comments I got on it during February Youtaite Rewind said her voice suits the song so well and could be the original. I'm glad arcdia's voice has a similar distinctive charm to SEKAI/Isekaijoucho in that case. It's a bit strange that I love listening to arcdia meanwhile ZETHIEL ZERO is a bit of a mixed bag due to dysphoria feelings.

4: "Ga1ahad and Scientific Witchery" - ZETHIEL x arcdia

For this cover, arcdia isn't revived through RVC, these are genuinely just vocals I recorded way back in early 2019 in the real. And then I rerecorded for the other part in late 2023 (4 years on T) to create this duet. This song has such a chokehold on my psyche and I'm obsessed with this song so much... I feel like it defines a part of my inner soul or essence so to speak, so I feel like by making an arcdia x ZETHIEL cover of this song, it's like I've created the perfect Ga1ahad and the perfect Witch.

It's because of this song, I decided to take arcdia's persona in the direction of a "witch" style. Incidentally, ZETHIEL with his emphasis on alchemy and technology suits the "scientific" side of this song. ZETHIEL and arcdia are my perfect duo.

5: "Kannagi" - ZETHIEL

I will not stop covering Hiiragi Magnetite songs. I have more in store.

I'm obsessed with this song in particular, and wanted to create an utaite/VSinger version I could listen to a lot, so I made this shortly after my trip overseas to attend an honor choir. I felt like that trip really awakened a new side of my voice and I think I showcased it here well. I think I listened to myself in this cover so much that it showed up in my YT Recap stats as a top song.

Although I can't belt super high like a lot of other tenor vocalists, I feel like my falsetto has its own appeal. When this was played at a Youtaite Showcase end-of-year stream, a lot of people commented on how insane my vibrato and falsetto is, which I was really happy about, as well as the unique youthful quality of my voice combined with the beauty and technique of the cover. I'm really, really glad people love ZETHIEL like this.

Kannagi is a super captivating song that I'm just really really obsessed with. I feel like it encompasses such a beautiful side of Hiiragi Magnetite. Yes, it's an electronic song, but it really just feels so similar to the beauty evoked by classical or orchestral songs -- which I love a lot too.

Speaking of which, Kannagi, Ga1ahad, and Buffer are all part of a new playlist I created called "Essence of ZETHIEL" -- which I think are the "key songs" for ZETHIEL's overall image and vibe. I think I worked really hard planning on ZETHIEL's image as a character, and I'm satisfied with where we're going with this now.

6: "Pale & Deep" - ZETHIEL (WIP)

This is the next "big" cover for ZETHIEL to define his character image, incidentally it's the same composer as his debut song Hana to Nare.

I carefully considered a lot of artists and decided to go with this artist for the music video. They captured ZETHIEL's vibe so exceptionally well, and it'll be the first music video featuring ZETHIEL's new design. I wanted him to have more of an "alchemist" vibe!

Regarding the song choice of "Pale & Deep," I was really excited Awairo became a proper musical duo (Yunosuke + WaMi) and under Sinsekai at that! Their visuals are so pretty and their music as well, I listened to Pale & Deep on loop for so long!!! The music video evoking "blue" and the lyrics too, makes it even more suitable for ZETHIEL.

I arranged the harmonies here myself, I kind of want to adjust things to make it more "proper" Yunosuke style. But it might be OK by itself, we'll see.

Trying to make an MV myself is difficult, but that's what I'm gonna try to test myself on this for this cover. I hope to release this by June or July. I downloaded a lot of assets for this cover in particular, inspired by my video editing class and the original MV of "Pale & Deep."

7: Various original song/arrangement works

Been unable to publish a lot of them just yet, but there's a lot of original song works I've been doing in the past half year or so. Keep in mind some of these are still WIPs and unmixed.

#1 is client work. #2 I hope to release as a single this year. #3 and #4 will be part of a collaboration album. #5 is also client work!

Also, I published "Aurora" onto Soundcloud, it's just been sitting around finished for at least a year so I decided to post it. It's a fansong for Tobias from Dragalia Lost.

I think I'll be able to release it onto streaming as a B-Side to another collaboration track.

Anyways, that's the atelier log for today!! See you in a bit more!

[msweebyness]

DuPont School for Monstrous Youths- Cute Ship Stuff

I was in a romancey type of mood, and this is what came out of it! Enjoy, ya’ll! As always, thanks to @imsparky2002 and @artzychic27!

Due to them living fairly isolated in the mountains, yetis are used to things being fairly quiet. Because of this, Ivan is easily overwhelmed and starts to panic when things start to become hectic, crowded, or overly loud, but Mylene is able to soothe him, often by singing or just talking to him. They have a place they go to snuggle until he can properly calm down.

Mylene loves for Ivan to carry her places, whether it be in his arms, on his back, on his shoulder, etc. He doesn’t mind it as he likes being able to hold her, and in a way ensure her safety.

If you were to ask Kim his favorite thing to do with Ondine, the answer would be cuddles, cuddles and more cuddles! This boy is an absolute snugglebug and the two spend hours in each other’s rooms, hugging up on each other.

Ondine knows all of Kim’s favorite places to be scratched or pet, and uses this to calm him or cheer him up, or just to tell him he’s being an especially good boy!

Jean has written over thirty original songs and compositions dedicated to Austin T, who has heard every single one multiple times, and still never gets tired of them.

Austin T has never missed a show that Jean has performed in, and Jean has even convinced him to audition a few times, the two absolutely killing it as co-leads.

Every single song Rose and Juleka have ever performed onstage is a duet that they wrote together. Never ask them who has the better voice, because there will be a three-hour argument, with both trying to convince the other ‘your voice is way prettier than mine!’

Rose always keeps spare blood packs in her bag as snacks in case Juleka gets hungry or drained, and Juleka helps Rose do a thorough bone check to make sure she’s completely in tact before they go anywhere.

Denise always tries to pick something new for dates with Simon to help him venture out of his comfort zone and experience the more adventurous side of life. His favorite so far has been bungee jumping!

One of their favorite pastimes is to go on walks in the woods outside of school and talk about their day. It reminds Denise of their home, and Simon likes how peaceful and happy the forest makes his partner.

Alya actually has a great, bluesy singing voice and often lends it for backing vocals on Nino’s tracks. He saves every one she features on in multiple places and listens to them when he feels down or misses her.

Nino often serves as Alya’s cameraman when she films a story for her blog or the school news, which he doesn’t mind because he loves seeing how his girlfriend lights up when she’s in front of the camera.

Nathaniel loves to find unique lanterns and paint them with beautiful designs to give as gifts to Marc on their dates. They’re some of the Moth’s most precious possessions, and he saves each one to put on display in his room.

Marc often flies up to keep Nathaniel company during his guard shifts, bringing snacks and chatting with his boyfriend about their days while they watch the sun rise or fall.

One of Aurore’s favorite things she’s discovered on Earth is movies, no matter the genre. So Mireille makes it a goal to find at least three she’s never seen for each of their frequent movie night dates!

Mireille trusts Aurore so completely that she’s entirely comfortable with their girlfriend using her psychic powers on them. Aurore often looks into Mireille’s thoughts or connects their minds when she needs to calm down.

Zoé is the only one who can calm Cosette down and keep them from charging when they’re in a rage. Just hearing her voice is enough to stop it from goring someone who angered them.

Zoé has several pet scarabs that the two refer to as their ‘babies’. Cosette named half of them and usually has at least one hanging out with her.

Marinette, Adrien, Kagami and Luka alternate on who gets to pick the date destination. They always try to pick something the others may not have experienced before.

Marinette is probably responsible for 1/3 of her partners’ wardrobes at this point. She loves making gifts for them.

I love all these precious babies! Leave thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[fiercynn]

okay a few nights ago i got to SEE VIENNA TENG LIVE IN CONCERT, and i've finally emotionally recovered enough to write about it, because it was honestly my favorite live show i've ever been to in my life!!!

so if you don’t know vienna teng, she’s a chinese-american singer-songwriter, and caveat that i'm not good with music genres, but i'd say that her style is kind of indie pop with some folksy elements and amazing lyricism. i discovered her music around 2004, when i was in high school, and she’s been one of my favorite musicians ever since. if you want to try out some of her music, here is my favorite song from each of her studio albums: “drought” (waking hour), “harbor” (warm strangers), “city hall” (dreaming through the noise), “augustine" (inland territory), and “never look away” (aims). her songs have such a wide range of associations for me – to friendships, to past romantic relationships, to fandoms, to particular moments in my life – so she obviously means a lot to me.

vienna teng’s career is also important to me because of the way it has progressed: her last album was released ten years ago, and some time later she stopped being a full-time musician to work in climate change advocacy, which is also what i work in. she’s done some one-off shows occasionally since then, i think, but this is her first full tour in many years. she also decided to combine that tour with giving workshops on climate change in many of the cities where she’s been informing, though unfortunately not my city!

her music is also widely beloved in fandom, and is so famously used for fanvids that at cons you’ll sometimes have vid shows made up of vids entirely of her music, or have fans do projects like the aims vid album. a wonderful person (and vidder) named purplefringe who passed away two and a half years ago used to keep a massive spreadsheet of vids made to vienna teng songs, but i don’t know if anyone has recreated that since purplefringe died.

i'll reblog this later this week with recs for my favorite fanvids set to vienna teng songs, but for now i wanted to tell you all about the concert!

despite having been a fan of hers for eighteen years at this point (eep!), it was my first time seeing her in concert, and it was honestly incredible. she's got an amazing stage presence, both musically and otherwise, and is so talented – her set included her playing classical piano, live-arranging songs digitally in ways that i am too musically-ignorant to properly describe to you (but that you'll see evidence of in my last link), and playing guitar which she’s apparently only picked up recently. some of the highlights for me:

her opening number was “augustine" and i immediately started crying, despite not thinking of that song as being one that hits me that hard emotionally

her husband jacob corvidae and her three-and-a-half year old daughter arcadia were watching the show in a booth upstairs

she did not have a set list and instead did songs as she felt like them and/or by eliciting requests to be shouted out to her at various points

when she played "landsailor”, her husband came down to do the duet part with her, and she only gave him about a minute’s notice to hand off childcare lol. they sounded amazing together!

i had heard this before, but it felt very meaningful to hear in person: before playing “city hall”, she described how jeanette winterson’s written on the body partially inspired it because it made her think about gender and queerness in such different ways

she played some new songs! including two that she’s working on recording in studio right now: they are both called “we’ve got you” and she wrote them with the intention of mashing them up, which i think is super cool

and then she announced that she was working on a new album that could be out within a year!!!!

i cried intermittently throughout, but in the last twenty minutes, she talked about what climate work means to her immediately before doing “level up”, and from that point on i was just weeping for the rest of the show

she ended with a request, which was for her mashup of “ain’t no sunshine/lose yourself” which i had never heard and was INCREDIBLE to see performed live

anyway her 2023 tour is not yet over so if you live in any of the cities where she's not yet sold out i would HIGHLY recommend going! but even if not, the fact that she's releasing another album makes me think more tour are in the (relatively) near future for her!

[kiirotoao]

Dustin and Suzie headcanons because they are the most adorable couple on the show and don’t get enough screen time and I felt like rectifying that:

At the Summer camp, Suzie introduced herself to Dustin first. She said she liked his hair.

One night at camp, they showed each other their favorite star. Now they can identify each other’s favorite star instantly.

Another time at camp, the two took a boat out on a lake and that’s where they both discovered they liked singing and practiced their iconic “Neverending Story” duet

The two absolutely nerd out over something cool they learned that day in school

Because their family dynamics are so different, they always love hearing about the ins and outs of each other’s lives in the little ways

Suzie rarely complains about her siblings, but when she does, she apologizes, but Dustin always assures she that she can vent all she wants

Because Dustin also likes to complain about his friends (and it’s usually Steve or Mike)

Dustin reassures her every time they talk that their connection on Cerebro is secure and confidential - often announcing it like a newscaster at the start of their “calls” just to be safe. Suzie thinks it’s adorable.

The two accidentally refer to each other in pet names even when talking to other people

Suzie sends Dustin funny and “not inappropriate” graphic tees

Dustin sends Suzie cute scrunchies and birdwatching books

Suzie grew to like birdwatching after discovering interesting birds from her window and then went outside to do it more intentionally

Both of them are on the ace spectrum (this is pure projection lmao)

Both of them have amazing skincare habits, and only Suzie knows about Dustin’s elaborate routine

Suzie nearly has an entire book memorized and Dustin sometimes helps her memorize more

Dustin always thought pinkie swears were lame until he met Suzie and started doing it all the time with her

Sometimes they talk for hours, analyzing a new movie they just watched

They have a secret code they speak in sometimes

For fun, they recite prime numbers back and forth

Both of them are decent cooks because they have tricks to measure out proportions without measuring utensils

Suzie’s favorite candy is also 3 Musketeers. Dustin was over the moon when she told him.

Dustin introduced all of his friends to Suzie at one point over the Summer of 85. Suzie liked Eleven and Will the most (but won’t tell the others that, obviously)

They both put something about each other in their passwords

"She's just so amazing" Dustin wept to Steve and Eddie on multiple occasions (they think it's kinda concerning... but sweet)