#painstar

[fanatic-panic]

dude, w111 y0u ever st0p be1ng supr1sed when 1t hurts y0u?

still:

[some-strange-4-ngel]

Doodles of the little guy

[kurtdirt]

i love pieces of media that have motifs and themes of unforgiving and unrelentless pain and suffering

the painstar / the black star that Car Seat Headrest uses is my favorite example of this, it just speaks to me so well and I've given it further meaning in my own head that slightly differs from Cate's original meaning in the comic. I've expanded it further and I've decided to yell out into the void what it means to me :3

In his songs, it seems to me the painstar represents the relationship that Will is singing about, how it's a once in a lifetime kinda thing but "touching it" brings insane amounts of pain (for only a second). Perhaps this is describing an unhealthy relationship (or the painful end of one) that Will is on the fence about, unsure whether or not to touch it.

I take it as when something (or someone) you're about to get involved with would cause you so much harm and you know this. Maybe the end of a relationship that you're dreading, and confronting it would be devastating but only for a second, because you'll heal and feel better after. You know that this is unhealthy and you're unhappy, yet you're still crushed by the end of it. The sight of the painstar is startling, its appearance is just confirming what you already know, that this needs to end. The idea that this is about a relationship is supported by the fact that it's brought up in two songs in the album "Twin Fantasy", an album about crushing, co-dependent, queer love. The first few lines of "Famous Prophets (Stars)" are definitely about the dreadful end of a relationship, how they're growing older and shouldn't dread on it longer. Both parties in the relationship know the conclusion of their relationship is overdue, but they're scared of touching it. Love is nonexistent but they're still holding onto that voided, co-dependent, helpless relationship. Personally, in the relationships I've been in throughout my life, I've felt this overwhelming sense of dread toward the end of it. Even if up until that point and, seemingly during that point, the relationship itself was perfectly fine, yet I was still visited. I ignored it, but the inevitable did arrive. The looming painstar should have been addressed and it was telling me something was coming. I just wasn't strong-willed enough to WANT to pay mind. Hence, the line "did they tell you what happens when you touch it?" You won't know unless you do it, and I think this is, again, further confirmed when the lyric changes to "did they tell me?" Not even the speaker knows until it happens because they, too, have been visited and attempting to ignore it. What would have happened if I had touched it?

Or maybe the painstar is a culmination of many depressive emotions that you're suppressing over a long period of time, waiting to be touched, to be addressed. And you know that doing so would be very difficult to get through, but again, after touching it, you'll hurt but feel so much better because you'll actually be able to work through those emotions. When a person is pushing things down, it's never really gone. Showing up in your room late at night and drawing you in. Most nights, it's quiet, but "once every thousand years" it appears the clearest it can.

There's always a possibility that the painstar is a religious metaphor too, seeing as Will Toledo is christian and has themes of christianity in other songs. Maybe the painstar is forbidden and this is a "The Fall Of Man" situation. Eve isn't supposed to eat the apple and maybe we aren't supposed to touch the painstar, hence the apprehension-like undertone that is heard whenever it's brought up. Eating the apple gave us the knowledge that we have now yet caused us to live lives of sin. But it HAD to have happened in order for us to now live the lives we now live. Touching the painstar allows us to overcome our intense emotions (as mentioned from the college student at the end of "High To Death") but, first, it must cause that unimaginable pain, yet we feel cautiously DRAWN to it. As if it HAS to happen. In "Famous prophets (Stars), after bringing up the painstar, a woman says a line from Corinthians 13:13 and includes a mention of the Holy Grail (which isn't directly in the Christian Bible but has been adopted over the years in Christian folklore), which further causes me to believe it's a religious thing- however, the painstar and will's religious beliefs could very realistically be separate entirely.

In every interpretation, one thing remains; you have to do it. It'll hurt but you can get through it.

so there's definitely things that I've missed or overlooked or misinterpreted but this was just for fun and a bunch of different meanings that I've given it ^^

its very late this might not make any sense but thank u for readinf ily

[briteboyz]

did they tell you what happens when you touch it?

[rabbiscuit]

Did they tell you? Did they tell me?

low effort lev painting thing, based off Twin Fantasy

[violentprophecy]

did they tell you what happens when you touch it?

[masonjaderoad]

THE PAINSTAR WONT LEAVE ME ALONE FUUUCK

[batyabasset]

m. mmm. mgghhh

p.ain sta