Dear Gale,
It has been three days since I left Waterdeep to visit my family in Rivington and I miss you terribly. I hope Tara is looking after you whilst I am away. Give her a big cuddle from me.
Father is always asking about you and Mother has promised to cook her signature seafood stew when we next visit. Next month, perhaps?
I must confess, it is strange being back here. I grew up on this farm, yet it is a completely different world to me, now I am finally accustomed to living in Waterdeep and indulging in its splendours.
Where do I even begin?
A lot has happened in the family since our wedding all those months ago. Alexandra is pregnant and is expecting a baby girl - yes, we are going to be an aunt and uncle! Olivia has matured so much since I last visited. I vividly remember caring for her at the age of twelve when Mother, Father and Alexandra were away for months at a time, all whilst I was studying the ways of nature and becoming Initiate Druid. She is now twenty-two years old and living in Turmish - we must pay her a visit soon!
Shadowheart wrote to me whilst I have been staying here and she sends her regards. She is itching for us to visit her at the cottage once the academic year settles down for you. Buttons is now a year old! We will need to bring treats and be armed with cuddles (fear not, Buttons does not bite). Do you recall my first week working at House of Pride Perfumes when the hunting dogs thought you were an intruder? And I taught you how to calm them down, so the bouquet of roses you brought me did not get torn to shreds? Buttons will be a piece of cake!
I will be returning to Waterdeep in two days. Whilst I have enjoyed visiting and catching up with my family, it will never compare to the life and home that I share with you.
I love you always and consider myself the luckiest and proudest wife in the universe.
All my love,
Kara
Sweetest Kara,
Worry naught, my love, Tara has been fussing over me since the very moment you left. It is almost as though I cannot take care of myself without one of the two of you here! I swear on my honor, I am perfectly capable by myself. Regardless, we are both doing well though I do miss you terribly.
Do let both your parents know I will be up with you when we return, I cannot miss any mother’s home-cooked meal when offered so sweetly. I believe next month will work, I shall make arrangements with the academy at once.
Send my warmest congratulations to Alexandra! She must know that “Uncle Gale” will be spoiling her child rotten, so help me gods. Perhaps after we visit again next month we can take a trip to Olivia. I’m sure she’s grown finely in these last few years apart from you.
It seems as though we are planning our whole summer out already! After the year is over for the academy, we can make arrangements to visit her. I certainly do remember that! I do not know how I could ever forget such an event. If Buttons is half as rowdy as they were, I doubt I’ll find as much trouble as I had.
Send word when you have started your way home, my love. My mother is itching to visit us, as well, and has been hounding me to take an evening off from “pointless ramblings” to spend with her. I’m not quite sure she understands those “pointless ramblings” are important research papers, but I know her heart is in the right place.
I adore you with my very whole soul, my love. You are the stars that light my path home in the night, and the sun that guides me through the day. You are the beacon of hope that allows me to keep pushing even at my darkest hour and without you here, I find it all the more difficult. I cannot wait for your return.
The soul intertwined with yours forever,
𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔
text reads: gale dekarios
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Continue from this the Opal vr John fight. Winner was John.
(This takes place after the grounded event. So the continuity is a bit out of order. )
Trigger warnings for child suffering, delusional rambling, bleeding out, and possible disturbing imagery.
Opal's body pushes blood to heal the open wound, but her arm can't heal around the knife's touch. It's killing her. Without any fallback systems in place for her biology made by a God, there's no way for her to recover. Her legs weaken, and some snap off to prioritize the major wound. They crash to the ground loudly. No one dares leave their homes.
Her eyes wander, but there's nothing worth focusing on down there. How long before he comes to drive the knife into the rest of her body? She dropped the lady, and he said he'd hurt her worse than anything she felt if the lady died. He couldn't be dead, because he said something after he fell.
(Cut for length) for the singing, tunes inspired by nowhere king, candy hearts and paper flowers, and some of my own tune.
Opal
Phillip
How long did he want her to wait for? Maybe she should try to...run? With what? Did she have legs? She looked for them, and it looked like she did, but they felt like nothing. They weren't real anymore. That's nice, she doesn't need to think about legs anymore.
The blue soaks into her body from the puddle and comes back out. She watches it grow. It's pretty, and it glows a little, like a melted star. Is she full of stars? They must've melted inside her. She laughs and tries to touch the stars with her fingers, but the hand isn't listening to her right now.
Everything is dizzy and spinny. She doesn't want to be on the merry-go-round anymore. It's making her sick. She turns, and more stars leave her mouth. It hurts, stars hurt when they leave like that. The star puddle is cold. It feels good, she's too melty inside. Maybe the stars can help her up into the sky when they leave.
This must be how stars are born. They die and turn into rain bits. She liked cold rain, colder than the water cups in the kitchen. Then they come back out and have to fly away again. They'll want to take their mama with them. She didn't want to be a mama, but her stars make the meltedness in her hurt less, so it's ok. She can be their mama. The star puddle isn't flying away yet, maybe they're too scared.
"Iss...ok...t' fly." She could fly. When did she fly? Flying was fun, right? She was small, small babies flew away to neverland, someone said that once. Was she small enough to go to neverland? The stars could come with her. The stars will take her there. "T'nk you stars."
She's breathing for some reason. It rocks her head a little. It's nice, so she keeps doing that. There's a rocking chair in auntie's room that makes a little sound like a donkey. Auntie is dead now, like everyone else. She feels sad. Is anyone still alive, or is she all alone? They're waiting for her so the games can end and they can go home.
She tries to remember a name to give to auntie. It's not there. None of the names are there. Where did her name go? Someone lost their name in a forest. She lost her name there too and now she couldn't say her name or the forest girl's name. The only name that she could find was...
Phillip. That was a special name. It makes her head hurt less to think about. Phillip. Phillip is a special name that matters more than anything. Why is it so important? "Please...tell me..."
Phillip sat on the rocking chair with her. Phillip found crayons she could see. Phillip didn't laugh at her for not seeing anything but what the big people said was blue and yellow. Why wasn't everything blue now? Phillip was a special name. A forever name. He has her name and she has his. She hopes he brings her name back, she wants to see it again. He must miss his name too. He gave it to her, and now it's smudged and cracked. She got it all dirty when... when... She wasn't up here before, but where did she drop the name for it to get so messy?
Phillip would be mad she got his name dirty. He says it's ok when she drops her drawing in her food. Names are like drawings too. You make one and it's yours but you can give it to other people. Phillip drew lots of pictures with her. He doesn't draw anymore. Would he be mad?
She closes her eyes. The star puddle hasn't left yet... Phillip is a good name, it's an important name. Phillip said they'd get old together and go to Florida, his mom said that's where the old people go. Florida had alligators, those were cool. Maybe Phillip is in Florida waiting for her.
It feels good to close her eyes. It's good so she does it. The meltedness in her isn't as bad anymore, the stars are taking it out of her. They're so nice to her, it was too melty inside for her. It's good on her...what? Skin, that's what it is.
Phillip. It's important. He's important so important, where is he? She's shaking, and now the star puddle is too cold. It hurts! She tries to get away from the star puddle, they're mad at her because she didn't give them attention. That's what bad mamas get, pain for being bad. She's bad at being a mama, she doesn't want to be one at all.
"Help me..." She starts to cry. Why does it hurt? Her face is cold, and it's a bad feeling. It's so confusing, it's so dark, where did everything go? It hurts so much, he's back. He's come back and stabbed the knife in her eyes and it's dark forever he's going to stab her forever and she's in the dark now-
Something touches her arm. "You need to open those to get out of the dark." It's Phillip... he taps her eyes. She tries to open them, and it's hard to see anything. Her eyes hurt so much.
"Hi there." He's laying next to her on his chest, frowning at her. Phillip looks just like he does on the rocking chair.
"H-hi." She tries to focus on him.
"You got beat up again. I'm sorry I wasn't able to fight off Glen this time, I thought he was grounded." Phillip looks over her at something far away. "...that's not true, is it? That happened a long time ago, Opal. That's not why you're crying. You got hurt really badly today." Opal...that was her name...right?
Opal, the name still didn't feel right, reaches for him. He was important, but something was still missing. Why was Phillip so important? "It hurts..."
Phillip takes her hand and pulls her up to lean on the entrance to the roof. "It's all done now, no more make believe. Now we can go home and play something else."
"What do you mean?" Opal pulls away from him and falls back on the floor. Something is wrong. Something is bad. "What’s make believe?" The words feel familiar but they don't belong. "No, no it's wrong."
Phillip stares at her with disappointment. "Why can't you just play along? Why can't you just accept this? Look at me. I'm here! I'm perfect looking, isn't that enough for you? Why isn't this good enough to just go along with?"
Opal chokes and coughs, more blood pouring out of her mouth before she could ask him what's going on. Phillip growls and hits his open palm into her chest and makes her cough even harder. "Stop!"
"All you had to do was say ok! That's why you always got hurt! You can't just accept it, can you? You always need to know more, and it hurts everyone else! You couldn't just be happy with your eyes. You couldn't just be happy being Pokotho's special girl. You couldn't just be happy with your body and you made a mess of everything! It's all your fault! You know it is!"
Opal sobs and curls away from him. "I don't understand, what are you saying?"
Phillip rolls his eyes and stomps on her knife broken arm. "You're the worst friend in the world, Opal. Why do you get to fade away in a friendly happy little daze and I had to die that day in the battle? Why did you get to live? Why did you get to leave and do all those wonderful things when you don't even care enough to stay put? It's stupid! I hate you, I hate you because you got everything you wanted and I didn't get anything. You're the worst."
Phillip turns and stomps away. "What did I- why- wait..." Opal cries and curls into a ball. Her arms are too big, and her legs are too big and she's all alone. Opal is alone and Opal will always be alone. Opal doesn't deserve Phillip. Opal is useless.
The time ticks by, Opal and she wishes it would tick away and take her already. Opal is tired and in pain and hates all of this. Opal hates John for doing this to her. Opal hates everyone who left her like this and never stopped to ask her what Opal wanted. No one cared about her enough to think about her as anything but a servant. Or a cute pet to play mommy with. Opal hates life and every last bit of it because it only ever led her to more and more pain until she finally got here, and now Opal could finally lay down and die and leave this awful world behind. Opal can see it all and curse it for being there. Opal is tired. Opal gives up on it all and closes herself off from anything and everything forever. Opal is dying. Opal is dead.
............................
She opens her eyes and tries to find warmth. She watches her tears fall onto the floor and they sparkle at her kindly. She's sad to see them fade.
Through her arms, she sees something move in a stuttery, slow crawl. It pushes and wiggles itself into view. He tilts his head towards her and a sleepy eye meets hers. "I'm...late, but I'm here."
It's the voice, the good voice that makes her think of nice things like the flower around his neck. A flower she knows. "Are you..."
"I think so." He doesn't have much of a mouth to smile with, but he uses what there is to try. He rolls closer to her. "You are too."
She looks at him. "Do you want them?"
He nods. "Can I?"
She shakily opens her bag. Inside, in a shaped lining are his arms.
One is cleanly cut by Pokey without her permission, the other ripped and torn free. She pulls out the clean one first and he pushes himself up on the arm. Holding the second, she threads her hand through its fingers and he takes it back and squeezes her hand back.
Most of his face is gone, and the metal shards in the exposed bones of his skull poke out like spikes. "I missed you." He says. "You haven't visited in a while, but that's ok."
She leans on his arm. "I...broke it." Something broke that meant everything to her. What was it? Something tumbled out of her chest and lay between them. It was shattered. She had broken his candy heart. "I-I'm so sorry..." She starts to cry harder, shoulders shaking.
He hugs her close, and his flower brushes her neck. "You kept it, and that's what matters. I kept your flower, and now we're back together again." He doesn't breathe, but he's warm. "We can make new ones."
She leans against him and he helps her rest against the door downstairs. He curls up with her and looks at the stars in the sky. He's stained with the same thing she is. He's warm, and she's not, so she pulls him closer. He tries to smile again and holds her hand. "Where?"
"Up in the sky, we were gonna go together." He rests his head on top of hers. "We can always whether the weather~." He sings a bit of the tune she knows deep in her core.
"That's what keeps us together..." She sings it back. It's right. It's the song she wants and it's the song that is him. It's the song that is her.
His voice is the good one that she sings with all the time. Everyday they sing together. Everyday is better with him. "Candy hearts and paper flowers, sunset skies, with hundred' hues."
Rhymes and songs we sang, for hours. Words to say I'll love you true.
Times get bad, and then I worry! How I'll ever see it through... but our candy hearts and paper flowers, will always keep me close to you.
Will always keep me close to you!
He sings softer now, and his hands are in hers the way she wishes they were more. He hugs her arm the way that she hugs his when they aren't in the bag.
I'm sorry for breaking your promise, can you even still look at me?
I told you once and now again friend, we'll make a new one so let it be.
But is it hurtful to be with me? When I was so bad to you.
Hey, now, this candy heart is still a-loving, and that love is forever true.
She cries and changes the song, trying to meet him in the connection and joy of sharing music together.
I, missed you and I love you so much, I, wanted to grow you a bunch...of paper flowers so you could be joyful and such, I love you too.
Long days in a rut that was us, happy campers but the reasons turned to mush, so now on the edge of the pain ending rush! I'll hold you close.
They sing together, whatever things they want to say, all coming through in rhyme and lyric until she...starts to lose track of her words. They aren't making sense anymore. He finishes the song, and she tries her best to keep up.
We can, do anything now just come and, hold me close and then, we'll fly! Fly up in the beyond! You and me! Joyful and finally free, as the sunrise, blinds both of our eyes!
Candy, papers will wrap up the candy, flowers and hearts go side by side, and they're bound all their lives.
All their lives...
So now we, paper and candy go swiftly, hurry and run for the starlight! Run to the ground, below~.
For now that we can be eternally,
reunited, let's go live our lives!
We're united...let's go live our lives~
He smiles and takes her by the hand, the other rest on her cheek over the cut in her mouth. "It's time to go."
She closes her eyes and a small spark lights in her mind. Those words meant something a long time ago...
"Mmaaaamaaaaaaaa gooooo!"
A lady in white puts away her phone and looks at her lovingly. "Ok baby! Are you ready for the super duper tough workout?"
"Ya!!"
She gets on the lady's shoulders and she buckles and dramatically wobbles around. "Wooahhhhh I can't stay up! It's too tough a workout! Nooo, I'm gonna fall!"
"No! No no fall!"
The lady makes effort noises and puts her down on the table. "Phewwww, maybe we should just stay home today, I'm pooped." She grins.
"Noooooo! Candy!"
"Hmmm? What's wrong? Ohh I said we would go get some candy after going to the big gym! WelI I guess I have to then!" She laughs and takes her hand. "Alright. Time to go, kiddo!"
He waits for her and looks at the sky. "Are you ready?"
She shakes her head. "There's...more...need the lady first..."
He nods. "Ok, how do I get her?"
"Gotta...be alone looking..."
"I'll be right here waiting, ok? We're gonna make a new candy heart for you, and a new paper flower for me! Right?"
"Mmmmmmm...yeah, wait for me."
He kisses her forehead and hugs her arm tightly. "I did before, and I always will. Cuz I love you." His only leg is bent to go over some of her legs.
"Love you too...friends in...in..." She's so dizzy, and the stars are twinkling around her like little fairies.
"Friends in every weather, friends always together, friends until the very end of time!" He recites it better than she can. He drags himself out of her sight and she lays on her arms. She can't see anything anymore and her head is quiet.
It's a nice quiet. She can't go without the lady and tries really really hard to be loud. It takes all her power to do it. "Lady in white! I'm- I'm ready to go! I'm...ready to go White lady...go...up..." She smiles and closes her eyes.
It's time to go.
@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite
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It makes me so sad with what happened to Jimmy with his career. Yes he had a very successful career as a session musician, being in the yardbirds, and then Led Zeppelin. It’s about his life after Led Zeppelin. He lost his spark, and sadly he was never as good as he was when he was in Led Zeppelin. He was so overworked throughout the zeppelin years that he turned to drugs. AND THE WORST ONE TOO he had heroin and I also heard Richard encouraged him to try it (I fucking hate Richard so much). Anyways it’s sad because Jimmy was on so much drugs and alcohol that his playing became sloppy, especially at live aid. And I often hear people saying that Jimmy is a sloppy guitarist. And yes I hear so many people praising jimmy’s guitar playing and they are so right because he is such an amazing guitarist and producer. But it makes me wonder what else he could’ve done if it weren’t for the drugs and being around the wrong people. Because he did show a lot of his talent, but I always wonder how much more potential we could’ve gotten out of him in the 80s and 90s if he didn’t do drugs and wasn’t overworked. But I’m glad that he survived that dark time and hopefully now he’s enjoying his last years with family.
dear anon, i often think about this as well. the drugs didn't just hurt jimmy, but they hurt the entire band. jim was surely the most affected, even though things ended up in the worst case scenario for bonzo, as we all know.
i often find myself thinking about this and regretting them not getting help sooner, because i feel like there was still so much the band could've done, and they could've gotten bigger and bigger and who knows where they would be today.
many say zeppelin was done by 1976, some argue that their last two albums are not on the same level as the others, but to me they were just a manifestation of what the members were going through at the time. that's how art works, what you feel, you produce.
i do believe that, had bonzo not passed away, they would have all gotten help sooner or later and they would have had a chance to rise on top again. music was changing fast and more than ever it was acquiring their sound. a lot of mainstream 80s-90s rock were bands knocking off led zeppelin, so imagine if the one band who inspired an entire musical shift and genre - metal - was still around by that time! its influence on the music industry would've been immense, and i firmly believe that rock would be fairly different today. the band had stated various times that working together was incredibly satisfying for every member involved, and that there was no eagerness to break up or for any member to go solo... they had endured so much together and by september 1980 they were about to embark on an american tour, their morale having just been rejuvenated by a short tour of europe. in the words of john paul jones:
“Morale was very high. We were in really good spirits. We were stripped down a lot, musically, and as an act, we remember back to what we were doing. Punk kind of woke us up again. "Oh yeah, I remember what we are supposed to be doing here." It was about to go for a change of gears and round two... By the time John [Bonham] died, we all had sorted it out and were ready to go again. He died in rehearsals for an American tour.”
jimmy said in an interview (sadly i can't recall which one) that him and bonzo were already planning to record a heavier hard rock album - in contrast to the more mellow "in through the outdoor" - and the timing was just perfect, given the fact that this was the very beginning of the metal era (a genre very heavily inspired by led zeppelin and 70s hard rock, in style of music, hair, clothes... you name it)
i'm sure the band has long dwelled on how things would've gone as well. especially jimmy: zeppelin was his own creation and it finally came to a tragic end. no wonder he was so lost and had pretty much the lifestyle of a recluse from '80 to late '83. sometimes you just gotta be happy you survived - especially in his case.
and while zeppelin is zeppelin, it's almost untouchable to me, there is still some wonderful stuff released by all three surviving members that is definitely worth checking out and loving... someone should talk jimmy through uploading his movie soundtracks to streaming platforms, though.
i think he owns all rights to those albums, no? death wish II was released on swan song records while lucifer rising was self-released. scream for help by john paul jones is also missing.
oh and about jimmy being sloppy, i do believe he always was a little, and the drugs surely didn't fix the "problem".
but it's part of his style! it makes his solos more exciting to me, and you gotta be a little sloppy to play the blues anyway. i think at most it just makes him more unique and his playing more recognisable.
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