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#sorry for the late response btw!! really wanted to think this one thru; i have a lot of love for this subject but talking is not my forte
broh3m3 · 15 days
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I love your art style, especially how energetic it is! How did your art style get such dynamic lines? Do you have any tips/advice/ideas on how to do that?
Thank you! Um... I'm not sure how to go about it, but I’ll try and give some tips on line confidence. I think my main advice would be to not let your sketch box you in- keeping it at a really low opacity so that your eyes don’t get used to seeing it with your line art when you draw over it (having your sketch opacity too high can give a different impression of your line work), leaving room to exaggerate or play around with fresh lines in the next phase.. It’s easier to do when you’re confident in your subject, so the sketch should be stable enough to convey that, but have fun with the process otherwise! For me, good line art comes out when I’m actively finding ways to build off the sketch’s energy while lining it, not when I’m trying to limit myself to it/already 100% happy with what it provides.
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Here's a bit of a visualization! When going from the sketch to the line art, I was thinking that I could improve the flow of the cape, so I made the upper part less flat and balanced its curve with the bottom to keep the energy flowing. The slope of Kalim's pose could balance the curve of Jamil's sarouel, so I leaned into that when putting down the lines for Kalim's. Meanwhile having some areas be more linear helps give contrast. Line of action, straights against curves, etc. (I think this is delving more into gestural talk now) I'd recommend studying artists whose linework you enjoy too! Kaisen_Tobiuo was-and still is- a big inspiration of mine growing up for how expressive their works and line art felt. Also study naruto fanartists they're cracked It ended up being a bit of a ramble, but I hope this could help op!
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It's me again!✌🏿🙋🏿‍♀️ Reading thru your response reminded me of something that I forgot to say. It's triggering so ignore it if it triggers you or even makes you a bit uncomfortable! (It's between the /////)
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I'm a survivor of csa and that's actually one of the reasons I really love Aemond's portrayal in the show as he was taken to a brothel at such a young age and it's just so clear and obvious that he did NOT like or appreciate what happened and it still follows him to this day. How could it not? It's not like the maesters were mental health professionals.
My abuse shaped who I was romantically involved with for a long time (I'm in my mid 30s) and in the last few years I've been able to see that and work it out wit my therapist. I really dont want that to be the case for Aemond, though it makes sense and it's quite realistic. I would prefer I guess that if he's involved wit Alys without her magic and manipulation that he genuinely likes her, truly, not because that's all he's known because of what happened when he was 13. Even I that's not the case as long as the writers treat this subject with respect and some tact I won't have an issue, but I as a person would have wrote it differently for my own taste.
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I also hope that people don't hate on the actress for no reason other than she's dating the fictional hottie. Jokes are fine, I make em too! But only at the character, not the actor/actress. Which is btw what I hate the most about people who diss Aemond and Daemon because they don't think Ewan and Matt are handsome enough or whateva. Total bs in my opinion.
Anyway I don't know where I was going with this and I really do apologize if this was upsetting! I feel comfortable talking about such subjects because I think they should be talked about but I understand that many others feel differently. Thank you for taking time to read my long ass message and respond! Idk what your friends are on about, you're very pleasant 😂 a pleasant Daemon like when he got Syrax's eggs!
Stay warm if it's cold over there, over here it's freezing🥶
Hi there, and sorry for such a late response! There's some backlog when it comes to my inbox and I haven't been able to answer messages promptly 🥲
First of all, I feel that you have such a sense of sincerity and good humour and I find it admirable + kudos for getting to work through your trauma with a therapist. That in itself takes a whooole lot of bravery 🖤
About Aemond though, it's sad to think that he most likely did not/will not get any support about how he was taken advantage of at 13. He probably doesn't even fully know that it's wrong, especially since his older brother seems so keen about it. And I just hate to imagine him having to get used to feeling all messed up about that experience. His struggle remains internal and unnamed as it's not something that is outright 'wrong' or 'abusive' in their world.
In some way, it might be easier to understand Alys using her witchy powers to make Aemond fall in love with her, than it is to see them 'fall in love' without apparent manipulation... Cause there always will be that "what if" on my part about whether his attraction is not influenced by what he went through? ahhh I don't know we'll see how it is portrayed I guess...
You're so right - I also CANNOT stand slander directed towards the actors. I hope the Aemond fans don't target whoever will portray Alys. I mean - it's fine - fans have a right to not like a character, but not to the extent that it's unreasonable and insulting 🤷‍♀️
Also I admit I've seen Matt Smith's work for years now, but I've never been so fixated on him as when he portrayed Daemon 😂
Thank you thank you for the message! Apologies for my essay haha and it's freezing in my corner of the world as well... if only we can keep warm with Aemond or Daemon 😉
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sungbeam · 1 year
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XNONIE PRESENT (FINALLY) !!!
hi beam! college has been kicking my butt recently ☹️ idk how ppl do it but i'm dragging myself through the week right now LMAO
i don't see anything 😀 when i search up my asks 😀 so i unfortunately 😀 have a very vague 😀 idea of our last convo 😀
but i DO remember that you asked about dc!! i'm glad u asked b/c i'm actually trying to get into dc right now! i'm watching titans season 1 on hbo max, recently watched black adam, saw ww84, & saw the new batman movie a while ago! beast boy is kinda 😍💖💕💗💞 in titans HEHEHE- my favorite dc characters rn are him & starfire but i really wanna delve into the franchise more!! who are ur dc biases so far 🙏 (yes we'll be using kpop terminology for non-kpop fandoms from now on)
also i have NOT listened to 28 reasons by seulgi yet b/c of my schedule i feel like such a fake reveluv but i'm looking into that 😭 AND YES GIVE CRAVITY SOME LOVE ON PARTY ROCK <3 i'm taeyoung biased ever since i saw his tiktoks (all their tiktoks are iconic tbh they keep up w/ trends LOL)
HOW HAVE U BEEN BTW?? and are u excited for wakanda forever? i can't believe its coming so soon alreadyyyy 😟❗️
XNONIE !!! BFF !!! I'M SO SORRY FOR MY LATE REPLY I'VE JUST LACKED SO MUCH ENERGY TO EVEN REPLY TO ASKS THIS WEEK (´Д⊂ヽ but i was so excited to see u active and alive akcnekfnek idk how people do it either tbh :') like i felt that so hard when u said ur practically dragging urself thru the week like me too dude, me too 😔 LMAO SOMETHING IS UP W TUMBLR TAGS 🗿🗿🗿 as there always is tbh, but i went thru and found my latest response so i'll link it here BAHHAHA
AHHHH DC YESYES !!! i actually haven't watched the live action titans series yet :0 but i follow ryan potter on instagram so i've def seen some stuff for it !! he's so hot tho so true 😩😩😩 i kinda wish he was casted as nightwing/dick grayson cuz he would've made a really good one, but the current one i think fits as well :') ahh yes i actually am not the greatest fan of dc movies lmao just cuz their animated tv shows r just top notch and so much better imo but i did enjoy the first wonder woman and robert pattinson's the batman !! ooh my dc biases? it's prob the bat boys AHAHAHHA i'm writing an au inspired by them actually rn hehe so basically nightwing/dick grayson, red hood/jason todd, and red robin/tim drake, but i am also particularly fond of roy harper/speedy and robin/damian wayne @_@ they all make my mind go brrrr (wbu tho 👀👀)
AHHHHH WAKANDA FOREVER I HAVENT WATCHED IT YET I FEEL SO SAD ☹️☹️☹️ it's cuz college has also been kicking my ass and watching marvel movies is a thing my family does together and it's just not the same going to see it in theaters w anyone else :( so i've been holding back skcnekfn have u seen it tho :0 i'm also so very excited for quantumania !!! (ノ´∀`*) IT LOOKS SO SO SO GOOD SKFNKENFKD I LOVE PAUL RUDD PLS GIVE THAT MAN AN OSCAR RN
okok i think i also was gonna bring up the fact that i wanted to write another mcu au for svt?? like ik we were talking abt the xmen au, but i was thinking abt making minghao scarlet witch and basically yn is like the one person who truly saw him and when he lost u, all hell broke loose (like in wandavision), and so it's like him recreating a life w u while his friends on the outside r trying to break him out of it before the stinky government folks do skcnwidn
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zumpietoo · 3 years
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Oh where to start???? Whelp, at least I have something to roast now....
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Umm....nooo....(and this is just the question, itself...)
First off, Betty’s responsible, directly and indirectly for Jug’s trauma. Plus HER trauma isn’t really the kidnapping and, again, she made choices that led to it. Additionally, they tried to reconnect and she chose, repeatedly, to not do so.
Jug’s actually moved past his old views of her, but, again, yeah, she DGAF and didn’t look for him....
Lastly, BH aren’t the only ones with trauma: whole point is Douchie has it, Tabi has it (and Jabi will connect over it, as has been spoiled----in fact, I’m of the opinion the LATEST delay on this will be that Tabs now wants to tell him everything, to ensure he’s willing to deal with her shit, as well), Vermin has it, etc...
Literally, if “have trauma” is a bonding/soulmate thing, then they’re bonded/soulmates to the whole, fuckin’ town....
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Idealized version/source of trauma....and, honestly, I think he’s been living with this fantasy because it helped him cope with the deep betrayal and hurt she caused.....and I also think he sees that Tabitha remains his future. And he’ll be letting go of all this soon enough. In some ways, he already has.
The first hallucination was about craving closure, recognizing she did fuck him over (and never bothered to make amends, just kept fucking him over), the second (which, again, was in the past, not present) was his way of coping with having his face potentially chewed off by rats. And to deal with that she had, yet again, fully betrayed him
Again, two years ago, while wasted. He’s in the process of moving on from that.
This is about “living in the past”, something you’re doing as well.
Not suspicion, reality, Betty’s a cuntwipe.
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Actually, Betty? Is just that, because she’s been groomed and brainwashed for quite some time....and it’s abundantly clear a LOT of that was about turning her against Jughead, lest he somehow interfere with Glenn’s plans. So yeah, you can blame her behavior on that, but Slizzy’s a fucking pod person.
And, honestly? Jug’s the exact same guy he always was. IDK why nobody else gets this.
OML.....again, with the fucking Kommunikashuunnnnn.....dude, boring, not gonna happen, fully ignores that Slizzy’s currently brainwashed.
Doesn’t matter----she’s a completely different person, he’s drawn to somebody new and she chose to repeatedly lie and betray him and then chose to let things not work subsequently, make him secondary in her life, well before Glenn was grooming her.
Plus, that’s a very fanfic version...and no, it is very much NOT the trope the show is pursuing...
And yeah, this will be why they’re ultimately endgame, cause that will be presented, but we’re waaaayyyy far away from that.
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Nope, this is a woman who’s psychotic and letting that control her....and it isn’t urgent, other than satisfying her vigilante needs, at all. I call bullshit on every last fucking bit of that. Plus her efforts? Have gotten her fucking nowhere.
So she’s both insane AND shitty.....
And yeah, she showed us she’s a fucking sociopath who has systematically dehumanized Jughead all along. Now, yes, most likely it’s cause she’s been groomed, but it’s still there, it’s actually a pattern of behavior for her, well before (and is why it was actually fairly easy for Glenn to do).
She didn’t look, she belittled him endlessly (which is hilariously hypocritical) and was a cuntwipe. Again, pretty sure it’s cuz she’s been brainwashed, but also doesn’t fucking matter. And, again, because there was always that inclination...
She did NOT go to look for him. And we were shown the basis for Jughead’s misery. And that SHE caused it.
They’re going thru the healing separately. That isn’t the show and they aren’t back together (for all the reasons I keep pointing out) until verrryyyyy late in the show’s run.
In fact, Jug’s doing just that, right now. Slizzy’s still a psycho killah. And shouldn’t be with ANYBODY....she doesn’t need to be “purified” she needs to be “not completely horrible”.
She kept the VM to remind herself to hate him....because she’s been programmed to do so. Even if she thought Jug was just “sleeping it off”, he was drugged and could’ve been hurt....and might need medical attention, so no. What utter bullshit.
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Well, at least she admits that. What went wrong in their relationship remains 1000000% on Slizzy....always. Who, BTW, doesn’t even KNOW she needs to heal from anything....and continues to be a cuntwipe.
Spoiler: you aren’t getting what you want for a verryyyy long time
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blackicedragons · 4 years
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Bro I must get the lore on Cyril and Ignitus. How did they get together? Why did they decide to have a kid (specifically for the prophecy if I read right)? When did their relationship start going wrong? And, most importantly, is there going to be a parent-trap style subplot to try and get them back together?
OH THIS IS A DELICIOUS ASK THANK U OMG
okay so i actually, admittedly, have way more of this thought out than i should bc i dedicated hours of my time to daydreaming about this........//////MAJOR SPOILERS for some elements of the rewrite btw!!
our four main guardians have, in my canon, been incredibly close for many years. ignitus was always known as the wise-man and the voice of reason, and despite cyril's bad attitude, he was always honest and kept up with tradition to a fault. ignitus was good at difussing the bad situations cyril caused with his rude comments, but cyril often stood up for ignitus when the red dragon found himself to be a bit soft-spoken. the two had a deep respect for one another and they spent alot of time together as close friends.
when the year of the dragon was drawing close and the prophecy reared its head, ignitus and cyril were asked by a council of elder dragons to make the egg that would become their savior (yes, it is because red and blue make purple. im incredibly creative, i know!!!) the council figured that two heavily respected guardians that had excellent handles on their elemental abilities would create an ideal purple dragon for the future. the two initially weren't very keen on the idea, but they understood that they were only being asked to do so for the sake of their fellow dragons. eventually, they accepted the plea. ignitus was the sire and cyril was the dame in the situation (in the rewrite, spyro is mentioned specifically to have ignitus's horns and frills while also having cyril's eye shape and scale patterns)
intially, the two of them only did this because they saw it as their duty as guardians. yet, ignitus found himself fretting over cyril often. he would guide him around carefully, making sure he didn't stumble around given the weight of his belly during pregnancy. he got cyril food, groomed him, cleaned his room, and spoke about how he wondered what their egg may be like. though cyril was a bit bratty about everything, he was incredibly grateful for ignitus's diligence and patience. cyril would ask ignitus to stay in his nest for the night, and exclusively sought out ignitus for comfort and care. for the first time, cyril was being fairly polite and even seemed to be happier, and ignitus had come out of his shell. they spoke for hours about their egg's future, and then about their own. volteer and terrador jokingly referred to them as the "new pair of love doves". after some time, cyril was actually the first to confess that he loved ignitus (he was always a little too honest), having said "no one has ever chosen to put up with me for so long" and, despite being a little surprised, ignitus reciprocated, telling cyril that he "could never really grow tired of him". despite not knowing what the future held, the two decided they would do everything they could to raise their child together, and to be with each other through whatever the coming year would bring.
and then the raid happened. the temple was destroyed, chaos was everywhere, and the eggs were all shattered. cyril was injured, and ignitus, feeling frightened and panicked, sent their egg away to hopefully find a safer place to hatch. the war began not long after. although ignitus cared for cyril and stood beside him in battle, his guilt only grew as the war waged on. he couldn't help but blame himself for everything that had happened. cyril tried to talk him out of it, saying he was being irrational, saying that none of this could all possibly be his fault, saying there was nothing more ignitus could do. ignitus refused to listen, and put the blame for the war on his own shoulders, feeling that it was the only way he could properly take responsibility. the two of them fought harshly. ignitus couldn't come to terms with his own self-loathing and grief, and cyril couldn't find his softness and reasoning in a time when things were so hard. after their last fight, they didn't speak again, and cyril was captured a few days later. of course, ignitus entirely blamed himself, and lamented that the last words he ever spoke to cyril were words of anger and sadness, and cyril lamented the same in his cage.
when spyro arrives and frees the guardians, ignitus and cyril are intially very tense! they both never imagined seeing each other again, and they don't really how to apologize to one another and how to make up for all the negative energy and time between them. they barely speak to each other unless they have to, and they refuse to be in a room alone together for more than a few awkward seconds. spyro, ember, and flame can obviously see how weird they're acting, but terrador won't explain anything. the three kids go to volteer who, of course, literally can not keep his mouth shut about it. he tells them that ignitus and cyril were once together and deeply in love, but the war tore them apart. ember, seeing a touching love story in the making, decides "HEY!!! LET'S GET THEM TO MAKE UP!!!!" and literally drags spyro and flame into her plans. the kids do anything they can think of; sending the two guardians flowers from """"secret admirers", throwing around mushy-gooey poetic love notes, lighting candles everywhere, decorating the temple, and trying to set the "perfect romantic mood" for the two sad-sacks. eventually, they get caught, and cyril and ignitus bring them into the training room to reprimand them. not having the courage to speak up, ember and flame are silent, but spyro eventually confesses that volteer told them everything, and that the kids just want to see their guardians happy again. taken aback, the two send the children away, and are alone in the training room for the first time. after a bit of silence, cyril speaks up first. "you never apologized to me.." he mumbles, the air around him feeling cold. ignitus counters that cyril refused to speak to him. the two begin arguing, and it seems like this is just going to be another horrible fight, but the two war-torn dragons break down. ignitus admits that he feels its his fault because he sent spyro away, and he could never make up for all the pain the war caused those he cared about. he couldnt accept that it wasnt his fault because he was the head guardian, he needed to be better, he was SUPPOSED to be better. and he wasn't, and now it was all too late. after hearing this, cyril, for the first time in many years, found his softer side. he spoke gently, telling ignitus that no one expected him to do this on his own, and that he needed to learn to count on the others instead of expecting everything out of himself alone. cyril told him that, even though their future wasn't a happy one, at the very least, they were both there. and spyro had come home. after a bit more talking, there's definitely like, a super passionated lovey-dovey kiss and make up scene, and it closes with the two stupid boyfriends deciding theyre going to tell spyro the truth
AND YEAH BASICALLY THATS ABOUT THE GIST OF IT i am soooo fucking sorry this response got this fucking long but i genuinely adore this plotline and it makes me soft and fuzzy inside!!! and yeah basically their relationship is gonna go thru some ups and downs but itll develop alot more as the story goes alone and i think itll be alot of fun to show u guys!!!!! anyway ajfjfjjfd thank u for asking me this bc i was looking for an excuse to gush abt them lmao BUT if u have any other questions abt my rewrite or anything go ahead and ask!! thank u thank u thank u!!!! <3
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theanatomyletter · 5 years
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here is a perfectly sane response to the climate emergency
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Right so like 3 days ago once everyone found out a couple weeks too late that the literal amazon rainforest is on fire I went into a sort of anxiety/depressive spiral and it was terrifying!!! I was scared and shocked out of doing anything and kept thinking of all the bad things that are happening and how we are all going 2 die and kept thinking of how to make more ppl understand that climate destruction is part of the same racist project as white imperialism and I’m !!! Stressed !! And I was scared and freaked out!!! I remember as a kid one of my favourite things ever was the book Journey To The River Sea by Eva Ibbotson and I s2g that book made me a person it taught me so many things about what it means to love a place and to be alive in the world and how to sustain a sense of self and community in meaningful connection with that it means to be alive and here and breathing and it’s a book about the rainforest and the river and so I’ve just been,, thinking of it a lot, little blue butterfly from the cover floating thru my brain and all that. It’s hard!!! I thought I was afraid of not saving/earning enough money to do a masters next year but I was actually afraid of the consequences of the climate emergency. Pay more attention to your emotions and honour them for what they are and figure out what is at stake for you, what does it make you feel that the world is in crisis. I think that’s important
Depressing chat aside after I panicked and felt radicalised (what does that even mean?) I found this twitter thread which was basically like these are all the terrible things that can happen and here is how we stop them and at first I felt SO SCARED because there’s NO WAY we can actually organise mass strikes at this scale!!!! We have never had to organise at this scale before, I panicked and got really scared and went on a rant about how we have to use existing structures to fix things because we don’t have the time or resources to organise at this scale but like. I now think we actually do, I found this resource for organising strikes globally from 20TH TO 27TH SEPTEMBER and like, we have the Internet and we have a month to plan and prepare and if you are able to strike you absolutely should !!!!!! There are people smarter than me speaking to the urgency of this, I’m just having some feelings and writing this on my phone notes, but like. Read about strikes in your area. If there aren’t any, find resources to help organise one. Text your friends your colleagues your family whatsapp group the people you went to school with, spread the word and organise how you will sustain your community in that time
As a side note after I went on panic rants all over my social media I think I realised that terrifying people into frenzied action won’t work because it’ll often just scare them into inaction (that’s what it did to me) and I felt better only once I found that resource for actual organisation, the mass general strike felt like an impossible project until I found out it’s already being planned. So like, don’t be helplessly scared, we have multiple years to fix things, and I think this is important: REMEMBER TO BE ALIVE AND HERE AND BREATHING, it’s important to actually feel the absolute miracle that is consciousness otherwise all of the saving the world will have been for nothing. Take photos of your friends and give hugs to your pets and get drunk and go dancing and remember that what matters is that feeling of being so achingly alive and aware of your existence in the world when you look at the sky and feel dizzy with how small you are and how yet the whole universe is inside of your brain, remember to breathe and feel glorious and loud and bright and reckless.
On that note, I was having a hard time giving a shit about much but I copped on a bit after I talked to my friend Naoise Dolan (buy her book it is out soon !!!) I felt like calmer and more like I was allowed to enjoy things and write things (that’s why I finally pulled it together enough to do this) and so I LISTENED TO THE NEW TAYLOR SWIFT ALBUM ON REPEAT and I’ve decided I love it, here is my ranking of all its songs from worst to best, I have so many thoughts, the lyrics are golden, I’m so happy to be alive in the world at a time we can make things better and listen to music like this that’s tailor made (sorry) for us to forget about any guilt we may feel from bopping to boardroom produced songs about corporate feminism
18. Miss Americana and whoever the fuck
Idk what this obsession is with high school motifs (shout out Mike Dolan for pointing this out) like it’s just weird for a 29 yr old to use school as a metaphor for her love life. The “you win stupid prizes” bit sounds nice though. It’s like a low-key creepy obsessive song like why is she doing that funny voice? Is it meant to sound vaguely haunted? What’s going on
I’m also just tired of “America” (the white kind) as a cultural construct and it being used as an expression of identity in popular culture like we get it you built a nationalism out of “gas stations” and “hallways” and “whatever” but you’re still racist, Stop. Like it’s just an inherently violent construct and nobody white is reckoning with it responsibly so at least maybe stop romanticising it or just shut up. Heck yea I’m reading too much into this. I do what I want
17. You Need to Calm Down
This song is bad. It’s so bad. The lyrics are pointless, the ohoHHHH is annoying, her voice is irritating, it’s also just gross and patronising and tries to do twelve things at once (are we leading a parade to pat ourselves on the back for telling homophobes to “take several seats” or are we saying we “all have crowns” wtv that means?)
This song is actually just gross and it doesnt even SOUND GOOD
16. ME
It’s less problematic than you need to calm down and that’s the only reason it’s slightly less bad. It’s a garbage song idk why it exists i’m so mad at it
15. Paper rings
IM SORRY tHe mOoN is HIGH like your friends were the night that we first met I’m sorry WHAT miss swift we get it you have been near drugs, Jesus CHRIST this song is a juvenile childish self important mess. The lyrics r awful and her voice is sneaky and weird and she does weird noises and the chorus is dumb like the “uhuh that’s right” makes me want to give CHITTAR. Also she says darling WAY too much in this album like we get it you’re dating a Brit. It’s not The Worst song because if you pay zero attention to the lyrics or her voice it’s kind of fine sounding? It’s so bad tho lol, I remember when she wrote Mine and the video came out I was like wow wild this is weird and adult and why are you pregnant but this one is even MORE weird. I also HATE every time she says dreary mondays and “baby boy” (GROSS) and I hate that she keeps repeating it lol. The I hate accidents line is kind of fine
14. I forgot that you existed
I hate the lyrics and I hate the premise (we get it you’re indifferent that’s why you wrote a whole song about it) BUT it’s such a bop, it’s very /this feels like a perfect night to make fun of our exes/ vibes and I would be LYING if I said I didn’t enjoy that. Yes we exists
We are pretending her fake laughter and starting to talk in the middle of songs things isn’t real though. It wasn’t cute in we are never ever etc and isn’t cute now
13. I think he knows
I love the 16th avenue bit, it fills me with giddy happiness, the rest of the song is shit, and also lazy. Also stop being obsessed with being 17, it was weird in starlight and is weird now
The bridge is also sort of nice but not nice enough to redeem the rest of it
12. London Boy
Im sorry I promise I know this song is bad. It is bad. I hope it’s ironic? But it’s bad. It’s a weird colonialism complex fetishisation of posh brit whiteness and its even more gross when it’s like “btw IM american, DOUBLE whiteness”, it’s icky and bad. It is a bad song. I apologise for enjoying it and I promise I am ashamed but also u know what, if you ignore the lyrics entirely and pretend you’re 15 and un-enlightened about the violence inherent to the fetishisation of an english identity……….maybe a fun tune. I know. I know. I am sorry. I promise I enjoy it only ironically
11. The man
Corporate white lady feminism? With the word HUSTLE in it? In this economy? Yes obviously
The lyrics are a bit ehhhh but some of them are quite clever and I think she’s quite honest in this song in a rare sort of way without trying to exaggerate it for shock value and it’s a very like, this is my life, here you go, sort of tune, it doesn’t do anything for women’s rights but I think it sounds nice and is probably fun to dance to, and “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man” and “if I were a man, I’d be the man” are fUN lines !!! Idk how wild this comparison is but like, I feel this song is trying to deal with similar things as I know places (a very privileged rant, if you will, without much self awareness) but I think The Man does it better because it’s less self important and has less ambition about it solving or expressing the world’s worst problems.
10. False God
Ok, so, what is it with the religious motifs in this album, i don’t get it, though it kinda works a lot in this song? I wanted to rank this higher but after a few listens it got slightly grating, the beginning is a bit unecessary too? Like it’s trying to create this weirdly artificial aura of glamour and sophistication, it’s quite an unnerving and haunting song and I quite like that about it and it makes me a bit surprised and startled. This thing she’s doing with like slow, building, repeating tunes i think has worked the best in this song (we might just, get away with this, religion’s in your lips e-,ven if its a False gOd) also, THE ALTAR’S IN MY HIPS, OOF, the chorus does the trick honestly and i love when she’s like slightly laughing but in a wry sort of way. Love it tbh, something about it just makes me a bit stressed though and not in an intentional way (i think)
9. It’s Nice To Have a Friend
Miss taylor who gave you the RIGHT, to shove your hand into my chest and grab my heart and step all over it. I love it and it makes me cry and it’s so soft and sweet. Zero complaints abt it it’s a beautiful song. There r just MULTIPLE EXTREMELY GOOD SONGS that’s why it’s not like my absolute fav and im confused too as to why it’s so low but like. Idk. it is a very soft and sweet song. I love it. If anything maybe it’s a bit uncreative n lazy but i think that’s slightly on purpose so doesn’t rlly constitute a criticism
8. Death by a thousand cuts
I like this song a lot a lot. The lyrics are SO GOOD IM SO HAPPY SHES DOING GOOD LYRICS AGAIN. I love the “one for the agEs” line and i’m generally a slut for any mention of chandeliers in music or poetry (dont ask), her voice is delicate but proud and wild and i’m a fan, honestly, cannot wait to bop to this. The My my my bit is annoying tho
7. The archer
I HATE the bit where she says CoMbAt but otherwise this song is soft and lovely and gentle and I love it !!!!! I love the lyrics and I love her gentle restraint of how she slowly unfurls them and then let’s go in “help me hold onto you”, there is such a commanding frankness to it, it’s an ask for collaboration, an ask for honesty, an ask for I want to do this with you
I think it’s one of the strongest tracks lyrically and she also shows like great skill vocally which has been annoyingly missing from so much of what she’s recently produced. I feel like there’s a bunch of annoying stylistic choices (the they see right thru me bit is grating) but like the song overall is lovely, I think you can feel in her voice she knows she’s created something good and it’s not the usually insufferable IM A GENIUS vibe. WHO COULD EVER LEAVE ME DARLING, BUT WHO COULD STAY !!!
6. Soon you’ll get better
Made me cry. We’re not talking about this one
5. Lover
This song is soft loving, slow whispers, careful realisations that you can build a life with whatever you like and love will save everything, I love it, I love it I love it I love it, “can I go where you go?” moves me to tEARS it is such a soft and gentle expression of care, it is such a kindness, it’s such surrendering, such reckless care, I love it so much, it’s so hopeful and also sure, it’s so frightful but also unafraid. I think this is one of Taylor’s most earnest songs ever and it does the thing of combining that earnestness with brazen daring that doesn’t turn into embarrassment only because she commands her lyrics with such certainty, and that’s rare and often I think that daring has ended badly for her (LOL most of reputation) but here it’s done so beautifully and w so much happiness and LOVE, this song is truly just a beautiful lil piece of art with so much happiness dripping thru it
4. Cornelia Street
This song. This SONG. It builds up so beautifully with this ever so slightly hesitant fascination with its own emotions, i’m so obsessed with it, the lyrics are lovely and perfect, i was expecting it to feel slightly forced and oddly specific because wtf is a cornelia street anyway, but it WORKS. I think it wants me to think of like a glowy streetlighty street and it DOES THAT, “filling in the blanks as we gooooo” sounds so gorgeous and does that thing with her voice which literally is just showing off that Yes She Does Know How To Sing and it’s so certain and sure and restrained and open and bare (again in “i thought you were leading me onnnnn”). Also, “the city screams your name” should be a tired cliche but its just an excited expression of abandon im,, in love. The song is so shaky and uncertain but completely confident and relaxed at the same time and it FEELS EXACTLY LIKE COMING TO TERMS WITH BEING IN LOVE AND WANTING IT TO LAST FOREVER, also like, when did she learn how to write good bridges again because yEs
3. Daylight
Solely for the lines “i’ll tell you the truth, but never goodbye // i don’t want to look at anything else now that i saw you” she deserves a grammy it actually pierces my emotions and makes me want 2 explode, this song is sooooo lovely and it has the vibe that makes me feel like i’ve already heard it years ago (but maybe thats because ive had the album on repeat 2 days straight) but it’s just,,, very good and it feels like sunset and glitter and i think is a perfect ending to a great album i love how it builds intensity and then strips it down and just,,, love it.
2. Afterglow
This is i think, one of the most beautiful things this woman has ever produced, one of the loveliest and most powerful songs ever made, i love it so very much. She finally learnt how to do autotune properly lol, this song is like, a crescendo of emotion, everything is falling down around it and it’s like a little haven of bare, frank honesty and complete surrender, of complete vulnerability, the whole song sounds like an act of care and an act of expressing pure emotion, it’s so gorgeous. It moves so softly and doubles in on itself and she’s sorry and sad but so proud of this love and so certain of its importance, “i’m the one who burnt us down”, it’s such a zooming in on a very specific emotion and it’s done so well, i love it
1. Cruel summer
I LOVE THIS SONG. I LOVE THIS SONG. The lyrics are flighty and exciting and shivery, WHAT DOESNT KILL ME MAKES ME WANT YOU MORE- plug that shit into my VEINS. This song makes me feel like it’s 2015 and nothing is real yet and I’m living inside a YA novel and my biggest problem is my crush being mean to me and I’m RELISHING in that freedom and indulging every last drop of emotion because being alive and paying attention to it is incredible and Extremely Cool Actually (I DONT WANT TO KEEP SECRETS JUST TO KEEP YOU, dead right gal)
That said. Organise for the climate strike. Read up on what’s going on so you can answer questions in your family whatsapp group. Field those conversation, DO THAT EMOTIONAL LABOUR (again, what even), spread the word. But take care of yourself !!!! Listen to Taylor swift and remember that we are an absolute joke of a species, we went to the MOON, we can do this, I love you
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