okay SINCE I HAVE TO SPEW THIS HERE BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE SAYING KFF SHIT IS THE “REAL” DEFINITION: IT IS A SPIRITUAL BELIEF OF BEING THAT KINTYPE IN A PAST LIFE. NOT VOLUNTARILY. NOT CONTROLLED, NOT “HEAVILY RELATING TO A CHARACTER”!!!! I DO NOT CONTROL WHO I KIN!!!!

Midnights: A Track by Track Review (by a non-Swiftie)

Taylor Swift has been a seemingly omnipresent force in the music world since I was literally five years old. Her 16 year career has resulted in her being a rare breed of musician, straddling the line between the old tabloid driven celebrity culture of the 2010s, and the slightly more relatability obsessed culture of the 2020s. To me, Taylor Swift has perfected what it means to be a superstar in the modern era. Despite this, I have never been a particularly massive fan of her albums. I can respect her talent as a songwriter and acknowledge that her albums are not for me as I rarely love more than 60-70% of the songs on each LP the way that I see others do (the exception to this rule being Folklore, although again, it still has three or four songs that I am iffy about). With all this in mind, I decided that the first post on this blog should be a review of her latest record smashing album, Midnights, and I hope this provides a blind, outside perspective on her music. 

Lavender Haze

As an R&B fan, when I first saw frequent Kehlani collaborator Jahaan Sweet on the list of song credits, I was more than intrigued, and safe to say they did not disappoint. The song reminds me of I Think He Knows from Lover, from the production to Swift’s delivery and use of head voice. Thematically the lyrics are not anything Swift hasn’t written about before, but Lavender Haze is more polished and mature in its execution. Production wise this is probably my favourite song on the album.  9/10. 

Maroon

This song has grown on me immensely since the first time I heard it. It is a great deep cut that acts as the perfect follow up from Lavender Haze and precursor to Anti-Hero and just works as an album track. The delivery of ‘your roommate's cheap ass screw top rosé’ is just perfect. Not much else to say about this one, if you get it you get it, if you don’t I feel bad for you. 7.5/10

Anti-Hero 

I would consider this to be one of her best singles ever and possibly one of my favourite songs of hers ever. The introspective track features Swift pondering recurring themes in her work such as her struggle with celebrity and the fear of abandonment because of it. The bridge is so tongue in cheek in a way that Swift has perfected, and I think the song itself perfects the blend of personable and serious, soul baring storytelling (meaning you can also tell it was written by a millennial, but a very talented one). I know there’s been a lot of discourse about the sexy baby line, but since I heard it, its meaning has always been pretty obvious to me, even before I was told it was a 30 Rock reference, and I personally love it. Who hasn’t been a monster on the hill? 10/10

Snow On the Beach 

I have to confess I don’t particularly care for this one. I also do not understand Taylor’s female collaborations just being Taylor and a female artist on backing vocals and/or ad libs. I think Nothing New is the only female collaboration of hers where I have heard another woman sing what would be a normal amount for a collaboration and I would actually really love for someone to explain it to me because it just confuses me a little, maybe there’s a reason? This is all building up to me saying I wish we got a proper Taylor Swift and Maren Morris collab! Back to the song, it is beautiful, I love the verses, but it isn’t a song I would actively come back to in isolation although I wouldn’t skip it when listening to the album. 6/10

You’re On Your Own, Kid

I LOVE the pre-chorus and bridge - I’m a sucker for a pre chorus that changes lyrically as the song goes on and the production builds. The song feels super nostalgic, almost like coming home to a small town, and reminds me of ‘tis the damn season, one of my favourite songs from Evermore. I cannot wait to see the end of year coming of age movie edits on twitter that use this song in the background. 7/10

Midnight Rain

Initially I wasn’t completely sold on this one but the more I listen to it the more I realise that there are elements of it that I really appreciate. It’s not the most musically daring but the vocal distortion used here (and on Lavender Haze) is probably one of the more experimental things Swift has done in a while, and I think it pays off. I wish there was some kind of final chorus instead of an instrumental outro because its use here does make the song feel somewhat unfinished to me and it's short enough that more could be added, give me a Midnight Rain final chorus you cowards! 7/10

Question…?

Relistening to this for this review has made me realise just how much I love this song. 

I love when artists sample/interpolate their own work because, why wouldn’t you? Especially if you've written a song like Out of the Woods. I think the subject of the song, hoping someone you were once close to still thinks about you and your relationship, is something done so frequently due to its universality but I love the way Swift approaches it here. Side note: we need more songs written in the second person. ONE DRINK. AFTER. ANOTHER. FUCKIN. POLITICS AND GENDER ROLES AND YOU’RE NOT SURE AND I DON’T KNOW! Just so good. 9/10

Vigilante Shit

Not listening to that. It’s just corny, I’m sorryyyyyy. It sounds like something that did not make the cut on Reputation and I already have my issues with some of the songs that did. 2/10?

Bejeweled 

I will say my opinion on this song has most definitely been swayed by its popularity on Tiktok because I did NOT like it when I first listened to the album but I admit, the chorus is super catchy. 5/10

Labyrinth

I won’t lie, I forgot this song was even on the album because I did not care for it on first listen and this is probably only my third or fourth time hearing it. Similarly to Snow on the Beach, I don’t hate it, I just think it's slightly boring but still beautiful. Nice outro.  6/10

Karma

I love this, I don’t even care. The melody is so fun and Swift’s triumphant yet peaceful delivery makes you believe that Karma is her cat/boyfriend/acrobat/god breezing through her hair and purring in her lap. The brightness of the production gives the song a youthful quality but the matter of fact way she sings the statements in the chorus breathe an air of maturity into the song - there is no uncertainty, she is so well acquainted with Karma that she knows she does not need to stress. I’m envious. 8/10

Sweet Nothing

Just so sweet. I love the faint horns used and the way the song paints this feeling of internal domestic bliss shielded from the bustling outside world. I’m just too soft for all of it :( 7/10

Mastermind

She’s kind of crazy (positive). This is another song I don’t particularly care for but I think it bookends the album in a nice way, and the themes of restlessness and questioning that are present lyrically here (and throughout the album) are well reflected in the production and tempo.6.5/10

Overall Score: 6.9

Standout Tracks: Lavender Haze, Question…?, Anti-Hero

I feel like this is somewhat appropriate for my experience with the album. I’m not sure where I’d rank it but it is definitely up there. To me anything above a 6 is an enjoyable album. I’m not reviewing 20 songs at once, but maybe at a later date I’ll talk about the 3am tracks, one of which is definitely one of my favourite and in my opinion one of her best songs ever. 

Thanks for getting through this lofty review. What’s your top 3 on the album? What should the next single be?  I think I might like Taylor Swift a lot actually.

Canary in a coal mine.

Warnings: some swearing, implied death, a lot of angst. Soo... I'm not really sure whether anything like the amount of time i leave between each post matters, but the dopamine is a treat so here's something that's been sitting in my notes app for a millennia. I'm pretty sure i was moping about something when i wrote that. As implied by the title, I attempted to base something off the whole "canary in a coal mine" concept.

(these brackets are whatever I had already written) [these are added bits for clarity]

Not much context is needed but it's set in a dystopian cyberpunk world where everyone has superpowers. "Natural" powers (earth, fire, etc.) are rare and the rich just love to show off their wealth.

So here's Ichael or Ike, our resident water user. He's just been betrayed (a shame) by some person (who betrayed him for a job. he's a decent guy i swear-) I never ended up naming, but uhh yeah. This is basically how Ike came into being. As an angst storm. cheerio.

________________________

he slaps their arm away. "Don’t touch me." [something was supposed to happen here, I think the argument just escalates.]

"What do you know? Your life is all sunshine and unicorns. You don’t pay bills, you just spend your money on gambling and indulging in people."

he presses his lips in to a thin line, "[Name] It isn’t like that."

"Isn’t like that my ass! You… you people don’t worry about anything!"

He’s not sure if it’s because of the stress that’s been going on lately or if it’s just the alcohol, but something in him snaps.

"Anything? Are you serious?! I spend day after day at social events only to be shown off like some sort of fucking trophy wife. ‘Oh Ichael do this, Ichael do that. Sing us a song’." he mocks, tone so sickly sweet it makes him want to hurl.

his tone starts off low, barely contained rage bubbling below the surface and Ichael scoffs.

"And you? You are free, yet you stare at my cage like it surrounds the world. You cling to my bars and moan about your woes, but still you chant. You ask me to sing like the bird I am."

"You're no different from the rest of them." (slam a door or some shit.) ---timeskip---

(When they meet again - in the streets tho.)

[Our lovely Ike has now turned to villainism. uh. he's currently wreaking havoc somehow in the dead centre of the city. don't question it.]

"This world is ending soon and I shall be the canary. No longer shall I sing for your selfish needs. I am my own, and if this leads me to my death then so be it. Our new world begins now."

You know it’s about to happen before it does. Time seems to slow as the rain crystallises, stopping in it’s tracks. It’s beautiful, a dazzling sight to see, a colourful world trapped in a bubble. It’s perfect… Too perfect. And it shatters.

Ice breaks like glass against the floor, screeching in a twisted cry for help, and as the people scream, Ike- Ichael stands among the wreck, coat swaying in the breeze, a mere fragment of memory, preserved evermore as time seems to slow. It’s almost poetic.

He turns to look at you and smiles, tears flowing freely from his eyes and whispers loud enough for you to hear. "Mother was right. You truly are the scum of the Earth."

There’s a loud bang and Ichael sways, before crumpling to the ground with a thud.

the world goes black.

-------------------- Tadaa- *awkward jazz hands*

hope you liked it :)

On the Death Penalty in Recent Church History

Doctrinal Statements:

Catechism of the Council of Trent/Roman Catechism (Year 1566, post Council of Trent, Pope Pius IV) Part Three: The Decalogue--The Fifth Commandment--Execution of Criminals

"Another kind of lawful slaying belongs to the civil authorities, to whom is entrusted power of life and death, by the legal and judicious exercise of which they punish the guilty and protect the innocent. The just use of this power, far from involving the crime of murder, is an act of paramount obedience to this Commandment which prohibits murder. The end of the Commandment is the preservation and security of human life. Now the punishments inflicted by the civil authority, which is the legitimate avenger of crime, naturally tend to this end, since they give security to life by repressing outrage and violence. Hence these words of David: In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land, that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.

Catechism of the Catholic Church (Year 1992, post Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pope John Paul II) Part Three: Life in Christ--The Ten Commandments--The Fifth Commandment--Capital Punishment--#2267

"The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude, presupposing full ascertainment of the identity and responsibility of the offender, recourse to the death penalty, when this is the only practicable way to defend the lives of human beings effectively against the aggressor. If, instead, bloodless means are sufficient to defend against the aggressor and to protect the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person. 'Today, in fact, given the means at the State's disposal to effectively repress crime by rendering inoffensive the one who has committed it, without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself, cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender 'today ... are very rare, if not practically non-existent.'"

New Revision of Number 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty

(Year 2018, post Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pope Francis)

"Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good. Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption. Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person," and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.

Link to the Letter to the Bishops Regarding the New Revision by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

 Some Noteworthy Points:

One: Doctrinal Consistency and Its Language

The Magisterial teaching directed by P. Francis and the teaching commissioned by P. Pius IV--separated by nearly half a millennium--are starkly contrasted above. Continuity is claimed, but continuity and change are not mutually exclusive. Yes, God is the same yesterday, today, and evermore, but God speaks to us in every age, arduously calling us to discern Truth, and on that journey of discernment as ancient as humanity itself, revelation unfolds and must be validated. For those who think doctrine never changes, I direct you to the above linked letter by the CDF regarding the revision and pay attention to the language used. For example: reformulated, development of doctrine, clearer awareness, increasing understanding, deepened understanding, new awareness, revision, coherent development, new understanding, new formulation, authentic development of doctrine, new revision, grew, new formulation. These are words of progress, of growth, of change, of instruction, and, most importantly, of the Holy Spirit. To deny revelation is to deny God.

Two: Progress in Civil Society is Mirrored in Catholic Teaching

 "Modern Society" is used three times in the CDF letter. This is significant because Catholic doctrine isn't developed and promulgated in a vacuum. Many of the major ecumenical councils were convened to address major shifts in the wider world, not just the Catholic world. P. John XXIII, for example, in "Pacem in Terris" refers to the rising role of women and their demand for equal dignity. He, along with the Second Vatican Council and various other official documents since, have increasingly emphasized the equality of women (though obviously not enough). Those developments weren't merely the acts of theologians behind closed doors, but society overall was beginning to seriously question the status quo of the role of women in society. There are numerous other examples where doctrine is enlightened by civil society. Because of society's increasing desire to enforce due process and promote rehabilitation, the teachings regarding the death penalty have likewise updated.

Three: Acknowledgement of Bottom-Up Approach

 Paragraph Two of the CDF letter specifically mentions that this teaching was already more evident in the "pastors and in the sensibility of the people of God." The Magisterium's teachings aren't supposed to force us to accept anything, but to help us understand what we already deep in our hearts know. The acknowledgement that pastors and the faithful have acted prior to this revision is a tacit acknowledgement of the role of the Magisterium to serve--not merely to dictate. There is also frequent mention of the role of government and their historical progress in matters of imprisonment (again, obviously not enough). The hierarchy is informed by civil society and all people of good will to advance the cause of justice. Indeed, as mentioned in canon law, it is our duty to inform the Magisterium of our views.

Four: Irony of Christians Who Support Capital Punishment

 We worship a God who was a victim of the death penalty. We admire the heroism of thousands of holy people who were murdered by the state. Why, then, do so many continue to defend this grave evil?

Free Raqqa to Galway Smacker

Ok season update to see how this years Investment Portfolio is performing

Well there has been a lot happening since my last pre-season post in August. Brextemists working themselves into a frenzy at the lack of Positivity towards their pet project. The Daily Fail and the Torygraph are hellbent on exposing Saboteurs, Traitors and ‘miserable ‘people everywhere who have the audacity to think that on balance Brexit is a pretty shit idea. In the the USA the Narcissist Sociopath is sending out evermore bizarre Tweets exposing his total unfitness to govern. He took a beating in some recent local elections and I can’t wait to see how he reacts to the psychological pressure of the Russia investigation ramping up as his NSA pick General Flynn moves into the spotlight. Watch out for Senate election in Alabama in December. Republicans will probably win but they have handicapped themselves by endorsing an alleged child molester as their candidate.  Ok Football and as usual IceMan is a Premiership freezone so straight in with Championship where Derby County at 9/2 was my promotion pick. Fancy them to be in the shake up and hopefully go up via the play offs. After a shaky start they have shown good recent form and have slipped into a play off spot. Surprisingly they can be backed at 8/1 (ShitePrice). However I am quietly optimistic Derby can give us a good run for our money. League one we have Bradford at 9/2 currently 3/1 (IcePrice). They sit in a comfortable play off slot and had their form against poorer sides been more consistent they could be in an automatic promotion place. This position is performing in line with my expectations. League 2. In the past this division has been a shocker for me so it was a brave shout at the start of the season when I said I had a certainty this year. Well Luton Town do really look like a good thing. They sit on top of a league that has 3 automatic promotion places. Backed at 7/4 they are now 1/3 (IcePrice). Confidence is so high on Luton that I will advance some winnings to Mrs IceMan for the January Sales. She is gonna be proper serious about getting bargains so that I can I bring a suitcase worth of ‘savings’ to the Bhoy in America on my March visit.  Hope to get the Word on the street about Trump from the PA rust belt whilst I am there.

National League. Bit disappointing that Tranmere Rovers confidently backed at 11/8 have had a poor start to the season . Not enough goals and too many draws. Recent form has shown signs of improvement and they have started to move up the table. This is a tough league with only one automatic promotion slot. Tranmere currently sit 4 points outside the play offs and have drifted out to 9/2 (shite price). Not given up them and hope they can sneak into the frame. 

Scotland. My emotional interest in the Scottish Premiership relates to Celtic and as predicted they are set fair for another title. Financial interest in this league relates to second place where I have backed Aberdeen at 11/8 now 4/5 (IcePrice). In fact The 4/5 still looks great value as Aberdeen are 6 points clear of Rangers a team who seem woefully low on confidence. Expect Aberdeen to have a very comfortable margin at seasons end.

Championship went with Dundee United at 2/1 now 11/8 ( IcePrice ) . The Terrors sit on top of the table though it is a very competitive division . As I suggested at the outset this one could go to the wire as little to chose between Dundee United; St. Mirren and Livingston. I am cautiously optimistic but would not be backing them at their current trading price.

League one is playing out as expected. Anticipated it would be a match up between Raith and Ayr.  Ayr at 5/2 representing better value. They are top of the league and trade at 2/1 (IcePrice). A note of caution here is that Raith still remain favourites to win the league.

League two I backed Clyde at 6/1 each way to make top 3. They are having a total Stinker of a season and have drifted to 500/1 (yeah that is not a typo ) this is almost as bad as Orient last year. As mentioned in my pre-season post I was already having cold feet about this one before the season kicked off . I said that if I had delayed then I would have selected Stirling Albion at 12/1 who I regret to say are having a great season. Currently a point off the lead but with a game in hand. This shows that you can’t win them all which is why IceMan does not do accumulators.

Europa League. Forgot to flag up Milan last time . They spent massively pre season investing in some good players . I was happy to get 10/1 and really expected this price to tumble as they Pushed on. Sadly the team is taking time to gel and performances have not been anything special. Despite this they remain 10/1 but I will be pleasantly surprised if I collect on this one.

World Cup. I am on 150/1 outsiders Poland who following a successful qualification campaign are now 50/1 (IcePrice) ‘Dark Horses‘. To be honest I can’t see them winning. However I love having a tournament team at a massive price . Think they are seeded for the Groupings so if Lewandowski stays fit they might go quite deep in this tournament and offer a nice trade out opportunity after the group stages.

Alll is well that ends well for Argentina who made heavy work of qualifying so my 9/1 pick is now best price 8/1 (bit of an IcePrice). Would expect them to at least make the quarter final and give me a tournament interest now that both Irish teams failed to qualify.

Biits and bobs In the GAA we landed a Smacker when Galway won the Hurling championship at 4/1 (IcePrice) only downside was that it increased the popularity in Ireland of the Ed Sheeran ‘Oirish‘ song Galway Girl. As anticipated in the last post my outside Gaelic Football bet on Monaghan ended in a QF loss to eventual winners Dublin who as usual sadly beat my Dad's County of Mayo in the final.

In Tennis I successfully traded out a position on Elina Svitlova 80/1 (IcePrice) to win US open. I unloaded her when her price got down to 12/1 so made a small profit

Got an interest in next years 200 Guineas with Expert Eye at 6/1. Regret that he ran a shocker of a race in his final outing of the season and has drifted to 8/1 (ShitePrice). To be fair his run was too bad to be true and I am hoping he kicks on when fully fit next year. He will need to be 100% as there are some very serious rivals.

What’s New

I have taken a rare Golf position of 6/5 on USA to win the next Ryder Cup. Seems a skinny enough price but some people in the know assure me it will look great value come September next year. IceMan always got a good long game. Massive downside of this bet will be that the USA squad is normally the sporting wing of the Republican Party. Even the PG in chief will try to claim some reflected glory (if he has not resigned by then). On reflection I think I would rather lose.

I am following the markets on the King George Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day maybe my favourite racing day of the year. Last year I landed a spectacular 38/1 winner with Thistlecrack. He will hopefully go again this year but is coming back off a long injury lay off . Has a prep run very soon and trading at 4/1 for Boxing Day. Tempted very Tempted.

Finally I said at start of season that some of this years profits will go towards Kurdish Solidarity which will be needed as much as ever for Rojava reconstruction. In addition Trump and Erdogan in Turkey look set to sell the Kurds out. Who knew.

Ok that is all for now.

IceMan Investment Portfolio. Always. Cooling Off. Period.

just a little psa before anyone else does: please don't use my evermore art for any icons/banners! it's supposed to be indicative to myself and it kiinda makes me uncomfortable /nm

don't use any of my art/writing for ai purposes either, that's probably a given too

if you have to use my art for anything else/are reposting it: please credit me!

@flesh-and-fangs you're welcome! Although, one thing to note is that I'm a firm believer of 'separate creator from creation.' And I don't believe you're obligated to use a 963 rewrite/rename bright).

Regardless, just do whatever feels right for you, and be respectful to everyone while doing it. ESPECIALLY FICTIVES, IRLS, AND KINS. Don't force anything on anyone please.

I might tag myself as Bright in certain occasions but Please Do Not Refer To Me As Bright (unless if you knew me as that.)

Just in case anyone asked.

Apologies for yesterday's reblog. Replies just had to get bad, huh?

Anyway, saying this because apparently it has to be said:

Don't tag me with anyone other than Evermore! I don't like having names forced onto my kintype.

My heart goes out to any fictionkin who kin from people with problematic kintype/media creators… As one myself, I know how hard it is and how much of a struggle it can be to live and exist without pressure nor fear, and I just wish you’re all doing okay.

Rephrasing this so I can make myself clear:

If you want to use a rewrite please be respectful; don’t push people into using rewrites and/or calling them bad people because of not using rewrites!

I do not support AB/Peters and being fictionkin is not equal to support. I don’t control who I kin, and I’m tired of people treating others as lesser bc of who they kin or what character they use. LIVE AND LET LIVE!!!

This does not apply to fictives/introjects (you are not your source and I know that and you’re free to interact) but if you kin a rewrite, I will not interact, nor do I want you interacting with me either.

For people who make rewrites: As long as you’re respectful to me and others, you’re fine. I will interact with caution though.

hey can we not tag posts talking negatively about bright on the bright tags? triggers the shit out of introjects/irls/fictionkin so if you’re gonna do that please don’t /nm

I don’t know how to put this in a friendly way but if you’re in support of any kind of erasure of SCP-963 and are pushy about it please don’t interact with me. Due to the past few months of the shit i’ve been receiving thanks to whatever is happening I am not comfortable.

People who make 963 variations are okay, people who are HOSTILE and PRESSURE others into changing their 963 stuff or deleting it is NOT OKAY and NEVER WILL BE.

Further clarification in tags.

Important: Changing My Name

Lately, I've felt like changing my name. The last name of my kintype 'Bright' has lately brought me more sadness and resent than anything cause of everything that has happened and I just feel extremely upset over it. I've been thinking about it several times.

Today, I finally had to motivation to finally do it.

Now, I'm still Jack, but I'm Jackson Evermore!

I will still post about Bright and tag me, Evermore, as Bright for publicity (though stuff with me on it may slowly filter out the bright tags) I will update my about me to reflect that change.

(This change doesn't apply to my Bright design with the orange hair, that is attached to Bright and him only.)

YOU MAY NOT STILL REFER TO EVERMORE AS SHAW OR ANY OTHER 963 VARIATION!!!

I'd really appreciate it if you would refer to me/tag me as such!

so i think ill take a break from this blog