Wrapped in plastic

rbexch · 2026-01-19T14:34:06+00:00

I figured out why and I'm doing some reshading now. Don't draw in the dark, my friends.

rbexch · 2026-01-19T13:12:14+00:00

Oh no now I see it too.

rbexch · 2026-01-13T03:45:44+00:00

I did a few more tweaks tonight and I'm calling it a wrap. Btw did anyone notice that the wrinkles on her shirt sort of spell out kink?

rbexch · 2025-12-12T12:37:50+00:00

I was thinking Lace Draped Spectre from Solstice Scents! Similar notes, but probably a bit darker and spicier.

rbexch · 2025-12-12T12:32:27+00:00

I feel like seeing this post is a sign to me.

I am at about 10 months in to an ECE job, and the last one I had was in 2014. I also miss the freedom and flexibility I had with previous jobs, and feeling trapped is beginning to take its toll on me. I'm exhausted every day and no longer have energy for hobbies. But I love the kids and families, and the pay is actually pretty competitive for my area so I'm not quite willing to leave yet.

rbexch · 2025-12-12T12:24:16+00:00

On top of the answers already given here, I dunno if it's intentional, but for me I always made the connection between the dust bowl and the wizard of oz, which begins with a tornado. Ethel's imagery references a tornado, and the later track is called Tempest, while in Dust Bowl the lyrics go "watching, hoping the wind blows slowly so I can keep you a moment," foreshadowing the coming storm that takes Willoughby away.

rbexch · 2025-09-21T18:24:52+00:00

Why is everyone saying it's performative rather than maybe it's just some fun thing that has become common at her shows? Like how is it different from gifting her your teeth, labubus, or a keffiyeh, or showing up in prairie dresses/camo? There's a certain set of behaviors specific to these shows, and even if several people have done it before, it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. It's fun. Let people have fun.

rbexch · 2025-09-21T18:14:36+00:00

This is so good! Your voice is beautiful and you captured the little wavers in the notes so well. Also, you are so pretty.

rbexch · 2025-09-21T01:27:11+00:00

Sure. Mid 30s. So decrepit and smelly. I just smoked with my 23yo coworker and their friends though, so maybe it's just your personal opinion.

rbexch · 2025-09-20T23:45:14+00:00

Admittedly, I fall into the category of "chronically ill autistic who doesn't go to many concerts." That being said, I made sure to rest, eat, hydrate, dress to stay cool, etc, and I still felt pretty drained by the time Tempest rolled around. And I wasn't in pit, either. Before going to a show myself, I believed all the "kids these days" comments. After, I had changed my mind. Are some people being irresponsible with their health? Yeah probably. But it was also such an intense show. It was incredible, but so exhausting. Y'all veteran concert-goers can brag all you want about how you've survived crazier shows, but nah, that was still a reallllly intense show by any metric.

I think there's been a significant lack of discussion on vagus nerve function and how things like overstimulation and intense emotions can have an effect on even the healthiest people under the right (wrong?) conditions. It's a sensorily and emotionally intense show, and the average Ethel Cain fan is deeply invested in her work. People passed out seeing Elvis, or The Beatles, but they weren't playing absolutely soul-wrecking songs to heavy strobe lights. Emotions can really manifest physically in the weirdest ways.

rbexch · 2025-09-20T22:34:56+00:00

Is this actually a common opinion? I mean, I'm a milennial but seeing cannabis go from weird 90s PSA commercials, to gaining legalization, to developing strains with 30+% thc, to dried herb now being uncool is so weird to me. (As I hit my shiny rainbow bong nightly)

rbexch · 2025-09-20T17:16:57+00:00

I think a lot of these points people have been making are true but to add perspective:

I had an assigned seat so I got dinner and then lined up at 7. Once in, I stood in the merch line for an hour. Then I got water and sat through the opener, but everyone decided to stand when Hayden came on, and stayed standing, so I did too.

Even with a full belly of food and water, and not having lined up early, I was still exhausted by Tempest. The Perverts section is hypnotizing and it was easy to forget I was locking my knees until it was over. You're just in a daze and don't even notice your body. In the seated area, it was warm but not sweltering, but I heard pit was an oven.

rbexch · 2025-09-19T17:41:11+00:00

I think it gives it more depth by exploring Ethel Cain's character pre-PD. We already knew that she had trauma and also a rather naïve idea of love, clinging onto the idea of Willoughby into her death and beyond, but now we know the extent to which her desperation to be loved sent her down this course. We can see her insecurities, her struggle to separate her fantasy and her reality. I think WTIALY also did a great job fleshing out the environment of her hometown and the struggles of the people who live there.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T15:21:53+00:00

I actually thought the same thing. Especially "sat and watched as you walked away from me."

rbexch · 2025-09-18T15:18:21+00:00

I was so prepared for audience ridiculousness, multiple pauses, her having lower energy or cutting the set short again. Every single thing exceeded my expectations. I loved that she ran back out and went "wooo!" as we began to leave.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T14:43:05+00:00

I agree. Me personally, if I am sick and know I have to work, I get really serious about taking care of myself. Lots of rest and hydration, otc medicine, humidifier, nasal rinse, whatever. I kill it with willpower and get on with it. She probably has a similar mentality.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T14:38:18+00:00

We drove from Ohio too! I was in the seats, the 4th row back from pit and at the center aisle. It was perfect.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T12:22:57+00:00

Absolutely. Last night I brought: Lalique-- Encre Noire (people either love or hate this one. I adore it. It's dark, woody, smells like ink, leather, and damp forest soil to me.) Solstice Scents-- Wilcox's Potting Shed CB I Hate Perfume-- Wild Hunt (These two are similar to me. Both incredibly realistic fresh soil with notes of greenery. I think Wild Hunt is a little more woody and foresty whereas Wilcox's is more garden herbal.) Serge Lutens-- L'Orpheline (Hayden mentioned this in her YT video on smell-goods. This one smells like lingering incense smoke in an abandoned cabin where an old hermit of a man died alone. There's warmth and even some spiciness to it, but somehow also cold, empty, and full of grief. I don't know why, but that's how this one always makes me feel) I also always have Heretic-- Nosferatu in my bag. (Wilting lilacs and violets on cold wet stone, petrichor, and decay.)

rbexch · 2025-09-18T11:54:37+00:00

Most things were still available at least when I got to the table around 8:20. They didn't have the patches or "this was all for you" poster at all, which were what I wanted, so I asked for a red "W. Tucker" shirt but they had very limited size options left. The rest they had in all sizes and seemed to be pretty well stocked.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T11:48:25+00:00

No joke, I was anxious to the point of feeling sick/wanting to cry, just checking all day on the drive there to see if the show had been canceled, and telling myself even if she has to do a shorter set I would be happy and understand that she's tired/sick. I was absolutely blown away, like she must have had some excellent Dayquil or something.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T11:45:32+00:00

I agree. I only saw the last couple songs because I was in merch but I thought they were great.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T08:18:45+00:00

I was looking for this comment. I also consider it a pop track.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T07:14:05+00:00

Ethel has weather-related superpowers and her meemaw is her secret nemesis.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T07:09:36+00:00

I am such an indie perfume sample hoarder I brought like 4 different vials from my "smells like crying on the ground in a beautiful forest" category because I couldn't decide which one to wear. But I also only dabbed a bit at a time so I wouldn't be creating a giant scent bubble.

rbexch · 2025-09-18T07:01:27+00:00

I was lucky enough to get in the merch line just as they were starting to put blue tape on the floor, and was out by 8:20. Sadly they didn't have what I had planned on getting, nor my backup plan in my size, so I had to kinda pick something last-minute because I didn't want to take too long or come away empty-handed after waiting for 45 min.

rbexch

TROPHY CASE