Anyone who knows me knows how much I ADORE making character playlists. It's an intrinsic part of the story making process for me. So I wanted to take the time to breakdown my playlists. A playlist breakdown is exactly what it sounds like. I'll post each song in a characters playlist and talk a bit about why I picked the song/what specific lyrics stand out to me as the most "Them"

I'm going to start with Claire and Hadyn, then I'll move on to Maggie, Elle, and Kindle. After that if there's any playlist you're interested in learning about, just drop a character name here.

I'm doing this now because it's slow at work so I want to do something, but not slow enough for me to comfortably work on actual writing.

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PLAYLIST TITLE: Hate To Burst Your Bubble
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SONG ONE: Bravado by Lorde

Reason:  This song is a perfect representation of Claire's life as a member of the Kishori family and all the expectations placed on her since childhood.

Selected Lyrics: 
Cause I was raised up
to be admired, to be noticed.
But when you're withdrawn,
it's the closest thing to assault
when all eyes are on you.
This will not do.

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SONG TWO: Iscariot by The Vassar Devils

Reason: This is my favorite song on Claire's playlist. It does a wonderful job illustrating Claire's dynamic with her brothers, especially Keenan. There are two songs for Claire and her brothers on her playlist, but this song is mostly to showcase the more negative aspects of the relationships. This song is originally by Walk The Moon, but the Vassar Devil's version is on the playlist because there's a rawness to it that just fits better.

Selected Lyrics: 
Until now, I knew this of myself:
That if you had thrown yourself down
into the lion's den
my brother, I'd follow you in.
...
I never imagined you dead (I never)
But tell me, are you even aware
that all that we did, you undo?
Iscariot, you fool.
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SONG THREE: Worth the Wait by Milo Greene

Reason: This is probably the most Claire song on the entire playlist. It talks about how she is her own biggest obstacle, both to happiness and success. Her own fear of failure keeps her from really trying. She needs to get out of her own head before she'll start making progress.

Selected Lyrics: 
I could be on my way,
if I could only get out of my way.
Maybe then it'd be easy.
Oh, all they ever tell you is it's gonna be hard.
Get out, get out right now.
Get out, get out.

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SONG FOUR: Forest Fires by Lauren Aquilina

Reason: I picked this song because it's a really solid representation of Claire's admiration and jealousy of Hadyn, and the dislike this makes Claire feel for herself. Especially with the sad/wistful tone of the singing.

Selected Lyrics: 
And whilst I watch in silence,
you're starting forest fires.
You start them just to feel the heat.
And whilst I keep my quiet,
you're running with the tigers.
You're running just to run from me.
I don't blame you.
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SONG FIVE: Human by Gabrielle Aplin

Reason: This song is from Hadyn's perspective about Claire, and it's pretty much just Hdyn pleading with Claire about all the things she wishes Claire would understand (mostly about herself.)

Selected Lyrics: 
Show me that you're human, you won't break.
Oh love your flaws and live for your mistakes.
Beauty's on the surface wearing thin,
come closer, show the marks upon your skin.
Show me that you're human.
....
So walk away from your pride,
it's a demon is disguise.
And it won't help you to calm the swelling tide.
Show me that you're human.
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SONG SIX: Tunnels by MS MR

Reason: This one is hard to talk about given that we're only one book into a six book series, but this song is very in line with "late-game Claire" and the struggles she's dealing with.

Selected Lyrics: 
We dip and lift in unstable air.
A hole in my gut, lead in my legs.
Dust from the tracks still choke this call.
...
A slave to the pulse,
it’s sink or swim.
And I think i’ve dug myself in too deep again.
Brush shoulders with walls
underneath them all.
...
All these voices, they hide in white noise.
I’m not the same person I left behind.
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SONG SEVEN: Poison In The Water by Von Grey

Reason: Claire spends most of the early books going back and forth on who she can trust, while also being extremely untrustworthy herself. Also the lines about the shepherd's daughter and the lamb are super thematic to the story as a whole, as you'll learn when we progress.

Selected Lyrics: 
Blood on the horizon
Blood along the tracks
Shadows rising, organizing
Marching in the night
....
Poison in the water
Careful shepherd's daughter
Lead the lamb to slaughter
Poison in the water
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SONG EIGHT: When You Break by Bear's Den

Reason: Funnily enough, Claire shares this song with Lydia. Thankfully thos is pretty much all she shares with my purple murder queen, but it's a fitting song nonetheless. Especially book one Claire, who is so deeply entrenched in "Kishoriness" that she doesn't have much of her own identity yet, and what she does have isn't positive.

Selected Lyrics: 
Spoiled, selfish little child
Went out to play out in the wild
I found you shaking like a leaf
Underneath your family tree
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SONG NINE: Hey Brother by Avicii

Reason: Here's the other "Claire and her brothers" song on the playlist. This one is the more positive aspects of their relationships, and how well Nathan and Claire work together in later books.

Selected Lyrics: 
What if I'm far from home?
Oh brother, I will hear you call!
What if I lose it all?
Oh sister, I will help you out!
Oh, if the sky comes falling down,
for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do.

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SONG TEN: Everything is Color by Through Juniper Vale

Reason: This is THE Avia song. Like, this is the song I was lisening to when I decided to put Indra in the sky and settled on most of the late-book conflicts. It's hard to pick just a handful of selected lyrics for this one, so I'm gonna put the whole song.

Selected Lyrics: 

Ah-ah-ah, look at the way that the world is slowly falling down
What will I do if it breaks… All at once
All this time I've been okay staying safe here on this solid ground
But the concrete has cracked and crumbled to dust. (To dust.)

What if I jump off the edge and I give in to the great unknown?
I can't find sense in my reasons to stay
Black and white has painted my life But this firelight warms it away.
My fear of the dark, it finally fades

Everything is color now that everything has changed

I-I-I, I shut my eyes to the daydreams in my mind
Lack of light fizzled them out In a blink
Truth sparked, fluttered my heart, flickered my longing back to life

Everything's fine, I'm finally Free