#bookends verse

[eilonwiiy]

I’m back to writing Bookends and it feels so gooooooood

Here’s a snippet from chapter 13

Safi was busy getting ready when Iseult entered their apartment.  

“So what book is it again?”  Safi asked, pulling her shirt off over her head and disappearing into her room.  Iseult stared after her.  

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Of course, I am.”  Safi reemerged wearing a different top, a loose low-cut blouse that would look lethal paired with her leather jacket.  She inspected herself in the mirror, posing at a couple different angles before giving her reflection a satisfied nod of approval.  “I’ve heard you gush about this book so many times I didn’t even have to read it.”

Safi slipped on her jacket and tucked her long hair out from under the back with a flourish that, had they been out on the street, would've caused several heads to turn.  She looked especially good for a night of discussing the machinations of reclusive witches and their covenants.

Safi noticed Iseult staring as she dabbed on some lip gloss.  “What?”

“Nothing,” said Iseult with a small shake of her head.  “You just look nice.”  

“Should I change into my wimple?”

“That won’t be necessary.”  Iseult dropped her apron onto the small square of counter space that acted as their kitchen table and shuffled into her bedroom.  She stopped in front of her closet and stared at its contents.  Several minutes passed. 

Iseult had planned on just wearing what she already had on, but watching Safi making eyes at herself in the mirror she was suddenly self-conscious of the loose threads at the cuffs of her wool sweater and the ever-lingering smell of coffee beans that clung to everything she owned.  That aspect of her being couldn't be helped regardless of whether or not she changed, but she could at least look like she hadn’t been out in a field shepherding a herd of sheep all day.

“That’s nice,” Safi said, watching Iseult inspect a plum colored sweater from the door.  

“Mm maybe.”  Iseult passed on a couple more unremarkable shirts before stopping on something else.  It was a dress.  An especially pretty dress, in fact.  It had been tucked out of sight for so long she’d honestly forgotten she even owned it.  It was simple in its design, long sleeves and a high neck collar that made up for its noticeable lack of length, and made with a soft velvet that tapered off at the waist.  The thing Iseult really loved about it was the nearly imperceptible stars stitched into the fabric with gold thread that winked like the night sky when the light hit them just right.  

For Iseult, shopping was rarely ever an inspiring experience, but she remembered falling in love with the dress the instant she saw it.  There was a small hole on the underside of one of the sleeves, which was the only way she was able to afford it.  Even with the discount, she remembered how guilty she felt after taking the plunge and walking out of the store with it.  Spending a chunk of that week’s paycheck on a dress that she’d likely never have an occasion to wear.  

Iseult took the dress off the hanger and draped it onto the bed.

Safi beamed.  

#i finally bulldozed through the mental wall i was having with the next chapter #it only took a year but hey better than never #the witchlands #bookends #iseult det midenzi #safiya fon hasstrel #bookends verse #my fic #snippet

[quantummindclassicalheart]

There is an old folk song that is sung in Exandria.  It goes by a lot of titles--In Marquet it’s commonly known as The Liar’s Love, while natives of Xhorhas would know it as The Fey Groom, and the elves of Syngorn’s version has a title that translates to “The Sacrifice of Truth for Love.”

This is one bard’s rendition of the song in Common, as accompanied by ukulele.

(Best with headphones! With credit for the original idea to @ihaveatypeanditstrickstergods and the original characters to @quiddie and Sam Riegel. Album art generated by Craiyon.)

Lyrics below the cut.

Refrain: This sordid scene, my love, we're in, oh, We're in for a scar And yet tonight by morning light I'll fall for you once more.

Verse 1: There once was a fey who chanced one day From lands so wild and strange For stories told worth more than gold Exandria's face would change.

Among the clouds a city bright And there its beating heart Did kindle love within his own For her he'd craft his art.

Verse 2: A vision clear did guide his dear With this its one refrain Her city’d rise beyond the skies And loose its mortal chain

Beneath the streets his love did seek Her dream at any cost, But fortune claimed its pound of flesh, A friend too soon was lost.

Verse 3: The fey saw true that if they knew, Her legacy’d be blight And so he lied to deftly hide Her deeds from public sight.

And though his heart was ever hers, Her work, for now, meant more She’d fix them soon when she was done So he walked out the door.

Verse 4: And soon an hour of arcane pow’r Was finally at hand For on that night, with her Leywright She’d make them understand

But one thing more stood in her way Her masterpiece abjured She struck it down, and with that spell Calamity ensured.

Verse 5: And with her sin the fiends poured in With death and fire and hate, But one last spell at ruin’s knell Might change Exandria’s fate.

His healing words would keep her hale, Her spellwork holding fast, And at the heart they’d both go down Her work complete at last.

Refrain: This sordid scene, my love, we're in, oh, We're in for a scar And yet tonight by morning light I'll fall with you once more.

#critical role #exandria unlimited #exandria unlimited calamity #exu calamity #loquatius seelie #laerryn coramar seelie #laerryn coramar-seelie #laerryn x loquatius #loquaerryn #quantum sings #my voice #the whole tune is heavily influenced by songs like poet soldier king and far side of the world #my version is called ‘the lovers’ lie’ because i misremembered one of the titles from the original post #and i liked the idea that this lie belonged to both of them #and there are many easter eggs in these lyrics #a reference to the shattered teeth in the first verse #laerryn and the apparatus arcane being the ‘heart of avalir’ and her legacy being ‘blight’ #‘fire’ and ‘ruin’ in the fifth verse #loquatius’s ‘healing words’ #and a very sneaky implied rhyme in the lines that bookend the song– ‘we’re in for a scar’ is a five-syllable rhyme for ‘laerryn coramar’ #and that bookending refrain changes slightly between the first and last times (i’ll fall *for* you vs. i’ll fall *with* you once more)

[lcrk]

❛ you look like you need a hug. ❜

meme | @li0ndaughter

She doesn't necessarily know what she'd expected Myrcella's reaction to be when she'd confessed the full truth of her relationship with Jason -- it's not like she thought Myrcella would be anything other than her kind and generous self, but this isn't exactly something that Dorothea has told very many people about, especially not in full, so it's not really something she's practiced getting responses to saying out loud. Besides that, with how important and well-connected Myrcella's family is, it adds an extra layer of uncertainty as to how this could go over.

(Again, not that she doesn't trust Myrcella, nor does she think that Myrcella has the same values as her family, but there's still image to consider, in this world where publicity and image can topple careers overnight. That's the fear that's kept her coming clean to so few of her friends anyway, isn't it?)

It's the simple, compassionate observation that reminds Dorothea why she loves Myrcella so much, and why she'd decided to trust her with this. She laughs, and then as soon as she starts laughing, she starts crying. "Yeah I really do."

#li0ndaughter #because FRIENDS and ANGST and yes she'd really like a hug pls #it seemed only fitting to give you this to match the other one like bookends #v: main verse – ( a queen selling dreams ) #meme responses – ( writing in my room )

[limnsaber]

Stammi Vicino and the events of Yuri!!! On Ice are still mind boggling to me. Where’s that post about scarcely-fathomable level of romance.

Stammi Vicino is the first skating sequence in YOI. It is the first full skating routine we are presented with and it’s the choreography we see in the very first moments of the show. Lyrically, Stammi Vicino is about a man calling out for someone to hear him, speaking of intense loneliness and decrying love. The lyrics were written by the creator of YOI, Kubo Mitsurou, and translated into Italian for the composition.

In the first episode of the show, both Yuuri and Victor skate this routine individually. Victor skates it for Worlds, and Yuuri skates it because he wants to get his love for skating back.

Unbeknownst to him, Yuuri’s performance was recorded and uploaded to YouTube, and Victor comes into his life from there (directly because of Yuuri’s SV performance).

Victor sees Yuuri’s performance and comes to meet Yuuri, and that’s the inciting incident of the show. Both of their routines were a calling out into the darkness, and they were answered. (That’s love!) Through the show, we learn that both Victor and Yuuri were in bad places at the time of the routine of the first episode, and we see them grow wonderfully together in their relationship and as people through the series.

Stammi Vicino is also known as Hanarezu Ni Soba Ni Ite in Japanese, or Stay Close to Me. This line is said by both characters throughout the show, perhaps most significantly by Yuuri in their argument in the parking garage in EP 7 (a major turning point for their relationship).

The first time Yuuri sees Victor in the flashback, we get notes of Stammi Vicino underneath the dialogue.

This song is perhaps the musical foundation for the entire show! Every aspect of Victor and Yuuri’s relationship is writ in, from calling out into the darkness to finally coming together— represented in the closing routine of the show, Stammi Vicino: Duetto.

Yuuri skates Stammi Vicino once more as the show’s final episode closes, and this time Victor joins him for a pair skate. The final episode is one where they’ve finally fully come together — they agree on their future and on their future together. It’s a beautiful bookend to the story, and represents, as the skating routines always do, their characters and their relationship.

In Duetto, the verses about condemning love are gone and the piece has two singers instead of one. Verses in both the aria and duetto say “your hands, your legs / my hands, my legs / our heartbeats / are blending together,” referencing — and they were crazy for this honestly — Plato’s theory of soulmates. At the end of the piece, the singers “leave together”.

The creator, Kubo Mitsurou, has stated in the past very explicitly and publicly that Victor and Yuuri are soulmates. Canonically! The first time Yuuri sees Victor in the flashback, we get notes of Stammi Vicino underneath the dialogue. Stammi Vicino is the musical thread of Victor and Yuuri’s relationship.

They’re engaged!! To be married!!! They’re canonically soulmates!!!

The music in YOI is deeply intertwined with the storytelling. Each routine is uniquely representative of a character, who they are as person, and their journey. The relationship between Victor and Yuuri is the core of this show, and Stammi Vicino is perhaps the most important piece representative of their relationship.

Stammi Vicino, the aria and duetto, represent a story about loneliness and calling out for love and that call being answered. That’s the thesis of Yuri on Ice.

“There’s a place you just can’t reach unless you have a dream too big to bear alone. We call everything on the ice ‘love.’”

#yuri on ice #yoi #katsuki yuuri #victor nikiforov #Stammi vicino #GOD this show is everything to me #lim posts #lim on yoi #victuuri #vikturi #viktuuri #victuri #tagging all 4 ship names like it’s 2016

[apas-95]

I don't think the post that says "anarchy means I fuck your parents sloppy style" is actually trying to say anything about the ideology

i think you're just not very well-versed on anarchist rhetoric, because 'anarchy is a critique, not a program' is not a view invented by that post, it is an incredibly common defense of anarchism - which is what was being referenced in that post by an anarchist, and what was being critiqued in the response by a marxist. the joke part of that post was the 'anarchism is where i have sex' part, and not the 'anarchism is not a strict political program' part. if a marxist makes a post - as they are wont to do - saying, e.g.:

'the idea that socialist states are exceptionally violent or repressive is a false one. all classes engage in political censorship to a greater or lesser degree depending on their needs, and the question is whose interests are served by a given act of censorship. censoring nazi speech is correct and good. similarly, the systems of detaining and reforming political enemies of socialist states have been generally inline with those of their contemporaries, if not ahead - the rehabilitation of the emperor puyi, for example, is an excellent example. programs like political executions were carried out in times of extreme duress, such as in wartime or imminent to war, when rehabilitation and detention would simply not have been practicable. except for tumblr users, that is, you're all getting the wall.'

then, while evidently the post was bookended by a joke, the positions expressed leading up to that joke weren't just random - it's not like that anarchist would have made a joke post that began with a paragraph of fascist rhetoric rather than anarchist, because they're not a fascist, they're an anarchist. if someone were to respond to and critique the positions given in the above example, it would be an incredibly weak defence to say 'haha i didn't actually believe that, because i said something funny at the end'. generally, when you say a joke along with something, it doesn't render everything else you've said to also be a joke. once again, the rhetoric of 'anarchism is a critiqe, not a program' - which was what was being discussed in that response - is not unique to this post, and the response post could have done even without the image itself, as it was just an example of a common position used to spur critique.

if you don't agree with what I've said, then, too bad, you've actually been taking a joke post seriously this whole time, because watch this: a man walks into an anarchist bar, and, despite noticing that nobody actually has any drinks, and there aren't any taps or bottles, asks for a cuba libre - the bartender says 'hey, man, the point isn't that i know how to get you a drink, it's that i tell you that you're thirsty'. the man then walks into a communist bar and gets a cuba libre.

[tpwbyt]

above all, euclid is a eulogy

DISCLAIMER: throughout this post, i am referring to the character of vessel, not the actual, real-life performer.

@melit0n recently made a post pointing out that in the first verse of euclid, vessel begins singing thirteen seconds in asking for "five whole minutes" and proceeds to sing for five whole minutes, as well as the fact that the songs begins and ends on the same chord, thus creating a perfect symmetry. i'd like to add on to this: now i think we all immediately understood and recognized the callbacks to the night does not belong to god (especially considering that the end of euclid acts as a reprise to it in many ways)

(taken from genius)

in chokehold it's re-instated that the way sleep is worshipped is through staying awake--in other words, sacrificing your sleep and your night. at the beginning of this journey, vessel makes it clear that no, the night does not belong to god (i.e. sleep) but rather him. his sleep belongs to him and he will not lose all of himself in this..."partnership."

(genius)

but we know all of that already. euclid isn't just a testament to vessel's acceptance of what is world now consists of, it's a eulogy for the life he once lived, and above it, the person he once was. which brings me to this: what if vessel's (the character, not the performer) name was euclid?

so let's backtrack. where does the term and name "euclid" come from? most famously, it's associated with the ancient greek mathematician known as being the father of geometry.

(taken from the wikipedia page)

now, the obvious connection between the song's title and the mathematician would be through the idea of perfect symmetry and geometry--the song makes direct callbacks to both sundowning (aka the start of the trilogy) and one (aka the 'prologue' of sorts) thus creating a perfect symmetry between the bookends. the song even references symmetry:

(genius)

(that's not even considering the newfound meaning of "the night" between the night does not belong to god and euclid, but maybe that's a post for another day.)

but suspend your disbelief for a second and consider the slightly out of the box interpretation: symmetry doesn't necessarily always mean the story ends the same way it begins, but rather that the phrases, images, and motifs we were introduced to in the beginning now take on a different meaning because of the journey. vessel is introduced to the listener at the beginning of the story as sleep's vessel, and not much more. we know very little about the character's life beforehand--the life he lived, his work, his name, etc. and at the very end, his identity becomes acting as sleep's vessel. so, in the spirit of symmetry, why not call back to the one thing we don't know about the character?

his name.

further in the wikipedia page for "euclid," it defines the name's meaning.

(wikipedia)

the idea that your name decides your destiny is far from abstract, it's something that exists in a myriad of cultures. to be named "glorious" and "renowned" and then proceed to spend the rest of your existence acting as an ancient deity's mouthpiece is so ironically cruel it's almost perfect.

sure, "euclid" as a name is a little strange and out of the box, but has sleep token ever been afraid of doing something a little strange? again, this is just a little headcanon that i've been brewing for a while, not necessarily the sole reason where the song gets its title.

#sleep token #nine analyzes #take me back to eden #tmbte #sleep token headcanons #sleep token vessel #sleep token ii #sleep token iii #sleep token iv #vessel #ii #iii #iv #nine.txt

[aibafiles]

so there are two big musical throughlines in npmd, which i was mostly aware of from the digital ticket but it's nice to listen through and confirm it:

the first is the "hatchet town" piano motif, which you can hear in the trailer, hatchet town (the chorus of course, but it's also the bass in the verses if you listen for it), and npmd/ddmd in the "who will pray for you" verse. i feel like i remember hearing it in the digital ticket before the opening (during the police bit) but maybe my brain is just making things up? idk, we'll find out. BUT we actually heard it for the first time in the bridge of axe man, very appropriately accompanied by the "watchin nerds run for their lives" lyric. it seems to be associated with the imminent threat of death, particularly if you're a nerd.

the other is right at the beginning of the opening (leading into "I'm dead"), and we hear it again in cool as i think i am ("I'm not a loser") and its reprise, and of course npmd and ddmd ("darkness will spare my soul"), neatly bookending the show. i think this one is more associated with The Nerds growing and asserting themselves, in contrast to the other theme. it reminds me a bit of black friday having two distinct themes that don't come together until the finale, one associated with wiggly and one with family (remind me to make A Post about that too) - it makes the act 1/2 closers really hit home and the show feels more musically cohesive for it.

uh, in conclusion:

#hatchetfield #npmd spoilers #npmd #nerdy prudes must die #nerdy prudes spoilers #personal #the hatchetfield leitmotifening #SIDENOTE. am i losing my mind or um. uhhh #in the summoning when they start talking about the bargain #are those if i loved you chords?? like from the intro #i might be wrong i haven't tried to transcribe them or anything #but it FEELS like it and im gonna go nuts if they are #starkid

[thesherrinfordfacility]

I mean Neil said once that the sequel involved Jesus arriving in America on a plane with secret service agents, and the S2 opening sequence shows a plane, so I'm... fairly confident that he's an adult? Jesus died when he was like 33 right

afternoon anon!!!✨ see i recall this (ask on neil's page?) and remember the response but cannot for the life of me find it anywhere (and im pretty good at Finding Stuff), do you - or anyone else reading for that matter - have a link to this? just so i can save it for future reference.

now, i hope you don't mind if i do this, but i would like to use this opportunity to parse out a more coherent rationale on the second coming, if that's okay? yeah? cool.

(previous incarnation of this theory).

thing is that the premise of the baby swap in s1 is based on the omen, right? takes at least a huge chunk of inspiration from that as the origin of how the antichrist came into the story. but it goes wrong, obviously, and there's a third baby thrown in the mix. makes a cursory wave to the omen, but isn't a carbon copy of it.

now i can't help but feel that narratively it would make sense to bookend this and have the second coming be a bit bollocksed up too. seems to be a theme in GO. and actually, when i thought about it (with extreme bias, granted, because im chomping at the bit on this theory), the second coming was potentially already fucked up anyway.

now, disclaimer time -

i completely get that people will look to the bible in reference to parsing out the second coming (or indeed any other theory). obviously i do too, for references to certain verses etc. in order to draw the relevant parallels. but there are multiple instances in GO where it is based on the bible or other texts, but doesn't follow it exactly; how GO portrayed the book of job, for example. it takes these texts, and distorts or reimagines them slightly or completely.

the way i see it, we are reading/watching GO as if this is in fact the true telling of those texts, as if (and not trying to be diminutive here) the bible is an inaccurate telling of GO, not the other way around - because, of course, we're seeing GO from the angel and demon that were 'actually there', so to speak.

im not saying that this - or any - of my theories are indisputably correct, far from it. but to me, with the information i have from the narrative as first source, and then looking at the referenced texts that inspired it, what i come up with, and write, is what makes sense to me. and it might make sense because it would be poetically apt, is in-keeping with how i interpret the characters, and/or is just plain funny or ironic (GO is after all, a comedy).

so whilst i fully anticipate people to duly correct me on how it all goes down in the bible (as they should, i love being educated!!!), please know that im not trying to deliberately misinterpret anything, but more trying to think outside the box, from the viewpoint of the GO story itself, and what direction would make the most sense in which it will reimagine these texts.

- exit disclaimer.

anyway! theory time!

so we have the imagery from the s2 sequence of the "thy kingdom come" plane, and this is obviously a reference to the resurrection as you've said, anon: that jesus arrives by plane. i truly love this imagery because if we take matthew 24:36 (KJV): "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.", the concept that in the great plan the date and time might finally be revealed in the form of a flight number, airport, and ETA is frankly hilarious to me. furthermore, "cometh with clouds" (revelation, 1:7 KJV) being reimagined as a literal plane landing again sets up the comedic backdrop so well.

now wherever the plane lands, whether from the US or to the US (again, don't have the original neil answer to refer to, but going based on your ask, anon, it's the latter), it regardless involves americans. this is where i feel it would be a perfect narrative symmetry opportunity to refer back to s1/the book, and reintroduce the dowlings.

and you might be wondering, "well no because GO set up the dowlings to be involved only insomuch that they were meant to be custodians of the antichrist - why would they also be involved in the second coming?" well, i wondered this too. the only conclusion i can come to, frankly, is GO!god having a very warped, twisted and ineffable sense of humour. they saw what satan had planned for the dowlings in inadvertently raising the antichrist, possibly did a bit of shifting around in the mystical threads, and decided that actually - just to throw in the wildcard of chaos - they should instead be the bearers of the second coming. this degree of mind-boggling ineffability, to me, would be comedically on-brand.

regardless; whilst just a theory, the whole thing makes sense to me - that in any case, the dowlings are going to make a reappearance. and with them, or on his own (if we follow the biblical telling that jesus was resurrected as he was from the crucifixion, at age 33yo, and therefore would suggest a timeskip from s2, but this isn't necessarily guaranteed - ie: might not be how GO chooses to portray it!), comes warlock. now we know that warlock was meant to be the antichrist, before crowley and the nuns managed to bugger it all up.

but heaven wouldn't necessarily know that its the dowlings arriving, right? presumably they'd just all gather on the tarmac awaiting the arrival, and lmao SIKE, it's bloody warlock. heaven hasn't met warlock, and therefore still think he's in fact jesus resurrected... but aziraphale has met him. he helped bloody raise him. and he knows now that he is essentially a normal kid/adult (albeit a very stuck-up one) and definitely not the second coming.

well then, if jesus was meant to be on that plane, according to the great plan, a plane being used by the dowlings... then why isn't it warlock? well, because the dowlings' actual baby isn't warlock. lets go back to the baby swap in the book/s1:

*apols, editing to correct this somewhat because it isn't quite right and lateral thinking is not my strong suit*

ANTICHRIST was meant to go to: the DOWLINGS. instead, went to: the YOUNGS. this is Adam.

YOUNG BABY was meant to go to: stay with the YOUNGS, but got mixed up. instead, went to: the DOWLINGS. this is Warlock.

DOWLING BABY was meant to go to: adoption/something nefarious instead, and indeed did. this is... Greasy Johnson.

and i love this for all sorts of reasons. now im lifting this next bit, essentially, from another ask of mine, but to keep things all in one place:

"greasy is posed as the antithesis of adam/antichrist, has a gang surrounding him that you could infer are loyal disciples, and is a mirror to adam in that adam on the whole seems to be a well-adjusted and morally-upstanding young boy.

i further think the fact that adam is the antichrist put against greasy being the second coming is a well positioned reflection on the nature vs nurture argument. ultimately adam grew up in a largely loving and supportive environment, and as the literal son of satan, you'd expect his nature, the circumstances of his birth, to rule out every other influence.

ultimately it does for a short time, but adams narrative iirc is that it is reflective of his desire to save the world... he wanted to get rid of things that were Wrong, and naively (he is still an 11-year old boy after all) thought that destroying the world and restarting it would do just that. his friends however reinforce in him that destruction and reparation are not the same thing, and so his upbringing, the nurture, wins.

greasy? we don't know a lot about him, only that he is a bully and represents the opposite of adam and the them... [and there exists] the whole [sic] analogy that greasy and the johnsonites vs adam and the them are meant to represent the hell vs heaven war..."

and then we have this small, relatively innocuous detail from the book:

as i said, possibly something of nothing. but the deliberate wording of 'breeding the fish', which is left out of s1, is - i like to think - a bit of a clue.

and before anyone comes for me on this, i am aware that this is based practically on fuck all of jack shit; im painfully aware of that. im aware that it deliberately misinterprets certain passages (not going to do the soapbox speech again, promise), but i just like to have fun. i honestly do not care if this is wrong; whatever happens in s3 should and will be better than anything i can come up with. yes, it's fun to get a prediction or speculation correct, of course it is, but it's not the endgame here. i get that others will have conflicting schools of thought, see things differently, or just plain think it's crap - that's okay! but, if that's the case, just move on from this post with a shake of your head. im not here to do anything other than have a good time, lads (gn)✨💓

edit 21/08: additional reading because now i feel vindicated: here from amuseoffyre, and my tags on this post too.

#im sorry i get a bit ranty in this anon none of that is directed at you at all im sorry it ended up on your ask #but we just need to let everyone have the space to come up with whatever batshit theories they like and have fun with it #this is such a lovely warm fandom and id love to see it remain that way!!! #good omens #not a shitpost but its good omens babyyyy #ask #also i havent proof read this so if there are any errors just pretend you didnt see them #s3 narrative spec #second coming/last judgement theory

[dustedmagazine]

Love Child — Never Meant To Be (1988-1993) (12XU)

Love Child brings the detuned roar of Dinosaur, the nervy agitation of the Feelies, the arch literacy of Pavement, the barbed sugar of the Throwing Muses, shifting sound and style from song to song. This compilation spans the brief career of the New York City noise-punk-lofi outfit, with cuts from a debut 7”, both early 1990s full-lengths and unreleased and radio tracks. It’s an absolute riot from start to finish, even if it’s hard to get a grip on what Love Child was at its core.

The band came together in the late 1980s, when Will Baum, Rebecca Odes and Alan Licht were still students at Vassar. Licht, of course, later made a name as a critic and noise-minimalist. His work with Love Child overlapped with Blue Humans and slightly preceded turns with Run On and the Pacific Ocean. His collaborations with Jandek and Loren Connors took place later, in the second half of the 1990s.

The earliest cuts here come from a 1990 single, the brash, ragged-bassed “Sofa” (memorialized here in Love Child’s only video) and the vaguely “Summertime Blues”-ish “Crocus” (with its indelible line, “My mom threw me out until I get some pants that fit/She just don’t approve of my strange kind of wit.” ) Both balance garage-rock minimalism with a bursts of noise. “Sofa” intersperses catchy, kicky girl-boy choruses with blasts of unfettered guitar squall.

The first full-length, Okay, came on Homestead in 1991. Its tracks take up a large portion of this compilation, which is fine because they bang pretty hard, especially the multi-voiced “Diane” and “Fortune Cookie” which blends the pure blasting amp noise of J. Mascis , the yelping angst of Television and the clanking post-punk bass sounds of, say, Gods Gift. But other cuts run towards jangle pop, notably “He’s So Sensitive” a lofi girl group garage rocker featuring Odes on lead vocal. The other album, Witchcraft, followed a year later, also on Homestead. It’s a bit smoother, a bit more melodic, a bit more reliant on Odes’ buzzy, dreamy vocals. “AAA/XXX” is almost dream pop, though sharp guitar slashes prop up the verse, while “Something Cruel” jangles lyrically for a seconds before cranking up to pogo speed.

Additional, previously unreleased material bookends the album. “Asking for It,” from a 1992 Peel Session comes first, layering bratty, confrontational punk on wild eruptions of near rockabilly guitar; an oozing, sludgy noise interval bisects the cut. “Greedy,” another song from the same session exults in feedback and loose harmonies, tough and vulnerable at the same time. There are also a couple of cuts from a KSPC show, including the dreaming, droning, guitar-led “All Is Loneliness” with its shades of VU. That track was recorded in 1993, near the end of this evanescent outfit’s run, and it hints at other directions that they might have taken if they had persisted. Still no use mourning what never happened. There’s plenty to celebrate here without it.

Jennifer Kelly

#love child #never meant to be #12xu #jennifer kelly #albumreview #dusted magazine #post-punk #lo-fi #new york city #alan licht #will baum #rebecca odes

[vermillioncrown]

ttbh snippet - the kids settle in (sorta)

more fuel for the fire 😎 the time being had is of ambiguous quality, but we're certainly here in collab w @rozaceous

they've been in canon-verse for a few days already, and the bats have updated their opinions on the mini-interlopers

After the dust settles, everyone seem to agree that it was eventually going to happen. None of them—not even Damian (who is indignant at the accusation)—ever aimed to make the kids cry. It’s understandable, however, that the events of the past few days have been overwhelming. For trained vigilantes used to worldending and multiversal threats, context helps but it’s still ten of them confined to one (admittedly large) manor and its surrounding property. For kids without any context or the wherewithal to understand it, being the equivalent of multiversal bookends means nothing to them.

The fact that they held their composure for this long is admirable. They are, overall, extremely easy kids to care for and well-behaved. Retrospectively, it was a trap in making them complacent.

Allie has the most detailed instructions attached. Food intolerances, strict preferences and diet, allotted time outside for being physical, time left alone to read and be quiet are simple enough needs to address once known. During outside time, she plays soccer with an oddly charming combination of vigor and systematization. When there’s too much activity around her, even during things she enjoyed doing, she’d retreat into quiet play until it’s back at a tolerable level. The giant set of crafting beads that Steph and Cass ran out to purchase on Day Two has been lovingly organized and curated during her shy periods. Korvin is the only one she lets into her space, then.

Korvin’s notes are extensive but disorganized and contradictory, as if multiple people threw everything they had at the dossier and didn’t bother cross-referencing each other. Food is straightforward—he eats everything on his plate, nothing more or less, always with a “Please” and “Thank you.” Suggestions on occupying him fall flat; Tim’s attempt to show off the 3D printers and computers was met with a wide-eyed stare and a shake of his head before he runs off after Allie. Hide-and-seek and Sardines worked for a bit until Alfred put his foot down because Korvin followed Dick onto the chandeliers. They don’t catch that some of the soaps in the manor were giving his skin blisters until they see him fidget non-stop under his oversized sweater sleeves.

Eventually, they leave the kids to their own devices; it seems to work better than hovering.

Steph’s the one that points out at their fretting, “Chill out guys, I think they have autism.”

“That’s—wow, Steph,” Tim looks taken aback and almost personally affronted. “That’s so rude. They’re just quiet kids.”

“Hm, kinda ableist of you, Tim,” Duke crosses his arms, frowning down at the now sputtering older vigilante. Cass catches his side glance exchange with Steph. It’s half-serious but entirely shit stirring.

“There is nothing wrong with them,” Damian throws in his two cents. “They are, in fact, more tolerable than most of my classmates despite their age.”

All of them—barring the kids, of course, and Alfred making sure they stay hydrated—are discussing the situation in the second floor parlor. The room overlooks the immediate garden area, and has a balcony they can all leap off safely. Allie and Korvin are chatting and giggling in the garden, inspecting flowers and bugs alike. On a closer look, Allie’s admiring the different flowers and Korvin is gently flicking worms back onto the dirt. A worm flies too close to Allie, who squeals, and Korvin profusely apologizes.

There’s a lot of exchanged glances that happen after Damian’s declaration. Tim looks reluctantly grateful at Damian, who purses his mouth petulantly.

“Woof, Dami,” is all Steph has in response. Duke has a pinched expression on his face and quickly looks away from everyone.

“Look, autism levels in the manor are off-the-charts,” Jason says blandly, disregarding Dick’s frantic motions to stop him. “Just look at that Bat filing system.”

“The ontology makes sense,” Tim can’t help but interject. His expression shows that he immediately regrets speaking.

Everyone looks at Dick, who finally gives up and gives in. “It makes sense but it’s also…” In lieu of finishing his statement, he wiggles his hand in the air.

Throughout the entire discussion, Bruce has been sitting in the corner of the parlor, giving careful glances outside with his peripheral vision. He’s the first to realize that Allie and Korvin always know when they’re being watched. And the few times they’ve been separated, he narrows it down to a slight difference: Korvin is hyperaware of his surroundings versus Allie being hypervigilant. They both get nervous when there are too many eyes on them, and Bruce was the first to point it out and be conscientious about it.

A sudden faraway shriek has everyone tense up and scan the area. They find nothing amiss despite the kids sprinting towards the nearest tree. Alfred calls out to them patiently but doesn’t seem alarmed.

“Oh, hah, it’s just a wasp,” Duke points out.

It’s too far away to see the perpetrator in question, but it apparently closes the distance to the kids and they shriek again, sprinting to another tree for sanctuary.

“Let’s stop with the whole ‘armchair diagnosis’, alright? It’s not helping anyone,” Dick returns to the topic for closure. He ignores the knowing look that Jason aims at his back.

#folie a deux #phd-verse #on ttbh #verm bits #when i was writing this scene #the brainstorming w roz was like. realizations about our childhoods #straight a students: anxious. adhd. autistic. #would certainly look odder in the 2nd childhood but lol the 1st one was telling enough #the scene following this snippet will be reserved for if/when this gets for real posted on ao3 #too powerful otherwise

[whitealbum]

i know i keep talking about hearing desert song but the show being bookended by that and foundations was so crazy. when the last verse of the first song and the first verse of the last song perfectly mirror each other

#is everyone ready for the class discussion

[foxes-that-run]

Golden

Golden and Fine Line are the bookends of the album and written first. Golden is so joyous, but also asking his muse to let him in, in Fine Line they cross the friendship line and the album ends on an uncertain note but 'we'll be alright'.

I have watched this video more than I'll ever admit, I love it so much. This section where he's running as hard as he can to catch up to her:

This is similar to this part of As it was, it tells of their break ups, hook ups, careers happen and he loses her, stops trying to catch up and runs alone, devastated (before he lets go of the past and dances off):

The film clip was in September 2020, 2 years after writing the song.

Writing

To Rolling Stone:

That places it around September 2018, after he broke up with Camille and the events of Fine Line(/Cruel Summer.)

To Zane Lowe, Harry said he started with an idea for the album but not the release date in mind. Harry talked about having a plan for future albums but he took Tyler's advice to make Fine Line the record he wanted to make now as opposed to what was planned. This is interesting because:

October 2012 - While they were dating, the Red Liner notes foreshadow a future album that included 'love shines golden'

August 2019 - Lover is released on the 13th year of her career, before her 30th birthday, ending on "Love is Golden like Daylight"

13 December 2019 - on Taylors 30th Birthday Fine Line is released, opening with 'You're so Golden, take me back to the light'.

Lyrics

[Intro] Hey! [Verse 1] Golden, golden, golden as I open my eyes Hold it, focus, hoping, take me back to the light I know you were way too bright for me I'm hopeless, broken, so you wait for me in the sky Brown my skin just right You're so golden

In the first verse is depicted in the film clip, working as hard as he can to win back this person with his own success and love for them. He often describes his muse as in the sky (here), chasing clouds (Story of my Life, Late night talking MV) and "I'm on the roof, you're in your airplane seat" in Daylight, also that MV has him climbs down a ladder in the sky.

[Verse 2] I don't wanna be alone I don't wanna be alone when it ends Don't wanna let you know I don't wanna be alone But I can feel it take a hold (I can feel it take a hold) I can feel you take control (I can feel you take control) Of who I am, and all I've ever known Lovin' you's the antidote Golden

The second verse is moving from desiring the muse to being vulnerable, As it was is more direct on this saying that "In this world, it's just us / You know it's not the same as it was" which means this muse is the only person for him. To me, that person is Taylor and there is an overtone of being isolated by fame here and finding someone who feels like home in an unmanageable life.

Thank you @womanexile for highlighting Anitdote which Harry refers to in:

Every since New York: " Choose your words 'cause there's no antidote / For this curse. Oh, what's it waiting for?"

Daylight: "You got the antidote / I'll take one to go, go, please"

And in One Directions End of the Day also likened being apart as an illness " You're the one that I want at the end of the day / She said the night was over, I said it's forever/ 20 minutes later, wound up in the hospital / The priest thinks it's the devil, my mum thinks it's the flu / But, girl, it's only you"

[Chorus] You're so golden I don't wanna be alone You're so golden You're so golden I'm out of my head, and I know that you're scared Because hearts get broken [Bridge] (Golden, golden, golden, golden)x7 I know that you're scared because I'm so open

I think Fine Line overall, and Harry's House to a greater degree show maturing. When talking to Zane about Cherry Harry said: "In the moment I felt like I was realizing some stuff about being more open and not being, like 'I don't care'".

I think, where the 1D songs are about young love and the debut songs are like an open wound - it is not until Fine Line he started to look with some distance on what was lost.

#haylor #fine line album

[jacksgreysays]

Bleak!primadonna AU brainrot continues (2024-04-04)

… I think I’m just becoming the blog of hyper-niche DoS future fic because… my brain… still rotting… from bleak!primadonna AU. At this point, I think there is no NOT!bleak primadonna AU, so maybe the bleakness doesn’t have to be specified anymore. The primadonna ‘verse, as it were….

ANYWAY, JUST BEEN THINKING ABOUT HOW EXTERNAL WOMB STUFF (as originated by loveelemental and further developed by damnsmartblueboxes) AND HOW THE POLITICS OF THAT WOULD OR WOULDN’T AFFECT SOME THINGS.

Because, like, I try to adopt as much of DoS fanon as I can from other writers and I realized one that I have internalized but didn’t think to apply to the primadonna ‘verse is the idea that Hana Inuzuka is the next Inuzuka clan head and also she’s a lesbian and engaged to her partner (as per JohnBurtonLee’s I Got You which I, at this point, pretty much consider DoS beta canon in that it’s basically canon until very specifically said otherwise by Word of God)

Anyway, all that being said: whether or not the Inuzuka are matrilineal (as I headcanon for the Aburame) or they follow primogeniture regardless of the firstborn child’s gender, it would still fall to Hana to have an heir of her own. Which, you know, get a donor, etc etc. BUT, if they want the child to be as genetically close to a biological child from both of them as possible, either Kiba is the donor with Hana’s partner being the carrier—I’m going to call her Kaori for now—or if Kaori has male relatives (a brother, ideally) then Hana is the carrier.

But, what if Kaori’s family SUCKS? What if they’re ABSOLUTE ASSES? What if they’re homophobic bigots who don’t approve of the relationship, much less them having a child together? Hana and Kaori wouldn’t going to want their DNA anyway. (Sorry to give you a shit family Kaori, but you're marrying into a pretty cool one so... congrats?)

But then it’s also like… uh… Kiba is your annoying little brother who really didn’t believe we were engaged. Not out of bigotry or ill-intent, but it’s still annoying. And also, like, don’t really want to think about your little brother’s sperm.

What’s a wlw couple to do?

Because it’s not just about the gestation and carrying the baby to term, but the incompatibility of egg-egg or sperm-sperm conception.

But wait! Introducing the new HaruNara external conception and gestation machine(/seal?)! For the low low price of (I don’t know, the first generation may be free since it’s all prototype and experimental?) you and your partner(s) can have the biological child you’ve always wanted! No mess, no stress, no risk that an undercover agent from an enemy clan/village will steal your bloodlimit and/or extremely politically important heir! Highly trained and accredited experts of medicine and sealing will oversee the HaruNara process and your genetic material/future child will be fully protected by an elite team of Konoha’s powerful shinobi! We’ll help you make the family of your dreams! SIGN UP TODAY!

… if you didn’t read all of that in an infomercial voice, I messed up.

What I’m saying is, Hana and Kaori’s first child—who I am now calling Manako which means eyeball—was of the first generation of HaruNara babies (a process which I assume EXTREMELY involved Sakura, hence the name).

Keen-eyed readers may remember that I wanted Mimi Inuzuka to be a year above Shikadai, and that is still true. I’m just giving Mimi Inuzuka and older sister, because I want the sort of… bookend of Manako is of the first generation of HaruNara babies and Mimi is from the last generation of HaruNara babies (outside of the ANY clan alliance)

AND HERE’S WHERE THE POLITICS COMES IN! :D

Because the HaruNara requires a sealing master (from the Nara Sealing Research Group) AND a medic specifically trained under Sakura. Although there are ANY medics trained under Sakura, there aren’t any non-ANY sealing masters—except maybe TenTen—who are trained in the use of the seals and equipment, of which those would be proprietary Nara technology anyway.

… and even if TenTen COULD, I don’t think she necessarily WOULD because she is indebted/grateful to the Nara for even putting her name on the NaraTen seals (still industry leader, decades later) and giving her those royalties as opposed to just, like, a one time “consultant/independent contractor” fee and then goodbye forever. I think, even if she isn’t officially part of the Nara Sealing Research Group, she does get invited a lot or consults enough (with appropriate/fair payment or additional royalties) that she wouldn’t necessarily turn her back against them. And, like, look. Even if it was decades ago, she did love Shikamaru and they were friends even when they broke up, so she also grieves for him too. I don’t know her stance on, you know, straight up murder the councilors who ordered his assassination. But I can’t imagine she’d so fully turn against Shikako—who, again, was even more her friend than Shikamaru, and so ACTIVELY contributed to TenTen’s career success—that she would scab against the Nara clan and run half of the HaruNara technique on behalf of Konoha unless they SPECIFICALLY ORDERED HER TO.

BUT EVEN THEN, I have to imagine the number of times she must have had “don’t interfere with clan affairs” thrown in her face regarding the Hyuuga Caged Bird seal and now she can throw it back in Konoha’s face. But, like, in a plausible deniability sort of way.

All that being said: the ANY alliance may very well be keeping this technique to themselves and either separately contracting (with all profits going to ANY alliance only, rather than it being split with Konoha) or charging an EXORBITANT FEE to those who are trying to hire them via Konoha official paths.

Because, like. You can’t tell me the Kantokusha clan of Hidden Grass don’t have the village under their thumb. That’s why they were so desperate to get rid of Shikako, someone who had seemingly defeated their ultimate technique.

And while Konoha has other methods of income, older and more established than the HaruNara seals, you can’t tell me the ANY alliance wouldn’t be extremely pedantic and petty about proprietary clan techniques. Again, just pointing at the Hyuuga’s Caged Bird Seal.

Of course, the ANY alliance isn’t trying to make more enemies—if anything, they are trying to do the opposite, and woo other clans to their theoretical secession—so they’re not being extortionate about it. But they are making it clear that this is a clan/alliance technique, not a village technique.

To be clear, this switch from it being a Konoha service to an ANY clan specific service is because of The Incident—hence why Mimi is part of the last generation of Konoha serviced HaruNara babies--so it’s not as if the ANY alliance have been denying or overcharging the Inuzuka use of the HaruNara process. And also, it may very well be that Hana and Kaori have reached the number of children they want (unsure if it’s just her and Manako or if I want them to have a/multiple siblings in between) and it’s just coincidence that they bookend the window of time where the HaruNara process was a village service and not an ANY alliance service. BUT I just thought that would be an interesting way to frame the Inuzuka’s involvement/opinion on the Incident, especially since I am REALLY thinking about writing another Primadonna ‘verse segment and it involves Team Chiyako which has Mimi Inuzuka and the Branch Hyuuga teen that Shikadai has a crush on.

Anyways, how do you look at all of your beautiful, rambunctious children and not be extremely grateful to the person who literally made it possible for them to exist. And, you know, wouldn't any Inuzuka member also want to tear to pieces the people who try to harm their family? Considering I imagine if the Inuzuka clan had a motto it would be something like Honesty, Loyalty, Integrity, I can’t imagine those Hana's personal opinion would be would be too different from her Inuzuka clan's opinion (unlike Chiyako and Tsunade’s, lol)

The Inuzuka are not official allies with the Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka. They are also not official allies with the Aburame and the Hyuuga even though members of their clans get put on the same teams often due to synergistic abilities. I don’t know who they are official allies with, but we do know that they joined Konoha at roughly the same time as the other clans and have since been a pillar member of the village.

So the question then becomes: does the fact that their current clan heiress (Manako) and her sibling(s) exist because of Shikako Nara outweigh the generations of loyalty to Konoha?

Here’s where I thread this needle: I don’t think they would secede… but I do think they would gladly support a different Hokage and are fully in favor of Naruto stepping down. I think, if they have clan vows the same way the ANY alliance does, that Hana (with approval from Tsume and whatever elders or equivalent thereof that the Inuzuka clan has) changed them before Manako and her sibling(s) became genin and would have to say them.

I think Manako might not even be on a jounin led tead. I think Manako probably went from the Academy, then straight back to specialized Inuzuka clan training, both because she is heiress and also so that she wouldn’t necessarily have to swear oaths of loyalty to the village over her clan or to the current Hokage in particular.

Which makes Mimi’s placement on Team Chiyako interesting if she is the only one of her siblings(? Although, it could just be her and Manako) who didn’t get recalled back to clan training after the Academy. What oaths did she make? Are the Inuzuka very deliberate in their wording of loyalty to the village (but not the Hokage?) in protecting the people, but not the administration.

I think, if the Inuzuka can’t make Shikako Hokage (and if this WERE closer in time to the Incident, they probably would have voted a no-confidence in Naruto, had that been a route available to them) then they are part of the group who either want Kakashi back in power (even though he very much DOES NOT WANT) or are of the belief that if they can’t have a Hokage they can be loyal to, they will either FIND or MAKE a Hokage they can be loyal to.

By which I mean: if I’m already playing the next generation parallel game, not only is Mimi Inuzuka the kunoichi on a team one year older than Shikadai, she also, like TenTen, wants to be like Tsunade. But, unlike TenTen, its not because of healing, it’s because she’s a female Hokage and Mimi is going to be the next one if she has any say over it.

Basically, EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THIS GENERATION WITH ANY POWER/POLITICAL AMBITIONS WHATSOEVER IS GUNNING FOR THAT HOKAGE SPOT. Because if they don’t, Konoha may very well split in half.

I do think the most “healing” of the candidates is Shikadai, given it is a rift between Konoha and the Nara specifically, but hell… at this point, anyone else might be enough to get the ANY alliance to stay. Sarada who, even if she is still genetically a Sakura-Sasuke child, would have been raised by Sakura-Ino-Sai is arguably part of the ANY alliance… maybe?

I DIDN’T GET INTO WHAT THE HARUNARA CONCEPTION AND GESTATION MACHINE(/SEAL?) WOULD MEAN FOR THE UCHIHA REPOPULATION PROGRAM.

Because. Almost all of those Uchiha repopulation program kids I made are of age or younger than Shikadai. (Sakako doesn’t exist in primadonna ‘verse, sorry. Add another check in the bleakness column.) So either, they ARE using the HaruNara machine(/seal?) as an officially allied clan of the ANY clans (ANUY alliance? Hm… I don’t like that) OR it is one of the only Konoha official usage of it post The Incident—by which I mean, Konoha is subsidizing some/most of the exorbitant costs so that the Uchiha DON’T officially join the ANY alliance—OR… they aren’t using it and they’re just going old fashioned surrogacy (as it was originally written) but you HAVE to imagine that absolutely frustrates whoever is in charge of the program (probably Sakura, let’s be real) because there is this method to make the program so much more efficient if it weren’t for FUCKING POLITICS and it HAS HER NAME ON IT.

Oof. Yikes.

Anyway, sorry I went on a tangent. Many people are gunning for that Hokage spot, Mimi Inuzuka included. I think she was deliberately put on a jounin led team because Hana or Manako could smell/see the way the winds were blowing in Konoha. The Aburame heiress/future head as well as a Branch Hyuuga representative being on the same team—those two (and maybe the Uchiha, gotta figure that out) being the most likely to join the ANY alliance in secession—would need a stronger tether back to Konoha. And while the Inuzuka may have self-isolated a bit due to lack of faith in the Hokage, they are still loyal to the village as a whole. And then their third teammate is a Kurama because I’m already playing the next generation parallel game, so I needed a genjutsu user. BUT I have also made their abilities synergize, so this team does make sense functionally as well as, uh, metaphorically? Politically :D

FINAL TANGENT before I let this brainrot go, 1) Kareru Uzumaki definitely exists in this ‘verse because 2) the first generation of HaruNara babies are younger than him because the techniques didn’t fully gel together UNTIL Shikako discovered the seal he was in so 3) AT MOST there is eight years difference between the oldest of the HaruNara babies and Shikadai’s year, and I don’t even think that much but I can’t be bothered to do math right now.

Hopefully this rambling around will lead to an actual legible ficlet. If you made it this far, sorry for this disaster of a post.

#jacksgreyson #brainstorm #fanfiction #primadonna girl (says no thank you) #dreaming of sunshine #hana inuzuka #tenten #sakura haruno #kareru uzumaki

[princesssarcastia]

calling all Leverage fans out there:

if you're at all interested or preoccupied with Elliot Spencer's relationship with Damien Moreau, can I interested you in Micheletto and Cesare Borgia's relationship in The Borgias?

Consider a man. A dangerous man; perhaps the most dangerous man in the world. A man for hire, well-versed in death and spycraft and making things happen for the rich and the powerful. And one day—one day that dangerous man meets a powerful man, a powerful man he chooses to serve, to do terrible bloody work for. Anything and everything the powerful man asks, the dangerous man does, to the point where the powerful man trusts the dangerous man implicitly, without instruction or specification. To the point where the dangerous man becomes an extension of his will, of his self.

Until one day, the dangerous man is asked to do something so horrific, he can't bear to work for the powerful man anymore, and he walks away.

And the powerful man lets him.

God, does that not sound exactly like Elliot's history with Moreau? Have any Leverage season 4 aficionados ever wanted to see what that service looked like, from both sides?

Well, here's your chance. And truly, Micheletto (here, our Elliot analogue) and Cesare's (Moreau) relationship bookends the whole show; shapes it; makes all things possible and delivers something meaningful and emotional and horrific, all the same.

#leverage #elliot spencer #damien moreau #the borgias #micheletto corella #cesare borgia #the parallels ohhhh the parallels #it really is that fucking close of an analogue #nearly identical except for the setting #perhaps post cannon the borgias.... #perhaps micheletto goes on to find a band of mercenaries and thieves #a band of people who help him learn to care and love and heal #i want that for him so badly #....although it would also be so fuckin sick if he went back to cesare #like i wouldn't say no to that #anyway. have a rec leverage fandom!

[beevean]

Ranking Hazbin Hotel songs (ep. 1-4)

Just elaborating on my opinions on the music so far. To be honest, I'm not too keen on the forced quota of two songs per episode, but what salvages it is that the compositions and voices are high quality. The best songs do also a great job in the characterization department, and they've been stuck in my head for a while now lol.

8) Hell is Forever

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I don't like Charlie's singing. Not because she's a bad singer, I don't like how she's treated as a joke, and I don't like her cheap Disney parody style. This is even worse because by plot reasons she has to sing super fast about concepts we already know about. It's unpleasant to the ear.

And Adam. ugh. I hate Adam. His verse is actually not that bad! I like how he introduces another obstacle to Charlie's plan: the man has (by his own admission, which is a bit lazy) a black and white view of the situation, and he refuses to accept any redeemed soul in Heaven. And the rock style is good too. Just. I hate him. I hate his fratboy personality. I hate his voice until he finally takes it seriously. He ruins a perfectly nice solo. Gah.

7) Happy Day in Hell

Again. I don't like how Charlie is treated as a joke even by the narrative. I also am confused as to how we're meant to see Charlie singing as something silly she does in-universe, when then everyone else sings and they're taken seriously. Anyway, this is a generic "yep everything will be just fine" song, because get it she's in Hell, and get it things will not be fine! My Little Pony had a similar joke ages ago, and it was mercifully shorter.

At least it sounds good, because Charlie has a nice voice, and I like the jazzier finale.

6) It Starts With Sorry

Forgettable. I have nothing to say about it.

5) Whatever it Takes

A nice ballad shared between one of the protagonists and a character that has been just introduced. I am intrigued by the parallels between Vaggie and Carmilla, but that's about it. I don't think this scene needed to be put into song, which emphasizes how the quota of two songs per episode was unnecessary. Carmilla's VA is also better with a bombastic voice than with a slow ballad. (nothing to say about Vaggie, she sounds lovely)

4) Respectless

While it shares the previous song's problem of being kind of unnecessary, this one is at least boppy and interesting. I like how the style changes to reflect the singers' personalities, from Carmilla's more proper Latin instrumentation to Velvette's modern pop. Some of Velvette's lyrics are just terrible ("bae"? in 2024? 😭), but she picks up in the second half where she shows her true intelligence. Also both of them have nice voices.

3) Stayed Gone

A delightful, jazzy, and most importantly salty duet between Vox and Alastor! Not only it's very fun to sing, it does a great job at presenting the characters: Vox is a fast smooth-talker, but his anti-Alastor propaganda comes off as desperate, and he crumbles quickly under Alastor's timeless charm who doesn't even try that hard to paint Vox as an insecure clout-chaser. The bookend is also done well, with Vox attempting to sound menacing, but Alastor straight up sounding like a predator stalking their prey. The song establishes their rivarly in an entertaining way and only gives us the breadcrumbs to explain to us what happened between them, keeping the intrigue.

(also I can't get enough of Alastor saying "and now he's pissy, that's the tea :D" just to mock Vox' obsession with modernity. he's so sassy lol)

2) Loser, Baby

Alternative title: media literacy test :P

While I think I prefer Stayed Gone musically, this is just a wholesome scene... as much as it doesn't look like at first lol. It pulls all the weight to show Husk's inner depths: he's old enough, wise enough, and empathetic enough to know that the Charlie approach (being endlessly optimistic and kind) doesn't work on someone like Angel, who 5 minutes prior was willing to get himself rape drugged in a self-harming act. So he hits him with a double whammy of brutal honesty ("yes, you're a loser, you suck, your situation is terrible") and simple support ("but you're not the only one, I suck too, I like you the way you are and you can at least be miserable with me").

And this is important for Angel, who has a very skewed view of himself after all the abuse he went through. When he says that he's a loser and a dummy, and jokes about not having more holes to deflower, he's casting away the bravado that he uses to hide his pain. It's the first step to accept himself as he is, knowing that at least someone out there can appreciate him for who he is, and not just what he can give. It's beautiful.

Also Keith David <3 the contrast between his low smooth voice and Blake Roman's higher pitch <3 (and once again, "you're a power bottom at rock bottom" cracks me up)

1) Poison

Oh this has been my obsession ever since I found it. It's so good. The layers. The rhythm. The voice. I love it so much! 💖

I've always liked Addict for the contrast between the poppy music and the miserable lyrics, but its spiritual successor goes above and beyond. What a perfect inlook into Angel's broken spirit. He blames himself for the hell he's stuck in, and doesn't expect to break free soon. He's aware that Valentino only feeds him poison (lies? beatings? fake love?), but Angel is addicted to it and can't get away from him, so he willingly poisons himself and convinces himself that it's what he wants after all - it was his choice, after all. He likes it, right? He gets wasted like there's no tomorrow because he has no reason to live another day. It's terrible! And yet the song is so catchy and fun to sing, and it has probably the most interesting rhymes so far. It's the only song I genuinely wish it was longer.

And the visuals only help <3 I can't get enough of Angel dancing, either chained to Valentino and smiling even as he's thrown on the floow, or alone, pretending to be sexy and confident but then cowering at Valentino's sight. Abuse romanticism my entire ass, it's a more nuanced look on the dynamics of abuse than many other works I've seen.

And Angel's broken voice at the end destroys my heart :) Blake Roman, guys.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel spoilers #just sharing my opinions so far #probably easier than talking about the episodes in general lol

[ofstoriesandstardust]

day 1 - seven o’clock news/silent night - rebel mitchell

a/n: it’s not me if we don’t start off strong with some angst hehe. this is going to bookend day 12 and i’m very excited for it. phoebe bridges did an amazing cover of simon and garfunkel’s “seven o’clock news/silent night” with a modern twist and this inspired me so enjoy. :)

summary: The worst Christmas of Rebel’s life.

12 days of ficmas | main masterlist | top gun: maverick masterlist | same mistakes-verse

warnings: angst, homesickness, a military parent who is determined MIA, fear of death of a parent, mentions of religion, my general Navy inaccuracies 

word count: 1,470

The crunch of the snow echoes against your ears as the bite of the freshly fallen snow stings your cheek. Your lips are chapped and you’re sure the bare skin of your face is red and raw from taking the brunt of the wind. Distantly, your brain registers the carolers across the way, the only streetlight dimly lighting the area below. 

You blink back the tears threatening to cascade down your face, knowing they’d just become salt icicles in the cold of the night. Numbly, you sit down on a bench, not bothering to wipe the snow away as your brain replays an endless loop of the news you’d spent hours listening to.

Thousands of miles away from home, across international waters, you’re not even sure where in the world you’re stationed right now. You know the town is small, snowy and remote, with only two news channels and a local channel that has been playing White Christmas, dubbed in German, over and over again for the last three days, according to your new wingman. 

When the weather had predicted snow, your new wingman had been disappointed, frowning at just her luck, returning to Florida for the holidays. You had merely sniffed and sat down on your new bed, turning towards the window to look for a storm that had not yet formed. 

If only you had known what kind of storm would be waiting for you. 

You’d just gotten to the quiet town that day when she left for her leave. Your heart ached to turn around and go with her, upset you’d gotten new orders just days before Christmas. She had only been gone for a few hours when the phone rang, clear in the night. 

You’d been watching the news when the call came. Your head had been laying on the spare pillow for the couch, images and voices of faraway conflicts and politics on repeat as your eyes drooped close. You had turned all the lights off, preferring to allow yourself to wallow in the dark, just for this moment, just for this one night. If you strained hard enough, you could hear the carolers in town, the faraway jingling of bells. Otherwise, it was quiet. Almost peaceful. 

Peaceful as all Christmas Eves should be.

The phone had vibrated above your head and you had started, blinking as you reached out for the object. You’re not sure what strings Ice had pulled for you to even have this luxury all the way out here, but you’re grateful nonetheless. He might not have been able to delay the orders but he’d been able to grant you this at the very least. You blink, immediately recognizing the number flashing across the screen. 

Ice. 

You swallow. Probably calling to wish you a happy holidays, to cheer you up despite everything. You answer the call as your eyes refocus on the TV screen as you answer, realizing the screen is showing images of some building on fire, a base far away having been attacked. Pilots missing. Planes down. Nothing left. 

“Hey kiddo.” 

“Hi Ice.” You answer softly, moving to turn the volume down on the TV, to drown out the sounds of someone else’s nightmare. 

Your godfather takes a shuddering breath. “Kid, something’s wrong.” Your eyes flicker back to the screen as you swallow. 

Couldn’t be-

“Something happened where your Dad was stationed. We- I can’t tell you much but he- his plane got shot down. They’re out looking for him now, but we’re not sure what we’re going to find.” 

In that moment, everything feels like it freezes as your heart stops in your chest. 

“Ice, please-” You beg, squeezing your eyes shut as the tears burn. You’re not sure what you’re asking from him, pleading to some God who will ignore the silent prayer in the word.

“I need you to prepare yourself for the worst.”

You don’t say anything for a few minutes as you sit there, hand not holding the phone digging into your thigh, fingernails sure to leave a mark. “How long?”

He sighs, shifting on the other end of the line. “He was declared MIA this morning. I was holding off on calling you until we knew for sure but-”

A whimper escapes your throat as your hand comes up to silence it as you realize what this means. Being declared MIA was never a good thing but at least there was hope. But this, if Ice was calling you, it meant there was no hope left. 

“Kid, don’t give up just yet. We’re going to keep looking, I promise. I’ll call you again as I know more.”

“Okay.” You whisper as your bottom lip catches in your teeth, unsure what else to say to him. 

“I love you.”

“Love you too.” You whisper, your voice cracking in the middle. 

“Merry Christmas.” The call clicks off as you numbly pull the phone away from your ear. Something flashes across the screen, bringing your attention back to the footage of the building on fire. Your hand reaches out for the remote, clicking it off. The screen goes dark, leaving you in complete and total darkness. 

You’re not sure how long you sit there in the cold and dark of the house but at some point you do pull yourself up, thinking to grab your jacket and shoes as you slip out the front door, hoping to find some peace as you walked into the town. 

Being this far from home and the people you loved for the holidays had been hard enough but this... everything you’d ever known in your life could change in the next 24 hours and there was nothing more you could do but wait. 

You pushed your hand in your pockets as you let out a shaky exhale, coming back to the present. You watch the puff of air appear in the air from your breath as a shiver goes down your spine, one you’re hoping has all to do with the child. 

First time seeing snow and this is how it’s going. 

Your chest feels tight as the tears surface once more as the carolers begin singing a quiet rendition of Silent Night. You allow yourself to let go, allowing yourself to think about what this means. The tears are warm against your skin, tasting of salt as they run down your face. 

Everything could change. No more Dad to go home to. No more joint leaves and dinners with Ice and Sarah. You’d have to bury your father and you would be alone. Ice would be there, so would Sarah and Slider, and a million others who’d stepped up throughout your life because it takes a village but- it wasn’t the same. 

A sob rips from your throat as you realize you may have said I love you to your Dad for the last time your Dad would ever be alive. 

Another hand comes up to your chest as the tears increases, shoulders heaving you think about who would make that call to Bradley. 

For the first time in years, you gave yourself a moment to think of him, to allow yourself to think of all you lost when he’d left. Because for all that things had been ruined, he still deserved to know. Deserved the chance to be there for Maverick if this was his only chance to say goodbye. 

You’d never admit it outloud how much you hoped he’d still care. How much you hoped he’d show, if not for your Dad, then for you. Ice would never reach out to try and rebuild that bridge, still angry with what Bradley had said to your father (information you weren’t privy too), for what walking out had done to his goddaughter. 

And you’re angry too. But sometimes you still missed him so much it hurt. You wondered what he’d say to you right now, if things hadn’t happened the way they did. You thought about the way it would feel to be pulled close to his chest in a hug as he soothed you, assuring you everything would be okay. To return what you’d done for him so long ago. 

You reach up, desperately trying to wipe the tears from your face. There was nothing more you could do now but wait. 

Eventually, even the carolers dispersed as the street finally does fall truly silent. The street light, dim as it was, begins to flicker and then goes out, casting the street into a quiet glow, only light coming from the stars, reflecting off the freshly fallen snow. The town is finally quiet as you lean back against the bench, taking in what otherwise would’ve been a beautiful sight. 

There was nothing more you could do but wait. 

silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright

#rebel mitchell #top gun: maverick #top gun: maverick fic #ky's 12 days of ficmas #12 days of ficmas #tom iceman kazansky #pete maverick mitchell