#they then proceeded to record some of my favorite songs of all time

[l0velylecter]

you're not my homeland anymore (so what am I defending now?) — phillip graves x afab!reader

THERE'S SOMETHING INTIMATE IN THE WAY HE POISONS YOU: even with his hand around your throat, fingers slowly constricting, you can't seem to fight him. A snake trying to subdue its victims, Phillip dragged his thumb lazily across the column of your neck to check your pulse — eyes flickering to the rise and fall of your chest. He was ready to devour you, sneering because he knew you'd let him.

summary : After his betrayal in Las Almas, as Shadow Company’s Quartermaster, you were left behind to clean up after Grave’s mess. It’s not easy to pick up the pieces of the life he shattered, but it’s even harder to heal when he keeps coming back to undo the stitches. pairing : phillip graves / afab!reader fandom : call of duty modern warfare ii rating : e for explicit, minors don’t interact (mdni!), not safe for work (nsfw!) warnings : descriptions of violence, cursing, descriptions of sex tags : afab!reader, female parts, some plot, somewhat toxic/unhealthy relationship, manipulation, mild backstory for reader, choking, he’s a red flag but red is my favorite color, reader has a ‘i can fix him’ mentality so read at your own discretion, rough sex, angry sex, edging. word count : 2k note : font is normal sized under the cut ! song used for inspiration : exile, taylor swift

01| Twenty minutes is the fastest recorded time of death caused by snake venom, not a second less, not a second later. And twenty minutes is all it took for Phillip to betray you. Your hands were trembling around the monitor while he aimed his rifle at Soap. Knocking a stack of papers in the process, your fingers flew across the keyboard to call for help — Laswell, Price, Garrick, anybody: you were desperate, choking in your guilt as a bullet struck the sergeant. With tears streaming down your face, you screamed into the comms, begging for him to cease fire. The analog clock beeped. Eleven minutes. Then without warning, the noise disappeared, leaving you to listen to the harsh rain against the pavement.

You slumped against your seat.

" Phillip...what have you done?"

Fifteen minutes. After a few seconds, his voice emerged, distant and faraway, distorted by the static.

" It's nothing personal, baby. It's just business." He chuckled. Your face crumbled at the airiness of his tone, bile rising in the back of your mouth as you imagined the smell of blood.

Seventeen minutes.

"I'll see you soon."

The silence that followed was almost deafening, echoing throughout the room. Phillip cut off all communications: ripping the camera from his chest before crushing it under his heel. The sharp ring of the mic's feedback made you rip your receiver out. Nineteen minutes. You caught your reflection against the monitor's dark screen. Even with the blood tricking down your earlobe, you couldn't move.

When they brought you in for questioning, they found you doubled over the table: earpiece dangling weakly from your palm. They needed to take note of the time. They said it was protocol. Twenty Minutes. You tell them as they cuff your wrists. Not a second less, not a second later.

02| The court proceedings ended in autumn. It took months before all charges were dropped: compliance, conspiracy, tampering of evidence — just like that, 'treason' was no longer in your record. One final act of mercy they gave you before cutting you loose, knowing that it was easier to sweep their fuck up under the rug this way. You rewind the tape from your interrogations, closing the blinds shut.

" And what was your affiliation with Phillip Graves?"

Crossing your legs on the couch, you pulled the laptop closer. The audio was muffled, bleeding static: a consequence of the metal walls which surrounded the scene that unfolded.

" I worked for Shadow Company.” You replied in the footage, “ I was his quartermaster."

Your interrogators shared a look. His. Not theirs. The needle of the polygraph jerked sideways. Suspicious. Compliant. You cleared your throat, opening your mouth to rephrase.

" I worked in logistics. Mortuary Affairs, subsistences. I distribute materials and brief them on satellite-based imagines. I knew nothing about the missiles or conspiring with Shepherd."

" How could that be?" The man on the right crossed his legs, arms folded around his chest.

Ink continued to glide across the graph paper.

" Evidence showed that you were...intimate with the commander."

Feeling scrutinised, you scoffed. 

" What does that have to do with anything?"

" It has to do with everything. Surely, you understand how it makes it difficult for us to believe you were completely in the dark when you and Graves were so...close. Do you deny it?"

Blinking in disbelief, you slumped against your chair. For a brief second, you felt it. All of it. The weight of his arms around your waist. His fingers down your back. You thought of the moon and how his eyes melt into silver under its light. You hear his laugh when you fail to flip the egg against the pan. The scars littered down his spine as he lays next to you. Patchouli and sandalwood crowd the bathroom as you smear your fingers with his aftershave. The gunshots as they cut through the downpour.

The graph wavered. " Do you deny it?" They repeated.

You inhaled deeply, wiping your face with your palm. 

 " No. I don't."

The curves on the paper thinned into a vertical line. The men scribbled into their notebooks, gesturing to the cup of coffee they had given you. You tell them it's gone cold and stale. And under the yellow lamplight, the officer on the right stared at you almost apologetically — noticing how you’ve been staring at the printed picture of Graves strewn across the table.

“ And whose fault is that?”

That night you deleted all the files on your laptop before unplugging the USB, contemplating whether to flush gigabytes worth of confidential information: videos, pictures, documents down the toilet.

You ended up leaving it above the bedside table.

03| You used to like how warm Phillip's hands were. The weight of each finger pressed against your palm will usually shut you up from complaining about the cold. You've memorized every inch of his skin, the roughness and weight, too familiar to miss. Which is why you didn't need to raise your head to know it was him standing behind you: hand across your mouth. 

" It's been a while."

He maneuvered you against the hallway, slamming you with his arm across your waist. When you struggled, he only tightened his grip, lips ghosting against the junction of your jaw and neck. Shhh, he cooed, and you obeyed.

You hated yourself for complying. Noticing this, he let out a small chuckle — lowering the palm across your face down your chin to tilt your head upward, ignoring the small thud your skull made with the hard surface. 

" Did you miss me?"

You searched his eyes: cobalt blue, ocean-strong. They shined under the half-light pouring through the window.

Recoiling at his voice, your words were barely above a whisper, " How could you? You fucking snake."

He skimmed your cheek with his thumb. Once. Twice — Smiling at you as if you were having a regular conversation.

" We all need to shed our skin, baby. It's part of the food chain."

There's something intimate in the way he poisons you: even with his hand around your throat, fingers slowly constricting, you can't seem to fight him. A serpent trying to subdue its victims, Phillip dragged his thumb lazily across the column of your neck to check your pulse — eyes flickering to the rise and fall of your chest. He was ready to devour you, sneering because he knew you'd let him.

" You used me, Phillip. And you want to justify that by calling me weak? " You gave him a rough push, struggling against his grip. " I trusted you." "And whose fault was that?" Your breath hitched, heart heavy against the pit of your stomach. “ So was it all a lie then ?” His expression faltered. “ Not all of it.” “ Bullshit,” You spat, “ If you really did care then why didn’t you take me with you ? And what are you doing in my house ? What do you want ?” He laughed, teeth bared and head thrown back as if you’d just tell him a funny joke, before taking your mouth in a hard, biting kiss.

You startled, hands automatically flying to grip his tactical vest to kiss him back. Ashamed at how the response was almost automatic, you tried to break away.

“ I left you?” He fumed, “You think I abandoned you ?”

Phillip pulled you against his chest, breath ghosting against your lashes, “ Last time I checked, you were the one who got too fucking comfortable with one-four-one. Weren’t you the one who wanted to transfer units ?” 

You reeled at his aggressiveness, letting his tongue push into your mouth : hands tight around your body.  “ That letter to HQ was supposed to be confidential.” You reasoned, pulling away for air, “ And I wanted us, you and me, to transfer. Shepherd’s using you ! He’s going to sink your company and you’re going down with it !” He slammed a fist against the wall right above your head, the loud noise rolling down the empty space. Phillip growled, leaning down for your mouth. His hand hoisted your face up, teeth tugging at your bottom lip : forceful, all-consuming.  “ You’re a hypocrite, you know that? Spewing all this righteous horseshit when your hands are just as red as mine.”  “ What do you want, Phillip?” You sobbed, eyes screwed shut to stop the tears squeezing their way out. Your cry was silent, almost soundless. 

He loosened his hold, boots squeaking against the floor as he took a few steps back. You could have used this opportunity to make a run for it. To escape, to leave. Phillip was giving you a choice. Always, he gives you a chance to leave. But you never do. Instead, you submit yourself to this want, this need.

His hands were warm and familiar, running down your body, scooping you up, carrying you toward the bedroom.

His hands set you on fire, and you'd let him burn you.

04| The heat was blanketing your back, licking up your spine, sucking on your earlobe. His cock, driving in and out of you. Phillip pulled your hips up a little higher, and the change in angle dialed it up even more. White spots flaring in your vision —

“ It’s too much,” You sighed, and it sounded suspiciously like a sob, muffled by the pillow underneath. 

Your knees were trembling, struggling to support you. And you would have collapsed if he didn’t hoist you up against his hips. His pace was ruthless, hungry. 

And when your arms buckled as you relinquished control, boneless and submerged under the shudder of lightning-hot fire sweeping through you, body strung tight and just on the edge, Phillip suddenly stilled.

You tightened around him, begging him to move.

“ Please,” You whined, “ Phillip, please.” You can sense him watching you claw the blankets underneath, the cold surface of the fabric relieving you of your fever. You tried to wiggle yourself against him, but he had a vice grip on your hips to restrain you. The stillness was almost as painful as the lack of friction.

Without warning, he turned and lifted you to sit astride him, hands holding you against his chest to guide you down onto his cock. You nearly screamed as he set up a new rhythm, fucking you deep, making you take all of him. You clenched around him each time he pulled you up to drop you back down, feeling so full. Past your lips was a high, helpless noise as liquid, molten heat spread inside you, shaking every muscle. When you tried to hide it by biting into his shoulder, Phillip roughly pried you away: hands gripping your chin to look at him in the eyes.

“Look at me,” He commanded, anchoring you.

Your nails left trails of red, crescent moon against his back, orgasm within reach again. You were whispering into his neck, babbling nonsense as everything goes tense and bright — and suddenly you were hit with the feel of your breast against his ribs, the cologne you got him for his birthday mingling with the smell of sweat and sex, his heartbeat racing against yours.

Phillip groaned, voice husky and low as he cursed, hips stuttering to come inside you with desperate, shuddering pulses. 

And when you tip to the side and he guides you under the blankets, hands slack around your waist, you asked him again if it was all a lie. You were being lulled to sleep by the exhaustion when you feel a weight against your mouth, a phantom kiss, ghosting against your lips.

05 | Maybe you dreamt it. Maybe you didn’t. 

But the next morning, the space beside you was empty. Left with nothing but the imprint of his body against the sheets, your arms and legs ached in protest, as a slow, dull ache took root inside your chest. 

The USB by the table side was nowhere to be found. 

a/n : first fic after two days, and first fic of 2023 ! What a way to start the year : angsty, angry sex with phillip graves 🤭 i made him so toxic here but dw i know deep down he’s not always like this ( maybe i’m the silly little reader with the ‘ i can fix him’ mindset ) i hope you all enjoy this ! <3 

for graves fuckers : @cowboybxtch , @nfr89s​ , @kenobisjedi​ & more ! 🥴🥂

#phillip graves #phillip graves x reader #philip graves x reader #phillip graves x you #philip graves #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare ii #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty imagine #call of duty fanfic #cod #cod mw22 #cod mw ii #cod mwii #cod mw #call of duty modern warfare 2 #call of duty smut #cod smut #phillip graves x y/n #philip graves x you #philip graves x y/n #cod imagine #cod imagines #grammarly is my beta reader

[imagines--galore]

hii! :) I saw that your requests are open and I wanted to ask if you could please write an imagine with Legolas when his s/o makes him listen to metal for the first time!

(I think that would be very funny and amusing insorry) if not, thank anyway:))

Pairing: Legolas x Reader

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+. Romance. None really.

A/N: I had way too much fun writing this. :3 I guess you can say this is set in the modern era? Everyone lives together, but like in different nations? Man have their own regions. Elves have their Woods and Forests. Dwarfs have their mountains. Hobbits still have their Shire. The species have little to no interaction between them and reader and Legolas wouldn't be the first people from two different species to fall in love and decide they want to be together. And you can pick whatever rock song you think fits the situation. I kinda went with Rock This Way by Aerosmith. Anyway! Hope this is ok!

Legolas raised an eyebrow as you looked up at him, smiling impishly.

"Come on Legolas. Trust me." You gave a small whine, hanging a little from his arm as you did. He nodded. "I trust you but I do not trust that smile."

Oh you would probably regret playing this little prank on him, but for now? You just had to see his reaction and record it. It was fun to know your boyfriend was so naive to anything invented by Man. And it didn't just end with technology. He had managed to grasp that rather quickly.

He was just finding it difficult to understand some of your favorite past times.

Still, he couldn't really refuse you, so he nodded and gestured for you to introduce something new to him. You grinned before pressing play, glancing to where you had set up your camera to record his reaction.

A few minutes later, the last chord of the song you had played trailed off, leaving a slightly wide eyes elf to reach up and rub against his ears. "I believe my ears are still ringing." He grumbled, prompting you to let out a loud laugh at the sheer perplexity on his face.

Oh, he looked adorable.

"Do they always sing so loud in these songs?" He asked, still nursing his ears a little. You shrugged. "Most of the times, yes, but there are songs that have soft vocals." You proceeded to play a few of those, prompting Legolas to fix you with an annoyed glare.

"And you didn't think to lead with that?" You grinned. "And miss seeing your expression?"

His nostrils flared in annoyance as he glared at you. It was all in jest, you knew, and yet it didn't stop you from letting out a nervous laugh.

"I'm gonna regret that aren't I?" You said, already planning your escape from the clutches of an annoyed elf.

"You better hope to the Valar I don't catch you." He pounced, you shrieked and made a run for it, with Legolas hot on your heals.

#legolas x reader #legolas x oc #legolas x y/n #lord of the rings imagine #lotr imagine

[genericpuff]

This is the Christmas of "media that's really hard to find that I inexplicably got my hands on"

Not-LO related - I am a huge, HUGE fan of Circa Survive. I started listening to them when I was around 16, leading into the years that I would spend learning to navigate the "real world" away from my hometown and family. I fell in love with them immediately with Blue Sky Noise, and I've been following their music ever since. One thing I've been working on collecting is the vinyl collection. So far I have Juturna, Descensus (which I ordered to a new apartment I was moving into and proceeded to take the entirety of my time living there up until the last 2 days before I had to move again when it finally showed up), Two Dreams, On Letting Go, and the single-sided 7" Battle, My Love track that was released as a charity track to aid in Hurricane Sandy relief back in 2012.

Aside from the vinyl albums I'm still missing (Violent Waves, Blue Sky Noise, The Amulet, and Appendage) this particular find was an 7" split they did with mewithoutyou (a band that I've listened to but never really got into, RIP), meaning there's one song on Side A by Circa Survive and one song on Side B by mewithoutyou. And that ONE Circa Survive song is one that you can't find on any official album or released as a single. "Awake in a Dream", which, while not a commonly loved track, is probably one of my favorite Circa Survive tracks of all time.

There is some speculation as to what RPM the track is supposed to be listened to (and with a 7" disc no less) but this is likely the closest to what it's supposed to sound like:

I decided to give finding this track on vinyl another try. But see, here's the catch - it was only produced on these vinyl splits, only sold at select record stores during Record Store Day back in 2016. This shit ain't even on Spotify, all listening is exclusively done from recordings on Youtube that are, again, speculated over as to whether or not they even sound as originally intended. So I'd have to rely on the used market. I've attempted to do this in the past to no success.

I found it this time. And it came in this morning, after I had almost forgotten I'd even ordered it in the bustle of the holiday season. And it only cost about $40 after shipping from Discogs (these guys rock) which is a pretty fair price to pay for something that only had one limited print run half a decade ago. The only disclaimer on the sale page was that it had "minor corner wear on the sleeve".

So yeah, pretty damn psyched to own this split now, the hunt is (hopefully) over, assuming that the vinyl itself plays smoothly. The disc is a gorgeous shimmering opaque blue and looks, as its previous owners described it, like it's in very clean practically brand new condition.

So yeah! As soon as my roommate gets home, I'm gonna lovingly bully her (/j) into helping me set up her sound system with my vinyl player so we can test drive this baby ＼(≧▽≦)／ (and while I wait I might see about finding a vinyl copy of Appendage because goddamn I need "Lazarus" on vinyl)

#i've also got the stardew valley vinyl collection on its way huehuehue #self post #media collection #vinyl collection #circa survive #awake in a dream

[youngveinsworld]

quotes from a fan's recap of the young veins' show in atlanta, georgia on 24 march 2010

we had a lot of trouble focusing on the other bands playing because Ryan and Jon decided to watch part of the other bands’ sets sidestageish, which resulted in a bunch of rabid fangirls giving us the play by play of everything that they were doing. “Omg, he touched his hair, OH MY GOD, HE TUCKED IT BEHIND HIS EAR.”

Jon caught me taking a creeper picture of him while he was leaned down setting up his stuff. I was only mildly appalled at the fact that I got caught, but he just smiled and held it for my camera:

they had a really great set. The banter between the guys was really funny and entertaining, even though both Nicks and Andy didn’t really say much during the set.

I can’t remember which song they did this before, it may have been Capetown, but I could be wrong: Ryan: We have a new album coming out called Take a Vacation. You can tell them more about it, Jon, while I fix my guitar. Jon: We have a new album coming out called Take a Vacation. It’s coming out June 8th; there are eleven songs on it. We made it awhile ago. Ryan: Well, that's really boring, not exciting at all. Jon: I'm just reading it off the Wikipedia page, we have it pulled up back there.

Jon sang lead on two songs, before he sang lead on the second Ryan intro’d him as singing lead vocals. It went something like this: Ryan: Jon’s going to sing lead on this next one. Crowd: -semi silent- Jon: WHOOOOOOO GO JON!

I am now prepared to eat my words about Ryan Ross’ voice. His live vocals are really good. I actually prefer him live to any of the recorded songs that I’ve heard so far. I was pleasantly surprised that my ears did in fact NOT bleed at any point during their set. I found myself really enjoying his voice. I also loved the harmonies that they had going during Defiance.

We ran into Jon at the merch table and got to talk to him for a bit about Panic, the new album, and a bunch of other shit that I can’t remember. It was all a fucking blur, honestly. I actually feel a bit sad that I told him that I wasn’t expecting much out of them when I first got to the venue. His face looked a bit like this :( after I said that, but I followed up by telling him how completely blown away I was by their set and the new music, his face proceeded to change into this :D

We also talked about the split with Panic. Me: Panic was really my favorite band, I was really upset after you guys split, but I think that after hearing you guys play live, I’m glad the band split because now we’re going to have two incredible bands instead of just one. Jon: Yeah, I’m sad that it happened. I really loved playing with those guys and we made some really great music together. But you know, it just had to happen. Me: I actually think I may like Take a Vacation more than what you guys did while you were in Panic. Jon: -high five- That’s so great! I’m glad that you like the new stuff that we’re doing.

We talked for a few more minutes about random shit then we decided to go ahead and head out. My friend asked for a hug which he was totally into, he was a hugging machine that night. I’m not really into the whole, hugging band members thing, so I was ready to leave then Jon was like \o/ (that’s suppose to be open arms) at me, so who am I to refuse a hug from Jon Walker? No one that’s who!

After seeing the live show, I’m actually really glad that the band split. Ryan and Jon both seemed extremely happy. I wish that those of you who are still bitter about the split could have been at the show and had the chance to see the sheer joy they had on their faces while they played. All the guys are extremely humble and grateful. Jon was incredibly easy to talk to and he seemed a lot more at ease in that setting than at both of the Panic meet and greets I’ve had. Nick Murray and Jon actually thanked us 94582085 times for coming to show.

– original Livejournal post – Nicole's Flickr account

#24032010 #spring2010 #recap #the young veins #young veins #tyv #ryan ross #jon walker #with fans

[javertafterdark]

Sending the datables a love song (+bonus Luke overhearing)

Hi this is my first time writing one of these, please let me know if you enjoyed it! Brothers version here

GN!mc, singer!mc, sfw, mostly fluff, some silly at the end

Everyone knew singing was one of your favorite hobbies. You even had your room soundproofed so you could practice without bothering anyone - not that you were a bad singer, just who really wants to hear thirty minutes of lip trills and “red leather yellow leather”? One day when you have some free time, you’re going through your sheet music to find a new song to work on. One in particular speaks to you, a love song that perfectly describes how you feel about your special someone. You decide to record your own version of the song. You only had your DDD mic to record with, and a free karaoke version of the accompaniment you found online, but it would have to do. Once you’re satisfied with the final product, you send the file to your sweetheart, saying to listen when they have a free moment.

Diavolo-

It was a good thing Diavolo had silenced his DDD before having an audience with a few of the Devildom’s nobles; he might have played the audio file for all of them to hear just because it was from you. He saw your message once he returned to his office and pulled it up immediately. Surely whatever work he had could wait just a few minutes? 

Oh he absolutely had the biggest grin on his face as he listened to you sing. Even if you sounded like a dying toad, he would have loved it all the same. It was such a bold and risky gesture, sending someone a song you recorded yourself, especially when you sang with such raw honesty. You trusted him enough to put yourself in such a vulnerable situation, even if you were far away and this was already recorded. The flaws of the recording itself just added to the charm. He loved it so much he thought he might explode right there. After the song ended, he sent you his reply.

I apologize, I was in a meeting when I received this. But I must say…

And then he proceeded to send every sticker of excitement and approval multiple times.

I can’t even begin to express how I feel properly over text. Will you join me as soon as you can?

Barbatos-

Barbatos was in the middle of preparing dinner when he got your message. Unfortunately, this step required a lot of focus and he had to ignore his DDD for a few minutes. He grew antsy as he worked. The moment he got to a stopping point, he wiped off his hands and grabbed his device. An audio file from you? How curious. He could give it a quick listen as he continued his cooking.

As your beautiful voice filled the kitchen, he found himself so charmed. You had such a lovely sound, and of course the song itself was so sweet. Those simple words brought a smile to his face and an indescribable feeling, but it was pleasant. He felt like an ingenue in a film being wooed for the very first time; who would have known you could have brought out those feelings in such an ancient demon? The song ended just as he brought out the seasoning and- oh, he grabbed your favorite seasoning and not the one the meal called for. Chuckling to himself, he exchanged that bottle for the proper one. He played your song on repeat until he finished dinner, and each time it played those feelings only grew. Just before bringing the plates out, he sent his reply.

Are you trying to distract me from my duties with your siren’s song? If so, I fear I must admit that it’s working.

Solomon-

Solomon was working on a new potion, though his progress felt more like a fly trying to break down an iron door. Setting aside another failed attempt, he let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his temples. The ding from his DDD broke the loop of trial and failure that he found himself trapped in. After seeing your name, he pulled up the message, grateful to have the brief distraction. Curious about the audio file you sent, he quickly pressed play. At the same time, he noticed the untouched, sad, and lonely sandwich that Simeon had left for him. Upon realizing how hungry he was, Solomon grabbed one of the halves and ate as he listened.

A smile spread across his face. You sent him a love song you performed yourself? How absolutely precious. Alone in his room, he let himself melt completely. How long had it been since anyone so thoroughly disarmed him? You had so much power over him, and you didn’t even know it. As the last notes faded away, he realized he didn’t want the song to ever end. An idea struck. After rooting through his supplies, he found an inert crystal ball, one that fit in the palm of his hand. He brought it back to his desk and set it beside his DDD. With a quick spell, he played the song again. The crystal burst into various colors and patterns in time with the music. At any time, he could replay the song with the accompanying light show. With the spell complete, he sent his reply.

You should come over, I have something to show you.

Simeon-

You caught Simeon just as he was doing his wrist stretches after a lengthy writing session. Just the sight of your name on the screen made him smile. He pulled up the message and tilted his head at the contents. So you sent him a recording or something? Okay, he could probably get it to play if he just tapped here. His face fell and heart sank as the file disappeared before his eyes. Before a cold sweat could break out, he sent back a reply.

I’m sorry I think I may have deleted it! If you could send it again I would appreciate that very munch!

He feared he might ruin things more if he tried to correct his spelling mistake. A few moments later, another message from you popped up with another copy of the file.

It’s okay! Just press the little sideways triangle to play it

He pressed the sideways triangle and immediately set the DDD down so he didn’t ruin anything else. The moment he heard your voice, the stress from his technological incompetence melted away. He’d heard his fair share of beautiful voices, but yours hit differently. Even through the slightly crackled recording, it felt like you were in the room serenading him. He put his hands over his chest as if that would keep his heart from soaring away. What had he done to deserve someone like you singing such sweet words to him? Did he really inspire such strong feelings in you? Did you really love him as much as he loved you? The song ended and he sat basking in the moment. After taking a deep breath, he finally replied.

Oh my, I always thought you were my muse, but perhaps it’s the other way around as well. Could you meet me for a picnic dinner in an hour? I would like to hear you sing in person.

Bonus: Luke-

Solomon was due for another sandwich, and Luke decided to bring a freshly baked cupcake with it. As he approached the sorcerer’s door, he heard a faint music coming from inside. Still, he knocked.

“Solomon, I assume you’re not joining us for dinner so I brought you something,” he called. “That other sandwich better be gone or I’m gonna be mad!”

A chuckle drifted through the door. “Come in!” Luke opened the door and entered, and he was greeted by Solomon’s smile as he traded the new plate for the empty one. “I really appreciate it, Luke. Thank you.”

“Well I can’t have you wasting away under my watch,” he said with a shake of his head. “Also, I tried something new with the cupcakes so you better tell me how you like it.” In the pause between them, Luke focused on the music. It sounded like a cheaply recorded song with a stock accompaniment, but the voice singing was beautiful. And familiar? “Solomon, what are you listening to?”

“Oh, this.” He set the plate down and picked up a small crystal ball that displayed bright colors and patterns in tune with the music. “MC sent me a song, and I thought it would be nice to have a visual beside it.”

“MC?!” Luke’s eyes widened and he shifted on his feet as he listened again. “Wow, they sound really good!” He felt his face turn red. “Do you think they would ever sing a song with me?”

Solomon chuckled. “I’m sure they would if you asked.”

The angel couldn’t help but grin at the thought. “Alright, well… don’t overwork yourself, okay?” Before Solomon could reply, Luke left to go find his DDD.

Secret bonus: The Newcomers (not serious because I don’t have too much of a grasp on them yet)

Thirteen tells you she appreciates the ballsy move but it’s a bit too cringe on main.

Raphael just replies with “Thanks.”

Mephistopheles doesn’t reply, but there’s a scathing review of your performance in the RAD newspaper the next day.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me diavolo #om diavolo #obey me barbatos #om barbatos #obey me solomon #om solomon #obey me simeon #om simeon #obey me luke #om luke #obey me thirteen #om thirteen #obey me raphael #om raphael #obey me mephistopheles #om mephistopheles #writings #my writings

[lieblingspulli]

Rainy Mornings: SKZ

W/c: 2.1k

Jisung x Reader

Summary: A nice little conversation with Jisung while it rains! You both decide to head to the recording studio after you get bored and Jisung teaches you some things. 

A/N: I feel like I’ve been on a roll lately haha. It’s been quite rainy these days so here's a soft read for a day like today. This one is a little longer, but I’m trying to practice longer narratives so Enjoy!

(optional) Song to enhance: orange hues, by aqualina

Masterlist!

SKZ Masterlist

-

Jisung could hear the soft taps of rain on the window as he struggled to gain some sort of consciousness. 

Tap.

Tap.

Tap. 

It was like clockwork. Jisung groaned and tried to roll over but something, or someone, was in the way.

“Yah, what’s wrong with you?” Jisung could hear you mutter sleepily. 

“Sorry baby,” He immediately rolled back and nestled himself around you. With the gentle tapping of raindrops and your steady breathing, Jisung almost fell back asleep. Key word: almost. Suddenly there was a loud boom. Jisung immediately startled awake and in doing so, also startled you awake. 

“Jesus that was loud,” you groaned. Jisung opted to just get up from bed after that. You rubbed your tired eyes and whined from the lack of sleep you got. Jisung totally understood. He unwrapped himself from you and tapped your butt before getting up and throwing on a hoodie. 

“Do you want vanilla or sweet cream in your coffee?” He whispered to you as he checked past the curtains. Rolling over, you caught the scent of his pillow and smiled at the gesture. “Sweet cream please?” You appreciated his thoughtfulness, even at the prime hour of 6 am. 

Jisung noted this and padded over to the kitchen, careful not to let the door squeak too much. After grabbing your favorite snoopy mug and his calcifer one, he proceeded to his daily and sacred ritual: the coffee. 

Usually, you like your coffee very sweet. He was the opposite, mostly opting for black coffees and cold Americanos. You used to tease him that he always loved to eat candy but never had any sweetness in his coffee. The memory of this made Jisung smile as he plopped a french vanilla pod into the coffee machine. Jisung was always very particular with this ritual, fully believing that a well made coffee started from the very beginning. Each step was meticulous and thought out. Three splashes of whipped coffee creamer in your snoopy mug before the coffee is poured in. Four ice cubes in his cup. The perfect amount of macadamia syrup in your coffee and mix. Just the right amount of coffee in his cup not to be left behind. Everything as it should be. 

The rain helped relax Jisung as he set the coffees down and began to think of the day. Chan had suggested a weekend off after hard schedules for the past month so he had all weekend to spend quality time away from the studio and with you. Jisung sauntered past the couch and took note of maybe doing a movie night later with dinner. The rain began to really pick up as he entered the bedroom and opened the curtains. The sound of a tired groan brought a smile to Jisung’s face. 

“Baby? Your coffee is on the table,” Jisung said as he sat down and rubbed your back. You cracked your eyes open. “What time issit?” You rubbed your eyes. 

He looked over to the clock. “6:16.” The feeling of his warm hands on your back was pulling you to sleep again before another loud thundercrack. 

“Ughhhhh,” You moaned and finally opened your eyes all the way. “I don’t remember rain being in the forecast.” Jisung just laughed and said, “Rain is for tomorrow’s forecast too. Now come on before your coffee gets disgustingly lukewarm.” He rubbed your arm and proceeded to lean all his weight on top of you. “Jiiiiiii,” You cried, “Get off me.” 

“Nah, it’s so comfy right here with my baby.” 

“Not with your baby, on TOP of your baby!” You laughed and cried simultaneously and struggled to push him off you. “Okay! Okay. I’m awake, you can get off me now.” He only proceeded to get comfortable on top of you and you had to use all your strength to throw him off. This only seemed to offend him. He pouted at you and crossed his arms. “My baby doesn’t love meeee,” Jisung mocked. You could secretly see a smile on his lips and could only laugh. 

“Not when he wakes me up at 6 am and literally crushes me with his body no.” The both of you just giggled like little kids and you finally got out of bed. 

“I know my Y/n loves me too much to say such things,” Jisung reached for you as you stood up and you were quickly pulled into his tight embrace. “Jiiii, first you want me up and now you want me trapped. Which one is it gonna be!” You laughed and pushed his hair away from his eyes. He cutely stared back at you in reply. “You’re such a baby, but at least you’re my baby,” You laughed. He feigned offense. “I am not a baby!” Jisung nestled his head into your body and you two stayed like that for a minute before you nudged him. “Hey, I don’t want my coffee to get cold.” 

Just as you pushed away from him, Jisung tugged on your hand and you looked back, facing a childlike face. “Kiss?” He smiled and you could see the tired lines on his face. Who could say no to that face? You obliged and sweetly kissed him, secretly saying thank you in ways only he could know. He kissed back with a you’re welcome. 

“Let’s go have some coffee.” You smiled after pulling away. He firmly nodded and stood up, ready to lead the way. 

About ten minutes later, your coffee cups were placed into the sink and rinsed off by Jisung as you walked to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Jisung usually did the morning dishes while you got ready for the day on weekend mornings. 

“Ji, have you seen my pink hair clip?” You yelled from the bathroom. 

“Um, I think I saw it on the nightstand?” 

“Thanks, I found it!” He could hear you walking around the bedroom and appreciated how expressive you were even for little things. 

Jisung enjoyed doing little things for you. It calmed him down and gave him something to do when he was free from his job. He always appreciated the way you liked things done so it gave him a sense of satisfaction to do tasks for you like cleaning up the kitchen a bit or tidying up the entryway. Cleaning wasn’t really his thing, but since you came into his life, he held a better appreciation for it. 

You walked out of the bedroom looking fresh and ready to conquer the day just as he finished drying the last dish. 

“So what’s on the agenda for today? I’m completely free.” You sat down on the couch and Jisung followed to lay down on your lap. He settled his head down and smiled at his view. 

“What are you smiling at, you devil.” You brushed his hair up and made it look silly. 

“Just my beautiful girlfriend.” 

“How about you answer my question instead of ogling me.” 

 “But what if that is my plan?” 

“All day long?”

“Mmhm.” 

“You’re funny.” 

“I know.” 

Jisung loved bantering with you. He loved everything entertaining and he loved to entertain, so this was something he loved to do: tease you. You rolled your eyes and kept combing through his hair. 

“Well, it’s quite rainy outside so maybe we should settle inside?” 

Jisung nodded and folded his hands over his stomach, perfectly content to let you speak out your thoughts. 

“Or maybe a movie?” You scrunched up your eyebrows in thought. He loved when you did that. 

“I really have no idea Ji.” You shook your head to snap out of your thoughts. Jisung just laughed at how comical you looked when you were deep in thought. 

“I have some demos to look at this week, so maybeeee you can come with me to the studio?” He suggested. You squinted at him. “What would I do though? I’m terribly bad at helping.” He firmly shook his head. “Absolutely not. You’re just learning, that’s all!” He shot you a glare and you put up your hands in defense. “Okay, okay. I’m just learning. But you can’t blame me when I suck at helping you and there’s nothing to do about it.” 

“Baby, you have to have more confidence in yourself. Learning to produce is hard for anyone. Even me sometimes.” He reached for your hand and gently rubbed circles on your hand. “If you want to give up, I won’t stop you, you know.” He knew you were persistent in everything and always encouraged you but sometimes he felt you went at things a little too hard sometimes. 

“I know,” You sighed, letting him play with your hand. “I just really want to try. It’s super fun and a great way for me to spend time with you. It also lets me understand what you do for a living. I love it. It brings me joy.” You smiled at him. He smiled back and nodded. “Okay. Then that’s what we’ll do today.” He leaned up and you kissed him before letting him off your lap. 

While he walked over to the closet to choose what would inevitably be a black on black hoodie and pants combo, you picked out a warm coat and boots because of the rain. About ten minutes later, you both walked out the door with umbrellas and new determination to learn some new skills. 

-

Once you made it to Jisung's usual practice room and studio, he unlocked the door and flicked on the lights. 

“Don’t mind the mess, I was up pretty late last night working on a song for Jeongin.” Jisung scratched his neck meekly and scanned the room. There were a couple water bottles and candy wrappers on the desk, jackets on the couch, a borrowed portable sound system in the corner, extra chairs for members and an extra sound board, which you knew was borrowed from Chan. 

“You’re good Ji,” You smiled and got to work. “ That’s why I’m here.” Jisung smiled at you and appreciated your understanding of his work life. Hey, sometimes things get a little hectic. 

You got straight to work on the trash and couch, not wanting to break anything important. You left that to your more knowledgeable boyfriend. He stacked some things and made a return pile, citing he had to just invest in his own things at this point. You calmly took out the trash and when you got back, the room was pretty much spotless and ready for use. Jisung had put away most of the chairs, save for an extra one for you. 

“Jisung, this room is spotless!” You excitedly said and punched his arm. He rubbed it and scoffed. “What, it was that way before!” 

“Are you trying to gaslight me into believing I didn’t just throw away ten water bottles and soda bottles for you?” 

“I would never.” Jisung feigned innocence and sat down on his chair, motioning for you to join him. You skipped a couple paces to your chair and folded your hands on your lap, ready to learn. 

Before Jisung started to explain his process on Jeongin’s song, he looked at you and seriously smiled at you. “What are you up to, you handsome devil?” You blushed at the sudden attention. 

“I just want to really appreciate that my girlfriend came all the way out here in the rain on her day off just to understand my passion.” He picked up your hand and kissed it. You furiously blushed and felt your ears warm up. “Ji, it’s like a ten minute walk from the apartment.” Brushing it off was your way of diverting his attention. “Yah, I know, but it seriously means a lot to me Jagi.” He swayed your hand back and forth and scooted in to kiss you. “I’m so serious right now.”

 He blushed a little too and you smiled and looked down. He instantly brought his hand to your face and made you look at him. Your ears only got more red. He almost kissed you but in an instant, he leaned back and clapped. “Okay! Let’s make some music!” 

“Yah, you tease!” You hit his shoulder and he laughed at you. You scooted in and leaned on his shoulder to pay attention to all the buttons that looked the same to you. 

The only thing you heard for the rest of the session was your beautiful boyfriend’s laugh and his amazingly talented music. 

#SKZ #Straykids #SKZ x Reader #skz x you #Jisung #Han Jisung #Chan #bang chan #leeknow #minho skz #changbin #hyunjin #felix #seungmin #jeongin #Lovestay #you make stray kids stay #Stay safe and dry out there!

[shownuxhyungwon]

tagged by @dreamaze @honeyimissjoo for the cc year in review - every month in 2023 - thank you wings 🪽💜! thank you eri 🐝💛!

rule: line your favorite and/or most popular post from each month this year (skipping months is fine!) and tag some ccs you love!

tagging @froghwon & anyone who would like to do this!!!

january (21): fav (tie between hyungwon's & ck's bday sets! these were incredibly fun to make creatively & research-wise) + most popular (hyungwon & ck in the beautiful liar mv)

(the rest of the months & corresponding gifs below the cut :3)

february (5): fav (jooheon's 1st day as the mc of m countdown! pls ignore the quality of this 200x300 gif...) + most popular (jooheon being amazed by minhyuk doing his thing during the recording of "it's alright" so true!)

march (7): fav (fav shownu era during the #shownureturns event i teamed up w @/monstax-info to host 💕 love killa era you will always be famous!!! loved this coloring toooo... don't mind the quality hnnnnng!) + most popular (from the @/shownueats sideblog shownu's rant about carbs lol)

april (7): fav (pd jooheon on peak time! "turning point" was one of my fav 2023 tracks!!!) + most popular (another set from the @/shownueats sideblog! my fav shownu variety show which is ofc yum-yum yum-yum not surprising hehe)

may (9): fav (tie between freedom mv & freedom solo debut stage @ m countdown bc after YEARS of hating perf sets (giffing) this one came out sooooo nice i shocked myself also this was joolo month 💛!!!!!!!) + most popular (the zagis @ inkigayo 💕 GOD I MISS THEM ｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡

june (7): fav (shownu as text posts for his bday set bc silly sets like these are my absolute fav to make) + most popular (freedom mv behind where jooheon looks like danny phantom personified lollllll)

july (14): fav (jooheon showing up on hyungwon's last day of being inkigayo's mc bc that right there is love) + most popular (cute ck from cosmo behind<3)

august (8): fav (jooheon's hair colors through the eras ugh i loved working on this one!!! i rewatched soooo many monchannel eps & the ones from 2017/2018... they had me cracking up at like 3 am bc they're all so funny & I'm always missing ot7 so there's that... plus! the coloring came out so cohesive i was really happy w the outcome) + most popular (mx + wonho as text posts again another fun silly set!)

september (1): only 1 set this month :0!!! so fav + most popular was shownu wiping mayo that had fallen on hyungwon's shirt & then proceeding to lick it off his finger bc ofc no food shall be EVER be wasted in his presence!!!!!!!!)

october (7): fav (jooheon's bday set! i worked so hard on this one T___T also narrowing down my fav jooheon songs was roughhhh his music is incredible yknow?) + most popular (xiumin calling hyungwon pretty & the producer dropping some hilarious news lolllll)

november (5): fav (minhyuk's bday set!!!!! bc i loooooove making playlists dedicated to the monstas :'-) & also bc i finished this set after years of working on it ;;; i kept adding them removing then adding etc. songs) + most popular (muscle!won)

december (6): fav (hyungwon + that look when performing 👀) + most popular (shownu shocked by shirtless hyungwon getting hair & mu done lol)

#tag game #I’m sticking to how this text post was set up last year hehe ;; #although the mxedits tag is not what it once was it’s nice to still see new gifsets weekly!!!

[imaginidol]

Maddox: “If this song is about anything, it’s the way I feel about you…”

You and Kyungmoon had met almost a year ago at a small coffee shop where you used to work at over the summer. He was a regular for some time, always ordering a hot tea of some sort, and eventually you started looking forward to one another’s short visitations. Once you told him you’d be ending your work in the summer in order to finish your education in the upcoming fall, he asked for your number, and you became great friends even after you left the shop. Recently, though, you’ve become much closer, and would even probably call him one of your current best friends.

“Kyun,” you call from across the room of your apartment’s living room settee. Kyungmoon’s sitting across from you on a sectional sofa.

“Yes?” He looks up at you, tugging one of his headphones behind an ear.

“Is it cold in here for you, too? Can I turn up the heat a bit?”

He smiles. “You’re cold?”

You nod, wrapping your blanket over your legs tighter.

“Come here, then. I’m actually kind of hot,” he says sweetly.

Your face brightens up and you reach for your blanket and computer before proceeding to make yourself comfortable next to him. He takes the blanket he was wrapped under and drapes it over you.

“What are you listening to?” You look up at his headphones, then peek over his computer.

“I recorded a few things last night. I’m listening over them again to see if they’re any good.”

“I bet they are good,” you smile. “All your music is so good! My favorite of yours is Color Blind.”

He laughs lightly. “Thanks, but this one… I can’t figure out what I’m going for. I don’t know if it’s a love song or a heartbreak song. What about you, what are you working on?” He looks carefully over your shoulder at your own screen, to which you reply, “Oh, I’m still procrastinating on finishing an assignment. At least I’m almost done.”

A few seconds of silence pass by before you speak again. “Why is your song about love?”

He sighs and removes his headphones, leaning back on the sofa to contemplate at the ceiling. “You know, maybe it’s about having a one-sided feeling.”

“How so?” You tug your blankets higher to your shoulders.

“Well… I don’t know. For this song, I want to feel in love, I think. But the words keep coming down to a feeling of heartbreak, and that's probably because I don’t know the answer to the other end of this crush.” He turns bright red, looking away from you now. He can’t help a small smile slip out, and you catch him anyway.

“Kyun, you’re in love!” you giggle.

“No, this is for a song!” He’s laughing too now, hiding himself completely over the blanket.

“No, I think you’re in love! You’re way too shy about these things!” you lightly tug at his side of the blanket. He’s resisting, and you’re both sharing laughter and playful shoving amongst one another. He’s completely flustered under the blankets, unwilling to show his face to you.

“Fine,” you huff. “I won’t actually force you to say anything. Maybe your song should be about the frustration of love, instead.”

He comes up from under the blanket and stares into his computer for a second. “Maybe you’re right.”

You turn and smile at him, and close your computer. “I’m usually right, and you know that.” Your eyes feel heavy, now that you’re warmer in the otherwise cool apartment. “I’m gonna take a short nap. Wake me up when you’ve made a breakthrough with your song.”

He opens his arm around you, and you snuggle next to him for a moment, his computer on his lap.

This was what you loved most about him. Not only was he a close friend, but the love itself was very platonic. And very mutual. Or at least, you always thought of it like that. He was the kind of person you could feel safe around, comfortable to share your doubts and wishes without him coming off as too judge-mental, too possessive, too jealous. However, not all of your exes understood this, and they tended to break things off when their jealousy overwhelmed them. And thus, he would once again become the pillow you clashed into at times of despair after every single end of your relationships.

But what you didn’t know? The platonic love on his end slowly started to become a little too… real.

For a few moments between you dozing on and off, he watches you quietly, unable to comprehend the overwhelming feeling he’s overcome with at this very moment. You were always so sweet to him, so fair and so good. When you worked at the coffee shop, it didn’t take many visits for you to ask about why he’d only get hot teas. That was when you learned he was a singer. And since then, you made sure to make the best for him, always giving him words of affirmation when he’d come in before and after long work hours. Even now, he never went to the recording studio without a tea thermal from you.

He was slowly falling for the way you made him comfortable, for the way you accepted him whole, and especially now once you became closer and learned of all his humane flaws.

Heartbreaks arose for him when you’d date other people. Hearts would skip beats when he’d find out your relationships didn’t work out. Anxiety would rise seeing you get heartbroken by exes undeserving of you. And the closer you seemed to grow as friends, the shyer he seemed to become.

Maybe I am… flustered, he thought to himself. I’m always flustered around you nowadays. If this song is about anything, it’s about the way I feel about you.

Seeing you sleep on him comfortably, he shut his computer off and gently ran his fingers through your hair, slowly caressing your cheek once he felt you were asleep. He leaned in close to you, embracing you in a full hug.

“I think I am in love with you,” he whispered into you, placing a gentle kiss on your head.

Several seconds passed after that moment, the quiet rain and distant thunder murmuring in the background.

You smile secretly to yourself, unbeknownst to Kyungmoon. If only he knew that you weren’t asleep yet, and if only he knew that once you did ‘wake up,’ he’d be in for a pleasant confession from you as well.

You sleepily extended your arm out, calculating for your hands to fall into each other. You acted like you were still in a deep sleep, and just so happened to hold hands amidst your slumber.

Another smile discreetly escapes your hidden lips as you feel him gently caressing his shy, firm fingers against the back of your palm, a reassuring gesture you knew so well.

My platonic love.

No, not anymore.

I think I’m in love with you, too.

In a matter of minutes, you both did end up falling asleep on each other. Hands and arms wrapped around each other, heads resting into one another, the blanket cocooning both your bodies into one.

You didn’t know when exactly it happened, either, but at one point along your friendship, your platonic love mended into a truer feeling of love for the boy you once made hot teas for in a familiar coffee shop, somewhere far, far away.

#kpop #ateez maddox #maddox #Kim kyungmoon #Maddox kpop #Kpop soloist #Maddox imagine #Maddox oneshot #Maddox fic #Maddox fanfic #Maddox fluff #Kyungmoon maddox #Kyungmoon #Kyungmoon fic #Kyungmoon fanfic #Kyungmoon oneshot #Maddox oneshots #Maddox x reader #Maddox ateez #Ateez fic #Ateez fanfic #San ateez #Seonghwa #Yeosang #Hongjoong #Mingi #Woosung #Yunho #Jongho #Ateez oneshots

[run-down-that-dream]

some concert ramblings from last weekend under the cut!!!

I SAW MY BELOVED OLD MAN and I'm still so AAAAAAAAA about it even though it's the 3rd time lol 😭 I didn't get as close to the stage this time but! everyone stayed out of my way for the most part so I'll take it!!

Setlist:

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35

wait wait wait I already have something to say. starting with BOB after the whole farm aid thing???? insane?? plus it was a festival setting so. the crowd's reaction to "everybody must get stoned" was freakin hilarious. definitely started off right 😭

Wreckless Abandon

Dirty Job

External Combustion

MY FAVORITE MY FAVORITE!! shoutout to Chris Holt for his backing vocals throughout the whole show but especially on external combustion OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU CHRIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also it didn't seem like they were planning on doing that one??? lol there was some discussion and then like. ok let's do it. AAAAAAAAA

Lightning Boogie

Don't Fade on Me

excuse me while I cry. day after tom's birthday and they're playing don't fade on me. that's fine. it was the only song that mike played an acoustic guitar on. and chris had this really beautiful electric part to go with it and. I'm shocked I didn't actually start crying. well. maybe just a little bit. they played it so perfectly. anyway it's starting to feel like it's not a concert unless I cry at least once so!! there it is

Shake These Blues

NEW SONG NEW SONG NEW SONG!! I LOVE!! you know when you hear a song for the first time and you just know. plus I thought it was funny that mike said management keeps telling them to stop playing the new songs but, "we're gonna do it anyway" aslkjlsjklas so much loveeee to him for that

Fuck That Guy

Fault Lines

why does something happen every time they play fault lines lmaoo. the first two times I saw them mike messed up the lyrics and this time they had to play it in a slightly different order 'cause one (or two? hard to tell) of his strings broke. chinner came to the rescue with a whole new guitar in the middle of the song. someone behind me was like hey why does no one do that for me when I play 😭 MOOD

Wicked Mind

I Still Love You

MY OTHER FAVORITE AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! a song that allows the guitars to go into the stratosphere as mike said. also I wish I could remember exactly what he said but he introduced it as I still love you with like a string of petnames attached asfjlkds STOP 😭 ignore that I would absolutely melt if this 73 year old man called me any of them

Then something very special TO ME happened ok.. mike asked for his rickenbacker 12 string, said the next song was NOT on the setlist, NOT discussed beforehand, and the band had NO IDEA what he was about to do. it was his "request" and one of the songs that made him want a 12 string in the first place. then proceeded to start the byrds' version of

Mr. Tambourine Man

then there's me absolutely losing my mind. I'm - ok. get this. I was literally listening to the byrds that afternoon??? since I got a few more of their records?? and to have mike just randomly decide to play the byrds was INSANE. was there some kind of connection there OR WHAT???? that was just..... 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 obviously that was just for ME 😭😭😭😭😭 that's my guyyy

at this point the band gets their introductions and you know what. they all deserve so much appreciation. I haven't mentioned lance or steve yet but they were absolutely solid as a rhythm section and deserve to be noticed for that. lance might actually be up there as one of my favorite bass players tbh. those songs would not sound the way they do without my favorite instrument holding them up!! also I thought it was cute that mike introduced chris and lance and went that's it! that's the band! lmaoo the crowd knew better and I LOVE that. steve got such a big reaction AS HE SHOULD!! and steve did come up front to introduce mike like he has been. and he made a really heartfelt speech about how they met and how walking into those wildflowers sessions started the best 30 years of his life. I'm so grateful that I've been able to see them together a couple times now. there's clearly a lot of love, respect, and pure friendship there that's really beautiful to see in person. anyway. now that I'm almost crying again, they end on two more of tom's songs

You Wreck Me

mike said, "happy birthday tom, we're still here for you" 😭😭😭

Runnin' Down a Dream

featuring the best freakin guitar solo everrrr OF COURSE

as if I didn't make it obvious enough already, I had such a great timeee 😭 I always do!!! I think what really gets me though is that these guys are just people. of course they are?? but it's so so obvious when you're with them and watching them interact with each other and the crowd. it's really silly little things that I notice too and I'm just like. I love these people. at one point mike asked to have the bass in his ear lowered and lance acted sad about it. during the introductions mike looked at chris and went, "you're trouble" and chris got a laugh out of that. when steve came up to the mic one of the first things he said was "do you like my jacket" lmaoo he bought it from one of the vendors at the festival and they gave him a discount to say that asjfdlkf. talent and songs and everything else aside, those little things make concerts so so special to me. I also absolutely adore how much credit mike gives the guys for keeping him going and inspired. this is a band. not just some random guys. it's kinda like what the heartbreakers were for tom, it just wouldn't happen without the right people.

once it was over, mike left us with a little piece of advice that. I just had to write down for my own reasons

in his words, "love somebody, and let them love you back"

and that felt like the perfect way to end the night 🥺

#in short. my heart is still so full I could just 💥 #every time I see mike I fall a little more in love and I didn't even think that was POSSIBLE at this point but here we are!!! #I've only made a post like this once before but. for the sake of organization: #sunny's concert thoughts #the dirty knobs

[flowerboycaleb]

wanted to post more over here and had the idea to do lil reviews for albums from years past. i'm gonna try to post a review for this series, as the name suggests, every thursday!! this week we're looking at a long overdue return to form for one of the greatest songwriters of all time: Oh Mercy by Bob Dylan!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan

◇ release year: 1989 ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, pop rock, folk rock

The 80s were not kind to Bob Dylan at all, neither were the late 70s for that matter. There was a massive dip in quality after the relative comeback albums that were 1975’s Blood on the Tracks and 1976’s Desire. Following divorce proceedings with his wife in 1977, Dylan shifted his sound away from folk and into a more pop-rock direction for Street-Legal, one of his most uneventful records. Leading into the 80s, he had a born-again Christian phase and released a trilogy of terrible faith-based albums. His 1983 album Infidels was his return back to secular music, but it’s also not very great in the grand scheme of his catalog besides the opener “Jokerman.” Empire Burlesque, Knocked Out Loaded, and Down in the Groove were also some of his worst records and borderline embarrassing for an artist of his caliber. There are very few bright spots in that run aside from “Brownsville Girl” off of Knocked Out Loaded, but to get to that you gotta sit through his version of Kris Kristofferson’s “They Killed Him” which is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard. Things were looking pretty bad for the once-iconic artist. His music was either terrible, boring, a parody of his best work, or all three in one. The deck was stacked against him, but in 1988 something special would happen. Bono would introduce Dylan to producer Daniel Lanois known for his work with Brian Eno, U2, and longtime Dylan collaborator Robbie Robertson. Dylan seemed determined to finally make a good album again and Lanois’ production work was exactly what he needed to refresh his sound.

Bob Dylan, 1989

You can hear that right away in the opener “Political World.” Despite it being one of Dylan’s clunkier songs from a lyrical perspective, that instrumentation is just perfect for him. That warm, jaunty sound provided by Dylan and a backing band consisting of various musicians from New Orleans. Many of which Lanois was working with at the time. These musicians match the anxious and chaotic themes of the song perfectly. Dylan sings about it being a hostile, political world and even touches on themes of spirituality in two lines towards the end. In those two lines alone, he provides a more interesting perspective on religion than he ever did on his spiritual albums. In the grand scheme of things, “Political World” doesn’t rank among the best Dylan songs, but it’s such a massive breath of fresh air from what he had been doing at the time. The next track cools things down with the waltzy, schmaltzy cut “Where Teardrops Fall.” Again, this isn’t a classic Dylan masterpiece, but it just sounds so good. Massive shoutout to John Hart’s saxophone on the outro. “Everything is Broken” kind of harkens back lyrically and musically to something Dylan might’ve written in decades past, but it’s given this fresh new coat of paint thanks to Lanois’ production. I love Brian Stoltz’s guitar work here. It’s never in your face, but it’s always present underneath everything. It creates this really cool dynamic with the rhythm section. The next track “Ring Them Bells” is one of the many times here where Dylan slows things down. This is where the album is at its best. The warm production not only brings out the best in the instrumentation but also in Dylan’s voice. This is the first album where he sounds like the weathered, legendary songwriter he was. The arrangement is sparse, with only guitar and keyboards accompanying Dylan’s voice and piano. It’s one of my favorite-sounding Dylan songs. As is the next track, “Man In the Long Black Coat.” What a triumph this song is. It’s simultaneously amazing and infuriating. He still had it in him to write an incredible, compelling song. Like the last track, the sound here is pretty sparse besides some ambiance setting keyboards from Malcolm Burn and Dylan’s guitar. His voice is in a lower register and it makes you just hang on to his every word. It helps that the melody is so memorable also. The song ends on such a mysterious note and it’s the most engaging he had sounded since Desire. 

“Most of the Time” builds upon that more weathered sound except this time with more layers to it instrumentally. This is another one of my favorite Dylan songs. It’s a heartbreak ballad that has such a simple structure and premise, but it’s so impactful. I love the way the electric guitar washes over the track. Every time it enters, it lingers for the perfect amount of time. It’s mixed so perfectly. “What Good Am I?” and “Disease of Conceit” are lulls in the tracklist, but they’re not bad. They just lack that energy of the three tracks prior. The latter is another clunky writing moment from Dylan on the record. His best moments on here lyrically are the songs about love, heartbreak, and other more personal topics. He’s made some iconic songs built around his ruminations on the world, but none of them are found here. Fortunately, the last two tracks are a step up. “What Was It You Wanted” might have the most tasteful implementation of a harmonica on any Bob Dylan record. I love Dylan’s usually harsh harmonica, but it’s hard to deny it can get a bit much. The music here is very subtle and it accompanies what seems to be Dylan’s meditations on his art up to that point. Perhaps the years of critical failures catching up to him as he asks the public “what was it you wanted?” If I was a fan of his during this time, the answer would be songs like this! “Shooting Star” is another ballad and another favorite of mine. Some have interpreted this song as being about Dylan’s disillusionment with spirituality and I think that’s an interesting read, but it could also just be a simple bittersweet ballad about love. Either way, this is a strong closer to the album.

Bob Dylan, 1988

Oh Mercy was an incredible return to form for Dylan and Lanois’ production brought out the best in these songs. It sounded like Dylan was writing with a purpose again, he was inspired. While overall this isn’t his strongest crop of songs from a lyrical standpoint, the execution here takes these songs to the next level. Ideally, this would be the start of a career renaissance for the legendary singer-songwriter, but seeing as how his next album would be the dreadful Under the Red Sky that wasn’t the case. Thankfully, Lanois would collaborate with Dylan again 8 years later for Time Out of Mind, yet another one of his comeback albums.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading <3

#throwback thursday #music #rateyourmusic #music review #bob dylan #daniel lanois #folk music #80s music

[theold-ultraviolence]

HC'S: Origin's of Eddie's music taste part I

This is something that I've thought about CONSTANTLY since Eddie's introduction! part of the reasons why I fell so hard for him is because it's taken me back to my classic rock/80's metal phase from when I was a pre-teen/sad & lonely teen, and this is why I relate to him so much. I'm always referencing songs in my fics but now I really wanted to break down his own music taste and how he came to it! 🤘 Acording to tumblr my hc's were too long so I'll post these in two separate parts.

Influenced by his uncle definitely!!

His parents listened to whatever was on the radio and it wasn’t a healthy environment overall, so Eddie didn’t have any exposure or interest in creative outlets or art in general 

Moving with Wayne restarted his life in the most positive way; I headcanon Wayne took him in around 8 or 9 years old. 

On his first days living with Wayne he was glued to his uncle by the hip, always nearby.

If Wayne was doing some work or just chores on the trailer, Eddie would trail close behind him like a little puppy. 

One time Wayne was fixing some pipes in the kitchen and he wanted to distract Eddie with something so he wouldn’t get bored just waiting around for him, so he asked Eddie to choose a record to play while he worked. 

Eddie was immediately curious about all the colors and the textures of his uncle's vinyl collection.

But one record that caught his eye because of the design was Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) by Pink Floyd: a black background with a prism on the center with its refracted rainbow colors on the right side. 

Gingerly he placed the vinyl on the turntable and was completely hypnotized by the sounds that engulfed the trailer as soon as the needle grazed the record: a ticking clock, droplets of water, the sound of a cash register, a muffled voice speaking and laughing and a singer violently screeching and howling.

Where was the music??? Eddie was super confused. 

But then the sounds merged seamlessly into the easy guitar and soothing percussion of the song that came next, titled ‘Breathe’.

Eddie was compelled to just sit on the living room carpet in a trance, getting lost in the album artwork while listening to the absolute musical journey that that record was.

He literally felt like he had been taken into a trip around the galaxy; each song took him on its own little journey, as its own cinematic experience happening inside his head. 

His favorite songs from that album are Time because of all the clock sound effects and the eerie percussion at the intro; The Great Gig In The Sky because of the absolute power of the vocalist; Money because of the deep bass riff that drives the song (as well as all the sound effects) and Eclipse because it’s short but it’s heavier and ends on a very epic note. 

He was also super perplexed but curious about the lyrics of that one; at the time he didn't understand but they somehow spoke to him deeply:

And all that is now // And all that is gone // And all that's to come // And everything under the sun is in tune // But the sun is eclipsed by the moon

Wayne laughed when he went to check up on him, seeing him all wide eyed with his curls sprawled on the rug, looking up at the ceiling with a dopey grin on his face. 

“You liked that?” Eddie could only nod and replied, “what was that?” 

Wayne proceeded to explain a bit about Pink Floyd and how they were this new movement in music they were calling ‘prog-rock’ which was more experimental than bands he's played around the trailer before, like The Rolling Stones.

After that Eddie’s newfound love for music bloomed and he began his own journey into figuring out what he liked.

Of course The Wall (1979) is another one of Eddie’s favorites from Pink Floyd; it speaks to him more as he grows older because the concept is the ultimate anti-establishment album. Another Brick In The Wall PT. 2 would definitely be his favorite song from that one:

“We don't need no education / We don't need no thought control / No dark sarcasm in the classroom / Teacher, leave them kids alone”

Other bands that he picked up from Wayne: Blue Öyster Cult, Fleetwood Mac, The Stooges, The Rolling Stones, Cream and Deep Purple. 

But a band that he discovered by himself around that time, which introduced him to heavier music, was Led Zeppelin. 

Eddie began hanging around at the record store all the time, always browsing the rows and rows of albums in his own little daze in a sea of graphic illustrations and photographs and colors, imagining the different universes that each record held within. Would they be as magical as that first experience that Pink Floyd brought him?

And such a place could be overwhelming, like, where do you even start? There are so many choices. 

Until one day, after he had saved up his allowances, he headed straight to the record store, ready to buy his first album on his own. 

🤘🤘🤘 to be continued... 🤘🤘🤘

#eddie munson #wayne munson #headcanons #stranger things #fanfiction #my writing #eddie munson headcanons #joseph quinn

[the-loaf-of-all]

Entry #1!

OK! here we go - Sean's first Tumblr (WTF? Again with the dropped GAT-DAYUM vowels. Why not just call it "TMBLR", FFS?).

Anyway! Here's the first of (hopefully) many entries to my playlist of my favorite Descendents and ALL! songs. I can't overstate how important these bands have been - and continue to be - in my musical life, past, present and future. <3

OK! Playlist's below! Here are the first few!

Pep Talk (The Descendents) - the live version of a truly magnificent song (with a little bit of 7 time!). Bill Stevenson (drummer) "taught me from a distance" as I tried to copy what he was doing. Hope I did ya proud, Bill.

Fool (All) - All was the band that happened when Milo Went To College (Bill, Karl and Stephan stayed, and picked up other singers). My favorite of their singers was Scott Reynolds, who's on this track. And my favorite Scott-era ALL! album was "Allroy's Revenge", on which this is track 2. A perfect bit of self-deprecating wordplay (which is probably why I like it so damn much) and beautiful, precise, poppy punk music.

Frog (All) - "I've got a frog in my pocket. It's not a big frog. I like him anyway." You've probably heard me sing this on our hikes, LILI BOWERS! Another Scott-era masterpiece (probably written by Bill).

Smile (Descendents) - the lads broke up for a good long time in the mid-90s, and then reformed and gave us a number of awesome comeback records. The latest, "Hypercaffium Spazzinate", yielded what is my absolute favorite Descents song of ALL! time. The closing line is how I try to attack life: "Toil away, and at the end of the day you can look back on a game well played." Thanks, lads. <3

Kids (on Coffee) (Descendents) - One of the quintessential Descendents songs. You can practically taste the caffeine. They used to make "Bonus Cups", which, in their own words,

"We took ⅓ of a cup of instant coffee grounds, added some hot water, threw in about 5 spoonfuls of sugar, and proceeded to play 10 second songs. The Bonus Cup became a part of everyday Descendents life".

Speaking of 10 Second songs!

No, ALL! - their mantra. :)

Minute (ALL) - the only thing that would make this song better is if it were exactly one minute long. <3

"ENJOY MY GOOD FRIEND! ENJOY!" <3

#Spotify

[i-dont-want-your-hysteria]

Highlights of Mike's latest letter to me

For those who are new and don't know who Mike Rogers is *cracks knuckles*:

he was Phil's guitar tech/roadie through the making of Pyromania, through most of the making of Hysteria

He lived with the guys and was friends with them for years

he is basically the Forrest Gump of Def Leppard (as in he was there for all these huge events yet no one seems to know)

He also wrote a book called Fabulist Icons and you can search on my blog for all things Mike-related

he also has a Fabulsit Icons facebook page where he posts articles and never before seen photos and stories of DL

Mike and I have been pen pals for the past 2 years because I sent him a letter after reading his book (@ballistic-lipstick-dream-machine got tangled up in this too)

he's basically our rock and roll grandpa

Mike's also been in a few TV specials for Leppard on REELZ channel if you can find those anywhere

when I talked to Rick in April, we briefly talked about Mike, and Rick wanted me to get Mike's address to him because they'd been separated for decades and Rick never knew how to get a hold of him (necessary to understand some things in this post)

ANYWAY- obviously I'm not gonna post the whole thing bc that's between me and him, but I do want you guys to hear some of this bc I love him:

it's obvious his favorite song from DSH is Liquid Dust bc he quoted it in the first paragraph

also he wrote nearly 4 FULL PAGES

Mike writes in such a romantic and poetic way, like he said "your letter resting upon a William 1V wine table." *chefs kiss*

him talking about the Hershey show and saying "did you go to a Hershey bar for refreshments? Yes, I can be that silly."

him asking me if I will study photography and me having a crisis about it internally

Shakespeare quotes

he loved the story of Rick noticing me and Rachel in the crowd at Hershey

"I am quite sure Rick recognized you." I literally threw the letter and SCREAMED

"He and the rest of operation Def 'do' look into audiences at every show- if something strikes a note, it will be remembered."

he said he hasn't heard from Rick yet :( not surprised but a lil sad

Mike saying when he went to Dublin during covid to do the interviews for Reelz he "near had a mental breakdown" bc he felt unprofessional and so out of touch

"Your comments about our Def Leppard connections has touched me in a way, er, taken me by surprise. I was not expecting a surge of emotion such as I experienced through your letter." catch me crying ;O;

I keep forgetting Mike was a guitar tech for Pink Floyd's The Wall

him talking about how he used to live at his sister's house and would arrive "at all hours, sit in her kitchenette, have a joint and then bed down on the fleecy sitting room rugs."

him saying "I just plunged in headlong, loved Phil,"

him saying he would "meet the intimate families of the band when hopping back and forth in Sheffield during rehearsals"

him saying "Can I have a little break and make a cuppa tea?" and then putting a big paragraph break

him proceeding to talk about Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead for the next 2 paragraphs

him saying he's never listened to Slang or anything else post-Hysteria apart from DSH

him thinking that Sav is "making a much greater contribution to what is going forth than many realize"

"his influence on much of the current material has added the spice that captain Clark used to deliver to a song"

"Sav's creativity is all over this material. Not just as a player, but as a writer"

"The last time Sav and I exchanged emails was when he gave the green light, so to speak, on my 'Icons' project. He quipped on one occasion, 'I would write more but I am trying to find an augmented fifth for a song in the works'. Not your usual heavy rock musician banter."

(insert mini critique of DSH being awesome here)

(insert Mike being contacted by what became of his old record label to see if he was still alive here)

Mike wanting to send me this interview with his old label

"What must you think of me? You started this, Ma'am, with your letter and all this 'stuff' came barreling along, unstoppable."

"I loved your letter and I attach evidence that 'I' kept your last Christmas card on top of my copier" (on the back of the last sheet there is a photocopy of my Snowman Joe christmas card design that I sent him last year)

"I hope this epistle lightens your day Rachel" yes yes it did ;-; <3

Mike saying he was contacted by the editor of Definitely because he has the only known image of Rick and Jeff Rich (Status Quo drummer who was Rick's support drummer for his first live shows after his accident) at the Limerick Savoy in 1986 during the 'Live Rehearsal dates'

him saying I write really well and have "good words in good style" and "I like it a lot!"

"very best wishes, as ever, Mike"

#i haven't listened to DSH in months bc i get too nostalgic for summer ngl it just hurts #I'M GOING TO DO THE REQUESTS NEXT CALM DOWN I HAVE A FEW POSTS PLANNED #but this has been bugging me for a week and i didn't have the time to sit and do this until now #mike rogers #def leppard

[numetalpuppygirl]

what i'm listening to 3/5/2023 (song notes under cut)

spot. link//yt link

Laura Les - Haunted: haunted. by laura les.

Foo Fighters - Everlong: links to this post. this is one of the greatest songs in the history of popular music, i believe that genuinely. this song is reaching out and grabbing a loved one and pulling them close and saying "i know it all hurts a lot and this life is cruel to us and it will keep being cruel to us but i'm here with you. i'm here with you and we can live in this moment for as long as possible and it makes it all feel worth it. i would go through every minute of hurt, past and future, another thousand times over if it meant i got to share this moment here with you for just a little longer." anyway i'm normal

100 gecs - Hollywood Baby: did you guys see that laura is wearing a limp bizkit shirt in the music video. crazy stuff. i'm holding off on posting my march album ranking just so the new album can come out and i can put it on there i love this shit

Little Richard - Long Tall Sally (The Thing): if it strikes you, i would really recommend checking out the video for this one that i've put in the youtube version, it's a live performance from 1955 and he's just absolutely electric, it's tons of fun

Paramore - Running Out Of Time: the new album is really good and i'm shocked they were able to bear holding onto this single until the full record came out because this one is golden. hayley williams late queen 2023

Crush 40 - I Am... All Of Me: I LOVE YOU SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG!!!!!!!!!!

Butthole Surfers - Pepper: this song is basically if "loser" by beck was evil and fucked up, although these guys were doing weird shit way before beck. i was going back and watching some old one hit wonderland episodes and the one about this band came on and i was very intrigued, i'd like to hear some more of their stuff. i've noticed something about myself, which is that a todd in the shadows video is perhaps the single quickest way to trick me into engaging level 11 autism mode about any given band/artist/genre/whatever. guess i'm just lucky like that

Robert Johnson - Love In Vain: king of the delta blues babey. the melody and playing technique on this is nuts with a capital nuts. no wonder he was one of the many blues pioneers that the british invasion bands knocked off stole from admired greatly. i don't really have that much to say about these old blues tunes it's just Good Music

Twisted Sister - I Wanna Rock: twisted sister is so fucking goofy and awesome i love it. shoutout dee snider for being one of the coolest motherfuckers of the entire 80s. i listened to this whole album because as i mentioned i've been fucking w the hair metal and it's honestly a really solid record, surprisingly legit in a lot of respects. this is one of the silly pop singles, of course, but damn is it charming and just fun

Green Day - Longview: literally just a song about jerking off bc you're bored. heard it on the radio and said "oh i haven't thought about this song in years" and it proceeded to be stuck in my head for weeks. i grew up on green day so i definitely feel soft for them anyway but man why this song lmao

Paramore - Crave: one of my favorite album tracks. the mix is a little rough here (arguably that's true for a good portion of the record) but the lyrics really hit me big time. like yeah! i AM constantly pining for what once was! even when it was shit! what the hell! so real basically

Parkway Drive - Boneyards: every once in a while i have a moment that's like ohhh yeah... THAT'S why i loved metalcore so much for so many years. and this song gives me one of those moments every time i hear it because that breakdown is IN. SANE. greatest of all time possibly. in fact this whole album is such a landmark for this era of core it's crazy. shoutout parkway drive i hope they make good music again someday

Elliott Smith - Figure 8: first time hearing this song i just about fell out of my chair. the performing talent to take an innocent little educational song for kids and make it just absolutely and totally different in its meaning without changing a single word is staggering. i've always been fascinated by the idea of taking a song meant for kids (or just any song that has that sort of shallow quality to it, which kids' music often possesses in order to make it easy for them to enjoy) and recontextualizing it to actually have countless hidden layers of depth, and elliott smith did that flawlessly. fucking wild. i know some of his music but i need to listen to more

Weird Al Yankovic - Hardware Store: this is just one of those songs that crops up every once in a while to say "hey, remember me?" that video going around with all the cats definitely helped too lol. weird al was probably the first musical artist i could have ever been described as a "fan" of, and i'm continuously surprised by how much of his work holds up and remains just really good and honestly funny. goat

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man: good song but i'll be honest i mostly included just because i thought this story was kind of funny: i discovered this song by hearing the shinedown cover of it and, without knowing beforehand that it was a cover, immediately having the thought "this is a really great tune..... too great even. let's see who actually sang this originally." no real hate to shinedown they had some decent stuff but this would have definitely been above their level at any point in their career

The Beatles - Maxwell's Silver Hammer: whatever. fuck you. it's catchy and silly

Bill Withers - Lovely Day: i love bill withers but i'll warn anyone who intends to listen - this song is really quite annoying and repetitive. however it also has one of the most loaded hooks i've ever heard, the type that really just drills down deep into your brain. other than that it's just good vibes

Carpenters - All You Get From Love Is A Love Song: i've decided that i love this album actually and also karen carpenter's voice. this song in particular is just a nice little pop song but they really bring everything they've got to it, it's wonderful

Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity: brought on mostly by paper-mario-wiki posting the video on here. you guys know me, i can't resist weird lyrics about the dangers of a digital future over a funky beat

#listen to my songs boy #i love doing these posts it's like my way of getting to review whatever songs i want without being formal about it or burning myself out #plus i get to occasionally fire off a draft post that wasn't quite good enough to stand on its own (not here but other times as indicated) #*char noises* #talking pop

[k1rishiki]

Sorry to bother you, but could you recommend where to start in terms of reading Arthurian myth? I was listening to hnoc for the fiftieth time and remembering my childhood love of “kiddified” versions of the original stories and was wondering if you could help me out. Specific collections or stories? Different versions of the texts? Thanks so much.

omg i was just thinking about how it's been a while since i got this question (bc it's my favorite question)!! so first of all (and sorry if this reads as harsh) you have to get the idea out of your head that arthuriana is a mythology. arthuriana is incredibly similar to a mythology, but most arthurian stories are written novels or poems instead of recorded folklore (although some are but they're the minority), variations based on regions are more bc of individual authors deciding to fuck around and change shit, and also no one believed any of these guys were real. second of all you need to swear to me that you'll never believe any piece of modern arthuriana written in the 1950s or later (but still be careful when it comes to anything beforehand bc god knows tennyson had it out for tristan and isolde like no one before or since), and yes that includes high noon over camelot. basically what happened is in the 50s a book came out by the name of the once and future king by th wh*te, an author bigoted enough to rival lovecraft, and the thing is, this book proceeded to start the biggest wave of modern arthurian lit since the pre-raphaelites were around, and that wave is still the one that's around today. the other big (unfortunately) notable entry to the modern canon is marion zimmer bradley (who's a completely different type of horrible person but due to my reluctance to trigger tag this post i'll just leave it to google with a warning for csa)'s the mists of avalon, which is responsible for the morgan is modred's mother misconception that plagues my every waking moment as well as the girlboss arthuriana subgenre, which is recognizable by its white feminism and fetishistic obsession with some vague idea of celtic paganism with a side of an obsession with contrasting paganism to christianity (which would realistically be medieval catholicism but is consistently portrayed as identical to american protestantism) every 12 seconds.

and as for hnoc's reputability, largely due to the shit the mechs pulled with morgan le fay, the name of the final song, the pendragon polycule itself (arthur was like twice lancelot's age, formerly coworkers with his father while he was a baby, and commonly referred to him as being like a son to him (meanwhile lancelot's feelings on him ranged somewhere from neutral-dislike), and also tried to kill his wife Multiple Times Across Multiple Texts, if you want polyamory may i introduce you to the tristan and isolde tradition, sir palomydes is there and has two swords which is clearly meant to indicate his bisexuality (/j although there are Literally academic papers out there on his bisexuality)), the shit they pulled with gawaine oh my god sweetheart what did they do to you (i blame th wh*te's hatred of the scottish for why they thought that was a viable narrative choice for him but oh my god i'm still reeling), and the fact that last i checked morgan's twitter handle was a quote taken directly from wh*te's work, although he might've changed it by now, as well as other small less-glaring indications, i can safely say that not a single person who worked on it had ever read an actual medieval arthurian text. which sucks bc i like hnoc. but tl;dr don't trust any modern work to get shit right and that's including hnoc.

basic mindset-based things to prevent half the braindead takes that haunt the arthuriana tag aside, i'm going to give you actual recs now.

the byelorussian tristan is a late medieval text belonging to the tristan tradition (tristan and isolde were figures in irish folklore before arthurian writers went 'hey wouldn't it be neat if we added these two' and they've been inextricable from the world of the round table ever since. this has happened with other characters from other nearby folklore and mythology before and will happen again, but due to the fact that tristan and isolde were once their own separate entity, they get a subtradition to themselves), it's notable for not only being the last entry in the tristan canon, but for possibly being the last entry in the arthurian canon as well. honestly it's my favorite book... ever and i'm generally obsessed with it. basically it tells the full story of tristan and isolde with a few unique adventures along the way, but where it really stands out is with the characters, esp since to everyone who isn't already knee-deep into medieval blorbos certain texts can be a bit "and then tristan did this. and then tristan did this. tristan is my self insert so then everyone found him thought. and then tristan was about to do something cool but i decided this story is about sir gawaine now." so it's my go-to starter text recommendation. also it prominently features sir palomydes and i have an agenda to push. my queue tag is a quote of his from this text!

the dutch texts, or more specifically the lancelot compilation, are also a good starting place. they're mostly fairly short, not that dense and have are fairly light-hearted which make them some of the best starter texts out there! also if someone's name is in the title, don't worry, it's really about gawaine. he hijacks things a lot.

culwch and olwen is the best welsh starter text, it's about a relative of king arthur's who's cursed to only ever be able to marry this one girl, who just so happens to be the daughter of a giant with

i'd have to reccomend the lais of marie de france too bc they're fairly short and ough. chevrefoil gets me every time. lanval is one where a guy gets married to a fairy queen, and chevrefoil is a tristan and isolde story. also bisclavret isn't technically arthurian but we (med lit tumblr) love it like it is, and it invented the trope of the werewolf knight that shows up in later arthurian texts.

i highly discourage diving straight into one of the full stories of arthur's reign but if you must (at least go through chevrefoil or lancelot and the hart with the white foot first) go with the vulgate instead of le morte, it's much better written and more cohesive and you'll thank me for it. you can/should skip the history of the holy grail and also the history of merlin though. everyone does it.

and uhhh i don't want to come off like i hate modern arthuriana completely so here are my modern suggestions. first there's tennyson's lady of shallot and idylls of the king, but be sure to know that he's wrong about tristan and isolde and also some other stuff i don't remember, and then there's also william morris my beloved who likes palomydes just as much as i do. anyone who says aggravaine killed his mother is a liar btw it completely messes up his character and conflates him with gaheris and i'm saying this bc i know one of them did. also more recently there's this short story with a really long title i'm obslorsed with from an otherwise sucky anthology which is a character study of sir galehaut, who's basically lancelot's husband from the vulgate and also a bit of a medieval gay stereotype.

also there's a substack i'm obligated to plug called nightly knights which has/will have all of these + more and only the good stuff bc. well. i made it.

annnnd that's it for basic starter texts, once you've got one or two of these under your belt med lit becomes. a whole lot easier to get into. after you've read through however many from this list i'd recommend moving to chrétien de troyes (just not erece and enid or cliges bc those are Rough), or sir gawaine and the green knight, just make sure the latter isn't your first gawaine text bc it's the exception not the rule. otherwise, i'd recommend picking a favorite character and reading out from there. if you need any more help or recs for texts that are good but would be Actually Insane to recommend to a beginner (ie. if you like modred i'm Going to point you to an untranslated middle english poem which actually spends time characterizing him), recs for Really Good And Specific Academic Papers, or help finding anything, feel free to ask me or pretty much anyone on med lit tumblr bc god knows we spend to much time on this. hope this helps!!!!

#romeo.txt #lonely-eldritch-monsterrrr #med lit on main

[adultswim2021]

The Venture Bros. #28: “Showdown at Cremation Creek Part II” | October 15, 2006 – 10:30PM | S02E13

Well, it's all lead up to this! The second part of a two-part episode wherein a lot of heavy plot stuff happens. I have to say, honestly, these episodes rank pretty low for me for Venture Bros. Seasons of Venture Bros. typically end with a big plot-shake-up action-blow-out and they are way more focused on comic-book shit than they are the comedy. This episode is well-crafted, and the action is good, but you really do feel like the comedy definitely comes second. It's a problem the show would grapple with from here on out, especially in the next season. In fact, I would almost say that these two episodes feel way more like proto-season-three episodes than they do season two.

We continue from last week, with a mock “last time on Venture Bros” bit that simply fast-forwards through the first episode up to the point where Phantom Limb shows up. This erupts into a full-scale war between everyone involved. Brock takes over as commanding officer of the Monarch's minions (with the Monarch's sort-of blessing). Hank is among the ranks, still in disguise. Dean is stuck in the engine room and hallucinating from engine fumes. Dr. Venture and the Monarch wind up fairly chummy in this episode, with the Monarch's truce still in place. The Monarch even shares an escape pod with Dr. V.

The Triad (Dr. Orpheus, Dana Snyder, and the Blacula hunter guy) are trying to get in on the action, showing up to conveniently rescue Dean, preserving his easily-replaced life. Our principals mostly come out unscathed, except for Phantom Limb, whose invisible limbs are tripped over and made into trophies when the dust settles.

The most memorable part of this is David Bowie seemingly gets killed at the start when we find out that Iggy Pop and Klaus Nomi are actually double agents for Phantom Limb. Bowie, aka the Sovereign, turns out to be a survivor, and eventually shows up to put a pin in Phantom Limb's plans. Most of the humor in these scenes involve these characters constantly referencing lyrics from their various songs. Also we find out the Monarch's henchmen's wings actually work and can lift them into the air easily; a fact that had alluded them until his moment.

All that stuff is good. It's certain things like the Triad that feels crammed in, and Dean's storybook fantasy, which resembles childhood favorite The Never-Ending Story, doesn't do much to add to the proceedings, except that one scene where he keeps missing the hints to put a sword directly in the villain's black electrified heart, insisting on chopping off arms and stabbing him in non-fatal places until he basically starts begging Dean to just aim for the heart.That’s a fun scene, but it’s basically a Monty Python sketch or something just dropped into the middle of the episode.

With this week we've reached what I believe is peak Adult Swim as far as quantity; There are seven premieres to discuss this week, which means I'm moving in real time. Things will level off eventually. I forget if I pointed this out, but this era of Adult Swim represents my return to the Adult Swim fold; I actually started recording the entire block again so I could hang onto my favorite shows and bumpers and stuff. Somewhere in my vast archives I have a rotting case of DVD-Rs I badly need to exhume so I can rip the DVDs and share them in some capacity. Will I die before that day comes? Yes. Probably.

MAIL BAG

*david cross voice* open your mailbag *knock knock knock* open your mailbag

I remember this routine and it was a phenomenally long way to go to mock the band Harlow even though they were nice to him. What a JERK!!!!

What do you think of Taz- Mania, the Taz Cartoon sitcom?

I sorta remember enjoying it slightly when it was on TV but never cared for it that much. I got a best-of VHS from a thrift store and turned it off after the first short because it sucked, and then I watched it again for my bad Simpsons blog and thought it was pathetic. BAD SHOW.

I do remember my friend’s older brother quoting a line he thought was funny, which was from Taz’s Bing-Crosby-esque father, he’s waxing romantic about meeting Taz’s mother and says something like “I knew she was the one, so I looked her in the eyes and said ‘blah blah blah, yackedy smackedy’“ (that was that guys’ catchphrase). This joke is burned into my brain. It sucks!

#adultswim2021 #adult swim #the venture bros.