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#i one time got montero's call me by your name so stuck in my head

lachesis-games · 3 years

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Annoying Songs Stuck in the Ipomoea Gang's Heads:

Jackie: Got Me Good by Ciara [link]

"My back is aching, my bra too tight My hip's shaking from left to right My back is aching, my bra too tight My booty's shaking from the left to the right

Spends an absurd amount of time on TikTok. Learned the whole dance and everything.

"Trouvaille": Chicken Wing, Chicken Wing by Chicken Milk [link]

"Chicken wing, chicken wing Hot dog and baloney Chicken and macaroni Chilling with my homies"

They heard it on accident. Jackie was trying to introduce them to some memes and this was one of them. They're not sure what their lifespan is like but they hope it's short because this song won't die.

Theo: WAP (40's Style) by Pipeline Vocal Project [link]

"Gobble me, swallow me, drip down the side of me (yeah) Quick, jump out 'fore you let it get inside of me (yeah) I tell him where to put it, never tell him where I'm 'bout to be I run down on him 'fore I have a n**** running me"

Popular music is not their favorite, even though they have to play it at the club all the time. By mixing pop with the music style they grew up with, it becomes tolerable.

Dakota: MONTERO, Carl Wheezer Version by Billy Cobb [link]

"Call me when you want, call me when you need Call me in the morning, I'll be on the way Call me when you want, call me when you need Call me out by your name, I'll be on the way like"

Found this while in the YouTube wormhole at 2 am. Can and will sing it out loud because if he has to suffer, so do you.

Antigone: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! [link]

"Wake me up before you go-go Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo Wake me up before you go-go I don't wanna miss it when you hit that high"

Dakota's parents grew up in the U.S. in the 80's, so when he found their collection of cassette tapes, he played them on repeat and Annie didn't have the heart to stop him.

#trouvaille #ch: trouvaille #ch: dakota #ch: theo #ch: antigone #ch: jackie #trouvaille if #interactive fiction #sugarcube #if

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edourado · 3 years

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tagged by babe supreme @carry-the-sky. Thank you, lovely ♥

name/nickname: Erica

pronouns: she/her

star sign: Sagittarius but it's my Hogwarts house that guides me ;D (Hufflepuff pride!)

height: 1,64m. I don't know what that is in American, though

time: 10:05 PM

birthday: December 14

favorite bands: Maroon 5 is the one that followed me through the years. Civil Wars has been very present in my Spotify lately

favorite solo artists: The classical jazz singers, especially Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Donny Hathaway. More current, Ariana Grande, Beyonce and Rihana are always present, Fauzia was a BEAUTIFUL quarantine discovery, and Harry Styles-mania GOT ME GOOD three or four months ago

song stuck in my head: "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)", by Lil Nas X and "Lento", by Lauren Jauregui ft Pabllo Vittar are fighting for first place right now

last show: Shadow and Bone (Sat through 8 episodes just to see Ben Barnes kissing someone LIKE THAT. Worth it.)

last movie: "The Mirror Has Two Faces". Barbra Streisand is a precious gem and I love her

when did I create this blog: ppffft dude, idk. It was after season 4 of Once Upon a Time, and it was because of Outlaw Queen. 2014? 2015?

what do I post: writing (when my anxiety allows), fic recs, the faces of men and women I love but can never ever have and or be. Cute shit, too. Art. It's a mess

last thing I googled: a hotel in Amsterdan for my mother

other blogs: I can barely keep this one

why I chose my URL: because I didn't know how Tumblr worked and now I'm afraid that if I change it, people will forget who I am

do I get asks: I used to get more prompts (I still have so so so many that I am yet to deliver), but now not very often, no

following: Had to check. 97

followers: also had to check. 1081. No idea how that happened

average hours of sleep: I always slept a lot, but now I think I average like 3 or 4 hours per night? It does show, believe me

lucky number: I am a firm member or the humanities and, as such, numbers scare the living crap put of me. But 13, out of spite

instruments: played the keyboard for a good 6 months and then dropped it

what am I wearing: a jumper that looks like PJ's

dream trip: Any trip. I would spend my life travelling, if I could. Never been homeseick a day in my life. That George Clooney movie that he struggles with having no real home? Can't relate. (But I would love love love to visit Italy)

favorite food: Potatoes. In any form or shape or texture. It's literally my sister's nickname for me

nationality: Brazilian

languages: Portuguese, for my ~mother tongue, plus English, Spanish and Italian

favorite song: "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone. But I'm not a snob, so there are a lot of other versions and renditions that I love

last book read: "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton". It was pretty lame. The show is insanely better than the books. Currently reading Sense and Sensibility

top three fictional universes i’d like to live in: Sense8 (always. Forever. Yes), Marvel (but only if I'm allowed to fall in love with a violent man with a heart of gold and a tragic past. If not, than I don't want it) and any kdrama

tagging!! @evilbunnyking, @ejunkiet, @ninzied, @superrpowerlesshuman, @lpdwillwrite4coffee @anigmagrl @phenomenaaa @youhadmeuntiltroll and literally anybody else. I loooove reading these things

#tag time

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reaperlight · 3 years

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Thanks for the tag @stvlti I finally got around to it!

name/nickname: Dee

gender: confusion. (she/her, demiguy I suppose.)

star sign: aquarius sun, capricorn moon, scorpio rising

height: 5'6

time: 4:35 a.m. as I post this

favorite bands: Disturbed, Metallica, Coheed & Cambria, Persuader, Trivium, Lord Huron, Rammstein

favorite solo artist: Shakira, Lil Nas X, and Panic! At the Disco

birthday: February 10

Song stuck in my head now: montero (call me by your name) by lil nas x

last movie: Venom, I haven't watched a movie in a while

when did I create this blog: eons ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth

what i post: i mostly reblog stuff i like--fandoms, cute animal pictures, life hacks, writing advice, also current news of interest & horror (properly tagged of course). I also try to boost artists whenever I come across art I like.

why i chose my url: I've had it so long, I think of it as more of my name than my name irl, lol. It's short for my old fanfiction.net handle plannedbyreaperlight. Because I like Death Note and Light and Ryuk.

do I get asks: sometimes

last thing I googled: "tiger picture' for phone wallpaper collage

I follow: 5,000 (it won't let me follow any more than that :( otherwise there are loads of cool people here i would follow)

Followers: 5,643 (I have no idea how that happened)

average hours of sleep: 6.5

lucky number: don't really have one

instruments: I used to play a *lot* of instruments

what I'm wearing: lgbtq+ cats shirt for TDOV, rainbow cat necklace, Venom pajama pants, grey slipper boots

dream trip: idk, I think I'd like to go to Japan one day.

favorite food: apples, chocolate, pad thai, sushi, orange chicken, pizza

nationality: American (mostly of German, Norwegian, and Irish descent)

favorite song: you expect me to choose just one? I couldn't narrow it down to 50 😭

last book read: if you mean the last book i set eyes on it was The New Human Revolution by Daisaku Ikeda for Buddhist study.

For fiction I'm still working on reading The Three Body Problem trilogy by Liu Cixin and A Song and Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

The last book I finished reading I think was either "Freedom Is A constant Struggle" by Angela Y. David or The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

top three fictional universes I wanna be a part of:

Death Note--Hanging out with a Shinigami would be cool...

Marvel--Having a symbiote would be cool

The Dragonriders of Pern--Having a dragon would be cool

Oh... uh, sensing a pattern.

Also Star Wars. Lightsaber go voom.

favorite color: purple, black, blue, dark red

no pressure tags: @main-exam @kiranatrix @foxyb0xes @ro-zden @ghostoftasslehoff @blue8raven @galadhir @gamebird

#tag meme #tag games

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chinchillinator · 3 years

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Alright I’ll play. Tag 9 people to learn more about their interests!

tagged by @paradisetemporarilymisplaced

MUSIC

fav genre? pop-punk prob

fav artist(s)? Pierce the Veil, Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars

fav song? So Contagious by Acceptance

most listened song recently? According to Spotify, MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)

song currently stuck in your head? House a Habit by We Are the Guests

5 fav lyrics?

- "you smile dressed in Coppertone tan lines" (Bedless, PtV)

- "I stayed there/dust collecting on my pinned up hair” (Right Where You Left Me, Taylor Swift)

- "I brought a gun in as the preacher tried to stop me/hold my heart it’s beating for you anyway" (Caraphernelia, PtV)

- "if madness overtakes us both/than nobody would be alone” (The Killing Kind, Marianas Trench)

- "I can’t help falling out of love with you” (Falling, The Civil Wars)

BOOKS

fav book genre? uhhhhhhhh fantasy I guess

fav writer? I don’t really have one I guess?

fav book? The Night Circus or The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray

fav book series? Wake, Fade, and Gone by Lisa McMann

comfort book? Twilight + sequels (don’t @ me)

perfect book to read on a rainy day? literally any of them??? rainy days are for reading just pick any book ever and it’s perfect

fav characters? ...all of the characters...? can’t we do least favorite? I’m sure I might be able to pull a few least faves

5 quotes from your fav book that you know by heart?

- "The circus arrives without warning."

- That’s it, that’s all I got, I have a terrible memory and I haven’t read anything besides fanfic in a very long time, including my favorite books

TV AND MOVIES

fav tv/movie genre? romcom

fav movie? Chocolat

comfort movie? Jurassic Park or Coraline

movie you watch every year? The Nightmare Before Christmas

fav tv show? Black Sails

comfort tv show? Psych

most rewatched tv show? Parks and Rec I think...?

ultimate otp? sorry I have to pick???

5 fav characters?

- Captain Charles Vane (Black Sails)

- Anne Bonny (Black Sails)

- Jack Rackham (okay, stop listing all the Black Sails characters, bitch)

- Klaus Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)

- ...Max (Black Sails)

Tagging from my recent activity: @weird-is-all-ive-got @emorion88 @vivacious-vero @mx-flint @69-toojay @assassin-or-templar-56 @loflight501 @miraxb @moreta1770

but you don’t have to (the mortifying ordeal of being known and all that...)

#it me

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badlesmisimaginesofficial · 3 years

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tagged by @byjuxtaposition!

five songs i’ve been listening to on repeat lately:

The Cold, Hard Ground - Treason the Musical (I still have very mixed feelings about the musical as a whole but this song slaps)

It’s Time To Go - Taylor Swift (actually this entire album, idc, it’s Great writing music)

Say You Like Me - We the Kings (also this entire album; it’s good doing the dishes/cycling music)

The Ocean and the Sun - We The Kings (see above)

Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X (KEEPS getting stuck in my head)

last movie watched:

regrettably (?) this was The Bee Movie, which I watched last weekend with my friends via netflix party for my birthday. one of them had never seen it before and we were mostly very drunk. it was glorious

currently watching:

cherry magic! I got through about 7 episodes the other day while hurriedly knitting and it’s very light and funny

the untamed (technically two different rewatches with two different friends, one of whom Has seen it before, one of whom hasn’t)

superstore - I’m a few episodes into the final season and then just kinda...stopped a bit? I really liked how they handled the more serious plot elements but the last couple eps I watched just didn’t feel funny when they were trying to be? I’ll hopefully finish it at some point

honourable mention cause i only just finished it:

zero chill. what a brilliant, absolutely nonsensical piece of television.

currently reading:

A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara) as a buddy read with juxta! It’s A Lot, so my reading pattern tends to be blitz through 100 pages or so in one sitting and then not pick it up for a week. I am really enjoying it, though!

Journey’s End (R.C. Sherriff) this is a reread, because I’m currently tutoring it! I’m really enjoying revisiting it, though, it’s defo one of my favourite plays (and I’m sad I never got the chance to try and direct a production while at uni!)

King Lear (Shakespeare) also a tutoring reread! I got the Arden edition specifically to work with because the footnotes looked good and given the differing approach taken by editors to conflating the quarto and folio texts, it was important that me and my student had the same one. Like with JE I’m reminded of how much I love it!

About to begin rereading, also for tutoring:

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Judith Kerr). I’m really looking forward to this one! I haven’t read it for years, but I used to love it and a few years ago I saw Judith Kerr live at a talk! We got to meet her afterwards; she had sprained her wrist or something so wasn’t doing autographs but was giving away autograph stickers that you could put in your books.

tagging @wild-oats-and-cornflowers, @lenezdansleruisseau and @apaladinagain!

#tag games #not-cursed

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l33lzonwheelz · 5 years

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Team Montero Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Surprise!

“Where am I?” I mumble.

Then, I thump my palm onto my forehead after scanning my surroundings. “Duh! It’s my room!”

My white and brown decorations are the first things to stick out as I scan my bedroom. On my bookshelf, there are all sorts of antiques like mirrors, old video game controllers, and newspaper articles from when the world was more peaceful. I turn around so much that it feels as though my head were making a 360 degree spin.

Ouch!

I get up from my bed and walk down the hallway. No matter how quietly I step, the wooden floor boards always let out a loud creak. I check the windows. It’s really bright and sunny out.

Oh no! I didn’t brush my teeth! In the bathroom, my short, brown, highlighted bed head is sweeping all over my face. Annoyed, I brush it off with my fingers. I lift my head up, look into the mirror, and, to my surprise, there is a dead, horribly disfigured face behind me. I whip out two hand guns from under the bathroom sink and blast its head to kingdom come.

Zombie Training 101: Mirrors are your best friend. In the orphanage I grew up in, we were practically trained for any zombie-related emergency. The caretakers were all… eccentric old farts from the Pre-Zombie Apocalypse era, who would always moan about how they “knew this day would come”.

Where could that zombie have come from, I wonder? I creep through the house and check every door and window. At last, I spot a hole in the living room window. So that’s how he came in. Damn it, now I have to pay the extra cash for the replacement glass. And I was actually saving up some of that money for a decent vacation this year. See, I work at a weapon manufacturing shop down the block. Here in this part of Arizona, there isn’t anything fancy around, but you get what you need.

The phone rings. I put my guns away in my hostlers. I pick up the phone and say, “Hello?” “Hey, Ed! It’s me Claire!” the voice answered. Claire and I have been friends since grade school. She calls me Ed because she knows I hate my girly-sounding name, Eloise.

“Oh, what’s up, Claire? It's been ages! How've you been?” I answer back.

“Guess what, Ed? I got my license!!” she squeals.

What?! Awesome!” I say happily.

“Now we can go to more places together! This is great!” I think to myself.

“Hey! Come with me! I wanna’ take you somewhere!” her speech sounds a bit more pressured.

“Uhhh… sure. Are you sure your parents are ok with this, though?” I ask cautiously.

Claire pauses for a moment. “M-my parents...? Yeah! Come on down, crazy!”

I get changed and head to Claire’s car. You’re probably wondering where my parents are and if they’re okay with me running around on my own with zombies at every turn, aren’t you? Well, I would be wondering the same thing if they hadn’t died when I was really young.

It’s nice to have people like Claire to talk to every now and then to keep the loneliness from driving me crazy. I’ve seen it happen to a lot of people here. It feels nice, safe even, to be living in this apartment. It’s spacious and neat, sturdy, too. But it does get lonely.

I step outside and see the street sign on the corner that reads “Montero Drive”. It isn’t the greatest street to live in, but when I was house hunting, I had gotten the place for a sweet deal. When I reach Claire’s car, I notice her hair is dyed green, her favorite color.

“What’s with the green hair?” I chuckle.

“I needed a change of pace, that’s all…” Claire fidgeted with her green locks awkwardly. And with that, we ride down the disheveled Arizona desert road.

“So, where are we going?” I ask.

“You’ll see,” she says playfully.

“What made you decided to do all of this all of a sudden?”

“I just decided that I needed a little more adventure in my life, you know?” she answered.

“Uh-huh. I can understand that.”

After about 20 minutes chatting and joking with one another, she pulls over by a decrepit wooden shack in the middle of nowhere. There’s even your typical decorative cactus to the side.

“What is this place?” I ask her.

“It’s a biker joint!” she answers happily.

“Why are we going into a biker joint?” I ask flatly.

“You’ll see! I’ll explain we get inside! It's a surprise!” she says, tugging on the sleeve of my tattered polymeric T-shirt.

Suddenly, we hear the sound of a window breaking.

A woman lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Are you hearing this?” Claire turns to me and asks.

“Yeah!” Let’s go check it out!” I hold out my gun.

Before we can get near the building, a horde of zombies busted through the window. The smell of their dead, rotting flesh permeates the air. I pull out one of the guns I was holding from its holster and give it to Claire.

“Claire! Here!” I yell as I throw it to her. She and I back away quickly and aim.

“Jeez! More of them? They’re spawning like crazy!” Claire exclaimed.

“Tell me about it,” I grumble.

We rush into the old shack with our guns held out far in front of us. One of the brain-eaters jumps in front of us, grabs me by the shoulder, and starts to choke me. I elbow it in the forehead and kick it out of my way, knocking it into one of the wooden beams. Claire shoots it down from behind and rushes after me.

“You’re losing your touch!” she elbows me.

Claire has a point. Growing up, she was almost like a helpless newborn; she couldn’t fend for herself at all. Now it seems like she’s catching up to me.

It makes me wonder for a minute where she could’ve been getting the practice.

Just then, she stumbles and trips. One of the zombies pulls on her green hair and drags her. She struggles to get away when a bullet flies through its eye.

“What were you saying about me losing my touch?” I tease back and stuck my tongue out.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever! I could’ve shaken him off!” said Claire.

Another zombie grabs my leg and tries to bite at it, but I shake it off and give it good punch to the face, knocking off its jaw. The zombie gets knocked back a bit, but then it grabs hold of my neck. Then, I see Claire come up from behind him and whack him with some sort of blunt object. At this point I’m too oxygen deprived to pay attention to what kind. At least it’s down.

Claire and I burst through the door and scan the room for more zombies.

“Coast is clear,” says Claire.

“A lot less than I was expecting,” I mutter.

A trembling woman pops up from the other side of a broken window. "Thank you so much for helping me! You know, you two make quite the team!"

"Thanks!" I say, flashing a prideful smile.

"Welp, I better call for someone to pick me up from here. Take care!" The woman says, walking away.

I let out a long sigh and grab the nearest chair. I stare up at the ceiling and notice the paneling is old, gray and cracked. The dining and pool tables are dusty and falling apart. The windows are shattered; the table cloths and knick-knacks are tattered and broken.

“Wow… this place has really gone to hell….” I tell Claire.

“Yeah. It sure is a wreck. It was like this the last time I came in here, too,” says Claire.

“The...last.. time? You've come to this dump more than once?... Why the hell are we here again?” I moan.

“Don’t worry, Ed, you’ll find out soon enough. It’s a surprise!” Claire chuckles almost sadistically.

I’m beginning to get the feeling she’s enjoying stringing me along like this.

Claire suddenly walks off. She grabs one of the bottles of liquor that was in the back of the counter.

“Here, drink’s on me,” she playfully twirls our drinks around.

“Cute. You’re the only one of us that’s of legal drinking age here,” I feel the need to comment on this because Claire is two years older than me. I’m 20; she’s 22.

“It’s after the end of the world! I think that calls for a drink or two.”

“Thanks but no thanks. Someone has to drive your drunk ass home…” I remark dryly.

“Oh, come on! You know what day it almost is!” Claire insistently pours me a glass, and I surrender and take a sip.

A half hour later, a sip becomes several shots. Before we know it, we’re both extremely drunk. When I finally decide to put down my glass, I say to Claire, “So… when are you going to tell me why you brought me here?”

“Okay, okay, fine!” Claire grumbles in a slurred voice, “The reason I brought you here *hic* was because I wanted to give you something. But, this something is something you’re gonna’ have to look for on your own.” I scowl and my eyes droop in frustration.

“You are a sadist, you know that? How am I supposed to find this thing drunk?” I ask her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out!” Claire sticks out her tongue childishly.

I childishly return the favor.

I stagger through the room in my drunken stupor, rummaging through the tables and knick-knacks, trying to find this gift that Claire had given me. I can barely contain my annoyance as Claire chuckles through my struggles.

“Shut up, already! I’m looking as hard as I can!” I snap at her after a while.

“Keep looking! I hid it in a place you wouldn’t expect!” Claire smirks.

I search behind the cash register. Nothing.

I rummage through the rubble by the entrance. Still nothing.

After a few more minutes of searching, I spot a rusty object amongst a shelf of champagne bottles.

“Aha! What’s this?” I say to myself.

I spot a rusty, wooden music box.

I turn to Claire and say, “Hey! Is this what you were talkin’ about?”

“Yeah! You got it! Happy Early Birthday!” she cheers.

“E-early birthday?” A wave of comprehension and chagrin wash over me.

“I can’t effin' believe it! I had forgotten about my own birthday! Well, it was in a week, but still. Who forgets their own birthday?” I frown.

“Hey, don't worry about it too much, ” says Claire, “I found it in amongst the wreckage when I first came here. I know how much you love old creepy looking antiques like this one, so I just had to get this for your birthday.”

“Claire?”

“Yeah, Ed?”

“Did.. something... happen?” I ask in a concerned voice.

“What do you mean, Ed?” Claire asks and tilts her head.

“You know what I mean. Come on, Claire. You think I haven’t noticed? The green hair; the drinking; you’ve been driving, apparently. You used to be terrified of the idea of driving! It’s all totally not like you. What’s been going on with you lately?”

She grimaces. That tells me enough. “What happened?” I ask.

When Claire is about to speak, she tries her best to put on a brave face, but I can tell she's fighting back tears. She pushes her glass to the side and begins to spill the whole story. “Last month, my parents and I were in the city waiting for our car to be fixed. We went to eat at our favorite restaurant, Jenny’s,” she starts to say.

“Jenny’s? You mean the one that had to be demolished…. Last month? Oh my god, Claire. What happened?!” I start to get really worried.

“Then… it was terrible, Ed… The zombies attacked the whole restaurant! They… They got my parents. Yeah, they got my parents… And… I had to…. I was so scared… I didn’t know what else to do…It was either me or them…”

Already, I can tell what she's trying to say. Claire’s hands start trembling. The water in her eyes breaks free and trickle down her face like water gushing out of a dam. My eyes widen with horror before I move my chair closer to hers and embrace her. She continues on.

“The minute I saw their faces begin to rot, I just made a break for it. But as soon as I reached for the door, I tripped on my own feet… my own freaking feet, if you could believe it! Then, I saw them and some other ones coming for me. I crawled away as fast as I could until I had reached this tight corner. I… I just grabbed the closest thing to a weapon I could find and started smashing at them. Then I ran into…. Them… my parents…. I tried, you have to believe me, I tried to back away from them, but I was backed into a corner… I wanted so much to just not hit them… to just run away… but I was backed into a corner…”

I pull out a pack of napkins from my travel holster and give it to Claire. From there, she just bursts into uncontrollable sobbing. She leans over to me and continues to try to say more, but at this point, her speech is completely unintelligible. I shushed her and let her cry on my shoulder for a while.

Suddenly, I think of my own parents. The day I was separated from them, I was devastated, and as scared and helpless as Claire is feeling now. Though, I was really young at the time, and I spent the remainder of my childhood in an orphanage, so I never really had as much of an attachment to my parents as Claire had to hers.

After about a half hour she stops crying, and I whisper in her ear, “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

Claire sniffed and replied hoarsely, “Didn’t get the chance to. Too busy trying to support myself... I mean, I am on my own, now... And... to be honest, for a while, it was a helluva lot to take in myself, let alone to share with anyone else...”

“Well, guess what? Now I have an early birthday present for you. You’re not going to have to suffer on your own anymore. You’re coming to live with me!”

“No... That isn’t….” Claire resists initially.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, damn it!” I said fervently, getting up from my seat with urgency.

“You don’t have to…” Claire starts to say.

“Yes, I do. You’re my best friend! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't stick my neck out for you from time to time?"

“If you say so…” says Claire.

As I stand back up, I pour myself another glass of champagne. When I return to my seat, I push her glass and the bottle of champagne close to her and say, “To overcoming harsh struggles.”

“To overcoming harsh struggles,” Claire repeats, smiling weakly.

Claire drops her glass and takes a big gulp. I smile a bit and rub her head comfortingly. “I’ll drive us home, okay?” I tell her. She nods her head, and then lays it down over her arms, which are now resting over the table. For a while, I look over to her contently. It’s been a while since I’ve had some company at home. For as long as I can remember, it’s just been me in that big apartment of mine. It’s nice to know I’ll finally be getting some company.

I end up driving her to her house. What I see when I step out of the car is jarring to me. What was once colorful and lively has now become lonely and lifeless, kind of like how I imagine Claire to have been feeling all this time.

Claire gets out the keys to the front door and unlocks it before we enter. We reach her bedroom, which is full of rainbow decorations and stuffed animals. It hasn’t changed since middle school. I look at her expression and I can tell she’s definitely still a kid at heart.

She goes to her closet and grabs a few very colorful suitcases and starts to put her things into them. I look around her room and notice all of the stuffed animals on the shelves. Several of them are old stuffed animals I had given her for numerous birthdays as a kid. One of them stands right next to a crystal clear, framed picture of Claire with her parents. She’s wearing her college graduation uniform. This was taken when she graduated from Arizona University. Just moments later, I notice Claire picking up the frame and removing the picture from it. I try to think of something comforting to say, but even though I see them all the time, I never know what to say in these sorts of situations.

We finish packing and head back to the car. When we finish putting her things in the trunk, we drive back to my apartment.

On the way there, I ask Claire, “Hey Claire. Do you remember that team name we came up with?”

“What are you talking about?” Claire asks.

“I mean, when we were kids, pretending to be zombie-fighting superheroes out on the street? Remember? ” I grab her hands and ask her.

“Oh, right! We even had a team name! What was it again?” Claire giggles.

“Umm… I don’t remember… Hey, why don’t we make a new one?” I smile.

“Like what?” Claire asks.

Just then, we pull into my driveway. As I pull in, I notice the street sign again. “Montero Drive”. I turn off the car and Claire and I get her things from the trunk. “Well, what should our team name be, Ed?” Claire asks excitedly this time.

“Hmmm…. How about…. Team Montero!” I reply with vigor.

“Hmm… Team Montero, huh? Sounds very Old West! I like it!” says Claire.

That’s right. From this point on, Claire and I form the beginning of Team Montero, the best Zombie Hunting team in the business.

#teammontero #tumblr #writer #writerblr #zombie apocalypse #actionstory #fiction #writing fiction #amwriting #am writing #wip #booklover #bookpublishing #sci fi & fantasy #creativity #writing #stories

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tastethegrace · 3 years

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Analyzing “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”

I don’t often post things as they’re having their cultural moment. However, this song by Lil Nas X, a rap/hip hop/pop artist, who is famous for his song “Old Town Road” a few years ago, has caused quite the stir. On one side of the fence is the LGBTQ+ community, who touts this song as an anthem to the artist’s sexual identity. On the other are the Christians, many of whom have posted warnings on social media, urging fellow believers to “wake up,” guard their children, and many calling down the name of Jesus against the Satanic imagery associated with it. The music video for this song sees the artist depicted as Eve in the garden of Eden, being seduced by the serpent. He is then on trial, then descends into hell, where he himself seduces the Devil. The artist has also partnered with street wear brand MSCHF to produced what many are calling “Satan shoes.” These shoes apparently have contain one drop of human blood in the soul, have a black and red color scheme with pentagrams painted on the soul and attached to the laces.

So first off, the reason I’m writing this post is to critique the Christian reaction to this song and its associated media. It’s important to understand this right off the bat, as I will not be analyzing this song on its artistic merits. Instead, I will attempt to analyze the artist’s intent behind the imagery and symbolism he chooses to use.

If there’s one thing that I have grown to understand, it’s that the American Church has a fundamental misunderstanding of how believers are to interact with culture. We have been stuck in the same culture war for decades, with this idea that we must enforce our beliefs on others, affect change through politics and protests, and fear all that is antithetical to the Christian belief system. This latter point is the most significant, and one that many of my Christian friends may dispute.

Let me explain here. In the age of social media, everyone judges and reacts quickly, posting their affirmations and protests for everyone to see without putting much thought into what they’re actually critiquing. Sadly, the American Church, most of the time, has followed suit. Rather than choosing a different way to interact with the world on social media, it has become a leading reactionary voice -- a more intense version of what already exists in the mainstream. It has so become the case that the world looks on and mocks.

As a younger Christian, I went with the flow, just as everyone else did. But as a I grew up, and especially in college, I learned the importance of questioning, of slowing down, of considering the ins and outs, the truths and lies present in our everyday world. I believe this process gives insight into the presence of God in our everyday lives, presenting us with his truth and beauty, present even in the darkest of places. It also gives us the ability to, like Jesus, call something what it actually is, diminishing its power, and responding to it with the importance/weight it deserves.

Now understanding this context and the process by which I will move forward, let’s talk about this song. First of all, the lyrics explicitly discuss the artist’s encounters with one specific person, a male in this context. There’s a couple of levels to this song. The first, that many in the LGBTQ+ community point out, is that he says that his partner “lives in the dark,” while he himself “cannot pretend.” This refers to the fact that his partner is a closeted gay man, while Lil Nas is out. As for the rest of the lyrics here, Lil Nas discusses his attachment to this man and the sexual experiences he has and wants to have with him. He mentions the use of drugs to illustrate a hellish environment. On a deeper level, evidenced even more clearly in the music video, Lil Nas is using this situation as a metaphor to reach out to his former, closeted self.

In the interest of digging for the truth, I would go one step further here. While it is obvious that the artist wishes to affirm his former self and encourage a lifestyle that is honest, at the very least, he also confesses what he wants very clearly. All of the explicit imagery here is true to his experience. So what does he want? He wants deep connection, intimate experiences, and he’s ultimately willing to go to “hell” to get it, even if his partner won’t come out.

Why is it important to understand this? Am I trying to affirm how Lil Nas gets what he wants? No, but that’s also not the point. Understanding the artist’s questions are just as important as understanding his answers; in my opinion, even more so. In order to make any sort of true judgment of merit or integrity, either subjective or objective, it’s important to understand fully how the artist is coming to his conclusions.

Moving on to the music video, I’m going to use an analysis posted by reddit user margarita_atwood, as she discusses much of I what I found myself.

Everyone is going to have an opinion on this video, whether that opinion is heavily in favor or disfavor...Later, I’ll talk about why the negative opinions about this video don’t really matter and actually play right into LNX’s plans.

Lil Nas as every character: Through the miracle of CGI, LNX plays every single character. Some people might interpret this as LNX making love to himself in some scenes, but I think it has more to do with the Jungian concept of the Shadow Self (explained some in this video). There’s definitely some interesting psychology behind LNX playing all the parts. He’s talking to himself, seducing himself, running from himself. And I don’t think it would have had the same impact if the main characters were played by anyone else. He’s definitely being a little narcissistic, which he winks at with his own face on a Narcissus flower (daffodil) that I’ll get to next...He also says in the intro: “Welcome to Montero”, which is both this fantasy land he is creating for us in the video, and introducing us to his real self, saying welcome to the real me.

Scene 1- Garden of Eden: In the first scene. We’ve got the temptation of Adam by the snake/Satan in the Garden of Eden story mixed with Greek classical architecture motifs (sans Eve, as LNX raps “If Eve ain’t in your garden/ You know that you can/ Call me when you want”). In the reaction video I mentioned earlier, LNX talks about how growing up gay in a black church (or any church for that matter) made him repress and feel ashamed about his budding sexuality as a young adult. So while the lyrics are explicit, all of the themes in the video are very pointed allegories about how he’s dealt with his sexuality. He runs away from his tempting snake-self, meanwhile running past a Lion King-esque Mufasa cloud featuring his fate/destiny, and Narcissus flowers AKA daffodils (in the Greek myth, daffodils grew where Narcissus drowned after staring at his own reflection for too long), only to be caught by his temptation in a scene that gives me a ton of Labyrinth vibes. After his literal fall with possible Paradise Lost references to this perceived “sin,” we nearly see his alien-snake-self fellate his Adam-self. Finally, we close in on a shot of Greek writing on a tree. Some people smarter than I were able to find out that this is an excerpt from Plato’s Symposium which reads: “So in the beginning when they were cut in two, they yearned for each other’s half.” Symposium is basically a bunch of Greek philosophers telling metaphorical campfire stories about love (let’s ignore once again problematic themes of statutory rape in some of this). The excerpt in the video in particular is a part where one of Plato’s students Aristophanes gives an account of the origin of soulmates. Originally people were joined as two people to make one whole person. In this story, there were male/male, female/female, and female/male pairings and the gods became jealous and split them in two. The Montero excerpt is explaining this splitting of soul mates where they’re doomed to long for their other halves to become whole for eternity. Lots of allegories there regarding LNX trying to seduce a possibly gay man who is still in the closet.

Scene 2- The gladiator’s Colosseum: LNX then is taken as a prisoner in chains to a Greek colosseum, also full of LNX judges in Marie Antoinette wigs and faceless LNX mob spectators. I believe his character in this scene is supposed to be a Ulysses-type as his pink, fur shawl he’s wearing has a ram’s head broach...the blue LNX jury sentences him to...jail, and he gets literally stoned to death... Ulysses-LNX presumably dies and his soul is being lifted up to the heavens. An angel awaits him above, with a lot of Creation of Adam motifs (which was also hinted at on LNX’s IG). But just before he reaches his guardian angel.... a stripper pole rises up from the earth...and he rides that b**** all the way to the seventh inner circle of h*** in some thigh-high boots, tricking all the way down.

Scene 3- Twerking on the devil: And now we get to the biggest scandal. LNX said to those of you who think gays deserve to go to hell, watch me go to hell and give Satan a lap dance....he’s one-upping the shock factor in each part. Think it’s scandalous to go down on myself? Just wait. There’s some trolling of Illuminati/Satanist conspiracy rumors in the motifs. Honestly, the purpose of this scene is that he knew religious types would try and metaphorically crucify him over the lyrics. So he said let me beat you to it. He’s trolling the religious hater that I’m sure made his life growing up a proverbial hell already. And hey, the more times they stream and react to the song out of anger, the more money he makes from their anger. And then he goes and pulls a mafia hit, killing Satan after seducing him, and taking his horns of braids and becoming the fallen angel...

While perhaps not stated the most eloquently, and obviously from a more approving light, the OP gives us some insight into the symbolism used in this video. On first glance, the believer might gag at how biblical imagery is used and twisted here. However, I would encourage that believer to be patient and consider for a moment a few things.

1. If we let our gut reaction to this imagery become our public reaction, we prove the artist’s perspective of believers correct in the eyes of the world.

2. If we consider the symbols and imagery used, it is obvious that this piece was intricately planned by Lil Nas to suggest his conclusions through the subversion of cultural norms. This is not a new technique by any means, and it is important to acknowledge this.

3. Remember that Lil Nas was raised in the church. His use of biblical imagery is intentional here. If you detect a hint of bitterness in the twists he uses, that’s because there is, and not without reason.

See, I think that if Jesus looked at this video and gave us his reaction, it would not be a warning to us to guard our hearts. That’s common sense. I think it would be sadness that Lil Nas has not experienced the true intimacy and connection that he so desires in a healthy context, but also that he would be so bitter as to use the imagery as a “F*** You!” to the church. Granted, this is all speculative, but when I look at Jesus in the gospels, I never see Jesus trying to separate or isolate his disciples from sinners. He sees right to the heart of why sinners sin, and urges his disciples by example and speech to have compassion. It is the the Pharisees and teachers of the law who he preaches against, urging his disciples to guard their hearts against them.

Finally, there’s the even bigger deal being made in Christian circles of the “Satan shoes.” Let me set the record straight here. This company put out “Jesus shoes” a couple of years ago that claimed to have holy water in its soles. This was a stunt by the artist for the very purpose of causing controversy. It was done out of anger. The imagery only has power if we let it be something other than what it is.

I have seen so many people decrying the use of this imagery as an act of devil worship. That’s not what this is. Is Lil Nas believing a lie? Most certainly, as all humans do every day. But this should not be shocking. We must look behind the symbols to what they’re really pointing to.

In conclusion, I felt that it was important to share my feelings on this, as the social media chatter is a prime example of how the American Church has lost its way. However, on a more personal note, I have a lot of history and connection that helps me to deeply understand what’s happening in this song. That drive for connection, that willingness to put myself in horrible places to find it, the feeling of dirtiness and the running away from it...and especially the now often used intimate metaphor “call me by your name,” referring to the book/move of that title...I’ve been there. I even embraced it for a time. So more than most, I am more inclined to have compassion on those who are in that place, even if they don’t see the fruitlessness of it. The Lord has been good to me. He was with me in that place, just as he is with me now. It is important for all who call themselves Christians to remember that before we judge, we must seek empathy and compassion, fullness of understanding, and most of all, the heart and mind of Jesus himself.

#culture #review

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