made a fanmix to celebrate the start of my creative writing journey! the first fic in my ongoing series was published in late july 2025. the playlist is roughly in chronological order, following their canon character arcs with alternating songs (side a) and then the doomed relationship arc in my fics (side b).
built a fort, swallowed the key: a mon/cassian fanmix
listen on spotify or youtube
side a (mon & cassian)
01. florence + the machine - king | 02. the killers - run for cover | 03. paris paloma - notre dame | 04. hozier - butchered tongue | 05. alice merton - run away girl (night raven remix) | 06. the libertines - don’t look back into the sun
side b (mon/cassian + the end)
07. of monsters and men - yellow light | 08. florence + the machine - bedroom hymns | 09. the 1975 - be my mistake | 10. meg washington - lover / soldier | 11. gracie abrams (ft. marcus mumford) - what if it’s right? | 12. marcus mumford (ft. phoebe bridgers) - stonecatcher
lyrics below the cut:
SIDE A
01. florence + the machine - king
we argue in the kitchen about whether to have children / about the world ending and the scale of my ambition / and how much is art really worth? / the very thing you're best at is the thing that hurts the most
02. the killers - run for cover
i saw my mother on the street last night / all pretty and strong, singing 'the road is long' / i said, "momma i know you've tried" / but she fell on her knees and cried / run for cover
03. paris paloma - notre dame
i’m not a higher power / i just live in the ceiling
’cause i’m lonely on the fringes / and it gives my life some meaning in the exile / in my exile
04. hozier - butchered tongue
so far from home to have a stranger call you "darling" / and have your guarded heart be lifted like a child up by the hand / in some town that just means "home" to them / with no translator left to sound / a butchered tongue still singin' here above the ground
05. alice merton - run away girl (night raven remix)
so i cut the shackles and changed my name / and i shed my past like skin on a snake / but i came so far to get lost at sea / oh, where the hell am i supposed to be?
06. the libertines - don't look back into the sun
don't look back into the sun / you've cast your pearls but you're on the run / and all the lies you said, who did you save?
SIDE B
07. of monsters and men - yellow light
i’m looking for a place to start / and everything feels so different now / (just grab ahold of my hand / i will lead you through this wonderland)
08. florence + the machine - bedroom hymns
this is as good a place to fall as any / we'll build our altar here / make me your maria / i'm already on my knees
09. the 1975 - be my mistake
and don't wait outside my hotel room / just wait 'til i give you a sign / 'cause i get lonesome sometimes
10. meg washington - lover / soldier
lover, you’re a soldier / you’re a long, long way from home / long way from your mother and you do it on your own / i don’t belong to you and you don’t belong to me / i don’t think we need to ‘cause it’s just so easy
11. gracie abrams (ft. marcus mumford) - what if it's right?
soft on your skin, where i land at the end, end of our days / i know you better than anything, you know me the same / heaven's gate, heaven's gate / will you please make it okay? / this could be the wrong thing / but what if it's right?
12. marcus mumford (ft. phoebe bridgers) - stonecatcher
all we can hope / is that we suffer well / when the cycle ends / when there's tales to tell / when it reaches me / let me be a stonecatcher please
I'm still in awe of your VelCinta pride fic challenge accomplishment! <3 From that list, which fic surprised you the most and why? ("Surprise" could mean anything from the idea itself working to how it evolved as you drafted it.)
let's pretend it's still friday and that i wasn't too tired to answer this until now! <3
first off, thank you so much! this is such a wonderful, and thoughtful ask. it made me smile to see it in my inbox. :D
it is also a very tough one! i think the fact i completed the challenge surprised me the most, as i really thought i was going to give up not even halfway through it. i was just so convinced that my tiredness would be like 'fuck it, let's just give up' (chronic giver-upper, i am) but i don't know, i suppose i wanted to prove to myself and others that i could do it.
this seems like a cop-out answer, actually.
so! i will say that the one that surprised me with how easy it was to write was the velcinta break-up fic, i am the blade you turn inside yourself. there's this particular scene i really enjoyed writing, which i'll list below because it's awesome.
"Do you like it?" Vel spat. "Do you like knowing that I'm thinking about you? Does it make you feel good? Powerful?"
Cinta had been wielded by Luthen and Kleya for so long that she had forgotten that even knives could get scars. It shouldn't have surprised her that Vel would be the one to remind her.
"Nothing about you makes me feel powerful, Vel."
and i really liked this scene! what surprised me was that i wrote the ending first, which isn't something i usually do. but it helped me expand on the rest of the fic, and the emotions i wanted to build up to. it was very fun!
