#song: better man

[arrowverse-next-gen]

I know I'm probably better off all alone Than needing a man who could change his mind at any given minute And it was always on your terms, I waited on every careless word Hoping they might turn sweet again like it was in the beginning

[lyricallymnded]

better man // little big town

[tcybrina]

say don’t go and is it over now? are genuinely up there with her best vault songs ever - i’d say those two, all too well 10, forever winter and better man are my top 5 vault songs currently

[man-i-love-folklore]

i swear to god if nobody's soldier gets the eat your young treatment (the political message becomes overshadowed by people just calling the song sexy) i will scream. loud.

[http-sawposting]

🫀🫀🫀

and he has come to absolve you of your sins, the sacrificial lamb weeps for it knows it’s fate is sealed

[fishandshesmygills]

we need to STOP assuming songs are autobiographical. i would say it's the taylorswiftification of popular music but also like even taylor swift is like hey these songs are fictional narratives that aren't about me and then her entire fanbase still acts like they're her personal experience. man. treat songwriting like creative writing and dont make assumptions. this is what mitski is always talking about, devaluing women's art in particular by saying it's like a diary rather than an intentional craft. and art that is vulnerable and personal and like a diary is of course valuable but you have no way of knowing if that's the case if the artist doesnt share and frankly as a music listener its none of your business if it's "true" or not

[taylorswiftdebut]

god the pleading and humanity of “i just miss you!” in better man is so! like it’s literally!

[rosemindwrites]

It's honestly amusing to me how this year Sweden kept making fun of Käärijä, how they kept the "haha, imagine Finland would've won last year, then there'd be milkmaids, Moomins and Käärijä as interval acts, wouldn't that be crazy" attitude for both semis and the final, and then proceeded to give us these absolute bangers of interval acts:

1. A song about EBU's spoke person wanting to bang Martin Österdahl (paired with continious booing from the crowd lmao).

2. Loreen, singing two different songs which sound completely the same, with the most hideous staging on Earth (I'm sorry, Loreen fans, but it looked like she got stuck in the dentist's chair).

3. Creepy AI (?) ABBA holograms. Sorry once again, but they were hard to look at, I'm glad they weren't there for long.

You know what? I WISH there were milkmaids, Moomins and Käärijä. That would've been really fun.

[wasyago]

Don't come looking for me when its my turn

Don't come looking for me at the bottom

[skywalker-swift]

I think the craziest thing about TTPD as an album is that I think a lot more people would like it if they actually just sat and listened and applied to it their own lives and didn’t just focus on the muses. Like. It’s so obvious she doesn’t want us to just focus on the muses. The manuscript even said the story isn’t mine anymore, this story is over and she’s moved on and it’s ours now and we’ll find new and different meanings in it. And I think writing the whole album off as ‘her worst album and it’s all about her obsession with 1 man’ just does the album such a disservice even if it’s not their kind of album.

[hiding-under-the-willow]

Listened to The Mountain Goats' 'Answering the Phone' one too many times. Started to feel some type of way about him

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I'm sorry I let down my guard.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[evermoredeluxe]

Taylor performing it’s time to go/Better Man as the surprise song on piano

- The Eras Tour in Gelsenkirchen, Germany (N3) on July 19, 2024 (x)

[butteronabun]

woah, it’s just so easy to be sentimental

– an alhaitham x female reader, fwb au

overview: this conversation with him was eventually coming—it’s alhaitham, after all.

wc: 1.3k

notes: this is a modern au! also, implied smexy times but nothing explicit happens. c:

“What do you even benefit from this?” You finally speak, after two minutes of catching your breath.

You’re currently laying on top of Alhaitham, with the side of your head buried on his enormous chest. He places the plush quilt on your lower body, and his hand stays on your back.

You hear his heartbeat calming down. 

But now, yours is the opposite. Forget about regaining your composure, now that the question is out—a question long overdue by the way—you have no choice but to swallow your anxiety and face it. You finally asked him. 

And this is a good thing, right? At least, even if his answer will probably shatter you just like how Cyno broke Tighnari’s window, the annoying questions in your head can finally shut up. Right? 

Who are you kidding? You feel like you’re going to combust. It's Alhaitham. Who knows what he’s gonna answer? 

“. . .You could actually choose other people than me to be your fuckbuddy, you know. There are far better candidates out there.” You remark, and you feel your chest tighten. Why is this so hard? You feel like breaking down. “Like, like. Um. I don’t know. Maybe that one girl from your Darshan? She seems really nice. Real gorgeous, too.”

Ah, yes. Here it comes. Comparing yourself to other women. Great. Now it’s harder than before. Sooner or later, you’ll have to participate in your own solo 'Try Not To Cry Challenge In Front of The Man Who Literally Folded You in Half Moments Ago.'

You feel Alhaitham’s pec vibrate on your cheek when he replies, “I have my reasons.”

Damn him and his reasons. You need his answers. Unfiltered answers. “Then give me one.”

You tense when his thumb of his hand—that’s still remained on your back—begin to rub through the fabric of the blanket. As your cheeks steam, you shut your eyes tightly from the sensation, wishing that Alhaitham won’t notice. But since he continues his ministrations anyway, it’s safe to conclude that he did. Sometimes, he’s a bastard. ( But you like him, though. And that sucks. Maybe. Maybe not. ) 

He supplies, “Our bodies are already familiar with each other. I’m not interested in getting intimate with another and testing the waters. That takes too much of my time.” 

Right. During your first and second sessions with Alhaitham, he seized the moments and explored what worked for you and what worked for him. What worked for the both of you. 

“Okay.” 

Perhaps, what he has said is already enough for you - but it’s bullshit in your own opinion if you think you’ll only be satisfied with that. You need to know more. Even if it’ll probably lead to your doom. Why can’t you just be relieved for once? Why are you always curious? Ugh, you really have it in you to become one of Vahumana’s top students! “What are the other reasons, then?”

His caressing comes into a halt. “Do you really want to know?

Wow. Now that sure is ominous. You open your eyes at that. The blunt Alhaitham asking you if you want to know? You lift your head from his chest and blink up at him in disbelief. You try to think of other things just so you can ignore the nervous ache in your stomach.

But it’s all pointless! Everything inside this room is all Alhaitham. Everything reminds him of you, because this is his room, for archon’s sake! You sigh heavily, and stare at his irritatingly handsome face. You, sadly, have no choice.

Even if you’ve seen this sight a hundred times already and even up close considering you’ve, ahem, with him, he still makes you flustered. One gaze and you’re out. One gaze and all your clothes are on the floor. 

Not to mention, it’s just so unfair that despite all the activities you’ve both shared, he’s still so attractive. And he’s glowing. How? Why are you so lucky? And out of all the people in the world, how did you end up in his bed?

The curiosity itches.

You poke at his skin repeatedly. “That’s why I’m asking? Why are you being sus, Alhaitham?”

He sends you a flat look. “Do you mean ‘suspicious’?”

You grin playfully at him. It’s hilarious to see him get offended whenever you use some slangs that he finds nonsensical. This is what he gets—you provoking him with words that he thinks are embarrassments to the languages.

Alhaitham exhales through his nose, then resumes on rubbing your back. “Give me a minute. I’m trying to weigh the pros and the cons. Apparently, it’s hard on my part because you are an unpredictable one.”

Your eyes sparkle. Now that the anxiousness has dissipated away, it’s replaced with excitement. “Ooh, this is new!” Alhaitham doesn’t open up much regarding his personal thoughts, so you’re relishing on this. “I’m a challenge to you?”

“Very much so.”

Really? A challenge for the intelligent Alhaitham? You? You chuckle, “Maybe you’re overthinking this!”

“Maybe I am.”

Then, you return to your position once more, content on making his chest a pillow. “So do you think I’m complicated?” 

“Do you want the truth?”

You huff. So many short questions and responses. You’re literally giving him the hint that he has the permission to tell you. “I didn’t reach out to you for nothing. What I like about you is that you’re brutally honest.”

Then, it’s quiet. 

Alhaitham’s thumb is still rubbing on your back. You grow a little worried, wondering why he has stopped answering. You’re about to raise your head again, until his available hand rests on top of it, preventing you from taking a glance at whatever expression he’s making.

“I have read a lot of books that are incredibly complicated—books that make people drop immediately because they find it hard to grasp and comprehend. Fortunately for me, I am not that type of person. I like the challenge, especially if it requires critical thinking. And in return, I gain new knowledge. I gain new lessons.”

Trying to make sense of it all, you hum inquisitively, “So, your point is?”

“So even if you are a mess—” “Hey!” “—Even if there are times that I find it difficult to understand your intentions or your actions, I have no plans of leaving you.”

Your heart performs somersaults. 

Oh. Oh.

All this? Coming from Alhaitham himself?

Impossible. There's just no way he said all that.

The words that you do not want to disclose reveal itselves anyway. “And. . .” You murmur, “. . .if you’re satisfied? W–will you abandon me like your other books that are gathering dust on the top shelves?”

“I’ll give you a chance to reflect on what you’ve just said. Your claims are as false as what the flat earthers fight for.” Alhaitham admonishes.

You are now the one who is rendered speechless. You don’t know if you should laugh again because the flat earthers became an example or if you should just stay silent. You don’t think you can take what he’s about to say next.

The organ inside your ribcage squeezes, and gradually, you quiver. The nervousness makes its grand entrance again.

You detach yourself from his chest once more, and meet his indifferent gaze. It’s expected, but your heart begins to pound when you realize that his eyes seem too intense this time. 

“Alhaitham. . .?”

“For the record, I don’t abandon the books. I read them once a year. And again, don’t compare yourself to bad similes—if you want me to revise it, I will be more than glad to construct one now.” The hand that’s on top of your head slides down, and he grabs your chin with his thumb and index finger. 

( Him and his habit of correcting your figures of speech. He always finds a way to insert this in every conversation, even in the most ridiculous and most serious of scenarios. )

“So,” Alhaitham lowers his eyelids, and you swallow. “Do you get what I’m trying to imply?”

You do.

And you’re not sure if you want to say yes.

Because once you nod or affirm, there’s no turning back from this.

[voot-floop]

Awaiting a vox solo villain song

[oacest]

[noel claiming liam wrote better man about him]

- noel: thanks very much. another new song. it's one that he wrote *points at liam* - liam: nod nod 👆 - crowd cheers - noel: was that a sarcastic cheer because it's taken him fuckin thirty years to write a song? - liam: 😁 - noel: believe you me, he got the same reaction in the studio - crowd cheers - liam (to the crowd): alright now, why don't you all spit on me at this point - noel: anyway, apparently it was written about me, it's called better man - song plays - liam: clap, ya bastards!

(x)