#well one of the quotes is a lyric but listen it's just incredibly...

[lifesver]

FIVE SONGS / FIVE QUOTES.

------ songs.

sun bleached flies. ethel cain.

what i wouldn't give to be in church this sunday listening to the choir so heartfelt, all singing / "god loves you, but not enough to save you". so i said fine, 'cause that's how my daddy raised me / if they strike once, then you just hit 'em twice as hard / but in the end, if i bend under the weight that they gave me / then this heart would break and fall as twice as far. we all know how it goes / the more it hurts, the less it shows / but i still feel like they all know / and that's why i could never go back home.

welcome home, son. radical face.

sleep, don't visit / so, i choke on the sun, and the days blur into one / and the backs of my eyes / hum with things i've never done. ships are launching from my chest / some have names but most do not / if you find one, please, let me know what piece I've lost / peel the scars from off my back / i don't need them anymore.

plastic flowers. the front bottoms.

you should fear what you already know / and hope that you never find out about the things you don't know yet / 'cause i believe that someone's got a plan for me / got a plan for me, even if i don't know it yet, not quite yet. listen, just because something burns bright / doesn't mean it's gonna burn forever / so, all these people around you saying "you got so much further to go", "it's gonna get worse before it gets better" / i don't know, i don't know if that's true.

strangers. ethel cain.

i tried to be good, am i no good? am i no good? am i no good? / with my memory restricted to a polaroid in evidence / i just wanted to be yours, can i be yours? / can i be yours? just tell me i'm yours / if i'm turning in your stomach and i'm making you feel sick. when my mother sees me on the side of a milk carton in winn-dixie's dairy aisle / she'll cry and wait up for me.

never tear us apart. paloma faith.

don't ask me, what you know is true / don't have to tell you, i love your precious heart. we could live, for a thousand years / but if i hurt you, i'd make wine from your tears. i was standing, you were there / two worlds collided, and they could never tear us apart.

------ quotes.

i've never needed an excuse to sacrifice myself for love; i'm a martyr for anything soft. i confess to you: i'd bleed for anything if it held me the right way. i confess: i have, i have. caitlin conlon.

most things will be okay eventually, but not everything will be. sometimes you'll put up a good fight and lose. sometimes you'll hold on really hard and realize there is no choice but to let go. acceptance is a small, quiet room. cheryl strayed.

did we deserve to go all the way out in the rain and see no one waits for us at the end of the street? muhtesemz.

there is a fate worse than death, and it's living to hear eulogies for the person you could have been. saul williams, dufflyn lammers, aja monet.

so i will wait for the next time you want me, like a dog with a bird at your door. phoebe bridgers.

[midnightmah07]

assigning taylor swift songs to each of your ships, bc i can:

Daisy x Ruggie:

-"The wine is cold, like the shoulder that I gave you in the street " = Daisy and him at the first meeting not liking each other that much

-"Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe" = Them meeting upon a dream, kinda

-"I like shiny things, but I marry you with paper rings" = Even with Daisy being a princess/lady like girl, she doesn't mind Ruggie low budge on money

Perse x Idia:

-They are always the hard one to pick :,)) This isn't exactly a love song, but still a good one for them

-"And though I can't recall your face, I still got love for you", = when idia almost deleted the world

-"Love you to the Moon and to Saturn" = They would do anything for each other

-And I've been meaning to tell you, I think your house is haunted, your dad is always mad and that must be why and I think you should come live with me and we can be pirates, then you won't have to cry", = I don't need to explain, but her staying with him for him not his parents

Jeanne x Kalim:

-"You're so cool, it makes me hate you so much" = trying to hide the fact that she likes him not for his money

-"If you've got a girlfriend, I'm jealous of her, but if you're single, that's honestly worse 'cause you're so gorgeous it actually hurts" = girlie being his gf and still not sure if its for love or the money

-"Ocean blue eyes, lookin' in mine, I feel like I might sink and drown and die" = LITERALLY, KALIM TO HER.

-"I can't say anything to your face 'cause look at your face and I'm so furious at you for making me feel this way. But what can I say? You're gorgeous!" = Shut up its them

Isabelle x Leona:

-"He is sensible and so incredible", "I couldn't ask for anything better " "And he says, "You look beautiful tonight"", "And I feel perfectly fine" = Isabelle with Neige even tho she was engaged to Leona

-"But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain and it's 2 a.m. and I'm cursing your name, so in love that you act insane and that's the way I loved you! Breaking down and coming undone, it's a roller coaster kind of rush and I never knew I could feel that much and that's the way I loved you" = them having mixed way to show love towards each other

-"And my heart's not breaking 'cause I'm not feeling anything at all and you were wild and crazy. Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated, got away by some mistake and now" = DO I NEED TO EXPLAIN?????

-The lyrics repeat, but like its them

KNSKSHSJ THIS IS SO GOOD

I'm a very casual Taylor Swift listener so the only songs I actually know from these are Paper Rings, The Way I Loved You and I think I have a very vague memory of listening to Gorgeous once........?

But these are so good oh my GOSH SODHSOSHKSHSKSHSOSJ

Paper Rings is literally daiggie :(((((( it's such a sweet loving song it fits them so well ahhh :((((((((

We will ignore at how I just started singing and screaming like a lunatic when you started quoting The Way I Loved You 🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️ this song is SO GOOD it is so leobelle coded UGH SJSJSIJSSJ

[cleolinda]

As an interlude from Hozierposting, I bring you a song I listen to when I feel really scattered:

Sliver was not a good movie. I read the book, and it wasn't too great either, pardon me for saying so. However, you may remember the UB40 cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love," which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1993. I was there, Gandalf, and it was inescapable. It was also the lead track on the Sliver soundtrack, despite really not fitting the movie's tone in any way that I recall. The album itself only got as high as #23; most people slept on the soundtrack as a whole, which also featured Enigma, Verve, Massive Attack, Shaggy—and this Neneh Cherry song.

It's also on her Homebrew album, which I slept on. I'm going to catch up this week on her first two albums, that one and, before that, Raw Like Sushi, because I've always liked "Buffalo Stance." Like, yeah, it came out in 1988 and I was maybe nine years old, but let's pretend I had good taste even then and wasn't just drawn like a moth to dance-beat flames. How old was Neneh Cherry at the time, 24 years old? "Buffalo Stance" is a debut with incredible confidence, and I think I associate that assertiveness, that power, with her style as a whole.

But there's a bridge in "Buffalo Stance" where the song slows down and hints at something more existential:

Wind on my face, sound in my ears Water from my eyes, and you on my mind As I sink, diving down deep Deeper into your soul

"Move With Me," I feel, takes the spirit of that bridge and slows it down to something meditative—the words are firm in their sense of self, but the melody verges on mournful:

Into a world I plunge through my headphones Escape into the streetlight I begin to believe in destiny When my surroundings in rhythm with me

I'm not very good at describing the technical aspects of music—I write about it from a place of enthusiasm, not expertise, so I'm guessing at what I'm hearing, really. But: her vocals here alternate between riding the wave of the synth melody, and a rap style that is sometimes soft-edged, sometimes harder, declarative, bringing out the crisp drumbeats. The heart of the song is the chorus:

So move with me, I'm strong enough To be weak in your arms Move with me, I'm strong enough To be real in your arms

I think what I find so grounding about "Move with Me" is the confidence of Neneh Cherry's voice, soft and hard by turns, and the solidity of that beat against the wistful melody—like the chorus, vulnerability entwined with strength. But the words themselves are also Really Something, and just contemplating the whole thing—well, it'll make you think about why you're here and where that is, in a way that makes you (or at least me) feel more certain of both. And it's the end of the song that really does that for me. When I looked up the lyrics to be sure I was quoting them correctly, I found that most online versions don't have the final verse, which ends with:

I'm washing through the whole, saw through the one I fell I plunge into myself, now I'm the story that I tell For another grain of sand that we'll nurture in our shell In our allotted place between heaven and hell.

[imaginespazzi]

Hey pookie,

First off, since you achieved your goal of keeping part 2 shorter, imma try to do the same with this ask! So here goes my thoughts on part 2:

I should have already known as soon as I saw the lyric/song you chose that this was gonna hurt bad, but I still was not prepared for how bad. Side note: I listened to Happier while I was reading it for the second time – I do not recommend if you don’t want your heart to break even more.

I know I said I wanted Paige to suffer… WELL I TAKE IT BACK- my favourite blonde has suffered enough 😭

Her entire drunken monologue about what she would have done if it was her that took Azzi on a date- fuuuuuck I can’t- but oh man it was so well written and so heartbreaking.

And then oh- that last part and when she realised that it wasn’t her that Azzi was looking for (although I still believe that subconsciously, it was a certain blonde that she was searching for in the crowd)

ZOE WHEN I CATCH YOU 🫵 (you did nothing wrong, BUT STILL)

I did let out a lil giggle tho (In between my crying) at blondie running into a wall cos she was so desperate to get away 🤭

Side note: the first scene was top tier; I just love Paige and the Fudds interactions and Azzi and Drew interactions 🫂

Side note 2: Angela being chosen as one of the menace teammates, I see the vision truly, she would be that girl lmao

Favourite line/quote: “she’s who you were supposed to be…” 💔

So overall, my heart was as cracked as paige's screen protector was by the end of it, and I just want blondie to finally get to take her bestie out on their dream date. BUT I do love angst so maybe I can handle just a tiny bit more suffering (I guess I’m taking back my earlier takeback), sorry paige 🙈

Thoughts on what’s to come (potentially):

I know I said in a previous ask that in my mind, summer breaks are when it gets especially messy and seeing as we’re up to a summer break in the timeline, oof bestie I can’t wait to see what you have in store for them (and us).

Also, the first meeting between Zoe and Paige- I know that would be explosive, like Paige would just be constantly trying to prove that she knows Azzi best 👀

“you don’t even know the things I said to her before she left for LA. And she’s still here” – another teaser of that fight, ugh I so desperately wanna know, but also not know, what she actually did say that night.

As always, thank you for this incredible story. I was so prepared (well, not really but I could have been) to wait at least a couple weeks for this part cos ya know we never wanna pressure you and I know you still got actual life to deal with, so the fact that you put this out ONE WEEK later - we don’t deserve you, truly. 🥺

Ok omg lemme wrap this up now, and ignore the part where I said I’d try to keep this ask short(er) because I’m pretty sure this is my longest one yet? I’m sorry – the key word there was obviously: try.

Much love always 💗

-🙋‍♀️

Hi bestie <3

Please I love your long asks, don't ever stop.

Fun fact I was torn between using Ed Sheeran's Happier or Oliviia Rodrigo's Happier (does she mean you forgot about me) but also kind of wanted to use The 1 (if my wishes came true, it would have been you).

I KNEW YOU (and everybody else) WOULD FLIP THE MINUTE I GAVE Y'ALL SAD PAIGE like y'all love her too much (me af) 😭

We're gonna come back to Azzi and her searching the crowds during the game next chapter (also just gonna add here, the anon asking if Azzi knows Paige was at the game, she doesn't...yet)

WAIT okay, do we want Zoe to be a good kind gf or no? Cause I have two ways this could go lol

Poor Angela caught some strays. It was between her and Emily Bessoir and I was like nah Angela fits better, so I'm glad you agree babe

Aww babes I'm sorry to break you like Paige's screen protector 💀 (is this a bad time to tell you that it very much is not getting better anytime soon so hopefully you can handle a lot more than little)

SUMMER BREAK I'M SO EXICTED (muahaha)

Mini confession, I also don't actually know what the argument before Azzi left for UCLA actually was...very much a work in progress oops-

Let's see if I can actually stick to my weekly timelines (hmmmm)

Love you always pookie 💗

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson at Cynthia Woods Pavilion

July 08, 2023 | By: Angeline Abrera

Louis Tomlinson is back on tour for his solo sophomore album, Faith in The Future, released just last November. I had the honor of attending his show at The Woodlands Pavilion and, of course, he did not disappoint! It is crazy to think that I saw One Direction live for the first time on June 24th, 2012 at this same venue. If you would have told my 12-year-old directioner-self that I would be covering Louis’ show 11 years later, I wouldn’t have believed you. This definitely was a big, full-circle moment for me.

Louis was accompanied by the lovely Andrew Cushin and The Snuts, both incredibly talented acts from the United Kingdom. With Louis also growing up in the UK, it was amazing to see him bring on acts from his side of the pond. As someone who listens to various genres from KPOP to R&B, it was very refreshing to see artists I’ve never heard of before. That being said, I will definitely be checking out their music!

Before Louis’ set, fans handed out bracelets to trade, which spelled out different quotes and phrases relating to Louis’ life and discography. Almost every audience member had fan-made bracelets on their wrists, even the adults who brought their kids to the show. Though I had no bracelets to trade myself, fellow photographers there were sweet enough to give me some of their own so I could also feel included. With attending countless shows of varying genres within the past few years, it's beautiful to see how each fanbase and music genre has its own tradition before the artist comes out on stage.

Louis’ music has such a unique sound, evident throughout his entire album for this tour, Faith in The Future. With hints of rock and strong guitar riffs sprinkled throughout his songs, he has developed his own musical style within the past few years of creating music. He also had a hand in writing each song in the album, putting his lived experiences and “Faith in The Future” into a musical form. The clear amount of thought and effort put into this project was then translated into his performance that night.

In addition to singing songs off of said album, he performed a few throwbacks such as Back to You featuring Bebe Rexha, and two One Direction songs, Night Changes and Where Do Broken Hearts Go. Despite these songs technically being a part of his discography as a whole, he added his own personal spin that speaks to his music today, which you would think that these three songs were off of his sophomore album as well.

After two hours, Louis ended the night with Silver Tongues, a single that he released last year. This was the perfect closing performance, with fans shouting out the lyrics after each chorus, “But I don't feel like going home!” It’s safe to say that this truly was a nostalgia-filled night with an even more nostalgic closing song to leave the fans wanting more, in hopes the night would never end.

Louis Tomlinson, FITFWT23: Woodlands, 8.7.223

[autisticempathydaemon]

Hello. I hope your matchups are still open. I have been curious about them for a while. I tried to keep my answers as succinct as possible but I am a very verbose individual, and I do not apologize for it. But do take all the time you need to read it through, I do not mind the wait. - Polaris

What song are you fixated on at the moment? What lyric or verse, and why? "Take Me to Church" by Hozier. I love his music. My favourite lyric is: "No masters or kings when the ritual begins, there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin. In the madness and soil, of that sad earthly scene, only then I am human. Only then I am clean." It's raw, it's dark and vivid, and it has a level of inhumanity in the words I relate to a lot. There is power in the lyrics, and an implication of love that is not romantic, nor familial, nor platonic, but something more queerplatonic. Which I love and relate to very deeply, as someone not inclined towards romance, sexuality, family, etc. It's rare to see, and Hozier is the KING of that kind of lyricism. Also, the accompaniment is just beautiful and Hozier's singing voice is stunning.

What is your Enneagram type? 4w5.

Do you love gargantuan YouTube video essays, and if so, which is your favourite and why? I live for them. My current favourite is Plagiarism and You(Tube) by HBomberguy. I love all his work, as it's so well-researched, witty, and incredibly entertaining. Whether it's about things I know so much about or nothing about, I always love what he does. And that newest video was such a rabbit hole, and very informative.

Tell me about your childhood imaginary friend. I have had many, and to an extent still do. They take the form of characters I like and relate to. I would take a piece of myself that was similar to that character and isolate it, giving me someone who both understood me, and still differed enough to chat with me, debate, give advice, and so forth. I didn't really have imaginary friends until the age of around 11, and they've been a constant ever since, and there are quite a lot of them.

What is your go-to way to fall asleep? With my window open I can hear the sound of rain or snow or rustling wind and watch fog or water drops fly into my room, under a weighted blanket with it bunched up around me like a large hug or spoon. It makes me feel safe.

If you had to change your name, what would it be, and why? (In tandem, if you have changed your name, why did you pick that one?) I have changed my name to Yuri, for a few reasons. One is the connection to my birth country and culture. I may not feel the most connected to it socially but it's still an important part of me. I also quite like the phonetic sound of it. And I may have unintentionally been inspired by several pieces of media I like. This name is common in many cultures, and several of my favourite characters when I was younger shared the name.

What is your favourite of Redacted’s audios, and why? Taking a Chance With a Sadistic Demon. The lore in that video is incredibly satisfying to chew on, Vega's voice is comforting to listen to, his characterization in that video in particular is incredibly dense and nuanced, and so much more. I could talk about Vega all day.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. Guy. Guy is a bit too... much for my taste. Too much chaos, too much energy, too much explicitness which I can only handle in VERY specific cases. He seems like a great guy but I got off on the wrong foot with him from his first video and have had no inclination to listen to his series ever since.

Tell me about that one book/movie/TV show you know all the words to. I don't often find myself memorising large chunks of media but I have many singular quotes from different media. A few from The Song of Achilles, from Critical Role's 'Mighty Nein' campaign, and a LOT of songs from musicals. Some of my current favourites are Epic the Musical, Heathers, and Six. 

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Avior. I love his insights into the world, his curiosity, his carefulness, his care and so forth. I actually liked him more before the romance reveal, though I still find him an amazing character who I would love to befriend. Also, the lore from his series made me love it again.

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? Not really. I can ramble about any of my interests at any level of energy or time of day.

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo. Spicy or Salt and Vinegar chips, fruit mentos, and any sour Ice Sparkling Water.

Tell me about your favourite playlist at the moment.  If you mean music, I don't really... do those. But as for Redacted... it's so hard to pick. Sadism's Hold and Invisiboi are both horrifying in the most visceral ways and are always a treat to watch those times that I do. All the lore-heavy ones (Balance, Sovereign State, Project Meridian, Carpe Deus, etc) feed my hunger for lore. Project Meridian was my first series and holds a special place in my heart. Carpe Deus and Kody's playlists are my go-to relaxing playlists because I love their voices, so I listen to them the most often. I cannot give a precise answer.

What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why? I do not have any. I do not see any media I like as 'guilty pleasure' media. I like it, and that's that. I am cringe and I am free.

And whatever else you think tells me about who you are!

My favourite colours are brown, black and blue. I'm a digital artist, in University for it, and I do a bit of writing on the side though I have not posted any of it yet. I'm a fan of the night. Of storms. Of clouds blotting out the sun. Of pouring rain and winter's snow, and bike rides down foggy roads. I love learning in general, but especially about art, society and people, and all the subjects related to that. Also, I alluded to it before but I do not feel human. I may be a person, but I am not human, at least socially speaking. I find more connection with the inhuman, like robots, vampires, demons, monsters, or just villains. And I am not unhappy with the separation between myself and the rest of humanity. I have my small set of interests, morals, thoughts and feelings which I may never full be able to articulate or share with others, but I still like to socialize with them regardless. They're lovely, even if confusing and sometimes tiresome.

Interesting. So Type 4w5s are characterized as contemplative, thoughtful, typically introverted people, and it seems like you’d like someone of the same temperament. With that in mind, I think Camelopardalis would be a good match for you.

I’m really intrigued by your feelings of being disconnected to humanity and the fact you don’t seem bothered by that. I like Cam for you because he’d relate to that the most. Like, I can see him feeling your contentment with that fact and vibing with it, shrugging with a little smile and being like “I’m not really human; we can be whatever we are together” you know? Also, when you said you didn’t like Guy’s explicit nature, I was trying to come up with his opposite in that respect, and Cam is who immediately came to mind.

Another reason I think Cam works well for you is that I feel his immortality will lend him a sort of… unrushed, unbothered attitude toward relationships. I can see him not needing to label what y’all have as romantic or platonic and just wanting to spend quality time with you, and it’d be such wonderfully quality time. Cam would be such a supportive partner while you pursue your degree, bringing you water or tea while you work. When you’re not studying, the two of you go on walks at night, Cam pointing out familiar constellations.

Song:

Watch the sunrise along the coast/ As we're both getting old/ I can't describe what I'm feeling/ And all I know is we're going home/ So please don't let me go, oh/ Don't let me go, oh-oh-oh/ And if it's right/ I don't care how long it takes/ As long as I'm with you/ I've got a smile on my face

It took me a bit, but this is almost exactly the kind of vibe that I was thinking about. Like, it’s a little sad, because I think loving d(a)emons can be a little sad, but it’s mostly loving. It’s mostly about appreciating the little moments together and smiling about the time you’ve had versus crying when it’s over.

Runner-ups:

I like Anton as a runner-up because he had that same mild temperament that Cam does; if you had expressed displeasure at feeling separate from human nature, he would have just nudged forward in front of the serenity daemon. Sam is a good runner-up because he’d be a great night walk companion. I also think he’d commiserate, feeling separate from the human he once was, though he’d be leaning more negatively against it.

note: thank you for waiting and sending in a submission 💚

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[musicaldamage]

So having watched the vbw Falco musical recently. Rock Me Amadeus. I have Thoughts™

[ID: the mostly empty Ronacher theatre's auditorium seen from the 2nd floor on the right side. the stage is hidden behind a sort-of wall barrier curtain thing made of squares, some of which are reflective. the "Rock Me Amadeus" logo and an image of Moritz Mausser in character as Falco are projected onto it. Surrounding the stage there are a number of variously-shaped angular mirrors lined with glowing light. (additionally there's my partner's hand forming the peace sign on the right side of the image)]

side note I am irrationally annoyed that the squares of the logo don't line up with the squares of the curtain thing WHAT are they doing

Spoilers and further opinions under the cut

- The cast is stellar. Moritz Mausser is absolutely 100% brilliant, Katharina Gorgi's voice is beautiful, and Alex Melcher is there so that's in some ways already enough for me personally really. though he only really shows up in the 2nd act which is a bit sad. to me

but his presence is good bc. well. a lot of the things I generally value in a musical are kinda meh in this one tbh

- the music is fine! it's mainly Falco songs obviously, which I've been mostly neutral about so far but there definitely are some bangers, and, well, Moritz and Alex singing them sure is a point in favour. the additional songs written specifically for the musical are... I don't think they're bad, mostly, but they have a completely different vibe that doesn't really fit in with the rest. and. actually, some of them are bad. in my opinion. extremely cheesy. what's that doing there. one of them is hella catchy but the chorus lyrics sound like it's for kindergarden, two are just incredibly generic and boring and did I mention cheesy?

- Starting out with calling the day of Falco's death "the day the music died" sure is a claim. nothing to do with whoever is in charge at the vbw being weirdly patriotic (stares at the general Austria(ns) theme of quite a number of vbw musicals)

- Similarly his first sentence "In Wien musst erst sterben, bevor sie dich hochleben lassen" ("In Vienna you gotta die before they celebrate you") which sounds nice and dramatic and all but. come on. dude was #1 in international charts very much during his lifetime. they talk about this in the musical itself. he complains on stage about how the fame and stuff bothers him. where's the dying first part huh Hansi.

- Alex. listen I am stupidly into that guy's whole vibe. his everything. his voice is my favourite kind of male voice and his hair in combination with his entire profile and the lineof his stupid neck make me feel some kind of way. I wanna grab that hair and pull his head back like that one Sandman scene you know the one.

This one. also his tattoos and his absolutely deranged energy and willingness to just go off and do insane things rolling around on the floor. and then suddenly look like an innocent child in awe at seeing snow for the first time of his life. this tangent of Alex Melcher stanning has gone on long enough we'll return to our regularly scheduled musical discussion now

- They're simultaneously trying to make Falco a sympathetic figure while also showing him behaving like a dick. it seems to work bc the audience laughs and gets Emotional but. idk maybe it's me but the "I behave like an egoistic dick to everyone around me including my wife but it's ok bc I'm Misunderstood and actually very Deep and Emotional and I love my wife and need her to keep me sane and also I'm marionetted against my will by my Dark Impulses" shtick is sort of... you can't have him throw his wife to the ground and give zero fucks about her and then half an hour later at his funeral or wake or idk play a quote of him saying "I never hurt anyone other than myself" and have someone else call him empathic and sensitive and expect me to take that seriously and... look maybe I'd like it better if the jokes weren't so incredibly lame

- Female roles?? what's that. there's two (2) that get a name on the cast list (his wife and his mum). one (1) of them gets addressed by name on stage (Isabella, the Wife. his mum is Maria but only if you look at the cast list or the programme). Isabella's role is Sexy Lady turned Caring Wife and Mother who finally Leaves. the mum's role is Nagging Mum (in law) and Comic Relief. there's a second girlfriend (wife? secretary? idek) who apoears in one scene and gets called a name (Caroline) which I only caught bc I was looking at the surtitles. no one gets a personality not even the male characters really no one matters (I mean yes ok it's Falco's Story but ffs let Katharina DO something with her voice maybe)

- have I mentioned the awful dialogue and cheap jokes yet? "the best aspect of the American flag are the red-white-red stripes". terrible flirting with "ladies in uniform" who are trying to do their job when faced with an entitled asshole but of course it's portrayed as hilarious.

- ok so back to Alex Melcher but his role is the most fun part of the thing. he's Falco's "Alter Ego" aka his, idk, hedonistic impulses and desire for fame and admiration and whatnot personified? there's a huge head on stage with a brain and all in it to make sure the audience understands that he is Inside Falco's Head and in case that's not clear enough yet he also verbatim declares that "I'm inside your head" so yeah subtlety is not required in this play. he and Falco/Hans are being incredibly homoerotic the entire time and I am personally offended that they're not kissing, but I'll take Alter Ego pretending to lick Hans's throat and clinging to him like a limpet. I would love to write fanfiction about them actually but I haven't figured out how to do that well when both parties are the same person/one is a personified fragment of the other's mind and not physically present. pity.

- idk I'd just. I'd have done it differently? again it's just. so unsubtle. why does Alter Ego just hover menacingly above the stage in a glass box once or twice during the first act, why didn't they idk put him in as part of the white-clad ensemble and make him stick out more and more instead of the Hovering and then the 5 minutes "I am you and you are me" song at the start of the 2nd act. Have him talk to people while Hans takes a step back to show it's his Dark Side™ taking over idk. I'm sure there'd also be ways to make Hans more actually sympathetic and less of an arse (fewer dumb jokes might help, or giving other characters more of a personality maybe) but yeah idk

- idk there's just. not much of a story? it's a Falco tribute show with some life moments thrown in. there's a Falco song, there's a crisis bc he's out of ideas, now he's taking drugs, now he's happy, now there's a new album without any clue where he got the ideas (was it the drugs?) now there's sth about his wife now his friend is reprising the basic as fuck Live Your Dream song yet again. then it's over and he dies in a car crash and it's all presented like it's all some incredibly deep and moving story but it's just Not That Deep

- I do like the Writer's Block song they put in, don't we all know that feeling

- I'm not sure it's a good idea to use Jeannie of all songs as a recurring motif the way they're doing? "quit living on dreams, life is not what it seems" "lonely little girl boy in a cold cold world" blah blah all nice and well but Do We Remember What This Song Is About. I mean it's a good song I'm not contesting that I like it! (if someone wants to come at me for "endorsing" anything just bc I like the song... just don't) But yeah no matter how good it is I don't think it's very uhhh fitting. Though in retrospect maybe it's meant to portray him as like... Someone At The Mercy Of Sth Evil And/Or More Powerful Than He Is. Fucking over his own life powerless to stop it or sth idk idk

- Generally I think they rely way too much on the use of background projection screens idk it seems lazy. it's fine in some scenes it can work really well but it gets too much and kinda cheesy

End of the random unorganised RMA thoughts yay! It was fun to watch. I know I mostly complain a lot here but it's definitely fun! It's just that a large part of the fun for me was despairing about how bad I found it and waiting for more homoeroticism and also for Alex Melcher to... do the things he's doing

Edit: ALSO I'm not sure if uhhh low-to-mid-key insulting (iirc) two of the three not-Austrian countries he goes to is. Necessary?

[noahkahanbrainrot]

We'll All Be Here Forever review

I feel like I need to talk about this, and now that it's been out for almost a month I have to.

This deluxe both crushed my soul and made it whole in ways I wish I could explain. The songs made me feel heard about things in the deepest corners of my mind, and made me feel so much less alone in daily struggles.

I'm gonna break down my opinions of every song from the deluxe that wasn't included on the original Stick Season.

Your Needs, My Needs - This song broke my heart. "Who was I to watch you wilt?" is one of the most beautiful lyrics I think I have ever heard. Once it gets to the "Zoloft, Subtle Change" I absolutely lose it. The vocals are beautiful and the lyrics are superb.

Dial Drunk- A BOP. First off I feel like this is the stay toxic anthem of the year. From start to finish it is SO catchy! The chorus hits home too. "I ain't proud of all the punches that I've thrown, in the name of someone I no longer know." Like, I feel that. The bridge also is so well written, the story telling is incredible and it's easy to dance alone in the kitchen to.

Paul Revere - While it's hard to rank the songs. This may be my favorite of the deluxe songs. The story of the ghost of a hometown, saying you're "not from around here." Leaving so early in the morning you're not seen, but still having your heart in the place you once called home. It hits me right in the chest, because it's the same feelings I have when I go back to my hometown. It feels like a shell but it's still home. I don't feel like I'm from there anymore, but my heart is still there to an extent. The sound of this song is also so nice, it's so soothing, it conveys the emotions beautifully. "If I could leave I would've already left" made me sob the first time I heard it.

No Complaints- This is my sobbing anthem. i genuinely cannot handle the outpouring of emotions, this song is beautiful. A work of art. "Now the weight of the world aint so bad" is a quote I need tattooed. Also, as someone who just got back on medicine for my mental health, "fill the hole in my head with prescription medication" really hit how i've been feeling about that. The tempo is perfect, the build ups are beautiful, and the lyrics are so expressive. Also, his vocals on this track absolutely melt me. Yes Noah, please.

Call Your Mom - I'm getting a tattoo of a quote of this song next week, so I feel a little bias. This song made me feel so heard. It made me feel so much less alone. "All lights turned off can be turned on," absolutely made me feel like I was going to be okay. It is so hard to explain how it feels to be in a mental health low/crisis. But I feel like this song captures it perfectly. I'm getting "Give yourself a reason" tattooed because it helped me realize that it's my responsibility to get myself better, and that's okay.

You're Gonna Go Far - I absolutely love this song. I love the POV of support for someone bettering themselves by leaving. Once again I think Noah's voice is absolutely incredible in this one, the Falsetto in this is absolutely heavenly. "We'll all be here forever, sure will." I love that. "Who the hell likes living just to die" also hits because sometimes it feels like that's all I do, and it reminds me to get out there!

TVBTV(Extended) - When I tell you I ugly cried. I lost it once it hit the voice overs. I was so not okay, sitting in my living room just bawling. The last lines he added to the song I feel like made it. I was obsessed and have listened to it probably 500 times since the release. It absolutely melts me.

Over all I loved this release, I genuinely felt like it was worth the wait. Noah continues to bring beautiful songs of absolutely incredible quality. I cannot wait to see what he does next, and will be enjoying every single song he has until then!

Noah Kahan Complete Spotify Playlist

Noah Kahan Discord Server

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

COSMO

9, 15, 19

Thank you for your service 🙏🏻

9. Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

Tbh, I half go off vibes & then half off of "this actually makes thematic sense." Purely based on "I know he is listening to this" I tend to just associate ABBA songs or Måneskin with him, but in terms of "yeah, no, that makes sense" Bloodmoney by Poppy gives me many Cosmo feels.

I know what it feels like to have my soul sucked out of my body, I finally know what it feels like to be dead / Your soul can't be saved for all the sins you've ignored and the devil is well aware he is adored, never forget the exces of a man because the grabbing hands always grab what they can

Peak Cosmo right there. The whole song is, but that is 😘🤌

15. Does your OC have a face claim? If so, who?

So...he did, but there as just something about James Paxton that didn't feel quite correct. And so I'm trying to find him a new one (I'm trying to find new ones for both my VTM ocs), but nothing feels correct. I have briefly considered a young/ca. 1970s Al Pacino, but that feels so on-the-nose that I can't take it seriously. It's like how last night in the group chat I lamented the fact the perfect song to encapsulate one of my HOTD OCs is fucking Everytime We Touch.

19. How does your OC behave when enraged?

Violence, violence, violence!

Cosmo has such an explosive temper. It truly doesn't take a lot to get him that fucking pissed, and he is incredibly liable to to just maliciously destroy something or (if it's someone he could get away with doing this to) just lash out with intent to seriously injure. I don't think he'd kill impulsively, he's not stupid, he's just quick to flare up (so to speak) & has piss poor impulse control/keeps having his violent impulses rewarded.

[inflammatory]

Ok im going to be a hater real quick these are all the lyrics on “the record” that made me say fuck this what the hell is this. Nothing against “confessional” songwriting but not when its SOOOOOO BAD LIKE I am AWARE that all of them can write incredible songs on their own (off the top of my head, their bests: triple dog dare from lucy, chelsea and graceland too from phoebe, basically everything by julien but in particular little oblivions stuff where she’s matured in ability by leaps and bounds). Like they can do better than all of this seriously

The leonard cohen one was like genuinely you would have to waterboard me to get me to listen to that song again. When your lyric is an overused quote, fine if you make it work, when you directly mention who said it, irritating but fine, when you go on to use phrases like “existential crisis” and “horny poetry”? NOT okay. The other two examples are just rehashing, borderline exploitation of their collective history of slow confessional songs, sans everything that made those songs fresh and compelling pieces of art. It’s like a pb/ld/jb song deconstructed into disparate phrases set to heartstring-pulling instrumental. Quote from the incoherent review i wrote in a haze of disappointment directly after i listened for the first time: “letter to an old poet is just a chain of…como se dice…not quite cliches, but unoriginal and lowbrow turns of phrase” almost like when you’re a teen and you line break your bitter thoughts to make sparse “poetry”: you’re not special / you’re evil / and i’m better than you LIKE GET ME OUTTA HEEERRREEE

The singles are good though album peak at not strong enough and i am fond of all of their work and like showmanship but the music…well some of it is heinous. I cant get into the hype because im haunted by the lyrics to leonard cohen and also the way they said karaoke in another of the songs. Americans QUIT mispronouncing things to rhyme them with other words im gonna kill you im gonna kill the next person i hear say karaoke like carry oaky everybody with an american type accent watch your back

[skaruresonic]

Since you're the best SA2 fan, what's your favourite level music for each character? :>

SA2 has such unique track names for its OST <3 Sonic - Other than "Escape From the City," which is ofc a classic, Sonic's level themes don't strike me as particularly strong compared to the others. If I had to choose, I'd probably pick Pyramid Cave's "Keys the Ruin":

Certain songs in the SA2 OST have a very Bond-film groove to them, particularly in stages where you have to infiltrate a highly-fortified base (Iron Gate; Pyramid Cave; Security Hall) so naturally I gravitate towards them. :P

Tails - Prison Lane's "This Way Out." The drummer went so hard on that one xP

Eggman - It's difficult to choose just one, though for the opposite reason it's difficult to choose a single Sonic level theme. His level themes are decent at worst. Iron Gate's "Remember Me? M.F.M." has a certain Bond-movie swag, perfect for setting the mood to breach a maximum-security military facility. It also cleverly employs a wah-wah pedal to make the electric guitar sound like it's literally saying Eggman's name - how cool is that?

Sand Ocean's "Way to the Base" is decent and conveys the stage's overall mood well enough, but I honestly don't have a whole lot to say about it. Ditto for Weapons Bed's "Crush 'Em All" and Cosmic Wall's "Soarin' Over the Space."

Lost Colony's "Trespasser" perfectly sets the mood for exploring the ARK's dark, abandoned underbelly. I love how quietly the song begins, with a plethora of beeps and electronic chirps, as if to suggest the colony's general systems are still alive, if dormant.

An excellent remix:

Rouge - Security Hall's "I'm a Spy," baby! B)

Shadow - White Jungle's "Rhythm and Balance" is unique for a number of reasons.

It can't be forgotten that White Jungle marks the first time Shadow has explored the natural world on Earth: much of his surroundings are foreign to him. One of his idle animation quotes suggests that this unfamiliar location unsettles him ("Fog... doesn't bother me"). If it truly didn't bother him, he wouldn't have felt the need to point it out. The noticeable pause between "fog" and "doesn't" would imply the same. This sense of disorientation is reflected in the song's dreamlike quality. The lyrics are muffled, as though heard from underwater, or perhaps blunted by the roar of the nearby waterfall, contrasted by harsh record scratch and the barking of an unknown animal off in the distance. Cryptic lyrics like "Hurry through the unexplored land, not scared at all, are you scared of something?" reinforce Shadow's possible fear of the unknown, in tandem with his will to eliminate any obstacle in his path. What also makes this track very interesting imo is the fact that it is the only vocal track in which Shadow is directly addressed by another voice. Typically, his vocal themes are sung from his POV, but the sudden intrusion of another voice telling him "Shadow, don't make me upset" and "you are hiding something" introduces an additional layer of fridge horror. Who is becoming upset? Eggman? Shadow? Is this Gerald's reprogramming at work? "Rhythm and Balance" suggests Shadow is experiencing cognitive dissonance. It complements the previous cutscene in which he decides to save Rouge despite her being a "troublemaker," as well as introduces Shadow's internal conflict in an incredibly subtle manner: "I don't wanna hear you."

Knuckles - Aquatic Mine's "Dive into the Mellow" is a genuinely relaxing tune that I've often fallen asleep to. To quote a YouTube commenter, it sounds like something you'd hear on Adult Swim at 3 in the morning xP

Fun fact: it's also one of a handful of tracks on the DC disc that you had to download off the internet, as it wasn't natively included in the extras music menu. If you want to listen to it in the DC version, you have to actually play the stage. Death Chamber's "Deeper" deserves an honorable mention, too, for the interesting imaginary conversation in the chorus between Knuckles and Sonic:

Idk, I find it a little sad that Knuckles had to imagine Sonic, like... basically treating him with a little more decency? While there's always the possibility Knuckles is daydreaming because he's irritated that Sonic saddled him with this dangerous task without asking for his input, something tells me there's more to it than that. The overall vibe I get is that Knuckles wants Sonic's help and for Sonic to be a little more sensitive to his struggles, but he's too proud - or "stubborn," as the song puts it - to admit it. I find it interesting how the song almost implies Knuckles wishes Sonic were maybe a little more emotionally mature? Because Daydream!Sonic offers to help Knuckles recover the ME because he knows how much "it means to [Knuckles]" and to find the base keys together, despite their differences: "I don't think [our beef] is the point right now, Knuckles." In reality, however, Sonic buttered him up to go hunt for the keys because his lazy ass couldn't be bothered Knuckles is the "world's greatest treasure hunter" >.> Look, SA2!Sonic is a decent portrayal, but also, like. He could have stood to be a little nicer to Knuckles at certain points, imo

[pacificovertures]

top five Sondheim shows

doing this one first bc it’s easy peasy

company: it’s the show that made me fall in love with sondheim’s work and its just so fucking good?? like it’s funny but it also breaks your heart every time. the amount that i quote company to myself on a daily basis is insane. like, “you have to want to marry SOMEBODY, not just SOME BODY” just makes me sooooo crazy thanks steve and george.

pacific overtures: sorry passion girlies but the number 2 spot goes to povertures. i mean being a huge fan of japanese history, especially the latter part of the 19th century (meiji era) helps a lot. it’s also just another phenomenal work from steve (the rhymes are so tight) and the way the musical and lyrical style evolves to match the dance between east and west is just so 👌👌👌

passion: we all love to clown on passion, but after putting my soul through the meat grinder, it really changed me as a person in a way that i can’t say about many other media. it speaks to a lot of really really deep seated emotional issues i have and have had. particularly feelings about love and what it means to “deserve” love and to have desire. that thing that we call “love”, which had always seemed like such an impossibility for me now seemed like something attainable. it also released a lot of my fears about trying to be a more likable/desirable/“normal” person. like actually, i don’t have to be… *gestures vaguely* anything at all.

follies: tough choice after the top 3, but i put follies here because it’s sad and i love sad shit. no it’s actually because the tragedy of follies is comes from the characters’ humanity. every mistake, every regret is just so deeply human. i always listen to the 1971 album compared to the more complete versions since i think the orchestrations are truly incredible. played on vinyl this album is sooooo crazy.

a little night music: uhhhhhhhhhhh it’s funnie… it serves its purpose well? but what makes me pick night music over some of the more popular options (sunday, sweeney, etc) is my attraction to sad things in the end. because night music is funny but there’s a lot of tragedy to it as well, similar to follies it’s a very human tragedy. i have a particular love for “the miller’s son”, especially when reading it as a resignation to the mundane… (ask me about this if you want ig)

[soloorganaas]

"red lips and rosy cheeks" - 13, 15, 7?

my beloved Italian romcom

7: Where did the title come from?

I usually come up with a title off the top of my head from a quote or snatchy symposis about the fic's theme, but this one totally stumped me bc I didn't have much of an idea beside fluffy sexy summer in Italy wolfstar. so I went to my default source for titles - swiftie - and obvs wildest dreams was perfect

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

wildest dreams for the general vibe see above. BUT there is so much mizrahi music that gave me the inspiration for sirius's character i could for real make a whole playlist for him/this story

literally anything by nasrin kadri but especially albi ma'ak (lyric translation here but obvs the beauty of it is in the original language)

shni meshuga'im by omer adam PLS GO READ THESE LYRICS it literally means "two crazy people" and i stg some of the lyrics are actual scenes from this story (accidental and something i realised just now but that's how well the vibe fits)

la galana i la ma which is a ladino song by mor kabarsi which i ADORE. mor karbasi is persian-moroccan but she works on reclaiming ladino (traditionally sephardic) music because, as she says, 'the blood remembers' (aka her long ago ancestors were from spain) which CRY i could not relate to more

habib galbi by A-WA are an israeli yemeni sister trio. I reference them in chapter 4, and this is my fave song of theirs

chaim sheli by eden ben zaken this song is SO MUCH (lyrics here) it's definitely sirius in all his yearning for moony

i was honestly driving around listening to my mizrahi faves and was like... omg... this would make so much sense for sirius... and so that interpretation was born

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

this fic started as a silly romcom to have fun with that i brought in a bunch of cultural/historical/linguistic things i know for more realism and its become a full self-recognition through the blorbo moment

like my version of sirius in this story i have a v mixed identity between england/europe/the mid east, switching languages depending on which of my loved ones i'm talking to, mixing and matching food/music/art etc. there are some v conflicting identities (conservative england vs israeli mizrahi for instance) and i felt for a WHILE that i had to pick one in some way, esp bc like sirius i grew up in a family with a long history and v firm identity which i wasn't supposed to shake (rip) although thankfully my parents are incredibly loving and kind. so yeah trying to be loyal to all of these parts of your history/culture/family whilst also going off and pursuing things you're passionate about, making friends who are different from where you came from, falling in love etc has always been incredibly difficult for me, and writing sirius do this definitely a lot more easily than me has helped me figure a lot of stuff out

i also learnt a bit of italian bc whilst i also speak 1000 dif languages italian tragically is not one of them. but now im doing my little duolingo lessons and reading harry potter e il prigioniero di azkaban lmao

[autisticempathydaemon]

Hi there, Jess here! Your redacted match game seemed really fun and i wanted to see who you’d pair me with! so here’s my junk! have fun!

-—-—-—-—-—-—

* Song - Taylor Swift’s Tolerate It specifically the lyric “Believe me, i could do it”

* Enneagram- I’m a type 2 but 4 was a very close runner up then 7 in 3rd place

* Video Essays- YES!! My favorite form of media. I don’t have a specific favorite, but I enjoy ones where they analyze the nature of people.

* Imaginary Friend- She was a girl about the size of Thumbelina. She had a pink T-shirt under a pair of overalls and flowers in her hair. I believed she lived in my jewelry box and I oftentimes went about my day with her sitting on my shoulder. Her name was Dorthy.

* Sleep Aids- I typically fall asleep with headphones in, listening to contemporary ASMR, role play ASMR, a tv show, or just some kinda background noise. I usually end up cuddling with my giant teddy bear that’s nearly the size of me

* Name Change- For a long time, i just went by my given middle name cause my given first name was crap. I chose Jess because it was cool and close enough to my first name that my family wouldn’t freak. (Little do they know it’s short for Jester)

* Favorite Redacted Audio- “Going all the way with your vampire mate” the emotional vulnerability always just brings so many tears to my eyes. that audio is what really convinced me to stick around the channel and check out other storylines.

* No appeal Redacted boy- sad to say there’s a few i don’t really care for that much. Regulus and Ivan specifically though. I also tried really hard to like the balance but never could.

* Favorite Media- I could probably quote the good place to you verbatim. It’s my favorite show and i cry every. single. time. without fail.

* Redacted Best Bud- I would KILL to be pals with Huxley. They seem like such a rad dude.

* Sleepy Ramble- Typically when i’m ready for bed i start rambling about anything and everything. and when i wake up i won’t remember it. most recently, my friend said i was talking about how good ice water is.

* Gas Station- Anytime i’m at a gas station, i get a white monster and an icee/slushee and pour the monster into it. it’s an abomination and i love it.

* favorite playlist- the playlist i made to scream and dance around my room to

* guilty pleasure media- old, bad MTV dating shows. they’re so crazy and stupid and give me something to laugh at.

* Fun Facts about Me- I’m 22 and work at the local cinema and it’s my favorite job ever. i play multiple instruments and music has become an integral part of my life. i’m an ex-theater kid. i keep every letter note and drawing someone gives to me in a box on my dresser. i like candles and nice smelling things in general. I’m a generally optimistic person, almost to a fault. I tend to have high hopes and subsequently get let down easily. I’m afraid of commitment and intimacy.

-—-—-—-—-—-—

I really hope that’s enough to analyze me and assign me a lover!!

take care of yourself, much love

-Jess

You are incredibly delightful and helpful! You gave me so much information to work with, so there is nary a doubt in my mind that you and Gavin would make an excellent match!

On a deeper, personal level, taking a Type two, typically characterized by that desire to be loved, who may be reluctant or afraid to fully be loved, and pairing you with Gavin works perfectly because that aligns with his mindset. You two would have a delightful slowburn of a romance, something that sparks and smolders until he confesses you are the sky to his stars (my favorite of his lines).

On a more minute level, I also think you two would work well because of the things you’d like; like, he would be so delighted by you. The thing about Gavin that’s adorable to me is how behind he is on some shows and movies, so I can just imagine his reactions when you show him old MTV shows like “Why are we snooping through these bedrooms? Who in god’s name is Tila Tequila???” He’d also get a kick out of visiting you at work and trying to get you to neck in the back of a theater with him on your break.

Song:

I always thought/ I wasn't the type/ To plummet/ Feel every cliché/ That low-budget movies rely on/ But I'm head over heels with butterflies in my stomach/ I feel fuzzy and warm/ And it's gross but I love it

I’m a sap and so, secretly, is Gavin. I don’t know if the tone really fits, because I personally can’t nail down what genres he likes, but the vibe works. I love ships that are not, like, “I didn’t know or understand love until you” but rather “I didn’t realize how easy and fun love could be until you”, you know? It’s also a really fun, energetic song, and I do think you and Gavin would be the type who’d have and be so much fun together once you settle into that love.

Runner-ups:

Guy is a fun runner-up for you, because I think he’d love all the media you like and would be really engaged in liking them with you. Also, he is definitely a theater kid, you can’t tell me otherwise, and theater couples are super cute. In contrast, I like Lasko for you because of that slow burn potential I mentioned. Gavin was a perfect combination of those two thought processes.

note: parental control was my favorite that shit was so weird tho lol

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[life-sometimes]

“‘You can’t not give it everything,’ [Chris Pureka] said. “No matter how shitty the environment. You have to give it your whole heart if you want to do this.” Her words shook me to life. I never again didn’t give a performance every ounce of energy I had to give. … I got a reputation for gasping for breath between sentences. For years I said everything with 50 times more volume than I should have because I was not, and I mean NEVER, going to show up to my dream half-assed.”

This is a quote from today’s (August 11, 2022) article of Andrea Gibson’s newsletter Things That Don’t Suck. It’s free to subscribe, and you can support their work if you’re so inclined. (I would highly encourage it! They write incredibly powerful poetry!)

I was lucky enough to see Andrea Gibson live once, and they’re not lying when they say that they always put their everything into their performances. And yes, they were gasping for breath between lines at some points! It’s true! But it’s because they were delivering their poems with such passion that it would steal your breath away, and you felt as if you should be gasping for breath right along with them every single time.

Also, I think the message of “don’t show up to your dream half-assed” can be applied to so many things, not just big life goals.

I’m starting college soon, and it’s basically my dream school. That’s something I definitely don’t want to show up to half-assed, even if it ends up being disappointing in some ways (because it will be! Nothing is perfect, and you will always be disappointed by something).

You can apply this to even the tiniest dreams, like writing poetry more often- if you half-ass trying to write more often, you’ll probably end up disappointing yourself. That’s something I know I need to learn, because I always say I want to write more, but (if you couldn’t tell by looking at my most recent posts and just how recent they are) I never end up actually writing more. And that’s because I’ve been half-assing it and it’s been getting me nowhere.

Basically this post is part “hey look at this newsletter it’s amazing and so is the poet behind it” and part “this is a really important message that I know I needed to hear, and I bet others do too.”

Also, quick Andrea Gibson recommendation time because I cannot make a post about their writing without recommending it in every way I can-

They recently had to cancel their upcoming tour, so I can’t exactly encourage you to go see them perform right now, but if spoken word poetry is your thing, or you enjoy unapologetically queer poetry, poetry that provides social and political commentary, poetry about loving (yourself, other people, and just loving as a radical action), poetry about chronic illness, or just poetry in general, I would highly encourage you read some of their work.

They also have some albums out of a few of their more popular spoken word poems that I’m pretty sure you can find on YouTube, Spotify, and other places (those are just the ones I use). If you’re a sucker for specifically spoken word poetry that’s, well, spoken, definitely give those a listen and you’ll hear the passion they put into performing even when there isn’t an audience in front of them.

If you’re looking for some books of theirs to start with, I cannot recommend “Lord of the Butterflies” and “Pansy” enough. As for albums, HEY GALAXY contains a lot of their more recent popular poems. These are just my preferences though, and I haven’t read all of their work (yet), so this isn’t a complete review or anything like that. Follow your heart!

[sofipitch]

11 & 13 for Poems of Love and Despair pls ma'am

11: What do you like best about this fic?

It's funny we were just talking about this but I do love messy loustat. If it had been written better I'd like their on again off again bullshit in 90s canon. So it'll be fun to play with that dynamic of this couple who has so much history, good and bad, and kind of force them to try and work but in the incredibly weird and fucked setting of the Prince Lestat era. I personally don't like or think the direction the series took makes much sense, so it'll be funny to play with that (and maybe dis canon a little bit lmao)

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I didn't listen while writing but I was listening to Daylight in the car and that is how I chose that line as one of the chapter opening quotes.

Music that I think would go well with this fic (solely based on how well the lyrics match not like vibes 😅):