#my roadtrip musicals include

[jon-withnoh]

Forget about favourite musicals. Tell me about your travel musicals instead! Which shows do you sing along to on a roadtrip or listen to on the train?

[hrast-ika]

https://www.tumblr.com/hrast-ika/733720014045200384/sorry-for-the-spam-i-got-lost-in-your-blog-like-a

can you please link any of your marked for later that your excited to read?

ok let me scroll down that thing (i forgot most of them so i have to refresh my memory)

oh the author who's two fics i recommended in previous ask posted a new one!! so that's one for sure - Same as it ever was *has immediate tmnt03 SAINW flashbacks bc of the name* and another time loop one- One more time with feeling The Roronoa fruit (turns out i had this one in here for YEARS) Retrograde (what can i say, i am a sucker for amnesia fics) Shard island (this is a VERY long one and it's post Wano (an arc i have yet to read) but it seems interesting) Family man (what i can gather from the description and tags it's about the suffering of Mihawk, who has to deal with zoro and perona - In which Mihawk and Perona help Zoro deal with his Feelings on Kuraigana.) come on, come on (turn a little faster) (The one where everyone thinks they’re dating, Sanji is oblivious, and Zoro takes everything in stride.) so tell me when (you are gonna let me in) (Or, five nights they talked, and the one night they confessed.) Getting to know you (i have been on many missions to find fics that include Zeff as well, and this is one of them aka 'meeting the parent' trope) Who's gonna love me now? (Zoro thought for a moment. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “You confuse me.”) To argue and to cherish (On a small island, on a lovely night full of music and fun and food, Zoro and Sanji accidentally get married) The melody of missing you (The journey to Wano leaves Zoro with far too much time to think about how he really feels about Sanji's departure.) The annoying thing about happy endings (another one with Zeff in it) you know i want you (so what's the hold up) (Or, five times they almost kiss and the one time they do.) Clearly i have your back (sanji gets injured protecting zoro's back) go back to sleep (i think i read this one already but i can't remember for sure so i wanna read it again) Curbside (modern au, roadtrip au, going merry is Usopps's van, held together by duct tape) Part timer (another long one and Zeff just wants grandkids. He’s too old for this bullshit anyways.) Recite your vows (Or, a story of two oblivious idiots who had no idea that they had been married all along.) Double or nothing (It starts, as so many things do with them, with a stupid bet.)

this took a whole hour to put together... the list is just so so very long. and tbh i am always on a look out for new ones so if any of you have any good ones (sfw, can also be gen, pre-slash) to recommend i would love to hear that

[omiiomiaaus]

Toji’s music taste

headcanons

Headcanons on what songs or music i think toji would like but it’s really just what i like bc i’m lazy and don’t wanna look up new songs.

warnings: none??? some mentions of sex but no details, not proofread, literally none??

☆ Just gotta say one thing… this man was in his prime life in the 2000s…. He was listening to songs that are older than me 🥸

☆ okay Megumi canonically listens to weezer so i think he got some of his music taste from Toji. (i think almost everyone that develops a liking for rock gets it from childhood roadtrips with their dad)

☆ Toji only plays his music in the car.. he can’t stand the radio. …100% played buddy holly and meg picked up on it

☆ it’s mostly alternative and rock with the occasional hip/hop songs but he doesn’t really like new music, he’s an oldie after all

☆ he definitely listens to Coldplay oh my god i think that would probably be one of his favorite bands bc their songs are soft and helps him fall asleep (literally me)

☆ his favorite coldplay song is clocks bc he’s a little basic but it’s the most classic song like??

☆ he taps to the beat of any song on the steering wheel and only mouths the lyrics bc he doesn’t like his singing voice.

☆Toji and deftones >>>>>>> he definitely went to their concerts (his favorite songs are birthmark and rosemary)

☆ Is the type to act surprised when a good song comes on and put the volume on blast while saying “Oh shit” even though it’s his own playlists

☆ his gym playlist consists of heavy metal or rock songs that get him in the mood to use all his strength. (and some phonk songs bc he likes to pretend he’s in a movie but he’d never admit that.) so a lot of Metallica, Type O negative, Pantera, and Slipknot

☆ I GET MAJOR TOJI VIBES WHEN I LISTEN TO ‘I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU’ BY THREE DAYS GRACE!!!!!!!

☆ as for hip/hop he likes in da club by 50 cent and and without me by Eminem. those real 2000s vibe songs. none of the new stuff. He actually really does like Eminem.

☆ like??? 3am by Eminem just sounds like him… real villain shit

☆ he also really likes outcast. so fresh so clean is his songgggg. He holds his fist up like a fake mic and says “don’t you think i’m so sexy i’m just so fresh so clean” then holds it up to your lips for you to say “so fresh and so clean clean” and he won’t move his hand until you say it. also quotes “the coolest motherfuckers on the planet” randomly.

☆ he prefers r&b songs for his sex playlist. slow and sensual songs. and one joke song that he plays Russian roulette with when he presses shuffle. It absolutely kills your mood but he laughs his ass off when you’re in the middle of fucking and all of a sudden the speakers are blaring “you get the limo out front… hottest styles, every shoe, every color.”

☆ This mf got a Hanna Montana song from your nostalgia playlist and thought it would be funny to include in the sex playlist…

☆ Okay Toji is the type of guy to not play music in the shower bc he’s a psycho and just takes 3 minute showers (we all know he doesn’t wanna rack up that water bill) BUT when he does.. it’s a quick playlist filled with songs he doesn’t really like so he can hurry up and get out.

☆ Okay the songs I feel like he’d actually listen to are way different than songs for the vibes he gives off…

☆ He gives off major ‘she knows’ vibes by Ne-Yo, and it’s because of that one edit on tiktok… lord bless those editors for taking two second clips of Toji and making it something so scrumptious

☆ ‘monster’ by lady Gaga is another vibe bc “he ate my heart” that part reminds me of him for some reason… he can eat more than just my heart :)))))))

☆ also ‘lights down low’ by maejor and ‘no hands’ by waka flocka.. literally frat boy vibes but its so fanon him right???

☆ any phonk song reminds me of him because tell me he wouldn’t listen to that shit just to get in the zone????

☆ the lost soul down (specifically the sped up version) is just so himmmmmm <33… again it’s probably because of all the edits but still!!

☆ shine dreams (also the sped up version) idk who it’s by there’s so many versions lol but just any song like that >>>

☆ I also think of him when I listen to ‘level7’ by OSAKA… idk something about it…

That’s all I have for now :)

[rosetyler42]

In my opinion, the Hotel Transylvania films were underwhelming, cliché and too juvenile, they simply weren't for me. I didn't find the characters that interesting and so I didn't care about their relationships, the character I liked most was Ericka because of her potential as a goofy villain.

While I know it's a kid's movie, I dislike when vampires can opt out of drinking blood using blood substitutes. Its my opinion that vampires should be scary, and if they don't have to feed from living things then what's the point?

Do you like vampire-themed media in general, and do you like any mature vampire-media? I'm currently into Vampire: The masquerade which is an rpg taking place in a dark, gothic-punk version of the real world where supernatural beings live in secrecy.

I think they were good films, especially HT and HT3. They had alot of untapped potential I think. Transformania in particular did NOT measure up to what it could have been, and HT2 had it's problems too. But I liked the cartoony Addams Family approach and family dynamics. I wouldn't necessarily call them "Juvenile," particularly since there's a tendency to brush off animation - particularly cartoon animation, as being for kids and somehow not as valuable a medium. (You're also talking about something made by a person who was used to doing family cartoons like Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack, and loved cartoony animation. So it's not surprising it takes a more family friendly spin on monsters.) Along with Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, it helped bring cartoony stylization back to modern animation, which it deserves respect for.

I'd say there's something for everybody in the films. Heartfelt moments, funny moments, angst, surpeising depth at times, even some adult humor. But they're definitely not for those that believe vampires should be scary or evil as the big point is the "Monsters are just like us" racism/discrimination allegory. Then again, particularly as a queer neurodivergent and someone brought up on films like Iron Giant, Monsters Inc, Megamind, Shrek etc. I've always liked films that humanize characters we're expected to hate and be scared of and show them in a different light. And I personally found the introduction of blood substitutes and animals as vampire food sources an interesting way of doing that. Particularly now I know how vampire mythos can intersect with blood libel and the HT Drac fam's jewish coding.

(Here's another read more:)

Now, I DO agree Ericka is one of the best characters, and has been at the center of my obsession. Not only is she a fun goofy villain, but she's genuinely an interesting, loveable character too with an interesting backstory who deserves FAR more love than she got. A beautiful mix of feral chaos and charming elegance, who can be just as nuts as the guys, and definitely not the norm for a woman character. Particularly a love interest. And like many in the fandom, I feel she would have made a BEAUTIFUL vampire. But characters like Johnny, Mavis, Dennis, Drac etc are also fun to watch and play with for me.

In terms of other vampire media, I actually have gotten into some of them, particularly with my recent HT obsession! Dracula Dead and Loving it is a recent watch I liked. It has the tongue-in-cheek humor of HT but being more like the book and other Dracula adaptations, it's darker and more adult. Rocky Horror Picture Show's vampire adjacent and is pretty fun, particularly the music. As is Little Shop of Horrors (both versions of the musical film AND the OG black and white one.) And I've been meaning to watch the Van Helsing film. I've also read Dracula Daily and plan to do so again this year. While not exactly SUPER mature depending on how you define that, I've also played some of the Monster Prom, Camp, Roadtrip series which includes vampire characters. Alot of my "horror" stuff tends to be more like Nightmare before Christmas, Ghostbusters, Monster House, Corpse Bride, Gremlins, Addams Family (both Live action films and the TV series, plus I plan to watch the animated film some point,) Blithe Spirit, Bendy and the like. More family friendly type stuff.

Coraline (and Laika in general,) Bendy, Poltergeist (OG), The Twilight Zone (OG and one of the new series') and sometimes Doctor Who are probably the most hard horror things I've really gotten into. I've kind of dipped into FNAF on occasion, Quite a few of my friends are into Undertale, and have meant to watch Supernatural as well. But never fully got to watching either of those.

[queenofmistresses]

Zekina - road trip!

A/n thank you!! My forever saviour 🫶🫶 guys do you have supermarkets in the usa?? My lovely gf decided that Tina is a cream soda girl so that is included. I have never been on a proper road trip so it’s not long as I didn’t really include the… actual roadtrip 😬

Not proofread! But enjoy

Zeke finishes off packing the truck with all the essentials, ensuring there is more than enough snacks and drinks for the journey so there’s no chance of anyone being thirsty or hungry. He packs an assortment of everything: various sweets, crisps in all of Tina’s favourite flavours, water (loads of water), juice, cream soda, everything a girl could dream of. He packed blankets, a travel cushion, he set up the radio so Tina can connect her phone and play whatever music she likes. It should be everything, but he can’t help this nagging feeling he’s forgetting something.

Just as he’s stood by the truck with his hands placed firmly on his hips, thinking hard about what it could be, Tina walks round next to him, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek and practically shoving a flask of coffee and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich covered in saran wrap into his hands. Ah, that was it. A bright smile fills his face as he looks at Tina, wrapping his arms around her shoulder and pulling her tight. “Need anything else babe?”

She shakes her head teasingly and looks up at him affectionately “Zeke, I love you,” he practically melts from the words alone, “but this is more than enough, you packed practically the entire aisle of a supermarket!” He chuckles and brings his arm back to rub at the back of his neck.

“I know T-bird, just didn’t want to risk forgetting anything or you wanting something we don’t have, or-” Tina cuts him off with another kiss to his cheek.

“It’s perfect, and I will be making sure you eat more than that sandwich before we stop for food. And that you drink more than just coffee.” She calls as she walks round to her seat in the truck. He practically bounces to the drivers seat after making sure their door’s been locked, and makes sure Tina is completely set up and comfortable before driving off, excited for his first ever road trip with the absolute love of his life.

[seonne]

geeeeeez, obsessed with your indian princess pic!!!!! Like finally get some of that masala content...What do you think about roadtrip with bakugou or bakusquad and they are all jamming on Punjabi playlist (kinni kinni, 9:45, one love, softly etc) or like bakugou finding the reader dancing Bhangra on one love randomly like that hot pink crop top girl.

(you can search it up on yt)

Thank youuuu and yes I know Tumblr was seriously lacking some Desi content. I'm South Indian so I don't know how accurate I'm going to get this but I'm gonna call on the "unity in diversity" into my blood for this one. Hope you enjoyy~

It's been two years since Bakugou and you started dating and half a year since you two moved in together. You two had a whole lot more in common than you initially thought and he thoroughly enjoyed being in your company. You made him (begrudgingly) admit that he loves the Punjabi nicknames you throw at him from time to time.

"Hello Jaan!"

"Haaye mera shonaa"

"Tch, don't call me weird stuff, dumbass!"

And living with you for these past few months brought him so much closer to the person you were at heart and your adorable annoying habits.

Including your random energy spurts which concludes in you dancing around the house.

Now how could anyone ever blame you for dancing your heart out? Indian music just slapped and listening to Shubh just awakens your Punjabi ancestors and you have to dance lest you die from embarrassment.

Bakugou comes out of the kitchen at 6:30 in the morning with a cup of strong coffee to wake up and there you are blasting One Love on your speakers in your flowy pajama pants and a wide grin on your face.

Bakugou looks at you quizzically as you place the speaker on the table and... Oh.

You break out into a dance while singing your pretty little heart out to the song and he watches you in amazement.

He watches your footwork, the seemingly carefree flow of the song and your body moving along to the rhythm with an ear splitting grin on your face. He can't help the small smile that creeps on his face as he watches you over the rim of his cup.

You laugh as your dance number ends and Bakugou along with it.

Bakugou walks up to you to wrap you in his arms as you jump onto him. He kisses your cheek as you giggle.

"So, was that a Hindi song?"

The question earns him a small smack on his shoulder.

"No fudu, that was a Punjabi song. Come on, I'll teach you some steps!"

Next thing you two know, you're teaching him the steps you just played in front of him and the entire morning is spent laughing and groaning and repeating the song over and over again until the both of you are in sync.

Safe to say, Bakugou has never danced so hard and he's always singing One Love under his breath when he thinks no one is listening. (You do tho, you just smile and don't address it in case he stops doing it).

Ok! That's the end of that. I really hope you liked it, I tried my best with it and if there's any problems with the representation here please let me know. I wanna make the requests as accurately as possible!

[giaffa]

Tolkien Playlists Masterpost

I made a lot of Tolkien related playlists on spotify during the last year to organise my music library, if anyone is interested here they are:

The Legendarium

From the Ainulindalë to the War of Wrath, with an extra mention of the Dagor Dagorath at the end to close the narrative (events in chronological order, mostly metal with some acoustic and ambient pieces)

Second and Third Age, from Numenor to the events of The Hobbit to the full lotr storyline (events in chronological order, mostly metal with some acoustic and ambient pieces)

From the Ainulindalë to the end of the Third Age (events in chronological order, instrumental classical and acoustic music only, including the movies soundtrack)

One Playlist To Rule Them All: a selection of my favourite Tolkien astists on spotify (mostly metal, tracks sorted by artist)

Chill Roadtrip AU: small selection of Tolkien themed chillhop and downtempo

Characters

Eärendil: mostly ambient metal and some acoustic tracks to journey through the stars

Thingol and Melian: Doriath ambient playlist, with some medieval and acoustic tracks, enchanted forest and fae court vibes

Aragorn: acoustic and metal songs for reclaimed kingdoms and long distance love stories

Tar-Miriel: slow and haunted vibes for the Downfall of Numenor, water and drowning themes

Legolas: soft acoustic and folk tracks, relaxing and nature themed with some sea longing vibes

Maglor: metal and acoustic songs for the poorest little meow meow

Fëanor: power metal only for the Spirit of Fire himself

Sauron: mainly black metal, playlist for evil necromancers only

Vibes only

Not strictly Tolkien related lyrics but if you need more vibes I can offer you these playlists:

Cuiviénen: ambient metal to wander under the starry skies

Dreamless Sleep: lullabies for the enchanted forest

Lugbúrz Lo-Fi: dungeon synth ambience for your tower dwellings

Mordor Metalfest: black metal for your evil festival needs

The Party goes on a Roadtrip: epic metal for your epic quest

Sword and Sorcery: ultra epic metal for your ultra epic quest

Songs of Enchantment: soft acoustic folk and fantasy songs to sing in a field

[vacantgodling]

re. about

previous username: impaledlotus

new year, another blog rehaul. ren. he/him. twenty-five. black. queer. neurodivergent.

re. sideblogs

@outsidebeast -> aesthetics and vibes horde

@babylonsfalling -> memes, reblogs, fandom nonsense

re. disclaimer

my writing and my wips touch on themes that not everyone will be comfortable with, including but not limited to explicit and implied sex, graphic death and violence, drugs, body horror, etc. i will tag appropriately and will use community labels when necessary, however, follow at your own digression.

re. interaction

☑ oc ask games / questionnaires ☑ last line tags ☑ heads up, seven up ☑ wbw wednesday ☑ blorbo blursday ☑ memes ☑ random asks / just saying hi

as a note for interactions as well, i would prefer if people didn't refer to any of my ocs using babygirl / girlie. i'm working on this but rn those words are triggers for me. no hard feelings, just would prefer if ya didn't

re. wip intros

as an aside, i have many more wips than these. MANY more. however, these are only the ones i’ve gotten around to making intros for. by mid-2023 my goal is to have semi-cohesive wip intros for all the wips i bounce between.

here is a quick rundown of stories i have yet to make wip intros for

vampires don’t take roadtrips // paramour // the liminal space series // the graves we dug // dead rites // the chronicles of lathsbury // lukewarm rejection // god eater

re. navigation

talking -> musings and personal thoughts

about renjamin -> insight to me / who i am

ren analysis -> when i get meta about my wips

ren mix -> a treasure trove of my music taste

ren polls -> any polls i make

ren reads -> for my ramblings and analysis as i try to get back into books

friends tag -> talking with friends or boosting my friends work

others work -> boosting other writeblrs work

hall of fame -> praise / things that make me happy that i want to keep

ren writing -> all of my writing in one place

ren poems -> all of my poems in one place

ren fic -> all of my fandom related writing in one place

ren art -> wip related art. for all my art generally, check out my art blog

q eh you eh -> queue

sex mention or suggestive -> tags for any sexual content. sex mention for explicit depictions of sex & suggestive for implied sex

worldbuilding -> all of my worldbuilding notes across all my wips

[snickerdoodlles]

"To be fair kidnapping Chay wasn't Vegas's fucking plan" anon, have you forgoten about the men he sent to kill Chay on the last episode? Maybe Gun gave the order but Vegas was the one that knew where Chay was...

Vegas who by the way was going to gleefuly execute Porsche to break Kinn, bff roadtrip be damned.

People truly are grasping at straws to justify their hate for Kim, and they can!! Whatever floats their boat! But all those characterizations are very ooc, and we all should stop pretending otherwhise.

(re this and this)

answering this one month late but exactly anon, exactlyyyyyyy. Vegas has a lot of extremely complicated feelings about his cousins which mostly express themselves in the form of "i need to overcome Kinn any way possible, up to and including killing my new friend and/or destroying him by killing his brother." Vegas could've easily kept quiet about knowing where Chay is--Gun was relying on Vegas to keep him updated on Porsche and look into him. Vegas was holding all those cards. but, as Vegas had warned Porsche, Vegas's only goal during the finale shitshow was to protect Pete, and Vegas played every card he had (including Chay) to make sure Pete made it out of that compound alive and safe from Gun's coup. we don't even know if he'd actually tucked Macau off somewhere safe first or not--obviously Vegas looks out for Macau throughout canon (and personally i do think he ensured Macau was safe before riding off into the gunfight), but he also could've just left Macau at home or school or whatever, because Gun wasn't going to rely on him for the gunfight and Kinn never dragged other people's brothers into his fights.

i'm veering off into headcanon territory instead of canon here so i'll shush, but my general point is that i hate hate hate Chay & Vegas fic that doesn't do the legwork of them working through their wildly messy canon relationship first, because the only person Chay has a worse relationship with would be Korn. and for good reason! Vegas is responsible some extremely crappy stuff Chay goes through! he outright tries to kill Chay's brother multiple times! Chay and Vegas don't have any relationship prior or afterwards where they might make up or better understand each other! Porsche might not hold shit against Vegas, but he's also the world's worst grudge holder and sympathizes with Vegas's shitty situation, whereas Chay doesn't have that context and is canonically much less forgiving than him ("lets just leave uncle to suffer the loansharks while we runaway from his problems hia, we're not responsible for his trouble hia" anyone?)

similarly, i have a lot of issues with fic that makes Chay hate on Kim (in general, but especially when he has just a golly swell relationship with Vegas out of nowhere) because the only thing Chay's ever upset with Kim over is Kim's mixed messages. he didn't give a shit about Kim secretly being mafia, because frankly they were not in a deep enough relationship yet for Kim to owe him that secret, and Chay's canonical response to that was literally "so you're mafia. now i know. but did u like me?" (king). fandom makes so many jokes about Chay living a wattpad dream life, yet thinks he'd be blind to the "you were my mission but then i caught feelings oh no" genre?? lol nah. i'm joking here, but Chay was only (understandably!) upset that Kim implied he didn't care about Chay and then sent a lot of mixed signals showing that he DID and Chay just wanted a straight answer. which...Kim does give later, in the form of protecting him in the finale and the emotional whopper of "why don't you stay" (i'm not getting too into my beef with fandom's treatment of that, but Kim reached out to Chay with music, aka their favorite form of communicating and shared passion!! not to mention that is a fucking whopper of emotions and explaining his feelings. HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING, he knew his message would reach Chay dammit)

like. whatever. people are going to have different characterizations of these guys than me, and there's a lot of different takes on their various relationships to explore, which is fine!! i have a LOT of apparently unpopular takes about how i characterize Chay's various relationships which i can keep to my spaces, but sometimes...idk man. i really wonder what show some people are watching, because some characterizations are so wildly different from the characters in the show i watched

[effyeffa]

a comprehensive list of (almost) all of my spotify playlists, sorted by theme

category 1: a bit of everything.

every feeling everywhere all at once opened by brian eno, closed by mitski, in between an eclectic mix of everything to scream cry and dance to  essentials. as the title suggests this is the music that makes up the foundation of my identity. funkadelic, air, spiritualized, y la bamba, weyes blood etc etc multitudes: similar idea but older. more hip hop in there, a little time capsule of 2017

seasonal playlists: these are closed chapters that won’t be altered

forbidden fruit february. self explanatory. aquarius season is for yearning and getting messy, thanks fiona apple idlings of march is when spring begins again, just barely but there’s a careful joy spreading. joyful tunes! this must be the place! spring has sprung and continues springing. instrumental interludes as standalone songs, everything sounds like water. the time that we wasted just hit like a wave begin again, another spring playlist. this time with childish gambino, laura marling, hayley williams, guns’n’roses, the classic combo april flowers. short and sweet, alice phoebe lou meets car seat headrest slowly come the saints of summer. do you remember when st vincent said daddy’s home well i made a whole playlist about it. mika is in there. genuinely no idea what was going on that summer. never ending summer, this IS the season of the witch. we love a strange mix of oldies and french and german new wave  i can’t believe summer is over and oh it’s so sentimental, it’s a cherry-coloured funk winter walking. it’s giving phoebe bridgers in the graveyard, mountain goats, springsteen, mother mother winter fruits: the first big thief singles off their latest album came out and sent me down this particular spiral. frankie cosmos and mitski, niche italian indie pop

playlists i still edit/add to, first: good moods.

still you. skinshape, biig piig, kadhja bonet, julia jacklin autobahn, a roadtrip playlist, best friends laughing, mostly italian 70s/80s many moons ago: it’s pop! it’s happy things! silly goofy times golden hour! an old one. started this in 2018, sylvan esso was big, king krule, her’s, clairo will you always love like this? dream pop. lesbianism. st south.  everyday’s a holiday: okay kaya and rex orange county, steve lacy vibes maybe i wasn’t there: kendrick, dijon, rosalía come on over & do the twist. they’re love songs. aching with nostalgia but happy coffee in bed is teetering on the edge between a lovely warm soup of emotions and desperate yearning clear the fog is where the yearning begins in earnest.

moody moods.

free drinks at the local bar, we’ve got mac demarco, the strokes, girlpool. you know the drill take me for a spin: something of a continuation of free drinks a few years later now including sam cohen, kevin morby. sad-ish music that still works if played in public ring: odes to being happysad on public transport in berlin, short and sweet peel you like a fruit. THEE playlist of psychological warfare.  i would be an electrician: if you enjoy julien baker’s happy to be here, the following ten tracks might do similar damage to your psyche  no more bad news from my jorja smith phase, also greentea peng, arlo parks gloomy. it’s the end of the world, sharon van etten said, and love is a losing game, and there’s stormy weather and love will tear us apart.  calm there’s definitely a flatsound track in there. be warned.  

and here’s three completely new ones, works in progress, not yet categorised:

touch. a very specific moment in time. listening to beach house and rhye with all my friends on a big couch, drifting off together, crying a little, holding on tightly all the in between: the only place that matters is by your side, mama you’ve been on my mind, only the strong survive, don’t think twice it’s alright. songs that transcend time and space transitional. seeing angels in everything

already this post is way too long. i have so many playlists, my god. i have a whole folder sorted by genre, one by decade, more by concepts and themes. i’m currently sorting through everything and thought i’d share my process, maybe you’ll find something for yourself new in my chaos :)

[ukyou-kuonji]

5 Movies For Fans of Ranma 1/2

If any of y’all like me grew up watching Ranma 1/2 and want to watch a movie that scratches the same itch, here are my top recommendations.

1. Some Like It Hot (1959)

Two musicians, Joe and Jerry, accidentally witness The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. In order to hide from from the mafia they crossdress their way into a girls band performing in Florida. In Florida, while one of them flirts with a millioinaire, the other impersonates a millionaire in order to impress the band’s lead singer, Sugar, all while continuing to hide from the mafia, leading to cases of mistaken identity and general chaos. CW: mild violence, mild period typical homophobia, transphobia (specifically surrounding the concept of men dressing up as women to sneak into women’s spaces) alcohol

2. What’s Up Doc? (1972)

Four guests with identical bags stay overnight in a hotel. Mr. Smith carries a bag of illegal stolen top secret government files, and he is being followed by Mr. Jones, a government agent attempting to steal the contents back. The quiet Dr. Bannister who is attending a musical conference has a bag of igneous rocks and is staying with his overbearing fiancee Eunice. He is simultaneously being romantically pursued by Judy Maxwell, a girl who is incredibly smart but keeps getting kicked out of colleges for her general disregard of rules, whose bag contains her underwear. Mrs. Van Hoskins’ bag contain her jewel collection, which the incompetent hotel employees are trying to steal. General antics ensue, and the chase scene follows Looney Tunes-esque logic. CW: mild violence, a few misogynistic jokes

3. The Wedding Banquet (1993)

Wai-Tung’s parents are ignorant of his partner Simon. They are desperate for their son to get married, and to pacify them and monetarily help Wei-Wei, a woman he has a tenous friendship with, he gets a marriage in name only to her. However his parents insist on throwing an extravagant party. This film is notably more serious in tone and subject matter than the previous ones, and focuses primarily on the relationships between the three main characters and Wai-Tung’s parents, and themes of found family and biological family. CW: rape, alcohol, homophobia, discussions of abortion.

4. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Another more seriously movie, this film follows one family’s journey across the country to support their youngest daughter Olive, an average 9 year old girl who wishes to one day be a child beauty queen. The family includes an overworked mother, her gay academic brother who is recovering from a suicide attempt, a father who works as a motivational speaker, a son who has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a fighter pilot, and a grandfather who was evicted from a retirement home for snorting heroin. As the roadtrip continues everyone faces challenges, but are brought together for their love for Olive. There are no romantic plot lines in this film, but the humor still reminds me of Takahashi gags. CW: suicide attempt, mentions of suicide, drug usage, homophobic remarks

5. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

This well known remake of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew takes place in an American high school in the 90s. New kid Cameron instantly falls in love with the popular Bianca, but learns her father will not allow her to date anyone until her famously grumpy older sister, Kat, also goes on a date. While competing with wealthy, attractive and vapid rival Joey, Cameron and his best friend convince him to pay school rebel Patrick to date Kat. As always, love quadrangles, lies, and chaos ensue. CW: misogyny, alcohol

[sissytobitch10seconds]

Febuwhump 28: Unexpectedly Expected

Fandom: Grishaverse: Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone Summary: Death was around every corner, including the one that their car had just rounded. Warnings: Car crashes, graphic descriptions of injuries, blood, gore, major character death, and heavy angst Word Count: 1,883 Ship(s): Kaz Brekker/Nina Zenik/Inej Ghafa/Matthias Helvar/Wylan Van Eck/Jesper Fahey

Archive link!

“Jes!” Nina called as she twisted around in the front seat so that she could see the lover behind her.

“Yes, beautiful?” he asked, his eyes flicking up from his phone for only a moment.

Inej loved them when they were like this, all together in a roadtrip across the country. Nina and Matthias traveled a lot because they had always wanted to see the world and their job forced them to do so. She traveled as she searched for cases that were close enough to what had happened to her and her brother that she could right the wrong that had happened years and years ago (she was aware that it was a bit selfish, but she had her entire life stripped from her when she was only fourteen, so she figured that she had earned the right to be selfish). Kaz, Wylan, and Jesper were always home because of their jobs which meant that they didn’t travel with the others very often.

Despite that, she had managed to convince them that they could take some time off their work for a road trip together. It was mid-December now, as they traveled across the vast expanses of America so that they could visit Colm on his farm in Nebraska. They had woken up very early the morning before so that they could get bundled down in the car and miss the morning traffic out of New York City. The only drove for about eight hours at a time, stopping frequently so that Trassel could be walked and Kaz could stretch his leg out. They rotated drivers and music so that no one would get fed up with any one position.

Inej could just barely see what everyone was doing in the rear view mirror as she tried to keep her eyes on the road. She was driving today, she usually took the midday shift because that was when her restless energy got the better of her. Nina was in the seat next to her, weighted red stuffed dragon in her lap and snacks shoved into every pocket that side of the car had. Jesper was sitting directly behind Nina with his weighted lap blanket spread over his legs to keep him warm and the battery pack for his phone on top of that. Wylan was on the side behind Inej, his head leaning against the window and his pretty mouth open as he snored away. Kaz was in the middle so that he could stretch both of his legs out in front of him, vitally trying to stay awake despite the lack of sleep and soothing motion of the car getting to him. Matthias was in the one seat that remained in the back with Trassel’s bed covering the space where they could be brought up from the floor. The white dog was snoring soundly, sighing every so often when he got a head pat.

“Can you give me one of your Red Vines, please?” Nina asked, perking her lips out in a pout that Jesper was never able to resist.

It seemed this time was slightly different because he narrowed his eyes at her. He picked the candy up from where he had snuggled it into the pocket of the door and then bit into one. “Tell me why I should.”

“Because I’m your girlfriend and you like me very much?” she offered.

“You also have the rest of the snacks,” Kaz’s voice broke through the conversation before the real fight could break out.

Wylan jerked awake and then gave a dramatic yawn. Inej always thought it was so cute when he had taken his anti-nausea medicine. It made him sleepy in a way that no late nights in the lab or his office ever had, cuddly and flushed with warm from the floor heater of the car. “What’s going on?”

“Nina is trying to steal my snacks even though she is the ultimate snack thief!” Jesper squawked indignantly. He leaned around Kaz so that he was closer to Wylan, whispering conspiratorially. Kaz pursed his lips and raised his hands up into the air so that he could accommodate for the sudden lapful of boyfriend that he had been given.

“Nina is not a snack thief, she is the distributor,” Matthias shouted above them from the backseat. “Watch. Nina, my beautiful love, would you please pass me the bag of chips?”

“No,” she immediately replied.

Jesper and Wylan both cackled at that, flinging themselves away from Kaz so that he had some room to breath again. He seemed to miss their presence, if Inej had to guess.

“What? Why not?” Matthias scoffed.

Nina turned around so that she was able to look between Jesper and Kaz to address him properly, “Because every time I give you a snack you end up feeding half of it to Trassel. He has his food back there and we can’t keep feeding him human food or we’ll have to stop more often!”

“That might not be so bad,” Kaz grumbled as he shifted around in his seat.

Inej turned her head back to look at him, her free hand brushing over his knee. “Is it  bothering you today?”

“The extra space is good, but the lack of the heater in the middle sucks,” he grouched.

She gave him a sympathetic smile and then turned back to the road. The highway that they were on was taking a sharp turn, which meant that she had to focus on not getting too close to the guard rail. She was good at this, she drove for a half of what she did for a living, after all, so she wasn’t putting that much brain power into it. It was only when they came around the corner of the hill and saw what was waiting for them that she began to panic.

A semi, lights and horn blaring, was charging for them on the wrong side of the road. She swerved to the left, which also happened to be in the direction of the hill, just as the massive vehicle hit the side of their van. She felt the car that had been riding their ass all the way since the last gas station ram into them from behind. Both of the vehicles hitting them at once meant that there was nowhere for the energy of the crash to go but into them.

A scream tore through her throat as she felt the windshield break and shatter glass all over her body. A thousand tiny cuts formed on her face and her arms. She was pushed forward into the steering wheel so hard that she felt her arms dislocate from their sockets, unable to stay so close when her head and torso were being pushed in different directions.

Inej could barely even focus on herself despite the unbelievable amount of pain that she was in. She turned around so that she could see her lovers, to get some glimpse of them to make sure that they were okay. Nina was hunched over in her seat, her head smashed against the airbag that hadn’t gone off and smearing blood against the black matte. Kaz was groaning in the middle seat, his bag leg crunched up against his body and Jesper laying limply against his side. The aforementioned boy had been shoved so far forward that his head was essentially against the middle console, but it was then that Inej noticed the massive tree branch that had entered through Jesper’s window and existed through his upper chest. Wylan wasn’t making any noise other that spluttery coughs that sounded a little too wet to just be vomit. Trassel was in the very back, howling and barking as he too had been affected by the crash. Matthias was doing nothing to help him though, which meant that he was likely injured too.

“Matthias!” Inej shouted. He was the only one that she couldn’t see, the one that needed help. “Matthias!”

The semi-truck slowly backed up so that her side of the car was free to the open air, the freezing cold air of the winter. She just barely turned her head to the side despite the searing hot red pain that shot through her because of her dislocated shoulders to that she could see the door being opened.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even see you guys coming!” the truck driver said as he unbuckled her seatbelt and then got her out of the car. 

He shouldn’t have done that, she knew that he should have left her for the EMTs to come and find. He didn’t have the training to know whether or not she had a neck injury that could kill her if she as moved too much. All she could say was, “You were driving on the wrong side of the road.”

“There was ice,” he tried, but she just spit out the blood that was pooling in her mouth from the busted lip she was sporting.

The man got up and removed the others from the van as well. Inej had been surrounded by enough death that she knew Nina was already gone. The defect that they had in their airbags had killed her, prevented her from having the cushion that she would have needed to survive. Her green eyes were glassy and her form was limp as candy wrappers and empty soda cans trailed after her.

Jesper was also gone, the tree branch squelching as he was dragged out of the van and laid down beside Nina. Kaz was still alive, but his legs were twisted in some horrendous mockery of what had happened to him when he was a child. Wylan was soon to be gone, his front was covered in foamy white bile and blood dripped from his mouth. Matthias was dead as well, completely stagnant and bleeding from the entire left side of his body.

The people in the car behind her had the decency to check for pulses, likely because of the EMTs that they were on the phone with. Soon the bodies were covered with the blankets that the truck driver found in the back of his car.

Kaz had started to mumble about Jordie, then his body began to seize. He didn’t stop, his head thrown back against the pavement and his mouth clenched shut. The people that had hit them from the other side tried to pry it open so that he could get some air around the convulsions, but they weren’t trained and they had no medication. Eventually, his entire body went lax. They were doing CPR on him to the instructions of the person on the other end of the phone, but Inej knew that he was gone. 

They were all gone, Wylan had already been covered up with another one of the blankets after he vomited up another bout of pinky foam and then went still.

“This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen,” Inej whispered. She could feel her own injuries getting to her the longer that she lay on the cold ground. She was shivering from the temperature of the asphalt, but that only made her hurt worse. She could feel bloating around her hips and stomach, likely because she was bleeding internally. “I’m so sorry.”

[oddballwriter]

could I request the emh boys (including habit if ur fine with it) on a roadtrip with an S/O?

-👁

Warnings: HABIT is here

Author’s Snip: Hi, Eyeball! I love this request a whole bunch 

Notes: I mention like, two things from my life. but don't worry it's nothing personal. Just some stuff that I feel like helped what I was describing.

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy!

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Evan

With Evan, he doesn't care where you guys are going

Visiting family, going to a landmark, visiting every Rainforest Cafe still left in America (/ref), or just simply spend a couple of days out on the road

It doesn't matter to Evan too much

He sort of likes the adventure of it with you

You guys would jam out to all the music that you guys have and maybe even see what other places have on their radios

He gets small stupid things at the gas stations you stop at

I once saw sensory slugs at the 7-11 near my house, which is right next to a freeway, and I feel like Evan would get that for the sake of getting it

"He's our travel buddy."

You guys would take turns driving so that you and him can have breaks from driving

You guys probably take a bunch of pictures, most of which either being stupid stuff and pictures of you

Evan's honestly just living in the moment

Vinny

He seems like he'd like it but he's not really much to travel

He'd like the road trip to lead to a place that you guys will stay at rather than just constantly be on the road the entire time

The trip would still be fun to him, he loves being around and spending time with you

He loves to sight see out the window of the car

The stuff that you see outside of the window while on a road trip are amazing good god

You guys check out the little landmarks and things along the way

He does get a bit nervous about the trip though, he just wants to make sure you guys are set

"Do we have enough snacks?" "We're fulled up on gas right?" "You know the exact way to get there?"

It's kind of annoying but once you reassure him enough, he'll stop

Jeff

Honestly, he's really into the idea of just packing some snacks and other things and just, driving really far out and just letting the road take you wherever

Of course he doesn't mind if there's a specific place in mind

I actually feel like he'd love to go to a national park and camp out, just the two of you and nature

The road trip itself is also an adventure on it's own

Once you get back from the trip, Jeff will not shut up about it to his friends and everyone who will listen

It'll die down but still

It's just because he really loved the time he spent with you

HABIT

He's most likely been on a whole bunch or at least seen and been to some places

He's most likely the one driving

Idk he feels like the dad that always drives during the road trip to me

I feel like he'd love actively being on the road

I don't know why but the road trip just satisfies him in a way that he can't really explain

It doesn't matter if you guys are on the trip in your car, when he's the one driving it's his way or no way

I hope you can stomach Frank Sinatra and a whole bunch of other singers because that's all you're gonna hear

He might listen to the local radio just to hear and make fun of what different places listen to

One time when me and my family took a road trip to Vegas, they played the same political campaign commercial/ad over and over again and we all got tired of it and started making fun of it

He'd do that

[quarantineddreamer]

ok i have to know; what's nonsense ghfdjsk

nonsense is my first ever attempt at a modern au. It started out as just 'shake the rust loose no pressure' writing and then I found myself 10k deep and loving it lol. (I've been thinking about adapting it to be like a holidays-esque story buuut tbd)

Anyways! snippet of nonsense (aka roadtrip au) below and cont'd below the cut 🤷‍♀️

She glanced down at her worn and dirt-stained converse high-tops, perfect for her shifts at the pub or a day of travel. Hardly the right shoes to walk to London in, nevermind the risk hiking around on the dark road posed.  The stranger approached the Fiat and lifted his bag into the trunk, the car groaning in complaint as the weight of the luggage settled. He paused, hand still resting on the open trunk, and looked over at her. “Look, I was trying not to embarrass you, but… I saw what happened back in the terminal. With you and that guy.” Jyn lifted her chin defiantly, crossed her arms. “So?” “So, I know that car,” he tilted his head towards the Ford, “isn’t yours.” “What does it matter to you?” she muttered, but her voice lacked the bite she’d intended, something inside her softening tentatively at the expression on the man’s face.  “You told him you needed to get to London.” Jyn stared, carefully-controlling her expression so that it would offer neither denial or confirmation to his remark.   “I’m, uh, I’m headed to London. If you wanted a ride…”

A ride? For over 8 hours? With a complete stranger?  

It spoke to the direness of her situation that she was even considering it. She wasn’t quite sure what it said about him that he was even offering in the first place. Either that he was someone capable of exceptional kindness, or…

He looked to be about her age, maybe slightly older–it was hard to tell for sure considering the low light and neatly-kept beard shadowing his face. No suit for him, he was dressed in black jeans and a dark-green flannel over a simple, white t-shirt. A single strand of his dark hair was out of place, balancing across his forehead. He was put together, but not in an overly vain way, and his relaxed, easy posture only seemed to emphasize the sincerity she sensed in him.   

He didn’t seem threatening, didn’t seem snobbish, he seemed…normal. Nice. 

(Some might even say handsome, but she shoved that thought from her mind as quickly as it entered.)

“What do I owe you in return if I say yes?” Jyn asked carefully.

He shrugged. “Be my co-pilot. Help with directions, queue music.” 

“Keep you from driving on the wrong side of the road,” she added under her breath.

“Ah,” he gave a short, good-natured laugh, “you noticed I’m not local? What gave it away?”

Jyn winced and added ridiculously-good hearing to the list of very few things she knew about this man, which didn’t yet include… “Yeah, I noticed,…?”

“Cassian,” he extended his hand towards her. “And you’re?”

She slowly accepted his hand, gave it a loose shake. “I’m Jyn.”

“Do you want to put your things in the trunk, Jyn?” he asked, making room for her to approach the back of the Fiat.

She let her pack slide from her shoulders, dangled it from her wrist by one ragged strap and went no further. Instead, she regarded him warily. “How do I know I can trust you?”

His brow furrowed for a moment. “You don’t. How do I know I can trust you?”

“That’s different and you know it,” Jyn retorted, indicating the height difference alone between them. 

“I saw what you did to that guy in there,” he said, lips tilting upwards, “I’m probably the one who should be worried.”

“Well…” It wasn’t like she had an abundance of other options to choose from, and all the while the clock was ticking. Jyn swung her bag into the trunk, “I suppose trust goes both ways.”

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

2023 AO3 Stats Breakdown

I did this last year and I thought it was interesting for me to see if nothing else, so I'm doing it again this year! I didn't get my main goal done (which was finishing all my outstanding WIPs....or any of my wips....) but let's see what I did do!

Total Wordcount (approximate*): 62,285 words across 7 fics in 1 fandom

Most popular (by hits): Soldier, Poet, King (5,435) [Although if we'd like to go based on fics that were actually finished in 2023, the winner would be Why Not Me?, which I finished posting on January 29th and currently has 3,885 hits)

Most popular (by kudos): Why Not Me? (486)

Least Popular (by hits): The Romance of Anonymity (615)

Least Popular (by kudos): The Romance of Anonymity (100)

Highest Wordcount: Soldier, Poet, King (101,359) (up 22,669 words from last year, which would still put it above anything else in the list)

Lowest Wordcount: Outta Time (4,737)

*This year my approximate wordcount is EXTREMELY off. Partially because I know how much of SPK I wrote this year but not how much of Why Not Me? technically fell in 2023 so that one's more than it should be. Also, though, because I have two fics that I've been working on that I have posted absolutely nothing of, one of which is collaborative. These two projects together are another 200k easily, and while I don't know exactly how much I've contributed numerically to the collaborative fic, I've probably done roughly half, probably a bit less. That's still another ~150k that y'all haven't seen yet, and that's partly why my numbers feel so much lower than what they've been in the past.

Fic Breakdown

I only wrote for the MDZS/CQL fandom this year, and with the exception of Why Not Me? everything that I've written for has been 3zun (and that actually includes my secret projects as well). I haven't had nearly as much time to write this year as I would've liked due to real life shit, so when I do have the opportunity to write I'm much more likely to write about 3zun than anyone else as they remain my favorite ship. If we don't include Soldier, Poet, King and Why Not Me? in this year's lists, as I started them both in 2022, then in 2023 I wrote a total of 5 fics.

These 5 fics account for 35,422 words out of my total (dubious) wordcount as calculated by AO3.

1/5 was a total standalone oneshot: Cut From The Same, which was inspired by art/posts from littlesmartart and guqinandflute here on tumblr, was written for Polyship Week 2023, days 4 & 8 "Soulmates/Free Day" (I wanted to do it for day 4 but ran out of time, so I posted it on day 8 instead).

2/5 are parts of a new series: Outta Time and Roses Are Falling are the first two installments in the Orville Peck Cinematic Universe series, sparked by conversations between myself and littlesmartart about my tentative ongoing Brokeback Mountain AU, Orville Peck's music, and the appeal of cowboy culture in general.

2/5 are additions to ongoing series from 2022: The Romance of Anonymity is an installment in my 90's Strip Mall AU series, Tales From Jianghu Shopping Center, and was written to fulfill Polyship Week 2023 prompts for days 1 and 3, "Roadtrip" and "Bed Sharing", respectively. You're Safe Here is an extra for my 1970's Wangxian AU, The Sculptor, and the series is now called Lavender and Free Love. I wrote it for Polyship Week 2023 day 2, "Missing Scene" (which I didn't realize at the time meant a missing scene from somewhere in canon not from one of my own fics, but oops oh well).

With all that said - what did I actually write?

I almost exclusively posted one-shots this year, with the exception being The Romance of Anonymity, which is two brief chapters written for two separate prompts. Like I said, it's been a busy year in a lot of very good ways, but they weren't very conducive to hammering out chaptered/massive fics very quickly. That being said, Secret Project 1 is currently at 12.5 chapters with 103,939 words written, and by the time I'm done it'll probably wind up somewhere around 15 chapters/~130k at my current trajectory. Secret Project 2, the collaborative one, is currently at (I believe) 14 chapters, with ~111k words written, pre-final editing and logistics. It'll also include at least 4 extras which are currently being written. I also currently have two more active WIPs for the OPCU: a prequel NieLan-centered fic centered on Mingjue acquiring the ranch, and a post-main-timeline SangCheng fic the summer after the original fic(s) (that will also become its own series/universe like the 3zun works).

So big things coming in 2024!! I've been writing a lot behind the scenes, even with things like my first public exhibition back in May, working 40+ hours a week while also visting family back home over the summer, and now (as of September) working through the final year of my undergrad degree while simultaneously continuing to make professional connections so I'll (hopefully) have jobs to fall back on once I graduate in June.

What did I enjoy writing the most this year?

The Orville Peck Cinematic Universe, hands down. I absolutely love this universe and the art that littlesmartart makes as the other half of it, I'm slightly feral for my 3zun modern-day cowboys in love. The same as with Tales From Jianghu Shopping Center last year, I love love love having a fun, relaxing, low-stakes universe to play around in and write fluffy things that make me happy to help me offset some of the stresses of life, and I really love flexing my AU muscles to make sure everyone still (hopefully 😅) feels very natural and right in a setting so far removed from canon.

I didn't accomplish my goal of finishing any of my longstanding WIPs this year, but I'm okay with that! I still don't consider any of them to be abandoned and I do genuinely want to see them all finished one day, but for now I've given myself permission to let them sit there languishing while I make things that give me that good brain juice while my life is going through a lot of transition stages that leave me very little energy to enjoy my hobbies.

Looking ahead, this year I'll be graduating from art college; attempting to find a 'real' job that will satisfy immigration laws so I can continue to stay where I am and begin working on becoming a naturalized citizen; making and selling my ceramics on the side to begin building a solid studio practice in my local community; exhibiting my more artistic work in exhibitions both local and foreign as well as submitting it for awards to begin building up a CV; and trying to start saving money in the hopes that I can buy my house in a few years' time. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm busy as all hell and that's not going to change anytime soon, but hopefully I'll have some good writing time in 2024 and continue to be active in this fandom/community that I love so much!

Y'all are really the best and thanks for another great year 🥰

[edenvs3000f23]

Blog Post #7: Music and Nature: One in the same.

Prompt: Where is music in nature? Where is nature in music?

As a follow-up (focus on the above two before you takle this one), what song takes you     immediately back to a natural landscape? What is the context? Share it with us - I would imagine many of these ideas may have similar underpinnings of a campfire, roadtrip, backpacking journey, etc!

Music and nature are two things that I think people wouldn’t see as being related to one another. I feel as though nature is always around us, figuratively and literally, without us even realizing until we really pay attention and look at it from different perspectives. Music within nature is present in our everyday lives and we have just become blinded to it. One of the most prominent examples of this is the melodies of all kinds of different bird species from the songbird to the woodpecker. Each bird has a specific and unique call and when they start to overlap one another their melodies are crucial to our landscape. Birds are just one example of the simplicity of music in nature but there are so many more like, the wind blowing through the leaves in the trees, or a crackling of a campfire, or water flowing in a creek or a stream or a waterfall. The flowing of water is such a powerful sound in nature and can be heard echoing through the land but can also provide a calming symphonic sound to sit and listen to. One of my favourite sounds is waves lapping on a beach while the sunsets. These waves carry sounds from deep in the ocean to the shore where they can be heard. Nature’s music in other words. Music in nature reminds us of the interconnectedness of all different processes of nature from the liveliness of species in coexistence in a rainforest to the quiet howling of the wind on the mountain tops. 

When thinking about nature in music, this scenario is sometimes harder to identify. Only recently have I learned that composers like Vivaldi have used music to paint musical landscapes in “The Four Seasons.” This musical creation works to capture the feelings and paint a picture to reflect the changing of seasons from spring to winter. Another example is in tribal music where they use or mimic animal sounds within the music which most times paint a picture of the environment around these artists. I also think that folk music works to capture an earthy acoustic sound which can connect both music and nature. Different songs don't only provoke feelings in someone but can also remind us of different places on earth that we have physically been to or explored. Once the connection between the music and place in nature is made, it is hard to dissociate these two; you will always think of that place when you hear that song. This can be something as simple as a song that played on the radio in the car on the way somewhere, or simply a landscape you associate the melody with. With that said, there are many different songs that I associate with different places in nature. One prominent example I can share is every summer my friends and I roadtrip to my cottage in Northern Ontario and we have a specific playlist we play the entire time we are there. It literally plays on repeat for weeks straight (and somehow we never get tired of it). Some of these songs include Long Hot Summer by Keith Urban, Pontoon and Summer Fever both by Little Big Town, Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker, Six-Pack Summer by Phil Vassar, Springsteen by Eric Church, Starting Over by Christ Stapleton and SO many more. Those songs aren’t even close to half of the playlist. These songs make me think of sitting by the lake watching the sun go down or spending the day on the boat exploring new spots on the lake. It also makes me think of the roadtrip there itself. It’s 6 hours from where I live and as the hours pass I start to realize how the landscapes change as we get closer and closer to our destination. More trees and less buildings, more wetlands and open fields, more rocky landscapes on the side of the roads, more bodies of water and so much more. I think that if we really take the time we will realize that nature is always around us, yes physically, but also in forms that we sometimes overlook. Below are the landscapes I'm referring to!