#song: i need a hero by nothing but thieves

[neopuff]

amaya/magnifico // i need a hero

[katyagrayce]

If I had the time, and the resources, I would write an entire PhD about how Taylor Swift’s relationship with her fans has been variably represented through her songs, and how that representation has in turn shaped that relationship. And I have neither of those two things, but I do have the next-best options – a free evening and a Tumblr account. So here we go. As far as I can remember, there are only six songs where Taylor directly addresses her fans: Long Live, mirrorball, Dear Reader, and now But Daddy I Love Him, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? and I Can Do It With a Broken Heart. I could be missing a few, because the woman does have a 20-year career. But even so, I think it’s telling that those are the six songs that come to mind: one huge feel-good ballad released when she first made it really big; then nothing for 10 years; then two quiet songs buried in their respective albums; and then, out of the blue, three loud, unforgettable bops released at the same time. From that alone, it’s pretty clear that Taylor has something that she wants to tell her fans – whether consciously or not, something about her relationship with them is increasingly weighing on her mind. And it doesn’t take much to figure out that said relationship is changing.

In Long Live, the fans are addressed mostly as a ‘we’ – a part of a collective that also includes Taylor, her band and her team, all of them with equal status and common goals. ‘Long live the mountains we moved / I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.’ Later, those dragons are further described, are established as factions of the general public whom the fans stand separate from, in opposition to – ‘The cynics were outraged / Saying “this is absurd”.’ Basically, Taylor’s fans are shown to be fighting for her like an army ‘on the history book page’, which is not an uncommon metaphor in pop culture. But this is where things get interesting. Because, although Taylor creates that image of the army, she doesn’t structure it in the traditional way. Her fans are not footsoldiers defending her throne – they too are ‘the kings and the queens’, the ‘heroes’, hearing their names read out and holding up trophies. And because of that – because they stand equal with Taylor – they don’t look up to her even in victory, and she doesn’t claim to be anything more than a member of their bedraggled mob. Even at her pinnacle, she’s simply part of ‘a band of thieves in ripped-up jeans [who] got to rule the world.’

There’s only one point in Long Live where this total equality fractures – where the ‘we’ splits into a ‘me’ and a ‘you.’ And it’s in the bridge, where, for just a moment, Taylor steps outside of the present – she imagines herself and her fans growing up in the future. ‘Promise me this / That you’ll stand by me forever / But if, God forbid, fate should step in / And force us into a goodbye / If you have children someday / When they point to the pictures / Please tell them my name.’ This is usually the part of the song where you see audiences crying, and it’s easy to understand why – because even when Taylor separates herself from the fans, even when she doesn’t explicitly share her title of ‘queen’ with them, she still portrays them as the ones with the power. She asks them to stand by her, then to remember her. Scratch that, she pleads for them to do it. She’s expressing that she needs her fans, deeply. They’re not looking to her for guidance – it’s the other way around.

Fast forward 12 years, to Dear Reader, and you wonder how the hell did we get here?

Dear Reader is the exact opposite of Long Live. The fans are never part of a ‘we’ – in fact, they don’t play an active role in the song at all. All that they are is an omnipresent but silent entity, the titular ‘readers’, who hover offscreen as Taylor sings verse after verse of advice, then spends the chorus telling them not to follow it. This is Taylor as the long-crowned queen in the history book – the ex-thief, the grown-up revolutionary, who realised at some point that no matter how equally you fought alongside your people, no matter how young and inexperienced you all were, at some point they will need a ruler and then they will all look to you. Inch by inch, you will find yourself climbing up onto the throne, and you will be alone up there. The words you speak will fall down on the subjects sitting by your feet, and their power will be absolute, even when you didn’t mean them that way – even when they don’t have any conscious meaning, are just ‘desperate prayers of a cursed man / spilling out to you for free.’ And in the end – just like before – all you can do to rebalance the power is plead. ‘Darling, darling, please / You wouldn’t take my word for it / If you knew who was talking.’

And of course, this plea is interesting in itself, because it’s also the exact opposite of the plea in Long Live. In Long Live, Taylor is asking her fans to immortalise her in the future, to pass on her memory – the underlying assumption is that they can do this because they were there with her, they know her. But here, Taylor says that her fans wouldn’t listen ‘if they knew who was talking’, which implies – well, they don’t know. They don’t know the person behind the words. Despite all the mountains they moved – all the magic they made. Despite all the games they played together, the secret sessions, the Easter eggs, the friendship bracelets. Despite the songs spilled out like confessions. Despite it, or because of it. They don’t know her. They don’t know Taylor Swift.

In Dear Reader, this concept is portrayed as tragic. There is a lot of sadness in that image of Taylor alone above the crowd, a perceived ‘guiding light’ that is actually so lonely and broken in the way it shines – which is a good segue back to an earlier song on our list, mirrorball. The metaphor there was very similar to in Dear Reader, but the plea Taylor made was more in tune with Long Live – she begged for her fans to keep standing by her, keep listening to her. ‘When they called off the circus, burnt the disco down / When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns / I’m still on that tightrope, I’m still trying everything / To keep you looking at me.’ Basically, in mirrorball, she begs her fans to stay with her despite the new gap growing between them; in Dear Reader, she begs them to take a step back, to acknowledge that the situation is becoming toxic. And then, we get to the songs of The Tortured Poets Department. And Taylor isn’t begging anymore. If anything, she is screaming.

TTPD was marketed as Taylor’s saddest album, but to me, it’s more obviously her angriest. Rage is not a new concept in her songs, but it’s previously always been directed at very specific people – Kanye West in Look What You Made Me Do, the online haters in You Need to Calm Down, Jake Gyllenhaal in We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and I Bet You Think About Me and All Too Well (10 Minute Version). Alternatively, it’s been couched in fiction, like how the story of Rebekah Harkness couches mad woman. But in TTPD, there is no couching – the very marketing leans into how personal each song is for Taylor – and nobody is safe. For the first time, Taylor’s fans are not represented as a separate entity protecting her against the rest of the world – they themselves are a part of that roiling mass whom she needs protection from. That message becomes very pointed in the third line of But Daddy I Love Him, ‘I just learnt these people only raise you / To cage you.’ That line flags the entire song as directed not towards strangers, but towards the people who have surrounded Taylor since she was 16, who have shaped her career, who claim to care about her – the army of Long Live, the audience of mirrorball, the listeners of Dear Reader. Those people are the ‘Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best / Clutching their pearls, sighing “what a mess.”’ And that makes sense when you remember that it was Taylor’s fans who were most critical of her relationship with Matty Healy, and even with Travis Kelce. But it doesn’t make the song any less uncomfortable to listen to. For the first time, the ‘you’ Taylor is yelling at is actually you, and maybe that’s why she’s so unguarded and vicious in her choice of words – ‘I’ll tell you something right now / I’d rather burn my whole life down / Than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning.’ It also brings a new dimension to the lyrics ‘Time, doesn’t it give some perspective? / And no, you can’t come to the wedding’. Because of course, when things are going well in Taylor’s relationships, it’s her fans who want to share in that – her fans who want to hear updates from her, like her social media posts, listen out for wedding bells. And with those lyrics, Taylor’s taking that away from them. No, you don’t get to be there for the good parts. You haven’t earnt it. You weren’t there for me when I needed you. You don’t know me that well.

And that leads, of course, to the ultimate song about Taylor’s fans not knowing her – I Can Do It With a Broken Heart. Arguably, the song doesn’t quite belong on this list, because Taylor never directly addresses her fans either as a ‘you’ or as a ‘we’. But that’s telling in itself, because it’s a song where the fans play an active role in the narrative, and yet where they only appear as a foreign, menacing entity – the crowd that sees Taylor’s ‘broken pieces shattered’ and responds by ‘chanting “more.”’ There’s been a lot of debate online about whether this song will ever be performed live, and personally, I think that it’ll be just too uncomfortable an experience. Because this song is mirrorball without the plea in it. This song is so self-reflexive, its light burns your eyes. Every single syllable of this song is designed to say what you see is not who I am, and you don’t know me, and what you think is love is killing me. And how can a crowd cheer during a performance when that’s what their cheering means? I love you, you’re falling apart for me. I love you, it’s ruining your life.

Of course, the song was written about a very specific time in Taylor’s life, and I think that’s worth emphasising for every song on this list – they all capture a specific moment, immortalise a specific emotion like fixing a bug in amber, whereas in the real world, emotions come and go. The fact that Taylor felt like this about her fans at one stage doesn’t mean she always feels Iike this about them. The fact that she was hurt and furious doesn’t mean she can’t also be grateful and warm. But what angry songs do is disrupt the assumption that everything’s okay, form a crack in the glass, introduce doubt behind every smile. You only need to see through someone once to never take them at face value again. And when that experience is immortalised in a song, it’s even harder to forget it. What angry songs do is become self-fulfilling prophecies, echoing in the fans’ heads every time they see Taylor until, eventually, some distrust is inevitable. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing – to be more aware of how the mirrorball turns, the illusion of light, the real person underneath. But it’s a change. It’s a change, and even by singing about it, Taylor is ironically making it happen.

Which brings us, finally, to possibly the angriest song Taylor’s ever written – the last song I’m going to be talking about, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? At first glance, this song isn’t necessarily directed at Taylor’s fans. It reuses a lot of imagery from my tears ricochet and mad woman, and it’s easy to write it off as also being about Big Machine Records or her detractors in the general public. But some of the lyrics in the bridge are very, very telling. The most obvious is ‘Put narcotics into all of my songs / And that’s why you’re still singing along.’ Then there are all the veiled references to obsessive people trying to get closer than they should be, closer than any stranger is allowed – ‘So all you kids can sneak into my house with all the cobwebs,’ ‘I’ll sue you if you step on my lawn.’ Elsewhere in the song, we also see the circus imagery of mirrorball turned threatening – ‘I was tame, I was gentle till the circus life made me mean’ – and the opening lines of But Daddy I Love Him come back, ‘You caged me and then you called me crazy / I am what I am because you trained me.’ This song has all the evolving messages about Taylor’s fans rolled into one – you don’t know me, you don’t own me, you’re ruining my life, you have no right to criticise. And then, for the first time, she says it in black-and-white – ‘You hurt me.’ No metaphors. No frills. It’s only three words, but it says volumes – You hurt me. You were meant to be on my side. We were meant to be fighting together. But, somehow, we’ve been split apart. You broke the promise I asked of you when I was 19 years old. You turned on me. And it hurts.

TTPD is an incredibly, incredibly angry album. Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? is an incredibly, incredibly angry song. But they are also both incredibly, incredibly sad. Taylor sings ‘Who’s afraid of little old me? / You should be’, when, 15 years earlier, she was singing ‘I’m not afraid / We will be remembered.’ And yes, a song is just a moment in time, but a series of songs – that’s a story. It’s a life. You can play through Taylor Swift’s discography, and you’ll hear the story of a 16-year-old girl whose trust was slowly destroyed. Sure, that might be the story of most 16-year-old girls. But most of them don’t go through it in the public eye. Most of them don’t have to balance being honest against perpetuating the cycle. And most of them listen to sad songs to get them through, instead of being the one putting those sad songs out into the world. ‘You don’t get to tell me about sad,’ Taylor sings, because of course she does. We don’t have to tell her about sad. For our generation, she is one of the people who defined what it means.

~~~

(Disclaimer: This essay is not intended to deal with the actual content of any criticism Taylor received from her fans, or the question of whether that criticism was justified. I’m leaving that discourse to other people. My aim was just to explore how Taylor’s writing about her fans has changed over time, and what that tells us about their relationship and her career as a whole).

[spiderdreamer-blog]

2023 at the Movies: A Year in Review

2023 has been an odd year for American cinema in particular, between overall tepid box office outside of a few big hits and the combination of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes affecting release dates as well as promotional tactics. (Just so we're clear, this is a Union Solidarity Blog) But it was a fascinating year artistically nonetheless, especially on the blockbuster end. What this list aims to achieve is sort of a capsule review of the theatrical releases I saw (not counting streaming-only films even if I ended up seeing theatrical releases ON streaming) and how I felt about them in capsule review form. And even then, there's still stuff I need to catch up on like Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Oppenheimer, Elemental, or Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Anyhoo, on with my list, in chronological release order:

John Wick: Chapter 4: Much like its titular hero, there are perhaps some signs that this franchise could benefit from taking a bit of a rest. Some of the worldbuilding is going from knowingly absurd to just plain absurd, and a couple early action beats, while fun (NUNCHUCKS), are a little familiar in terms of director Chad Stahelski's neon-as-fuck aesthetics. Ultimately, it's not too much to derail things, as Keanu Reeves proves a capable grounding lead like always, and the Parisian third act is giddy, comically overblown violence in the grand John Wick tradition that reaches an unexpected poignancy. The supporting cast might also be one of the best in the series; while Asia Kate Dillion's unflappable Adjudicator is missed from the last installment, we do receive Bill Skarsgard doing an OUTRAAGEOUS French accent as a smarmy villain you really want to see dead by the end of this, Donnie Yen as a clever, funny spin on the blind swordsman trope, Rina Sawayama is both badass and touching, Shamier Anderson stands out by dialing down, and my beloved Clancy Brown has some of the best implicit "are you fucking kidding me" reactions I've seen in a while.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie: I was honestly dreading this for a while. Illumination Entertainment is a perfectly cromulent animation studio who makes films that, with a couple exceptions, represent pretty much everything I dislike about American family filmmaking: loud, hyperactive, deficient of nutritional value, and did I mention loud? But the trailers started impressing me in terms of how well they adapted the candy-colored toybox Nintendo aesthetic to a wider theatrical scope. And if nothing else, casting Jack Black as Bowser would probably be pretty awesome (spoiler alert: he was). Thankfully, it manages to be an immensely entertaining, zippy adventure film that minimizes potential annoyances at nearly every turn. This is primarily thanks to a ready-to-play, enthusiastic voice cast (outside of Black, I particularly like Pratt and Day's brotherly dynamic and Anya Taylor-Joy doing a Disney Princess-esque comedy action spin on Peach), a smartly simple story structure, and leaving a lot of potential open for the future like Seth Rogen's lovable ready-for-spinoff-movies Donkey Kong. It may not rock the boat, but it was better than it had any business being, and that counts for a lot in my book.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: The Marvel Cinematic Universe and I are admittedly on a bit of a break. Not because they're doing anything WRONG per se, just that a lot of their shows and movies haven't enticed me as much in the past year. I did get out to see this, though, which is both the best all around MCU film since Endgame and very possibly the best film of its own trilogy. James Gunn pulls out all the stops emotionally for his Marvel swan song (godspeed to you over at the still-in-progress trashfire that is Warner Bros. Discovery, good sir), crafting a beautiful, resonant journey for all the characters. The ensemble cast fires on all cylinders, for one. While Bradley Cooper is the obvious vocal standout as Rocket takes center stage, it's assuredly the role of Chris Pratt's career (other non-Mario/Marvel directors, take note! You can in fact have this guy be funny, credibly tough, AND sympathetic instead of missing out on the other two), Zoe Saldana navigates a difficult emotional dance, Pom Klementieff finds real heart in Mantis, Dave Bautista is still one of our most interesting wrestlers-turned-actors in the choices he makes, Karen Gillan has slowly become of the MCU's MVPs as Nebula, Will Poulter is endearingly dunderheaded as a comedic take on Adam Warlock, and Chukwudi Iwuji proves a truly vile villain who exemplifies the maxim of "if you really want an audience to just HATE a motherfucker, have him torture cute animals". And of course Gunn's musical tastes remain impeccable, such as a Beastie Boys needle drop that prompts a truly bitchin' fight scene (oddly the second time this specific song happened this year in a Pratt-led vehicle). It's funny, it made me ugly cry at SEVERAL points, and I got to see a psychic cosmonaut dog beat people's asses with her mind. What more could I want?

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse: Into the Spider-Verse was a revolution and a revelation for what the American animated film industry could accomplish artistically and technically. How could a sequel possibly live up to it? Across does, against all odds, proving to be the Empire Strikes Back to the original's Star Wars in terms of going darker/more complex on the emotions and to greater visual heights (albeit with the caveat that maybe next time, we can manage the production better and not crunch people so much). Co-directors Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers, and Joaquim Dos Santos (who I've stanned as one of our best animation action directors from Justice League Unlimited through Voltron Legendary Defender) craft a propulsive narrative that asks big questions about who and what Spider-Man is. And while those will have to wait to be fully answered in the third installment, what it sets up is no less compelling or thrilling. Shout-outs in particular go to Hailee Steinfeld, who has to anchor this film with Gwen as much as Shameik Moore's still-iconic Miles; Daniel Pemberton for an outstanding score; Oscar Isaac for giving rich complexity to Miguel O'Hara, who could have felt like a boorish bully in lesser hands; and Jason Schwartzman for not just proving he transitions REALLY well into voicework between this and projects like Klaus, but being by turns pathetically funny and terrifying in ways I've never heard him be as the Spot. Can't wait to see where that goes next time in particular.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: "Pleasant surprise" comes to mind. While I never hated Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as much as most, it was definitely a little underwhelming as a possibly final Indy adventure. (Not helping is that Steven Spielberg immediately turned around and made an infinitely better indy movie in the form of The Adventures of Tintin) So I was curious to see how going to the well for seemingly the real final adventure would work this time around. Thankfully, director James Mangold proves he has a good eye for creative action, even if nothing here quite reaches the heights of the original trilogy, and Harrison Ford does some of his best acting in ages as a weary, burnt-out Indy; one always got the sense that THIS was much closer to his heart than Han Solo. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a terrific foil to him, joyously amoral (or so she says), while Mads Mikkelsen finds a new spin on coldly cruel cinematic Nazis; he has a tense reintroduction scene that had me squirming in my seat. Add in a slam-bang ending and a touching epilogue, and I'm pretty happy with where things end up for our favorite archaeologist. A solid B+, which we could use more of nowadays.

Also they Poochie-d Shia LaBeouf, which is hilarious to me on several levels.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One: The Mission: Impossible franchise has undergone a curious metamorphosis from where it started as one of many oldies TV adaptations in 1996 to a purposefully old-school action franchise. Director Christopher McQuarrie has become a pro at these over the last three installments, and Dead Reckoning (now no longer a part one, as the back-in-production followup will be retitled) has lots to offer both large and small for action fans even outside of the continued spectacle of Tom Cruise Possibly Wants To Die On Camera. Obviously the big stunt sequences remain a draw, like a terrific car chase through Rome or the climactic journey onboard the Orient Express because trains are ALWAYS bitchin' locations in movies. But just as good are pleasures like a tense cat-and-mouse game in an airport where nobody's quite sure whose side Hayley Atwell's thief Grace is on, Henry Czerny coming back to the franchise after 27 years and looking as shiftily patriotic as ever, Pom Klementieff on this list for the second time looking really hot as she whoops ass, and Cary Elwes getting an unexpectedly choice exposition monologue. Plus the whole deal with the A.I. villain ended up being, uh, fairly relevant.

Barbie: A brilliant human comedy from an unexpected source. This could have gone wrong in so many different ways, I can easily imagine a version that's WAY more lugubrious and, crucially, much less funny. But director/co-writer Greta Gerwig has quickly become one of our best talents between this and the wildly-different-but-has-more-in-common-than-you'd-think Little Women (I also still need to see to heard-it's-excellent Lady Bird). With an infinitely clever script (I love in particular that the "real world" is just as ridiculous in its own way as Barbieland) and Sarah Greenwood's impeccable production design, Gerwig and her cast craft a feminist fable that remains light and funny even at its most strident and angry. Margot Robbie has never been better, hilarious and gut-punching by equal measure, America Ferrera ends up as the unexpected heart of the piece, and Ryan Gosling is absolutely hysterical as Ken while still making him intensely sympathetic. He and Robbie deserve Oscar noms in particular. No, I'm not kidding. Might expand this one to a full review at some point tbh.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: I missed this in theaters and regret it immensely, given that this is a hilarious, cheerfully irreverent take on characters who've really managed a surprising amount of relevance in the modern age. Actually having teen actors voice the Turtles makes them feel so authentic, and they're matched well by an equally game cast like Ayo Edebiri's thoroughly modern April O'Neill, Jackie Chan as a more bumbling-but-heartfelt version of Splinter than usual, and Paul Rudd going full surfer bro as Mondo Gecko. And of course the scribbled-notebook underground comics vibe of the animation is a neat bit of full circle aesthetics if you know these guys' origins.

Wish: All of you are wrong and being dumb about this movie. It's not that I can't grok some of the criticisms as being legitimate, to be fair; for example, the songs, while very good on their own IMO, don't always hit the iconic level of a Frozen or Encanto. But the vitriol with which they've been expressed, and this odd narrative that Disney is in the toilet artistically and needs to nebulously "fix" things, is something I can't at all agree with. It's gorgeously rendered, for one; yes, I would potentially like to see a return to full 2D animated films for the studio at some point too. But if they're gonna experiment even marginally with CGI, I applaud co-directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn making it look this painterly as a starting point. And as with a lot of modern Disney, there's real richness and inner life to these characters. Ariana DeBose is a winning heroine as Asha, who feels distinct from other "princesses" by essentially being working class and unionizing the kingdom. And Chris Pine as Magnifico is a Disney Villain for the ages, blending real complexity in his relationships with scenery-chewing madness. (Also am I the only one who got major "studio executive/CEO" vibes off him?) If this is "mid" or "bland" Disney, I really question what some of y'all are seeing that I seemingly can't.

Also I liked the 100th anniversary references, sue me. The last one in particular gets points for quiet charm rather than grandstanding.

The Boy and the Heron: Hayao Miyazaki, anime's favorite grumpy old man, comes back out of retirement for like the fifth time. Seriously, remember when Princess Mononoke was supposed to be his last film 25+ years ago? I'll believe his "last film" is truly his last when he's in the cold, cold ground. Regardless of the continuing saga of Old Man Won't Retire Because He Seemingly Can't Be Alone With His Own Thoughts, this is a brilliant, haunting spectacle of animation that might be a new favorite for me. Some have called it confusing, whereas I go for "dreamlike", possibly his most to date. Nearly every frame is suffused with longing and melancholy (though this also has some of Miyazaki's best comedy in a while), and, oddly like Wish, this feels like a true career reflection, if a bit more fraught and questioning what legacy truly means. Joe Hisaishi contributes possibly his moodiest, most dissonant score, with little of the bombast or whimsical charm that typifies his music, but it works unfathomably well. Credit also to the dub, with Robert Pattinson as funny and menacing as you've heard, but Luca Pandoval is also excellent as our stoic lead Mahito, Florence Pugh manages to be both a total badass and a funny old woman (it makes sense in context, I promise), Christian Bale puts forth a fascinating two-step with his boisterous father, Gemma Chan and Karen Fukuhara nail some complex emotional turns, Willem Dafoe nearly steals the whole thing in under two minutes, Dave Bautista makes a real meal out of a part not much bigger than that, and Mark Hamill finds resonance as a tired old man.

[kittrrrr]

Summary: Wind gets pushed into a river and has a bad time. Bad times include, but are not limited to: nearly drowning, tea, and Legend's catastrophic lack of social awareness.

First part is under the cut (I'm not posting the whole thing here bc it's nearly 7.5k)

Wind nearly cried from relief when he saw the village. He wasn't made for walking, damn it! His feet hurt! Not that he'd ever say that, not unless his feet were actively falling off (even if it really felt like it). He wasn't going to slow down these older heroes. Wind, even if he felt bad about it, was grateful that Sky also had low stamina. It helped him cover up his own struggles. Time announced that they would be staying the night in the town, which meant that they would be getting a bit of a break. Wind would have a whole half afternoon to make friends! That put a bit of bounce back into his step, although he regretted it a little when he walked on his sore feet.

The chain split into groups to shop and look for information, with everyone agreeing to meet back at the inn in two hours. Wind and Warriors went off together (something about how he wasn't allowed to be alone in stores because of his thieving habit. He'd only ever got caught once with the chain) to get more supplies. He found what he needed- some snacks, arrows, and some more ink. He had enough paper to last a lifetime, thanks, in no small part, to the time he helped Tetra and her pirates rob a ship... Which turned out to be carrying nothing but paper. Wind had volunteered to get rid of the paper, but never quiet got around to it, so he had way to much paper. He didn't really mind- he could send as many letters as he wanted!

"Wars, Wars, hurry up!" Wind complained, dancing around the other, who was pondering the difference between two quills (they looked the exact same to Wind, who had been using a feather from the Helmrock King for years). Warriors, in lieu of actually responding to Wind, just set one of the quills down long enough to ruffle the sailor's hair. Wind shoved off from Warriors, stepping a away to stick out his tongue. Then he returned to the captain's side to continue to bother him.

"Hm... I'm not going to finish up any time soon, Wind. If you promise not to steal anything, I'll let you go explore." Warriors interrupted Wind before he could start an annoying song or some other technique of hindrance. Wind pouted slightly at the implication he would steal anything, (he very much would) but couldn't deny the appeal. How long had it been since he played with other, normal kids? Er, obviously, he meant exploring uninterrupted! Warriors saw the look on his face and smiled. He knew that he'd won. (Wind really needed to learn how to control his expressions a little more, this was getting irritating.)

"Fi-i-i-i-ine. I won't steal." Wind dragged the word out, delighting the way it fell onto the floor from his mouth. Warriors rolled his eyes at his little brother before going back to shopping between identical quills. He started to ask about the different properties of certain feathers, but Wind was already slipping away into the alley. The world was his oyster! Well, this village. He tiptoed through the alley, playing cat, which had gotten him through countless stealth sections. If Legend was to be believed, though, his face scrunched up all weird when he did. Cats had weird faces, though, so Wind figured that it only added to the act. It didn't take him long to find a group of kids. The oldest was just a little older then him, and the youngest was about a year or two older then Ayrll. "Hey!" Wind waved, getting their attention.

"Ooh~  Who are you?" The youngest of the kids bounded over. Wind introduced himself, and explained that he was visiting the village. "I mean, yeah! How do you even get skin that tan?"

"Joyce! That wasn't very nice! I'm Ollie, by the way!" The oldest kid explained. "Sorry for Joyce. She doesn't really have a filter." Wind barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Oh, Ollie had no idea what sort of things he'd just said before Time and Warriors taught him a little bit more about situational awareness.

"Eh, doesn't bother me! Can I join you?" Wind asked, directing the attention to something else before it could get awkward. He was met with overjoyed agreement. He smiled, feeling super cool. Unlike when he'd met the Killer Bees. Those kids were mean!

"We were just about to go down to the river. Can you handle it?" Ollie returned back, to the 'ooh'-ing of the other kids. Wind grinned. Why wouldn't he be able to handle a river? It was kind of a cold day for swimming (at least, in his option- Twilight had been complaining about being hot! Then again, he did wear like, five layers, plus a wolf pelt.). Sure, Wind wasn't the best swimmer, but as long as the river wasn't too deep or fast, it was would be fine. He raced after Ollie, following him to the river in question. The other kids scrambled to follow after the two teenagers, their legs not really long enough to compete. Wind was able to find the path that the other was using, and, with a better idea of where he was going, poured on speed. He pushed down the terrible aching of his feet. He wasn't going to lose in a race! This was the kind of movement that Wind was used to. He and Ayrll had raced more times then he could count. Sometimes, he was almost fast to catch a seagull, which wasn't a problem that Ayrll had. (She had a talent with them) He burst out the trees just ahead of Ollie, and he spun breathless, to face the other. He saw the surprise, which was quickly hidden under a smirk.

"Oh wow! New comer beat Ollie at racing!" One of the younger kids said, grinning from ear to ear. Ollie rounded about on them, about to say something, but the other kid cheerfully parroted it to the others. Ollie sighed. The group settled into a game of capture the flag. But they didn't have any actual flags, so they used rocks instead. Wind was able to win- three times in a row. Ollie was starting to get red in the face. The little kids were happily pointing out how much better Wind was at everything! It was kind of an excessive amount of praise. He was starting to get uncomfortable with it, and the look on Ollie's face wasn't helping. He plodded over to the other. He didn't like all of the praise. Ollie glared at Wind as he opened his mouth to- he wasn't actually sure? He slowly closed it, but Ollie had an idea of his own stirring.

"Hey, want to go see the bridge?' Wind nodded, glad to have read the other boy's intentions wrong. The two made their way up stream a little bit, until they came a rather rickety wooden bridge. Ollie lead the way onto the bridge, but the other kids, curiously, stayed behind. Joyce opened her mouth to say something, but Ollie glared at her. Wind didn't notice, carefully climbing onto the death trap. He'd used worse. It was like Outset's bridge (before it broke) just wet and older. Wind worked his way to the center of the bridge and leaned over the dark water. He couldn't see the bottom, and a small shiver at the thoughts of what could be hiding the deep ran its way down his spin. On the other had, he could see himself. He waved at his reflection, and Ollie's behind him.

"Ollie! The way is so clear here, but I can't see the bottom? Do you know why-" Before Wind could finish his question, Ollie shoved him. Hard. The bridge had been built in a time that didn't believe in handrails, and with it as slick as it was... The water was icy.  Wind gasped, pulling water in his mouth. He started to cough, but only succeeded in inhaling more water. He floundered, unsure of the surface, but needing to do anything, anything. He wasn't going to drown! What a stupid end for a hero! Ayrll and Grandma needed him. The water stole heat from him, finding its way deeper into him. The chill was like nothing else. Wind couldn't feel much, even as he smacked his arm into a rock. Blood drifted into the water, wrapping him like a halo

Why was the water so deep? Where was the surface!? That was another rock, digging across his leg. He knew how to swim- right, right? The current wanted to keep him. The river had found a child, and it was going to keep him. Another rock smacked into him, and he grabbed at it, maybe he would- His hand slipped off. Wind broke the- no that was only water, and more water, and why was everything going black- black- black- black. Cold, cold, tired, so tired. Wind... Wind had to- had to... He struggled... the darkness that had been creeping around the edges of his vision closed in. I'm going to die.. Wind thought, before that, too, faded.

[hestusjamsession]

I’ve been depressed so I decided to do what normal people do when they’re depressed and make a list of my favorite Legend of Zelda fanfics thus far. I think I’ll make a Linked Universe one next.

Almost all of these fics are finished and most are multi chapter. Some are quite long too. I also tried to include a variety of ships and stuff. I’m a multi-opportunity shipper, what can I say?

I know a few of the authors are here on Tumblr but I can’t for the life of me find them. So if anyone knows the usernames of the authors so I can tag them I’d appreciate it.

Anyway…

*cracks knuckles*

1. Make a Wish, Make it Count by LiliansMalice

Three very different people get forced to work together to find a powerful relic that can grant them wishes and solve their (admittedly pretty bad) problems.

It’s got angst, it’s got humor, it’s got found family vibes. And demons. Lots and lots of demons. Such a good read y’all need to check it out. Also, if anyone knows of any more fics like this let me know!

2. Honor Among Thieves by DawnTheRithmatist

The Master Sword has been stolen and as things start to go missing around the castle Zelda decides to do some digging which ends up with her becoming pen pals with a wanted thief.

Zelink fic which Link goes full rogue and koroks are eager accomplices.

3. Beating Around the Bush by Umbreonix

Revali retires from the air force and becomes a remote bush pilot. His life is all well and good (if boring) until a slightly feral researcher from the University of Central Hyrule derails his entire life.

This fic is genuinely hilarious and also heartwarming. Umbreonix writes Revali so well. Revlink fic with a modern spin. (Side note, the fic “Finding Link” by the same author is also really good)

4. Displaced by Socksock

What do you do once you’ve saved the day? Yeah, Link and Zelda don’t know either. But Link has monsters to kill and cool new outfits to find and Zelda has massive bridges to rebuild and loyal knights to smooch so they’ll be ok.

This was one of the first fics I read after beating BOTW. Novel length Zelink goodness with lots of humor and healing and Link dressing up like Tingle because he’s like that.

5. K.K. Love Song by Socksock

Anything by Socksock is gonna be great but this fic literally kept me sane while I was working on site during the Pandemic. Oklahoma be like that.

Modern Zelink fic where the hot new Shiekah Slate game Animal Crossing brings a Princess and a cook closer together. Link apparently does a good KK impression.

6. Nothing More, Nothing Less by Farbsturz

Ravio, Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, must head to Hyrule to help it’s Hero defeat the Calamity. Ravio, Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, is not sure about this.

Ravio plays Breath of the Wild. Or- the Ravlink fic you didn’t know you wanted.

7. The Queen’s Tournament by AshleysWrittenWords

In order to become Queen, Princess Zelda must marry. Zelda’s plan? Part 1: Host a tournament were the winner gets her hand in marriage. Part 2: Enter said tournament in disguise so she can, to quote Merida from Brave “shoot for her own hand”. And it all goes according to plan until Link decides to enter the tourney as well.

I THINK I might have read this, or something very similar, once upon a time on Fanfiction.net. Twilight Princess-ish Zelink.

8. Branded by Embyrinitalics

In a land haunted by war, two lonely people find solace within each other.

This one’s got a somber vibe to it, but it’s beautifully written and it hits me in the shipper feels so yeah.

9. The Wolf of Farore by Wayward_Chronicler

The Legend of Zelda meets The Witcher in a fic that is technically not finished but has 71 chapters and more character cameos than you can swing a sword at.

Long fic fam this one’s for you. 😘

10. Interim by Starkraving

Link and Zelda have just defeated the Calamity and are wandering Hyrule when they meet a strangely familiar Gerudo who wants to buy Link’s giant horse and has no idea what he’s about to get roped into.

The Link/Zelda/Gan fic filled with angst, humor and lots of Gerudo grammar lessons.

This was the other fic I read right after beating BOTW. Fair warning- its rated E so it’s got spicy parts to it. But if you don’t mind that it’s a fantastic read.

11. Re-Domestication by AnthemXIX

The description says it best: “A semi-feral amnesiac and his wolf guardian try to get along with the locals.”

A really good BOTW Link and Wolf Link fic that isn’t Linked Universe related (Though the author has written several really good LU fics as well). It’s part of a series and they’re all really good.

12. Secrets of the Shadows by @skyloftian-nutcase

When Link goes missing, Rusl finds a wolf instead of his adopted son and ends up making a terrible mistake. Hopefully he can make it to Kakariko in time to rectify it.

Papa Rusl angst because it’s good for the soul.

[hyuuukais]

1, 5, 24 for the music asks 🫶🏻

1 - a song you like with a colour in the title

ngl my first thought was blue hour by txt, but i'm choosing this :3

5 - a song that needs to be played LOUD

shhh i know i answered this already, but u can never have too many!!

24 - a song by a band you wish were still together

honourable song mentions: lola & better things

[mollish-art]

I like all types of music, and I consider myself to have a good taste in music. So, I just had a idea for the themes for the Unperson characters:

U!Charlie: A theme that makes you think, "yep, he's the hero, he is the protagonist". The track has to be a reflection of U!Charlie: Apocalyptic Music (to represent the Hero Variant he is), with a subtle arrange of notes denoting sorrow/sadness, because, you know, he doesn't want to be there at all. Some notes can be missing, like his memories until he remembers them. The Showfall theme can be sprinkled about, signifing his conection to them. His leifmotif can be the tune that played when Slime Demon first appeared, to reflect his other roles, mixed with some arrange of notes that denote "hero/protagonist"

U!Sneeg: More Synth music, Post-Apocaliptic Machines Have Taked Over kind. The Showfall Theme would be more present, because he is an "NPC", so they have more influence over him.

U!Ranboo: Techno/Metal music, to denote their biomechanical limbs and their ruthlessness. The music would be more techno than metal when it begins, and in some points only a instrument would play to denote their stealthyness. When angry/hungry/hangry the music is full on metal with some techno touches. The same hero leifmotif that is in U!Charlie theme is in their track, but is this one is distorted, missing chunks. They were the Hero, yes, but not anymore. The Showfall theme is present, in equal ground of presence with Sneeg's theme.

U!Niki: Orquestra with coir with rock-metal/rock. When it first starts, only the violins and maybe a piano with the choir are heard, playing/singing a melancholic song. Little by little, the violins change their notes to that of rising tension. The good thing about violins is that their songs can be sad and also be terrifying. Then, suddenly, coir, piano and violins stop. The rock band starts playing alongside the metals of the orquestra, whilst the string instruments copy the tense drone that the violins were doing. The Showfall theme is more present in her track, even to a point were only the piano plays, orquestra and band going quiet so the piano can play the exact notes that the Showfall theme has, and it continues playing in the background even when orquestra and band continue playing.

Sorry to have written a one-shot length ask! I needed to put my thoughts in "paper". Have a nice one!

I'm a huge instrumental / video game music nerd myself, so I always love hearing people's analyses of leitmotifs and suggestions for types of music that fit a particular character's vibe! Here are some of the songs that I associate most with each of the characters (each of them can be found on the Unperson OST) The Devourer: "Stigmata" by grandson Ranboo: "Devourer" by Aidoneus Charlie: "Just a Game" by Birdy Sneeg: "Now - Connor" from Detroit: Become Human Hetch: "Your Death Will Be My Art" from The Evil Within 2 The Sightless Siren: "Medusa" from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey Niki: "Lung" by Vancouver Sleep Clinic Adam: "My Way" by Chase Holfelder ???: "Brutus" by The Buttress And of course the 'main theme' of the story as a whole is "Unperson" by Nothing But Thieves!

[dioles-writes]

DIOLES PLAYLIST

EVERYONE

My Time - Bo En

The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy

The Last of the Real Ones - Fall Out Boy

I’m Still Standing - Elton John

My Alcoholic Friends - The Dresden Dolls

Burning Pile - Mother Mother

A Pearl - Mitski

Wrecking Ball - Mother Mother

Problems - Mother Mother

Hayloft II - Mother Mother

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens

Young - Vacations

Mind Over Matter - Young the Giant

Karma Police - Radiohead

Non-stop - Lin Manuel Miranda

4:00 A.M. - Taeko Onuki

I Hear a Symphony - Cody Fry

Just Take My Wallet - Jack Stauber

Christmas Kids - Roar

Black Sheep - Metric

Young and Menace - Fall Out Boy

Just - Radiohead

Exit Music (For a Film) - Radiohead

Backdrifts - Radiohead

Safe & Sound - Taylor Swift

KICK BACK - Kenshi Yonezu

Centuries - Fall Out Boy

Duvet - Slowed Down Version - Bôa

My Body’s Made of Crushed Little Stars - Mitski

THE HEROES

Good 4 U - Olivia Rodrigo

Body - Mother Mother

Change Your Mind - Steven Universe

That Funny Feeling - Bo Burnham

Over & Over - Rio Romeo

Malmo - Mook

From Underground - Mook

Home Where - Sir Chloe

THE BOARD GAME CLUB

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

One Normal Night - Company

Freaks - Surf Curse

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Blame It On The Kids - AViVA

The Adults Are Talking - The Strokes

Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club

Are We Still Friends? - Tyler, The Creator

FELIX

Boys Don’t Cry - The Cure

I Can’t Handle Change - Roar

First Love/Late Sping - Mitski

The Main Character - Will Wood

Brave as a Noun - AJJ

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Action Movie Hero Boy - Lemon Demon

Punk Tactics - Joey Valence & Brae

Shame - Mitski

Motion Picture Soundtrack - Radiohead

Look Away - The Dear Hunter

New Magic Wand - Tyler, The Creator

Boy - Alex G

Forwards Beckon Rebound - Adrianne Lenker

Remember - Alex G

Harvey - Alex G

WINOLA

Bugbear - Chloe Moriondo

No Surprises - Radiohead

Monet Issues - Chase Petra

The Deal - Mitski

Half Return - Adrianne Lenker

JANUARY

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic

Can I Get a Witness - SonReal

Say It Ain’t So - Weezer

Romantic Homicide - d4vd

Family Line - Conan Gray

Seventeen - Marina

Remember My Name - Mitski

Hansel - Sodikken

When Will My Life Begin? - Mandy Moore

When Memories Snow - Mitski

My Shot - Lin Manuel Miranda

This Is The Life - Son Lux, Mitski, David Byrne

The Ultracheese - Arctic Monkeys

MADDOX

Afraid - The Neighbourhood

Boys Don’t Cry - The Cure

First Love/Late Spring - Mitski

Blue Hair - TV Girl

The Grudge - Olivia Rodrigo

AKALI

First Love/Late Spring - Mitski

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Blue Hair - TV Girl

Rises the Moon - Liana Flores

BLISS

First Rate Town - Good Kid

The Soccer Journals - Everybody’s Worried About Owen

Daughter of a Cop - TV Girl

AVIL

Other Friends - Steven Universe

Oh Klahoma - Jack Stauber

Aimed to Kill - Jade LeMac

Blue Hair - TV Girl

My Love Mine All Mine - Mitski

ALZENA

I Bet On Losing Dogs - Mitski

Woman - Doja Cat

Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe

Toxic - Britney Spears

Back to the Old House - The Smiths

I Wait For You - Alex G

NYSSA

Better Than Me - The Brobecks

ASTLEY

People I Don’t Like - UPSAHL

Neutral Spirit Hotel - Local News Legend

Honey Whiskey - Nothing But Thieves

A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit - AJJ

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

Bug Like an Angel - Mitski

Crab - Alex G

She’s Homeless - CreepP

RORY

The Dismemberment Song - Blue Kid

Princess - TOPHAMHAT-KYO

Outliars and Hyppocrates: A Fun Fact About Apples - Will Wood

Laplace’s Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People) - Will Wood

2econd 2ight 2eer (That Was Fun, Goodbye.) - Will Wood

Suburbia Overture / Greetings From Mary Bell Township! / (Vampire) Culture / Love Me, Normally - Will Wood

Memento Mori: The Most Important Thing in the World - Will Wood

Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialetics, but I Need You to Leave - Will Wood

BlackBoxWarrior OKULTRA - Will Wood

I/Me/Myself - Will Wood

Love, Me Normally - Will Wood

Nunemaker’s Parable - Everybody’s Worried About Owen

Sandy - Alex G

WILDER

Creep - Radiohead

Time/Space - Alex G

You - Radiohead

Real Men - Mitski

Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi - Radiohead

Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead

KUALI’I

Fog (Again) [Live] - Radiohead

Time/Space - Alex G

Boy - Alex G

Dreams Fall Hard - Car Seat Headrest

GUNTHER

Sharks - Imagine Dragons

Sky Like Dreams (SU) - CNML

Step On Me - The Cardigans

Back In School - Mother Mother

GOSSIP - Måneskin

I Don’t Smoke - Mitski

Sportstar - Alex G

Anyone Can Play Guitar - Radiohead

My Brave Face - Paul McCartney

MR PRADER

History Has Its Eyes On You - Christopher Jackson

I’ll Make a Man Out of You - Donny Osmond

PARADISE

Mad Hatter - Melanie Martinez

I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE - Måneskin

Just a Man - Jorge Rivera-Herrans

The Man Who Sold the World (Live) - Nirvana

Stick Up - Grandson

Crossfire - Stephen

Where is the Justice? - Jeremy Jordan

INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow

6up 5oh Cop Out (Pro / Con) - Will Wood and the Tapeworms

Starman - David Bowie

FightSong - Eve

Belly Up - Return to Dust

GOSSIP - Måneskin

2+2=5 - Radiohead

Little Dark Age - MGMT

Backlight - ADO

Hate Me - DED

The Principal - Melanie Martinez

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

Digital Silence - Peter McPoland

Gangsta’s Paradise - Coolio, L.V.

What’s Up Danger - Blackway, Black Caviar

Filth and Squalor - The Dear Hunter

We’ve Got a Score to Settle - The Dear Hunter

Stranger Than Paradise - Mook

VINCENT

Feeling Good - Michael Bublé

Kiss Me, Son of a God - They Might Be Giants

My Ordinary Life - The Living Tombstone

Ruler of Everything - Tally Hall

Belly Up - Return to Dust

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

HAVEN

Belly Up - Return to Dust

Ribs - The Crane Wives

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

Castaway - The Vanished People

Hollow Moon (Live) - The Crane Wives

MANON

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

& - Tally Hall

Jerry Was a Race Car Driver - Primus

BORISLAVA

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

Duvet - Bôa

EINAR

Just a Man - Jorge Rivera-Herrans

Stick Up - Grandson

Oh No! - Marina

SHEHANI

Oh No! - Marina

Class Fight - Melanie Martinez

ATIAH

INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow

Oh No! - Marina

Murder on the Dancefloor - Sophie Eliss-Bextor

UNA

Oh No! - Marina

Over & Over - Rio Romeo

PRESSURE BOMB 3?!?! - Jhariah

HIRAYA

Six Shooter - Coyote Kisses

Show & Tell - Melanie Martinez

Brutal - Olivia Rodrigo

Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez

Oh No! - Marina

Teen Idle - Marina

PAISLEY

Brand New City - Mitski

Well, Better Than The Alternative - Will Wood

Vampire Empire - Big Thief

I’m Your Man - Mitski

Lover, You Should’ve Come Over - Jeff Buckley

Meant To Be Yours - Ryan McCartan

Twilight - Bôa

REAGAN

I Bet On Losing Dogs - Mitski

I Want You - Mitski

I Don’t Like My Mind - Mitski

I Will - Mitski

Drunk Walk Home - Mitski

Rape Me - Nirvana

PAISLEY & REAGAN

Full Disclosure - Steven Universe

There is a Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths

Two Slow Dancers - Mitski

Star - Mitski

Heaven - Mitski

VENUS

Peace and Love on the Planet Earth - Steven Universe

The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) - Ylvis

TINDRA

Escapism - Steven Universe

HARU

Love Like You - Steven Universe

Cop Car - Mitski

REESE

My Alcoholic Friends - The Dresden Dolls

Sugar Pills - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Mary - Alex G

OLIVIA

Never Love an Anchor - The Crane Wives

[antitheticallyargumentative]

hi i'd love to know your ted lasso character and taylor swift song thoughts very much

OK WELL. 

Firstly- Long Live. Is the song of the club. It just is. I mean just. Go look at all the lyrics but. I said remember this moment/ In the back of my mind/The time we stood with our shaking hands / The crowds in stands went wild/We were the kings and the queens/And they read off our names/The night you danced like you knew our lives/Would never be the same/You held your head like a hero/On a history book page/It was the end of a decade/But the start of an age TELL ME I’M WRONG. 

Ted? The Archer. I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost/The room is on fire, invisible smoke/And all of my heroes die all alone/Help me hold onto you/I’ve been the archer/I’ve been the prey/Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling?/But who could stay? And Also 'Cause they see right through me/They see right through me/They see right through/Can you see right through me?/They see right through/They see right through me/I see right through me/I see right through me This is THEE anxiety song. That entire goddamn bridge feels like the buildup to the panic attack. 

He is also Mirrorball. Specifically the bridge. And they called off the circus/Burned the disco down/When they sent home the horses/And the rodeo clowns/I’m still on that tightrope/I’m still trying everything to get you laughing at me/I’m still a believer but I don't know why/I’ve never been a natural/All I do is try, try, try/I’m still on that trapeze/I’m still trying everything/To keep you looking at me

Jamie, arguably. Could also be The Archer. 

Season 1 Rebecca is Mad Woman- I'm takin' my time/Takin' my time/'Cause you took everything from me/Watchin' you climb/Watchin' you climb/Over people like me/The master of spin/Has a couple side flings/Good wives always know/She should be mad/Should be scathing like me/But no one likes a mad woman/What a shame she went mad/You made her like that And Vigilante Shit. Specifically when she teams up with Bex and Ms. Kakes to expose Rupert… She needed cold hard proof so I gave her some/She had the envelope, where you think she got it from?/Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride/Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife/And she looks so pretty/Driving in your Benz/Lately she's been dressing for revenge ALSO THIS VERY SPECIFIC PART OF DEAR JOHN: But I took your matches before fire could catch me/So don't look now/I’m shining like fireworks over your sad empty town

Keeley Jones is Bejeweled personified. Like: Baby love, I think I've been a little too kind/Didn't notice you walking all over my peace of mind/In the shoes I gave you as a present/Puttin' someone first only works when you're in their top five/And by the way, I'm going out tonight/Best believe I'm still bejeweled/When I walk in the room/I can still make the whole place shimmer… Just. Listen to the whole song for the real effect. You must. 

I will also add: The Story of Us, re: all her relationships basically. Oh, I'm scared to see the ending/Why are we pretending this is nothing?/I’d tell you I miss you but I don't know how/I’ve never heard silence quite this loud/Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room/And we're not speaking and I'm dying to know/Is it killing you like it's killing me? Yeah/ I don't know what to say since the twist of fate/When it all broke down/And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now. Again. The whole song is just. It really fits, imo. 

Um.... I'm going to end it there and tag you in another post for the rest of it. because. This is getting obscenely long. Thank you for indulging me.

part two

[safety-frog]

Your Weekly Tunes: The Mechanic

This ones a little out of the blue, but we both had a few songs picked out as we were touching up the playlist that seemed perfect for The Mechanic’s character. It is a little on the shorter side this week. We've focused mostly on the central characters (or even the main side ones), but who doesn’t love a good bad guy turned good guy? Enjoy!

YouTube

Spotify

Top five songs for The Mechanic are below the cut!

The Trial: Pink Floyd- “The crown will plainly show the prisoner/ Who now stands before you/ Was caught red-handed, showing feelings /Showing feelings of an almost human nature” and “I always said he'd come to no good in the end, your honour/ If they'd let me have my way, I could have flayed him into shape/ But my hands were tied, the bleeding hearts and artists/ Let him get away with murder, let me hammer him today”

So this one might need a bit of explanation for those not familiar. We’ll put it shortly! Pink Floyd released their album (and a subsequent movie) The Wall, and all of the songs together tell the story of a man descending into madness after growing up with his fatehr dying in a war and abusive teachers. This is the second to last song where the wrongdoings and his own mental state culminates into these ‘characters’ accusing him. The main thing is that they are all still sung by Roger Waters. Thinking about it in terms of The Mechanic coming face to face with the wrong of his past life under The Hood makes it quite interesting!

Holding Out For A Hero: Nothing But Thieves- “Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasy/ Somewhere just beyond my reach, there's someone reaching back for me” and “Through the wind and the chill and the rain/ And the storm and the flood/ I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood”

So this purposely isn’t the original Bonnie Taylor version (which, let’s be real, is incredible in it’s own right!). Nothing But Thieves’ cover gives a dark and gritty view to the idea that waiting for a hero may not be exactly what one needs. Especially if you’re the villain.

Iron Man: Black Sabbath- “Is he alive or dead?/ Has he thoughts within his head?/ We'll just pass him there/ Why should we even care?” and “Now the time is here/ For Iron Man to spread fear/ Vengeance from the grave/ Kills the people he once saved”

This one shouldn’t need too much explanation! A man of iron shunned from the world he tried to help then becoming a villain not by his own means. The Mechanic in a nutshell.

The World Ender: Lord Huron- “I had a name, but they took it from me/ I was the man that I wanted to be/ I had a place where I lay my head/ They burnt it to the ground and the sky turned red” and “I’ll never bleed and I won’t ever age/ I’ll never feel the embrace of the grave/ The fair and the brave and the good must die/ I seen the other side of living, I know heaven's a lie”

Especially with S2 Mechanic, this song is somewhat upbeat and a little funky while having the absolute most horrifying lyrics over a literal world ender. In our opinion, it really fits the vibe of The Mechanic relentlessly coming back time and time again, each time more threatening than the last.

My Body Is a Cage: Peter Gabriel- “My body is a cage that keeps me/ From dancing with the one I love/ But my mind holds the key” and “We take what we're given/ Just because you've forgotten/ That don't mean you're forgiven”

Another cover that is just straight up incredible. How can you not think of The Mechanic when singing about being trapped in one’s body and life continues on like a play with nothing to do but go along with it?

[transhawks]

A really good song for BNHA episode 129 especially around Keigo's viewing of the TV screen/Heroes as Fantasy vs Reality

I was just a kid I needed answers I found a screen Promised adventure Just as I thought I had it all I pulled the trigger And nothing happened

I was in a dream I was in heaven I saw a god I had a question Opened my eyes Fell out the sky Tried to remember But there was nothing

Then you gave me something Something to believe in

'Cause I was just a kid I was just a kid How'd it get like this?

[sleepyowlwrites]

Hi!! I'm in desperate need of songs for my WIP! It's a story about a slightly mischievous goddess hitting on a rampart ghost. Ghost is a very rightful person who is definitely not where she's supposed to be but uses her powers to hunt monsters. Goddess is curious about her, she's also sly and charming in a way. Entp x intx, speaking in mbti. In the meantime, things happen because goddess' enemies won't let this slide, which starts a chain reaction and now Heaven and Underworld are in chaos. Slavic and/or Chinese vibes would be appropriated but definitely not necessary

Iron by Woodkid

Carried Home by Marcus Warner

Holding Out for a Hero by Nothing But Thieves

World on Fire by Les Friction

Don't Close Your Eyes by Sam Tinnesz

Become the Beast by Karliene

Hunt You Down by The Hit House

Flesh and Bone by Black Math

Kingdom Fall by Claire Wyndham

Whose Side Are You On by Tommee Profitt

All the King's Horses by Karmina

Beautiful Crime by Tamer

We Are All Beads On the Same String by Saintseneca

Bloody Shirt by To Kill A King (Bastille remix)

Dear Fellow Traveler by Sea Wolf

Ghost of a King by The Gray Havens

The Promise by Window to the Abbey

The Wolf by Phildel

I hope some of these resonate!

[watchyourbluesturngolden]

lavender haze sounds like I think he knows

maroon sounds like dress

anti hero sounds kind of like the best day ??? I can't explain this one but that one song where she says "I have an excellent father" or whatever

snow on the beach sounds like frozen

you're on your own kid is very much fearless, sounds like castle on a hill by eddie boy

midnight rain sounds like Lorde and also all too well and the bridge is i dont wanna live forever, also kind of false god

question is out of the woods lol (the sample of "i remember" at the beginning) otherwise it's not like anything else I can think of

vigilante shit is just something from reputation stripped or possibly 1989 (it's giving bad blood) ALSO no body no crime 😋 OH and ivy bc "picture me thick as thieves w ur ex wife" okay slay

bejeweled sounds like delicate and the bridge sounds like I think he knows and kind of like me! with her little "nice!"

labyrinth sounds like lover the album? no specific song that I can think of but it's lover ... the background chords sound so familiar but I can't place it

karma sounds like me! and the me! music video would fit this song so well ALSO you need to calm down/i forgot rhat you existed

sweet nothing sounds like a song from a horror movie 💀 kind of two ghosts?? or maybe daylight by harry. also that brass we love to see it 😋

mastermind sounds like A MAJOR SLAY. also no offense to Taylor at all but it sounds kind of like a worship song 💀 the chorus at least... idk it's still a fav😋

[unhingedselfships]

Shipping Playlist Highlights KimRyu

Kiryu Kazuma 

Work Song - Hozier

"My love would never fret none, bout what my hands and my body done"

My Fair Lady - Kaleo

"Oh, won't you bring me whiskey, and run your fingers through my hair? Oh, won't you whisper sweet words"

1950 - King Princess

"I hope that you're happy with me in your life, I hope that you won't slip away"

Stand and Deliver - Patrick Droney

"We'll hold onto each other in the darkness and the light, won't drown in the river, I'll swim out to you"

One for the Angels - Transviolet

"You've always been an angel, haven't you my love? You're on the road less taken, but it don't gotta be a lonely one"

Do You Really Wanna Know - Sea Girls

“All of my emotions, ain’t technically right, but I don't wanna go there and fuck up your night, open your arms, so I've got somewhere to hide, the world is ending, so take me for a ride”

The Last of the Real Ones - Fall Out Boy

"You were too good to be true, gold plated, but what's inside you, but what's inside you, I know this whole damn city thinks it needs you, but not as much as I do, as much as I do, yeah"

Her Diamonds - Rob Thomas

"And I don't know what I'm supposed to do, but if she feels bad, then I do too"

Higher - Lemaitre, Maty Noyes

"If you say you'll be my love, don't be a liar, cause I've been taken low, you take me higher, I can't stop the love we make"

Holding Out For a Hero - Bonnie Tyler

"Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?

Next to Me - Emeli Sande

“You won't find him drinking at the table, rollin' dice and staying out 'til three, you won't ever find him being unfaithful, you will find him, you'll find him next to me”

Sorry - Nothing But Thieves

"You might kill me with desire, wind me tighter than a wire, it's something that you do to me, I run away like mercury"

Coming Down - Halsey

"I found a savior, I don't think he remembers, 'cause he's off to pay his crimes, and he's got no time for mine"

Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

"Closed off from love, I didn't need the pain, once or twice was enough and it was all in vain, time starts to pass, before you know it, you're frozen, but something happened for the very first time with you"

LOVE ME HARD - Elley Duhe

"Will you love me hard? I've heard three words too soon before, say you love me when you know you're sure, 'cause it won't always be this way"

[can-i-ship-in-queering-peace]

Someone PLS make a Byler edit for Mike yearning for Will to this. Like at first I thought if it as a joke but- GUYS I DINT THINK ITS A JOKE ANYMORE!!!! I need bad ass Will like YESTERDAYYYY PLS

(possible band AU for this Will makes a band too cause Cali life. And they do this cover of this song and Mike is there to support AS A FRIEND, but dude… when did Will become *gulp* hot?”)

[steeleidolon]

♫

send ♫ for me to list 3 - 5 songs that i associate with our muses — @scorching-passion

bullet -- covenant

time is like a bullet from behind i run for cover just like you time is like a liquid in my hands i swim for dry land just like you time is like a blanket on my face i try to be here just like you time is just a fiction of our minds i will survive and so will you

illusion -- vnv nation

i know it's hard to tell how mixed up you feel hoping what you need is behind every door each time you get hurt, i don't want you to change because everyone has hopes, you're human after all

weight of the world -- battle tapes

you showed up haunted with a fist full of dynamite curated provocateur the funny thing about a life that's so civilized is when the line starts to blur deliver me from all i need those bitter words that taste so sweet delusional, until we fold buried under the weight of the world

it has begun -- starset

even a well-lit place can hide salvation a map to a one-man maze that never sees the sun where the lost are the heroes and the thieves are left to drown everyone knows by now fairy-tales are not found they're written in the walls as we walk in a straight line down in the dirt with a landslide approaching but nothing could ever stop us from stealing our own place in the sun we will face the odds against us and run into the fear we run from