#even cryptic lyrics can be deciphered

[briebysabs]

Since I am such a normal individual I’ve decided to attempt breaking down vanoé’s character song “Le Formidable”. I don’t hear much talk about it but the lyrics are just as cryptic and wild as the OP/ED.

Before we get into it, in terms of translation, I could only find one on YouTube that thankfully color-coded the lyrics so I could decipher who sings what. If anyone has any other translations, I’d love to know please. So a bunch of the lines you can kinda figure out who’s singing but here’s how it’s gonna be:

Vanitas =💙

Noé =💜

Vanoe= 💙💜

Simple enough let’s get into it :)

💜: /I want to stay in bed feeling the warmth of the sun and drift in and out of this sweet dream/

Already we’ve mentioned dreaming, a running theme in this song. There is the well-known line Teacher says in chapter 55...

Sleeping, specifically in regards to Noé, is something mochijun makes the audience take note. He can’t sleep without holding something. When he can’t fall asleep, it is highlighted like the night Vanitas rejected Noé drinking his blood. He doesn’t want Vanitas to disappear and I personally like how in the recent chapter, Vanitas stays by his side for a while. Almost like callback to that moment on the train but I’m getting carried away. You get the correlation I’m making, it’ll get very important later on.

We also have those warmth and sun connections to Noé, a large part of his character and Vanitas’ gravitation towards him.

💙: /With this grey weather today, this day will go by without any harmony/

We see Vanitas’ pessimistic outlook on life; grey, cloudy, devoid of color. Devoid of comfort and obviously these two contrasting people will clash but mix together throughout the song.

💜: /Tarte Tatin, Altus Paris! Endless interesting things!/

💙: /It’s always like this! Here and there, endlessly losing sight./

This seems pretty straightforward, Noé is getting distracted by all the wonderful things as usual and Vanitas chastises him. But let’s frame this another way, Noé is choosing to not focus. It’s simpler that way. He’s turning his focus elsewhere to better things, more pleasant things. And Vanitas is trying to wake him up. I’ll explain more in my theory soon.

💜: /What to look for today from this city/

💙: /Ah with all these things/

💙💜: /There is no time to rest/

Simple lyrics here. No comment.

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! It’s really easy. Just colliding, rolling down, and repeating again/

Here we are entering the chorus. There’s a common thread of repetition in every OP and ED in VnC. Like clockwork, these two have fallen into this pattern.

Colliding- Vanoé meeting, two worlds learning how to come together, joining as one

Rolling down- their downfall, incoming despair and tragedy

Repeating again- they find themselves back where they started, fated to be born and to die

Let me say the first part of my theory and keep this in the back of your head while remembering the lyrics: VnC is not a time loop in the traditional sense but rather a loop of memories. Also keep in mind the first ED Zero: “Now I remember, oh I have never lived a day without you. Untie the layer of memories...”

💙: /This worthless-/

💜: /wonderful-/

💙💜: /world we are walking on. Even not knowing is sometimes nice, right?/

Again, vanoé with different outlooks on life meet each other. But more importantly, we see the display of ignorance or blissful unawareness. We the audience have a vague idea on how this story ends and in a way, so do they. Vanitas knows very well he is doomed and has already entrusted Noé to end his life if it comes to it. But we also don’t know the specifics of their downfall and neither do they.

So this line has a double meaning that refers to the characters and the reader. As yeah it is nice to read vnc and enjoy the happy moments without knowing the painful details of what’s to come.

💜: /Over there something is flapping their wings/

💙: /And these uncountable days pass by. It’s not worth worrying about. So many unknown things, without meaning/

💜: /Escalier! I want to see the bright colors beyond!/

Noé, again giving his attention to supposedly insignificant things as Vanitas tends to see the larger picture, not caring for the mundane. Uncountable days can be matched with the grey weather mentioned earlier. But that also means things are murky, blur together, cloudy. They don’t make sense to Vanitas (such as love, his self-worth, the nature within people) while Noé wants to experience all the brightness of the world.

💙: /I told you to be quiet today, yet here we are!/

💜: /Now you loud person!/

💙💜: /I told you I hardly have time to breathe/

So, hypothetical scenario if we take this song literal: Vanoé is exploring the city because Noe wanted to Vanitas couldn’t say no. Vanitas is fed up and Noé thinks his complaints are aggravating. But this part shows a lack of understanding. They’re yelling about their own hardships but don’t see the other’s perspective.

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! It’s a simple thing. It’s just finding, losing sight and repeating again/

💜: /I want to dream/

💙: /It’s just a dream/

💙💜: /The world keep walking while not knowing the truth at this point/

Ok there’s a lot to dig our teeth in here. First of all, the finding, losing sight, repeating is another way of describing the colliding and rolling down said prior. Vanoe find each other, they lose each other, it’s fated to happen all over again. Now the big piece here, I want to dream/It’s just a dream. Surface-level interpretation > another instance of their differences. Noé wants be surrounded by dreams and wonder. While Vanitas looks at that beauty and scoff at it, since it isn’t real therefore not worth caring for. But if we read into this carefully, Noé wants to dream. He wants to stay in these memories, he doesn’t want to live in a world without Vanitas.

Let’s go back to OP 1: “I love this world and the light only you give me.”

We know OP 1 is Noe’s POV so let’s ask ourselves why would the Noé we are seeing, the one smiling at all the colors of the world say Vanitas is the only light he has (emphasis on “only”). Because the Noé singing the first OP is operating with far more knowledge and despair. We don’t know the truth at this point. “This world” is not real.

Allow me to offer what I think is happening. Noé and Vanitas meet, they go on this journey of understanding, trust, and love, Vanitas reaches his end and is killed by Noé. Noé lives on. We can tell the Noé writing this story is full of regret and sadness. But why is he writing this all down? He’s retelling the memories, putting them down physically on paper. Two things happened:

a) He exchanged his name with Naenia, wishing to remain in a world with Vanitas in it. Because that wish is still very present, Naenia has great interest in Noé. She mentions seeing him before in Louis but it could be a classic mochijun misdirect and it’s actually from receiving his name in a different iteration. There is that official art with Noé wearing Vanitas’ coat with that goat entity he saw in Gevaudan, pinned to his vest.

However this can only work if Naenia is still around and isn’t resolved/defeated in the memoirs.

b) This is more likely in my opinion. Noé uses the Books and the memoirs act as a catalyst for him to have the world become his memories or for him to live in them. I know only those with blue blood or something can use the books.

Which is why Dr. Moreau had those experiments with Vanitas and Misha. Don’t worry, I already have a theory that Archivistes are some form of blue moon vampires but that is a whole other discussion. Point is, I think the Books of Vanitas are like an Elliot sword situation. Yes, Elliot owns the Nightray sword and carries it around but you don’t know its true purpose in the story until Leo wields it.

Noé causes these memories to replay, perhaps to save Vanitas or simply to dream again. Go back to when he was last happy. But here’s the thing, the Noé in this memory is unaware or ignorant of this, sees his present world as the real one and undergoes the events of the series. Vanitas dies, he lives on, and creates a memory world for himself. Rinse, recycle, repeat. Essentially, the first ED gave it away. The entirety of VnC is a layer of memories. Even the narrator Noé we are hearing is a memory that is trying to manifest a world of his own.

Reality and dreams are all intertwined now and Noé got lost in it. There are leaks in the cracks, for example when Vanitas cries and tells Luna his mother died at childbirth why would he call to her. Initially, you can read this as he’s just missing what he never had. But what if Vanitas’ mother was present in his life 9 memory loops ago but because these memories get further from the truth the more it happens, Noé simply forgot that detail when making the memoirs at some point in time. So now, in the memory layer #52 Vanitas has no mother.

💜: /We will see what we “cannot see”/

💙: /We will know what we “don’t know”/

💙💜: /The final stop of this world that seems to be changing, seems only further ahead/

Noe’s line possibly goes into his Archiviste nature and how he experiences reading memories. It can as well build back into the dream/memory loop thing, he’s seeing things he can no longer “see.”

Vanitas’ line can be drawn to what Noé said during their fight.

Vanitas acts like he has the final word and has a full grasp of how this world/himself works. But he really doesn’t and Noé is living proof of that, proving him wrong on several occasions that there’s still hope, they can’t give up yet, he won’t leave him etc. The final stop of this world is changing, but it’s further ahead. This is a story, a preserved section of time from the past. We gotta ask ourselves... why would the last stop be changing? Again, Vanitas’ death is the final stop but it’s changing, perhaps from the countless iterations we’ve gone through Noé writes the memoirs in a way that delays the ending. So he could remain just a little longer…

💙💜: /Le formidable! Le formidable! Everything is fine. While forgetting, hiding, and repeating it/

💙: /This worthless/

💜: /wonderful/

💙💜: /world we are walking on/

💙: /I don’t know but even so/

💜: /If it can make you smile.../

After this, it ends the song by repeating the first chorus with the colliding-rolling down part so I’ll make this the cutting point. The “everything is fine” totally doesn’t stick out in a story where we know everything will not be fine. The forgetting and hiding goes back to my dream-memory theory, Noé is hiding from the truth in these stacks upon stacks of memories and is possibly forgetting things as they really happened as a result. We already know he isn’t the most reliable narrator. But Noé wants to see Vanitas’ smile.

If it can make you smile again, if it can replay your laughter, why would I ever leave this wonderful lie? In OP 1: “Your laughing was reflected by a daydream”.

I’ll conclude this by saying two things. If you want to get even deeper, you can interpret Vanitas in this song as the voice in the back of Noé’s head. Its just a dream, this world is actually worthless, and Noé is trying to drown out those thoughts. Because yeah they sing lines together but the only time they’re directly speaking to each other is when Vanitas scolds Noé and Noé shouts back, calling him loud. Finally, I could be wrong in all this. I am aware how crazy I may look and I'm so thankful if you read this far.

But yeah if this is anywhere near canon, mochijun must be the most unhinged, absolutely cracked author I’ve ever seen. We’re going into Pandora Hearts levels of intricacy here. I hope you enjoyed my insanity 👍🏼

#anime #manga #les memoires de vanitas #the case study of vanitas #vanitas no carte #jun mochizuki #vnc manga #vnc #noe archiviste #noé #vanoe #song #lyric breakdown #analysis #theories #memory loop #Vanitas #I’ve lost it fr #I love this so much tho #tumblr #fyp

[genderliquid-witch]

What are the Bad Kids' favourite Death Grips projects? (Fantasy High)

I've been having a blast watching Fantasy High: Junior Year, and I have also been relistening to a lot of Death Grips' discography. So, like I do with most of the fandoms I'm in, I'm going to guess what I think each of the Bad Kids' favourite Death Grips project would be. I will give reasoning for each one, but be warned that they are almost completely arbitrary.

Adaine Abernant: n-ggas on the moon

While on one hand I feel like Adaine would find some of the band's heavier albums a bit startling, I think she'd love n-ggas on the moon. It's got this whimsical atmosphere that I think a wizard would really vibe with, and I can see drunk Adaine wilding out to the more high energy tracks like Have A Sad Cum BB and Billy Not Really. Not to mention she'd have a great time deciphering what are arguably Death Grips' most cryptic and mysterious lyrics. This is a party wizard album for sure.

Fabian Aramais Seacaster: Fashion Week

As we all know, Fabian indulges in the finer things in life, and I think his taste in experimental Sacramento-based hip hop would be no different. Fashion Week is the closest Death Grips has ever come to luxury and I'm sure that would attract a young Seacaster. He's totally the type to brag about how refined his taste in music is, evident by how he chooses one of the band's more obscure, instrumental projects over the mainstream slop that is The Money Store. As for the music itself, I feel it's perfect for some wild interpretive dance, and I think Fabian would agree. I can already picture him doing some crazy sheet dance to Runway E.

Fig Faeth: Jenny Death

Jenny Death is the heaviest album in Death Grips' discography, almost acting as fully fledged psychedelic, punk metal album, so I can't imagine why Fig wouldn't adore it. The loud, abrasive guitars, the hypnotic production, the drums that practically punch your ears; it all just screams Fig to me! I mean when I saw the band live the songs from Jenny Death were easily the ones that caused the crowd to go completely wild, and we all know Fig loves a wild crowd. Even the names of the songs are perfect for her: I Break Mirrors With My Face In the United States, Centuries of Damn, Beyond Alive, and The Powers That B all sound like they came right from the Archdevil's own mind.

Also yes, I'm aware I missed an opportunity to assign her Bottomless Pit, but these are the sacrifices I make for accuracy.

Gorgug Thistlespring: Exmilitary

For a barbarian drummer, I can see no better fit than the band's debut mixtape, Exmilitary. This mixtape is so raw and primal, I mean the drums sound like war drums. We already know that Gorgug loves heavy, intense music, so I think he'd totally rock with this. I also think that the tape's unique, grinding production would appeal to his artificer side; it's a perfect mix of rage and technology, and I can imagine him blasting something like Takyon or Guillotine as he hacks through some enemies.

Kristen Applebees: Government Plates

For someone who's constantly riddled with feelings of doubt and confusion while also maintaining a general aura of weirdness (affectionate), I think Government Plates is a good pick for Kristen. It's the kind of album that you have to sit down and listen to a couple times before you really vibe with it; it doesn't want to be understood, but that doesn't mean you should stop trying! Not to mention the pure emotional intensity of tracks like You Might Think He Loves You... (I'm not writing the full title.), Two Heavens, and Bootleg (Don't Need Your Help) suit Kristen very well imo. An underappreciated album for an underappreciated character.

Riz Gukgak: No Love Deep Web

And for everyone's favourite little weirdo is what I consider Death Grips' certified weirdo album (They're all weirdo albums, but this one especially so). Though my reason for choosing No Love Deep Web as Riz's favourite Death Grips project isn't because of the music itself, but rather the history surrounding this album. If you didn't know, this album was released through a secret Alternate Reality Game on the deep web where fans had to solve incredibly cryptic puzzles over a few days in order to gain access to a link that allowed them to torrent the album, and I think that Riz would be all over that shit; I can imagine him setting up a little cork board with all of the clues and whatnot strung up. I don't even know if he'd even like the music, I think he's just invested in the mystery!

#this took way longer than it should have #also for anyone wondering Gilear is 100% noided #he's disturbed enough to be in the band tbh #fantasy high #dimension 20 #dropout #adaine abernant #fabian seacaster #fig faeth #gorgug thistlespring #kristen applebees #riz gukgak #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #d20 fantasy high #d20 fhjy #death grips

[wanderingmarine]

Seacore Writing Prompts, Round II.

In need of funny, light events for your party ? Gotcha bestie, there you go ! I./ "The Rum-Soaked Shanty": Your party stumbles upon a rowdy tavern filled with drunken pirates. And jokes on you, those are the pirates you were looking for, they are your intel to be able to go on with your quest. To gather crucial information, your group must join in a spirited shanty-singing competition. But beware—the pirates' off-key notes and slurred lyrics can make it difficult to maintain your composure. Can your party outperform the inebriated buccaneers and uncover the secrets they hold ?

II./ "The Misguided Treasure Map": A washed-up, drunk and old pirate stumbles upon your party, insisting that he possesses a legendary treasure map. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the map is a hilarious jumble of doodles and nonsensical directions. Can your party decipher the cryptic symbols and hilarious illustrations to uncover the hidden treasure ? You have until sunrise to help that poor fellow. III./ "The Singing Parrot": The party acquires a parrot companion that possesses a unique ability: it can sing bardic spells ! However, the parrot has a mischievous streak and often sings the wrong spell at the most inconvenient times. How will your party cope with the chaos caused by their feathered friend's unpredictable musical talents ? And are you ready to face the Rhum-stival of the City you are currently in, knowing that this parrot of yours can turn people thanks to his spells. IV./ "The Pirate Fashion Fiasco": Your party encounters a pirate crew with an unusual obsession: fashion ! These pirates are determined to look stylish even in the midst of battle. Your group is tasked with helping them find the trendiest pirate outfits, complete with feathered hats, glittering accessories, and fashionable eyepatches. Can your party become the fashion consultants these pirates need or will they fall victim to outrageous pirate fashion trends ? Also, you do need to help them, because they are the only ship available for you to sail across the Sea Whip's Waters. V./ "The Legendary Pirate Karaoke": Legends speak of a fabled pirate tavern where the greatest buccaneers gather to showcase their vocal talents in a pirate-themed karaoke showdown to gain a key that could unlock anything, from a treasure, to a big manor on the hills or a simple door. Your party is invited to participate in this epic musical contest, where pirate songs, sea shanties, and tales of adventure take center stage. Can your group conquer the stage and become the reigning champions of the pirate karaoke night and gain that key ?

#dnd #dnd campaign #dnd homebrew #dnd oc #dnd prompt #campaign idea #ttrpg #fantasy #fantasy writing #writing #creative writing #writing community #writing prompt #writers #writeblr #on writing #write

[rivetgoth]

Omg I’m so excited, I found a site that has a bunch of quotes from Tom Ellard regarding various Severed Heads songs and what they’re about. Tom Ellard’s lyrics are some of the most odd, surreal, and difficult to decipher pieces of poetry to me… they really tickle my imagination trying to piece the meanings together. Like when he says that the song “Rotund for Success” is about a nasty criminal couple… At risk of sounding juvenile I find Severed Heads (who are one of my favorite bands, easily) very creepy lol, their whole aesthetic and the cryptic nature of their lyrics and the discordance between the sounds and the themes and how it often sounds all light and playful and dancey (“industrial elevator music” I’ve heard it called) but also has this very cold electronic machine sound, it sounds like a killer computer pretending to be child-friendly to lure them over or something, like it almost evokes like, the uncanny valley for music if that makes sense at all. Like little dancey music box sounding songs over lyrics like “Who will tell my drunken friend that she will die and go to Hell?” And their music videos completely 100% reinforce that and ramp it up to 11 as they say, genuinely some of the most disturbing weird uncanny shit, “Tiny Wounded Bird” in particular makes me nauseous whenever I watch it lolll. Even the name “Severed Heads” is actually so fucked up, like one of the edgiest band names I can think of when it comes to the bands I listen to actually. Also worth noting that they put on a completely incredible live show with some of the heaviest danciest music I’ve heard at an industrial show and giant screen displays of their insane backing footage/music videos. So so so cool. They are just so cool and inspiring and weird and I wish more people talked about them.

[vampire-the-askerade]

How do you think Beckett, Strauss and Jack would react if they encountered a cryptic malkavian that only speaks in song lyrics?

[I love this so much. It reminds me of the butterfly from The Last Unicorn :)]

Camarilla

Strauss- This might bother him if it’s difficult for him to decipher what you are saying. He’s not quite so verse in pop culture things, so it might be harder for him to catch some of the meaning to what you’re saying if it tends to be newer songs you use

Anarchs

Jack- Do you take requests? Listen he can be advice about things, so instead of trying to actually listen to you, he’ll just poke fun at your songs of choice. Don’t be surprised if he randomly yells, “Free Bird!” Over all does get what you’re trying to say though

Jeanette- She loves it. Seeing as she runs a club, she knows a lot of music, even the ones she wouldn’t play at her place. This would make her know how to interpret what you were saying a bit easier. And, as long as it’s not something that bothers you, she’ll replay with related song lyrics if she knows them. It sort of becomes an inside between the two of you while also helping you talk about things in front of other people if you needed or wanted to.

Independent

Beckett- It might take him a bit to get used to it, but as long as you are able to convey what you want then he gets used to it. Sometimes he might have difficulty trying to parse out the lyrics that you are using mean though. You can often find him humming one of the songs you quoted later in the night.

[pazodetrasalba]

Medium Aevum

Dear Caroline:

This brief ands cryptic post of yours, coming out of your participation in a EAG conference, is unintentionally (on your part) flattering one, as I am myself a middle-aged man. It is a tad difficult to decipher what you mean, though: are you being serious, tongue-in-cheek, or a combination of both? What would be so much shared by an incredible smart and nerdy 20 something year old and a bunch of middle aged men (presumably, EAs)? In my case, middle age comes with a certain skepticism and intellectual inflexibility - a certain refusal to be easily led into closed systems of thought, even if they appear engaging and solid, and which probably comes as a function of having been misled in the past, and having some treasure trove of experience and previous mistakes to look into. I can't think this was about this. Perhaps it was related to the fact that you weren't a youngster from an agentic point of view - the people in your age cohort at EAG wouldn't have been successful millionaire hedge fund managers with middle-age plans and preoccupations. At this time, you would have been closer to the Holden Karnofsky range.

Middle ages tend to be much maligned, through the lazy but repeatedly successful narrative that posits a link with an idealized early age and an also narcissistically ideally present, with some gaps to the filled in between with nothing of too much interest. I studied mostly Medieval history at Uni, so

this is a hobbyhorse I could easily wax lyrically about, but I'll leave that for some other day(s). In reality, and going back to individuals instead of historical periods, your middle age is the period when you're supposedly at the peak of your intellectual and physical powers, and when most of your impact should be taking place. And this gives me hope for you and your future.

On a side note: I am not far from finishing Worth the Candle's book VIII - I don't think I'm burning through it as fast as you did, or as Juniper does with bones, but I can see myself finishing it in December. Right now, a combat with Onion Penndraig is about to take place, and I'll built up a little SPOILER ALERT warning here, mitigated by the fact that it is speculation I'd like to share with you and get very soon confirmed or refuted. Onion feels like the end-of-level villain, so I am pretty sure he'll be defeated and killed after a hard fight, and his dying words will the Invocation That Should Not Be Named, with the next chapter after that dealing with the carnage. It would be satisfying to have a lot of the nobles exterminated painfully -this opens another tangent that I could spend a post writing about, with me exploring my instinctive deontological inclinations in Justice and how I can see quite eye-to-eye with Bethel in this-, but I do hope Lisi survives unscathed. As you know, I've invested emotionally on her character because she feels so much like you on Aerb. We'll see how it goes.

#caroline ellison #middle ages #middle age

[farthngdr]

Some Thoughts on “Dead to Rights” by Radio Company

First, if you are not a Cockles truther, you should probably look away. My tinhat is so tight it hurts. Surgical removal has been deemed too risky and would probably result in my demise.

The comments here are entirely mine, as are the assumptions incorporated into my lyrics analysis about real-life people and their relationships. No disrespect is intended. Please do not contact Jensen, Misha, or Danneel about anything you read below, or about anything Cockles-related, because there is absolutely no evidence for anything I am saying here, and their lives are essentially unknown to us.

Thank you.

_______________________________________________________________

She said It all will change If not it all can wait It may die away Over time But I do believe It's better than being alive It's better than being alive It's better than being-

Bombs away Only just begun You want to be the one to say you love The rain-

fall

When all the while the angels call; The only way to see just how it comes to be Every day To know it all falls away.

You had me dead to rights Holding down my chain; You had me dead to rights I got out again; Never been the same.

Song composed by Jensen Ackles and Steve Carlson

No official statement has ever been made by the two songwriters as to who wrote the lyrics, who wrote the music, or if words and/or music were composed by both. I am proceeding on the assumption that Jensen wrote the lyrics. He has mentioned writing lyric ideas on notepads (as shown in the above photo), and so indeed he gives much thought to his lyric-writing process.

In another track from Vol. 2, “City Grown Willow,” a song clearly written by himself, he uses “chain” imagery. Clearly, the concept of the chain resonates for  him, whether the chain belongs to his lover, in “City Grown Willow,” or, as in this song, the chain is attached to himself, with the other end being held by the “she” he refers to throughout this lyric.

In addition, a close examination of other tracks by Radio Company share similar lyrical hallmarks as “Dead to Rights”: the invocation of a “she” in “City Grown Willow,” who I maintain is the same “she” as the one here, namely Danneel; “bombs away,” a metaphor for his emotional relationship with the “bomb,” i.e., Misha, recalls “cannonball, rise and fall,” from Vol. 1; other similar MC metaphors are the “fire” from “Jump into the Fire,” and “he stokes the flames ‘cause he is amused by the glow,” from “City Grown Willow.” Other JA lyrical hallmarks can be identified here as well.

________________________________________________________________

“’Dead to rights’ means having overwhelming evidence of someone's guilt, having irrefutable proof that someone is responsible for something. The idiom ‘dead to rights’ came into use before the 1850s in the United States.”

“’Dead to rights’: In the act of committing an error or crime, red-handed. For example, ‘They caught the burglars dead to rights with the Oriental rugs.’ This phrase uses ‘to rights’ in the sense of ‘at once.’”

________________________________________________________________

The theme of guilt is embedded in these lyrics--the narrator, JA, is guilty of something, and he was “caught red-handed,” as it were, by someone, the “she” in the song--his wife. The “guilty” act was more, I believe, her intuiting/noticing that her husband was in love with another--early days, perhaps before much had occurred between the two men, but wives are smart, and they can sometimes intuit when their men are in love with another, even before the husbands know themselves. 

“She said”---This song focuses on the fact that the narrator’s wife notices instantly--”at once”-- the “act” for which he feels guilty. And she voices it to him--she knows he is in love with another. And she also knows who. 

Thus, the “dead to rights” reference--she knew right away when her husband fell in love, and that he either wants to, or already has begun, pursuing a romantic relationship with his love. She “caught him red-handed,” even though a “crime” has not literally occurred, and, most importantly, *she is not angry or judgmental*; rather, she is concerned. 

She has thought about it before she confronts him with it. She is philosophical: “It all will change”--that is, this could be a momentary fancy, and if you follow through, everything will change in your life. “if not”--that is, if this is something lasting and substantial--then “it all can wait.” What’s the rush? Why not cool your jets and see if you still feel the same way in a few months? And know too, if you do pursue this, “It may die away over time.” So be careful. Don’t jump into the fire. You could get burned. I don’t want that for you.”

What is his response to her words? He acknowledges to her: “You are right.” 

He concedes that everything she says is true. But he has thought about it too. A lot. And he realizes something: “But I do believe it’s better than being alive.” This cryptic line puzzled me initially. “What” is better than being alive? Then one day, after hearing the track a few times, it hit: If the relationship crashes and burns--if it does die, and his heart is destroyed in the flames and ash--then so be it. He has decided that being with this person, jumping into the abyss with him, which could result in his own  metaphorical “death,” is exactly what he will do, because “dying” from the possible fallout of a disastrous love affair is preferable to the agony of continuing to live without him.

“You want to be the one to say you love the rain.....fall” --I love the pause here, putting the emphasis on the “fall,” conjuring up the act of falling in love; and also, the possibility of falling to one’s death. And of course, the biblical “fall”--we’re all fallen from grace. He is reminding her that it is she who always says she loves the rain--metaphorically, the rainy days, the times when things aren’t necessarily all sunshine and roses. She understands and accepts life’s gifts and risks. (And we learn in “City Grown Willow” that, in fact, “Her faith in love is better on sunny days.”)

“When all the while the angels call”--I cannot emphasize enough how unequivocally this imagery refers to MC. If I have to explain how many times J has called M an “angel”.....The point being, the angel calling him is impossible for him to ignore, and he just plain doesn’t want to. When an angel calls your name................you go.

“The only way to see just how it comes to be”--a typical Jensen cryptic line, when he wants to say something but doesn’t want to be too revealing, so he does so with the utmost vagueness, to the point where his meaning is almost impossible to decipher. That cryptic line, combined with the rest of the verse, “Every day/To know it all falls away,” strikes me like this: “The only way to know if I should do it or not, is just to do it.” And in the end, he philosophizes, everything falls away in any case--”even you and I will someday be parted.” The idea of mortality--of the limited span of time we inhabit this life--is heavy on his mind. And again, he has made his decision: His love is so deep, so compelling, that he is willing to risk everything--heart and soul--to be with the angel who is calling him.

_______________________________________________________________

ADDENDUM TO MY POST:

Unless Steve Carlson has said publicly that he specifically wrote the *words* to City Grown Willow, I maintain steadfastly that Jensen composed the lyrics. It makes sense that Carlson had written the guitar piece itself, with its beautiful, cascading notes and striking chord progressions, which demonstrate his skill as an instrumentalist. It’s no accident that the recording itself features only Carlson’s playing, with no other instrumental accompaniment--probably exactly the way Jensen first heard it.

Jensen heard Steve play the piece, loved it, and proceeded to write words for it. When Carlson says he played this piece for Jensen and that he had written it years prior, I take that to mean that Jensen loved the sound of the guitar and wanted to work with it.--that the song had no words. The lyrics have the hallmarks of Jensen's writing style; the content fits his situation, with a female and 2 males as the protagonists; and HE is “the man from the mountains.” That’s not Carlson’s identity--that's a moniker Jensen deliberately chose for himself, as he makes clear in the music video. 

If anyone can provide for me a direct quote from Carlson that he wrote the words, I will retract my statement. Until then, I hold my position.

#Cockles #Radio Company song #lyrics analysis is a love of mine #no offense is intended and I know nothing about anything #even cryptic lyrics can be deciphered #some people have tremendous grace and I love them #I will never as long as I live measure up to the greatness in these people's hearts

[flamingplay]

(image and gif from the official newsletter)

With the new music mysterious announcement, new font and overall aesthetics being already officially introduced all over Coldplay’s social media platforms (apart from tumblr which is sad) we have even more information on the people behind it!

Absolutely no wonder but according to  Rabbit Hole studio’s (they worked on the previous era’s website and now too!) instagram, Pilar Zeta is again on board with the design, this time together with the person she collaborates with lately -  Victor Scorrano.

Here’s also an assumption that Charlotte MacMillan (_the_collagist_), a designer who worked on EL era outfits, is again involved this era too! There is such publication with already introduced to us in a design swirls on artist’s insta:

Coldplay’s social media icon/profile picture contains cryptic letters that are in a pretty random order forming “Coldplay Higher Power”, as we can see in an edit below by  Planeta Coldplay:

Thanks to both ColdplayXTRA for the information and Planeta Coldplay for the edit, new lyrics appeared on Spotify canvases that has already been deciphered as follows:

“Sometimes I just can’t take it”

“I’m like a broken record”

Also, as @ForumColdplay noticed, there’s a new quote in html code of Alien Radio website:

"The moon I see now is the same moon I saw before. Except that before, when I looked at it, it was an anticipation of what it would be like when I got there. That’s behind me now." - Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut

Previously the code included a quote from a novel “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” -  Tolstoy

What's interesting this is what was said by Kutuzov who hinted that the soldiers should not be that impatient with attacking and in another lesson for soldiers he developed that into a metaphor with the apple under which he meant,  that if doing something way too early, you'll just spoil and ruin/affect everything including yourself.

This time Alien Radio posted new coordinates that indicate Warsaw, Poland, as it was already spotted before!

#Coldplay #Higher Power #Alien Radio #New album #I love Pilar's art but having the same artist for the third era is already quite lazy of them :/ But she defo knows the work with such topic #I hop they won't collaborate with the same photographer for the third era in a row there are much greater once no offence :/ #and I'm telling this as someone who's seen tons of photographers thanks to keeping AURORA blog

[fatimazahramalik]

e-Portfolio in Media Lit

Task #2

Malik, Fatima Zahra A.

12 - STEM Abequibel

A.) Choose 1 photo from a magazine, newspaper, or website and analyze what it is trying to tell readers. If it’s a photo for an advertisement, describe what the photos are doing for the product sold.

The picture above is from a magazine, it is a photo for an advertisement. In the photo you can see that the model which is known as Gigi Hadid launched “Gigi Hadid x Maybelline collection” in her collection there are a lot of matte liquid lipsticks with a lot of shades and it says in the picture that the lipstick last for 16 hours which is amazing for me and by the fact that this lipsticks has 30 shades in all because I got to choose what color is really suitable for me. Gigi continued on to share the inspiration behind her line, revealing she named the red lipstick “Khair” after her little sister Bella’s middle name because,”Bella’s favorite color is red and it’s kind of the red she has worn her whole life.” Therefore this photo encourages people especially teenager girls like me who loves to wear make up to buy this lipsticks because beside that it is not that expensive like any other lipsticks it is also very pigmented and can last long in your lips.

B.) Choose an existing pop song and interpret its lyrics. Decipher what the song is all about and list down the situations being narrated in the song.

The song that I chose is “Me!” By Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie. For the verse one of the song she’s listing all of the negative, which is something that I tend to do a lot, it’s like if I’m going to try to sell somebody something, or try to convince them with something; I’m going to list all of the negatives first, so I empathise with that. Then in the chorus and the pre-chorus she lists the positives, then for the verse 2 Is which is a thing that made me think that it’s funny, it doesn’t really fit into the spirit of the song, I thought the idea was that we’re all okay just the way we are! So now all of the sudden we’re playing in a comparison game? It doesn’t seem to me that Brendon Urie really got the spirit of this song, which doesn’t seem off character from him anyway. Then Taylor continues on saying, And when we had that fight out in the rain. You ran after me and called my name, I never wanna see you walk away (And there's a lot of lame guys out there) Many speculate those "lame guys" are definitely in reference to Taylor's past, where she used to have a reputation for dating various famous men - Harry Styles, John Mayer, Joe Jonas, etc. The lyric "I will never bore you, baby" could specifically be in reference to Tom, though especially considering tabloid reports hinted that Tom dumped Taylor because he got bored of her. Lastly what Taylor Swift is trying to communicate through the song is the message of “Yes! Go and be yourself, and whatever kind of version that you are, just be that version” And so we go to the bridge, and this is probably the part that I enjoyed the most, but also had the biggest question about, Girl, there ain't no I in "team" But you know there is a "me" Which is a common cliche that we hear a lot; and it’s not in the sense that they're doing bad, they’re obviously doing a bit with it. Then they go into the chorus and an outro and it’s this pretty happy fun anthem-like thing; and I think that this song accomplishes very well what it was set out to do, which is to be sort of like a party rousing song; “It’s nice and fun to be just you, because you’re unique. The song 'ME!' is a song about embracing your individuality and really celebrating it and owning it, with this pop song, we have the ability to get a melody really stuck in people's heads, and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves. The lyrics were also trying to tell us that we should really appreciate ourselves because we are who we are and no one or nobody can be like you because you are you and you are unique and one of a kind. The hype about this song is that it’s about “me”, and the way that I am is okay and great, but it’s all in the context of a relationship; which makes it a little more complicated, and it’s not necessarily bad, as I think that it’s really good that this song establishes the value of the individual. Taylor Swift has said in an interview talking about how there are all of those advertisements that tells you how you should be to look better, and how you should be wealthier, or healthier, or whatever; and to an extent, you just have to say “Yeah, I am who I am, and that’s great, there is only one “ME!”, right?”; and that’s the main gist of these lyrics, this emphasis of the individual.

C.) Pick a music video and watch it several times. Study it closely to see if the visuals are affecting the song. Or is the song helping the visuals in a way?

The music video that I chose was “Look what you made me do” by Taylor Swift. After watching her music video I have noticed that the song is helping the visuals because it is so accurate like the lyrics really matched the visuals in the music video. The music video begins with a zombified T-Swift digging her own grave so the old Swift is dead, resigned to the graveyard of pop culture history. First, we see the aforementioned tombstone, where Swift’s reputation lies, but also a second one, reading “Nils Sjoberg”, the pseudonym Swift used as a co-writer on her ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris’s song, This Is What You Came For, a collaboration widely assumed to have contributed to their breakup. Swift’s writing credit was supposed to be kept secret, but when her team revealed that she had, in fact, written the Harris-Rihanna hit, her ex went on a tweetstorm about how Swift was looking for “someone new to try and bury”. So she buried the fictitious Mr Sjoberg.

In the next shot, Swift luxuriates in a tub of diamonds, where there sits a single dollar bill, a possible reference to the symbolic dollar she earned in last month’s sexual assault case against the radio DJ who groped her in 2013.

This next part of the videl was a dead giveaway, Swift sits atop a throne as dozens of snakes slither at her feet. One even serves her what we can only assume is piping hot tea, the kind Kim Kardashian dished out when she released audio of Swift, who publicly disputed Kanye West’s lyric about her in Famous, appearing to sign off on those same lyrics in a phone conversation with West. Afterwards, Swift’s reputation as a snake in sheep’s clothing took off; Kardashian helped further that image by tweeting a bunch of snake emojis on international snake day. More than a year later, it seems Swift’s ready to embrace the title: ahead of the single’s release, she dropped cryptic reptilian teaser videos. And now, the snake has shed her skin.

So in the next shot, as the chorus begins, Swift rams a shiny gold car into a storefront where paparazzi are lurking. She opens the door, a cheetah in tow, to show off none other than her Grammy award. She proceeds to display and caress it in one of the video’s most bewildering moments.

Swift’s love of cats is well documented. Here, she’s surrounded by stacks of cash and a Girl Squad of masked felines, wielding a baseball bat and a sweater that says “Blind for Love”. In the next scene, the masked marauders can be seen robbing a music streaming company. Swift, if you remember, boycotted Spotify for years due to its dismal compensation of artists. She also wrote an open letter to Apple Music in 2014 arguing on behalf of increased artists compensation and then took to Tumblr, in June 2015, blasting Apple’s decision to give users three-month free trials. And now she’s back to rob them, cat imagery to boot.

The next part of the video was made waves for its apparent resemblance to a shot from Beyoncé’s Formation video. But the real hidden gem is the backup dancers’ belly shirts, which read “I Heart TS”. Tom Hiddleston, one of Swift’s ex-boyfriends, was caught in a similar shirt when splashing around the beaches of Rhode Island with Swift.

Finally, the last part is when the Swifts both old and new assemble before an airplane, where the word “reputation” appears again. Overall I think that the song really help the visuals in a way that it was really created beautifully (the music video) and for me the music video is a masterpiece becausr I have also learned the real meaning behind it, the song song is also about her struggles in the past and how she handled herself.

[your-world-with-nct]

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫 — 𝐥𝐦𝐤

➵ pairing: mark x female reader

➵ genre: angst, suggestive, underground rapper au

➵ warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, unhealthy relationship themes

➵ word count: 6.1k 

➵ summary: you didn’t know what you and Mark were; you weren’t enemies nor friends, you weren’t exes nor lovers. but what you did know was that you still loved Mark, and you never stopped loving him.

➵ a/n: happy belated birthday mark !! this is a part two to this blurb, and is inspired by the lyrics to billie eilish’s ‘party favor’. this is my first full fic, so i hope you all enjoy it and feel free to leave some feedback too!

August 2 - the significance of the date was written in the scars of your heart, forever known as, one: Mark’s birthday, and, two: what would’ve been yours and Mark’s two year anniversary. Ahh, Mark Lee.

The boy that became all of your firsts, kisses and the like; the boy that harnessed the musical talent of a professional or a prodigy, despite his small, underground career; the boy that was just a shy bean beneath his tough, street-wise exterior; the boy that knew your darkest secrets and told you his; the boy that promised you happiness till the end. But he was also that same boy that took advantage of you and lied to you; the boy who stole your heart, and never gave it back; the boy who was better at lyrics than love. He was such a mystery to you, like a code you couldn’t quite seem to decipher.

Even after the abrupt ending of your relationship, Mark was always there, with you, as if nothing had happened between you two. From the evenings where he was out cold after a long night at the bar, calling you to pick him up, to the early hours of the morning where he needed some feedback for his newly produced tracks, he somehow managed to keep you in his life, relying on him the way you relied on oxygen. Mark had you wrapped around his little finger - you would do anything just to get close to him again - and you both knew it.

There was one slight issue, though, which was the fact that you didn’t exactly know what you two were to each other. Yes, there may have been some occasions where Mark was drunk out of his mind, and you would both end up naked in his bed the next morning, like lovers.

But there were also times where he would ignore you for weeks on end, the only updates you received from him were Instagram posts with his rapper friends, paired with cryptic captions that were clearly targeting you, like exes.

However, no matter what Mark did, you would always come crawling back to him and his addictive love, because you were trapped in his trance, and didn’t want to be released from it either.

Once again, you were stuck in that limbo of Mark not acknowledging your existence for another month - or so you thought.

As you mindlessly shoved spoonfuls of Cheerios (your failed attempt at a healthy breakfast) into your mouth, you stared at the cursed date on your lockscreen, when, all of a sudden, your phone began ringing, the default tone echoing throughout your empty apartment. The name that flashed on the screen touched a nerve deep within you, as if your senses had been awakened; one of those senses being your infatuation with Mark, which was rekindling and creating sparks in your stomach as you hesitantly answered the call and put it on speakerphone.

“H-hello?” You hated the way your throat closed up and your voice dwindled into nothing whenever you spoke to him after eternities of no contact whatsoever.

“Oh, hey, Y/N! How’ve you been? I’ve not spoken to you in, like, what, I don’t know, it’s been, like, ages now, hasn’t it?” Mark leaped right into the conversation, starting it off strangely welcoming, too comfortable for your liking. You nodded slightly in response to his question, before quickly realising that he couldn’t see you right now.

“Uhh, yeah, it’s definitely been a while now,” you let out a timid squeak, which was originally meant to be a polite laugh, except the mere thought of Mark clouded your thoughts and refrained you from thinking straight, or acting normal.

Trying to distract yourself from your awkwardness, you absentmindedly started playing with your spoon, stirring it in the bowl- which now only contained some milk and tiny specks of Cheerios - while listening intently to the boy’s next words.

“So, you know how it’s my birthday today, right?” he paused to let you answer, to which you hummed a small ‘happy birthday’ in response, “Ahh, thanks, well, if you’re free tonight, I managed to privately this really cool nightclub from 9pm onwards and I was wondering if you wanted to join us?”

You’d be lying if you said that Mark’s invitation didn’t cause you to almost have a heart attack, so it took you awhile to process the information he had just thrown at you and come up with a decent reply, “Okay, first, of course I can come, I wouldn’t miss it for the world! Who do you think I am - it’s summer, I have no friends, and I think I’ve watched ‘Love, Simon’ one too many times this summer,” you joked.

Before you could continue, the Canadian boy’s bubbly giggles cut you off, as he sighed, saying, “Wow, you really haven’t changed that habit, I see.” The steady beat of your heart suddenly accelerated, the fact that your ex remembered your only hobby, an unusual one at that, which he found out about almost two years ago, sent shockwaves through your entire body.

“Mhm, yeah, that movie never gets old,” you joined in with his laughter, then carried on with what you were going to say once you heard the contagious chuckles quieten, “Also, where’s the nightclub? And who do you mean by ‘us’? I’m just curious, you know?”

You tried your best to not sound intimidated by the potential answers to your questions, but, with your knowledge of who Mark liked to surround himself with now, you couldn’t help but feel out of place around them.

“The nightclub is called ‘Sun and Moon’, it’s owned by one of my older friends, Taeil, and, it’s near the, uhhh, I think it’s close to that one shopping centre? But I can send you directions later, even if you can’t find it, you won’t miss it, it’s covered in neon lights and it’s massive! And, did I mention that Taeil hyung makes the best cocktails? I can’t wait for tonight!”

The boy seemed ultimately fascinated with the place from the way he spoke about it, and your lips curved into a small smile at his excitement. ‘Damn it,’ you thought to yourself, ‘why is he so cute? About things like this? Ughhh, I love him.’

Mark’s endless chatter continued while you pondered over how adorable he probably looked right now, “And, as for who’s coming, it’s only a small group of friends - the Dream boys, my best mate Yukhei and his Chinese buddies from uni, oh, and Chaeyoung and her non-celeb friends are coming too!”

The first few guests he listed were absolutely fine - Yukhei was your best friend, also a mutual friend of yours, and was the one that introduced you to Mark; his friends were strange, but bearable though; while the Dream boys were a group of young artists Mark had the opportunity to join, who were soon going to debut as rappers with him - however, your brows furrowed at the unfamiliar name, confusion written all over your face.

You weren’t jealous, no, just… curious as to who exactly this ‘Chaeyoung’ was, “Oh! Okay, that’s great! But, uhhh, who’s Chaeyoung? I’ve never heard that name before?” The boy let out a dreamy sigh, as if he was enchanted by the mere thought of this person, “Son Chaeyoung is a senior from our record label, better known as Beastie Babe, that’s her stage name.”

Despite his explanation, you were still baffled since you had no idea who she was. The weird, subconscious ‘huh?’ you let out told Mark that you still didn’t understand, so he elaborated on the matter, “I shit you not, she is the most talented, influential rapper of our generation! Her debut single ‘BDZ’ literally dominated both national and Western music charts and her recent collaboration with Cardi B helped skyrocket her to fame, and I’m under the same company as her? Like, I still can’t believe that that’s what we have the potential to become. She’s just so amazing-”

A greedy feeling engulfed your chest and your heart began thumping uncontrollably as Mark’s words of admiration filled your ears. Somehow, out of anger or whatnot, you had managed to throw your spoon across the kitchen, grunting quietly as he failed to stop rubbing in your face the fact that he was talking to other girls now.

“-the moment I walked into her recording studio instead of the Dreamies’ was the best moment of my entire life! We’ve actually been spending a lot of time with each other since then, and, you know what, Y/N? I used to have a huge fanboy crush on her but, uhhh, now that I actually know her, I think that I-I like her? Do you think I should say something tonight? Drunk Mark is definitely better with the ladies than Sober Mark,” he joked, stopping right after he heard silence on the other end of the phone.

You almost screamed at his last statement - “Drunk Mark is definitely better with the ladies than Sober Mark” - well, of fucking course he would say that, that’s exactly how he ended up asking you out on his birthday two years ago, while he was drunk.

‘How insensitive can that shitbag be! That’s our story, not yours and Chaeyoung’s!’ you internally yelled at him, as you refrained from hanging up without another word. Luckily, your self-control got the better of you and you said through gritted teeth, “Haha, defo, I’ll see you tonight then, Mark, good luck with that.”

And with that, you slammed your finger on the red button, aggressively hurling your phone at the couch and cursing Mark under your breath. “Just fuck around with my feelings then, why don’t you? While you’re at it, you may as well shove your successful love life into my face and ruin the smallest fragments of our relationship that we have left,” you mumbled, trudging over to your sofa to collect your phone.

Once you unlocked it, you went straight to Youtube, searching the name ‘Beastie Babe’ and playing her discography as you washed your limited amount of dishes. It crushed your already low self-esteem as you listened to the girl’s unique music, and you realised why Mark looked up to her so much and wanted to date her, she was so much better than you, more gorgeous, more gifted, she was the ultimate upgrade from you.

Those thoughts resurfaced once again as you stood in front of your full body mirror hours later, Chaeyoung’s catchy songs playing in the background, as you couldn’t help but binge all of her music videos to try and gage the chance you had against her when it came to Mark. Turns out you had zero chance.

That girl was literally world-famous, her albums were sold out everywhere, and she had designer brands chasing after her, desperate for celebrity endorsement. Her self-produced music was mesmerising, something you had never heard of before, and her rapping was rhythmic and fluid, while her vocals were beautifully melodic.

Not to mention, Chaeyoung was stunning - like her stage name suggested, she did have the facial structure of a ‘baby beast’ as her fans say, and her hair looked gorgeous no matter what style it was in, her chiseled cheekbones were always the main point of her look, along with her infamous, enticing caramel eyes.

Then, there was you. A college dropout who was surviving solely off of your parents’ riches until they could find a job for you in their expanding business, you were the ‘rich kid’ that everybody shamed.

You didn’t have anything like music in your blood, and you weren’t particularly talented at anything, unless pessimism was considered a talent. And you definitely weren’t gorgeous, you weren’t anything close to it, which was justified as you scrutinised your outfit in the mirror, that made you look even worse than usual.

Initially, what you had chosen for yourself and laid out on your bed looked ideal, the black and white checkered skirt complemented the tight, white off-the-shoulder top and the black, knee-length high heeled boots, while the baby pink leather jacket tied the whole thing together, adding a splash of colour to it.

Now that it was on you, you appeared like you were trying way too hard - your exaggerated makeup looked disgustingly dark, the top showed off all of your curves and rolls, the skirt was a little too short for your liking and portrayed a slutty image that you weren’t going for, and the boots were chunky and big, and didn’t seem to match the rest of the outfit as well as it did prior to when you put it on.

You looked horrendous and you knew it, but this was the only thing in your closet that was even close to what those other girls would be wearing, the only thing that made you at least look like you could fit in with them.

Before you could change anything about it, you glanced at the alarm clock perched on your bedside table, showing exactly ‘21:00’, which you decided was the perfect time to leave.

Usually, with events, you would either plan way ahead of time, and arrive punctual and prepared, or you’d turn up almost an hour late, with a half-assed outfit and an empty stomach.

This time, however, you didn’t know where you were headed, so you should’ve left early, but you got too paranoid, thinking up random instances where you would end up getting there before anyone else was, which would make you look like you were trying harder than ever to get Mark’s attention.

The car ride to Sun and Moon was a daunting one - not only because you were twisting and turning down unfamiliar roads, relying solely on Google Maps, but, because you were jittery with nerves and anxiety.

Just thinking of walking all alone into the club to see a clique of popular musicians and their wealthy friends made you shiver in your seat, and the fact that you were extremely anti-social and very much intimidated by most of the party’s attendees made it even worse.

Lights of almost every colour of the spectrum struck you as you parked your car by Sun and Moon, which was one of the most appealing and exciting clubs you had ever seen, not that you had been to many anyways. You braced yourself as you entered the place, breathing quickly and heavily, before pushing the door open to the booming, electrifying atmosphere.

You were immediately drawn to Mark’s alluring figure on the dance floor, jokingly grinding against one of his group members, Donghyuck, and you assumed that the both of them had some pre-party drinks already.

Mark’s black, patterned dress-shirt flowed down his upper body, the loose fabric of it accentuating the shape of his chest.

His wrists and neck were adorned in expensive brands of jewellery, his fingers laden with various silver rings, the golden glints of his watch twinkling under the bright, fluorescent lights - and his ebony locks were styled to exaggerate his forehead.

The matching black skinny jeans he wore made his legs look heavenly, it made it so hard for you to look away from him.

You shook your head, trying to rid yourself of the amorous thoughts flooding your mind, directing your eyes away from the attractive birthday boy to the rest of the room.

It seemed as if you were the last one to turn up, despite your worries, since you spotted Yukhei and his friends attacking the bar, and who you managed to identify as Chaeyoung and her friends surrounding and blatantly flirting with the Dreamies.

She was even more breathtaking in person - her platinum blonde bob framed her effortless makeup, which consisted of fuschia lips, long, luscious lashes, shimmery eyeshadow, and sparkling highlight, and her striking outfit, a lime green and black patterned tube top and matching bootleg pants, made her look magnificent.

If she wasn’t your ex-boyfriend’s current crush, she would’ve been yours, because, damn, she was hot.

You were broken from your daze when one of Yukhei’s best friends, Hendery, hollered your name and gestured for you to join them, after he noticed you standing blank and confused by the entrance of the club.

“Yoooo, Y/N!! It’s been ages since I last saw you and you look great, boo! Come here, you gorgeous little bitch,” Yukhei’s obnoxiously deafening voice reached you from the opposite side of the room, calling for you even though Hendery had already grasped your attention in the first place, causing you to shyly scurry towards his friend group, the heavy stares of almost everyone in the room following you.

As you made your way over to them, your best friend engulfed you into a bone-crushing hug, his long limbs entangling themselves around you, not letting you get a word in first. When he finally pulled away, it was then that you caught a full look at him.

“Thanks, Yukhei, I really wasn’t sure about this but I’m glad you like it. Also, you look absolutely amazing!! Like, it’s only been 3 months but I feel like you’ve gotten even taller,” you exclaimed, proceeding to compliment your friend’s stylish outfit.

The plain black-on-black aesthetic he was going for may have seemed boring, but he pulled it off so well - the tight-fitted, black long sleeve was paired with black leather pants and decorative chains hanging from his belt loops, and his newly dyed navy blue hair was slicked back to reveal his forehead.

He let out a squeaky laugh, one that only you managed to get from him, as he rested his arm on your head, commenting, “Yeah, I think I actually have gotten taller.” You rolled your eyes at his teasing, before interacting with Yukhei’s friends, who were a lot more welcoming than you expected.

You had only ever spoke to Hendery before, but Xiaojun, Yangyang, and Sicheng were all polite to you, contrary to their appearance and their reputation.

Yes, Yukhei and his mates were the typical rich playboys that you had previously assumed only existed in movies, with the designer loafers and belts they were wearing today.

But, they were just playful dumbasses who looked appealing to their classmates, and, to be honest, you enjoyed hanging out with them during the party, instead of lurking around the club, solitary and sombre, pining after Mark.

Oh yeah, Mark - the boys had been distracting you so well that you had forgotten about your ex that stood just four feet away from you, freestyle rapping with Jaemin and Jeno.

Surprisingly, you didn’t really mind your lack of interaction with him throughout the night. It had only been two hours and you thought that you would be so desperate to just talk to him and fix things with him, but, in reality, you were having a blast with Yukhei’s friends, listening to their uni gossip and discussing your favourite music at the moment, they made you feel comfortable and welcome, something that Mark and his friends always failed to do with you.

As you decided to have yet another cocktail, you approached the bartender, but, before you could even open your mouth, you felt a tap on your shoulder.

Although you hadn’t even seen the person, you knew exactly who it was, by the calloused fingers, from countless plucking of guitar strings, that grazed your skin, and the embarrassed clearing of his throat to gain your attention, you just sensed that Mark was stood right behind you.

Tentatively, you turned around to face the boy you dreaded to see, your cheeks flaming with rouge as he scratched his nape and locked eye contact with you. Your pulse quickened and you felt your stomach churning in your stomach, maybe it was just the drinks, or maybe it was his mere presence that excited and aroused you.

The scent of alcohol lingered on his body, and you could tell that it had already took a toll on him, by the wild twinkle in his eyes and the unsteadiness in his voice.

Despite that, Mark looked absolutely ineffable at that exact moment, the beads of sweat on his forehead sparkled underneath the colourful lights, and made him look ethereal and idyllic.

You panicked, creating multiple, unrealistic reasons as to why Mark wanted to talk to you right now, so the first thing your disoriented, intoxicated mind barfed up for you to say was, “Sincerely, happy birthday!”

The god-like creation that stood before you sniggered at your outburst, “Thanks, and thanks for coming too! I just wanted to ask if you could hold my watch for a bit?”

You almost choked at the simple request he had given you, clearly, he had other priorities, ones that didn’t include facing you and everything that had occured between you two since you had last spoken, excluding this morning, “Oh, oh yeah, uhhh, yeah, sure? How come?”

“Ahhh, Dahyun just challenged Jisung to a dance-off and he almost flipped in excitement, he dragged me and the rest of the Dreamies with him to go against Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, and it’s already pretty hardcore, just look.”

Mark vaguely gestured to the dance floor, where Jeno was b-boying and Chenle was screeching to hype him up (even though the younger of the two was sober, he was still as energetic as ever) while Tzuyu was aggressively booing him and Chaeyoung was comically cracking her knuckles in preparation, “this is a Rolex Submariner and I do not wanna ruin it ‘cause of a dance-off, y’know?”

You laughed along with him, admiring the way he delicately removed the watch from his wrist, “Of course, I’ll keep it with me while you, uhhh, do that. By the way, where’d you get this? It looks pretty good quality.”

He tossed a glance at Yukhei, then back at you, “Xuxi got me this, he gave it to me last night so that I could wear it today! Did you think I bought it? I could never afford this on my own, ha!”

His drunken giggles were the only thing you heard and you couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment due to Mark’s casual manner around you.

You never thought that it would cross your mind, but you were beginning to wonder if he was completely and utterly over you this time.

“I’ll be back soon, just give it to me once we’re done,” he added, before making his way back to the dance floor where Renjun was doing some eccentric moves you had never seen before.

Even from afar, Yukhei noticed the dim aura that surrounded you, so he approached you, while you were ordering your new drink.

“What was that about? What did he say to you?” he questioned you, handing you the shot glass that the bartender had just placed on the surface. Accepting it, you took a swift swig of the drink, letting the liquid ease down your throat and settle in your stomach before answering, “He literally just wanted me to hold his watch, that’s it.”

“That’s it?”

“Yup, and I told him ‘happy birthday’, but, besides from that he just kinda, you know, avoided everything that I wanted to talk about, and ran away to them,” you nodded your head towards Mark, who was now freestyling against Chaeyoung, a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

Your best friend wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you close to his chest in a comforting way, to which you plainly let him do so, “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Y/N, as much as I love Mark, he’s been such a dick to you this entire time. I wish he would’ve listened to me when I told him to choose to either stop stringing you on or to pick up where you two left off.

“But, instead, he’s broken your heart time and time again, making you think that he still wants you, and needs you, when, in reality, Chaeyoung had him under her control the moment he met her, which was literally two weeks after you broke up, by the way. I wish that you’d look past that image Mark had built of himself in your head and heart, and see the real him.”

It was shocking to hear these wise words come from your currently drunk friend, as those weren’t the types of things he would usually say when he was clear-headed.

You wiggled out of his endearing embrace, audibly exhaling in frustration as your head was invaded with sudden realisations and epiphanies, “You’re right, surprisingly, I’ll try and talk to him later, maybe when I hand him his watch back. But, hopefully, this’ll be the last time I have to even look that boy in the eyes, I don’t think I can keep doing this any longer.”

The curves of Yukhei’s lips turned upwards into a proud smile, “That’s my girl! Now, how about you play this one drinking game that Sicheng found with us? Will that make you feel better?”

It did make you feel better, a lot better, and you were enjoying yourself so much that you had missed the fact that the impromptu dance battle had come to an end and its participants were carelessly swaying with one another, too exhausted to move their bodies properly.

You noticed that there were two specific people missing, however; it seemed that Mark and Chaeyoung had slipped out while you were playing with Yukhei, Sicheng, Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang.

Only then did you recall that Mark’s exorbitant watch was still in the pocket of the pink jacket you had removed and left unattended on a chair. You excused yourself from the boys and ran to your jacket, retrieved the Rolex and proceeded to search for Mark to return it to him, and talk to him.

You had examined each and every bit of the club closely, yet Mark was nowhere to be seen, so you decided to explore the exterior, perhaps he needed to get something from his car, or something?

It was difficult to convince yourself that he hadn’t left to get some ‘alone time’ with Chaeyoung, which is what he had told his friends when he had done the same with you two years prior, but the idea of it kept recurring to you as you ventured out into the cold night. 

The similarities of your current situation and the time you had run away from Mark’s underground performance a week after your breakup were disturbingly accurate - except this time you were running towards him, instead of away from him, you were stronger now and wanted to face him, not cower away from him. 

He was making your confrontation pretty hard, though, because, at the moment, you couldn’t even find Mark, so you came to the conclusion of trying to call him. Multiple times. And, yet, he still didn’t answer, and you hadn’t advanced any further with it. You still didn’t give up, as you pressed his name in your phone again, and wandered down the street, glancing side to side every so often, just in case you had missed him.

“Hey, this is Mark, I’m busy at the moment but I’ll be back! Leave a message while you’re at it, I guess, haha,” Mark’s recorded voice echoed from the speakerphone yet again, you had heard it so many times that you had pretty much memorised his awkward little ramble. You sighed as the tone beeped for the sixth time in the past few minutes.

A disgruntled growl left you as you proceeded to search for the unreachable boy, your phone clutched in one hand while his watch was still in the other.

It was extremely tempting to just take it home with you and return it to him the following day - but if you were really going to permanently detach yourself from Mark like you promised yourself you would, you had to avoid anything and everything to do with him, or else you would give up and let yourself be pulled back into his trance.

After seeing the way he acted around Chaeyoung throughout the night, however, it wasn’t very likely that you’d come crawling back to him any time soon.

You pressed the contact name once again, holding your phone up to your ear hopefully, awaiting a response. Turning the corner as you neared your car, you laid eyes on a sight you wish you never had done, and you swore you almost dropped your mobile along with your jaw right there on the sidewalk.

There he was: pinned up against the graffitied wall of the narrow alleyway, arms coiled all over Chaeyoung’s waist, hips, and ass, lips locked with her swollen, red ones.

You couldn’t even gasp at the horrific scene, you were in another state of shock, and your entire body was quivering and recoiling in utter pain and heartbreak.

Tears pricked at your eyes the longer they lingered on the moaning mess that was Mark, but you couldn’t rip them away from him. “Shit, Chae, I think I love you,” he breathed out, as she left open-mouthed kisses from his jaw to his collarbone, her hands threading through his velvety locks.

That used to be you, kissing all down his neck; that used to be you, making his heart race and limbs melt into jelly; that used to be you, the one he said ‘I love you’ to.

“Hey, this is Mark, I’m busy at the moment but I’ll be back! Leave a message while you’re at it, I guess, haha,” the tone played again, making you jump out of your skin, ‘perfect timing, Y/N, what if he heard it, right now, coming from your phone!’ you huffed, dropping Mark’s watch on the ground near the alleyway, bolting away from the couple, towards your car, grabbing the handle and pulling it open as soon as you reached it.

As you slumped into the driver’s seat, you realised that you had accidentally pressed the voicemail button with your shaking finger, instead of the ‘end call’ button.

“Fuck, no, I don’t wanna record a voicemail to Mark,” you thought aloud, until a voice in your head suggested, ‘but won’t this be the last time you’ll ever speak to him?’

It was with that thought that the gears in your head began turning - it was right, this would be your last time talking to him, you could finally tell him all of the things on your mind, the emotions he made you feel, the burdens he put on you, and he didn’t even have to respond.

You could simply block him forever - because he wouldn’t care, right? You didn’t even need a response or an apology, all you wanted was for him to know what he put you through, what you had to suffer through because of him.

And it’s not like that would upset him, he didn’t care about you the way you cared about him, he didn’t need you the way you used to need him, since he had his (possibly) new girlfriend instead of you. So you decided to record your last message to him.

“Uhhh, okay, this is really weird but I’ll just get it over and done with. So, Mark, this is Y/N and by the time you get this, your number’ll probably be blocked, this is the last thing you’ll hear from me.

“I’m guessing you’re kinda confused right now, because you’re probably listening to this while you’re either drunk as fuck or hungover, but, long story short, I’m fucking done with you.

“Let me just remind you of what happened tonight, or last night, depending on when you’re hearing this. You invited me to your little celebration after, what, a month of not contacting me? And then, proceeded to tell me that your crush would be here, even though you knew all too well that we had too many loose ends that we hadn’t tied yet.

“Then, I get here, and suddenly you don’t even greet me, or acknowledge me, just like you had been doing for the past few weeks, while, of course, you’re glued to Chaeyoung’s side.

“Meanwhile, I was there, waiting to see you, since we hadn’t hung out normally since the break-up 3 months ago, and I knew, well, at least I thought I knew, that there was still a connection between us, or something.

“But, instead, I spent the entire night following Yukhei around and talking to his friends, and having the oh-so-great opportunity of watching you eye-fuck Chaeyoung the whole time. And, finally, when you do eventually notice me, you ask me to hold your Rolex? Really, Mark? I didn’t even get the chance to say anything more than ‘happy birthday’ to you.

“Now, I don’t know how you’re feeling about this whole thing, because, apparently, you’re now Chaeyoung’s newest boy toy, but, did you ever stop and think about how this has affected me? How this whole thing has affected me?

“Because, if you really didn’t notice Mark, I was still fucking in love with you - even after you left me - and I never knew why you gave up on us. Personally, I thought we were amazing together, I thought you were my soulmate, you were the only person that made me feel loved, the only person I loved, but, you didn’t seem to think so.

“Maybe it’s because you’re my first love, Mark, but I wasn’t yours; maybe it’s because I thought that nobody else could replace you; maybe it’s because of your web of lies that I got caught in - but I felt like it wasn’t over yet. It couldn’t be, we would find each other after a while and resume what we had, and we’d be together forever, wow, I know that’s cheesy, I think the alcohol’s getting to me now.

“Speaking of alcohol though, there was another reason why I thought that we could pick up where we left off.

“Don’t you remember all of those nights where you needed me to get you from the bar or the club, and drive you home? When you were so incapable of processing our history together that you just gave in, and let me fall in love with you all over again?

“Yeah, those nights gave me hope, hope that it wasn’t the drinks speaking for you the previous nights, it was you, and hope that you would realise what you were missing and come back to me.

“But, hoping is no good. You’ve actually gotta follow through with your hopes and make them come true. Yet, I couldn’t do that, since you always left me. You always disappeared without a trace, and then, suddenly, after three weeks or so, you’d be right back.

“But, you know, I see it now, I see the truth. You never really loved me, you weren’t lying when you said that, you loved the idea of me, the idea of having someone to rely on, the idea of someone else cleaning up your messes, the idea of someone to hook up with whenever you wanted.

“I saw that all throughout today, when you looked into Chaeyoung’s eyes, she pulled you in and you were lost in a swirl of lust, but whenever you looked into my eyes, you were so disconnected from me, and there was never any emotion.

“Mark, I’m not just your property, you can’t do whatever you want with me! I’m not your party favor, a mere birthday gift that gets thrown away after its purpose has been served.

“I’m Y/N and I’m not yours, Mark Lee, and I’m ashamed to say I ever was. If there’s one thing you were right about, though, it’s that ‘happiness is a lie, and it was only found in your trance’, but that’s because you didn’t make me feel true happiness.

“True happiness isn’t being manipulated into thinking that you make someone feel good and that it’s the only thing that makes them feel good, and that they needed you - true happiness is being free from the people that do that to you.

“I’m sorry, that I didn’t do what you wanted me to, I’m not blinded by your fake love anymore so you won’t be using me any time soon. Goodbye, Mark.”

And, with a few swift movements of your finger, Mark was gone from your phone, and from your life. He was nothing to you now, and you were no longer his - and, wow, you never knew that you would feel so proud to be able to say that.

#nct #party favor #cznnet #neowritingsnet #ncitynetwork #nct 127 #nct u #nct mark #nct 127 mark #nct u mark #mark lee #lee minhyung #nct fic #nct fics #nct oneshot #nct angst #nct suggestive #nct underground rapper au #nct x reader #nct mark fic #nct mark fics #nct mark oneshot #nct mark angst #nct mark suggestive #nct mark underground rapper au #nct mark x reader #nct 127 fic #nct 127 fics #nct 127 oneshot #nct 127 angst

[hatari-translations]

Tortímandi (Eradicator) - official translation/commentary

Time for “Tortímandi” and its very poetic, eccentric line splits and formatting as it bombards you with unsettling imagery about fascism!

This song is on the Neysluvara EP. The official English translations for these songs are all quite faithful and translated in the same spirit as I’ve been translating here - so rather than arbitrarily retranslating them, I’ll just be publishing the official lyrics and translation (though reformatted in my usual way) and then writing some notes on that translation, in the vein of what I usually do.

If you’d like to see other Hatari material transcribed/translated, feel free to drop an ask in my askbox!

Icelandic lyrics

MATTHÍAS:

Hann er þögull

   sem múrveggur

hávær

   sem handleggur

brotinn

   í agnir niður

aumkun

   sem engu nemur

öskur

   sem hamar og meitill

höggstaður

   alráður

hatur

   sem flóðbylgjur

ótti

   óheflaður

Kunnuglegur tortímandi

Styrkri hendi mundar spjótið

Við erum brothætt

   sem heimsálfa

hangir

   á bláþræði

heróp

   í bergmáli

aumkun

   sem engu nemur

öskur

   sem hamar og meitill

höggstaður

   alráður

hatur

   sem flóðbylgjur

ótti

   óheflaður

Kunnuglegur tortímandi

Styrkri hendi mundar spjótið

Kunnuglegur tortímandi

Styrkri hendi mundar spjótið

KLEMENS:

Allt sem þú aldrei varst

aldrei varðst

aldrei varst

Bréfið sem aldrei barst

aldrei barst

aldrei barst

Klettsbrún af hverri þú dast

hverri þú dast

hverri þú dast

Allt sem þú aldrei varst

aldrei verður

aldrei varst

Allt sem þú aldrei -

MATTHÍAS:

Kunnuglegur tortímandi

Styrkri hendi mundar spjótið

Kunnuglegur tortímandi

Styrkri hendi mundar spjótið

Official English translation

MATTHÍAS:

He is silent

   as a wall

loud

   as an arm

smashed

   to smithereens

pity

   nearly nil

a scream

   like a hammer and chisel

a weak spot

   arbiter

hatred

   like tidal waves

fear

   unchecked

Familiar eradicator

Strong of hand aims the spear

We are fragile

   as a continent

hanging

   by a thread

battle cry

   in an echo

pity

   nearly nil

a scream

   like a hammer and sickle

a weak spot

   arbiter

hatred

   like tidal waves

fear

   unchecked

Familiar eradicator

Strong of hand aims the spear

Familiar eradicator

Strong of hand aims the spear

KLEMENS:

All that you never were

never became

never were

The letter that never came

never came

never came

The cliff off which you fell

which you fell

which you fell

All that you never were

never will be

never were

All that you never -

MATTHÍAS:

Familiar eradicator

Strong of hand aims the spear

Familiar eradicator

Strong of hand aims the spear

Notes

I have one real niggle with this translation: for some reason, the first “hamar og meitil” is translated (correctly) as “hammer and chisel”, but the second instance of the exact same line in the exact same context is translated (incorrectly) as “hammer and sickle”. I honestly think this may just plain be a typo - “hammer and sickle” is a more common phrase that I can easily see your brain just autofilling when you’re trying to say “hammer and chisel”. But given the hammer and sickle’s strong association with the Soviet Union, it’s possible they intentionally made the reference (...only in one spot out of two, only in the English translation) given the themes of authoritarianism and dictatorship in the song.

That being said, I think in English you’d more naturally talk about a “mallet and chisel”? If I Google “hammer and chisel” I just get some kind of bodybuilding program. We use the word “hamar” for both.

You know how in The People Behind the Costumes, Einar says Klemens recruited his cousin Matthías to scream some poems he (Matthías) had written over some electronic music he (Klemens) had composed? It would definitely not surprise me if “Tortímandi” (or at least the two main verses) was a poem that Matthías had written before they turned it into a song. The lyrical formatting, with the really short lines and those indents (I’m not sure if you’ll be able to see the indents on mobile because mobile Tumblr is terrible, but oh well), really looks like written poetry and not song lyrics, and if this were being written as lyrics, I can’t help but imagine the lines would be split more along the rhythmic lines of the song.

These lyrics are really interesting as used in the song, though. In particular, the sentence structure here noticeably does not line up with the rhythmic lines of the song. That is, if you go by the rhythmic lines (where there are pauses), it sounds like this:

Hann er þögull

sem múrveggur hávær

sem handleggur brotinn

í agnir niður aumkun

which would translate to...

He is silent

as a loud wall

like a broken arm

into smithereens pity

and so on - the lyrics initially just seem to make no sense because the line splits garble them up into statements that appear to be nonsensical or contradictory. But then you listen better and realize no, it’s actually:

Hann er þögull sem múrveggur,

hávær sem handleggur brotinn í agnir niður,

aumkun sem engu nemur...

or:

He is silent as a wall,

loud as an arm smashed into smithereens,

pity nearly nil...

I think it’s a pretty neat effect that enhances the unsettling nature of the song’s imagery; it’s all just sort of coming at you in a way you don’t expect and you have to decipher what it means a little.

This is another song consisting of strong, stark images, and the lyrics are kind of cryptic. But I think what’s being gotten at with the imagery is clearly fascism/authoritarianism: the idea of this ‘strong leader’ preparing for war, the juxtaposition of this unsettling, intimidating, pitiless authority figure, the hatred and fear that they stoke in the populace, and the violence that they command, as a fragile continent hangs in the balance. And of course, this leader, or eradicator, is familiar: we’ve seen this before, and where it leads.

Klemens’s lyrics are even more cryptic, but I think it’s addressed to the nation that’s falling into this trap. I feel like “The letter that never came” is referencing some historical story of a crucial letter not arriving and thus failing to prevent bloodshed; a couple of friends pointed to the Battle of New Orleans, which was fought after the war was already over but before word had reached the front lines, but I’m not sure that fits into the rest of what the song is depicting. Friend also points out it may just be referring to communications being controlled/manipulated in an authoritarian state, which makes sense.

Incidentally: “Klettsbrún af hverri þú dast” is using the same unusual-in-Icelandic “off which you fell” construction as Matthías’s lines in “Ógleði”; the normal way to write that would be “Klettsbrún sem þú dast af” (a cliff that you fell off). Obviously this phrasing facilitates the rhyme, but I also just find it delightfully signature Matthías to be repeatedly using this grammatical structure we don’t usually in his lyrics.

#hatari #tortímandi #lyrics #icelandic #politics #this is definitely the most commentary I've written on a single song

[infpisme]

10 Things You Should Know About Being In A Relationship With An INFP

Love is the life-blood of those who identify as the INFP personality type. As “lovers of love,” finding a compatible partner willing to investigate our complex nature can be hard. Thankfully, we found you.

In a relationship, our No. 1 desire is to be understood and accepted for who we authentically are. While INFPs are keenly self-aware, we can struggle to explain our perplexing ways to others. If you haven’t already noticed, we can be paradoxical, possessing many traits that contradict each other.

Getting to know an INFP can be an expedition full of surprising twists and turns. Here’s what you need to know about your compatibility with an INFP — and how to decode us in a relationship.

Who Is the Perfect Partner for an INFP?

Rest assured, any type is compatible with the INFP in a relationship — or with any other type. It is true, however, that INFPs tend to most commonly date certain types, which include the INTJ and ENFJ (ENFJs are often described as the “perfect match” for INFPs, although this is highly subjective).

Truth is, there are advantages (and drawbacks) to every match. INFPs who partner with a similar personality — like the ENFP, our extroverted twin — will have almost endless traits in common, but the two will share glaring weak spots with no one to balance them out. On the other hand, an INFP who choses to date or marry an ISFJ will have to overcome some major differences, but the ISFJ can help hold them accountable and keep them organized. (On the flip side, the INFP will help the ISFJ think big, dream big, and express the emotions they may normally bottle up.) There are some very strong couples who are complete opposites.

As with any relationship, maturity and communication are key. And nothing helps more than knowing what to expect from your INFP partner and understanding what they need in love and relationships.

10 Things You Need to Know if You’re in a Relationship with an INFP

So, here are 10 things you should know about us:

1. We reveal ourselves slowly.

In the beginning of a relationship with an INFP, you may notice their hesitance to reveal certain parts of themselves. Extremely private by nature, we reveal ourselves in layers, and the stuff that matters most to us will take time to unveil. We take emotional (and physical) intimacy very seriously, as we want to be sure that you are fully capable of accepting us.

Tip: Despite our reserved nature, one of our romantic ideals is to share our innermost self with you. But we may need help doing that, so ask (gentle) questions to draw us out. Conversely, pressuring us to open up may result in more resistance — we’re stubborn that way.

2. We’re genuine romantics.

Think: a Shakespearean sonnet as opposed to a Hallmark greeting card. Sure, we’ll enjoy those fresh flowers or dinner by candlelight, but more personalized gestures will make us really feel special.

Tip: A foolproof way to accomplish this is through handmade gifts. Whether masterful or loaded with imperfections, your gift is thoughtful because you put in the effort. Finding creative ways to say, “I love you” that are uniquely suited to your INFP demonstrate that you understand us — which is the greatest gift of all.

Bonus tip: After spending many years counseling couples, Dr. Gary Chapman concluded that there are five love languages, or in other words, five ways that people speak and understand emotional love. The five love languages are: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. I’ve noticed that INFPs tend to appreciate quality time the most. Try deliberately fitting us into your schedule for some one-on-one time so we can feel connected to you.

3. We’re hopelessly devoted to you.

Thanks to our ever-present idealism, when we fall, we fall hard… to the point where we might overlook our own needs and desires. We love to please others, especially you, the one we adore.

Harmony is important to us, and we value working together so we both win. Unfortunately, as the song lyrics suggest, being “hopelessly devoted” can result in staying in relationships that don’t serve us well. Due to our devotion, we’re sometimes taken advantage of — and we may end up damaging important parts of ourselves to serve our partner’s needs.

Tip: If your INFP has dealt with codependency in the past, remind them that it’s all about balance. Take care of them the best you can, but make sure they consider their own needs, too.

4. Take our emotions taken seriously.

INFPs think with their emotions. Using our dominant Introverted Feeling (Fi), we navigate the world via our personal feelings, tastes, and values. As a result, we feel things deeply and intensely — even when we don’t obviously display it.

Tip: If you aspire to understand an INFP, you must understand that emotions are how we perceive the world. And, you must aspire to respect this. We are accustomed to judgment and criticism when we share how we feel. Dismiss our emotions or values and you might as well be rejecting our entire self. Please choose to listen. And of course, kindly assist us when we aren’t being objective and it’s clearly called for.

5. We’re open-minded (most of the time).

Due to our auxiliary Extroverted Intuition (Ne), we have a penchant for exploring ideas, possibilities, and patterns. This is what makes us unconventional, easy-going, and (almost) always willing to try something new.

Nevertheless, these traits can come with the price of indecision. Don’t expect us to know where we want our life to be in five years — or where we want to go for dinner. We’re much better at laying out options and deciding together when the time is right.

It’s tempting to bask in the convenience of our open-mindedness, kicking around even the craziest ideas… until you hit up against one of our core values. We’re compromising — to a point — but when it comes to our ideals, we don’t give an inch.

Tip: Highly individualistic, each INFP will have values worth defending and standing by, no matter what. These may appear unexpectedly, and seem to come out of nowhere, so be ready for them. You don’t have to agree with what we believe (or feel), but if you show respect for it — and don’t push us to change on these key points — you will be even dearer to our hearts.

6. We can be cryptic.

Being direct can feel impossible for us, as Extroverted Thinking (Te) — our logical, no-nonsense straight-talking function — is our last and least developed cognitive function. That means we can be reluctant to divulge specific emotions straightaway, which can make our roundabout manner of communicating hard to decipher.

In moments of affection, this may mean we prefer to tell you how much we care about you through a heart-felt letter rather than a face-to-face conversation. In moments of frustration, we may unfortunately resort to passive-aggression, along with some uncharacteristic lashing out.

Tip: If we lash out, approach the situation directly, so it can be resolved. Try not to take this personally (we know, it’s hard). INFPs who feel “heard” will also feel loved, and INFPs who get a clear, direct message about your feelings will appreciate you even more.

7. We need a lot of time and space for processing — alone.

This need manifests a number of ways. As introverts, we need time by ourselves to regain lost energy. Our creative process also requires isolation so we can form new thoughts and ideas. Without sufficient alone time, we may become overwhelmed, irritable, and unable to focus.

Tip: Please note that alone time is the most critical when an INFP is processing their emotions. We often know how we feel instantaneously, but we need time to sort through our labyrinth of emotions before sharing them with others. Be mindful that we may be unable to properly share how we feel unless we’ve had time to think things over on our own.

8. We may need your help when we’re stressed.

Everyone has to deal with stress from time to time, but it can be particularly daunting for INFPs.

We can quickly become distraught when our perfectionism kicks in. Tedious day-to-day activities can add up and contribute to the madness. As I mentioned earlier, we have trouble being direct — and this applies to asking for help. Step in and help us when we need it, even if unasked, and we’ll love you for it.

Tip: Crossing things off our to-do list for us will win you major points, especially the little things. Sometimes we’ll need to vent while you dry our tears of exasperation. Thank you in advance for this; you don’t know how much it means to us.

9. We want you to be honest, despite how sensitive we can be.

Being completely honest with us can seem dangerous. We don’t take criticism well and can often respond emotionally when confronted with an issue. However, we truly believe that it doesn’t help anyone to withhold concerns, and we will become hurt if we realize that you can’t share your heart and mind with us completely.

Tip: INFPs can be receptive to negative statements if they are explained in a loving and affectionate manner. Try to phrase things in a way that won’t be perceived as an attack. We recognize compassionate intentions. Approaching potential conflict this way shows you’re trying to help us, and ultimately, help our relationship.

10. Be our rock.

The world can be a harsh place for the sensitive and emotional INFP. We regularly feel misunderstood. We worry that our attributes are not highly valued by those around us. We can struggle with crippling self-doubt. As a result, our imagination often serves as our place to retreat and feel free.

Tip (and the way to our heart): When we come back to reality, we want to rely on you, our romantic partner, first and foremost, for support and care. Be our refuge when we’re caught up in the unfairness of the world. Be our champion and point out when we’re not properly sticking up for ourselves. Be our source of comfort and assurance when we’re in need of empathy and a warm hug.

by Aute Porter, IntrovertDear

#infp #infp things #infp thoughts #infp problems #infp personality #introvertdear #aute porter

[lovetheplayers]

Taylor's interview with Ryan Seacrest on 102.7 KIIS FM (April 30, 2019)

Ryan: That is new music from Taylor Swift called ME! Brendon Urie there too on 102.7 KIIS fm. Just announced that Taylor will be at Wango Tango and look at the phone ringing. It’s Taylor Swift. Good morning, Taylor.

Taylor: Oh, hi. Good morning.

Ryan: How are you doing?

Taylor: I'm so good, and it's so good to talk to you. Yeah, the new song and video are out and it just feels really great to have such amazing feedback from the fans and have them combing through the video trying to figure out details.

Ryan: Taylor, Taylor, Taylor, you are like the brainteaser the teacher would give me in school. There’s all these, I mean, I know they call them Easter eggs but, like, it’s there’s almost too much for me to decipher, you know?

Taylor: Yeah. There's so, so, so many little clues in the video and some are clues that are immediately revealed to them and then there’s kind of different levels to the crypticness. Like, some of these—some of the symbolic references they’ll understand in, like, a couple months and then some they’ll get, like, when they really go through the album. Like, some are lyric references. I’s just the whole thing. But it’s really fun to put that stuff together because I’ve been doing stuff like this for like 15 years on my first album. I started off with capitalizing letters in my lyric book and then when people put together those letters it spells out a code. so they liked it, so I kept doing it.

Ryan: But just to understand the DNA here of your brain: so do you—you’re obviously very clever, but do you ever say, "Okay I’m gonna go obvious because they’re gonna think I’m being clever so I’ll go counter-intuitively backwards." Because I’m trying to figure out some things for this next album. I need to know the answer to that.

Taylor: Yeah, definitely. It takes a lot of planning and really, like, it's just basically a flex on planning. Like, this is how far ahead I planned this album. But it’s also just a way for it to become more of a—more of an experience rather than just.. I think that so often music can just be so ephemeral these days. Like, it comes out and we talk about it for, like, a second and then we move on to the next thing. And I think it’s fun for us to create an event and kind of put an experience back into just, you know, a song or a video. That’s what I’m trying to do is make it more more fun for them to talk about it and think about it. And they’re awesome about it, so I guess as long as they have fun with it I’ll keep doing it.

Ryan: So we’ve got Lover. You said awesome—you just said awesome, wait. Did you just—Tell me, does the title of the album rhyme with possum?

Taylor: I'm definitely going to tell them everything about the album in due time.

Ryan: Does it rhyme with saleidoscope? So you’re going to be opening the Billboard Awards which is very exciting.

Taylor: It's exciting. I've been in rehearsals all week. It’s really, really exciting. It’s also so much fun with this song because the song is so—it's just such a celebration and it's just so playful and mischievous, so that's been one of the most fun elements of creating the performance.

Ryan: Well the video has had, I mean, 65, 70 million views and our own Tanya was very excited to—I am not a good mover. I don’t know if you know that about me so I couldn’t partake in the dancing that she did. I think that you commented on it.

Taylor: Oh, yeah I commented on it. It was like the most adorable thing ever. That's like a really, really nice house you're in.

Tanya: I have to say I have listened to this song on repeat, literally, I think I’ve, and I’m not even exaggerating, a thousand times.

Taylor: Really?!

Tanya: Yes, Taylor. It is so fantastic. I feel like everything is right in the world again because we have new music from you and, like, I’m living through it and I just feel like I’ve been living through your music for so many years now and every single time you come out with something it, like, speaks to me at that moment and I’m just so grateful for ME! I just feel like it’s the perfect song for right now.

Taylor: Thank you so much for saying that. That means a lot. That’s so, so sweet of you to say. And literally, like, my heart just, like, starts beating so fast when people say things like that because I think the main purpose of this song—like, when I thought of this melody I was like, "Okay, this is one of those melodies that, like, we could do so much with this, and it’s so catchy that, like, what do we want to get stuck in people's heads?" And what I wanted was to make people happy about themselves because I think right now there’s just such—literally everyone is so—we’re all just so neurotic and insecure and and anxious about things, you know, and I think that we can, you know, I think there should be, like, a way for us to kind of, like, have a song stuck in our head that reinforces the fact that we're individuals. We’re different. And obviously there are a lot of songs about "I'm special", but I hadn’t heard one recently that was about "I’m special because it’s who I am", you know? There are examples where you can find someone being like, "I’m special because of how I look"; "I’m special because of what I can buy" or whatever, and there’s definitely a place for those songs, but I think there’s also a place for a song that’s like "No, it’s Who I am. it’s intrinsically my individuality that makes me a irreplaceable and not anything else." So thank you so much for saying that.

Ryan: You should know that Wango Tango—Taylor is going to be there. This is her first Wango Tango. She's done Jingle Ball but not Wango Tango. And there was there was a young student that lives in Iowa, Taylor, that called in to this show a few weeks ago and she just said that, like, she is trying to do her own show there for a college radio station and she listens to this show on a regular basis and she called in to say that and, you know, it was great. And then I said, "Well, if there’s one person that you and your town of—I think it’s Dubuque, Iowa—if there’s one person that you would want to ask a question to who would it be?" And she said your name and at the time I wasn’t sure if we’d talk to you—I was hoping we would. And I said, "If we ever get her on the line I’d love to patch you together to ask her one question." And she’s on the phone. Could I let her ask you something?

Taylor: Yeah, of course.

Ryan: Audrey?

Audrey: Hey, Ryan? How's it going? Hey, Taylor!

Taylor: Hey, Audrey!

Audrey: It's such an honor to talk to you! I don’t know if you remember me but I reached out to you when I was in high school when I did high school radio and you were busy playing on the Red Tour, which by the way was awesome. I’ve seen three of your concert tours. But yeah, It's been a crazy journey with my radio stuff. I’m a student at Loras College which is a small private school in Iowa and honestly right now it��s raining and you’re brightening up my day, seriously.

Taylor: Aw, congratulations on everything with your radio show. That’s awesome.

Audrey: So I have a question for you. I think a lot of people want to know it. What are you the most proud of in your career? Your career is—your lucky number, 13 years now and you’re about to put out another album. What is the one thing that just stands out to you that you're the most proud of?

Taylor: Oh, wow, that is—that’s a good question. That is such a good question. I think that—I think that what I’m proud of is having a consistent, really wonderful relationship with the fans who have put me here getting to do the job that I love because I think that reminding—you know I don’t ever have to be reminded. I’m reminded every single day; you guys are literally the only reason why I get to do something that I love so much and I think that a lot of the time people can lose sight of what got them where they are and I think that that’s something that every every day since I started doing this I made sure to, like, remind myself you never ever forget the people who got you here. So thank you for saying that.

Audrey: I will say that when I took my aunt and my mom to the first Chicago show of the Reputation Tour, the one thing that really stood out to the three of us, like, the minute we walked into Soldier Field was the engagement from your merch stand to the videos that you would see to the pre-show playlist. You had everything planned out.

Taylor: Thank you so much for noticing the planning! You have no idea how happy that makes me because, like, I really feel like we have the opportunity to create, like, a party. Like, when we plan it we try to plan every single element of a person’s day and so that just—like, that’s validation. Like, you have no idea. I really appreciate you saying it.

Audrey: I also will say when you played Our Song—I was sitting there sitting in the second across from the B-stage and when you said, "This is a song I wrote in ninth grade," I looked at my mom and I was, like, "Oh my god, this is the one song that I haven't heard yet."

Ryan: Audrey, you are the best. Thank you so much.

Taylor: You are the best.

Audrey: I also wanna ask Taylor. I'd love for you to listen to my show if you want to. I can definitely send the link to Ryan and I'll play any song you want. I was listening to your video blog from, like, over the years, and I was like, "I know a playlist for Taylor."

Ryan: I will make sure that we get her the link. Alright, Audrey?

Audrey: Okay, I love you Taylor. You're the best! Bye, Audrey.

Taylor: Good luck with everything.

Ryan: Oh, my god. That was just—that's what it's about, right? Isn't that what it's about?

Taylor: She's the best.

Ryan: Thank you so much for calling today. We will see you June 1st at Wango Tango, and we'll be following the puzzle, so.

Taylor: You guys better cater the whole day for them. You better pick a pre-show playlist and all that stuff.

Ryan: I know. You're making me feel complacent.

Taylor: Thanks for much for talking to me and for everything over the years. You've always been such a great friend and, yeah, I'll see you at Wango Tango. I'm really excited.

Ryan: We are too. You're the best, Taylor. Thank you again. See you soon.

Taylor: Thanks, guys, and thanks for the dance video.

#taylor swift #ryan seacrest #me! radio promo

[paganinpurple]

Miraculous Hogmanay

I got a ko-fi request from miraculousstuffwotifound: “hey could I possibly request a drabble of the miraculous class celebrating Hogmanay? bonus points if Luka (who is theorised to be Scottish) is the first footer and everyone is super confused by the Scottish custom. <3 I love your writing!”

 I didn’t quite use the whole class but I did go with our fav four. Enjoy the Adrinette and Lukanette teases!

Marinette stared at her phone in confusion for a moment after reading the message that had drawn her attention with a sharp ping.

“Everything okay M?” Alya asked her from her place on the couch, watching the Parisian celebrations on the television while Adrien and Nino sat on the floor, having the latest bout in their thumb war over the table. They looked dangerously close to knocking over the bottle of Champagne.

“Uh, fine,” she said, glancing up briefly before looking back at her screen, “Just didn’t expect to get any messages. I thought the network would be overrun.”

It was already 11:47 pm on New Year’s Eve and when she had heard her phone chime, she had expected it to be an early celebratory message from someone who knew they’d be too excited to send one later. She’d already done the same, sending out messages to her whole class minus the three her parents had encouraged her to spend new year with. New Years was supposed to be spent with friends after all. It was why her parents had gone out with their own friends for the night.

Returning to her phone to reread the message before her, Marinette nibbled on her lip awkwardly as she scanned the screen.

Are you at home for new years? Luka x

She briefly wondered where he had gotten her number from before her common sense caught up to her and she realised that he must have asked Juleka, so he could contact her himself. Despite the text sounding perfectly innocent and friendly, Marinette felt her heart pick up its rhythm and risked a panicked look across the room to ensure no one else had noticed.

Yeah, I’m home. U?

She agonised for a few minutes before adding a kiss of her own on the end. Giving it one last glance to proofread, she quickly hit the send button before she could overthink any and every possible undertone of the message. The reply was fast and frustratingly cryptic.

Not quite 😉

She stared at the message for a minute or two. “What is that supposed to mean?” she eventually asked aloud.

“Marinette! Quick! It’s the countdown!” Adrien shouted suddenly, full of endearing child-like excitement.

Dropping her phone in her haste, she dashed across to her friends, Alya’s arm slinging over her shoulder as they began to chant.

“5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Joyeuse année!”

Fireworks exploded in the skies over the bakery and Marinette found herself jumping on the spot with her best friend before launching herself at her for a hug. Nino soon tapped her on the shoulder and tilted his head towards Alya, a silent request to kidnap his girlfriend away from her which she quickly complied with.

There was a moment of brief awkwardness when she realised why and turned away from their public display that they were attempting to pass off as a simple new year’s kiss. As she did, her eyes met Adrien’s and they both blushed profusely as they tried to work out how to broach the topic of the same tradition.

“Um, we don’t have to-”

“Would you like to-?”

They both gave a small chuckle before Adrien placed a gentle peck against her cheek.

“Happy new year, Marinette.”

Marinette simply stared, cheeks darkening further as she slipped into another of her fantasies. Adrien had kissed her. Just on the cheek, but still -he had kissed her! Maybe he’d lean back in and they’d share a far more intimate moment?

She sighed deeply and might have remained frozen there forever, eyes glassy and Adrien beginning to worry that she had zoned out, but it was at that exact moment that the doorbell rang, and she shook herself free long enough to furrow her brow in confusion.

“Is that your parents?” Nino asked.

“It’s far too early,” she said, opening the door and turning to make her way to the downstairs entrance. She had locked up earlier and no one would have been able to make it up to the front room like normal, so she’d have to traipse down to let whoever it was inside, “And they have keys.”

Bounding down to the door quickly, she took a quick glance through the marbled glass and took in the view of dark hair ending in obviously teal tips. Wait, it couldn’t be? Could it?

She flung the door open so swiftly it almost bounced off the wall and only her quick reaction time saved her having to explain a dent in the plaster to her parents later. “Luka?” she gasped.

“Hi,” he said, standing before her, a bottle of something amber coloured in one hand and a simple wave coming from the other. “Can I come in?”

“Of course!” She stepped back for him to enter, closing and locking the door again once he was inside before leading him up the stairs to the front room.

As they made their way up in a strangely comfortable silence, Marinette eyes were drawn to Luka’s outfit. He wasn’t dressed unusually for him -just jeans and a t-shirt- but the writing across his chest caught her attention. It was hard to get a good look without openly staring but she was pretty sure the words weren’t French, and it was frustrating her that the cursive font made it difficult to tell.

They quickly made their way into the living room, alerting the others to their presence when the door clicked closed behind them. “Look who I found,” she announced, as the others ceased their dancing.

“Luka?” shouted Alya, her eyes flicking towards Adrien briefly before she moved forward and enveloped him in a hug, giving Marinette a pointed look over his shoulder.

“Nice T-shirt dude,” Nino said after she had pulled back, his face equally confused looking as Marinette had felt when she had tried to decipher it. “What does it say?”

“Oh. It’s English,” Luka said, “or rather Scots. It says, ‘Happy Hogmanay.’”

“Hogmanay?” Marinette asked.

“Oh, wait a minute!” Adrien suddenly burst out, “That’s the Scottish flag in the background isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Well spotted.” He turned to face Marinette. “Hogmanay is what we call New Year’s Eve in Scotland. Just like it’s called La Saint-Sylvestre here.”

“So, you’re actually from Scotland too, not just your maman?” Alya asked.

“I was born there. Maman brought us over here just before Juleka came along.” He smiled softly and Marinette’s tongue suddenly felt far too large for her mouth. “She’s determined to make sure we remember everything she can tell us about Scotland.”

Marinette had almost forgotten about the bottle he was carrying until he lifted it, passing it over to her and placing his hand over hers as she reached out for it.

“Here. For you and your family. Guests too,” he said, glancing at the others.

“Oh no! I c-can’t accept-” She cut off unexpectedly at the sound of his gentle laugh once again, a soft sound that made her feel like she had swaddled herself in a fleece blanket -fluffy and warm and impossibly comfortable.

It’s Scottish tradition Ma-ma-marinette,” he chuckled, “I’m your First Footer. I was the first foot to come in over the threshold after midnight. I have to bring you a gift.”

Glancing down at the amber liquid, she noted with a little uncertainty that it was Whisky. Real Scottish Whisky too, from the look of the label. That was kind of…intimidating actually.

“You’re meant to pour out a small shot into a glass and sip it straight -it’s called a dram,” Luka was telling Adrien who was peering over her shoulder at the bottle for a look of his own, “but it can be too strong if you’re not used to it. I take mine with water and ice.”

Feeling her face heat up from the proximity of the only two boys to have ever set her heart compass spinning, Marinette quickly moved away to get glasses for everyone, struggling at first to reach the ones furthest back on the top shelf until Adrien leaned over to help. His chest brushed her back as he did so, and she had to force down a squeak at the contact.

Dashing to the counter, she attempted to pour out small measures of the precious liquid but soon found her hands shaking to do much more than splash the liquid towards the glasses, almost coating the counter while she tried. Luka reached out and steadied her hand helping her to pour first the whisky before topping up one with water from the jug in the fridge to show them all how much to add.

“You should all try it straight first. Just to see what you think,” he said whilst Marinette tried to regain the strength in her knees.

He smirked then began to laugh as they all made a unique assortment of faces at the taste of the strong liquor before adding water and ice, making it only marginally more palatable for them.

The fun of the night continued again soon enough and the longer it went on, the more Marinette seemed to relax – most likely aided by the glass of whisky and multiple glasses of champagne she had drunk.

Turns were taken dancing with one another to the music playing from the TV and anecdotes were shared. Nino became disgruntled for a while when Marinette told a particularly embarrassing story about him tearing his jeans in école and attempting to hide it with his coat tied around his waist until someone had grabbed it from him, but he soon warmed up again when Marinette squawked at his threats to tell everyone of her own childhood adventures.

Luka even convinced them all to attempt singing Auld Lang Syne, something which failed so hopelessly that the girls collapsed to the floor in giggles while the boys attempted to continue with the dancing. Their circle was far too small to allow them to move in and out and Nino kept uncrossing his arms as he tried to concentrate on the lyrics.

“This isn’t fair!” he snickered when the boys too finally gave up, tipsy and slumping to the ground in fits of laughter, “I’m good at English! Some of these words are made up, I’m sure of it.”

“They’re Scots, not English,” Luka explained, scooting across the floor on his knees to sit on Marinette’s right, “There’s Scots, there’s English and there’s Scottish-English. And I haven’t even mentioned Gaelic yet.” He burst out a snort of laughter when Nino flopped onto his back with a grumble.

“So, what does Auld Lang Syne mean then?” Adrien asked from Marinette’s other side, making the girl jump at his sudden appearance.

“Old long ago. Basically, it means ‘the good old days.’”

“Hey! Describe me in Scots!” Adrien said leaning his chin on Marinette’ shoulder and speaking with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm for a boy who didn’t realise the girl beside him was slowly combusting where she sat.

Luka watched him for a second as he thought before finally- “Bricht easy chuffed. It means you’re excitable,” he snickered.

“What about Nino?” Alya asked watching her boyfriend purse his lips from his spot on the floor next to her before losing her balance and slumping down beside him.

“Leave me out of this!” he complained before rolling over to snuggle into Alya’s side.

“He’s definitely crabbit,” Luka said with a teasing smirk. “Grumpy.”

“And me? And Marinette?” Alya’s slurred and muffled voice asked from Nino’s shoulder.

“Well, right now you’re steaming, blootert, pissed. And puggelt” He hadn’t dropped that smirk. “Drunk and tired.” He only received a soft snore in reply and turned back to where Marinette sat beside him, Adrien also starting to doze lightly on her shoulder.

The sensation of his breath on her neck combined with the intense look Luka was giving her, she began to wonder if a person could actually melt into a puddle, and if they could, would Adrien notice that his pillow had disappeared before or after she started to evaporate from the heat in her face?

“As for Marinette,” Luka said, glancing at the half-asleep boy on her other side before his eyes found hers again, holding her gaze, “I don’t think I’m the only one here who thinks she’s an extremely bonnie lass.”

#pip writes #adrinette #lukanette #scottish!Luka

[topweeklyupdate]

TØP Weekly(/Monthly) Update #52: I’m Gonna Jumpsuit Out a Window (6/30/18)

When all the cryptic weirdness surrounding dmaorg.info sprung up nearly two months ago, everyone was extremely hyped. So much content! So many theories! It really felt like hiatus was over.

There was just one problem: there were no new songs licensed or registered under the band’s name, which meant nothing was coming out. Rabid music fans have known for years that there is truly no such thing as a “surprise” music release: for legal reasons, almost all song titles show up on online registries several days, if not weeks, before they are made available to the public. And, indeed, after the initial wave of teases wrapped up, the Clique returned to a quasi-hiatus state, punctuated only by the occasional addition to the Dema lore.

This Thursday, June 28, that all changed. Let’s talk about it. 

This Week’s TØPics:

Finally, Some Good F*cking Food: Two New Song Titles Registered

Dema Recap: Cheetahs and Trenches and Cryptic Nonsense, Oh My!

One Year Later: What Do We Really Know About This Hiatus?

Editorial: When the Discourse Gets Too Much (and When It’s Just What We Need)

Major News and Announcements:

In the biggest piece of real news that we’ve received since the hiatus, two new song titles have been registered on the PPL music licensing database: “Nico and the Niners” and “Jumpsuit”. This is a highly reputable source, and not even truly a “leak” as so many have called it. The pages are managed directly by labels’ legal teams to ensure that anyone who wishes to play music in their media, advertisements, or establishments knows what songs are licensed to which artists and what steps to take to legally license them. “Heathens” was first spotted here over two years ago, not to mention countless other songs from various other artists. The two songs were just removed from the day after they were found listing, but Reddit detectives have already discovered untitled tracks with the same registration codes listed under an unknown Warner artist (ya’ll ain’t slick).

The fact that this posting was accompanied by further activity from the band only confirms that there’s some real nonsense going on. Not only did we get new Dema content (which we’ll get to) but, perhaps even more wild, Tyler Robert Joseph liked something on Instagram. Dude’s alive.

In all seriousness, Tyler Joseph’s social media habits do little to help us understand just what the hell “Nico and the Niners” is. The bigger story (and the one I’ve been slacking on reporting the last two months, my bad) is the sporadic updates to dmaorg.info. Back in early May, we got our first bit of content after the initial reveal in the form of a new letter from Clancy. The letter itself is a pretty well-written YA protagonist internal monologue, with Clancy yearning to find a place that truly feels like home outside the walls of Dema. But, Tyler being Tyler, there’s more to it than that: the date attached to the paragraph matches that of the band’s last social media post, and missing letters from throughout the note together spell out the coded message “You are still sleeping.”

The second update, posted in late May, is this lovely gif of a cheetah running under letters moving in a quick sequence. After slowing it down, the letters spell out the message “U still don’t know his real name do u?” Again, there’s much more to the post when you take the time to dig in. The listed date matches Josh’s appearance at the APMAs, the first mention of Dema. The file name for the gif is “3lurr” meaning the “he” in the question may in fact be Blurryface. Most significantly, the spaces between this message’s words were filled with letters that, when taken out separately and placed in sequence, repeatedly spell out “Nico,” perhaps answering the gif’s own rhetorical question.

So who is Nico? Well, it matches the names of one of the nine bishops in the “Compass” picture from April, which would seem to make him one of the ‘niners” who rule Dema. It’s increasingly looking like this album is really going to double down on covering a weird and fleshed out concept rife with metaphors, and I. Am. Here for it (as long as the music’s, ya know, good).

The final (for now) Dema post was released just yesterday in the wake of all of the sudden new activity. It is the first photo that seems to be wholly original, with no one as yet having tracked down where it’s from. It’s a pretty badass image, with twenty-one (goddammit) figures standing at the edge of some cliff or pit. Some have speculated that this could be album artwork, and it would certainly make for a very good cover. But that’s just the surface.

The image’s jpg name is an assortment of letters that, when deciphered using a basic alphabet sequence code, translates into “Trench”- possibly another new song? BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Typing that jpg number sequence or “trench” into the “violation code” section of the dmaorg.info url reveals a heavily-distorted audio clip. Sound engineers on Twitter and Reddit have tried reversing and pitch correcting the snippet, but have not truly succeeded in deriving anything from it beyond that it seems to be Tyler singing “So did they obey/bury you?” But what he’s saying honestly doesn’t matter to me half as much as this fact: after over a year, we finally got to hear Tyler Joseph’s voice. That’s got me on Cloud Nine, baby. 

Pictured: The Clique (I know I used this joke last time, sue me)

So what does all of this cryptic nonsense and Reddit deciphering ultimately tell us? Frankly, it’ll be hard to say until we actually have our hands and ears on new music. The Clique has compiled so many different theories about what these little snippets of photos and garbled words mean that there’s no way they can all be true. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that there was an actual plan for this roll-out stretching back at least a year and that Tyler is not (as some salty fans have suggested) just throwing out a bunch of “fake deep trash.” Each piece of the Dema content has matched up in some way with the lyrics from the shutting eyes last year:

“You’ll have to come and find me.” -> The original discovery of the website.

“My pretty sleeper.” -> The “You are still sleeping” hidden message.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could just lay down...” -> “...and wake up in Slowtown” (and slow down the cheetah gif).

“I will fear the night again...” -> “[I hope I’m] not my only friend.” (the caption for the cliff picture)

Beyond all of that, the revelation of “Nico and the Niners” being part of the actual album should be taken as a real source of validation for all of those Reddit warriors out there: At least some of this stuff means something. (Now wtf is “Jumpsuit” about...)

Other Shenanigans:

Potential leaks from radio stations and some common sense theories have pegged a single release for the band as coming in the next two weeks, either July 6th or 13th. With all that in mind, I thought we’d look back on the weird conspiracy chart I’ve been keeping in my closet and recap what exactly we know about the band’s activities over the last year. 

The short answer is: not much. After Josh’s performance at the APMAs, there have been no interviews, no public appearances, no social media posts. Josh has certainly been much more active than Tyler, which just makes sense for his much-less introverted personality. He contributed drums to Lights’ last album (though those recordings were done well before the hiatus). He apparently hopped into the studio with Drake Bell, (though I have no idea if any of that music has seen the light of day). He’s been fine taking group photos with Fueled by Ramen colleagues, other friends from the music industry, and, of course, Debby, who he almost definitely is back with. As for Tyler... well, beyond a few Jenna photos from a few months back and the odd fan encounter, there’s been nothing, which is why that eight second audio clip hit me like a Mack truck. 

There are a few other things the truly obsessed have been able to find that I don’t necessarily want to reward by reposting here- I really want to try to keep it about the art. But we can pretty safely guess from Jenna and Jordan’s social media that the duo have been in Columbus, LA, and New York together a few times the last few months, likely for studio sessions and label meetings. Perhaps we’ll find out more about what transpired during the “hiatus” in the weeks and months to come, perhaps not. One thing’s for sure: it’s finally, finally (almost) over. 

Editorial:

The last note I wanted to leave everyone on is something a little different for this blog, but still something I still think is worth talking about. Anyone who has been visiting the Twenty One Pilots tags on any site over the last several months can tell that the fanbase has not been taking the band’s absence well. And I’m not just talking the usual overblown crying for new music or young kids worshiping their idols a little too much. That’s always been there. This is different.

A whole host of the old crowd- the update accounts, the podcast hosts, the quasi-groupies who got barricade every night- have turned pretty hard from the band, particularly from Tyler. Some just have no interest in the music of Twenty One Pilots in the year 2018 AD; they’ve discovered other topics, other genres, other artists that speak more personally to where they are in life, and have just moved on. Others have expressed deeply personal distaste for the band itself for a whole host of political and social reasons that I’m not going to get into here- that’s a debate for another time, and probably for another account.

The point is, digging through social media to try to find updates and memes has been difficult when the most dependable sources also pepper in jab at whether Tyler’s learned to carry burdens yet every few posts. And while those folks are certainly more than entitled to their opinions and feelings (I even agree with many of them), it’s hard to deny that there are large swathes of the Twenty One Pilots’ fandom that just aren’t much fun to be in right now, just like there’s large swathes of the world in general where it feels like we’re not permitted to assume the best in people and just be happy with the things that used to make us happy. For a few weeks, I’ve honestly been wondering if I wanted to keep running this account in the next era. I just wanted to go back to the time before I had to share Twenty One Pilots with the world, when this was just my band, the one that made me feel understood and valid and worthy at a time where nothing else really did

Sasha Geffen’s insightful and deeply personal piece on the band’s music for AV Club, which focuses on how Tyler Joseph depicts and discusses suicidal depression, helped bring me back to that time. Music journalists have frequently gotten everything wrong about Tyler Joseph’s songwriting, to the point where I have often felt like they were listening to different music than me. But Geffen gets it. She sees that Tyler does not talk down to his audience about the problems they’re dealing with; he’s always been right there with us, and always offering concrete and practical ways of getting through depression one day at a time. He’s an insightful and compassionate dude, way more than people give him credit for, and it shows in his art. I had almost forgotten that. I needed that reminder right now, before everything ramps up again. I hope that article offers some comfort for any of you who also want to remember why this band is still so special, all these years later.

See you all (hopefully) next week. Power to the local dreamer.

|-/

#twenty one pilots #tyler joseph #josh dun #dema #top weekly update #fueled by ramen #music #av club #bands

[this-is-my-metanoia]

The Hidden Manifesto

Of course, this isn’t very hidden.

This isn’t to be taken literally. As I said, there’s nothing hidden about this.

But there are other meanings for that word – right?

There are plenty of things in this world that catch our attention and meet our eye. To most, however, we’ll take it as it is and move on. There is nothing inherently wrong about this, mind you. In fact, most individuals will say that’s just how the world works.

There are times though, that you catch yourself staring at one section for too long – perhaps a word, sentence, drawing or painting – options are endless. Perhaps that causes you to do more research and observation.

And lo and behold, sometimes things aren’t always as they seem.

I think when it comes to art as well as life, it’s important to “dig a little deeper” – Is that really it? Was that it’s intention? While the answer may be yes at times …

There will be times where it will be no.

Taking time to step back and reflect is a learned skill – crazy, I know. Patience can be worn thin, however. Some individuals prove that point as often as they can. No matter the medium, I think it’s important to dedicate yourself to the piece – a song, for example. I made a post previously expression my admiration and love for a song created by Corpse Husband. While many might simply appreciate the lofi beat, acknowledge the lyrics and carry on with their day, there are those – such as myself – who will a song they instantly connect with [for a number of reasons]. Taking the time to listen, read, feel, and understand the song is true appreciation in my eyes. Why did the artist choose such vulnerable language? What about this beat specifically makes it work so well in par with the lyrics? Is he trying to tell us, his audience something about himself as a creator/person? Or maybe he’s trying to reach out and see who’s feeling the same? These are some questions that some won’t ever feel the need to ask. It doesn’t satisfy them as it does others.

Take Francis Alys and Rafael Ortega, Re-Enactment.

If you were to only watch it once, glossing over it as if you were skimming text, you would think it’s a recreation of a real event – both filmed, surprisingly. After watching a few times, however, along with noticing the varying stylistic filming changes, another conclusion can be drawn. If watching carefully, the viewer may be able to put together that both are edited in some way, both are technically ‘Re-Enactments’. I can admit when I say I did not make that connection the first time I watched.

So, I pressed play again.

Another time.

A third.

What number are we on again?

It is that same drive and desire to discover and unravel the hidden or secrets behind art. There is so much more than meets the eye, clearly. It just takes the right person to take initiative. An abstract painting, such as Gong by Pierre Alechinsky, for example.

I admit, it can be hard to decipher cryptic art. But fun.

Even finding those difficult shapes and colors that may or may not be something is rewarding, right?

Sometimes even researching the background (ex: Alechinsky’s trip to Japan and filming) brings a bigger light into what you already thought you knew.

Sometimes, these things are hidden in plain sight. Not just in art, but in our daily lives and world.

Others … not so much. You might have to do a little soul searching, or scavenger hunting to even get one clue. It can be frustrating sometimes.

But it could also be fun.

It could be rewarding.

It could teach us something we should have realized a long time ago.

Crazy, isn’t it?

#manifesto #personal philosophy #philosophy #points made #humanities #humanity #humans