Life, Death, and Time - A Books Of Beginning Collection

Playlist: Rafe & The Dire Magnus

A/N: Our favorite villain/dark but fascinating and morally complex character needed his own playlist so I took it upon myself to make one. Song titles and artists are in italics, reasoning is in regular text underneath. As always, please feel free to talk to me, ask questions about my reasoning, and make comments. It always makes my day to converse with you all. Fair warning, this batch of songs is pretty dark. 

Centuries - Fall Out Boy

Okay, to start off, we got this song, which definitely relates to Rafe's hunger for power, especially as The Dire Magnus, as well as the strange life he lives and the several deaths he experienced. It also represents the great impact he had on the world, both good and bad. 

I Want It All - Queen

Here's another song related to lusting for power, like the Dire Magnus wanted the Books of Beginning and control over magic and the world for so long.

Bring Me To Life - Evanescence 

Rafe's died several times. He's also been resurrected several times. The paths that lead him to his death, he takes for Kate, and the fact that he finds his way back to the light again is also because of her. 

Monster - Imagine Dragons 

This song is so perfect for Rafe. It deals with someone who doesn't want to be a bad person grappling with the fact that their destiny is to become that dark evil and they cannot escape that fate. I think it fits with Rafe at the end of The Fire Chronicle wonderfully.

Pet Sematary - Ramones

This song is creepy af. It deals with death, resurrection, and monsters. I don't have much else to say, this one just gives me Rafe vibes. 

The Run And Go - Twenty One Pilots

This song is a really good one for Rafe. It's about someone grappling with awful deeds that they have done and not wanting to burden those they love with their troubles, but at the same time wanting the comfort of their lover with them. It really fits how Rafe feels about himself and Kate. 

Quarter Past Midnight - Bastille

Here we got a number that deals with doom, death, tragic romance, darkness, and has a very city/thief feeling to it, all themes that connect to Rafe's story. 

Hold My Hand - The Fray

This one really fits Rafe's regret, his complicated life's timeline, and how the love he has for Kate is the best of him. This song is about someone asking their lover to stay with them as they try to improve themselves, and I think if Rafe had lived, this song would have fit his character perfectly. 

Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Lorde

And next, we have a song that relates more to the Dire Magnus and his desire to rule over all, as well as the way he and his power corrupted Rafe. This version of the song has a really eerie tone that also fits nicely.

Going Slightly Mad - Queen

I personally really like this song; to me, it's weird in just the right way. It's about insanity and while the tone of it is friendly, there's something a little unsettling about it, and I think that suits Rafe. 

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths

This song is one I just discovered because of a Buzzfeed list, of all things. It's pretty dark and I think it covers Rafe's darkness, his obsession, and how his love for Kate isn't always pure and sweet. 

New York, New York - Frank Sinatra

Naturally, I had to put this tribute to the city that Rafe grew up in and led the savages in. I also think that the lyrics fit Rafe pretty well.

Bad Liar - Imagine Dragons

Here's one that represents Rafe wanting to escape his fate and just be with the girl he loves, but knowing he can't, and knowing he can't lie to Kate about it either. 

Send Her My Love - Journey

Next up we got one that really suits both the tender and deep feelings that Rafe has for Kate, but also his regret and self loathing, and his feelings that he's not good enough for her and never will be. 

Young God - Halsey

This one definitely gives me Rafe-As-The-Dire-Magnus vibes. It's powerful and weird and dark and obsessive and I think it suits his lust for power, his obsession with Kate, and the way he sees himself as a ruler of a new world of magic. 

I'll Be Good - Jaymes Young

I think that this song is just so great for Rafe's regret for all the evil he has done and the hurt he has caused, and it's just perfect for him trying to find redemption and be a better person. The lyrics to this song are very poetic, in my opinion. 

Heathens - Twenty One Pilots

This song has two different connections to Rafe. One is a connection to the savages, because this song is about society's outcasts scrambling to survive, but the other is to the dark deeds he committed as the Dire Magnus. Different lyrics of the song correspond to different themes.

Thief - Imagine Dragons

Okay so this one is another one I didn't know existed until recently but it's just so fitting. It's fitting in terms of Rafe's regrets, with lines like, 'if I could live a thousand times, if I could make a thousand tries, maybe then I'd get it right'. But this song is also fitting with Rafe's background with the savages.

Devil's Train - The Lab Rats

I honestly love this song so much, my friend introduced me to it, and it's so creepy and so naturally my Halloween loving self got obsessed. And I think this is a great song for Rafe's fall to become the Dire Magnus, the way the Dire Magnus encouraged his worst impulses and twisted his best ones. I also really like the train imagery - it honestly reminds me a bit of the old New York world I associate Rafe with. 

Arsonist's Lullaby - Hozier

This song is just so dark and intense and poetic and it's honestly amazing. It fits our boy Rafe so much, in so many ways. All the imagery of voices and fire and candles, and power, and demons, it's so accurate to him. This song deals with loss of innocence, self destructive and dark impulses, a little bit with doomed love, and just a lot with ruin and darkness. It's excellent. 

A/N: Right, there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this and found it interesting, and feel free to comment if you did.