#lets talk rerecords

[byeonqkwan]

A.C.E/BEAT re-recording an offensive scene in a music video should really be the standard for kpop companies and groups

[hippo-pot]

How am I still letting school make me miserable after like. 23 years of it. Something needs to change

[jonathanrook]

why is the enunciation on out of the woods (taylor's version) so fucking weird

[chrissv4mp]

— I COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE -

chap 1 , get that girl. — | — ...back — | — next...

summary: the interaction at the diner hasn't left his thoughts, and chris just can't help himself when it comes to your beautiful presence, so he follows you home.

pairing: stalker!chris sturniolo × singer!reader

warnings + topics: cursing, stalking, murder, weapons, blood, obsessive behavior, suggestive moments, breaking & entering, crying, arguments, chris is crazy, choking, drowning, first person, second person, etc. more than half of these topics are mentioned in later chapters.

author's note: if the person reading this is sensitive to any of the topics listed above, please do not read this. i am not responsible for your own media consumption, and will not change any aspect of the story for your own pleasure. (this will be the last time i will state this, please scroll if you're not comfortable.)

author's note 2: he's giving joe goldberg!! this chapter is written mainly in 1st person, & the first half is chris' perspective! i'll clarify that throughout the story.

author's note 3: you guys are getting this a little earlier because i couldn't wait to post it🗣🗣

word count: 2.8k

why are you walking home alone, y/n? it's not safe out here, especially late at night. what if some creep tries to attack you? i know you're smarter than that.

and you're on your phone, clearly unaware of what's going on around you. you're lucky i'm here to keep you safe. i'll always be.

i reach behind my back, grabbing my hood to throw it over my head. if she saw that i was the one following her, she probably wouldn't watch me anymore. she would think i'm a weirdo.

i hear her laugh, and god, i wish that sound could just repeat in my head for a lifetime. it's such a sweet, soft sound, just like her personality. sweet.

"jamie, don't be such a dick. you know the deadline is coming soon and we have to finish the album." i hear her say, and i can't help but flinch at the sudden noise.

who is she talking to? who is jamie, and why is he being a dick to her? nobody should ever even speak a filthy word to her let alone treat her badly, she's such an angel.

her head turns, and i finally get a glimpse of her earbuds. she can't hear me. no wonder why she hasn't turned back every time i step on the gravelly sidewalk. it's such an annoying sound, always calling me out.

y/n sighs, rubbing her temple with one hand as her free one holds the phone up to her ear, "it's like you don't even care if we descend the charts! maybe ask yourself why you're doing this before you go and screw everything up."

she's tense, i can tell from the way she groans under her breath. i can hear jamie's voice, it's quiet but i can make out what he's saying.

something about rerecording background vocals and going over lyrics again. then, he says something inaudible, and now y/n is on video call with him.

she taps a button, and now i can hear him loud and clear, "just listen to this, it really needs some touch-ups."

i can see his face from the way y/n is holding her phone, and suddenly his eyebrows furrow and he looks directly at me.

the music pauses, and y/n stops in her tracks. she's in the middle of the crosswalk, and i'm just a few feet behind her.

"y/n... who is that?" my eyes widen as i realize he's talking about me. she only laughs nervously, shrugging the uncomfortable feeling off.

don't look back, "stop fucking around and just show me the chorus." she huffs out, another laugh leaving her plump lips.

his eyes are still on me through that screen, and i just continue to walk, hoping that my cover won't be blown.

"no, y/n, look behind you. there's a man following you!" he finally yells, and i curse under my breath as i hear y/n's breathing pick up.

her head whips around, and that's when i panic. fuck, why did her house have to be so far away? damn you, jamie.

my first thought is to just rush her, tackle her to the floor and throw her phone on the ground, but i don't because that would result in hurting her. so, i take the second best option, running to my right and into some bushes.

i hear y/n scream from behind me, and then i hear her footsteps finally run off the crosswalk and across the street. my foot gets caught on a stick, and i fall face first into the dirt.

my knees hit the ground, and i groan at the sharp pain of rocks on my flesh. my hands sunk into the mud beneath me, getting the hem of my sweatshirt sleeves dirty, "dude, what the fuck?"

i stand up again, shaking my hands out in front of me in hopes of getting the mud off. some of it does, and a small amount of damage is repaired, but there's still cuts and bruises forming on my lower half.

my eyes wander, looking down at my bloodied knees. why did i even wear jorts today? it's boston, it's not supposed to be hot after 6 pm.

my hands clench into fists, and anger begins to boil under my skin. it feels like it's 90° now, snd i just want to punch something. why do my plans always fucking fail? no matter what i do, the outcome is horrible.

not this time. no, i'm not gonna let this silly little thing mess up my plan. this is just a setback, and there's always downs in life, don't let it get the best of you, chris.

"breathe." i mutter, closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths. i wish matt was here, he would know what to do. he would console me and tell me everything's gonna be alright.

he would tell me to keep going, get the girl. and that's exactly what i'm gonna do, whether jamie likes it or not. because this is just a minor setback, nothing will stop me from getting y/n. no one will stop me.

"you're starrin' in my dreams,

in magazines,"

it's the next day, and now matt is dabbing the large cut on me with a cotton ball. the hydrogen peroxide stings, and i flinch as he puts a bit more pressure.

"matt!" i groan, reaching for his hand. he swats mine away, looking up into my eyes with a stern expression.

i shut my mouth and just look away, trying not to focus on the pain too much as my brother pushes it against my knee. i hear him let out a long sigh, and then my attention is back on him.

he gives me a knowing look, and then he speaks, "what'd you do this time?" my eyebrows furrow in offense. i never do anything, it's not always my fault.

i scoff, looking around at anything but matt. how could i explain that i was following the love of my life, that doesn't know she's the love of my life yet, home, and then got caught and threw myself into some bushes? he would think i'm a maniac, and that's the last thing i want my older brother to think of me as.

"i tripped on a crack in the sidewalk. it was hugeee, matt, you really should've seen it." way to go, chris, that's so believable.

he shrugs, a smile coming to his face as he laughs, "i'm not even surprised." that was very believable, chris. way to go!

"not surprised is crazy." nick chimes in, and both mine and matt's heads whip up in the direction of his voice.

he's leaning against the door frame of my bedroom, a smug smirk on his face as he squints his eyes to see my knees better, "wow, chris, who pushed you off the slide?"

i just flip him off, they're treating me like a child. i'm smarter than that, i'm tougher than the both of them. well, maybe not nick, but i'm close!

"actually go choke." i groan, throwing myself back against the mattress as disappointment washes over me. if i had just thought before i followed y/n then maybe i would know where she lived, and whoever the fuck jamie is. such a snitch.

matt peels the plastic seal from the bandaid, and then he sticks it onto the cut on my knee. he inhales sharply before getting to his feet again, "alright, you're fine now. take the bandaid off when it stop bleeding, 'kay?"

i only hum in response, my emotions all over the place and getting the best of me. this entire situation is so idiotic and childish, i don't need a bandaid.

nick walks out after matt, making sure to shut the door. wow, he's finally learned after all the times i've scolded him about not closing it.

there's still mud in the crevices between my fingers and under my nails. it's uncomfortable in more than one way. i just want the memory of that night to be gone, erased from my memory for my entire life.

but i'm not ever gonna forget it, and it's gonna be hard to forget when the girl i want is a constant reminder of that incident. it's whatever, though. in the end it will pay off, all the things i'll do for her attention will pay off. i know it will.

my feet begin to swing as they dangle off the edge of my bed, and then they hit something. i finally sit up straight, looking down at where my feet are planted. the box, that box full of magazines and letters, prints and various drawings of y/n.

i look toward my door before grabbing the box and placing it on my bed softly. my fingers hook under the top, and it falls to the side, revealing your face on the covers of multiple magazines.

i never missed a day when rolling stone, variety, and even vogue came out with new magazines that featured y/n on the covers and in all of the pages inside. i even bought some that had her on only a single page, then i cut them out and threw it in here.

nobody could call themselves y/n's biggest fan with me still alive. they don't know her like i do, even if we just met for the first time on—no, even if we just reconnected for the first time in forever yesterday.

"pretty girl." i whisper. even if she can't hear, i know she knows that. she's the prettiest girl in the world, who wouldn't compliment her?

i grab the first magazine, my eyes darting all around her beautiful body and facial features before putting it to the side and admiring the next one. it should be a crime to be this gorgeous, she shouldn't even be allowed outside.

what if something happens to the girl? her security wouldn't care, but i would. the things i'd do for that girl i can't even explain. i don't need her love for that, though, because i can just protect her even when she's not watching. i need her love because that is the only thing that keeps me going.

her interviews where she says how much she loves and appreciates her fans, that keeps me going. that night at the diner when she said she watched my videos, oh, that's gonna keep me up for a long time.

who would've known that night would take a turn because i sure didn't. i thought it would go smoothly and that i would make it all the way to her home, surprise her. but no, it went horribly all because of that fucking dipshit jamie.

he's the one who ruined our romantic walk, he's the one who ruined my chances of getting her to fall for me. jamie ruined everything, and fuck, i just want to strangle him until his head pops. i just want to watch him as he gets ruined, as his life gets ruined in front of the entire world.

i don't even realize that i'm crushing a page of her magazine until i hear a crunch, and now suddenly, i'm back in my room as i stare at her beautiful, crushed face. panic spikes in my heart, and my free hand comes up in an effort to smoothen down the paper like it was before. no, this was a special magazine, it couldn't be ruined.

my breathing hitches, and i huff out as i just throw it back into the box. my hand reaches for the other one, and i place it gently atop of the crumpled paper before closing the box and setting it under my bed again.

i kick it further under the bed frame until i hear it hit the wall with a quiet thud, and then i let out a breath that i didn't know i'd been holding in. i'm letting my anger get a hold of me again, just like it almost did last night.

"deep breaths, chris. just breath." i tell myself, grabbing the sheets and running my thumbs along the fabric as i breath in through my nose and out through my mouth.

if i let anger get the best of me i'll ruin my plan for y/n, and then she'll never want to speak to me or even see me again.

"you're looking right at me."

pov = second person...

you smile at the boy across from you, giggling at the stupid knock knock joke he had just told you, "that wasn't even funny, it's just your laugh, jamie!"

he scoffs in faux offense, putting a hand to his chest as he takes a sip of his coffee. before speaking again, he swallows, "don't try to convince yourself that i'm not the funniest guy you've ever met."

you only roll your eyes at the blond, looking away from him to admire your surroundings. you and your producer came to this small coffee shop to talk about work and how you both needed to finish the last few songs on your upcoming album before the deadline, and now here you were, laughing at his jokes.

jamie felt like a brother to you, being there for all your highs and lows all throughout these past few years as you grew on the charts. he was always by your side, protecting you from crazy fans and even crazier haters. jamie also treated you like a member of his family, and he said that he'd protect you with his life.

the laughing dies down, and then you hear him sigh. your head turns to look at the boy again, and his eyes meet yours in an instant, "i hope you're being safe out there, y/n. seriously."

your face contorted into a look of happiness and maybe even guilt as you tilted your head, "i promise you i am."

"what about last night, then? you could've gotten kidnapped if it wasn't for me pointing out that creep. he was most definitely following you home, y/n!" he exclaimed, quiet enough that nobody else could hear but loud enough that only you could.

a look of worry was on his face, an expression that you hadn't seen that much of lately. he really was scared for you, especially in the last few months. you were growing in popularity fast, climbing up the charts every week or so.

at your silence, jamie exhaled, "sorry for snapping, you just... you keep me on my toes at all times, and sometimes i don't know what to say." he gives a smile full of sympathy before he takes another sip of his coffee.

you nod, eyes wandering again as you mutter, "it's okay." you knew all he wanted was the best for you, "i should've just gone to liv's apartment. the walk to my place was further than i thought."

your eyes darted all over the small plaza, looking around at all of the different people that walked by. one person in particular caught your eye, and you stared for just a little longer.

chris stared right back at you, hair covering his face along with his black fresh love hoodie. he found you again, and this time he wasn't gonna fuck up.

he saw the way your eyebrows furrowed even from the fountain across from the cafe, and he laughed at your concentrated look. you were trying to figure out who that was.

the brunette couldn't lie, he was a bit jealous of your producer. i mean, he was sitting right across from you and making you laugh. chris should be the guy who makes you laugh!

he'd been watching no less than 15 minutes as you both chatted, cheeks flushing at your perfect smile and beautiful, silky hair that fell over your shoulder just right.

maybe his obsession had grown after that night, but he wasn't some deranged stalker who tracked your every move. that would be insane, and chris would never put himself under that category. maybe.

chris cursed as jamie's head turned in the direction of chris, and the brunette just turned and quickly walked away. his brothers were probably wondering where he was, and the vlog would have to be scrapped if only 2 of them were in it.

jamie's eyebrows furrowed again, and he stood up and quickly grabbed your hand, "we're going, y/n. now."

as he dragged you out of the cafe, you couldn't help but think. who was that mystery guy? was he the guy from last night? why was he following you?

you had so many questions, and yet there were no answers to any of them. not quite yet, anyway. you were gonna have to wait for the right time, and chris had the whole thing planned out already. you'd just have to be patient.

comment to be on the series taglist!

@livialifesblog @fratbrochrisgf @spideylovin @1800-love-me @ginswife

@strnlxlqve @joemamaaa42069 @mirioosos @ladyy-whistle-d0wn @snowysosturn

@dej4vhs @zayyluvz @slut4chriss @h3arts4harry @str4wberryk1ss3s

@riasturns @yurpppppy @nwlluvsturnsstars17 @asimp4chris @byneptunee

@ilove2021chris

[greg-montgomery]

can i request a fic where reader is a huge swiftie and now that 1989 TV has been released, reader is so excited and you're explaining to aaron about the songs, why taylor is re-recording (although aaron might have already known about it because he searched up taylor to keep up with your favorites because he knows how much you love taylor and her music and so he pretends he doesn't know because he can see just how excited you are to share your interest with him and he just looks at you with so much adoration as you react to the songs and talk with him 🥺💗) it could even be a pre-established relationship where he's just pining over reader, whatever you prefer to write!! if you don't want to write, then it's alright!! <33

“Hotch, you really don’t have to. I’ll be fine”

“No. I’m driving you home,” he argued, grabbing your jacket and handing it to you.

“But-”

“No buts,” he interrupted you. “I’m not letting you take the train, it’s raining.”

You gave up; partly, because he was stubborn and partly because you wanted nothing more than to be in the car alone with him.

The rain falling on the roof of his car wasn’t loud enough to cover the sound of the music that was coming from his radio. You didn’t recognize the song, but even if you did, you’d still have no interest in it. There were only a few very specific songs you wanted to listen to at that moment.

Aaron could probably see you staring at the radio, so you assumed that was the reason he made you an offer.

“You can play your songs if you want.”

“Do you really not mind?” you grinned, already opening your Spotify app.

“Of course,” he chuckled. “Go ahead.”

“Taylor released a new album and with work I haven’t had the chance to listen to it properly yet.”

“Is that why you had headphones on all day at the office?”

“I was lucky it was paperwork day.”

He shook his head in delight, and let you connect your phone to his car. You bit your lip trying to hold back a smile at the thought that he didn’t need to ask who Taylor was. And at the fact that you were certainly the reason why.

“How do you know the lyrics by heart already?” he asked, only one song in.

“Not all songs are new.”

“How does that work, I thought you said it’s a new album?”

“Okay so, it’s basically a rerecording of an old album. And she added a few new songs in as well. So even if it’s an old album it feels new,” you said. “She is rerecording all of her old albums that she doesn’t own. Because even though she wanted to buy them they were sold to somebody else. Someone who had not been good to her.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Yeah…But because she wrote them she has the right to record them again.”

“Oh…Good for her.”

“Yes. All Swifties listen to her versions.”

“Do they?” he said, laughing.

“Yes,” you said proudly.

“And which one is your favorite?”

“From this album?” you asked.

“Mhm…”

“I’ll just play it for you.”

It was hard to miss his shy smile when he saw the title ‘You Are In Love’ flash across the screen.

Maybe he was in love too.

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

"The thing about this is that there is no way her parents let her sign a contract blind. "

They didn't! There's email proof from her dad specifically talking about who would own her masters in the early 2000s before they even started marketing her! They knew everything back then and they know now; the company owning an artists masters is a totally normal thing and necessary to keep everyone who worked on the songs paid. Even without full ownership swift had significantly more control over her music than 99% of working artists. Before the debacle, swift/her dad/ team were notified of everything and were given multiple opportunities to buy/trade new albums for her original masters. There were new contracts yknow because that's how business works! They declined the offers! Then got butthurt that a Jewish man bought the company! Then Kelly frickin Clarkson suggested she rerecord everything! I kind of hate Kelly for that tbh. But yeah Taylor's marketing strategy of "lie and cheat to look like the victim so fans can prop you up" hasn't failed yet, even when she was using antisemitic dogwhistles against scooter and fans went after his family etc.

Preach!

There is no way she never understood the master's situation. Also, I've said this in another ask too- but yeah, the contracts have the production companies as owning their master's because that's how the sound techs get paid. That's how the people who aren't singers but still work in the music industry get paid. The studio needs to pay too- or else the buildings would shut down. The sound techs need to feed their families too. I don't understand why everyone seems to think only singers ever work on the music they make- it takes teams of people! Lots of people deserve to get paid for their labor!

It's not just Swift making music alone in her room!

I digress-

I'm so tired of discovering new things about this woman that make her more and more terrible. Now, I've learned about her antisemitic nonsense. I'm upset I ever bought a single record.

(Don't even get me started on the re-records) ((I'm so over it)).

[inawearyworld]

music makers/dreamers of dreams: a fiytwtb addition

a study of wren's relationship with music at two pivotal points, and music's relationship to the world of wonka as a whole

2023!wonka x oc (though lbr there is also a SIZABLE dose of fickelgruber), ~1.9k

alrighty SO. i was thinking more about this dang movie (as you can probably see by the rest of this blog) and all those thoughts came here. i am a big ole motherfreakin nerd for music and shakespeare and many other things, and therefore so is wren.

also this takes place in the universe of the original screenplay (in which pure imagination is first sung by noodle as she teaches willy to read). my take on that song here in general is more like the original in the 70s movie; there’s just Somethin About It Man.

alrighty, enjoy, like comment reblog etc, love yall <3

fic masterlist

“We are the Music Makers, and We are the Dreamers of Dreams”, being a Prologue and Epilogue to “the Chronicles of the Songbird”, regarding the Songs in question and their Bird, one Wren Matterson.

Two Years and Eight Months Prior to Chapter One

This had been a very odd evening.

Wren had been put up in a luxury hotel for the amount of time she’d agreed to stay in the city, which had taken quite a bit of getting used to. Coming back to her room after a day of work voicing advertisements, she had noticed a crisply thrice-folded paper slipped under her door, held together with an emerald wax seal.

Yes, that was where the oddness had started.

She’d torn the seal, read the note conveyed by a cursive hand so elaborate it nearly caused a headache, and crinkled her brow.

She’d opened the door to her room’s closet, faced with the sight of a dress, stole, and gloves of deep green velvet that she soon learned were impossibly well-tailored.

She’d followed the address of the note, becoming even more confused when it led her to the city’s cathedral, but presented it to the bishop as instructed. He had looked her up and down and ushered her into what turned out to be an elevator.

She’d continued through the corridors, growing more and more curious and undeniably uneasy, greeted by a woman with tired eyes whom she wished she could have truly talked to. Any attempt at conversation that Wren made, though, was interrupted by whispers that came from the other side of the heavy door-

“The two of you must stay mostly in shadow, she won’t agree if she recognizes you and knows of our arrangement too early.”

“Are-are you sure of her, then, Felix, if she’s too-”

“Oh, do shut up, Gerald, she’ll certainly come around by the time we’ve-besides, you know you owe me one-”

“Gentlemen, please. Let’s just focus on the…ahem…altered choreography.”

“You can’t be in the center all the time, Arthur, it so happens that for this particular-”

“Fine, fine. Miss Bonbon, lights at the ready?”

And then the guard had cleared her throat, the whispers had ceased, and Wren went inside, asking if this summoning was for some sort of rerecording session.

And that was how she had gotten to this point, whatever point this was.

The evening’s oddness now found her the focal point of a whirling tango, a display so dizzying she barely knew which way was up. It was a teenaged fever-dream fantasy come to life, colored lights flooding and hands on her waist and trembling twixt-verse vamps and velvet and tweed and silk.

It was a too-sweet overwhelm of something, but at least it was something at all.

The lighting was such that she couldn’t tell exactly where she was, but she realized that, in that moment, she didn’t care. There was a taste of dark mint chocolate in the air, and she became aware that at some point a massive necklace of dewdrop emeralds had been clasped around her neck by a deft, grazing touch and was now dappling her collarbone as she was twirled, dipped, tossed, thrown.

Most inescapable of all was Felix Fickelgruber’s voice in her ear, accompanied by tight harmonies that came from seemingly nowhere, promising her every speck of security and influence that she’d been in need of her whole life. Any question or dissent from Wren was smoothly dismissed in rhyme, and even when she could get a few words in, they somehow always came out in rhythm.

It was almost as if her innate tendency to musicianship overruled any resistance.

It was almost as if he’d known that would be the case.

The realization was alarming and delicious all at once, and with the current sensation of melodies pronounced against her neck, she was inclined to focus on the latter.

The music from nowhere started to build, shifting from the driving tango into a blasting Broadway finale. Clear-toned horns, stunningly blaring lights, this sauntering silhouette with his sea-of-chocolate eyes calling her by a new name-it was too much, one quiet thought piped up, something’s being hidden.

“You’ll be living so high, don’t refuse my-”

Then the lights dimmed further and all else seemed to disappear, save for Felix and the sound of one solo violin.

“-question it took all this to confess.”

The violin threw in a chromatic accent, adding to her held-back and long-delayed swoon, and she realized the next line was hers.

“Don’t know if I should play it…”

“Darling, won’t you say it?”

Then his hand was lifting her face, and there was silence for the first time in what felt like ages.

She was backed up against a wall, not only in metaphor.

There was only one syllable left in the stanza, and only one possible rhyme.

“Yes.”

She let out a breath, which was soon caught up into his own as violins swooped into a sickeningly soaring final beat.

A Few Minutes Following Chapter Five

The librarian that had been the first in this city to give Wren a kind smile all that time ago was standing on her steps, hugging her daughter, who looked as if she was finally breathing for the first time in her fourteen years.

Without question, this was the most beautiful thing that the other woman had ever witnessed.

Something close to the same was probably true, too, for the man who stood beside her.

“If you want to view paradise, simply look at them and view it.”

He’d sung to Noodle to encourage her as they approached the library, a lilting melody that he was currently continuing-to himself now, and with tears in his voice.

“Somebody to hold onto; it’s all we really need.”

They both knew Noodle would stay in touch with them, they knew they were more than happy for her, but they were still touched with tears. Wren had her own bond with the girl, but she knew Willy would miss her the most out of everyone, so she took his arm, and they leaned on each other.

“Nothing else to it.”

He was probably thinking of his own mom, too.

And she was thinking of hers.

They’d finally been able to write back and forth again; Wren had read over and over the two years’ worth of her family’s letters, remembering all the time she’d spent worrying and wondering aloud to Felix why she’d never gotten a letter from them. He’d always flicked her words away, assured her they must have simply been busy, that the mail these days was spotty; his voice was always sweet and smooth on those days, and she’d allowed it to comfort her when she thought nothing else could.

Never again.

She’d written pages of apologies and explanations to her mom, pouring every ounce of love into that paper, and receiving the reply felt like a world-heavy weight off of her shoulders.

It was the same feeling that she knew her friend was feeling now, that her new love had felt in spirit just minutes ago.

They held each other, certain and close within the shared tinge of loneliness.

“So goes a good deed in a weary world.”

They turned to see the Oompa-Loompa just down the path, looking between them, his eyebrows going up a bit when his gaze found Wren.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Wonka,” he said half-sarcastically, “it seems I’ve misquoted in the presence of your aficionado of the Bard. ‘So shines a good deed in a naughty-’”

“It’s fine,” she laughed. “Portia’s…not exactly the most admirable of characters to need to quote correctly, anyway.”

“Quite right.”

“And I do like ‘weary’,” Willy mused. “It’s not what’s written, but it…”

“Just feels better,” Wren agreed, and Willy smiled at her before turning back to the Oompa-Loompa.

“I was wondering if I’d see you again.”

One negotiation later, the three were walking across an old bridge to a castle of ruin that nearly took Wren’s breath away. There was history in these old stones, so much life, so much room to dream.

“It’s beautiful, Willy.”

“Just wait,” he said with a grin.

“It was sweet, by the way, what you sang to Noodle. How did you find that melody?”

“It was hers, actually. Seems the idea of imagination can…”

He trailed off when the church bells tolled in a way that Wren had never heard them ring before.

High B flat, low A, low B flat.

High B flat, low A, low B flat.

High B flat, low A, low B flat.

Over the ostinato, she started to hum Noodle’s melody, and Willy stopped in his tracks, looking straight at her.

“What?” Wren said.

“...It fits.”

“Yeah, perfectly,” she smiled.

“Keep going,” Willy said, getting that sort of shimmer in his eye that usually came when he’d thought up some sort of wonderful new idea. “You’re the only person I’ve known who sees beauty in an old ruined castle-not only what it could be, but even just what it is. So”-overwashed with thoughts, he took her hands and kissed them, the dreamer in his element, and she laughed, and the Oompa-Loompa rolled his eyes, and Willy grinned, leading them into the castle-“so, Wren, my dear Wren-tell me what you hear.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and let it come. The possibility of the place, the fulfillment of the past few weeks, the melancholy and wonder, the magic that had entered her life.

“Start with a minor chord on the second,” she said softly, slowly. “Repeat your first few notes, let it fall into the five, then-then it goes to that major seventh.”

She swooned into the unexpected chord, then realized that, as she was murmuring each suggestion, it was blooming into full orchestral realization behind the chocolatier’s voice. At the same time, the castle’s courtyard was starting to take shape; the crumbling walls returned to their speckled glory, a beautiful domed ceiling of glass appeared from nowhere, and colorful ingredient pipes started to snake around each corner. Willy’s eyes widened with wonderstruck joy as his creation came to life, and he and Wren looked at each other with equal and mirrored pride.

For his part, the Oompa Loompa started to seem the slightest bit impressed, which the couple took as a win, smiling in awe as they danced into the space.

“We’ll begin with a spin, traveling-”

“One, two, diminished flat three…”

“-in the world of my creation!”

He was the taste and the sight, she was the sound and the sense.

“What we’ll see…”

“Two-five…”

“…will defy…”

The dance came to a pause, and he turned to her, eyes shimmering with anticipatory trust.

The answer came to her as a miracle would.

Your wheel mixes its chocolate, my song mixes its mode. Subvert their expectations, my love, just like you always have.

“Major three,” she said breathlessly, and-

“Explanation.”

The chord ricocheted through the space, and something like a sigh of a laugh escaped them both. Then the bridge came, soaring and swooping with a much truer hope than anything she’d ever heard before.

Wren Matterson had always loved music-it had been once her lifeline, then her work, then the thing that had held her in place. But now, it didn’t have a betraying hold on her, no-now it was hers, born of inspiration from those she loved, coursing through her skin with a warmth unlike anything she’d ever felt.

Perhaps there wasn’t exactly nothing to it, but they had indeed changed quite a bit of the world, and she had the feeling that they’d only just begun.

“There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.”

[lilac-set]

Hi! Just letting you all know that you're amazing! Also for an actual question what song pumps you up?

Oh, thank you!! You’re all amazing too! /genuine

Air really likes “candy hearts” and “sparkle queens” by xomg pop, but he really only likes the old versions, they got rerecorded after half the group left and the old ones got taken down, we havent found where to find all xomg’s old stuff yet but we havent really looked yet

Earth is the pretty much the only one that actually listens to music frequently, Water and i 🔥 havent really found our own taste in music yet, although theres a song on Earth’s playlist i really like called “no parallels” by hands like houses. If Water had to name one he would probably say “say you like me” by we the kings, again from Earth’s playlist

🪨 if we’re talking about songs that pump me up, i have to mention “for the glory” by all good things, i used to listen to it a lot but ive tried not to the past year or so, because i dont have a healthy relationship with it. Basically, im not traumagenic, i was born with the body (just like all my sysmates), i dont exist to fulfill a role, but after we experienced trauma i chose to step up as a physical and emotional protector of my system, and then i made that my entire identity and felt like i failed my purpose in life when i failed to protect them, and was just spiraling rapidly downward into self loathing and homicidal ideation, which is why we quit using system roles at all in favor of mbti and still why i dont front that often, despite having fronted almost exclusively for the years prior, during our trauma. Anyway, this song has an easy time sucking me right back into the protector mindset, which is why i try to avoid it. But god its a good song. Anyway, in no particular order i like pretty much everything thats ever been recorded by imagine dragons, sugarcult, the score, paramore, yellowcard, and probably some others but those immediately come to mind, i dont think i can pick a favorite, but i can be more specific if youre looking for recommendations

[parisbytaylorswift]

Can we all please just work to keep the BTR(TV) discourse contained and not let it become the main talking point of the album when General public gets it tomorrow?

Celebrate the vault tracks! The amazing features lined up! The enhanced sound on songs we know and love!

You can listen to the og BTR yourself on an mp3 file or physical copy all you want, but don't let it become the identity of this rerecording.

[folkwhore1998]

It's flawless, really something. It's Fearless.

Let us take a moment to talk about Fearless (stolen) as well as Taylor's Version- Taylor's very first re-record.

Something that makes me so excited about the releases of Taylor's Versions is the vocal progression. Taylor has always been talented, but listening to the growth in her voice from when the album first came out to when it was re-released was astounding.

Fearless is still very much country but shifted into more of a pop scene. We do not get the twang that debut had.

Major highlights about Fearless: You Belong With Me and Love Story. Both songs are ones that even people not invested in Taylor's discography can recognize anywhere. No one talks about the fact Love Story was written in what...20 minutes? I can't even write some of my best essays in a span of a week. The ability to compose a song that has so much gravity in such a short amount of time is absolutely mind-blowing. Not to mention, she accomplished this right in the beginning of her music journey.

The album itself just leaks and radiates nostalgia, and as Taylor has said, "are you ready to go back to high school with me?" ((For me, we are technically going back to middle school))

Here are my rankings of every song on Fearless (Taylor's Version) **NOTING: THERE IS NO BAD SONGS. I RANK ON HOW THEY RESONATE WITH ME. That is the beauty of music!**

1. The Way I Loved You 2. The Best Day 3. Don't You 4. Fearless 5. You're Not Sorry 6. Breathe 7. White Horse 8. Fifteen 9. Forever and Always 10. Love Story 11. You Belong With Me 12. The Other Side of The Door 13. Untouchable 14. Mr.Perfectly Fine 15. Jump Then Fall 16. Hey Stephen 17. Today Was a Fairytale 18. Come With Me in The Rain 19. You All Over Me 20. Tell Me Why 21. Change 22. Superstar 23. We Were Happy 24. That's When 25. Bye Bye Baby

*Does not include Forever & Always on piano- it falls within the same realm as the non-piano version*

I'm going to start linking Small Business Swifties in these! The patch included in this photo dump was made by LongStoryShortMarket. Photo credits of the heart-hands patch comes directly from Michaeline https://www.etsy.com/listing/1413978938/taylor-swift-13-heart-hands-iron-on Shop link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LongStoryShortMarket?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1413978938&from_page=listing

Important honorable mentions:

These Fearless Era videos:

#TaylorSwift #TaylorsVersion #FearlessTV #FearlessTaylorsVersion #Fearless #TS #Rerecording #Swifties #TaylorNation #13 #LoveStory #YouBelongWithMe #Eras #TheErasTour #CertifiedSwiftie

@taylorswift @taylornation

[therealnijiproblem]

Hot take. But Nijisanji was in their right to terminate Selen. We know from the black stream that she was in the wrong for posting the song when she did. She had not gotten the go ahead, and posted it. What was the issue? Perms from prior livers to be in it. Form the dates we got, she posted it for review close to Christmas, a day people are often very busy. She stepped out here. Her retaliation, and actions did not come from a place of cooperation. Selen's actions started with planing to graduate with Vox, to stop from it. Than she went on to record him without knowledge. And while I hate to pull it. Selen suffers from BPDS. This should not be missed when judging the situation. Manic or Dark periode, as she said her self, should not be taken serious, as what she wants to do, but has a statement of her mental state. BPDS also has the second highest suicide rate of all mental illness. She went to therapy after the attempt. Meaning she likely wasnt seeing anyone for a long time. BPDS is serious, people suffering from it. Victim mentality is not uncommon. I do not believe that the bullying was real, especially as what has been said was "being pointed out" Take Millie's tweet to her. That seems to be the only thing she really was a victim of, and that is not bullying that is showing concern. As much as I hate to point mental illness out, it does help point out Selen's actions that was not ok. The blackstream. It's a bad PR-respone, but I believe what is in it. Given that her latest statement from when they likely saw the document was. "I will not be silenced". Their concerns were real. Her tweet about letting it die came our not even a day before. They likely never saw it. Nijisanji. Contract: Everything said by the legalmindset should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Man shit talks disney lawyers, while he moved to bangkok... sorry to say he would not be in bangkok if he was better. And here is the first issue. The contract is not the right contract, ALL Niji contracts refer to the Japanese, and it seems like a quick draft translation. PR: It's bad, they fail to realize the difference between Japan, and westernsphere. It's likely they tried to take the feedback from Yugo where people were "We need more" to Zaion where "This is too much" to Selen "She attacked us so we defend us". This come through a lot, but a lot of ya are thinking so bad of them now, that you are making up lie. Stop, Talent removed from an old poster does not mean the concert wasnt rerecorded. Management: You need to have people that have worked outside of Japan. This is finally biting them, but it they have hired new people(follow listings from linkedin). Nijisanji is just really Japanese, but it seems like they are changing. Need more real evidence to come out, and not someone with a hate boner

[womanexile]

i’m sorry but i have to bring it up: I haven’t seen anyone connecting Coney Island to H. I feel like it’s pretty obvious especially after 1989 vaults. But please correct me if someone has.

“Did I close my fist around something delicate, did I shatter you?”

“I’m sitting on a bench in Coney Island wondering where did my baby go?” When i think of this i think of the pictures of her sitting on the bench in NYC alone eating froyo after they broke up.

“The fast times, the bright lights, the merry-go.” Merry go rounds go around and around in circles. seems to be connected go “watch us go round and round each time.” and let’s go ahead and say “i go round and round, satellite” and “spinning fast than the plane that took you”

“and it gets colder and colder, when the sun goes down” could reference their accident. “when the sun came up, i was looking at you…you were looking at me”

then in Aaron’s verse he sings “do you miss the rouge who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?” could be talking about her leaving him on the island, was supposed to be a vacation before she left and they ended things.

“We were like the mall before the internet, it was the one place to be.” everyone wanted to be her, everyone wants to be his girlfriend (idk), they’re relationship was very much talked about by everyone.

“The mischief, the gift wrapped suburban dreams” I’ve just been hearing Suburban Legends is about their relationship.

“Were you waiting at our old spot, in the tree line, by the gold clock.” obviously is referencing a secret meeting spot and we have long speculated they secretly met up to hang out after their relationship ended, away from the public eye.

“and when i got into the accident the sight that flashed before me was your face, and when i walked up to the podium i think that i forgot to say your name.” the accident is pretty self explanatory, she saw him in the accident because they were together. she won awards for 1989 and did she forget to thank him when she gave her speeches?

IDK MAYBE IM JUST CRAZY. but i’ve been listening to evermore a lot recently and i know everyone says coney island is just about her albums and rerecordings but i feel like the song screams H.

You are not crazy. I have always thought Coney Island is Haylor. I know we’ve talked about it some here & there but I haven’t seen a main post about it. These new vault songs have just connected so many more songs to Haylor that a lot of us have felt were always Haylor. I need to start working on post about them.

[justagalwhowrites]

5 Things ❤️

I got a few tags for this over the last day or two and it sounds so fun! Thank you to @jessthebaker @thesluttylittleknee and @crazysouthernlady for the tags!

Rules: List 5 topics you can talk on for at least an hour without any preparation. Tag others to find out their 5 topics.

Star Wars - Huge Star Wars fan, have been for almost 30 years now. I can talk about how I would fix ROS for an hour EASY let alone just general conversation about the rest of the series. I just love it!

The state of American print media - Look. I get that this is an incredibly niche topic but the death of the small newspaper in America is incredibly concerning to me. We desperately need an active free press in every town in this country otherwise local government is going to run unchecked. See also, the fourth estate and the evolution of American media ethics.

American media law, including copyright law - Taylor Swift deciding to rerecord all of her original albums was the best thing that ever happened to this particular area of special interest! Everyone who knew I knew copyright law was texting me to ask why that was allowed and I got to talk people through how copyright works without annoying them. WHAT A WEEK! See also, different interpretations of the law (don't get me started on constitutional originalism.)

Joel Miller - This should go without saying, I love him so much, he's so beautifully complex and human and I could talk about him for days.

Personal philosophies - I'm just using this as a catchall for things I tend to rant about more than anything else, like the patriarchy, the racist and classist systems we live in, the influence of religion on our culture, etc etc etc.

NP tags: @sawymredfox @toxicanonymity @dancingtotuyo and anyone else who wants to play!

[wonderfulworldofdarklords]

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! In this episode, we're going from talking tigers to literal freaking gods with what might be our most powerful darklord to date: Hades. (We don't know whether we'd back Hades, Elsa, or Maleficent in a fight, and we don't want to be anywhere in a hundred-mile radius if that ever happens.) Making the god of the underworld a darklord was a tricky proposition; after all, the Dark Powers weren't able to hang onto Vecna. We figured out a solution that lets us bring everyone's favorite evil motor-mouth in without having to shatter the demiplane in the process. Topics discussed include:

How Hercules works in some of the dark, horrifying themes of Greek mythology despite being a bowdlerization, and how to generalize those themes to an entire domain;

How to make your PCs the main characters of a Hercules domain even though the movie has a full-on prophesied Chosen One (it doesn't have to involve killing him this time, we promise!);

Monsters and characters from Greek mythology that lend themselves beautifully to a sprawling domain that still keeps Hades as its primary mover and shaker;

Serious geeking out over the gods of Ravenloft and how the gods of Olympus fit into their metaphysic;

and more!

(We don't actually discuss Vecna. We're sorry. Rachel keeps forgetting Vecna was a darklord because he's connected to so much non-Ravenloft material that the idea of diving into all of it causes her to automatically fail a Fear save. Please don't @ us; it's taking all her willpower not to rerecord the entire episode.)

The full writeup for Olympus is available for free on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/467315/Olympus-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread-2-13?affiliate_id=241770

All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:

Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo Vinuela

Chopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward Neeman

Chopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke Faulkner

Rachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Chopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke Faulkner

Dialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself @darklordazalin

The Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find @halite-jones or on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/insta_halite

Contact us on:

Gmail: wonderfulworldofdarklords@gmail.com

Facebook: @wonderfulworldofdarklords

Patreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklords

[liltaz-asatreat]

One of the things I love most about the Balance finale that's different from the finales of the other campaigns is that after the last scene, they added a bit where they step out of the story to joke a little more about how it's over and to officially say goodbye as themselves out of character. And what makes that work that wouldn't have worked with the other campaigns is the fact that in the very first episode, right before they got into it, Griffin set up the whole "let's step into the imagosphere here" like, setting up that this is a story that is being told and not just a story that is happening. And the fact that during Balance, more than any other campaign, they routinely stepped out of character to talk and goof which really gave it a more storybook feel, very Princess Bride like. So ending it with them stepping out of character to talk is a really satisfying piece of circular storytelling, and I love circular storytelling. It's literally the best. That's also what I love most about Magnus' scene with Julia because it ends with Magnus about to tell the whole story again from the beginning and Griffin finishes the scene with saying "Magnus rushes in" for the last time.

Of course, the finales of the other campaigns are really good too, and I love them a lot and appreciate and am grateful for the fact that they didn't do that with the others because it would have been super weird and not great since they weren't set up for it at all. And that's honestly one of my favorite things about the McElroys storytelling. They know when is the right time to do certain things to make the story better and when those same things wouldn't work and just leave them out. Including when they should joke and when they should be serious. And the fact that they don't go back and rerecord scenes except for like, two very specific examples that didn't have to do with knowing when to be serious, so they're almost always aware and don't step on each other when they want to have a serious scene and AAAAAHHHHH

They're just really thoughtful players and storytellers, and I lost the main point of this post, so now there's two main points: the McElroys are amazing storytellers because they don't step on each other and are aware of when to be serious especially since their main jobs are basically to be comedians and they know when it's appropriate and adds something to the story and when jokes need to leave the room and the McElroys are amazing storytellers because they know when to use certain storytelling devices to add to the experience and when those same devices wouldn't work AND the not so secret third thing: circular storytelling is literally the best thing in the world and I love when people use it

[thelador-s-mclargehuge]

Episode 1 Behind The Scenes!

Welcome to Amateur Hour! I mean this whole series is amateur hour, but stating out was REALLY amateur hour. So most of the way our videos worked is we would do a weekly video (Either podcast or Over The Shoulder game review). And I’d release a Funny Joke Video every two weeks. I was given Carte Blanch over my videos and basically just kinda did them on my own. So everything I did was suuuper rudimentary My scripts weren’t formated very well, there were tons of spelling errors, stuff I’d cut out I’d leave in the document and just remember I cut it out. But all this worked just fine because I was the only one looking at them.

And the way I’d send people their lines was I would *send* people their lines over discord and have them send me back an audio file that they’d recorded. I didn’t even really do any audio directing aside from a couple of notes. I might have directed Dalsson and TheDragonLover (heretofore referred to as Dergo), but that was it.

For anyone who might want to make a narrative series, uh… don’t do this with your main cast. If you have a guest star who knows what their doing and might not be comfortable being directed in a discord call with a stranger, that’s fine. But for everyone else you’ll just end up playing phone tag for a a couple of VA lines that won’t be nearly as good if you just set the people down in a call and told them what kinda performance you want them to give. A thing that, And I cannot stress this enough, they will be fine with you doing and in fact would much prefer this to the alternative.

And if you sit multiple people down in the call and do their voice lines in one day, that’s just way better! Your actors will be more comfortable with more friends around, and after the session is over, you have multiple scenes worth of voice lines to work with! It’s one of those “We do this thing like this for a reason.” kinda deals.

But ultimately a lot of the What Worked for those videos I’d put out every two weeks, and the video essays, did not really work here. But anyway lets look at the actual video.

The like first scene you can see how the cutting around is really off. That’s because the footage of me just standing there lasted, like, 3 seconds and I had a minute of dialogue, so I HAD to keep cutting if I wanted to use that footage. I should have just started a new save and rerecorded it but… again amateur hour.

But. The first joke here I think is really good. I have a lot of thoughts about it, so I’m going to make it a separate thread. There’s quite a bit going on there and I’m really proud of it.

But the beginning of the video, and the beginning of the series as a whole, is just kinda me moving from bit to bit like I did in the previous Joke Videos. These started out as those with a tiny bit more structure.

The Conversation with Elderbug here is what got Lordfrezon to get a better mic. Like this video convinced the man to get a better microphone. But you’ll notice Elderbugs mouth keeps moving when he’s not taking. I didn’t start putting a still picture over the talking characters yet

The quirrel scene is probably the best put together in the entire video. The editing is sharp. and I realized I could like, just reverse the video of him looking at the Black Egg to make it a little more dynamic.

But most of the dynamic-ness of these scenes comes down to me zooming in and out of characters faces for emphasis. The footage I’m working with is a character with a one second animation loop and another character staring up at them. So I gotta do a lot of cuts and zooms to make it look like a conversation with multiple emotions in it is happening. And I already had a pretty good grasp of that thanks to the joke videos! Say what you will about youtube video editing, but it sure teaches you how powerful quick cutting for emphasis is!

This was also before I started putting Reverb on every scene that takes place in a tunnel… which most of them do, and if there’s one thing I love, love, love playing with, it’s reverb. Sound design is my passion tbh. It is also the only thing I have any formal training in! I was taught it by a bunch of 80s rockers who showed me how to use an old analog soundboard for live mixing! And I’ve always held to the idea that 75% of video editing is sound editing, and 95% of that sound editing is shit no one would notice unless it wasn’t there.

There a little after the Quirrel scene I got *extremely lucky* and found a sign mender. Which is a really rare event. Just immediately out of the gate I see that man. I’d never seen him before I was getting footage for the video and he blessed me with his presence like an angel. Thank you Sign Mender! You gave me a great bit about property destruction!

The Cornifer scene is firstly, a great look into how a voice role evolves over time, and secondly, a great exemplification of what I started this with. Just Direct Your VA’s. You’ll notice how Saine’s performance on his first line here are worse than any of the other ones he’s given. He didn’t know what I wanted. And if I would have simply directed him, that wouldn’t be a problem!

He did, however get to delever the funniest lines of the video. And he did a great job with those! And, another thing to Saine’s credit is he does a fantastic job as Iselda! Man eats up that whole scene! Just great shit there!

Sly’s change is less in that the voice evolved as time went on and more I changed the character. I focused more on the Shopkeeper aspect rather than the teacher aspect as his Central Thing, and ultimately I think that was the best choice. Surly Shopkeeper who can “Show You Da Ropes” Is always a great character and he’s a lot of fun to write. Also all the thing’s Sly says about ‘God’ put me in a bit of a bind because “Okay, so why the hell does this guy know about The Radiance… a thing that a lot of people were lied to about for decades?” So I had to come up with some stuff for that. But that’s the kind of problem I love solving. Because it goes from “Weird plot hole” to “Ooh new character aspect! let’s give this man some depth!

Dergo’s performance as Myla is the best one in the video. And it’s great that’s the case too, because of how much *that* kicks off a lot of the story. But, yeah 10/10 no notes. Dergo is incredibly good at this shit.

The end bit with the snail man is probably my biggest regret of the video. It very much does not fit in with the tone of everything else. It’s kinda something that just happens in the first episode and I hope everyone forgets about. The implication he just murdered the snail guy is funny but it doesn’t fit in the wider whole. Whole scene just is not very good tbh. I also probably should have had someone else voice the Snail man as well.

And I wholeass forgot I used a different font for the credits! But I think that’s that for the first episode. IT’s kind of just a collection of thoughts, but the episode is just kind of a collection of scenes so, there we go!