#evermore is track 15 so we pick that one

[otome-mondays]

Virche Evermore -ErroR:Salvation- First Impressions 🥀

This will be my first time doing a first impressions post, since I started Radiant Tale before starting my blog, so quick rundown of how this works: I play through the prologue of a game (maybe part of the common route if a prologue is too short) and give my initial thoughts of the game and any love interests that appear. These posts are going to be relatively spoiler free for most the plot, but I won’t limit myself from spoilers of what I’ve seen for those who want to play a game completely blind. I am writing as I encounter things so if it seems all over the place then haha yeah it is!

Trigger/Content Warnings: violence, murder, suicide, body horror. Please be mindful of your triggers and don’t interact with this post if you’re not in the capacity to handle such topics! I’ve put a read more for those who would like to avoid these triggers. I am not aware of all the triggering content in this game yet, so please look up a full list if you feel the need!

For Virche Evermore, I played the prologue and Chapter 1 for this post. I am trying to do these posts before the first necessary dialogue choice, but because of how short the prologue was and how you only see 3 of the 6 LIs at that point I decided to wait until a bit later. I started playing January 15, 2024.

Also, I’ll note my most anticipated and least anticipated with the respective emojis: ✨ and 💥

General Thoughts

Oh my god this starts out so wild??? The prologue portion was INCREDIBLY short and I immediately saved after and it said Act 2 so was that Act 1? No clue. Anyways, this poor girl has gone through it. I feel so bad for Ceres. I don’t like that everybody but Salome ignores her essentially. Ok so I didn’t realize we’d be taking a Piofiore route of introducing religion but that’s fun. I struggle with games addressing religion sometimes because of some personal issues so I’m anticipating this game will take me a bit to get through like Piofiore: Fated Memories.

Mathis

He seems very nice! He’s definitely one of the pretty boy characters and I have a stellar track record of picking those ones as my favorite. I did think he was wearing a dress at first and then was sad for 0.3 seconds when I discovered he wasn’t.

Lucas ✨

Oh boy another pretty guy. We’re off to an amazing start people. I was not expecting his voice but it fits, they almost always do. OH HE’S A TEACHER COOL! I am begging for at least one of these guys to have a full on dress at some point please they’d all pull it off flawlessly. Especially Lucas or Mathis. Oh he’s coughing that’s not good…I wanna fix this fictional country’s problems just to save this dude from dying he’s too pretty.

Scien

I have seen this man for 10 seconds and he is already getting on my nerves omg. Now to be fair, he is another pretty boy character…they probably all are now that I think about it. I was not expecting that voice from him though.

Yves

Ok this is the cover art guy…immediate first thought is he’s a little strange. I’m 99% sure he’s that kid who saved her in the fire. Yeah he basically instantly confirmed that, cool. Oh sweet the game confirmed it quickly on too, makes my life a lot easier. Somebody with braincells yay!

Adolphe 💥

Ok so I started my thoughts here at the first official time he makes an appearance. Interesting, I like him more than I thought I would when I was just seeing his sprite. He’s got some braincells unlike most these people so that’s a win. What’s not a win is the older brother-little sister dynamic we have here! Cute for anybody that’s not a love interest! Something from seeing his sprite enough now, does the dude wear a shirt because it doesn’t look like it?

Ankou

Oh my god he’s wild and not in a good way to start off! Ok he’s scaring me genuinely wow. But he is pretty…ok what is he even talking about. Oh and that’s it there’s the op. Well let’s see how this game goes!

#otome mondays #first impressions #virche evermore #virche spoilers #spoilers

[jamestaylorswift]

y’all I think I’ve cracked the eagle noise conspiracy! tldr fearless/1989 taylor’s version streaming on the 9th

#taylor’s 15th cat insta story highlight thingy is benji being a bird #as we know benji is obviously william bowery #there are bird noises on exile and evermore #evermore is track 15 so we pick that one #evermore parallels gold rush with water metaphors #whatmustitbeliketogrowupthatbeautifulwithurhairfallinintoplacelikedominoesIseemepaddincrossurwoodenfloorswithmyeaglestshirthanginfromthedoor #just screams really fluffy and adorable kitten don’t you think #anyways evermore track 15 gold rush track 3 parallel means // which is / which means division #15/3 = 5 #coincidentally wildest dreams is on album 5 #the 1989 cover has seagulls which also connects to the bird noises hmmm #so you’ve got the eagles (like the philly nfl team) and the seagulls (which implies the seattle nfl team) #hold on to your animated horses folks #both nfl teams are in the nfc (philly in the nfc east and seattle in the nfc west) #so n is the 14th letter of the alphabet and then you have a cardinal direction thing going on #benjamin button also has 14 letters hmmm and a cardinal is a bird hmmmm #isn’t this wild so if you subtract 5 from 14 you get 9 which is the wildest dreams track number #if you add 9 to 14 you get 23 which if you add those digits you get 5 which is 1989 #and 19+89 = 108 and if you add those digits you also get 9 #as we know fearless taylor’s version comes out on the 9th #fearless tv #t is the 20th letter of the alphabet and v is the 22nd subtract them and you get 2 #fearless tv duh #this means she’s doing a second nfl commercial #announcing the release date for 1989 (taylor’s version) #also russell wilson and carson wentz both want trades and their jersey numbers add up to 14 #so you know who’s gonna be drafted #that’s right it’s benjamin william bowery button #(a talented king wbk he has helped write some great songs) #anyways clearly the eagle noises are incontrovertible evidence that benji is william bowery

[bi-bard]

Vessel - Winchester Brothers Imagine (Supernatural)

Title: Vessel

Pairing: Winchester Brothers X Reader

Requested: by @greatpsychicflowerbanana

Word Count: 880 words

Warning(s): mentions of Lucifer and violence

Summary: (Season 13) With their friends and family on the line, (Y/n) offers the best solution to their problems.

Author's Note: Hey! I did a rewrite of the ending of Supernatural. It took a really long time to complete, so it would mean a lot to me if you check it out. Here’s a link! (it’s on my personal account)

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I was sitting on the table in the library. Everyone was freaking out. Gabriel didn't have enough grace to keep the door open to the apocalypse world for long enough to get everyone out.

"We only have one other source of grace," Dean sighed.

"No, we don't," I replied, tuning back into the conversation.

"What other solution do we have than tracking down Luci-"

"Me," I pointed at myself.

It sounded dumb at first. A 15-year-old comparing themself to Lucifer in terms of power, but I was different.

When I was 10, Sam and Dean stumbled into my life. I was like a power magnifying glass. Whatever possessed me; angel, demon, what have you, would have their powers amplified dramatically. I was born with a target on my back. The brothers protected me when no one else could. Being in the bunker allowed me to stay safe.

"No," Dean said instantly.

"If I can amplify a normal angel's power almost ten-fold, imagine the power I could generate for an archangel," I motioned at Gabriel, who was leaning on the other table.

"No, no, you are not doing that."

"Dean-"

"This isn't up for debate!"

"You'd rather deal with Lucifer getting access to Jack than have me be possessed by probably the most trustworthy archangel we know?"

"(Y/n)'s got a point."

"Sam," Dean shouted. "(Y/n) was born as a target! Adding an archangel to the mix will amplify that signal!"

"And (Y/n) will be protected," Gabriel jumped in. I grinned at him. "I'm not going to stay any longer than I have to. (Y/n) can kick me out at any time."

"We can't let Lucifer get to Jack," I grabbed Dean's arm. "I know you don't like this but... it's the best chance we've got."

Dean stayed silent for a minute. I was about to plead with him again when he spoke up.

"Are you sure you wanna do this," he asked quietly. I nodded. "Okay."

I walked over to Gabriel.

"I'm going to stay in the front seat," Gabriel explained. "I don't want you to deal with what could happen in order to make the spell work."

"Is your vessel going to be okay," I asked.

"I think so," he nodded.

"So you guys are staying here," Dean asked.

"The grace may need to be refilled," I added.

Dean pulled me into a hug. I smiled and hugged him back, mumbling that I was going to be okay.

After I stepped away from Dean, Sam hugged me. He rubbed my back.

"If you hurt (Y/n) or go back on your deal or anything-"

"You'll find a way to kill me, I know," Gabriel cut him off.

I walked over to Gabriel and grinned, "Ready?"

He nodded.

"Just a warning, this may hurt like a bitch," he said.

I took a deep breath. He reached out and touched the sides of my head. It didn't hurt like he said. It wasn't nice, but it was that prickling feeling that you got when your feet fell asleep. Before I knew it, it was over.

--3rd Person P.O.V--

Gabriel looked around, his sights landing on Sam and Dean.

"I didn't realize how short (Y/n) was," he commented.

Sam scoffed, rolling his eyes at the archangel. Of course, there would be some kind of snarky comment.

"Where's (Y/n)," Dean asked.

"I tucked them in their best memories," Gabriel replied. "Nothing scary, nothing evil. Something to be comforting while we did this."

The boys nodded.

"Alright," Gabriel clapped his hands dramatically. "Red, are you ready? We've got work to do."

--Time Skip--

--1st Person P.O.V--

"(Y/n)," I turned away from the vision of a young me playing in the park to see Gabriel.

"Is it done," I asked.

"And then some," he mumbled. I furrowed my eyebrows. "We got everyone out. But that world's Michael and our world's Lucifer were not pleased."

"Oh no."

"But... my nephew and I make a badass team," he finished. "And I healed any wound that you may have had."

I chuckled as I nodded, "How's Jack?"

"Tell me to pop out of here and you can go ask him yourself."

"Gabriel," I said. He smiled. "Thank you... and get out."

Just like that, I was in the driver's seat again. I watched Gabriel pull himself off the ground. He was back in his old vessel. I ran over and hugged him, thanking him again.

"(Y/n)," I looked over to see Jack and Mary in the middle of a large group of hunters.

"Jack, Mary," I yelled. I ran over, hugging Jack first and Mary after that. "God, it's nice to see you two."

"You too," Mary mumbled.

I looked around at the group. I hadn't gotten to go with Ketch and Dean.

"Holy shit."

"I know," Dean walked over to me. "It's not our Charlie but just as much of a badass."

I picked up my hand, waving at her. She waved back, slightly awkwardly.

"That guy's Bobby, right," I asked. I didn't get to properly meet the man but I recognized him.

"Yeah," Dean was smiling. He pulled me into a hug. "I'm happy that you're alright, kid."

"Same to you," I mumbled.

I was overwhelmed. I was beyond excited to have everyone back home. It was perfect.

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Masterlist

What I Write For

Request Guidelines

Musical Prompts

Small Moments With…

When Worlds Collide (Doctor Who Crossover Series) Masterlist

Some Original Characters

folklore/evermore Writing Challenge (and Masterlist)

#supernatural imagine #supernatural x reader #supernatural fanfiction #gabriel imagine #gabriel fanfiction #gabriel x reader #sam winchester imagine #sam winchester x reader #sam winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester fanfiction #imagine #fanfiction #x reader

[spade-riddles]

Fabulous Submission:

I didn’t intend to write this (I had a thought about something and it ballooned into this post), but here’s my interpretation of the Cardigan and Willow music videos. It’s an optimistic and chronological look at Taylor’s entire story up till now, and what I think/hope could come next. It’s really long, sorry.

I think the Cardigan and Willow videos are symbolic of Taylor’s career and personal journey over the last 15 years. So in Cardigan, she starts at the beginning of her career where it’s just her and her music. She follows the gold bubbles (representing fame?) and finds herself in this beautiful utopia, symbolizing her early career– she was famous, but not like she is today. She was wildly successful and talented, but wasn’t facing as many of the downsides to fame (intense scrutiny, safety concerns, privacy, etc). I’d say this period was maybe 2006-2010, when her career was fresh and fun and she was overall pretty happy.

I think she got a little swept up in her fame after that. She lost herself in a lot of ways. Her PR was a mess, her real relationships seemed to implode, and I suspect her relationship with SB started to deteriorate toward the end of this period (2010-2013 or so). Her reputation was “boy crazy/man-eater/serial dater.” This is where she was trying to stay afloat in the water in the music video. But she managed to hold on. The journey changed her, but she was on solid ground again. So that’s Cardigan– it covers 2006 to fall of 2013. She’s not in a great place, but she’s planning to make some changes.

Willow picks up where we left off, only this time, Taylor is following a gold string. She’s officially on the path to meet her soulmate. She plans to move from LA to NYC and seemingly has a plan to change her public image.  See: “I’m perfectly fine, I live on my own. I’ve made up my mind, I’m better off being alone. We met a few weeks ago…” So Taylor’s plan at the end of 2013 was to stay single. This is the dark, lonely scene with the willow and reflection pond. Of course, we know what happens next. When she least expected it, the string led her to Karlie. They met and had an instant connection– “have I known you 20 seconds, or 20 years?” This is the scene with the children in a tent. 

Suddenly, she finds herself in a glass closet. There’s no way out. She can sing and see and interact with her lover, but they can’t be in a public relationship. This is 2014-2016, the Kaylor BFF years, where we saw them together as “friends” all the time. We know Taylor was in a pretty bad place in 2016– this isn’t really depicted in the video, but I think she needed some time out of the public eye for her own wellbeing. So she left the glass closeting behind and made her relationship private, to escape some of the constant scrutiny around her life.

This is the dancing witches part of the video. Taylor is in hiding. We don’t see her in public anymore. We don’t see her with her friends. We don’t see her with her alleged boyfriend. She makes it impossible for the public to tell who is still in her life. The cloaked witches (Taylor’s close circle) are working together to give her privacy. I think they represent the people who know Taylor’s real story– her friends, family, close business associates (including Toe), and Karlie.

This is where she first says, “Every bait and switch was a work of art.” Around 2:22-2:26 in the music video. Then she dances with the other cloaked witches. I think this is 2017, when the biggest bait and switch of them all showed up: Toe. Taylor hired him so she could keep her real relationship private. The public thinks she’s with the most boring witch on the planet, but whoops, she’s actually dating one of the other witches.

Then, Taylor leaves the witches and wanders off, following the gold string away from the coven. Her love story isn’t over because she hasn’t made it to the end of the gold string. As in, Taylor’s end game is not secrecy and hiding and being closeted. Anyway, we can’t tell which witch is Taylor’s lover, since they’re all cloaked and masked. By design. But when Taylor walks away from the circle, one of the witches takes off their mask, and it turns out her lover was there the whole time. Much like we think Karlie and Taylor have been together this whole time, but publicly, that’s not what we see. 

Anyway, Taylor is still following the string, but she’s distanced herself from her lover (at least publicly). Her lover looks like he’s afraid he’s going to lose her as she walks away. What does this mean for Kaylor, publicly and privately? Are they going to be reunited? Is it possible someone else will be at the other side of the gold string? Why did Taylor wander away? We don’t know at this point. I think the entire dancing witches/snowy forrest scene is 2017 to sometime in 2020.

Taylor ends up back in her cabin, where she finds the other end of the gold string. For a second she’s confused, because she thought the string was supposed to lead her to her soulmate… and she thinks she’s alone in the cabin. This is where we are now, in my opinion. It looks like all hope is lost, that Taylor and Karlie are never going to publicly reunite. That maybe they aren’t even together– maybe Karlie was just another girlfriend, and the gold string leads to someone different. 

But then? Taylor sees her lover. Somehow, some way, he ended up back in the cabin with her. It’s the same person she saw in the reflecting pond, and on the other side of the glass closet, and danced with in secret. The guy in the cabin is the soulmate, after all. Making me think that the girl in Taylor’s story has always been Karlie.

We don’t know how they ended up together again. We don’t see the lover leave the dancing witches. He seems to have arrived before Taylor. I guess she took the long way back to the cabin? “I take the long way home” from DBATC? At 3:22, Taylor sings, “Every bait and switch was a work of art” again as they walk toward each other. Maybe this bait and switch is how the gp thinks they’re feuding… but really, they reunited recently. (I think they’ve been together the entire time, but this is the public narrative– they were together on and off before 2016ish, then they ignored each other and dated other people, then they privately reunited recently.) 

Here’s what gives me the most hope, even when things look bleak (like now): After reuniting privately, they walk hand in hand out the door, into the golden daylight together. The question is, is this Taylor’s fantasy? Or is it foreshadowing? Does she just want to publicly reunite with Karlie, but can’t (or won’t)? Or are they going to ACTUALLY reunite publicly in the near future?

I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. I know we’re all feeling really cynical right now because we’ve been burned so many times. I’m choosing to be optimistic for a bit longer– I think they’re about to reunite publicly. It’s okay if you disagree. I get it. None of us know what they’re up to and I could definitely be wrong. But I think Taylor singing, “Every bait and switch WAS a work of art” in past tense is interesting. If they have no plans to change anything, why not sing, “Every bait and switch IS a work of art”? “Is” would indicate to me that the games are ongoing. “Was” indicates to me that they’re over or will be soon. Also, why remind us of Daylight, the song about not hiding who you are and who you love? The song that she almost used as an album title but decided it was too on-the-nose? Why remind us of Daylight and the Lover album for the first track/music video of Evermore, the album where she DID name the album after its last track?

Cardigan’s final verse ends with, “I knew you’d come back to me.” Will Karlie publicly come back to Taylor? Willow ends with, “I’m begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans, that’s my man.” Which is exactly what happens in the video. Evermore ends with, “Floors of a cabin creaking under my step / This pain wouldn’t be for evermore.” Like the cabin floor in Willow? Is her pain almost over? Daylight ends with Taylor saying, “You gotta step into the daylight and let it go” and, “I wanna be defined by the things that I love.” Again, that’s how Willow ends. It’s also similar to the second ending of Evermore, It’s Time To Go– “So then you go/then you go/you just go.” To me, this all looks like they’re still planning a public reunion and that we’re almost there.

I don’t know what’s happening with the baby and the beards. I don’t know what the plan is, and I don’t know if I’m going to like it. But everything else is giving me reasons to stick around a bit longer. I don’t think we’ve made it to the last page of the story quite yet.

#this submission is amazing! #everyone must read this!!! #I mean everyone #this is so good I had to add all of the pictures to do it justice #OMG #I love this so much #taylor swift #submission

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Music For the Soul

by Alexander Maclaren

The Greatness of Trifles

And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with Him, that he might bear His cross. - Mark 15:21

How little these people knew that they were making this man immortal! What a strange fate that is which has befallen those persons in the Gospel narrative, who for an instant came into contact with Jesus Christ. Like ships passing across the white splendor of the moonlight on the sea, they gleam silvery pure for a moment as they cross the track, and then are lost and swallowed up again in the darkness.

This man Simon, fortuitously, as men say, meeting the little procession at the gate of the city, for an instant is caught in the radiance of the light, and stands out visible for evermore to all the world; and then sinks into the blackness, and we know no more about him. This brief glimpse tells us very little, and yet the man and his act and its consequences may be worth thinking about. If that man had started from the little village where he lived five minutes earlier or later, if he had walked a little faster or slower, if he had happened to be lodging on the other side of Jerusalem, or if the whim had taken him to go in at another gate, or if the centurion’s eye had not chanced to alight on him in the crowd, or if the centurion’s fancy had picked out somebody else to carry the cross - then all his life would have been different. And so it is always. You go down one turning rather than another, and your whole career is coloured thereby. You miss a train, and you save your life. Our lives are like the Cornish rocking stones, pivoted on little points. The most apparently insignificant things have got such a strange knack of suddenly developing unexpected consequences, and turning out to be, not small things at all, but great and decisive and fruitful.

And so let us draw from that thought such lessons as these. Let us look with ever fresh wonder on this marvellous contexture of human life, and on Him that molds it all to His own perfect purposes. Let us bring the highest and largest principles to bear on the smallest events and circumstances, for you never can tell which of these is going to turn out a revolutionary and formative influence in your life. And if the highest and the holiest Christian principle is not brought to bear upon the trifles, depend upon it it will never be brought to bear upon the mighty things.

Indeed, in one sense life is made up of trifles: and if the highest religious motives are not brought to bear upon the trifles of life, they will very seldom be brought to bear at all, and life, which is divided into grains like the sand, will have gone by with him while he is preparing for the big events which he thinks worthy of being regulated by lofty principles. Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves. Look after the trifles, for the law of life is like that which is laid down by the psalmist about the kingdom of Jesus Christ: "There shall be a handful of corn in the earth," a little seed sown in an apparently ungenial place " on the top of the mountains." Aye! but this will come of it, " the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon," and the great harvest of benediction or of curse, of joy or of sorrow, will come from the minute seeds that are sown in the great trifles of your daily life.

#Alexander Maclaren #Music For the Soul #devotional #The Greatness of Trifles #Mark 15:21 #March 28 #2022

[bananaofswifts]

Taylor Swift appears to be waging war over the serial resale of her old master recordings on two fronts. She recently confirmed that she is already underway in the process of re-recording the six albums she made for the Big Machine label, in order to steer her fans (and sync licensing execs) toward the coming alternate versions she’ll control. But now that she’s followed the surprise release of “Folklore” with the very, very surprise release of “Evermore” less than five months later, the thought may occur: If she keeps up this pace, she may have more new albums out on the Republic label than she ever did on Big Machine in a quarter of the time. Flooding the zone to further crowd out the oldies is unlikely to be Swift’s real motivation for giving the world a full-blown “Folklore” sequel this instantaneously: As motivations for prolific activity go, relieving and sublimating quarantine pressure is probably even better than revenge. Anyway, this is not a gift horse to be looked in the mouth. “Evermore,” like its mid-pandemic predecessor, feels like something that’s been labored over — in the best possible way — for years, not something that was written and recorded beginning in August, with the bow said to be put on it only about a week ago. Albums don’t get graded on a curve for how hastily they came together, or shouldn’t be, but this one doesn’t need the handicap. It’d be a jewel even if it’d been in progress forevermore and a day.The closest analog for the relation the new album bears to its predecessor might be one that’d seem ancient to much of Swift’s audience: U2 following “Achtung Baby” with “Zooropa” while still touring behind the previous album. It’s hard to remember now that a whole year and a half separated those two related projects; In that very different era, it seemed like a ridiculously fast follow-up. But the real comparison lies in how U2, having been rewarded for making a pretty gutsy change of pace with “Achtung,” seemed to say: You’re okay with a little experimentation? Let’s see how you like it when we really boil things down to our least commercial impulses, then — while we’ve still got you in the mood.Swift isn’t going avant-garde with “Evermore.” If anything, she’s just stripping things down to even more of an acoustic core, so that the new album often sounds like the folk record that the title of the previous one promised — albeit with nearly subliminal layers of Mellotrons, flutes, French horns and cellos that are so well embedded beneath the profuse finger-picking, you probably won’t notice them till you scour the credits. But it’s taking the risk of “Folklore” one step further by not even offering such an obvious banger (irony intended) as “Cardigan.” Aaron Dessner of the National produced or co-produced about two-thirds of the last record, but he’s on 14 out of 15 tracks here (Jack Antonoff gets the remaining spot), and so the new album is even more all of a piece with his arpeggiated chamber-pop impulses, Warmth amid iciness is a recurring lyrical motif here, and kind of a musical one, too, as Swift’s still increasingly agile vocal acting breathes heat into arrangements that might otherwise seem pretty controlled. At one point Swift sings, “Hey, December, I’m feeling unmoored,” like a woman who might even know she’s going to put her album out a couple of weeks before Christmas. It’s a wintry record — suitable for double-cardigan wearing! — and if you’re among the 99% who have been feeling unmoored, too, then perhaps you are Ready For It. Swift said in announcing the album that she was moving further into fiction songwriting after finding out it was a good fit on much of “Folklore,” a probably inevitable move for someone who’s turning 31 in a few days and appears to have a fairly settled personal life. Which is not to say that there aren’t scores to settle, and a few intriguing tracks whose real-life associations will be speculated upon. But just as the “Betty”/”August” love triangle of mid-year established that modern pop’s most celebrated confessional writer can just make shit up, too, so, here, do we get the narrator of “Dorothea,” a honey in Tupelo who is telling a childhood friend who moved away and became famous that she’s always welcome back in her hometown. (Swift may be doing a bit of empathic wondering in a couple of tracks here how it feels to be at the other end of the telescope.) One time the album takes a turn away from rumination into a pure spirit of fun — while getting dark anyway — is “No Body, No Crime,” a spirited double-murder ballad that may have more than a little inspiration in “Goodbye, Earl.” Since Swift already used the Dixie Chicks for background vocals two albums ago, for this one she brings in two of the sisters from Haim, Danielle and Este, and even uses the latter’s name for one of the characters. Yes, the rock band Haim’s featured appearance is on the only really country-sounding song on the record… there’s one you didn’t see coming, in the 16 hours you had to wonder about it. Yet there are also a handful of songs that clearly represent a Swiftian state of mind. At least, it’s easy to suppose that the love songs that opens the album, “Willow,” is a cousin to the previous record’s “Invisible String” and “Peace,” even if it doesn’t offer quite as many clearly corroborating details about her current relationship as those did. On the sadder side, Swift is apparently determined to run through her entire family tree for heartrending material. On “Lover,” she sang for her stricken mother; on “Folklore,” for her grandfather in wartime. In that tradition the new album offers “Marjorie,” about the beloved grandmother she lost in 2003, when she was 13. (The lyric videos that are being offered online mostly offer static visual loops, but the one for “Marjorie” is an exception, reviving a wealth of stills and home-movie footage of Grandma, who was quite a looker in a miniskirt in her day.) Rue is not something Swift is afraid of here anymore than anywhere else, as she sings, “I should’ve asked you questions / I should’ve asked you how to be / Asked you to write it down for me / Should’ve kept every grocery store receipt / ‘Cause every scrap of you would be taken from me,” lines that will leave a dry eye only in houses that have never known death. The piece de resistance in its poignance is Swift actually resurrecting faint audio clips of Marjorie, who was an opera singer back in the day. It’s almost like ELO’s “Rockaria,” played for weeping instead of a laugh. Swift has not given up, thank God, on the medium that brought her to the dance — the breakup song — but most of them here have more to do with dimming memories and the search for forgiveness, however slowly and incompletely achieved, than feist. But doesn’t Swift know that we like her when she’s angry? She does, and so she delves deep into something like venom just once, but it’s a good one. The ire in “Closure,” a pulsating song about an unwelcome “we can still be friends, right?” letter from an ex, seems so fresh and close to the surface that it would be reasonable to speculate that it is not about a romantic relationship at all, but a professional one she has no intention of ever recalling in a sweet light. Or maybe she does harbor that a disdain for an actual former love with that machinelike a level of intensity. What “Evermore” is full of is narratives that, like the music that accompanies them, really come into focus on second or third listen, usually because of a detail or two that turns her sometimes impressionistic modes completely vivid. “Champagne Problems” is a superb example of her abilities as a storyteller who doesn’t always tell all: She’s playing the role of a woman who quickly ruins a relationship by balking at a marriage proposal the guy had assumed was an easy enough yes that he’d tipped off his nearby family. “Sometimes you just don’t know the answer ‘ Til someone’s on their knees and asks you / ‘She would’ve made such a lovely bride / What a shame she’s fucked in the head’ / They said / But you’ll find the real thing instead / She’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred.” (Swift has doubled the F-bomb quotient this time around, among other expletives, for anyone who may be wondering whether there’s rough wordplay amid Dessner’s delicacy — that would an effing yes.) “‘Tis the Damn Season,” representing a gentler expletive, gives us a character who is willing to settle, or at least share a Christmas-time bed with an ex back in the hometown, till something better comes along. The pleasures here are shared, though not many more fellow artists have broken into her quarantine bubble this time around. Besides Haim’s cameo, Marcus Mumford offers a lovely harmony vocal on “Cowboy Like Me,” which might count as the other country song on the album, and even throws in something Swift never much favored in her Nashville days, a bit of lap steel. Its tale of male and female grifters meeting and maybe — maybe — falling in love is really more determinedly Western than C&W, per se, though. The National itself, as a group, finally gets featured billing on “Coney Island,” with Matt Berninger taking a duet vocal on a track that recalls the previous album’s celebrated Bon Iver collaboration “Exile,” with ex-lovers taking quiet turns deciding who was to blame. (Swift saves the rare laugh line for herself: “We were like the mall before the internet / It was the one place to be.) Don’t worry, legions of new Bon Iver fans: Dessner has not kicked Justin Vernon out of his inner circle just to make room for Berninger. The Bon Iver frontman whose appearance on “Folklore” came as a bit of a shock to some of his fan base actually makes several appearances on this album, and the one that gets him elevated to featured status again, as a duet, the closing “Evermore,” is different from “Exile” in two key ways. Vernon gets to sing in his high register… and he gets the girl. As it turned out, the year 2020 did not involve any such waiting for Swift fans; it’s an embarrassment of stunning albums-ending-in-“ore” that she’s mined out of a locked-down muse.

#taylor swift #evermore #review

[jazziehart]

Taylor Swift Albums Reviews

Hello my lovely blog readers,

I want to thank those of you who stick around through all my crazy rants and long Glee posts. You guys are the real MVPs and I will always appreciate you.

Anyway onto why we're here, in the wake of Taylor rereleasing her albums I found it fitting to take a look back at her discorgaphy so far! Thanks to my good friend Aly, I decided to relisten to all of her albums which the order was randomly decided. I will be talking about the deluxe editions so enjoy!

Let's start off with the first album that was drawn first which was Red.

One of my favorite albums right off the bat with probably her best album cover. I remember how excited I was for 22, mostly because my girl Dianna Agron's name was in the liner notes. Let's dive into what I thought now about 9 years later!

Favorite Track: Begin Again Least Favorite Track: The Last Time (featuring Gary Lightbody) Bonus Track I Wish was on the main album: All of them!!! Favorite Bonus Track: The Moment I Knew Album Ranking: 6th/9

Overall I adore this album so so much. The only track I didn't care for in the least was The Last Time. I think you'll find a trend with me that my least favorite Tayor tracks tend to be her duets (the exception being Everything Has Changed which is also on this album and is the purest of all). The album has held up and even moreso I love it than the first time I listened. Crazy. Anyway onto the rankings of each song. DISCLAIMER: These are just my opinions and you can disagree with them but please be respectful.

1) Begin Again 2) The Moment I Knew 3) State of Grace (Acoustic Version) 4) I Almost Do 5) Stay Stay Stay 6) All Too Well 7) Everything Has Changed (featuring Ed Sheeran) 8) 22 9) Come Back...Be Here 10) Red 11) I Knew You Were Trouble 12) The Lucky One 13) We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together 14) Starlight 15) Girl at Home 16) Sad Beautiful Tragic 17) State of Grace 18) Holy Ground 19) Treacherous 20) The Last Time (featuring Gary Lightbody)

Honestly I adore this album so much as a whole and ranking every song was so hard. Holy Ground honestly had a lot of potiental I hated the arrangement but if I heard an acoustic version I would be sold, much like State of Grace which I wasn't huge on the original but the acoustic I'm obsessed with. Moving onto our second album which is one of Taylor's newest.

folklore! Funny enough on first listen I wasn't as into it as everyone else was but trust me, the relisten definitely helped me change my mind. I also heard the lakes for the first time which I loved. Since it's the only bonus track I'm going to say I definitely wished it had made the main album over some of the other songs on it. Let's dive into my thoughts and rankings.

Favorite Track: mad woman Least Favorite Track: invisible string Album Ranking: 9th/9

1) mad woman 2) the 1 3) the last great american dynasty 4) mirrorball 5) hoax 6) peace 7) seven 8) august 9) my tears richocet 10) the lakes 11) cardigan 12) betty 13) illicit affairs 14) epiphany 15) this is me trying 16) exile (featuring Bon Iver) 17) invisible string

Okay I know cardigan and betty being so low is going make people unhappy but honestly I just loved the other songs better listed above it. So many gorgeous songs and a great era for Taylor. It's not my favorite era and still falls in my lower half of her albums but I can appreciate the tracks on it more than I did before with the relisten.

Now onto Taylor's most recent album which came up next in our randomization in evermore

Unlike folklore on original listen I absolutely adored this album and had it in my top tier Taylor albums but will that opinion hold up? Let's find out.

Favorite Track: no body, no crime (featuring HAIM) Least Favorite Track: gold rush Favorite Bonus Track: it's time to go Album Ranking: 7th/9

1) no body, no crime (featuring HAIM) 2) happiness 3) champagne problems 4) willow 5) cowboy like me 6) dorothea 7) majorie 8) evermore (featuring Bon Iver) 9) closure 10) long story short 11) ‘tis the damn season 12) ivy 13) it’s time to go 14) coney island (featuring The National) 15) right where you left me 16) tolerate it 17) gold rush Okay let's talk about the relisten, it still held up but to me the one thing I didn't love about the album was the bonus tracks didn't add much to the original album so I kind of see why they were bonus tracks. I enjoyed the album none the less and I do think that most of my opinions are somewhat popular. I only see people being mad about 'tis the damn season being so low but honestly 1-11, I loved all the tracks so.

Up next is the rerelease that started it all, Fearless!

Now let's see after 13 years (hey Taylor's lucky number) if my opinion of this iconic album changed. Back in the day I was so obsessed with this album so let's see how I feel now!

Favorite Track: You're Not Sorry Least Favorite Track: The Way I Loved You Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: Forever and Always (Piano Verison) and Come in with the Rain Favorite Bonus Track: Forever and Always (Piano Version) Album Ranking: 4th/9

1) You’re Not Sorry 2) White Horse 3) Love Story 4) You Belong with Me 5) Change 6) Forever and Always (Piano Version) 7) Fifteen 8) Hey Stephen 9) Come in with the Rain 10) Jump Then Fall 11) Fearless 12) Forever and Always 13) The Best Day 14) The Other Side of the Door 15) Breathe (featuring Colbie Cailaitt) 16) Untouchable 17) SuperStar 18) Tell Me Why 19) The Way I Loved You

I still remember when this album was first coming out how jazzed and excited I was for it. It was highly anticipated for me being that I had fallen in love with Taylor from her debut album and listening back it still holds up as one of my favorite albums. The only two tracks I wasn't into back then and still am not into are Tell Me Why and The Way I Loved You. Other than those two tracks the entire album is incredible to listen to. I'm so excited to hear Taylor's versions of all these songs and who knows maybe my mind will change on some of them.

Moving onto the next album to be randomly selected which is almost every Swiftie's favorite 1989.

Funny enough, originally this album isn't in my top favorites so who knows if my opinion will change on a relisten. Let's find out!

Favorite Track: Clean Least Favorite Track: I Wish You Would Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: All of them?! Come on Taylor what's up with 1989 and Red having like some of their best tracks as bonus tracks. I'm mad haha. Favorite Bonus Track: Wonderland (gee I wonder why) Album Ranking: 5th/9

1) Clean 2) Wonderland 3) Wildest Dreams 4) This Love 5) You are in Love 6) Welcome to New York 7) Shake It Off 8) Blank Space 9) Bad Blood 10) Style 11) How You Get the Girl 12) Out of the Woods 13) New Romantics 14) I Know Places 15) All You Had to Do was Stay 16) I Wish You Would

Okay listening back. I now get the hype behind it. Listening to it with bonus tracks honestly makes all the difference. No joke. It's a much better album with the bonus tracks added. Honestly if Wonderland and You are in Love were on the main album it would've been top tier to me. Thank God for the deluxe version but team Taylor what is up with you hiding some of her best tracks and only releasing them on the bonus tracks? I'm mad. Also speaking on Wonderland, I adore the song even without the rumours of it being about my favorite celebrity Dianna Agron. Had the bonus tracks been on the main album it would higher but as a whole I love the album.

And now for our next album, which is reputation!

This is probably Taylor's most controversial albums, some love it and some hate it. I actually am somewhere in the middle. I love some of the tracks while others I could've done without. Let's see where it goes for me listening back.

Favorite Song: New Year's Day Least Favorite: Dancing with Our Hands Tied Album Ranking: 8th/9

1) New Year's Day 2) Gorgeous 3) Don’t Blame Me 4) This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things 5) I Did Something Bad 6) Dress 7) Delicate 8) Call It What You Want To 9) ...Ready for It? 10) Look What You Made Me Do 11) King of my Heart 12) Getaway Car 13) So It Goes... 14) End Game (featuring Ed Sheeran and Future) 15) Dancing with Our Hands Tied

Okay I feel like my choices here are controversal especially Getaway Car being pretty low on the album. Honestly I liked the song just wasn't into the hype that everyone else said about it, sorry you guys. Also Dancing with Our Hands Tied on the ALBUM is my least favorie song. I absolutely adored Taylor's acoustic version that was in the rep Tour. Had she released that on the album it would be after Look What You Made Me Do. The arrangement on the album I just didn't care for and I prefer acoustic Taylor which I think a lot of you gather from my top picks.

Anyway moving onto to our next album that was randomized which is...Taylor Swift!

Ah yes the album that started it all. 15 years ago I discovered Taylor Swift via this album thanks to CMT. I was a huge country music stan back in the day who knew how this one album would lead to a career I've been following for 15 years. Now how does this album hold up? Let's find out!

Favorite Song: Should've Said No Least Favorite Song: A Perfectly Good Heart Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: Invisible and I'm Only Me When I'm with You Favorite Bonus Track: Invisible Album Ranking: 3rd/9

1) Should’ve Said No 2) Invisible 3) Cold as You 4) Picture to Burn 5) Our Song 6) The Outside 7) A Place in This World 8) Teardrops on My Guitar 9) Stay Beautiful 10) Tim McGraw 11) I’m Only Me When I’m with You 12) Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) 13) Tied Together with a Smile 14) A Perfectly Good Heart

This album still holds up 15 years later and made me so nostalgic. This had to be the hardest album for songs to rank thus far. Taylor hit it out of the park on her very first album crazy. She set the bar very high, funny enough it's the first album that a bonus track is my least favorite track but the entire album is a great listen, especially if you love country. It's very different from anything else Taylor did but that's what's so charming about it.

And now onto our second to last album which is another one of my favorites and the only album Taylor wrote fully on her own, Speak Now.

The album cover is up there with Red as my favorite and I'm excited to listen back to this album. I remember how much I enjoyed it when it was first released. Excited to see what I think 11 years later. Let's find out.

Favorite Track: Haunted (Acoustic Version) Least Favorite Track: Last Kiss Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: All of them. Dang it Taylor they deserved to be on the main album. Favorite Bonus Track: Haunted (Acoustic Version) Album Ranking: 2nd/9

1) Haunted (Acoustic Version) 2) Long Live 3) Haunted 4) Better Than Revenge 5) Back to December (Acoustic Version) 6) Mine 7) Back to December 8) Mean 9) If This Was a Movie 10) Innocent 11) Dear John 12) Speak Now 13) Ours 14) Never Grow Up 15) The Story of Us 16) Superman 17) Enchanted 18) Sparks Fly 19) Last Kiss

One of Taylor's absolute best albms and it was incredibly hard to rank these songs. I know people are going to be mad about Enchanted being low but I just didn't love it as much as the other tracks on the album, this after all is one of the best albums she ever released so it's incredibly hard to make the call.

Moving onto our final album which I've called my absolute favorite, Lover.

It's only been an year since its release but will it hold up as my favorite album? Let's find out!

Favorite Track: Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince Least Favorite Track: It’s Nice to Have a Friend Album Ranking: 1st/9

1) Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince 2) Paper Rings 3) Lover 4) Soon You’ll Get Better (featuring The Chicks) 5) You Need to Calm Down 6) The Archer 7) The Man 8) Daylight 9) Afterglow 10) I Think He Knows 11) False God 12) Death by a Thousand Cuts 13) Cruel Summer 14) Cornelia Street 15) I Forgot That You Existed 16) ME! (featuring Brendan Urie from Panic! at the Disco) 17) London Boy 18) It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Yep it held up. This album is my favorite thing Taylor ever released. It was a tough call because I loved all of her top albums so much. Miss Americana still is my favorite performance which is no surprise, I was obsessed when this song came out 2 years ago. It's Nice to Have a Friend is the weakest track on the album but by no means is it a bad track. The entire album is a great listen all the way through, the only song that's hard to listen to especially if you have a sick parent "Soon You'll Get Better" I literally bawled after I finished it. So if you don't want an emotional song that might make you sad, it's best to skip it even though it's one of favorite tracks.

And that does it for us here. Hope you enjoyed my album reviews! Just to recap here's the rankings of all of Taylor's Albums:

1) Lover 2) Speak Now 3) Taylor Swift 4) Fearless 5) 1989 6) Red 7) evermore 8) reputation 9) folklore

Excited to see what's to come with the rerelease of Fearless and to hear the songs released from the vault. I've heard a few of her unreleased songs and honestly there are quite a few that I'm hoping are released. Thanks for enjoying us on this journey as always be kind and always spread love <3

#taylor swift #fearless #taylor swift albums #taylor swift album #speak now #folklore #evermore #lover #taylor swift 1989 #1989 #taylor swift fearless #taylor swift speak now #taylor swift red #red #taylor swift lover #taylor swift folklore #taylor swift evermore #taylor nation #dianna agron #swiftgron #taylor swift bonus tracks #1989 bonus tracks #red bonus tracks #taylor swift 1989 bonus tracks #taylor swift red bonus tracks #rep tour #Taylor Swift rep tour #taylor swift debut #taylor swift debut album #debut album

[speaknowslut13]

Evermore First Impressions

Well, well, well, we meet again.  I was so wordy last time around, I’m going to try to contain myself this time.  No promises.  Let’s just dive right in, shall we?

1. Willow (the music video)

So overall I thought this was cute.  It was interesting that it picked up right where cardigan left off.  But what really piqued my interest was the gold, glowing string that I tied right back to Invisible String.  Clever, Ms. Swift.  Clever.I also deduced that the scene where Taylor is locked in the clear box was her metaphor for fame.  She’s untouchable by the person she wants but she can’t escape to be with them.  Tragic. 

On my second run through, I bravely decided to point out that the reflection in the water of her and her lover is interesting.  Why?  Because I associated his face with Joe Alwyn’s features.  Obviously, the actor playing opposite is NOT Mr. Alwyn but I found it interesting that the man cast had similar features to him.  I also think Witchcraft Taylor is an interesting sub plot to this three minute movie.  I want to note that the lyrics “begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans, that’s my man” seem vaguely familiar and I can’t place why.

This, being Evermore, is a thing now and I’m trying to process it. 

2. Champagne Problems

Taylor had already alluded to this song as being “not bubbly” so I go into this album with trepidation.  Folklore has made me wary, even without Taylor’s hints. I am immediately struck by this beautiful piano.  The background for the lyric video is a champagne glass with a ring in it and since I’ve already read the album prologue I know whats coming.  My take away from this was that the song though pretty was traditionally sad.  I love how she managed to drop yet another poetic ‘Fuck’.  Honestly, Taylor is a great storyteller and is in her truest form as one.  So far the sounds are similar to Folklore with just a touch of difference to separate the two albums.

3. Gold Rush

The story of daydreamed love set to the background of gold silk background.  The visual, as well as the composition is ethereal much like the lyrics.  I feel that there is meaning deeper to this particular song, but its too deep for a first listen.

4. ‘Tis the Damn Season

I was curious about this one when I saw it on the track listing.  It couldn’t possibly be a holiday song, so what could it be?  The wintry scenery is equally confusing.  But once I start listening I immediately piece it to the story of Dorothea, the girl who comes back from LA for the holidays.  Its a pretty story about reconnecting with people lost in transition to adulthood.  But what I’m really marveling at so far is the arrangements of the songs. They work with the story lines really well. 

5.  Tolerate It

I saw the clouds and vivid Folklore flashbacks started.  I was right to be wary. I don’t want to talk about it.

6. No body No Crime (Feat. Haim)

She had mentioned earlier in the evening that she borrowed a best friend’s name for the character of this song.  I wondered who?  I was delighted to hear she named the woman “Este” for two reasons: one, she sings this with the very same Haim sisters, and two, I now know how to properly pronounce her name.  I loved the subtle country flavor with the overtly country plot.  Very nice.  This was a really good one.  I loved it.  I also would like to note that...there’s nothing like a mad woman, now is there?

7. Happiness

Yet another one Taylor hinted at during her Q and A.  I know that this one is misleading.  I had one take away.  It was beautiful but sad, so very sad. 

8.  Dorothea

A reply to ‘Tis the Damn Season from the other party’s perspective.  Once again though, its wistfully sad and I am still in emotional turmoil from that track 5.  I have nothing to say but that it had a really pretty sound. 

9. Coney Island (feat. The National)

This arrangement really sounded experimental to me.  I had no thoughts about this track other than one: Is this the broken hearts club that I have some how stumbled upon? Most of these are so sad. This one struck me as about a dead spouse but I’m just not sure. (Jane the Virgin Vibes)

10. Ivy

This one is cute.  However, I felt that this particular affair song romanticizes affairs more than Illicit Affairs did and I don’t know how to feel about that.  Its beautiful though.  I noticed that Ivy and Illicit Affairs could be related and from perspectives in different timing. Ivy before Illicit Affairs.

11. Cowboy Like Me

I loved this background for this one. But also that country blues sound.  Its the twang of the guitar for me. Its once again, more subtle than overt but clearer in this one than others.  Its a sweet song.  Nice to not be wallowing right now.

12. Long Story Short

Mostly, thus far, the songs have seemed to take on Taylor’s fictional abilities.  However this one seemed to call upon her autobiographical talents.  I really liked this one.  “Long Story Short, I survived” is a line I want tattooed on my face.  Dramatic? Why yes, I am!

13. Marjorie

The picture of her grandma gave me the idea that she didn’t just borrow the name of her late grandmother but wrote a song about her.  And yes, this is the second song I’ve cried to on this album.  It was a really pretty song.

14. Closure

This was another arrangement that caught my attention.  And I noted that the feeling of seeing someone’s name and feeling pain was familiar.  This one, could be a story.  Taylor Swift if a talented story teller after all, but this one felt pointed. Very pointed.  I liked it though.

15. Evermore (feat. Bon Iver)

This song-- was a journey.  A damn journey.  That time signature switch up in the middle only to return to the calm, slower tempo was fire.  It was a more hopeful feeling than Hoax.  That only makes me wary of the last two bonus tracks. 

Honestly, the album was good.  I think it’ll grow on me.  So that is Evermore.  A wistful, sad album with happier notes thrown in.  As for track five, I’m not ready to...wait for it...tolerate it yet.  I’m cheesy, what can I say?

What did ya’ll think? 

Love, Lauren

#evermore #taylor swift #renreacts #themodren #ts9 #Swifties #taylornation

[lokislytherin]

For the writing positivity ask meme: 3, 10, 15, 21, 30!

OOH A RESPONSE! thank you for the ask @khunfounded​!

prepare for a lot of rambling

3. What is your favorite line/paragraph that you’ve written?

hmmm i’ve written a lot of things before this is hard lmao i’ll just pick my top two!

from tower of god, ships in the night ch14: this is one of the most poetic things i’ve written, ever (thank taylor swift’s ‘cardigan’ for the inspiration with the line “you drew stars around my scars // and now i’m bleeding” because i love folklore and taylor swift is megabrain)

“The wounds she'd dug into his mind may never truly heal, but they are merely memories of pain now, pale scars painted over with gold ink, tattooed with stars and guitars and whatever the night had to give.”

from bts, burn the stage ch1: circus poetics, of course.  after reading the first (and only) chapter i wanna continue this again sdfjkldkls why do i keep starting fics but never finishing them? i should actually Commit

“without a sound, it creeps into cities in their darkest hours, bringing with it shadows of caravans dimly lit by rattling lanterns and flickering light bulbs.  if you take a closer look, you can see the silhouette of an elephant in its trailer, illuminated by the faintest shine of moonlight.  this time, the circus is in busan.”

10. What’s the best comment on a fic you’ve ever gotten?

time to scroll through my 1000+ comments lmao

okay after a while of scrolling i have no idea what the best comment is but ngl any comment from @resident-normal-person​ is bound to get me wheezing at some point because her comments are so long and detailed and it’s like watching reaction vids but in words

but ngl this comment from one of the fics i’ve kinda left behind (one chapter is up and i said I’M GONNA CONTINUE THIS IT’S GONNA BE SO LONG I HAVE SO MUCH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR JIN) cracks me up tho: 

“Please continue? I'm actually interested”

15. Tell me about a time when you got super inspired.

laughs like i haven’t listened to taylor swift’s ‘willow’ five times today

so i get inspired by songs really easily? especially by taylor swift songs, because each song has a unique narrative and taylor is such an amazing songwriter she’s literally so talented i don’t know if i want to dissect her lyrics or her brain

yesterday her new album evermore came out and i promised my swiftie friend we’d listen and scream about it together, and we did, and before i knew it-

OK FIC PLANNING LET'S GO (this is me trying~) - ILLICIT AFFAIRS / CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS / CLOSURE?: FT KHUN EDUAN, JAHAD AND MAMA AGNIS, SITNVERSE - WILLOW: CRYSTAL SNOW PREQUEL, VLENE - NO BODY NO CRIME: I DON'T KNOW YET BUT PROBABLY KHUNBAM CRIMEBUSTERS AU - EVERMORE: PROBABLY RELATED TO 'EXILE' FIC holy crap the bridge i'm shivering in my seat (it's not the cold) - TOLERATE IT: I DON'T KNOW AS OF RIGHT NOW BUT I WILL, MAYBE JALENE UNREQUITED LOVE FROM JAHAD POV? - ivy: maybe a continuation of willow? but as a plant witch!arlene au, which might tie in to cruel summer? sfdlkasdfjfd - gold rush: part of khunbam celebs au? - marjorie: maybe part of 'the curious courtship ritual of a black turtle' as a tribute to arlene? marjorie was taylor's opera singer grandma - happiness: bam character study with links to rachel? or should i use clean for that - coney island: the lyrics are tragic, so maybe arlene's thoughts in her last moments in sitnverse? i need the angst practise - cowboy like me": city boy eduan gets stranded in a car trip and has to stay the night with country cowboy v? either way it does not end in true love forever or whatever - long story short: bam moving on from rachel and finding love with khun? or khun moving on from maria and finding bam? sfdkljsdfkjlfds i don't knowww so many ideasssss - dorothea: interesting song but i gotta admit i have no idea what to do with this one

kaboom

you can visibly see where i started chilling out lmao but me and my friend spent a little over an hour screaming about evermore, so far my favorite tracks are ‘no body no crime’ (true crime inspired! i want to dissect the narrative and write a fic, maybe start that fugou keiji x khunbam au) and ‘champagne problems’ (eduan-style ‘illicit affairs’ vibes, you’ll get it if you’re caught up to ships in the night)

i did pretty much the same thing for folklore too? like i linked every single song in the album to a oneshot idea and now my swiftie friend is screaming at me to hurry up and actually write the saga because she wants to read my fics

21. Tell me about a time when you impressed yourself.

me in may: *plans out the entire plot of ships in the night*

me in december, actually following the plot: *surprised pikachu* i- i can do that? i did that? just over 100k words? oh my gods this is what dedication actually is

(my inner kim namjoon, waving a razor: NOW STUDY OR I’LL SHAVE YOUR EYEBROWS)

okay but here’s another anecdote: this is me trying to analyze one of my fics, i’m connecting bts’s hyung line (kim seokjin, min yoongi, jung hoseok (hobi), kim namjoon) to space metaphors, i’m screaming at my army friend over whatsapp in the middle of the night because i was kinda high on sleep deprivation

this is like from some time early last year

hC: YOONGI IS THE NIGHT AND HOBI IS THE SUN SO HOBI BRINGS LIGHT TO YOONGI'S WORLD AND LETS HIM SEE THE BETTER PARTS OF HIMSELF AND MAKES HIS LIFE BETTER THEREFORE SOPE IS TECHNICALLY THE BEST SHIP

AND JIN IS THE STARS BECAUSE HE'S TRYING TO MAKE YOONGI SEE THE TRUTH, AND HIS MAGIC IS ALSO THE COLOR OF STARS AND WHEN HE DOES MAGIC HIS EYES GLOW SILVER AND I SHOULD FIND A PIC OF PLATINUM BLOND JIN BUT IDK IF IT WOULD LOOK GOOD

and then me a few days after that

actually no jin is the moon because he brings light to others but also because he helps them but he doesn't help himself so he's lonely that way like the moon

so namjoon could be the stars because they're not on the same level but he's still with jin

and the moon only glows because it reflects the light of the stars around it which suggests that the only reason why jin is still around is because of his love for namjoon and joon's love for him

me more than a year later, after the release of bts’s second most recent album map of the soul:7, which includes kim seokjin’s solo track ‘moon’

HOLY SHÏT DID I PREDICT MOON

LIKE JIN’S MOON MOON

i literally just remembered that just now? like i was looking for the namjinsope space analysis and then i saw jin = moon and was like JIN = MOON? I SAID THAT? ON 4/7/19? i even predicted the song meaning?

also go to 3:22 to see why jin owns my heart he deserves all the love in the world

30. Do you know how proud I am of you?

*tears up* you- you are? thank you so much

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi! Can you recommend some Final Problem Johnlock fics?

Hi Nonny!

Ahhh, okay so I haven’t really read very many fics dealing specifically with TFP, but the ones I do know of are fics on my MFL list or consider TFP as “canon”. So here’s what I have for you; please lovelies, if you know of any of your own, let us know!

THE FINAL PROBLEM is CANON

See also:

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 2

S3 / TAB / S4 [FIX IT] Fics (March 2019)

Post S4 Fics Masterpost

There’s Always Three of Us by Itsallfine (T, 1,765 w., 1 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic/Post TFP, Parentlock / Rosie, Angelo’s, First Kiss, January 29, Love Declarations) – Sherlock takes John and Rosie out to Angelo’s and gets a chance to correct the biggest mistake of his life.

The In-Between by blueink3 (M, 10,679 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff and Angst, H/C, Parentlock, Fix-It Fic, Canon Compliantish) – Beginning in a Chinese restaurant and ending at the bottom of a well, what about the moments we didn’t see?

Dropping the Act by jadztone (T, 27,258 w., 10 Ch. || Parentlock, Fake Relationship, Mary’s Family, Post-S4, Cuddling & Snuggling, Bed Sharing, Pining, Christmas) – Sherlock and John are quite happy living together with Rosie in Baker St. They might be even happier if they didn’t act towards each other like their love is only platonic. Mycroft brings troubling news in the form of Mary’s parents wanting to know just what their grandchild’s home life is like. The boys decide to spend Christmas pretending like they are in love in order to seem more like a “normal” family. It’s easy enough to pretend when all you’re doing is dropping the act.

Another Auld Lang Syne by DiscordantWords (M, 30,234 w., 31 Ch. || Post S4, Mutual Pining, Alternating POV, Introspection, Parentlock, Christmas, New Year’s, First Kiss, Past Drug Use, Angst with Happy Ending, Drinking, Sherlock Whump) – There had been years of missed chances.

(Never) Turn Your Back to the Sea by DiscordantWords (M, 39,968 w., 7 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It || Grief / Mourning, Victor Trevor, Friendship, Sherlock is Not Okay, Nightmares/Flashbacks/Panic Attacks, Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, John Comes Home) – Baker Street is very much the same. Only different. And Sherlock is just trying not to drown.

The Pieces That Fall to Earth by Itsallfine (M, 49,513 w., 84 Ch. || S4 Fix-It, Epistolary, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Parentlock, Past Abuse, Coming Out, Internalized Homophobia, Questioning Sexuality, Mental Health Issues / Therapy, Angst, Happy Ending) – John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most. An epistolary post-s4 fix-it fic. Now complete.(This fic is rated T except for one very clearly marked and easily skippable chapter, which is rated M.) Part 1 of The Pieces that Fall to Earth

The Book of Silence by SilentAuror (E, 60,056 w., 2 Ch. || S4 Fix It / Post S4, Virgin Sherlock, Rosie / Parentlock, Domesticity, Fluff, Praise Kink, Sex Toys, First Person POV) – As spring blooms in London, John and Sherlock begin to take new cases and cautiously negotiate this new phase of life with John living at Baker Street again. Despite how well it’s all going, John struggles to forgive himself for the way he treated Sherlock following Mary’s death as well as trying to figure out how to finally put his long-time feelings for Sherlock into words. Part 1 of The Book of Silence/Rosa Felicia

The Bells of King’s College by SilentAuror (E, 64,019 w., 5 Ch. || Post-S4, Missed Opportunities, Angst with Happy Ending, Fake Relationship, Case Fic, John POV, Jealous John, John in Denial, Travelling / Holidays, Virgin Sherlock, Wedding Proposals) – It’s only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths…

MARKED FOR LATER

Evermore by SosoHolmesWatson (G, 2,068 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4, Parentlock, Beauty and the Beast, Love Confessions, Disney Songs, Oblivious John, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Pining Sherlock) – For the past years, John and Sherlock have lived at Baker Street again, raising Rosie together–as friends and nothing more. Ever since the little girl has watched her first Disney movie, she is obsessed with princesses. When John comes home one day, he finds his friend and his daughter in the middle of a reenactment of her current favourite. Part 1 of the Made of Music series

A One-Track Life by JennLynn77 (E, 13,526 w., 7 Ch. || Post S4/TFP, Parentlock, Est. Rel., Medical Procedures, Anal, Cuddling/Snuggling, Bed Sharing, Surgery, Physical Therapy, Retirement, Sherlock Whump, Caring John, Bottomlock, Endearments, Drug Addiction, Triggers) – A medical situation threatens to derail the plans Sherlock had for his life with John and Rosie.

Easier With You by addicted2hugh, FinAmour (E, 13,865 w., 2 Ch. || Post S4, Est. Rel., Parentlock, Insecure Sherlock, Fluff and Smut, Bottomlock, Vulnerable Sherlock, Sherlock’s Past, Porn with Feelings, Pillow Fights, Idiots in Love, Caring John, Light Angst, Frottage, POV Third Person John, Blow Jobs, Purple Shirt of Sex) – Sherlock smiles slightly, his forehead coming to rest on John’s, and he lets out a tiny sigh. “It’s not myself I worry about, John.” “I know,” John says, his nose brushing against Sherlock’s. “And I will support any decision you make. But Rosie is going to be happy with you no matter what. You truly are her hero, you know that?” Sherlock exhales a small laugh. “Am I?” “That’s not even a question that needs answered, Sherlock. She’s amazed by you.”

Kintsugi by distantstarlight (E, 14,772 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Regret / Remorse, Loneliness, Separation, Drug Use, Healing, Protective John, Sad Sherlock, Dev. Rel., Complicated Relationships, Love, Angst) – Sherlock Holmes becomes estranged from the man he had once considered his best friend after John lets him down horribly in public. It seems that the world’s only consulting detective will be on his own once again…or will he?

fulfilling for other people Series by missselene (E, 19,140 w. across 4 works || Post S4, Pining Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Oblivious John, Unrequited Love, UST/RST, Bath Sex, Internalized Homophobia, First Kiss/Time, Making Love, Tender Sex, Vocal Sherlock, Caring John, Angst and Fluff) – When Sherlock decides to act on John’s advice regarding romantic entanglements, the results are far from what John expected.

WHISPER TO ME by chrysanthemumsies (T, 20,598 w., 3 Ch. || Post S4, Fluff, Parentlock, Mutual Pining, Music, Sherlock Plays Guitar, Love Confessions, Light Angst, Romance, First Kiss) - Following the events of S4, Sherlock and John try and fit back into their old life as carefully as they can, all while their feelings threaten to bubble to the surface. Or: Sherlock picks up playing the guitar. John falls more and more in love with every passing day.

Home Is by glenien (E, 21,786 w., 2 Ch. || S4 Fix-It / Post S4, Eventual Happy Ending, Parentlock, Emotional Baggage, First Kiss, Domesticity, Fluff) – While 221B is still under construction, Sherlock stays with Rosie and John.

Here Comes The Sun by JennLynn77 (E, 32,126 w., 15 Ch. || Post S4/TFP, John Whump, Caring Sherlock, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Emotional Sex, First Time, Virgin Sherlock, Switchlock, Cuddling/Snuggling, Surgery/Injury Recovery, Endearments, Anal, Hand Jobs, Porn with Feels) – John suffers an injury and needs surgery. Sherlock, and those around him, help John recover. Along the way, John and Sherlock realise what they mean to each other, and what they’ve had together all this time.

A Change of Heart by SosoHolmesWatson (E, 65,436 w., 20 Ch. || Post-S4 / Canon Compliant, Jealous Sherlock, Past Abuse, Parentlock, Dev. Rel., Idiots in Love, Suicidal Sherlock, Implied / Referenced Drug Use, Mollstrade, Coming Out, Love Confessions, Big Brother Mycroft, John’s Childhood, POV Alternating, First Kiss/Time, Virgin Sherlock, Hand Jobs) – After all they have been through, after all the heartbreak and desolation, John and Sherlock want to make their way back to each other, still convinced that friendship is all that can exist between them. Will there be a change of heart? Part 1 of the The Pains of Growing series

Kintsukuroi by sussexbound (E, 91,823 w., 20 Ch. || S4 Compliant / Post-TLD, Grief / Mourning, PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, Therapy, Past Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Suicidal Ideation, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Sexting, Frottage, Inexperienced Sherlock, Rimming / Anal / BJ’s) – “I love you.” Sherlock sees the words hit John with almost physical force. He reels back a little, jaw twitching and eyes filling. “I love you,” he repeats, a little softer, a little more gentle, as earnest as he possibly can. Because they’ve been teetering on the brink of this thing for years, and it had become painfully obvious over the last few months that they were at a tipping point. This had to happen. Now it has. Now they can see where they end up. The tears in John’s eyes spill over, and he wipes at them angrily. “Do you even know what that means?”  

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton   (M, 115,279+ w., 33/38 Ch. || WiP || S4 Fix It Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending) – WORK IN PROGRESS – Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

Radioactive Trees In A Red Forest by Maribor_Petrichor (E, 280,251 w., 73 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-S4, Suicidal Ideations, Alcohol / Rx Drug Abuse, Coming Out / Bisexual John, Seizures, Past/Referenced/Implied Child Abuse, Hallucinations, Rehab, Celibacy, Sobriety / Relapse, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Psychological Trauma, Nice /Not Anti-Mary, John’s POV, Parentlock, First Time, Angst, Switchlock, Angst with Happy Ending) – John Watson is what happens when a man can no longer see a reason to go on. John Watson is what happens when a man starts to let go. “It is what it is.” John Watson is what happens when what “it is” becomes too much to bear. This is a story of the life, death, and resurrection of John Hamish Watson.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #tfp fics #s4 fics #my fic recs #Anonymous #e-rated fics #fic rec sunday

[theroyalredqueen]

To-relieve-my-boredom survey

Put your music player of choice on shuffle and list the first 10 songs

Irresistible - Fall Out Boy

Sucker for Pain - Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Imagine Dragons

Marmalade - Macklemore

Touch It - Ariana Grande

Pity Party - Melanie Martinez

Side to Side - Ariana Grande

Evermore - Josh Groban

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman

Broken Strings - Nelly Furtado, James Morrison

Perfect Strangers - Jonas Blue, JP Cooper

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Would you take anyone with you?

Vatican City with my family

What is your preferred writing implement? (eg. Blue pen, pencil, green pen)

Any kind of point pen I guess

Favourite month and why?

December because it’s finally christmas??

Do you have connections to any celebrities (even minor)? List them.

There’s this PBB housemate who happened to be a sister of my ex-fling haha

Name 3 items you could pick up from where you are.

wallet, phone, eye glasses

What brand logo is closest to you currently?

Adidas

Do you ever play board games or other non-computer games? Got any favourites?

Yes but not those hard core board game type... maybe Monopoly is my fave

A musical artist you love that isn’t well known

OF MONSTERS AND MEN!!! (For my country I guess they’re not that well-known, in my friends it’s about 3 of them I guess)

A musical artist you love that is well known

Paramore and Fall Out Boy

What is your desktop background currently?

I’m currently using my mother’s laptop bec mine shut down due to unknown reasons :(((( but it’s just a plain windows preset bg

Last person you talked to, and through what you talked to them

it’s my parents, we’re watching Stranger Things 2 and I was explaining it to them

First colour name you can think of that isn’t in the rainbow

rose gold

What timekeeping devices are in the room you are currently in?

only my phone I guess

What kind of headphones do you use?

a cheap but awesome quality from Miniso

What musical artists have you seen perform live?

There’s a lot and most of them are local bands

Does virginity matter to you?

I guess if it is being used for bad things then yes it matters (like when you use a person’s virginity to sorta black mail them)

What gaming consoles do you or your family own?

We had a PS2 before, it’s not broken but we haven’t used it since I went to college

What pets do you have? What are their names?

we had a fox terrier named butchick, a fish named bukol (he’s a flowerhorn hence the name), and a chicken named coo hahaha

What’s the best job you’ve ever had?

I’m still studying (sucks I know) so I guess the best job I’ve ever had was being an intern at the Philippines’ flag carrier, PAL. It was a wonderful experience and I wish to apply there as soon as I got my license.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

nothing so far

What magazines do you read, if any?

none

Inspiration behind your URL?

my fave color is red, and from the red queen from alice in wonderland

Inspiration behind your blog title?

I want to work in an aviation company/industry, and this is how the stewardess/pilots greet you.

Favourite item of clothing?

nothing in particular

Are you friends with any exes?

sadly, no. 

Name at least one book you loved as a child.

the little prince, greek mythology books

What’s your native language? If that language has distinct regional variations, which variation? (eg. AU English, US English)

Tagalog/Ilocano

What email service do you use?

google mail/outlook

Is there anything hanging on the walls of the room you are currently in?

quite a lot actually

What’s your favourite number, and why?

28, because it is my birth date

Earliest moment in your life you can remember?

I was dancing “hey macarena” and I think I was 3 years old then

What did you have for dinner yesterday?

bulalo!!!

How often do you brush your teeth?

thrice a day

What’s your favourite candy/chocolate?

Mars chocolate bar, sour gecko

Have you had other blogs on Tumblr? Do you have any other blogs currently?

none

If you were suddenly really hungry, what would you choose to eat?

biscuit

What fandoms would you consider yourself a part of?

...

If you could study anything, what would it be?

flying (pilot), anyting related with aircraft maintenance

Do you use anything on your lips? (eg. Chapstick, gloss, balm, lipstick)

Tony Moly lip tint is my “to-go” lip tint. it varies when I’m going out for drinks, going out for movies, etc. (I own a lot of lip sticks)

How would you describe your sense of humour?

I easily laugh on simple jokes. 

What things annoy you more than anything else?

bad attitude, liars, those who do not obey traffic rules and train etiquette

What kind of position are you in at the moment?

Do you wear much jewellery?

not much

Who is the leader of your country, currently? Any other levels of government with leaders? (State, region, province, county, district, municipality, etc)

I hate Philippine Politics hahahahhahaha

Last 3 blogs on your dashboard, not including any of your own

tylerknott, alliegonino, pusheen

What do you carry your money in?

???

Do you enjoy driving? Why or why not?

yes but I don’t know how to drive!!!!! haha

Longest drive you have ever been on?

...

Furthest away from home you have ever been?

abra

How many times have you moved house?

once

What is on the floor of the room you’re currently in, not including furniture?

my slippers

How many devices do you own which can access the internet?

3

Is there anything that is guaranteed to always make you happy?

chicken skin, baby feet pictures, coffee

Is there anything that always makes you sad?

I’m always sad... no need for reasons it just happens

What programs do you currently have open?

???

What do you associate the colour red with?

fierce, brave, flame

Last strong smell you can remember smelling?

dog shampoo

Last healthy thing you ate?

green veggies

Do you drink tea or coffee, and how much per day?

both. it depends on the situation

What do you associate the colour blue with?

calm, beach, pure, cool

How long is the closest ruler you can find?

6 inches

What colour pants/skirt/etc are you currently wearing?

blue

When was the last time you drank water?

an hour ago

How often do you clear your browser history?

I don’t

Do you believe nude photos can be artistic, rather than erotic?

yes

Ever written fanfiction for anything?

I used to write haikus, poems, and short stories during my high school. Because of uni stress and loads of school works I lost the time to write.

Last formal event you attended

I can’t remember

If you had to move your birthday to another date, which one would you choose and why?

hmmm maybe christmas day. I don’t know it’s a happy day0

Would you prefer to be at a beach or in the countryside?

i love both but i prefer the beach more

Roughly how many people live in your town?

a lot of people lol

Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?

yes

Favourite place to shop? Can be a certain store or a place where there are multiple stores

book stores

Do you have a smartphone? What kind? If you don’t, do you want one?

yes, a samsung galaxy s6 edge

What is your most favourite colour, and why?

red, it looks fierce and brave

How do you spell grey/gray?

both?

Go to your dashboard and describe the image shown in the radar section (below the “Find blogs” link)

a GIF of a minimalist rose

What difference is there between how many followers you have, and the number of blogs you follow?

15

How many posts do you have?

232

How many posts have you liked?

142

Do you post mainly reblogs, or your own content?

reblogs

Do you track any tags?

sometimes

What time is it currently?

1:51 AM GT +08:00

Is there anything you should be doing right now?

sleeping because we already have classes tomorrow

#survey #bored #random

[andrewrosswatson1987]

REVIEW: TED RUSSELL KAMP PUTS ON HIS WALKIN’ SHOES ON NEW ALBUM

Ted Russell Kamp released his eleventh album, Walkin’ Shoes, which came out today (March 15), released via label, PoMo Records. He also recorded four albums with his trio, Ponticello: “I took songs from the four Ponticello albums and created what is kind of a greatest hits CD of my time in the band that reflects my singing and songwriting which I called "The Ponticello Years".” “I put it together a few years after the band broke up so as people got into my music they could go back and hear some of my developing years before I started really getting into my sound.” During Ponticello’s time, Kamp also released his first solo album, Dedications (1996), before moving to LA in 2001, and started a new group, Union Pacific (his NorthSouth, 2005).  “I’m a New Yorker who’s thoroughly fascinated with Southern music,” Ted explains his love for music. On bass with Shooter Jennings (The .357s, Hierophant) since 2003, he’s written numerous songs for them, including the 2005 hit, “Steady At The Wheel”. He has also played with Wilson Phillips, Jessi Colter, Wanda Jackson, Rosie Flores, Billy Ray Cyrus and countless other great artists both on the road and in the studio. Singles for it, so far, are “Heart Under Pressure” and “Home Away From Home”.

It’s only the start of the album, yet Ted’s found a “Home Away From Home”. This chimes with acoustic, bobbing bass and other elements.  Jangling with a country flavour.  “Every place I go/I’m a home away from home” like a troubadour, of sorts.  Guitar solo having that surf and beach vibe.  “I could have played it safe, I could have stayed in bed/But I won’t stop and stay at home, I’ll rest when I’m dead” either like a regret, or glad he took the hard road in life.  “They speak in different tongues, they got different food” is still a home away from home. “Paid By The Mile” clamours for attention with a climatic start before plodding into a really bluesy, stomping groove. “For every night, and every show/For every dream, that comes and goes” like, again, the tales of a travelling musician.  Nomad kind of lifestyle.  “If I had a silver dollar for every palm I had to grease” comes at the instrumental drop of a hat, the vocal refrain. Striking, arresting and co-written by guest singer, Sam Morrow. “This Old Guitar” waves in majestic, yet with a feel of melancholy.  Hazy and sun kissed, baking in potential Southern heat.  “This old guitar ain’t done just yet/When you play rock and roll long enough, the blues is what you get��� the quote from a seasoned musician.  The organ mournful, mostly in the background but adding to the soundscape yet, still. “We’ve weathered it together, the storms and the scars” is followed by quite, indeed, mournful lead guitar.  “But you know I’m even older than this old guitar” ends the track. The love struck “We Don’t Have To Be Alone” scratches in, abrasive.  This broods, cyclical bass swaggering its groove, as pretty much everything else is a bit more intermittent.  This then leads into something more propelled by the steps of bass drum.  “Now there’s no one else around/And this something that we found” is joined with instrumentation that still sees a touch of menace in the track.  It then strives to more positivity, two ones joining to become a less lonesome two:  “Don’t fight it, don’t try hide it”.

“Heart Under Pressure” is hopeful, striving.  Organ probably aiding this feel. “That heart under pressure, might just lead the way” like under the cosh, everything ramped up and overcome with more than just stress.  “That heart won’t miss a beat and let you down,” however. Next you’re blinded by “Tail Light Shine”.  It’s moody with an emphatic beat.  It also searches for crescendo, yet retaining that grounded grit with a tad of spite. “So goodbye and good night/‘cos I’ll soon be out of sight” is followed by quite an instrumentation trading solos, before paring back into the quite quiet before building up, again.  Even the bass breaks outs latterly, bobbing, weaving in that pocket. “Highway Whisper” opens with melodious bass, its chords gently reverberating.  “And the stars don’t need to know they light the way” equally thoughtful.  “With no one else around/To hear that lonesome sound,” indeed. “I’m not asking for much/Just a horizon and a touch/Of a hobo’s lullaby” he proclaims.  There’s an extended bass break before the next verse, dynamics so you can hear a pin drop.  “And give me strength to walk another mile, highway whisper just enough to bring me home” like detailing a long walk really meant for some form of transport other than your weary feet. You’re seeking escape from everyday life in “Get Off The Grid”. This another country workout, a stable, reliable groove set against, “Life’s got a little crazier”. Then, “Someday soon, I’m gonna get off the grid” like saying you’ve had enough of the rat race.  Technology like, “My car has a computer brain that tells my where to go/My son plays video games all day with strangers he don’t know” has you ducking for cover, to get off the grid.  Despairing of modern life, it would seem. The “Written In Stone” comes in with regimented drum before guitar and organ groove nicely.  “Alone on an island your line drawn in the sand/Drifting out at sea finally found dry land” tells a story of strife, and potential redemption. The solo really reaching for that sense of achievement, having come a long way.  It turns out love is written in stone.  Love’s redemptive power? “Freeway Mona Lisa” is a sedate kind of bluesy vibe.  An air of despondency. “The sun belongs to you” a lyric like love and its accompanying sacrifices. Giving more than you’re given, in some respects.  Wistful lead playing waves over you like the rays of the, indeed, sun. “Just About Time For A Heartache” rings low, before swaying from side to side.  He sounds like on the verge of tears.  Accident or design, heartfelt or a good actor, it doesn’t really matter.  “Oh, waiting on a broken heart/Is like waiting on the world to fall apart,” particularly. “Less Thinking, More Drinkin’” is another slice of tasteful bassplaying. This song more striving for happiness rather than dwelling on what’s at the bottom of that pint glass.  “Me and a bottle and an old bar stool, the three best friends around,” indeed. The hook making it evermore apparent. The wailing, bending wildcat roar of the guitar as tasteful, even more so.   How the album closes, “Roll On Through The Night”, is grand.  This opens like a classic Seventies track courtesy of The Who.  Driving, pounding, then gradually more country-fied.  The melodic, self-assured bass resurrecting classic era John Entwistle, before the twanging treble of him in the following decade.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  Anyway, things pare back, bass still at the forefront.  Then the shuffling drum builds and builds, track ending as it began. Picks from the album are “Paid By The Mile”, “We Don’t Have To Be Alone”, “Tail Light Shine”, “Highway Whisper”, “Written In Stone”, “Less Thinking, More Drinkin’” and “Roll On Through The Night”.  Over half the thirteen total. Ted Russell Kamp goes from that kind of emphatic, rock track delivery and then catches you unawares with country music far from hackneyed as that genre sometimes is.  Brilliant bassist.  Ted Russell Kamp’s Walkin’ Shoes can be bought on iTunes, here. 

#Ted Russell Kamp #.357s #Hierophant #The .357s #Walkin' Shoes #Ponticello #The Ponticello Years #Union Pacific #Dedications #NorthSouth #Shooter Jennings #Wilson Phillips #Jessi Colter #Wanda Jackson #Rosie Flores #Billy Ray Cyrus #Sam Morrow #The Who #John Entwistle

[bananaofswifts]

The Lowdown: Once again, Taylor Swift was lying when she told us there was “not a lot going on at the moment.” Once again, she’s dropped a carefully curated collection of songs unraveling both her extremely public exterior and deeply personal interior life. And once again, it’s an album that acts as a remarkable exercise in lyricism. It’s not just a worthy follow-up to July’s folklore; it’s a mirror, a companion, and a bookend. Taylor had a few more things to say. The fable wasn’t finished yet.

Like folklore, evermore was announced hours before release, framed as a “sister” project to the summer album that gave us the latest reinvention of Taylor Swift and successfully cemented her, even in many previously unconvinced eyes, as one of the strongest songwriters working today. evermore picks up where folklore left off, and it would’ve been easy to believe that all the songs across both projects were written at the same time had Miss Swift not logged onto YouTube and replied to a comment, sharing that she’d finished one track, “happiness”, just last week. She meant it when she said she just couldn’t stop writing songs.

evermore doesn’t necessarily add anything new to the conversation its older sister started, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that if this collection had been released first, it would have been received nearly as positively as its predecessor. There’s a chance we all adjusted to this era of woodsy cottages, lakeside fires, and misty forests so naturally that returning to it was as easy as slipping into a favorite sweater

The Good: evermore allows Taylor to continue doing what she does best, which is share stories, both real and imagined. This record further establishes her identity as a modern poet, and the allusions to writers of old are tucked throughout. On “happiness”, Taylor conjures imagery of the gothic and macabre: “Past the blood and bruise/ Past the curses and cries/ Beyond the terror in the nightfall/ Haunted by the look in my eyes.” Later in the same track, she echoes Daisy Buchanan’s iconic words in The Great Gatsby when she bitterly sings, “I hope she’ll be your beautiful fool.” Taylor’s narrative storytelling is on full display with “tolerate it”, a quietly devastating domestic portrait of a relationship that has dissolved into ruins. (F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, but could he have written the bridge of this song? Unlikely!)

The turns of phrase are relentless and piercing across the 15 tracks, almost difficult to keep up with, passing in a flash and registering like aftershocks moments later. “ivy” wraps the listener in an embrace tinged with the melancholy associated with bluegrass; “‘tis the damn season” couldn’t have arrived at a better time, unpacking the feelings of returning to a hometown inextricably tied to memories of a youthful romance.

The glimmering “gold rush”, co-produced with trusted collaborator Jack Antonoff, is a bright standout. It’s immaculately produced and slight, barely three minutes long, flickering to life and whisking the listener into a starlit night without wasting a moment. The light pulse and breathy, layered vocals pair with playful verses. Though not as unstructured and unbound as some later tracks (with the titular and expansive “evermore” coming to mind in particular), “gold rush” feels almost conversational, a rambling confession of love in a doorway. There’s something about Taylor Swift’s music that makes such earnest moments believable.

The Bad: “no body, no crime” is loads of fun — Country Taylor absolutely still slaps! An exciting and tightly wound track that harkens back to ‘90s revenge favorites from female country artists who so clearly shaped Taylor’s early work, “no body, no crime” unfortunately relegates the HAIM sisters so far into the background that they end up feeling like overqualified background vocalists.

Taylor wisely reunited with The National’s Aaron Dessner for production on almost every track of evermore, making room for some more creative pop moments than folklore allowed. (“closure” is a fun, penultimate surprise, injecting the latter half of the record with energy and techy modernity.) But “coney island”, the track featuring The National, isn’t as wondrous as the name might suggest. Other mid-record songs like “cowboy like me” and “long story short” might not rise to the top either, but to say that any of these songs are weaker in comparison to others is like complaining about smudges in a crystal wine glass set — everything here is still beautiful and much better than collections you might find elsewhere.

The Verdict: Taylor Swift has evolved and allowed herself to be reborn over the course of her career, and folklore seemed to mark a turning point in her legitimization as a songwriter, but the truth is that Taylor has been turning out stories that tap into heartbreak, love, loss, and hope since she brazenly burst through country radios over a decade ago. While folklore and evermore as a collection of sister records might be her cumulative masterwork, they shouldn’t be the only reason her artistry is taken seriously. Instead, they feel like the amalgam of everything that has led to this point, and this chapter wouldn’t be so sweet if it were missing the steps that got us here. “I haven’t met the new me yet,” Taylor sings on “happiness”. When you do, we hope you’ll share her with us.

Essential Tracks: “gold rush”, “‘tis the damn season”, and “happiness”