#madbard rambles

Though that's probably just 'cause of the time loops 💞 Still a good song that reminds me of you!

~🥜❦

~🥜❦ (the crane wives make very good songs i love them so much)

Ooh, another fantastic song rec! I love ‘Tongues and Teeth’ so much, and it’s been fascinating thinking more about Dreamnesia…

“I've grown a mouth so sharp and cruel, it's all that I can give to you, my dear” works wonderfully for these two already. They’ve both forged themselves into tools, into weapons. It’s for their cause, for the betterment of all, and yet it takes some of their humanity as well. Once you’ve made yourself into a weapon, what more can you be? They can fight side by side, but so much softness is just gone.

“And when you come in quick to steal a kiss my teeth will only cut your lips, my dear” brings a lot of the monsterlover flavoring in right from the get-go. It also builds on the earlier point - their sharpened teeth, meant to defend against their enemies, cut each other as well. (It also works well with your fanged D clan worldbuilding, which is fun!)

“And I know that you mean so well but I am not a vessel for your good intent” is quite possibly my favorite lyric in this song. It’s just marvelous. I’m not sure how it best fits in with Dreamnesia, so I’d like to hear your analysis with regards to this line.

“I will only break your pretty things. I will only wring you dry of everything. And if you're fine with that, you can be mine like that.” Oughgh mutually assured destruction my beloved… both of them thinking that they are incapable of building lasting happiness (because the world has proven, again and again, that it will take everything away) and thereby dooming themselves before the narrative can even touch them…

“Abandon all your stupid dreams about the girl I could have been, my dear.” This line makes me think of Sabo’s backstory actually, and his dynamic with his parents. Their idea of who he was supposed to be, contrasted with who he ultimately became… When it comes to Dreamnesia, this could also refer to a slow corruption. They knew each other when they were younger, they e watched each other grow stronger, and they may yet watch each other fall. Each knows who the other could have become, at any point. Each knows who the other is.

“'Cause in the night I know you burn with feelings I cannot return, my dear.” This is entirely forbidden during war time. If Imu finds out… well. Things won’t end well for them. And yet, who knows if they’ll ever get a chance to be together after the war? (Who knows if either of them will survive that long?)

“You gotta know that this won't last.” Only one of them is immortal, after all…

“Desperation will erase the fact I'm keeping all of the answers in my cigarette box.” This is what happens when you ship the spies together. So many secrets, so little time… I honestly don’t know who would be singing this part.

“Yeah, the answer's in the second before the other shoe drops.” I don’t know why, but this lyric just makes me think of Sabo in the throne room before Imu raises hell itself.

“And if you're blind to that I am fine with that.” Kili might have actually preferred that Sabo never discover the truth about Imu. It’s safer that way.

“Oh, I will ruin you. Oh, I will ruin you. It's a habit, I can't help it.” Again, they’ve both lost so much it’s hard to imagine that they could find happiness together. And so it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

“I will love you like the ashes in my cigarette box.” This line is giving me major and quite upsetting immortal x logia energy… how long can you keep a fire burning? What is left when that fire goes out? Is it worth it, in the end? Is it worth it?

Allies or Enemies - The Crane Wives is very delicious, and a song I've only recently discovered

~🥜❦ (could this song work for rosham? maybe, but not quite. they've always been on the same side, no matter what, in their hearts. killisabo is more complicated on that front)

Alright, as fond as I am of your Dreamnesia concept, I am still trying to get their dynamic straight in my head, so this analysis may not be entirely accurate. Still, Allies or Enemies is SUCH a wonderful song, and I’m always eager to listen to and talk about it!

“The words I speak are wildfires and weeds. They spread like some awful damn disease and I swear I didn’t mean what I said. I swear I didn’t mean it.” - Starting off strong with the fire references for Sabo. This line could honestly refer to so many different things, depending on plot, but what comes to mind for me is any situation in which Killi’s position as a double agent starts to blur a little too much for comfort - Killi gets too used to being undercover, says something around Sabo that would best be saved for Celestial Dragons, and has to backtrack, or else Sabo, overworked, exhausted and frustrated, gets fed up and throws doubt on Killi’s allegiances, leading to a falling out.

“Now listen close - you owe me ears for dropping eves.” - Spy x spy, both of whom like their privacy? Yeah, there’s probably going to be a lot of moments where they each somewhat resent the other’s training.

“Forget it all, you caught me in a moment weak.” - Both of them have to be on guard all the time, whether as a double agent or as the Chief of Staff. They can’t be seen showing weakness; that’ll undermine their authority or get them killed. It stands to reason that this guardedness would extend beyond whatever constitutes normal working hours for them - it’s part of them now. No one, no matter how close, should be allowed to see past the facade.

“Sometimes I just can’t help myself.” - Again, spy x spy dynamic here. There’s a need to know the other, a need to see past the mask, even when they know it’s a bad idea, that it’ll upset or hurt the other. They just have to know. They have to do it. This could also apply to the relationship itself - they can’t help themselves.

“Are we allies or enemies? This will be the death of me.” - And we hit the core of it. The espionage, the layers of loyalties, the final war on the horizon… they’re deliciously doomed. If they can’t trust each other, then everything between them is lost.

“Remember when I could tell you not to smile when you were mad?” - This definitely makes me think of Killi telling Sabo not to grin while fighting because it looks so unsettling, lol. It being in the past though makes me think that the trust and ease between them has diminished over time. At one point, they could laugh everything off. That’s gone now, and it’s not coming back.

“All is fair in love and war but I can’t fight with you anymore.” - I love the double meaning of this lyric - how “fight with you” can mean “fight you” and “fight alongside you” simultaneously - and this works for Dreamnesia as well!! Killi fights alongside Sabo by acting as a double agent, a role which requires him to fight him (should the need arise). Andrew this places such strain on them both…

“I’ll admit I’ve had my doubts but I want to be let in, not out.” - For all that has gone and will go so wrong between them, they still choose each other. Is it the right choice? Well… it’s the only choice they could have made, ultimately.

Me & My Husband is the one I once again got jumped by while doomscrolling <3

~🥜❦ (that playlist is getting bigger!)

‘Me and My Husband’ forever destroys me - it’s one of my favorite songs in general and associating it with these two is especially devastating.

It definitely feels like a Rosinante POV song.

“I steal a few breaths from the world for a minute and then I’ll be nothing forever” works so well with Rosinante’s awareness of his imminent fate. Using the word “steal” also suggests a level of guilt and horror at his (former) identity/heritage as a Celestial Dragon, one of those that relentlessly steals and controls anyone they deem to be below them.

“And all of my memories and all of the things that I’ve seen will be gone with my eyes, with my body, with me” also strikes me as such a Rosinante lyric. His fruit allows him to silence the world. When he died, he was buried under snow - he disappeared into the surrounding whiteness. As a spy, his identity was effectively buried, both in life and in death. He vanished entirely into silence. (At least, a part of him did. We know Law carried him into the future, as well. But he could not carry everything.)

“We are doing better” works for how much effort they both put into functioning, even if that’s not quite the same as healing. Same outcome, right? They’re fine.

“At least in this lifetime, we’re sticking together” is also a great line for them, but ironically it contradicts the timeline suggested by the previous lyrics for me. The other lines made me think of the canon timeline, with the tragedy of Rosinante’s death, but this one makes me think of AUs where they did stick together. In an animatic for this song, this section could 1) flash to an AU where they stayed together to highlight what happened in canon, 2) directly contradict the lyrics by showing them separated, just for the cruel irony, 3) show them separated but still meeting when they can, talking via their snails, or 4) show them promising to stay together as teens.

“I am the idiot with the painted face” - Rosinante’s Corazón paint works so well for this.

First Love/Late Spring by Mitski as a NobleHearts song, specifically from Rosinante's pov 💔

~🥜❦

Oh, this song is marvelous and devastating!!

I could absolutely see it as a Noblehearts song - the repeated “please don’t say you love me” works so well with how entirely doomed they are. Rosinante knows he’s going to die young, he’s certain of it. Likewise, he knows that Shamrock will only suffer for having loved him, so the best and easiest thing would be for them to be apart, for them not to care.

“I was so young when I behaved 25, yet now I find I’ve grown into a tall child” also aligns with how many horrific things Rosinante had to survive at such a young age. And now he finds himself with his brother again, just like when he was a child. (It also makes me think about the Marines’ apparent penchant for recruiting child soldiers, because my goodness these characters join young.)

“And I don’t want to go home yet” works upsettingly well with various aspects of Rosinante’s story. There’s Marie Geoise, there’s his brother and living family, one could even say that with how much of his family and home were obliterated as a child, ‘home’ and ‘death’ could be one and the same. Regardless, he’s not ready. Not yet.

~🥜❦ (question for questions!)

Hm… really depends on what’s being fixed, but I lean towards “this happened but.” I prefer it when at least some of the canonical peril carries over - for a classic One Piece example, I’d say I prefer fix-it fics where Ace survives but at least some parts of Impel Down and Marineford still happen, as opposed to fics where they avoid those arcs completely, just because there’s so much excitement and intrigue to be lost there. We can fix things, but the characters have got to go through hell first.