#*if you want a spotify link to the mix (yes i made it. it exists) just let me know | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thedo0zyslider · 11 months

Text

Explosions Across Lifetimes - Chapter Seven: He's Mine - 2k words

Fwhip has a meeting with Scott. Harsh words are exchanged, alliances are broken, and the Count ends up feeling more sympathy for the elf than he ever had before.

This fic now has a spotify playlist!

A03 Link

rimlands’s Count was about to have the worst meeting of his life.

He couldn’t just kick Scott out of the Wither Rose Alliance, no, that was far too simple, far too easy for the world of emperors and diplomacy. He had to meet with Rivendell’s king himself to discuss it, decide what to do about any pre-existing trade deals, maybe sign some things and overall just do boring, meaningless paperwork and documentation.

So here he sat, at a long table in Rivendell, across from a man who was currently his least favorite person on the planet. They were alone for this meeting, all of Scott’s advisors being ordered to leave. The king wanted this to be a private meeting, and Fwhip was very glad for that. He had some things to say, ones that would definitely ruin any respect the elven people had for him, if they had any.

The mountains were unbearably cold, Rivendell’s part of them anyways. Fwhip would never know how this place was at least three time’s colder than the Crystal Cliffs, which was on the same damn mountain range. It probably had something to do with stupid elf ice powers.

The Count looked like a proper movie villain, dressed in dark clothes, much more layers than he usually wore, along with a brooding and unkind expression etched into his features. His normal coat was replaced by a more fluffier one, and he now wore gloves, ones made specifically to accommodate the claws that acted as his fingernails. He was shooting a nasty glare at the man across from him, almost a snarl, cheek resting on his hand. His wings were clenched tightly to his back, his small dragon-like tail flicking against the chair in irritation. He honestly forgot about those features most of the time. The wings couldn’t lift his weight off the ground very well, so Fwhip used elytra instead, which he preferred anyways because it was an excuse to invent rockets. His sister only shared his pointy ears though, some weird side effect of their rather mixed heritage.

Scott was as stiff as a board, watching Fwhip cautiously, It was very clear the half dragon did not want to be there. The elf cleared his throat, deciding that almost ten minutes of silence was enough. That was fine by Fwhip, the sooner this was over the better.

“So, Fwhip.” Scott began. “What, er, exactly did you want to discuss? I mean I can guess but-”

“You're no longer in the Wither Rose Alliance.” The ginger cut him off, shifting to cross his arms in front of his chest.

“Ah, I figured that.” Scott muttered, wincing a little at the harshness of the other’s tone. “So what, it’s just you, Pearl and Gem now?”

“And Sausage, technically.” Fwhip said. Sausage was kicked out, yes, but it was more for safety reasons than anything. The remaining members knew they'd let Sausage back in eventually, once this whole demon issue was resolved and he was back to his normal self. So to Fwhip, and his denial, his brother was technically still a part of the Wither Rose Alliance.

“But he was kicked out for being dangerous, wasn’t he?” As soon as those words were processed in Fwhip’s head the Count was standing from his chair in a flash, crossing the room at lightning speed until he was face to face with the other ruler.

Fwhip grabbed the collar of Scott’s shirt, pulling him upwards from his seat and not caring if his claws ripped the fabric. The elven king allowed himself to be pulled forwards with only a small stumble to keep his balance, flinching as Fwhip snarled in his face. Usually an elf with such high status wouldn’t take this disrespect, this insult their dignity, nor would anyone even think to act in such a way. Yet Scott didn’t have much dignity left to insult, to the other rulers and to his own people, so Fwhip was free to rip his stupid expensive shirt collar as much as he liked. He probably had ten of the same outfit anyways.

"And who's fault is that, Scott?" He growled, letting go of the elf and throwing him back towards the table. "We both know it's your fault Sausage is like that!"

Scott caught himself quickly and elegantly, gloved hand clutching the edge of the table for more reasons than just supporting its owner. "I'm sorry. I really am." He said, unable to meet Fwhip’s eyes.

"Then do something about it!" The Count yelled, slamming a hand against the table. He began walking back towards his seat, ready to get this stupid meeting over with. The king of Rivendell had to have the last word though, apparently, Fwhip’s ears starting to twitch in irritation at the beginning of Scott’s sentence.

"I'm not sure how!"

"What do you mean you're 'not sure how!?'" Fwip yelled, spinning around to face Scott again. His tail lashed in indignation, wings puffing out behind him unconsciously. The elf had gone through the whole secret reveal with no way to actually fix the problem!? Scott could’ve just found a solution, revealed it, and could have avoided sullying his good name. Scott probably wouldn’t have kept it a secret though, even Fwhip didn’t think so low of him as to believe he would.

"I've been trying!" The elf exclaimed, gripping the table more firmly. "I've looked everywhere, in my library, places where the scholars won’t let me go, but I can't find anything on this type of magic." His gaze, which had been matching Fwhip’s, moved down to the table in shame again.

"I was gonna ask Gem for help but I'm not sure she wants to…see me." He added after a moment, pointed ears flattening downwards.

Fwhip blinked, a little surprised by Scott’s words. The shame rolling off him was intense, filling the air around them. He knew Scott felt bad about the situation, but he wasn’t aware just how badly it had been affecting the elf. The past few days had probably been the worst on Scott out of any ruler from the meeting.

"Gem wants Sausage back more than she's mad at you." Fwhip said truthfully, his voice taking a softer tone that it previously had. Scott looked at him, absolutely dumbfounded, as he processed the Count’s words.

"….You don't hate me?" Scott’s voice was small when he spoke, like he’d actually believed that everyone hated him.

"What? No!" Fwhip said, making sure to keep his tone gentle. He didn’t prepare to have a heart to heart with Scott, but it was clearly needed, desperately. The kind of thoughts the elf had weren't good, and needed to go. Now. Fwhip would be sure to notify Katherine about it later, knowing the fairy could get through to him the best. "I'm mad at you because you betrayed us and let destruction happen. I don't want you dead." Had Scott really thought they all hated him? Fwhip couldn’t really speak for the others, but he was mad, very mad, but not that mad. They had still been friends, Fwhip still cared about the elf. He cared about all the emperors, even if some of them really grated on his nerves.

“But I hurt Jimmy, and Sausage, and all of you…” Scott moved back into his seat, white wings folding in on himself slightly. Oh buddy…

"You're not irredeemable Scott." Fwhip said, and god he didn’t think his voice could be this soft for someone like Scott . "Even Jimmy doesn't think you are."

“ Oh. ” The elf seemed a little shocked by it, and Fwhip was suddenly itching to know what his partner had said to this poor man and vice versa.

“Didn’t you talk to him?”

“Yeah but, ah,” Scott started, stumbling over his words a bit. “He was…cold, I don’t think he noticed it, not fully.”

Fwhip just nodded. He could understand why Jimmy would be cold, even unknowingly. It was for the same reasons he himself had been filled with burning anger mere minutes ago, and a million other reasons he couldn’t even begin to understand.

“What did you say to Jimmy?” Fwhip asked, noting the air of protectiveness that came to him when he spoke. He wanted to know, just a little, if more harmful things had been exchanged. Okay, maybe he wanted to know more than just a little.

“Nothing much,” Scott said, a little too casually for the half dragons liking. “It was barely a twenty minute meeting, Fwhip.” Was added on when the latter raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “We just discussed the demon problem and our…little relationship.”

“He’s mine, you know” Honestly, the growl came out before Fwhip even knew what he was saying. Though he didn’t regret it later.

Scott glared at him. “I fucking know that already, Fwhip,” There was an exasperation, an irritation that hadn’t been present before in the exchange, and part of Fwhip really wanted to egg his old ally on further; part of him really wanted to be an asshole. He really wanted to see how far he could push the elf, just to start something. He didn’t though, well aware that he’d get chewed out thoroughly for it by someone. “That’s what he discussed the other day, that he’s yours .”

“Good,” He huffed, taking his seat again. “Now let's get this over with,”

Fwhip let himself be an asshole when it came to the diplomacy part of the meeting, ruthlessly cutting off almost every trade he had with Rivendell. He kept a small wool trade open though, only out of convenience. Just because he didn’t hate Scott didn’t mean he wasn’t mad . Because the Count was still pretty pissed off, and he didn’t think his anger would be calming down anytime soon. Half dragons weren't exactly known for their pleasant temper and forgiveness.

Silence fell when the most boring part of the meeting came to an end. It was a tense sort of silence, each of them waiting for the other to make a move. Scott’s body language was stiff once more, and he watched the other man with poor hidden suspense and suspicion. Fwhip was sure disdain was rolling off him in waves, and tried to keep some bite out of his voice when breaking the quiet

“Why didn’t you just keep lying?” The Count voiced his earlier thoughts, out of nothing but pure curiosity.

“… What? ” Scott’s voice came out in a puzzled whisper.

“You could’ve found the solution and revealed it, you didn't have to admit you lied for months on end.” The half dragon explained, fixing the other with an inquiring look. He knew that's what he would’ve thought of doing, what he would’ve thought of trying.

“I did think about that but…I couldn’t do it anymore, Fwhip.” The elf began. “I couldn’t lie anymore; it was beginning to seriously hurt people. Lying wasn’t right, not anymore.” And the Count couldn’t really argue with that, or make any sort of sharp remark no matter how much he really wanted too. Scott had done the right thing in the end, now he just had to clean up the mess he’d made before it.

“I want my brother back.” Scott added in an almost inaudible whisper, so much so that Fwhip had to strain his ears to hear it.

The small bout of sympathy he felt at the meeting returned. He didn’t get what Scott was going through, but he could understand losing your sibling and what that must feel like. He’d almost lost Sausage already and it was tearing away at him every day; it was a searing pain in his chest; a hole in his heart that would keep growing until Sausage was back with them. Losing Sausage used to be unimaginable, yet even with that he couldn’t imagine not having Gem as well. Losing his sister would break Fwhip, he was sure of that. So yeah, he could kinda get what might be going on in that elf’s stupid brain.

“I hope you know that if there wasn’t a demon on the loose I would have declared war already.” Fwhip hissed, feeling his tail lash a bit. Might as well throw out a threat while he was at it.

“I know.” Rivendell’s ruler stiffened a sigh. “You always have afterwards, though”

“No,” Fwhip growled, getting in Scott’s personal space again. “This is your chance at redemption, and if you don’t take it then we’ll be having war.”

“..Good to know.” Scott huffed, watching through slitted eyes as Fwhip made his way towards the door. This meeting was over with, he’d said all he needed to say. “Goodbye, Fwhip.” Scott got the last word with his call goodbye, smooth voice turning to ice with each syllable he spoke. The elf’s answer was the room’s grand door loudly slamming shut behind his visitor and the sound of angry footsteps leaving the building.

Fwhip spread his elytra wings as soon as he was outside once more. The Count always forgot how insufferably cold the elf’s part of the mountains could be, but maybe that was a little bit in part to his dragon heritage. It didn’t matter now though, because he was leaving and hopefully not coming back; not for a while at least.

The elf had given him a lot to brood over, that's for sure.

#ron.writing #ron.fic #fwhimmy #explosions acorss lifetimes #fwhip #empires fwhip #jimmy solidarity #empires jimmy #count fwhip #the codfather #empiresblr #empireshipping #scott smajor #smajor1995

9 notes · View notes

hey-have-you-heard · 4 months

Text

Hey, Have You Heard These 50 Tracks from 2023?

Another year comes to a close and the music lover pulls up their trusty spotify playlist to document the high points of their year in music. You know the drill by now but in case you're new here... Songs are in alphabetical order (there is no internal rating to the 51) but if I had to choose a single song for everyone to listen to, it would be "Why Am I Alive Now", please listen to that track if nothing else. A Spotify playlist of the included songs is linked below for your listening pleasure

Fontaines DC - ' Cello Song Kicking things off with the only cover song on the list, Grian Chatten and band spin Nick Drake's song into something entirely their own, paying homage to Nick Drake's songwriting whilst pulling in the intricacies of their own unique sound and appeal.

Boygenius - $20 Screw star-signs and wizard school houses, which member of Boygenius do you align yourself with? I'm a Julien Baker stan but I adore them all, especially when their voices and styles are weaving in out of each-other in rapturous noise like this.

XL Life - Baby Steps Hardcore and punk has had a great year, a really great year, and XL Life have been a standout part of that. Backed up by a guest verse by Bob Vylan's own Bobby Vylan, Baby Steps is bursting with soul and emotion, driven by breakneck drums and heart-on-sleeve positivity

100 Gecs - Billy Knows Jamie 10,000 Gecs (the much anticipated follow up to 2019's 1000 Gecs) truly gave us the as-promised 10 times as many gecs, if a Gec is a unit of measurement for what can only be referred to as wild-genre-fuckery. Billy Knows Jamie gives us full on Bizkitesque nu-metal, including record scratches, a bass line Fieldy would be proud of and a rapid descent into utter chaos.

Algiers, Billy Woods, Backxwash - Bite Back Bite back is a masterpiece of ever-building tension, Carpenterian synths weave the track together as one musical idea gives way to another. With every new phrase and trade-off between vocalist, the threads pull tauter and tauter. The switch up at 3:10 still gives me chills every time I hear it.

Glass Beach - the CIA My favourite theatre kid emo's are back and doing what they do best, which is whatever the hell they feel like. You know when all the 70s prog rock bands fell into the 80s and needed to get radio-play so they fell into this weird sort of choppy watered down down art-pop sound (e.g. Yes)? This feels like that, but there's no actual need to conform, so Glass Beach are still free to get as weird with it as they want, whenever they want.

Blood Command - Decades Deccades is a very bad representation of Blood Command as a band (at this point I'm unsure if a good representation of the band exists), but it's a very good song. Hardcore and "Death pop" is out, R&B is in. Reverb soaked synths and horns, skittery hi-hats, layered vocals and lyrics about lost love and the Heavens Gate cult.

Liturgy - Djennaration I'll be the first to admit that Liturgy are an acquired taste (the first time I saw them live it made me feel physically ill), but if you can put on some headphones, turn up the volume and lose yourself in Liturgy's "Transcendental Black Metal" there is no other feeling quite like it in music.

Kesha - The Drama The continual evolution of Kesha's sound has been a fascinating thing to watch ever since Tik Tok put her on the brat pop map back in 2009, each album cycle has seen her stripping back elements of character, delivering ever rawer and more honest depictions of self. The Drama pulls away from pop almost entirely, what starts as a Lorde-like slow ballad tumbles into a nightmare-collage of upbeat synths, a circus show of theatrical excess as Kesha's desparately laments on a loss of faith in humanity and self. The song ends on an absurd mix of housecats and Ramones, oh the drama of it all.

Fever Ray - Even It Out Even It Out may not be the technically best song on Radical Romantics, but the idea of Karin Dreijer teaming up with Trent Reznor to make a gleefully unhinged song about violently attacking a child is just too funny to me. The rest of the album is also incredible and well worth a listen.

Follow You - Saint Agnes Oh, hey, speaking of Trent Reznor, Saint Agnes channel Nine Inch Nails on the massive distortion drenched choruses of this stand out track from Bloodsuckers. Lead singer Kitty's vocals soar over wailing guitars and crunching bass, this is the sound of a band triumphing through adversity.

Johnny Booth - Full Tilt I remember seeing a comment when this first released that summed up how ifelt about it perfectly. "This has slap fucks". Yes, selppin2, I couldn't of put it better myself. Johnny Booth have been consistently hitting it out the park for the past few years and this is no exception, absolutely brutal stuff.

Creeper - Further Than Forever Creeper's Sanguivore is an album to be devoured in it's entirety, I couldn't choose a single song so this is merely a goth-punk-opera overture. A nine minute long homage to the theatrical tendencies of Jim Steinman. If you enjoy any part of this, Sanguivore is a must listen for you.

Crosses - Ghost Ride Chino Moreno swaps out the rumbling wall of guitars of Deftones for pulsing bass synths and sparse electronic drums with the second album from his side project with Far's Shaun Lopez. Ghost Ride is a sultry slow build that crashes into industrial-pop(?) choruses.

Idles - Grace Idles (to my surprise) were my most listened to band of last year, and if Grace is a sign of things to come on Tangk, they're in with a shot for 2024 as well. Grace finds Joe Talbot swapping out the political battering ram of a growl he's employed previously for a soulful tone, a message of peace and love, and its hauntingly beautiful to behold. No God, no king, love is the thing.

BENEE - Green Honda You may remember BENEE from tiktok's 2019 supahit Supalonely, she's still writing bops. Two middle fingers up, leave you in the rearview, bops.

Free Refills - Grounded What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good bassline, and this is a great bassline.

Pendulum, Bullet For My Valentine - Halo (Matt Tuck Rework) On his rework of Halo, Matt Tuck keeps all the energy of the original mix but ups the aggression. This is the sound of Pendulum at their heaviest and best.

Tokky Horror, Scottish Gabber Punk - HAMMER 2 THE FACE (Scottish Gabber Punk Remix) Speaking of energy and aggression... it doesn't get much more energy and aggression than this, hammer 2 the face is a fitting title for the brutality of this track.

MSPAINT - Hardwired MSPAINT are a hardcore punk band with a notable lack of guitar, the instrumentation instead filled out with colourful synths. The result is a unique and engaging sound unlike anything else in the genre.

Empire State Bastard - Harvest ESB are my kind of supergroup, formed of Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil, Oceansize's Mike Vennart and Slayer's Dave Lombardo (yes, you read that right). Simon Neil is delivering career best vocal performances, Mike Vennart is stirring up unholy hell on guitar and Dave Lombardo is doing what Dave Lombardo does best.

Alice Longyu Gao - Hëłłœ Kįttÿ I didn't think we could get more unhinged than last years MONK, with it's thrash metal guitar and vib ribbon solo, but here we are in the year of our lord 2023 and I'm listening to car clown horns. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM.

Bob Vylan - He's a Man Do y'all remember the Lindsay Lohan Freaky Friday movie? There was a great song in it called Take Me Away... anyway, I forget why I mentioned that, but this song is really fun.Great cheeky lyrics and love that guitar riff.

Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Like A Grudge This may just be a nostalgia pull, but that intro transported me back to hearing Dance, Dance for the first time. Hold Me Like A Grudge does a masterful job of pulling together elements of FOBs classic sound and their more recent poop sensibilities that has had me enjoying their sound in a way I haven't since Infinity On High

Evie Enby - Homies Oops, how did this get in here? Please appreciate the one note guitar solo.

FIZZ - I Just Died My general lack of enthusiasm for The Beatles is fairly well documented by this point, but one of the best things they did for pop music was use the clarinet on When I'm Sixty Four. Well good news, I no longer have to listen to The Beatles to get my clarinet fix. Now that the Beatles reference for this year's list is done.. I just died is a song about an absolutely mortifying experience delivered with great mirth. It's a fantastic, sing-along-in-the-shower bop, and have I mentioned the clarinet solo?

CLT DRP - I Put My Baby To Sleep (It's pronounced Clit Drip) What can I say, another explosive, genre defying, track by one of the best bands in the world. Now go listen to the entirety of Nothing Clever, Just Feelings.

Orla Gartland - Kiss Ur Face Forever Joyous, peppy and "let's play a game of emotional monopoly, in the name of monogamy" may be the best couplet I've heard this year. It's just fun, so much fun.

Bring Me The Horizon - LosT When LosT first dropped, I referred to it as the geccification of BMTH, I meant that in the best possible way. I really enjoy how the hyper-pop elements lift this track up. "The next time that I open up to someone will be my autopsy" is one of the finest Oli Sykes-isms we've had in a long time.

Swans - No More Of This Okay, so the actual Swans track that should be on this list is The Beggar Lover (Three) but apparently putting an uncompromising, nigh impenetrable, 43 minute long epic in the middle of a playlist is terrible for retention, and I'm a coward. But if you have a spare 50 minutes, go give it a listen.

Pupil Slicer - No Temple Pupil Slicer continue to prove themselves to be one of the most exciting bands in Mathcore. Pushing against the boundaries of genre in a genre where pushing against boundaries is a core philosophy, No Temple is, according to the band, the heaviest song they've ever written. The bass guitar work is an exceptional standout for me here as it pushes against the rest of the song.

Carly Rae Jepsen - Psychedelic Switch With every CRJ album project comes a B-sides album, and with every B-sides album comes an absolute banger. Psychedelic Switch is undoubtedly this for the Loneliest Time/Loveliest Time project. You'd be forgiven for thinking Daft Punk themselves reunited to produce this french disco flavoured bop.

Soft Play - Punk's Dead Who the fuck are Soft Play? Sound like a bunch of lefty snowflakes. I've missed these boys, doing this kind of thing. The Robbie Williams feature is inspired.

Chappell Roan - Red Wine Supernova Red Wine Supernova is sexy, self-assured, feel-good, sapphic fun. It's a testament to how good a song is that lyrics like "I heard you like magic, I've got a wand and a rabbit" doesn't detract from it, but actually elevates it's effortless charm.

JAAW - Rot JAAW are an industrial metal "supergroup" formed of members of Therapy, Three Trapped Tigers, Sex Swing and Biglad. That is likely mostly gibberish to the average music listener, but to a niche few, it's a very exciting prospect. What it sounds like is swelling, tumultuous walls of noise, tortured screams, screeching guitars and pulsing distorted bass. Catharsis through noise.

Better Lovers - Sacrificial Participant More supergroup! Greg Puciato teams up with ex-members of Every Time I Die and Will Putney (of Fit For an Autopsy). I was devastated by the split of ETID, (off the back of the phenomenal Radical adn jsut before I was due to see them live), but Better Lovers is one hell of a silver lining. Puciato's energetic vocals bounce wildly off of the erratic musicianship that was the cornerstone of ETID's sound. It's a perfect match on record and is even better live.

Architects - Seeing Red Bless Architects. They're a band that are truly a victim of their own success, as they've tried to pull their sound and ethos in new directions it's been met with a huge amount of negativity from their own fanbase. Seeing Red is a reaction to this. "You want heavy? Here's heavy. Are you happy now?". Blegh.

Teen Mortgage - Sick Day Sick Day is a 2 minute punk blitz about how you are worth so much more than your labour and how having a cute cat you want to look at is a perfectly valid reason to stay at home. Capitalism 0 - Cats 1.

Purity Ring, Black Dresses - Shines Purity Ring and Black Dresses are both Canadian electronic duos and that's about where the similarities stop, but that just makes this collaboration all the more interesting. There's so much going on here, the chaotic harsh frenetic noise of Black Dresses, Ada Rook's screams, the twinkling synths of Purity Ring and sing-song melodies of Megan James. Somehow it pulls together to create something of true beauty in its own weird way.

Dream Nails - Sometimes I Do Get Lonely, Yeah Dream Nails take on the rising issue of incel culture and red-pill ideology, with grace and empathy. Pointing fingers not at individuals but at the systems and powers that enable and create these pipelines to hatred and bigotry. It's a bold and challenging idea, executed superbly.

Baby Dave - Sounds Good When a fan sends you an unhinged voice message out of the blue offering you a bite suit and dogs to shoot a music video, obviously the thing to do is make a song out of it, then take them up on their offer and use it as the video for that song. There's a great OPM era The Streets vibe to this track that plays off nicely of the grounded reality of its subject.

Sleep Token - The Summoning Sleep Token do the impossible, they make prog-metal (the unsexiest of all genres) , undeniably sexy. Nowhere is this clearer than on The Summoning, a 6-and-a-half minute epic of a track with multiple time signature changes and tonal flips, that somehow still oozes with a swaggering sexuality throughout it's runtime. The out-of-nowhere funk switch up on the end of this track is perfection.

Lambrini Girls - Terf Wars Love those Lambrini Girls, they say what I'm thinking, and they say it loud.

Ezra Furman - Tether This one had me in floods of tears from the first listen. A classic string-laden piano ballad about inescapable pasts and the desire to cut yourself free from who and where you've been.

The St. Pierre Snake Invasion - That There's Fighting Talk This track does two things it builds and it STOMPS, like real "put on your heaviest boots and then strap lead weights to them because they need to be heavier" stomps. An industrial-mathcore floor-filler, the song crescendoes then continues to crescendo into ever greater insanity. Get Stomping.

Calva Louise - Third Class Citizen Calva Louise's sound has evolved so much since I first fell in love with the band listening to their 2017 debut single Getting Closer. Third Class Citizen has elements of Muse in it's bass-lines, stadium-sized guitar riffs and fizzing production. The vocals and lyrical content make it something altogether its own though, the palpable fury in vocalist Jess' voice as she demands "Respect, motherfucker" is real and visceral.

HEALTH - Unloved Off the back of their genre spanning, multi-release collaboration project, DISCO4, RAT WARS sees HEALTH back in a focused mode and delivering their heaviest album to date. Unloved is a moment of relative respite on the album though, a Depeche Mode tinged track, soaked in 80's reverb and ready for the goth club. HEALTH pull you into their world of misery and beauty with catchy hooks and pulsing bass.

Anohni and the Johnsons - Why Am I Alive Now This year saw the release of "My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross", Anohni's first studio album with her band since 2010's Swanlights. The abrasive electronics of her solo albums are traded in for warm soulful tones and a raw almost live-feeling instrumentation. It's a beautiful, deeply emotive, and incredibly present sounding album. Feeling as if you are being drawn into the recording process itself, Why Am I Alive Now? is an existential lament on finding purpose in a purposeless world, in navigating through suffering to find hope and love. On learning why to be, when it feels like the world is set on stopping you from being.

HMLTD - Wyrmlands THE WORM IS HERE! Wyrmlands is an example of one track on an album that should be listened to in its entirety. The Worm is a concept album at its most conceptual, eschewing genre and at times structure entirely in favour of narrative and ~vibes~. It's a dizzying disorientating listen, that will leave you' with more questions than answers, but thankful for making an attempt 're mind awash with unanswered questions and fresh ideas.

Billy Woods, Kenny Segal, Danny Brown - Year Zero Year Zero refers to an apocalyptic cultural reset. Society has reached a breaking point and we must start from scratch, everything before was for nothing. Billy Woods and Danny Brown play two different sides of the same coin. Woods, stony faced and deadly serious "My taxes pay police brutality settlements" is the herald of the end "Burn it down with us inside". Danny Brown, the manic joker, revelling in the freedom of a new world, rhyming Good Will Hunting with Cool Runnings and dropping bars about ice cream machines. It's a compelling way to deliver a narrative.

#music #2023 #Spotify

2 notes · View notes

wri0thesley · 1 year

Note

do you have like. a filk playlist. because i'd never heard of the genre before you mentioned it, but LOVED both the horsetamer's daughter and dawson's christian, but have been hit-or-missing it through the spotify filk mix playlist

OH ANON . . . thank you for giving me the chance to talk more about filk.

so the thing about filk is, a LOT - and i mean a LOT - of filk is from ye olde convention days, and exists only in tapes sold on ebay and passed around at cons and inherited by bemused children (did you know peter s beagle, writer of the last unicorn, was a filker? now u do). there is a fair amount on spotify, but a lot of it is only modern stuff which i personally find has a kind of different feel to old filk music? (although i do really love vixy and tony's stuff too, i think both of their albums are on spotify, they did the dawson's christian cover i linked and it's probably my favourite version! see also for stuff i love from them: anna, the girl that's never been, missing part). both of the two filk spotify playlists i have saved (filk sampler and just filk) also suffer a bit from. self referential stuff. like, there's stuff from roundworm on both of them which isn't going to make sense if you've never heard the song they're parodying. it's a weird little mesh of a genre!

how i actually got into filk is mostly downloading out of print albums from this reddit link and then finding artists/writers i vibed with the sound of and looking for more of their work! sometimes when i loved an album so much i'd also buy the books etc it was based on just to understand it even more! anyway, my personal favourite albums from the above:

finity's end (based on cj cherryh's alliance union universe, made me seek out and buy a shedload of the books, which i would also recommend. i'm not generally a 'hard sci-fi' person but i really really clicked with these).

carmen miranda's ghost (the first filk album i listened to because i wanted to know more about dawson's christian after it came up in my spotify shuffle. more sci-fi/space stuff)

julia ecklar's horse-tamer's daughter (i mean. that makes sense. but i'm a big fan of a LOT of the album; especially threes, laughter from the lock and the eponymous)

these ones aren't on the list but most of them are on youtube, i really really love a lot of the mercedes lackey written filk albums. lots of them go along with her books (oathbreakers, shadow stalker, and lovers, lore and loss are my favourite of those - but some of them are standalone, like freedom flight and fantasy, which i also love. you can find them here!)

honestly sometimes i just find it fun to look through the list of pegasus winners (the filk awards) and choose them at random too. it's a really, really interesting genre with a super interesting history! i originally stumbled across it listening to spotify mixes for songs for oc playlists because i mostly listen to musical theatre which can make it hard to apply songs to other characters; naturally, i fell for a genre that makes that even harder.

#nat.txt

5 notes · View notes

hanoella · 3 years

Text

Affettuoso- With Feeling (Part 3)

Pairing: Bucky x Pianist!Reader

Set after the events of TFATWS: In an effort to start over and make a home in Louisiana, Bucky meets a friend of Sam’s who ends up being his landlord. With only a driveway to separate them, he finds that he’s not the only one looking for a fresh start.

Series tags/warnings: Slow Burn, Eventual Bucky x Reader, Mentions of Domestic Abuse, Canon Level Violence

Part 3 Word Count: 3k

A/N: Can you tell I don't really have a posting schedule? lol. I also introduced links to the specific pieces I had in mind. I'm using soundcloud because I don't think everyone has access to spotify. Trying to be reader friendly! This can be read with or without the audio, as I do my best to still convey the thought in the fic. Though if you can, I highly recommend :)

Thanks again for all your support! Every heart and comment motivates me and is just so wonderful

Read Part 1; Masterlist

---

A few days had passed since the night that Bucky had overheard your troubles. It had been quiet since, and you hadn’t left the house. The curtains were opened during the day and closed at night, the only telltale signs that you existed.

Doesn’t she have to work? Bucky thought to himself. He speculated all the different possibilities as he used the riding mower around the property. Maybe you were an heiress? You seemed pretty down to earth though. Or maybe you sold a patented idea for a ton of money. All this land had to have been expensive. And to not request actual money from him?

He eyed up the width of the gate for your fence. The riding mower couldn’t fit so he would have to use a push mower for your fenced off yard. He hadn’t seen one in the garage. Maybe the old shed at the back of your yard had one? Bucky parked the mower in the garage, taking a moment to make a mental list of everything. Depending on if he found anything in the shed, he might need to buy a few basic tools and a chainsaw for that fallen tree.

He walked out of the garage and over to the shed. The leaves were changing color and it brought a whole new atmosphere to the secluded forest area. Opening the gate of the weathered white fence, he looked around to see if you were out. No signs of life. Entering the yard and closing the gate behind him, he started walking to the back. Halfway through, he stopped at the fire pit. The grey stone blocks were starting to crumble, with a few of the bricks having fallen off. It would probably be really nice if he got a little bit of cement mix and filled in the gaps. Bucky made another mental note.

The shed had no padlock so he was able to open it with no problem. Amongst the cobwebs and bags of soil, was an older green push mower that looked like it might work. He gave the gas a pull and got no response back. Looking underneath, Bucky saw what might be the problem. He’d have to take a closer look later. Putting the lawn mower back onto its wheels, he pushed it across the yard, pausing when he saw movement though the glass doors of the back patio.

Craning his neck to avoid the glare, he saw you sitting at your fancy full keyboard. The way the piano was against the opposite wall, your back was to him. You had big over-ear headphones plugged into it, so he couldn’t hear the sound but he saw the flurry of keys being pressed down. Whatever you were playing, you played passionately. Hands and arms gracefully moved despite the speed at which they were moving. Enhanced hearing coming into play, he heard the muffled clicks of the fluttering keys. Suddenly, you pressed down forcefully, holding whatever chord you had struck as your shoulders gently relaxed. A deep breath. Arm creating a graceful arc as if you had studied ballet, you pressed gently on another chord. And another. Bucky counted three more times you did this before you let your hands gently fall from the keys to your lap. Several moments passed before slid the headphones off of your ears to sit wrapped around your neck. Another deep breath. This time as the breath escaped you, you stayed slouched, head tilting up to stare at nothing on the wall.

A buzz broke Bucky from his trance.

“Call me, new mission” The text from Sam on his home screen said.

He pocketed his phone, glancing through the glass one more time. There you still sat.

Unmoving.

---

The roar of the plane’s engine was just loud enough to drown out Bucky’s thoughts without being annoying. If it weren’t for the adrenaline of the recovery mission under the cover of nightfall, he probably would’ve been lulled to sleep. Beside him sat Sam, looking on his phone for the exact coordinates of the politician they had been sent to rescue.

“Here it is. I’m assuming there’s some sort of underground base since there are no heat signatures anywhere within the radius where he was taken. It should take us about ten more minutes before we’re directly over it.”

Bucky hummed in acknowledgement.

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Earth to Bucky.”

“What does your friend do?” Bucky asked suddenly, sitting up straighter and turning towards him.

“… What?”

“What does she do? I’ve never seen her leave the house. Is she okay?”

“If you’re asking why she doesn’t leave the house, it’s because her contract doesn’t start for a while. She’s technically still supposed to be in physical therapy but she hasn’t found a place yet. You know, your whole routine gets messed up when you move.”

“For her shoulder?”

Now it was Sam’s turn to look at Bucky, trying to decipher the motive behind these questions. Bucky shifted his weight in the chair, antsy under the scrutiny.

“Never mind, I-”

“Yes, for her shoulder.” Sam said, cutting him off. He stopped himself from asking why Bucky wanted to know. There was an awkward pause before Bucky explained himself.

“I just wanted to know. I’m not used to seeing people so…”

“Similar to yourself?”

“I was gonna say isolated but fair point.” Bucky admitted. Sam leaned back in his chair, looking straight forward.

“She’s been through a lot… I know you heard some of it.”

Bucky blinked in surprise.

“I realized the window was open when I could hear you drive off.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright, it’s good that you know.” Sam said as he held up his hand to cut Bucky off.

“She’s just trying to get a fresh start. She’s in a raw emotional space and in the meantime is a little skittish. Just like someone else I know.” Sam jabbed his elbow into Bucky’s side as he enunciated the last sentence.

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’m trying!” He shouted as he held one hand up defensively and using the other to block the second jab Sam was trying to get in. Sam chuckled and then stood up, grabbing a parachute pack and tossing it at Bucky, who caught it without even looking.

“Figured you might wanna try an actual chute this time.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and mouthed Sam’s words mockingly with a grimace as he put the backpack on. Clipping it into place, he joined Sam at the side door of the plane.

“She used to play in an orchestra you know.” Sam said wistfully. “The piano. That’s actually how we met. She had volunteered to play a small concert before the dinner. It really helped raise a lot of money for the VA.”

Bucky stayed silent, prompting him to continue.

“Then that bastard she was engaged to beat her and then shoved her down a set of concrete steps when she tried to leave him. It was like a month after we all came back. She was in the hospital for a while. Broken ribs, broken shoulder, and a nasty concussion to boot. Neighbor saw the whole thing and called the cops but the courts were so backed up and the case fell through the cracks. Wouldn’t leave her alone after he got out. So, I pulled some strings and helped her move down here on the fly.”

“… That’s terrible.”

Bucky didn’t know what to say or how to react. They stood in silence, taking a moment to pay a respect of sorts to the trials you have been through. Then Sam broke the silence.

“She just needs time to heal in more ways than one. But she’s strong. Resilient.”

Putting a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, he squeezed it lightly with reassurance.

“Reminds me of someone else I know.” Sam said, finishing the conversation and pulling his goggles over his eyes, giving Bucky the opportunity to take the compliment without feeling too on the spot.

Pulling the door open, Sam shouted over the wind.

“Ready?”

Bucky nodded. Sam jumped from the plane and deployed the wings, the shield shining in the moonlight. Bucky jumped right behind him, using the glint of the silver star to guide his descent as he followed the man that gave the shield its meaning.

---

You laid with your head down on the kitchen table, letting the last golden rays of sun warm the side of your face. You were exhausted from going to physical therapy, especially since today had been the first appointment. All the measurements, all the exercises, all the stretching.

All the questions.

“So, how did you break your shoulder?” the young blonde physical therapist asked.

“Ah, I… fell down some stairs.” You said, looking down at your hands in your lap.

She didn’t look up from the papers, instead just raising an eyebrow.

“You also cracked some ribs and had a concussion?”

“… They were concrete.”

She looked up from the papers at you, analyzing. Her gaze softened and she asked no further questions on how these serious injuries had been obtained.

“Let’s look at your range of motion.”

You had practically stumbled into the house, kicking off your sneakers and plopping down at the kitchen table. Minutes passed by as you regained your breath, heartbeat steadying. The house was slightly cold since you had turned the heat down this morning. As your sweat cooled, you wrapped your arms around your legs in an attempt to keep you warm without getting up.

The sun feels so warm… You thought to yourself drowsily, feeling slightly less lonely. The sun was a cheap substitute for the warmth of a partner…

---

You jolted upright, the kitchen dark and cold. Neck and shoulder stiff from the awkward position you had dozed off in. Feeling the dryness of your mouth, you got up, stretching your neck gently while you walked to the fridge to get water. Chugging about half the bottle, you squinted at the clock. You had been asleep for about forty-five minutes. Groaning, you put the bottle down on the counter and walked into the living room to close the curtains. Grabbing one in each hand, you went to pull them together when you hesitated, noticing that Bucky’s apartment was dark for the third day in a row. The sleek motorbike that was usually parked under the slight overhang of the garage was missing as well.

He was probably on a mission, right? Not that it was any of your business. You shut the curtains and turned off the lights before lightly padded down the hall, stopping to adjust the thermostat. The heat kicked on, sending a puff of cold air your way. You shivered as you walked with a quickened pace to your room, shutting the door and heading into the master bathroom, turning the hot water on with just a tad of cold.

Waiting for the shower to warm up, you leaned over the sink and looked into the mirror. Dark circles under your eyes. Small scar on the bridge of your nose. Running your hand through the roots of your hair, you felt for the scar where the stitches had been. When was the last time you had a haircut? Or put on some makeup?

Some higher being must’ve felt pity for you since the steam from the shower fogged the glass, preventing you from tearing yourself apart any further. Stepping underneath the warm stream, you let the warmth seep into your muscles, then bones, filling every fracture and break with a temporary sense of wholeness until the emptiness of your heart and home caused it slowly to drip out until it, along with you, was gone.

---

The next morning, you weren’t motivated to do anything. You lounged around the house, sipping on coffee and browsing on your phone for furniture, clothes, even sneaking a peak at some pianos. Wanting to invest in one you’d use for the next several decades, you had put off buying one until the money from your contract with the orchestra started in a month. You were still well off, nowhere near struggling and probably wouldn’t ever be unless you decided to buy a mansion (which was a no). You just wanted to be careful.

In the afternoon, you popped a pain killer and muscle relaxer in preparation for the few hours you wanted to practice. Thirty minutes went by and the ever-present ache in your shoulder calmed enough to let you practice with relative peace. Sitting on the bench in front of the keyboard, you pondered what you might play to warm up.

Hmm, maybe a Chopin prelude? Short, emotional, familiar.

Your left hand held the soft deep chords as your right hand softly flitted around the higher notes. Breathing in and out with the music, you tried to ignore the ache that start to surround your shoulder.

Playing the last few notes, you paused before reaching over to the bottle of painkillers.

---

Shortly after finishing up, you dragged a small table outside next to the wooden bench swing that was hanging on the porch. Bundled up in a soft sweatshirt, long-sleeve shirt, wool lined leggings, fuzzy socks and slippers, you brought out your hot tea, several blankets, a pillow, and a book you had been meaning to read for months. You were determined to do something besides practice, watch TV, and scroll on your phone.

You settled onto the bench, wrapping the blanket around you, nice and toasty from the layers trapping in the heat of a thorough practice session. The extra medication had really helped keep the pain at bay. Tentatively sipping the steaming cup, you closed your eyes to further appreciate the sweet tones of peach and honey. Setting the cup in your lap with one hand, you used your other hand to flip open to the first page.

---

Bucky hadn’t expected the mission to get so complicated. Finding the base was one thing, navigating in and out of the expansive maze was another. It took a few days to successfully get the target out and back to the embassy. He hadn’t properly slept during that time due to taking shifts with Sam. Not that it was any different from how he slept at home.

The sun was letting its last few rays bless the earth when he turned onto the driveway. Taking it easy on the gravel, he eased his posture and slowed the bike. He put pressure on the brakes as he made it past the final wall of trees that hid the water that was reflecting the last bit of color left in the sky. Rolling casually into a stop, he parked and let out a deep breath, shoulders sinking.

A stray bird calling out turned his attention in the direction of your house. The porch light was on. That’s new, he thought. Squinting his eyes, he saw a bundle on the porch swing. Was that you? Quietly walking over while taking his leather gloves off, he confirmed his suspicions. There you were, lying on your side propped up by a large fuzzy pillow. Eyes closed and breathing rhythmically. Scanning the scene, he noticed the mug on the side table, empty except for the used teabag. Your book was closed, the page you were on marked by one of your fingers. You must’ve fallen asleep while reading.

“Hey…” Bucky said gently. No response besides a small nose scrunch.

He repeated himself a little louder, squatting to be at eye level while gently setting his hand on your arm and shaking you lightly. You groaned this time, eyes fluttering open, taking a moment to focus. You squinted and pushed yourself up into a sitting position, losing your place in the book and attempting to blink the heavy drowsiness from your eyes.

“Bucky?” You questioned hoarsely as you met his eyes. He was still crouching so you were looking slightly down at him. Brow furrowed, you searched the blue of his eyes before looking around to see how dark it had gotten. As you turned your head back to him, he stood back up, scratching the back of his neck just to occupy his hands.

“It’s starting to get cold. I didn’t want you to spend the rest of the night out here.” He explained, choosing to look out at the water, now dark. When he turned his head back, you had also turned your head to look at the water, exposing the side of your neck, the tendons and clavicle accentuated by the strain. Bucky swallowed and your eyes met his, oblivious.

“Ah, thank you. I must’ve fallen asleep reading. I just started going back to physical therapy so I’ve just been so wiped… Anyway,” you said, dismissing yourself mid-thought. He didn’t want to hear about all that. “…did you just come back from a mission?” You eyed the diagonal cuts of leather on his jacket, noting the missing sleeve that exposed the glint of the metal.

“Yeah. I was gone for a few days.”

“Okay. I’m glad you’re home safe.” You mindlessly said, picking up the book and other various items strewn about.

Home safe. What an unfamiliar phrase.

As the words echoed in his mind, you had opened the door and stepped in, turning your head slightly to look back at him.

“Thanks again… Good night.”

“Good night.” Bucky replied, watching as you shut the door softly behind you.

Slowly walking down the porch steps, he crossed the driveway to the garage. Turning his head just in time to see the last light turn off in your house, he stood with his hand on the knob, meditating on the effect that one short sentence had on him.

Glad you’re home safe. Was this what it was like when you had someone waiting on you at home? The tired eyes and gentle smile. Would that be what it was like when he came home in the middle of a night from a mission when he had someone to share a bed with? Gently shaking them to let them know he was home? Or would he try to sneak into bed without waking them? He tried to imagine what that sort of intimacy would be like as he entered his apartment and then his room. Unzipping his jacket and tossing it over a chair, he stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into bed, wondering what it would be like if it was already warm.

#bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x female reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky imagine #SoundCloud

52 notes · View notes

theorangestofjuices · 3 years

Text

my spotify playlists for all the feelings and moods that are so vague and specific all at the same time

kiss me when the chorus hits

- songs with chorus’ so strong you either want to scream at the top of your lungs or kiss the nearest human being

i’m going to write a story so great (in process)

- my current writing playlist :)

would you kiss...me?

- if you are familiar with the novels ‘heartstopper’, you may be aware of the mix tape that Charlie gave to Nick. Even if you haven’t read them, I’ve discovered through my other friends that it’s comforting to listen to a collection of songs that someone gave to another person to express their love for them

when i’m spinning around with the window open

- you don’t need anyone else right now. just you. the late afternoon sun coming through your window, and your overall urge to spin around in circles when you hear that song

full notebooks and creeping vines

- a playlist filled with a strange vibe of dark academia mixed with pop that fits just well enough together that you want to both dance and wander through a use bookshop on a winters day by yourself

i shaved my legs

- aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnndddddd i'm in a state of wanting to be touched but also piss off don't touch me. please let me just feel sexy hanging upside down off my bed, fresh out of a 30 minute deep cleanse shower

cherries and music videos

- my red playlist. hey i’m here, what else can we do? my heart may be a tiny bit broken but i’m willing to forget that if you kiss me and pretend like we exist in a music video

fizzy drinks

- my orange playlist. fizzy drinks give me bubbles in my nose. wait, you know this song too?

honey bees

- my yellow playlist. i don’t want to be outside but the sunlight coming through the window is enough to make me dream of the energy i want to possess

petals and sneezes

- my green playlist. flowers make me sneeze but let me believe i’m immune if i roll down this hill. hey, you wanna see me swing on the monkey bars?

shooting stars during the day

- my blue playlist. electricity courses through my fingertips as i wave them towards the night sky. hey, you wanna see me do a handstand underwater?

fairy lights and pretty dresses

- my pink and purple playlist. i refuse to dance alone or without your hand in mine. in the afternoon, the sunlight hits my curtain rod and i can see tiny rainbows splashed on my wall

static and photographs

- my black and white playlist. static calmness, i’m maybe a little numb but that’s okay. maybe if you hold my hand i could feel something.

wanna go commit arson

- i’m choosing to be the villain in this story

blankets, pillows and fun times

- a playlist i made for when me and my extremely diverse friend group hang out. there’s something in there for...every kid. the gays. the theatre nerds. the rock kids. the emo kids. the indi kids. there’s a little bit of everything.

do you think they know

- pov you and your girlfriend are singing softly to each other in the bedroom upstairs because life is hard and you just need to tell each other that no one else matters to you

as the sun comes up kinda sleepy

- it’s either 6am or you’re just now waking up at 11:36 and oh my god you nearly hit me in the face when you stretched i better hold you close so you don’t frickin do it again

summer sunshine, 4:27pm

- i shall let a specific time speak for itself

get off the kitchen counter

- no one’s home. or maybe, everyone is home. either way, someone is going to tell you to get your butt off the kitchen counter within the next hour at LEAST

i can’t hear you say it louder

- did anyone else graduate in the year 2020? yes? no? maybe? it feels nice to be young sometimes though. sometimes

lemme know if any of the links don’t work kids :)

#spotify playlist #playlists #mood playlist #songs #specific playlists

19 notes · View notes

ayo-cowbelly · 4 years

Text

The Things We Do For Love ~ Part Two

previous part ~ next part ~ masterlist

FIRST OF ALL: I’d recommend listening to music during this one. Here are my choices, but it’s not required (don’t have to listen to all of them):

my tears ricochet by Taylor Swift. Found here.

Ghost of You by 5SOS. here is the link.

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) by Nancy Sinatra. Can be found here.

Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi, found here.

All songs available on iTunes and I think Spotify as well.

Oh, by the way: completely made up the story of Aayla getting her kyber crystal. There wasn’t a canonical one i could find in a quick google search (yes, i know, didn’t put in much effort searching for it, sue me) so i decided to make up my own for the plot™.

I cried writing this, people. There are tears falling. Not joking. This cuts DEEP. I promised angst™ and I am following through *cackles in palpatine*. this is meant to hurt, and oh boy, it definitely hurts.

So… have fun lovelies.

***

Cody was very, very grateful his Jedi survived.

Most, like Bly, were not so lucky.

***

Bly had mixed feelings about Felucia.

First of all, it was hot. And humid. And smelly (even with his helmet on). That combination, plus having to fight all day on top of that, did not put Felucia on the list of Bly’s preferred planets.

Though… there was a slight upside.

He liked to look at the plants. They were bizarre, sure, but the colors. Bly always had an appreciation for color. Growing up on Kamino, where everything was sterile and white and cold... the first time Bly left that planet and saw Coruscant, he was astounded at how bright and warm different shades could be.

And then he saw Aayla, and she gave a whole new meaning to the color blue.

Aayla was warm, but professional; spirited, but calm. And positively beautiful.

He had practically fallen head over heels the first time they talked (even though he had no idea what to call this sudden, powerful feeling in him). His brothers, of course, took it upon themselves to tease him mercilessly; but what they didn’t know was a tidbit of information that always took Bly by surprise, no matter how many times he heard it.

She felt the same way.

***

It started about 3 months after the crash on Maridun, when even though nothing had happened yet, it was apparently painfully obvious there was something there. Rex had noticed, at least, and decided to tell Bly’s batchmates when they saw each other at 79’s.

Bly just couldn’t catch a break.

But then, when their battalion had been stationed on Ilum (due to rumors of the droids targeting the caves where Jedi got their kyber crystals) and him and Aayla had stayed up late, sitting on either side of a small fire, and Aayla told the tale of how she got her crystal.

“It’s called The Gathering. We are told it is when we truly begin our paths as Jedi. I was freezing, and nervous that somehow I’d mess it up. Ironic, considering what the lesson is about; getting over our personal fears. I was worried that I wouldn’t make it in time- we are given only a few hours, and when daylight ends, the door to the crystal cave freezes over again. If someone was trapped inside, they’d be stuck in there for 19 days, until the sun rises again.

“Along with Master Yoda, six of us were sent off to this very planet, and there is no place more sacred to our Order. This is where we locate the heart of our lightsabers.”

“How do you get the crystal, exactly?” Bly had asked, genuinely interested.

Aayla smiled fondly, reminiscing. “Some might say our crystals are sentient, in a way. They call out to us in the caves. Only we know which one is ours. There is a powerful convergence in the Force there, causing it to be intensified. It exploits the insecurities of a person, exposing our weaknesses. If we successfully overcome these shortcomings, then we obtain our crystal.”

“What happens if you don’t pass the test?”

“It is said that fear, self-doubt, they consume you. This can prevent someone from finding their crystal.”

“That sounds like a very… taxing experience, to say the least, General.” Bly looked at her then, and saw her laugh slightly, and his heart stuttered. That unknown feeling rose up in him again, until he tamped it down.

“It is, but a good one all the same.”

He smiled at her. “So, how did your test go?”

“Like I said, I was nervous-”

“Since when are you nervous about anything, General?”

“Call me Aayla, please, Bly, it’s just the two of us,” the way she smiled at him then… it made his heart swim. “And I tell you, I was terrified. I hoped it’d be easy, and figured if I just ran ahead I’d find it soon enough. And of course, that didn’t happen.”

Aayla jogged through the labyrinth, careful not to slip. The icy atmosphere of the cave overtook her, and she felt like she would freeze. At least running kept her somewhat warm.

She had ended up on her own a while ago, wanting to take control of this experience and just get the crystal on her own. Aayla wanted it to be over. It was too cold, and she didn’t want to fail and be trapped. Get in, get the crystal, get out, she told herself.

Her instincts told her to make a right turn, and she came upon a small gap in the ice at the end, just big enough for her to get through. She debated whether or not she should enter, but the Force seemed to sing around her when she neared it.

She squeezed through the opening, and on the other side, there was a small clearing. In the middle, a mound of ice rose from the floor, about up to her hips. Something glowed at the top, and the Force got louder, more insistent. It must be her crystal.

When she went to grab it, the crystal remained stuck within the ice. As she pulled, it stayed firmly in place.

When she tried to pull on the crystal with the Force, it only seemed to sink deeper into the ice, somehow. How was she to get the crystal if it wouldn’t move when she wanted it to?

What if it doesn’t come out? Aayla asked herself. She had been in the crystal cave for a good amount of time, and she didn’t have forever. Her time would be up soon.

Rolling on her heels, she looked back at the gap that would lead her back to the main part of the maze. She grew more and more upset, her stomach churning. The stupid ice wouldn’t budge! The door would be closed soon, and she’d be trapped, and she’d fail-

No. Aayla had to trust in the Force. There must be a way to obtain the crystal, of this she was positive. She just had to figure out how. She’d have to calm herself to think clearly.

Easier said than done.

Taking deep breaths, Aayla reached out into the Force. If a part of her doubted this being her kyber crystal before, it didn’t now. The Force felt like it was smiling around her, somehow. Despite the cold of the cave, she felt warm. A thin thread existed between her and the crystal, and the Force trilled in her ear when she felt it.

She closed her eyes. The Force would guide her.

The warm feeling seemed to grow, washing through her and swirling around her in the air. Aayla’s lips turned up slightly, and she felt the brightness of the Force around her.

There was a vague cracking sound, and she heard whistling fill the room. Slowly opening her eyes, Aayla was blown away at the sight in front of her.

She watched, transfixed, as the crystal glowed brighter and brighter. The ice had broken, the pieces floating in the air. The kyber crystal levitated, an alluring blue shade.

Aayla approached and grabbed the crystal, smiling giddily. She had done it.

She squeezed back through the gap and walked calmly (well, more like speed walked, but she did it calmly) and exited the cave.

“That was the first time I realized that sometimes you have to give up control to think clearly. Stressing will not achieve anything. Trusting in others, in the Force, having faith that they will guide you; that is how we can move forward.”

“So, the Force guides you? It tells you things you need to know?”

“In a way. It’s like… a feeling. Not something tangible, really, but a sort of presence that leads you where you need to go. It’s hard to get a clear answer, most of the time.”

Bly wondered... “Can it do the same for people?”

“Yes, sometimes,” She looked up at him, with something in her eyes that he couldn’t place, but took his breath away all the same.

“And… what does it say about me?” He asked, quietly, not wanting to ruin this moment.

“Like I said, it’s hard to get a clear answer from the Force,” Aayla moved to sit by him, a soft expression on her face. She looked into his eyes, closer to him than she had ever been… if she moved a fraction, then…

“But with you, it’s never felt more right.” She placed her lips on his, and the feeling in his chest finally had a name.

Love.

***

They trekked through Felucia, Aayla in front, as always. She was used to it, now, after three years in this war.

At first, it had been stressful, which was to be expected. She didn’t know how to lead a whole battalion, how to fight a war, how to deal with the trauma said war brought. However, she always had Bly.

Aayla loved him fiercely, and made sure to tell him whenever she could. He was brave, and dedicated, and strong, and she was eternally thankful for him. For the joy he brought her.

And soon, in a few months, there’d be one more person they’d care for just as much. She had known for about a month. And Bly, knowing her so well after all this time, had suspected something was up. When she told him, she had never seen someone smile so wide. The pure happiness he projected into the Force was something she had only ever felt with him.

Thankfully, she wasn’t showing yet, meaning she still had time to figure out a long term plan. Of course, there had been some rumors that the war would be over soon, which hopefully were true. Aayla and Bly had decided that they’d leave together, go somewhere peaceful, where they could simply live. Just her, him, and their child.

Aayla paused, sensing something… off filling the Force. Suddenly, she couldn’t sense her Commander, his presence different, like everything that made him Bly was gone.

“Do you think it’s droids, Bly?” She asked tentatively, knowing that wasn’t the answer, but it was the only thing she could think of.

“No.”

The voice that answered her was not Bly. It was not the voice of the man she loved, of her riduur. It was a stranger, both in person and in the Force.

Aayla glanced around, seeing her troopers circling her. Confusion, uncertainty, fear... (something she had never felt around her men- something she never should have known around them, around him) they raced through her. She looked to Bly, as she always did, and back to the men…

And then pain, hurt, betrayal, both hers and the Force’s, they consumed her. Her last thoughts were of Bly, of their child.

Aayla knew she would die, as her troopers shot her continuously. She apologized to her unborn baby, who, in another life, she would have given all her love to.

As she already did for him.

***

When Bly came to (not came to, as that would imply he was unconscious, and he most definitely was not) he was met with his worst nightmare.

Aayla’s body, limp on the ground, her back covered in blaster wounds. The vibrant blue skin was barely visible, covered in smoking, gray holes-

He had put them there.

No.

He- he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t. Never.

But he already had. He had seen it. Watched it.

It was like Bly was trapped in a cell, unable to escape. CC-5052 had taken over his body, casting him aside. He heard her voice, but he couldn’t make out what she said. Though it was laced with… fear. That much he could understand.

Run, Aayla, Please, he shouted, though nothing came out. Run, and don’t look back. But she didn’t run.

The only sound that escaped him was a voice that wasn’t his own, saying just one word, the last word she’d ever hear from him-

He watched from inside his mind as he (but not him, he would never, please, please no, AAYLA-) raised his weapon and fired.

In his head, he pounded on the cell and screamed.

***

Bly watched from the side as two troopers covered Aayla’s body with a blanket. None of them could stand to look at her, at what they’d done, but they couldn’t leave her. She’d never leave them if their roles were flipped.

Except they weren’t flipped. She would never kill them, let alone hurt them, and she had trusted them not to-

Dark thoughts filled his head. But he didn’t have the strength to push them away. They were true, after all.

He killed her. And their child. The two things he loved most in this galaxy were destroyed by his own hands.

And any future he had dreamt of went with them.

***

The 327th stayed on Felucia for that night and the next, trying to figure out what they were to do. The holonet said the war was over, that the Separatists were no more, that the Republic was an Empire now… and the Jedi were traitors.

But they weren’t. They were protectors. They protected the Republic, protected their troops- who had been the ones to shoot them down-

The men were also trying to give Bly some space before bringing up any future plans. They had all known that something was going on between him and the General. It was they way they looked at each other; even the newest shiny could see the thinly veiled love in their eyes. Nobody ever mentioned it, out of respect, but they knew-

And if anyone didn’t, they figured it out at seeing his reaction to her body.

Bly collapsed on his knees next to her, ripping his helmet off, mumbling incoherently. All the other men could hear clearly was her name, over and over.

He pulled her close, turning her over, running his hands over her face and body, tears spilling down his face as he held his riduur.

“Aayla- no- please-” His voice cracked, his body shuddering.

The others walked over, some putting their hands on his shoulders, some kneeling close by, others bowing their heads as their Commander- no, their brother- shattered.

Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la.

Not gone, merely marching far away.

***

I’m sorry.

Also, this story will actually have five parts. So… stay tuned! If you want to be added to the taglist, let me know.

Taglist:

@likeshootingstarsinthenightsky (you are amazing!! your comments give me life)

@cacodaemonia (again, tumblr won’t let me tag you, I don’t know why but your blog won’t show up when i try to tag, very sorry)

49 notes · View notes

artjocked-blog · 5 years

Photo

THE OOC SURVEY ::

PREFERRED NAME — amanda

PRONOUNS — she / they

AGE — 18 - years - old

PINTEREST — blushiecheeks

DISCORD — coochpetals#3608

TUMBLR (PERSONAL/MUSE/RPH) — @ofmymuses

MYER-BRIGGS — infp + t

HP HOUSE — ravenclaw

ASTROLOGY — virgo

DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY? — kind of ? i always think it’s Wild when those “signs as ____” posts are accurate

HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED RPING ON TUMBLR — oof like 14?

WHAT YEAR WAS IT? — no idea. if I was 14, it’d have been 2014

NAME A RANDOM ROLEPLAY THAT STICKS OUT IN YOUR MEMORY — veritashq. that was the first ever rp where I literally felt at home

WITHOUT GOOGLING IT FIRST, WHAT DO YOU THINK SIR ELTON JOHN’S NET WORTH IS? — no idea ; a number at least in the millions

NAME THE FIRST SONG ON YOUR DISCOVER WEEKLY ON SPOTIFY OR THE FIRST SONG THAT COMES ON APPLE MUSIC / ITUNES SHUFFLE — I don’t …. use any music apps :( I only use youtube

NAME A BOOK THAT YOU READ IN SCHOOL THAT YOU SURPRISINGLY LIKED — I can’t remember the name for the LIFE of me but it was about these 2 guys trying to make an unpopular kid the class president or something like that ?

NAME A BOOK YOU HATED THAT MOST PEOPLE LIKED — I honestly don’t know ? I think a lot of the books I’ve read, people have liked

WHAT TV SHOW DID YOU RECENTLY BINGE? — rupaul’s drag race for the 200th time

FAVOURITE QUOTE — “clinkity-clank, clinkity-clank. the money goes into your piggy bank.” – IAMWILDCAT, 2018

LINK TO A VINE THAT EXUDES YOUR ‘ENERGY’ — this one

DO YOU WRITE OUTSIDE OF RP? WHAT DO YOU WRITE? — yes !! I’ve actually written a book & I’m currently writing another one ; I also have 39034589 unfinished stories

THREE YOUTUBERS YOU STILL TRUST — dashiegames, ohmwrecker & jacksepticeye

A CELEBRITY CRUSH THAT JUST WON’T QUIT — ugh, shawn mendes :( fuck me up

EVER MEET A CELEBRITY? SHARE YOUR STORY — I have never even seen a celebrity in person. don’t even know if they truly exist

WHAT’S YOUR PICTURE-PERFECT NIGHT? — after a fun-filled day, I would just watch movies and fall asleep with my boyfriend

A CONSPIRACY THEORY YOU KINDA BELIEVE IN — that 9 / 11 was an inside job

ARE ALIENS REAL? — frick yeah. you wanna tell me we’re the only beings in the entire galaxy ??

GHOSTS — hecc yes. my mom gets woken up by them all the time & it’s so sad because they scare her awake and she cries and it’s just djkfsh sad

BIG FOOT — i mean ?? possibly ??

THE LOCHNESS MONSTER? — see : big foot

WHAT WAS THE GENRE OF YOUR LAST DREAM? — I don’t remember but it was probably something SILLY like me walking home from a resturaunt or some shit ( that was literally one of the dreams I had that I vividly remember )

DO YOU STILL PLAY POKEMON GO? — I re-downloaded it when my brother slept over and I still sort of use it from time to time

WHAT’S A FILM YOU LOVED WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG AND RECENTLY WATCHED, ONLY TO FIND OUT YOU DON’T ANYMORE — none !!!!! I love all movies

DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING? — worries & anxieties n/a

WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BUT YOU’RE TWO LAZY? — sign language :( I really want to learn it but there’s a lot to learn and I don’t have the attention span to

THREE LANGUAGES YOU DON’T SPEAK, BUT WISH YOU COULD — portuguese, spanish & french

A GUILTY PLEASURE MOVIE — inside out

A GUILTY PLEASURE MUSICAL ARTIST — little mix

TELEVISION SHOW — uuuuh literally any cooking show

NAME A FICTIONAL CHARACTER FROM TV/FILM/MOVIE/GAME/BOOK THAT YOU FIND YOURSELF PROJECTING ON / YOU RELATE TO — fear from inside out

DO YOU FOLLOW ANY SPORTS? WHO DO YOU ROOT FOR? — nah, the only time I watch anything sports related is with my dad… cause quality time

HOBBIES BESIDES WASTING AWAY HERE? — singing, acting, GAMING, uuuh napping

PLUG A TV SHOW / MOVIE / BOOK / VIDEO GAME / ETC… YOU WISH MORE PEOPLE WOULD CHECK OUT — STORY OF SEASONS OR STARDEW VALLEY. if you liked harvest moon growing up, you will L O V E these two games ( fun fact : story of seasons is actually harvest moon. they renamed it for legal reasons )

WOULD YOU EAT A STRANGER’S FINGER FOR A MILLION DOLLARS? — okay listen. is it cooked or raw? cause if it’s cooked, I would but if it was raw, you can miss me with that

TEAM EDWARD OR JACOB? team rosalie

LIVE-ACTION DISNEY MOVIES, YAY OR NAY? — ehhhhhhhhhh yeah. I think beauty & the beast was well made

ON A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW MUCH DID YOU HATE FILLING THIS OUT? – 0. I love me some surveys >:)

#livingtask #livingtask:001 #livingtalk

5 notes · View notes

hopesanpedro · 5 years

Text

Createurs - We Exist

I have the pleasure of being in the presence of talented and passionate artists and musicians most of the time and it’s, for me, is one of the best things in my life. Friends, I call these people.

Last Saturday, one of the bands I looked out for in the past years launched their first album – We Exist. Createurs, which is apparently the French word of creators which is already so beautiful when you think about it in itself, is a collaborative band telling the stories of the monsters not just under our beds but also the ones inside our heads, even the ones that are chasing us, through the music of different people. They have also collaborated with different visual artists for each of their song and those artworks were also featured in the lyrics booklet with their CD.

We Exist album has 12 well-written tracks that speaks of the eerie, the enchanting, the damned, and the mystery of the entirety of life. Yes, life.

Now, I’m not going to pretend like I’m some music expert and give you guys a review of their album. I am, however, going to share with you my thoughts on each and favorite lyrics from the tracks in it.

1. Pancake (Re)Mix

This one’s a little too close to my heart. Remember the artworks I’ve mentioned earlier? I made one for them and it was for this song. I think this is the most outright cheesy song they have in their album. But even so, it wasn’t the corny kind. I described this one as “colorful” when I first heard it. It’s exactly the reason why I was careful on putting too much color in the artwork, I didn’t want to take the colors from the song – I wanted it to be as serene and innocent as the song.

“Flying with time just to witness your smile. And I, oh I’m falling down tonight”

We all know the feeling of being all chummy giddy soft inside like we swallowed a whole damn litter of puppies and they won’t stop making you melt from the inside and that’s what this song makes you feel like – kilig. Oh young, new, love.

2. Tides and Lifelines

Okay, just reading the title you’d get an idea of what this song is about. This song reminds me of a lyric from one of my most favorite band ever ever; “love is watching someone die”. (fine it’s from What Sarah Said by Death Cab For Cutie). I think this is one of the songs Createurs wrote and it speaks about mortality and how we deal with it.

“We’re the bullet in each other’s gun, shoot the angels that would take us apart”

Just read those lines. I don’t want to even think how hard it is to be so desperate and helpless in trying to help someone so dear in the brink of death. Ouch, I’m just gonna go and cry for a while.

3. Teragram Carnivale

“Shadows fall on rooms like this, where the sun and the moon collide, with your eyes that once were my carousel rides”

I feel like we all can relate to this song in some way. It has to be relevant to every one of us at some point in our lives. We all wanted to believe in something that has grew its root around our hearts and got a little too caught up in the roller coaster rides. I think this song brings you back to that particular time to make you realize that the past never changes and they never go away. Definitely in my top 3.

4. Facemask

I think I’ve played this song one too many times when they uploaded this on spotify before. Mostly because of its catchiness and its angst. Lol sorry I know, I can’t think of a better way to describe it. You can actually feel the song’s anger and disappointment wrapped in some sort of vengeful feeling.

I liked the lines “You’re only fooling yourself, messing everyone’s head. A catfish, a sly dish, the culprit, gets blown kiss”

In this digital era, anything and everything can be edited or lied about and it gets sickening when someone or a group of people manipulate others by lying to them about important things. Technology is a beautiful thing if used for good, but there is some greed in humanity that uses it for something else entirely.

5. Trigger Warning

“It’s the beginning and it’s the end. When all the light has been set, a warning when night is at best.”

I feel like this song was supposed to be in the beginning? It would have been nice to have heard this intro to all their haunting songs, both in a good and eerie way. It’s like the ones you hear when you watch a horror movie that gives you chicken skin and cool fog kinda vibes. It’s a mood setter, a look into the mirror of our own self. It asks you to look inside and acknowledge that you are one of these monsters you are so scared of.

6. The Curious Life of Mr. Hyde II: The Mexicat

This song is still in my everyday playlist. It’s been there since I’ve met Rain the night they played for WAT Up the first time and I got sucked into their music. Oh god I have so many favorite lines from this song!! It’s about mental issues and it perfectly sings the chaos that is in one’s head. They wrote this to try and explain how complicated it is to be in the state of unstable mental health in a very poetic way.

Here are my top 3 lines (YESS BECAUSE I CANT CHOOSE OKAY?? ☹ ); “The colorful imagery of dancing audacity”, “Conversing with my demons, addicted to the tone”, “I haven’t got a martini or any kind of whiskey, But baby you’re my margarita, drunk in love with you”.

Welp. Let’s just say I love the entire lyrics ugh

7. Pianocktail

OH THIS! I love this one. This reminds me of my other favoritest band forever – Panic! At The Disco. The story within and the sophistication in this one is something that’s imprinted into my fanatic heart (awow).

“The taste has never been this condescending. A drink to be made by the one and only pianocktail!”

Ah, there’s nothing more tripping than an uncertainty for something you’ve had for so long.

8. Chat Box From Alaska

“She’s a part-time lover and a beautiful liar, plagued with her broken words and empty promises. Cornered by the pillars of her comfort and embrace, making out with someone better, someone smoother, someone tastier”

I feel like this song is basically for fuck girls who manipulates people for sex by leading people on and leaving them just as fast. I think the last part of this song was written by Rain as a poem years and years ago? Nevertheless, it ended the song so smoothly.

9. Awful Things the Moon Saw

This song makes me think of obsessive lovers or past ones that refuses to let it go. Maybe it’s also us when we hold on a little too tight on something that’s already slipping away.

“Well you know you’ve got me haunted by your scent, Now I find myself begging and falling for you more and more.”

It is also kind of a lullaby to me for some reason, I can sleep soundly with this one playing hehe

10. St. Cecille

This one’s also in my playlist since I’ve first heard it. I think I read the story behind (or at least heavily connected) this song, written by the vocalist. He has a lot of passion, idk ask him. JK!!!!

"Rhyme our thoughts in this waltzing dreams. Time stops when you are around. You’re the one I’ve been talking about on the song of roads and hearts”

I wish I can share with you guys the link to the story but I’m not sure if he’d like that. Anyway, this love song is right up my alley – mysterious, magic, and love? Hell yas.

11. Bloodstream

All I can say about this is that I am so excited for the story to come out because I want to look more into it. Twilight’s werewolves just left the building.

“Chaotic, poetic, and overly narcissistic. Hypnotic, agnostic, but slightly optimistic. Out of the forest to Manila fucking buses. It’s a tale about a man who waltzed among carcasses.”

It’s a midnight story!

12. Stellar Memories

The first song, besides the ones I’ve already heard before of course, that caught my attention in the album was this one. It’s a desperate attempt to preserve something we believe in and wish for its memories to last up to our end.

“Set up the fire and let’s dance around the house. Then watch it burn down like the dreams we fought so hard to get. If this is it, hope higher, ‘cause we’ll hide from the world and never make a….”

I feel like this is the best song to end the album with because I didn’t want it to end and I just kept it on loop for all its entirety because I liked each song.

I’ve already wrote a (lengthy) Instagram post about their well thought branding and packaging but I also want to commend them for the bomb line up and organized launch! Page Four Production reminded me so much of the first gigs of WAT UP and made me miss the team. From promotions to media exposures, to the materials! I look forward to attending gigs they’d come up with!

I won’t ask for more releases so soon because I want to savor this album and all its stories. I’ve already heard the Part I of Mr. Hyde and it’s Createurs’ gift to everyone who attended their launch so if you are curious, wait for the next album maybe it’d be included there.

This album will always have a special place in my heart. It’s definitely worth the long wait. Congrats, Createurs!

Listen to them on Spotify and follow them on their social media pages to be updated!

#hopesanpedro #new music #createurs #night life #we exist #art #music

1 note · View note

sveasauvageon · 4 years

Photo

You are always on my mind, always in my heart And I can hear you call my name on a mountain high || HSWW

☾♔; March 2, 2018 ☾♔; sotd: you are the only one by Sergey Lazarev ☾♔; comedian otd: Stephen Colbert ☾♔; A Svea x Henry Playlist ☾♔; {G} https://goo.gl/PnjH23 ☾♔; Mod(s): @.miky94

Title: Lyrics from "Always" by Aysel and Arash (yes, of course it's another Eurovision song. I'm gonna be in ESC mode until like mid-May now)

--one spot left in Ravenclaw, please fill it fellow nerd!! (group link: https://goo.gl/PnjH23)--

Preamble Ramble: man, I just realized I haven't really made any dolls of Svea and Henry on their own, there's always someone else with them.

--featured not-mine OC: Henry Clark | @.lady-stoneheart

I believe "restraint" is a word that does not exist in vocabulary. I have never exercised it, if that even is a thing! XP

⠀⠀⠀⠀☆──════ ♦ P L A Y L I S T ♦ ════──☆ ⠀⠀⠀ ──════{ https://goo.gl/Wwgx4s }════──

‣ Always by Aysel and Arash https://goo.gl/ETCs57

‣ Delicate by Taylor Swift [song not available on youtube and I REFUSE to listen to covers. just use the spotify link, it works in your browser. probably. works in google chrome]

‣ No Vacancy by OneRepublic ft Amir https://goo.gl/mCwbSn

‣ Satellite by Lena https://goo.gl/fRWuhw

‣ Aphrodisiac by Eleftheria Eleftheriou https://goo.gl/CS5Z46

‣ Don't Blame Me by Taylor Swift [song not available on youtube and I REFUSE to listen to covers. just use the spotify link, it works in your browser. probably. works in google chrome]

‣ I Can't Go On by Robin Bengtsson https://goo.gl/XY3vZS [slightly different from the version on spotify, he says "fu.cking" instead of "freaking" in the version on youtube. damn it EBU, let him say it!]

‣ Qele, Qele by Sirusho https://goo.gl/e2ghtq [slightly different version on spotify, but they only have the remix :( ]

‣ Feed On my Love by Robin Stjernberg https://goo.gl/epa3UH

‣ Everything has changed by Taylor Swift ft Ed Sheeran https://goo.gl/SeVQT9

‣ Grande Amore by Il Volo https://goo.gl/dstMeR

‣ Giants by Take That https://goo.gl/aWAh9x

‣ Close by Nick Jonas ft Tove Lo https://goo.gl/vxNyJY

‣ Dress by Taylor Swift [song not available on youtube and I REFUSE to listen to covers. just use the spotify link, it works in your browser. probably. works in google chrome]

‣ You are the only one by Sergey Lazarev https://goo.gl/Mcnx6U

‣ End Game by Taylor Swift ft Future and Ed Sheeran https://goo.gl/jUWKWH

‣ Au Coeur de moi by Amir https://goo.gl/Gn6gsX

‣ Lost in You by Lena https://goo.gl/KBVnUP

‣ Relight my Fire by Take That and Lulu https://goo.gl/WjGnGv

‣ I Can't Go On (Acoustic) by Robin Bengtsson https://goo.gl/DrNgQi

‣ Touch by Little Mix https://goo.gl/73waVX

‣ Call It What You Want by Taylor Swift https://goo.gl/oKwsf1

‣ Amar Pelos Dois by Salvador Sobral https://goo.gl/nhGfYd

‣ Cry by Take That and Sigma https://goo.gl/vxuv6p

‣ La La Love by Ivi Amadou https://goo.gl/TUdYTE

#polyvore #doll set #mine #Svea Sauvageon #Henry Clark #svea x henry #hsww #playlist #luna

0 notes

actutrends · 4 years

Text

#159: Are You A Maximizer Or A Satisficer?

| By John Petersik | December 16, 2019 |

Have you ever thought about your approach to making decisions? It turns out that humans tend to have two distinct styles (and they even have fancy psychological terms to go along with them). The funny revelation is that Sherry & I each exemplify a different one. So this week we’re sharing what we’ve learned about each type of decision maker, and how it can impact everything from how we choose items for our home to how we booked our first international family vacation. We’re also outlining five ways you can refresh a room without spending ANY money whatsoever. As in zero dollars (Sherry would add a “holla!” right here). Plus, the new kid-friendly kitchen activity that we’re loving, the exciting-ish conclusion to our Color of the Year predictions, and how far people will go for bread.

You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.

What’s New

If you want a great primer on Maximizers vs. Satisficers, Gretchen Rubin has a blog post all about them and this article from Psychologist World goes into the topic with even more depth.

Plus, you can hear the original segment where my maximizing tendencies came to light in Episode #156 when we were talking about how we were reducing the stress of our master bathroom renovation.

image source

And if you have any “must do” suggestions for Costa Rica (specifically the region around Manuel Antonio National Park, please let us know!). We’re headed there for our first international family trip after Christmas and we’re psyched for some adventures!

Updates

Here’s Pantone’s official announcement about their Color of the Year 2020: Classic Blue where you can read more their choice.

And if you want to hear all of our original Color of the Year predictions, hit up Episode #147. And in Episode #149 and Episode #151 Sherry got to bask in the glory of being spot on with her predictions.

image source

You can also hear our full discussion about holiday traditions from around the world in last week’s show, Episode #158.

Pictured above is a photo from Philadelphia’s Mummers Parade that we heard about after the original episode aired. I have to say it’s much more extravagant than we pictured! More info here.

And here is some info that debunks the myth of the German pickle ornament and below is a video that makes me feel like I’ll never say Newfoundland correctly 🙂

youtube

Zero Budget Ways To Update Your Spaces

As promised, here’s a recap of the five ways that you can refresh or tweak your rooms without spending a single dime (because sometimes you have an itch to change things up, but it doesn’t mean your bank account has to feel it).

1. Take things out

We’ve talked a lot about simplifying and minimizing the past couple of years, and it still amazes us how paring things down can bring renewed focus and appreciation to the things still left. Plus, the extra breathing space in a room will help it feel different even though you didn’t actually bring anything new in.

2. Rearrange or reorganize existing furniture or items within a room

Whether it’s trying a new arrangement or simply switching art, pillows, or plants around within the room – a little shuffling can give it a feeling of newness and might just unlock a better or more functional layout along the way.

We talked about how we rearranged our beach house backyard furniture, which you can read more about it in this post, but below you can see the new layout complete with the conversation area that didn’t exist before. And again, we didn’t buy anything additional – just redistributed what we already had. Only took about an hour of trying a few things and seeing what we liked best.

We also talked about doing this in our master bedroom, where we recently moved two existing dressers to act as our nightstands. That easy change not only proved to be more functional for us, the layout also feels a lot more balanced in person because the mirror above the dresser on the right mimics the window on the other side of that wall.

3. Shop your house

Instead of buying something new, see if you can steal something that you already own from another room. It could be as big as a rug (Sherry often moves rugs around when she stages homes for sale) or as small as an artwork or lamp swap. That painting above our bed used to hang over my desk in the office, but last year we moved it upstairs to mix things up. We like it so much better up there and the spare mirror we hung in the office offers me a better view out the windows from my desk (even if it’s just a reflection).

4. Use your leftover supplies or materials

Dip into your craft closet or paint cabinet and see if there’s a project you can drum up using the fabric, ribbon, spray paint, wood, etc. that you already own. We love little projects like painting the back of a bookcase, a small piece of furniture, or even a pillow (yes, a pillow)

Sherry also mentioned how people are using Ardex feather finish to give old lamp bases a concrete look. We have yet to try that ourselves, but we did use it to give our old laminate counters an update and to make a new top for a coffee table.

5. Add greenery

Last but not least, take some clippers to your yard and bring back a branch, a bloom, or any other greenery that you can pop into a vessel that you already have on hand (pitchers work, as do old vases – heck, even a drinking glass!). You may be surprised by how much life and “newness” it adds to a room without spending a single buck.

Also, if you missed our original discussion that spawned this topic, you can check our conversation with personal finance expert Tanja Hester in Episode #157 (which is where she mentioned that she decided not to spend any money on her home anymore, so that she could achieve a big financial goal).

We’re Digging

There’s the toy & game closet that we have in our foyer, although it’s an older picture from before we moved all of the games to the top shelf to keep the pieces from getting “repurposed” for other activities (or, you know, lost). No more Scrooge McDucking with the Monopoly Money before school.

And as Sherry promised in the episode, here are some of our favorite family games these days (these are all games that we can play with our kids aged 5 & 9).

Sequence

Ticket To Ride

Low Down

Uno Flip

Exploding Kittens

Bears Vs. Babies

Tenzi

Set

Those are some of the pancakes we made using the Foodstirs pancake art kit (I made the chihuahua, and our daughter made that happy little pancake with hair on the right). We’ve asked for a couple more of their kids’ baking kits for Christmas presents for the kids from the grandparents, so that should be fun.

If you don’t want a kit, you can buy Foodstirs baking mixes a la cart too (everything’s organic and non-GMO) so we may use those to restock our pancake mix to make more beauties like the ones you see above.

If you’re looking for something that we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.

And lastly, a big thank you to SnapPower for sponsoring this episode. Use the code YHL15 to get 15% off your entire order of easy-to-install nightlights, guidelights, and more at SnapPower.com.

Thanks for listening, guys!

*This post contains affiliate links*