hello everyone (two people)

as you know i am working on a variety of new projects, and it's fun

however idk how to write canon personalities because every fic i've ever written is an AU and i would translate aspects of their personality to fit the situation they're in

so when i started writing this one project i was at a loss with nico and hazel, who start the introductory plot line.

then i remembered that one headcanon that nico loves mcr because he is both gay and emo, so i listened to multiple albums

and i agree, i think nico really likes mcr and rock in general, however not for the common reason.

i think nico likes rock because it's loud and distracting and probably the best music to use when you want to block out the world

however, with mcr there are a lot of songs that could be interpreted to be about war and death, and i think they have such a unique perspective on death, they speak about it as something casual and wanted in some scenarios, while also having songs about grief, not about the death itself but about wondering if there was more to be done and there's a shit ton of suicidal themes present, and i think that nico would relate to that

and because i can't help myself, i went down a little rabbit hole and tried writing a small drabble to get a hold of nico's mentality in the books and i chose two songs:

The Ghost of You

Mama

Both of them are by MCR and it worked pretty well, but not well enough for me to post the drabble.

anyway, so i wondered if i work better when writing characters while listening to music

and look, i am aware of character playlists, but i've never found one that works mainly because i need to see some sort of reasoning as to why a character would like an arist or genre of music.

i've found that a lot of premade character playlists are just the vibes of a character, which is good when i'm not writing but when i am, i'm a high maintenance and i can't find anything

anyway, i decided to go on over to doing a quick little drabble thing on Austin Lake listening to Jacob Collier.

if you've never heard of him, jacob collier is an incredibly talented musician.

actually that's an understatement

jacob collier took music theory, looked at everything you are traditionally not supposed to do and used that to create these amazing sounds. people say that he invented harmonies, even though he's, like, 30.

i encourage you to listen to him improvising emotions because of how amazing it sounds.

but, i used to be a musician, i played clarinet and knew very basic piano. i don't really play anymore, but it's insane

now austin lake is a musician so i figured he'd spend a lot of time dissecting the harmonies and crying in joy because it's so good

once again, successful enough to get into his mindset but not successful enough for me to have the confidence to share it with you here

anyway, i was like, lmao okay.

i guess i have to make character playlists now

i also figured that i would make music a pretty big part of the fic because why not

anyway, now i need your help because i can't do shit myself

if you would comment an artist or song along with a character and why you think they'd listen to it, that would be very helpful. Free range EXCEPT: no taylor swift (i've tried and failed to have her fit in a way i feel makes sense, other than anti-hero being a piper song and i also made her entire discography for one character, and in trying to avoid too many repeats) and no country. i refuse to listen to country

now, obviously, you don't need a reason to like a specific song or artist. maybe the best just this different. however, for the sake of this, please provide one because this is for character analysis and developmental purposes

thus far i have this much figured out:

Nico di Angelo:

2000s alternative and punk rock because of how loud it is

Don't You Fake It - an album that's so iconic i can't not have it, and also because of the themes within the album, but not the Christian ones

MCR - relates about themes of death, war, and grief

Paramore - the discussions of world issues and gospel-like keys that nico doesn't really believe in anymore, but still rings in that nostalgia that he doesn't realize he has

The Dear Hunter Acts - he likes this type of progressive rock (not progressive in a political way, almost all rock is liberal, progressive in the fact that it's a new and weird way to do rock) because of the overarching story as well as how cinematic the albums are and it feels kind of operatic and i think bianca probably liked opera and because the saga still isn't done yet (rip to me) there is plenty of content with the 5 acts we have so far, as well as the color albums the band has released that hit on a variety of different emotive levels

Austin Lake

overall, people and bands who have so much technical talent

Jacob Collier - a masterclass in music theory and how there are no rules in music, you can always make things sound good. it's also very groovy

FLO - the advanced harmonies. like, they make you ascend and they are so hard to do. especially with how distinct their vocal tones are, which you hear a lot in Another Guy Acoustic

Lin Manuel Miranda - LISTEN he was able to merge rap, salsa, regaeton, and musical theatre in a way that works perfectly. that is so fucking difficult to do.

Lemonade, the album - as much as i love all of beyonces other albums, i think that Austin would like this one in particular because of the way a ton of different styles are mixed in a way that doesn't effect her own personal musicality. like, Don't Hurt Yourself is rock, and PEOPLE CANT TELL

Alfa Mist - incredibly soulful and emotive piano player with a ton of contemporary jazz, which i think Austin would enjoy

Hazel Levesque

a wide range of music tastes due to her just wanting to hear everything she missed and she held onto what she thought sounded cool

Tina Fucking Turner - Tina Turners music is a very distinct sound as she was soulful and kind of jazzy, but brought in a lot of that modern pop. I think she really likes that because it kind of bridges the gap between old and new music. I think she'd really like River Deep Mountain High because it's so hype, and honestly just a fun song.

Beyoncé - all of beyonces music, from Destiny's Child to Renaissance is very distinct and extremely fun to listen to. I think she'd like it because of how different every album is and how it introduces her to cool new sounds she hadn't heard of before and I think she'd appreciate just how much Black Power is in her music

Tupac- speaking of black power. His music is so fun and so distinct and i think that Hazel would take the messages in all of his songs with a different perspective, especially when it comes to THUG LIFE

Piper McLean

So, I think that Piper lacks a lot of confidence but clearly can sing land since singing is 90% confidence and 10% talent, i am pretty sure she learned how to sing from a professional vocal coach and gained that confidence, but stopped when she found out all the effects of her singing

anyway, i think that her understanding the technical side of singing gave her an appreciation for vocalists and i don't think she cares that much for lyrics

The 90s Vocal Trilogy (Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston) - these are the powerhouses. that's all i can say.

Faouzia - she has a very unique musicality and amazingly developed voice and range which is so impressive because she hasn't had any vocal training before.

Bruno Mars - say what you will, that small man can sing.

Ben Barnes - i actually didn't know he could sing up until recently when he came up on my spotify while trying to find artists for piper but DAMN the range on this man

Percy Jackson

i really don't know what genre of music he would be drawn to. i know canonically he likes classic rock, but i can only see one band

Aerosmith - amazing songs with messages that i think he'd like. it's also both chill and hype at the same time, so i think he'd listen to them a lot.

other than that i've got literally nothing other than Mama by MCR.

Ira I-Still-Don't-Have-A-Last-Name-For-You-Even-Though-I-Created-You-Almost-6-Months-Ago

this is our literary nerd. have fun

Taylor Swift - The lyrics. What else can I say here

Conan Gray - she's gay and likes good lyrics

Olivia Rodrigo - the lyrics

Let The Flames Begin and Part II - these are two Paramore songs that tell a story that i think she'd appreciate especially with how drastic the character arc is

And that is what i have thus far. please give me some songs or artists or albums. i'll make new playlists for new characters, just please give me an explanation as to why.

love y'all!