#&. lianne thread

[littledots]

THREADS DROPPED 14/12/2022

@unwrittenxrp (adrien & sera) @dozenrozez (sofia & gavin) @blumhouses (corey & randy, nat & gavin) @neptunc (lianne & lila) @nightskymuses (danny & talia) @elegancemultimuse (kent & lila, gemma & nell)

*** once again, these threads are NOT being dropped due to lack of muse or lack of love for these threads. these threads have been sitting in my drafts for so long because i DIDN'T want to give up the pairings. if you are interested in continuing our thread, please please please message me.

[parkerbombshell]

Addictions and Other Vices 940 Fix Mix August-September 2024

Addictions and Other Vices Fix Mix Saturday 6pm-9pm EST bombshellradio.com and Sundays 1pm Thanks to all the artists, labels and PR companies that submitted tracks. #IndieRock #indiepop #powerpop #AlternativeRock #electropop Fix Mix  940 1. **Lemonade Baby & Ronnie Sinclair - Seeing Double** 2. **Run With Me - Ravi Amruth** 3. **Moving Into Tucson - You're Right, I'm Wrong** 4. **The Veras - Davey Walking Round With The Sole Of His Shoe** 5. **Hello Operator - Librarians With Hickeys** 6. **Funhouse Mirror - Vinyl Mirror** 7. **The Lines - Pete The Punter** 8. **DYSAYNIA - Ivy** 9. **Galexi - Don't Wait - bLiNd Remix** 10. **Falcon threads - Stop Wars** 11. **Jody And The Jerms - Lights** 12. **Chris Lewington - My White Bicycle** 13. **Magnolia - In My Head** 14. **Triage - Matt Edible & The Obtuse Angels** 15. **Krooked Tongue - Nothing Ever Grows** 16. **The Great Leslie - No Future** 17. **Godiva - The Other Side of Town** 18. **Lexi Berg - Lonely Satellite** 19. **Susan O'Neill - Rewire** 20. **Izzy Steele - Sheff** 21. **Ben Walker - Lose It All** 22. **Lovi Did This - Canary in a Goldmine** 23. **Candy Apple Blue (ft. Nick Bramlett) - Moving Out of Town (Matt Pop Radio Mix)** 24. **Critchley & Simmons - Since My Mother Died** 25. **Girl Next Door - If Dance Floors Were Silent** 26. **teepee - mindless** 27. **Alex Ohm - Down The Rabbit Hole** 28. **Todd Hearon - Anchorage** 29. **JC Miller - Tombstone Junction** 30. **Jimmy Mallia - Had Em All** 31. **Chapell - This Could Never Be Me** 32. **Andy Jans-Brown - Something** 33. **Aunty Donna - Who Are You** 34. **Lianne La Havas - Bittersweet** 35. **Lonesome Animals - Little Things** 36. **Rye Mills - Way Out** 37. **Leonian Dream - Hide** 38. **PJ Orr - Guns n' Money** 39. **Petunia & The Vipers - Billy The Kid** 40. **Mike Evin - Outside With A Guitar** 41. **Rory Taillon - Hatchet** 42. **Dark Horse Heroine - Pretty** 43. **von Krogh - Costs** 44. **Sun Atoms - Ceiling Tiles** 45. **Pete International Airport - Sea of Eyes**    

  Addictions and Other Vices

  Read the full article

[pcraspcra]

NOTE: this blog is on a semi hiatus until I don’t really know.

about the mun

name: clarice pronouns: she/her age: 30 timezone: cst

important links

carrd | interest checker | mains call | memes | meme calls | self promo’s | starter calls | psa’s | tags | to do lists | thread tracker 

low activity, mutuals only multimuse featuring muses from: the mcu, harry potter, glee, and more. vehemently anti-jkr or other assholery.

mobile muse list under the cut!

literature

hermione jean granger (fc: zendaya coleman; 23 in main verse; fandom: harry potter)

lily evans potter (fc: jessica chastain [golden trio era], madelaine petsch [marauders era]; 31-42 in golden trio era, 17-19 in marauders; fandom: harry potter)

bellatrix black lestrange (fc: helena bonham carter [golden trio era], katie mcgrath [marauders era]; 31-42 in golden trio era, 17-19 in marauders; fandom: harry potter)

carmen isabella garcia (fc: ana de armas, 22 in golden trio era; fandom: harry potter)

katniss everdeen (fc: tanaya beatty; 16-34; fandom: the hunger games)

film

james ‘bucky’ barnes (fc: sean teale; 110 in main verse; fandom: mcu)

steven ‘steve’ rogers (fc: chris evans; 110 in main verse; fandom: mcu)

barbara ‘bobbi’ morse (fc: adrianne palicki; 32 in main verse; fandom: mcu)

thor odinsdottir (fc: katheryn winnick; ~1500 years; fandom: mcu **please note my thor is trans mtf; her backstory can be found here**)

annabeth webb (fc: samara weaving and margot robbie; fandom: jumanji)

bethany elise walker (fc: madison iseman; 18 in main verse; fandom: jumanji)

sheldon 'shelly’ oberon (fc: jack black; 39 in main verse; fandom: jumanji)

tv

david 'dave’ karofsky (fc: max adler; 23 in main verse; fandom: glee)

lucy 'quinn’ fabray (fc: dianna agron; 22 in main verse; fandom: glee)

veronica lianne mars (fc: kristen bell; 17-21 in main verse; fandom: veronica mars)

philip j. fry (fc: seth green; 25-35; fandom: futurama)

reginald "red" albert forman (fc: derek theler; 18-28 depending on verse; fandom: that 70's show)

[noloveforned]

i'm getting over something and my voice is a little hoarse but it's not going to stop me from doing my show tonight on wlur from 8pm until midnight! tune in live or catch up with last week's show on mixcloud at your convenience and i'll be back next week- hopefully at full strength!

no love for ned on wlur – may 24th, 2024 from 10pm-midnight

artist // track // album // label phosphorescent // revelator // revelator // verve tiger saw featuring sarah white // the spectre // card tricks for the love sick // burst and bloom finom // dirt // not god // joyful noise nap eyes // feline wave race // the neon gate // paradise of bachelors moss lime // hoodie // (bandcamp mp3) // (unreleased) arab strap // sociometer blues // i'm totally fine with it don't give a fuck anymore // rock action abracadabra // telling time // shapes and colors // melodic gustaf // close // package, part two // royal mountain sky furrows // point that thing somewhere else // dot dash mixtape volume one compilation cassette // dot dash sounds pardoner // future of music // paranoid in hell 7" ep // convulse ddt // mr. rogers neighborhood // brave new world 7" ep // chunklet industries mope city // wind locked me out // population: four // tenth court ativin // the polar thread // hidden tracks, 1995-1996 ep // secretly canadian alastair galbraith // bakunin // lagash // nice music damon and naomi // lilac land // everything quieter than everything else- live in japan // ghost future archives shabaka hutchings featuring lianne la havas // kiss me before i forget // perceive its beauty, acknowledge its grace // impulse! isaiah collier and the chosen few featuring dee alexander // love // the almighty // division 81 alan braufman // spirits // infinite love infinite tears // valley of search ibelisse guardia ferragutti and frank rosaly // barro // mestizx // international anthem little simz // mood swings // drop seven // forever living originals kwasi afari minta // barima nsu // ghana special two- electronic highlife and afro sounds in the diaspora, 1980-1993 compilation // soundway michael sembello // maniac // flashdance soundtrack // casablanca nights templar // floorboards // half the year // paisley shirt is/ought gap // wake up wet // sua // happy happy birthday to me lightheaded // bright happy girls // combustible gems // slumberland sharp pins // lorelei // radio ddr // (self-released) aluminum // everything // fully beat // felte rural france // the song she skips // exactamondo! // meritorio the high water marks // you fucking fascist // so many things at once compilation cassette // 6612 tapes

[neptunc]

below the cut are plots i'm currently dying for:

JUST AN FYI: THESE MUSES ARE BISEXUAL, SO THESE QUALIFY FOR M/F/NB!

[for KIT]: a high school/college reunion plot where our muses were close during those years but life and careers eventually drifted them apart. and now, 15-20 years later and with a weird desire to relive the past, they both show up with no expectations. gimme a happy reunion and shared laughter of old times and people watching their old classmates/colleagues with silly judgements. they’re in a room full of people but remain with each other the whole time instead. sneaking out to old hang out spots… deep conversations like no time had ever passed between them… could be platonic or romantic!!

[for KAIZA]: band members!! she's a drummer for typically a rock/punk centric band in her main verse (could be your muses' band), or we could do a thread where she could be desperate for a job after a bad band break-up and saw your auditions posted on a cork board??

[for STACY-ANN]: give her an escort job!! it's one of her main verses and i have yet to flesh it out!! could be with a first timer or a regular either one!!

[for STACY-ANN]: with her other main-ish plot being a hire-able assassin, give her someone who either hired her for a job (and it's totally insane and makes her question her job) or give her the target of her assignment.

[for LIANNE]: i'm a sucker for experience plots... li's always been a little more on the sheepish side, but gimme someone who'll help her...  👀 👀 👀

[thetruthaboutnolan]

IF WOTNA WAS SO BAD THEN WHY DID YOU STAY FOR SO LONG?

It’s a two prong answer really. Firstly, was G. His abusive and controlling tendencies didn’t show themselves at first. Ever since my first day there we were literally talking all day everyday. We plotted, and we posted so much and so quickly that hitting the daily posting limit was something we did multiple times. From conversations with him I can say we both felt that each other were the very reason we even had muse for our characters and a drive to post within minutes of getting a reply and for most of the day. The second he would get online it was he something of a race to see which of us messaged the other and started today’s conversation.

The other reason believe it or not, was that I had no idea I was even in drama til a couple of months after I joined. When speaking to me, G never brought up any issues or negative feelings. He was happy to see me on and to post with me. Occasionally he’d ask I change my reply a little but never said anything other than and at most ‘it would make replying to you easier’ if I did change something. The complaints he was giving Admin M we’re done privately and her taking that info and twisting it into something far worse as ‘she knows that’s what he really meant’ was all done on a private Skype group she has for staff and their friends. I didn’t really pay attention to the staff and a few people never replying to my starters or taking weeks to reply when I made a post for their starters. And I spoke with and seemed on friendly terms with the people I had been threading with.

G told me he only complained that I made MY OWN character do to many things in a post which made him feel forced to reply everything and o was ‘controlling’ the thread that way. That he only did so two or three times. But Admin M admits that those ‘in the know’ were discussing it almost daily as G and I were replying to everyone else but each other so quickly that we took over the dash a lot. Despite them all joking and knowing that G can pop out paragraphs for a single reply with a couple of minutes and that I could do the same. They saw this happening as him being forced. The double standard started to kick in. If G posted all his replies for others then did 10 back to back posts to me within 12 minutes since he had no other replies then he was ‘great, awesome, such a quick poster, etc etc’ if I did the same with the same circumstances. I was ‘taking over the dash, bubble posting, forcing him to reply only to me, etc etc’ so they were talking about us daily, everything I did was thrown in a negative light based off what Admin M was telling them since she ‘knew what G was trying to tell her but was too nice to really say’. But no one ever even gave a hint of this to me or publicly. The handful who were involved in this gossiping simply didn’t say anything.

It took two months before it boiled over enough on their end that I started to notice more and more were refusing to post with me. If I said something in the Skype OOC then someone would do those one word postings to make you have to scroll to see what I wrote. Think ‘oh my god look what just happened on in my thread’ not written as a sentence but each single word wrote, sent, and continued til the sentence was done. G of course was mostly acting normal with me the only sign of the drama behind the scenes was when I did one of their ‘anon Fridays’ you know the type where you ‘ask me anything and I reply in character’ or from a list of prompts. While it’s answered in character it’s either not canon or just fun with the characters actually using these questions and answers being either meta gaming or just not allowed. The anon that triggered the first sign of G’s abusive side? I was asked (later told Lianne had sent it) “G’s Character, can be such an asshole sometimes can’t be?” My reply in character “he can be a bit dickish but he has that hard ass strong silent type of personality to most. It takes a little time to get passed that and see the real him.”

This was the first time that G let his abusive side come out. He tried to make a thread for us off of those anon but I wouldn’t allow it as it’s not canon and meta gaming if he makes it knowledge for his character. So he just hurled insults at me about myself then about my character. This went on for nearly 40 straight minutes of him just sending me messages on Skype insulting and belittling me. An hour later he would apologize and tell me he was just getting hounded by others over it and was mad at them but let it out on me. And he WOULDN’T DO IT AGAIN. Those of us who know abusers know what it means when you hear these words. But I also still had to delete the post or he’d cancel our plot as he couldn’t understand why my character would even think that canon or not.

That was when no one was holding back anymore the gossip and their apparently hatred for me that they were all keeping private came out fully. After that it was both me not wanting them to bully me out of the group that made me not leave that and G. He would always convince me that the others didn’t matter, he loved to post with me and I was the main reason he always had muse for his character. He even had me back him up in getting a character that staff didn’t want to allow. He ended up getting the character which he only kept for a like 3 weeks by the way. Gage issue G has that started it all only lasted a couple of weeks as well and when he wasn’t being abusive he was being his normal self that constantly would message me and talk to me for hours and post for hours. So I stayed til it got to be too much and ultimately caused me to try and kill my self.

So in the end one gossiping admin who dramatized a complaint a ‘friend’ made and only had for a couple of weeks effectively turned an entire group against a single person because….. she knew better? I don’t get it myself or why literally no one said anything and just kept everything to themselves until they were given a ‘sign’ to go ahead and bully me. They were all very immature back then. While I kept things between me and G, but they clearly didn’t and invented their own stories things just got worse. Whenever they would piss off other members who left and would troll them they instantly would say it was me as I was the one who was there or the only one who THEY had an issue with even though I was clearly ignoring them and their bullshit. Only to completely change the story when presented with evidence of who was really trolling them or when someone they didn’t expect suddenly posted in all their tags about their character theft, then all their trolling was blamed on that person now.

Now while this drama completely blindsided me I guess you can say I wasn’t completely innocent when defending myself. I demanded that the staff no longer post about my character in the gossip blog as they did so only to attack both the character and me. I accused the staff of stealing my character ideas as I submitted a few want ads that never got posted but Admin M’s character suddenly had a power boost that mimicked the powers I was suggesting for one of them. Then one in the clique also made a character that was surprisingly similar to another. I also ended up first messaging Lianne about what was going on which she later told them I was harassing and insulting her in it when screen shots showed it was literally for messages my ‘so what’s going on’ her ‘what do you mean’ me saying what I’m seeing. Then her replying ‘I had no idea’ then me just never replying because I knew she was lying. I then blocked her on Skype on all her blogs from mine which drove her up the wall. I guess my actions combined with Betsy and Sam trolling them which they blamed on me that I HAD TO GET PROOF OF to disprove drove them to their dramatics at the time.

In truth, the place was just toxic. It was a bunch of then early to mid twenty year olds who just wanted to smut all day. Who were bored with anything else and made drama OOC because they didn’t have enough IC drama or something? Even today a good chunk of the people that ‘heard of me’ talk to me and tell me how toxic that place was and how they would love to mix it with my own group and post together as they saw I was pretty good at it. Most of them are in one of my current groups but some still low key wanna merge WOTNA with my old group and continue our characters from back then. Though they seemed to have settled with WOTNA having been a past timeline in my groups world which we got to visit a few of them. Making it so the group I had here and its original jcink forums version were also past cycles in the timeline kind of like how Battlestar Galactica had that history repeating thing going through its timeline.

[icedflora]

(Catching Up)

October Activity Check: On Hiatus, but met post req. beforehand November Activity Check: Partially On Hiatus, but met post req. afterward December Activity Check: Passed!

Skill Point Allocations:

October: +1 Reason [D -> D+]

November: +1 Reason [D+ -> C]

December: +1 Reason [C (1/2) -> C (2/2)]

Rank Reward: Bolganone (Message ML)

Threads Housekeeping Below:

If you would like to drop a thread OR you don't see your thread listed here, please dm me on discord!

Current Threads:

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous (Modern AU) || Leo & Flora

Come On, Let’s Run! || Flora and Ike [+1 Heavy Armor]

VeggieTales Got Murdered and God Wants Justice || Jakob & Flora

Mourning Glory || Flora & MCorrin [+1 Faith]

What Makes Us Strong || Flora & Lianne [+1 Sword]

Recipe for Better Rations || Ingrid & Flora

[jupitcr]

@silvrmoon​​! BASED.​

“what level of PAIN would you say you’re experiencing?” lianne asks as calmly as she can, her eyes flickering between her clipboard and the other’s arm. they were her first solo patient, so the nerves were definitely on. luckily for her, it seems she’d gotten the LESSER of the group injured by the supposed, which was understandable with her experience. but she still felt she needed to care for it as any other. the brunette placed her papers down and grabbed some items. “how does THIS feel?” gentle eyes look at them, placing the antibacterial fluid upon the wound as nicely as she could before wrapping it in gauze and a bandage. 

[unhingedera]

thread with: @jupitcr​ continued from here.

“what are you TALKING about?” in this moment, lianne wonders if they could hear her heart shattering into a million pieces, because it felt like that’s all that rang in her ears. “i am happy, i am!! i— i’ve never felt this way about ANYONE before! please…” she sighs, tears beginning to well up in her doe-like eyes. “please don’t leave.. i-i’ll do ANYTHING.. i’ll… i’ll pack up and come with you. let me come with you..”

“you’re not happy with me, lianne. isn’t that any obvious? you know what i’m talking about.” elena somehow unintentionally snapped at the other whilst she continued to pack her things, not even bothering to look up at her, because the musician knows how she’ll easily break if she did. “is this what you really want? sacrifice the things you love doing, not see your friends and other people close to you that much, sacrifice that part of you just to be with me? i’m always all over the place with my career. i’m not letting you do anything that’ll jeopardize your happiness, i can’t do that..” she sighs, still avoiding those eyes she’s very much weak for. 

[arcadianiisms]

where: definitely prosper’s place  who: lianne x prosper tagging: @museolympus​

It had been another one of those days, when Lianne’s temper decided to rear it’s ugly head. All it had taken was one mention of Prosper on her social media feed, not even his post, that did it for her. He was on a date. A bloody date. And as much as Lianne tried, there was no denying the fact that it had gotten under her skin, deeply so. 

So she sent her barrage of texts, one after the other, in all caps, and maybe a few voice memos to boot. Playing the part of a jealous girlfriend, angry that her man could look elsewhere, it wasn’t too far from the truth of the matter, that was the woman’s own emotions. Ever since they had agreed upon just sleeping together, maybe she was taking a mile to Prosper’s inch, but she couldn’t help it. Lianne was possessive of a man she swore wasn’t hers, but she’d be hardpressed to admit to it. 

The woman was waiting at his place, telling his butler that Prosper should have been expecting her, and sipping on a glass of water while she waited for him to get back. Certainly, she had riled him up, and she was only getting started. “Hello, my dear. I hope you had a good date? You certainly seemed happy in the pictures, so I thought I’d...check in.” A shrug of misplaced innocence, as if she had done nothing but just show up here. 

[crackmyhcart]

@shadowedstilinski

lianne was humming to herself while she fried up a few eggs for her and stiles. after a night like last night, she thought he DESERVED a good breakfast. not to mention she put on his shirt as a cute little surprise for him in the morning. she just loved the smell of him on her. it almost felt like an ARMOR. is it possible for someone to smell as handsome as they look? because he sure pulls it off. 

[hauntedfalcon]

living in midnight

for day four of Nile Freeman Week: "Nile & Struggle" plus a fantasy AU in which superheroes exist, Nile isn't one of them, and she doesn't let that stop her. 1700 words, rated M for swearing. content warning for wounds and needles because it's Nile's turn for sapphic patching up, as a treat

the title is from Lianne La Havas’s “Midnight”. many thanks to @flightsofwonder for beta reading <3

read on AO3 or below

Nile opens her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. There is an unfamiliar pillow under her head, and she is recumbent on an unfamiliar sofa. Above it is a window, where streetlights reflect in the sinuous trails of raindrops.

Rain. Knives. Three attackers. She fought like hell, might have broken someone’s arm, but they landed one good hit. They left her for dead in an alley. She watched her own blood run into a puddle.

She bolts upright--and hisses when a wave of agony breaks over her, starting in her abdomen and shooting everywhere.

“Please don’t move,” says a softly accented voice. “You’re safe here. I haven’t seen your face.”

Nile collapses back down to the pillow and touches her face, just to be sure. Her mask is still in place. She drops her hand and forces one eye open, blurry with pained tears, to get a look at whoever dragged her in from the alley.

A white woman. Dark shoulder-length hair. Youngish, maybe Nile’s age. Dressed all in black, much like her--not for stealth but for soft goth vibes. Cute, if she’s honest, but this isn’t the fucking singles bar, get it together Freeman.

“I staunched the bleeding,” her rescuer says, “but I was waiting until you were conscious to do the stitches.”

“Do we have to?” Nile groans before she can stop herself.

A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile. “I’m afraid so. Would you like some fortitude?” The amateur surgeon holds out a bottle of Everclear.

Ugh. Nile takes the cap off and drinks deep, leaving enough in the bottle to sterilize whatever needs to be sterilized. It tastes like ass and lingers at the back of her throat.

Before the alcohol can set in and obliterate her senses, she says, “Can I borrow your phone?”

The woman hesitates. Very wise of her.

��Listen,” Nile says. “We had two leads come in at the same time. Al-Tayyib took one and I took the other, and mine was a decoy, which means...” She can’t, won’t, say it aloud. She hates how feeble she sounds. “I just have to check in with him. Please.”

The woman hands her a smartphone, unlocked. Nile hits the keycode to make the call anonymous, then dials Joe’s shitty flip phone from memory. He keeps it on silent when he’s on the rounds, and he’ll only answer if he’s safe.

Pick up, she wills him, because if she has to hear his stupid cheerful voicemail greeting now of all times, she’s going to scream right in front of this poor woman who didn’t ask for any of this drama in her life. Pick up, pick up, pick--

“Pronto.”

Nile’s gut tightens (painfully, but that’s not what matters right now) at the sound of another unfamiliar voice. The assassin. Joe walked into a trap.

“Where is he?” she demands, trying to sound hard and not like she’s lying on a stranger’s couch with an open wound.

A gust in the speaker. Is he laughing at her? She strains to hear anything that would give away their location: traffic, a clock tower, machinery, anything. There’s nothing else. No hint of Joe yelling in the background, either.

“I will return him to you presently,” says the asshole. Very formal.

“What, after you shank him like your goons did to me?”

“They were instructed not to kill you,” he says in a voice that wouldn’t fog a window in January. “Did you die?”

White-hot rage flares out of her with no place to go. “Where is he, you son of a--” But he has already hung up on her.

Nile resists the urge to growl. If this was her phone she would throw it against the wall. Instead she quickly deletes the record of the outgoing call, and hands the phone back to the woman, who pockets it. “Thank you,” she says tightly.

“I’m sorry to say so,” says the woman as she holds the tip of a curved needle in a candle flame, “but you are in no condition to save anyone right now.”

She blows out a sigh in answer. When she pulls the hem of her shirt up and peels away the medical tape and bandage pad, she discovers that the woman is absolutely right. This isn’t the worst Nile has been hurt and still fought, but it is pretty bad.

And it’s one thing to trash a gang of traffickers while she’s actively bleeding. It’s something totally different to track down a guy who has been three steps ahead of them this whole time, and seems to have removed his sense of morals with an ice cream scoop.

There’s only one thing left to do: say a silent prayer. The way she learned to pray feels insufficiently casual for the circumstances; she wishes she knew more about the format of the rakat. All she remembers is, “God hears the one who praises him,” so she starts on the Lord’s Prayer because praise comes before petition.

In place of, “Give us this day our daily bread,” she substitutes, “Get Joe out of this with his head,” and then she has to hold back a giggle at the rhyme. She must have lost a lot of blood.

The woman wipes the needle down with Everclear. “You know, I met the old Guardian too.”

Nile eyes her carefully. She won’t say Andy’s name in this woman’s presence. She won’t say Joe’s name either, much less her own. She won’t slip no matter how much blood she’s lost or how strong the alcohol is or how fundamentally good and trustworthy this woman seems or how much this is going to hurt. “Not under the same conditions,” she presumes.

“Very similar,” the woman says with another fleeting smile. “I hope she’s well?”

“She’s good,” Nile hastens to reassure her. “She retired.” And she left Nile her nom de guerre and all the weight that went with it.

“I’m glad she made it that long.”

“Probably thanks to you,” Nile says, and she gets a longer smile for it.

Then the needle bites into her skin and Nile whimpers softly and throws an arm over her eyes. She’s hard. She’s tough. This is what she does.

The woman’s gloved hand pinches the wound closed as she stitches. She works quickly, professionally. “I’m really glad you found me,” Nile manages. “I can’t exactly go to a hospital.”

“I think you would be surprised,” the woman says. “You are well loved in this city. People would protect your identity.”

That’s not it. Nile can’t go to hospital because there’s a chance her mom would be on shift, and the only thing worse than keeping her alter ego secret from her mom is the idea that she would find out because Nile came in on a gurney. She can’t do that to her.

A tug, as she ties the thread off, and then a snip of the shears. Nile lifts her head and looks down at a slightly puckered, neatly stitched, no longer bleeding knife wound.

Her laugh sounds brittle, just this side of hysterical. The woman glances at her. “I have work tomorrow,” Nile says weakly.

The woman tapes a fresh bandage over the wound. “Me too.”

No rest for the righteous. “The struggle is real, huh? Sorry for keeping you up late.”

“I will call in if you do,” the woman offers.

But going into the office in the morning might be the soonest opportunity to make sure Joe is okay. Nile pulls her shirt down and zips her bomber jacket over it. “I should go.”

The woman sets one hand on Nile’s arm. “Please stay. You shouldn’t be out alone tonight.”

“They might have been watching when you brought me inside,” Nile warns.

“Then I will need your protection, won’t I?” the woman says without blinking, as if she’s not the one that just saved Nile’s whole life.

Nile cracks an incredulous smile but the woman just gazes at her solemnly.

“Okay,” she says at last. “Okay, I’ll stay. Thank you. And I’m sorry for bleeding on your couch.”

It’s not enough, but the woman just sets about cleaning up her supplies. Nile settles back against the pillow and wills her muscles to unclench.

“May I ask,” the woman asks as she washes her hands, “why you do this? You don’t have superpowers.”

No, and none of the people who do have taken this city under their protection. Flippant, lazy answers parade through Nile’s mind, because she’s not in a charitable mood. Anger issues. No one else is gonna do it. I’m a giant masochist, actually.

But when she opens her mouth, the first thing that comes out is Andy’s answer, from when Nile asked her years ago. “Because there are people worth fighting for.”

Then Joe’s answer: “People who won’t get justice any other way.”

And, finally, one that’s all hers. “I have a responsibility. This is my city”

She’s going to pass out any minute, but beneath her fatigue there’s still a live coal of the feelings that made her put this mask on in the first place. This is her damn city. She spends so much time in the guts of its shitty justice system, and the rest of the time punching assholes, that she sometimes forgets her city is full of ordinary, decent people. Good people. People who will bring someone in from the rain. People like…

“What’s your name?” Nile asks, and then catches herself. “I can’t--give you mine. Sorry. It might be safer if I don’t know yours.”

“Celeste,” says the woman.

Good people like Celeste. How comforting that is.

Her pain is down to an ache instead of a burn, and her eyes drift closed. In the morning, she’ll be out of Celeste’s hair. She’ll shower at her apartment, carefully, and she’ll go into Legal Aid, and Joe will be there, a little banged up but alive. He’ll hug her, quick and tight, and they’ll loiter by the coffee maker and speak in low voices and sort out their next play. And when the work day is over, they’ll go with Andy and Quỳnh down to Booker’s for drinks and darts, and Nile will order a bouquet of flowers sent to Celeste’s apartment in thanks. Everything, for given quantities of everything, will be fine.

Confident in her safety, secure in her purpose, Nile rests.

[holyshit]

🎶 songs that i currently love listening to tag

tysm @velouie and @gettingdizzyoh for tagging me to share some songs i’m currently listening to! i’ve been bad at listening to music lately and have only been listening to my nostalgia playlist again (which is comprised of only songs that have a Special memory attached), but here we go!

your best american girl - mitski

forget - lianne la havas

mama’s gun - glass animals

iris - goo goo dolls

you please me - dragonette

the good that won’t come out - rilo kiley

daddy i’m fine - sinead o’connor

alone / with you - daughter

sunday afternoon - rachael yamagata

beggin for thread - banks

talia - king princess

happy ending - mika

daffodil lament - cranberries

satellite mind - metric

americano - lady gaga

queen of peace - florence + the machine

hurricanes - dido

i still remember - bloc party

deadcrush - alt-j

the last high - the dandy warhols

the people who tagged me did 10 but i did 20 oop

anyway tagging @cowboylarries, @larentyouglad2, @oldbay-on-apples, @dependsonwhospitching, @hearyouhowling, @thedevilinmybrain, @eyupdaisy, @buttfucklarrie, @imbellarosa, @quickpauseinconversations, @larriehabits, @vintageumbroshirt, @aliensyndrome, @exzouis, @prsephones!

[selenehoneybell]

THE SELENE HONEYBELL SOUNDTRACK

If God is a woman, on Sunday I'ma worship us

HONEYBELL.

1. House of Woodcock by Jonny Greenwood (from The Phantom Thread soundtrack)

2. Vesperae Solennes de Confessore in C Major, K. 339: V. Laudate Dominum by Nicholas Britell (from the Moonlight soundtrack)

3. The Belt of Faith by Jung Jae Il (from the Parasite soundtrack)

4. Moderato Con Brio - Violin Sextet by Nicholas Britell (from the Succession Season 2 soundtrack)

5. Umbrellas by Alex Weston (from The Farewell soundtrack)

SELENE.

1. Existential Crisis Hour by Kilo Kush

Will I ever be able to see myself the way others see me? No Where does my personal bias limit me? Everywhere Will you judge me for asking? Yes, yeah Should I care? Nope, no

2. Only Child by Tierra Whack

You must be the only child because you're so stingy I just wanna go buck wild when you don't defend me

3. Mountains by Charlotte Day Wilson

(Please don't forsake me) Where were you when I was frozen? (All of a sudden) Drenched in white stone, it was cold (My heart is breaking) And I had been ashamed and opposed to fire (I feel it coming) But still I do everything you require

4. Nature vs Nurture by Tei Shi

Is it trust or lack thereof that makes me weak? Is it mine or by design that I am here?

5. Honey by Robyn

No, you’re not gonna get what you need But baby, I have what you want Come get your honey

6. Woman (feat. Lianne La Havas) by Nao, Lianna La Havas

Baby, I’m living in a magic place It’s showin’ me that God’s a woman So maybe you should worship me Yeah, I’m reigning the skies

7. Racks (feat. YBN Cordae) by H.E.R., Cordae

They don’t understand, they don’t know how to get the stacks up If I drop a hundred bands, I'ma get it right back up And if I fall it don’t matter, I'ma ball get the bag, yeah Spend it all when I'm sad, yeah, yeah, yeah

8. Binz by Solange

I'ma get back on my feet, give me a minute I'ma feel this in my thighs, like evenin' it Young summer, young summer, give me a minute

9. Sweet Life by Frank Ocean

You've had a landscaper and a house keeper since you were born The sunshine always kept you warm So why see the world, when you got the beach Don't know why see the world, when you got the beach The sweet life

10. Lucky by Britney Spears

If there's nothing missing in my life  Then why do these tears come at night?

[chocolatepot]

Captive Princess, Chapter One

(Working title)

The sky should not have been so blue, Madeleine thought, her work forgotten in her lap as she gazed out of the solar’s southern window; it had no right to be such a beautiful day, when all of Germaine held its breath to find out whether its king would live or die. She had left the sickroom under duress, after both the court physicians and her closest ladies begged her to rest.

“You know that I will not be able to sleep,” she told Lady Lianne. “Not while my father struggles so to breathe.”

“Of course.” Lady Lianne always understood: she was Madeleine’s confidant, offering advice in every situation and ready with a witty retort or whispered comment to defuse tension, and there was no-one the princess trusted more. Lianne squeezed her hand. “Why not sew an offering to Iaçe and Acese, and pray for your father’s health?” Madeleine nodded, and allowed herself to be led away to the solar, where she allowed Lady Jeanne to cut a square of white silk for her to embroider with a prayer and Lady Cornelie to put a length of golden thread through a needle. She could only manage the first few letters of her prayer before she laid her hands in her lap and stared blankly out the window.

Lady Lianne had tried to console her the night before, offering her sweet mouth and fingers if they would help her sleep, but Madeleine could not bear to be touched at the time. She sat near the princess's feet, glancing up every now and again without speaking, for which Madeleine was glad. She did not know what to say. Unless the gods were merciful, within a matter of days or possibly hours, she would be taking on the role she had been trained her entire life for – she would rule Germaine. And while she had never been fervent in her ambition (indeed, there were many times that she had wished Guy were the older sibling and that she could become a consort, not to be required to make heavy decisions regarding war and peace and executions), she could not imagine wanting it less than she did at that moment.

Suddenly, the door was flung open with such force that it rebounded against the arras behind it. Adele screamed, dropping her sewing basket, as four guardsmen rushed in with drawn blades; Jeanne and Marie clutched at each other and looked fearfully for the threat that had brought their protectors crashing into the solar. But the protectors were the threat, Madeleine realized in the split second while she fought through her weariness to stand, before they fell upon her ladies.

It was a slaughter. They were gentlewomen, none taught to fight. Quick Cornelie ran, but there was only one door to the solar and it had been blocked, so she was chased and stabbed awkwardly – it took several cuts to bring her to the floor. Adele was not so quick, not even getting to her feet before a heavy downward thrust pierced all the way through her body. The others fell, one by one, in terror and pain and blood – so much blood, spurting and oozing and dripping and, finally, spreading quietly over the floor. It happened so quickly that before Madeleine could think of what to do, it was over, and she stood by her chair among the dead bodies of her women, trembling, with her hands balled into fists by her side. Only Lianne was left, crouched by her legs – it must have been a miracle.

But that was also not what it appeared, Madeleine realized, as her first lady of the bedchamber slowly stood and went to stand behind the guards, who were now turning their gazes on her. Lianne's face was sick and pale, but there was not even a hint of surprise on it. She was joined from the corridor outside by another familiar figure: Sir Pierre de la Guiaume, Lianne's brother and Prince Guy's favorite companion. A handkerchief was at the ready in his hand, and he pressed it to his face as he looked about the room, ensuring that the slaughter had been complete.

"A pity," he said after overlooking Jeanne, whose lovely long neck bore an obscene gash across it, and whose body was pierced in two places. They had been betrothed, and Jeanne had read aloud so many poems written by her supposedly ardent swain on the subject of his eternal devotion and submission to her wishes. That was all that she merited: two words, the same he might have delivered if a brachet were gored during a hunt.

He was finally satisfied, and turned to Madeleine. "Which one of you has the gag?" he asked, holding up a hand and motioning forward with his fingers. Two of the guards sprang to order, but now she found her ability to move again, and she backed away, past the window.

"How dare you," she said in a half-croak. "How dare you commit this violation, this atrocity on my women? You will be tortured, and flayed, and then hanged, drawn, and quartered for this – I shall see your heads rotting on spikes until there is nothing left but clean bones, and I will have them crushed to dust."

"You will not," said Pierre, as one of the pair of guards lunged forward. She was wrapped tightly in his arms so that she could scarcely struggle, only kick ineffectually at his ankles. The other was hidden from her sight, but after a moment a sort of pointed leather cup appeared from behind her; it snugly fitted over her mouth and chin, and no amount of head-shaking could prevent it. "You will be far from here, and I suspect that you will die long before any one of the rest of us."

The princess could not make any retort regarding the intercession of the gods in her plight due to the gag, which was tied tightly behind her head and kept her jaw firmly closed.

"Good – you're quiet now. Someone bind her hands and feet, and let us move." She would have thought that the guards would feel something –  at least some trepidation at the possible result of this lesé majesté – but their movements were unflinching and sure. With her hands tied behind her back and her ankles wrapped with a cord, she was truly defenseless, though she was forced to admit that she had been defenseless even before: she had been able to do nothing when her ladies were killed, not even scream for help. Still almost disbelieving that any of the events of the past few moments had happened, she looked to Lianne, hoping that some look would reveal her to be acting under her brother's control. Instead, she stared back with a clear gaze. How?

"You may take this as a lesson," Lady Lianne told her, "about not trusting someone simply because they agree with you and bed you well."

"That carpet will do," Pierre said, pointing to one at the side of the solar with only a little blood on it. The guards forced her down onto one edge, and proceeded to roll her up in it. This cut off her senses, and she was left in the hot dark, alone. Her mind went accordingly blank.

That had been a mercy, she realized some time later, after the carpet she was imprisoned inside had been carried out of the palace and unrolled in some damp cellar. She had been roughly stripped to her shift, then left to wait, huddled in a corner – and it was then that her emotions returned. Jeanne was dead. Adele was dead. Cornelie was dead. Beatrice and Marie and Margot were dead. Adele would never tell another of her amusing anecdotes; Margot would never dance a lively rondeau. Lianne was the only one left alive, and that was by her own design. She had betrayed their little sisterhood, allowing her brother to have them all butchered.

Her father suddenly came to her mind, and that broke through the last of the icy numbness, driving her to tears and great, shuddering sobs. She would never say goodbye to him – never observe the funeral rites, not stand by Guy's side at his bier. And Guy would never know what had happened to her. He would have to lose his father and sister at almost the same time. He was a man grown, by many standards, but she still thought of him as a little boy, terrified and alone, and he would have to cope with the greatest responsibilities of the kingdom being thrust upon him.

It was some time before she had herself under control enough to question what would happen to herself. Most highborn ladies who were stolen were ransomed back to their families, or sold to someone else to ransom. That could not be it, though, as once she returned she would only have to give the order for the entire Guiaume family to be arrested and executed for treason, and they would not be so stupid as to think they could get around that. Only two possibilities seemed likely, and the likeliest was that she would leave the cellar soon, but as a corpse. It was possible, in that scenario, that she would be raped before that in order to degrade and humiliate her before her death. The other was that she would be sold to some enemy of the state and executed, although this seemed less likely – the crowns of any of the surrounding countries would want to force her to sign pacts and treaties that would benefit them.

Madeleine was the crown princess, her father’s rightful heir, and so she had been well-educated in statecraft, modern and ancient languages, geography, mathematics, music, philosophy, and rhetoric; she had been only trained enough in swordplay to be comfortable wielding a dagger, and performing ceremonies that required a blade, and could not wrestle or brawl. She would have been defenseless any way, and she was naked, bound, and gagged. She would die, and there was nothing to be done.

At least if she were to die, she would do so with dignity. Her legs had become stiff from being pulled back in one position, and she stretched them before coming to kneel on the damp earth. Her bonds prevented her from raising her hands or speaking any of the words aloud, but she silently began the prayers to the funerary goddesses Tacite and Nenie that she had said with her mother years ago, when the queen’s illness was finally drawing to its end.

When men came for her, Madeleine was prepared and at peace, confident that her soul would descend from her body at the appropriate moment and join her mother’s, and perhaps also her father’s. She did not struggle when she was pulled to her feet, and she walked out with her head held high. If they were to cut off her head, she knew that the gods would ensure that the blade would be sharp and the blow strong.

[shemakesmusic-uk]

This segment features artists who have submitted their tracks/videos to She Makes Music. If you would like to be featured here then please send an e-mail to helen@shemakesmusic.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!

Keep Back Ivy

Keep Back Ivy is a lo-fi independent rock/electronic duo using a combination of field recorded sounds and home recorded instruments to build a backdrop for outsider anthems about social media, anxiety in social situations, politics and the media. Their new single is ‘Wasting Time’. The music absorbs and references elements of many other styles and genres to create something singular and unique. A natural vocal sings a barbed ode to landlords and the frustrations of renting over an electro punk beat. Distorted garage rock and post punk riffs intertwine with chorus laden guitars with a distinct 80s indie undercurrent. Listen below.

Priestess

Priestess was formed in London by Kate Fleur Young. She then combined with producers James Mottershead, Jack Drewry and Oli Kilpatrick. It is a fluid and collaborative mix with Kate aka Priestess at the creative helm. The vision of Priestess has been to bring haunting melodies, harmonies and lyrics with a thread and feeling of hope that brightens the shade, to a backdrop of dark beats, bass and lush electronic landscapes. 'Echoes of You' is Priestess’ latest single. “This song means a lot to me, it is about love and loss and was written about my mother,” Kate explains. Listen below.

First Frontier

Birmingham-based garage rock duo First Frontier make spirited, upbeat music to move to, and be moved by. First Frontier are Helena, pounding drums, and Paul, flogging guitar, with both sharing vocal duties; Brummie banter and Northern grit smelted down to forge new music, described as either neo-garage, post-punk and rock in many a guise. ‘Break Away’ is their debut single. “It's a fierce rock song about cutting ties with bad companies / people in our lives,” the duo say. “It has a raw, rasping guitar, precise, clinical drum riff, and impassioned vocals, like a protest song. Classic / garage rock. We hope you enjoy. The time comes in everyone's life when they realise that some things simply aren't sustainable. ‘Break Away’ is about having the courage to cut bad things and people out of your life. Perhaps it's a company that is not trying hard enough to be better to our planet. Break Away. Perhaps it's that friend that doesn't appreciate how much they take from your friendship without giving anything in return. Break Away! Maybe it's a significant other who isn't supportive or respectful. In these moments we must speak truth to power and BREAK AWAY.” Listen below.

Randy Beth

Randy Beth is an LGBT singer-songwriter based in New York. Her music takes influence from Pop and R&B artists with a soulfulness to the vocals that makes it feel very personal and vulnerable. Her new single is called ‘Run’. And this is what she had to say on the track: “This is a song I wrote about the fear of letting love and connection into your life after experiencing a traumatic childhood and the beautiful vulnerability in finally letting go and setting yourself free. It is honest and hopeful. The lyrics have a lot of water allusions and I wanted the production to make people feel like they're underwater.” Listen below.

Julia Fischler

Julia Fischler is a singer-songwriter from Stockholm, Sweden with a background in jazz, soul and classical music. She attended Berklee College of Music in Boston for two years and is now studying music production and songwriting in Stockholm. She began producing back in 2018, wanting to explore electronic music in order to develop her songwriting skills. She takes great inspiration from artists such as Maggie Rogers, Lianne La Havas and the band HAIM, but also loves to revisit old motown classics such as Stevie Wonder, Carole King and Chaka Khan. In the spring of 2021 she released her debut single ’Can’t Say I’m Not Lost’ and is now following up with the string infused, soulful and nostalgic song ’Does She Know’. Written back in 2019, the song was originally a piano ballad with the means of inspiring young women to feel more confident about themselves. It’s also a reflection of Julias own childhood and of all the struggles with confidence and identity that young girls face growing up. But mainly it’s about knowing what you’re worth. Listen below.

Jules

Hailing from a small rural town of South East London; rapper, singer-songwriter and spoken word artist Jules depicts her stories and experiences through lyrical rhymes and experimental melodies. Proud of her Chinese ethnicity, Jules is ready to shake up the world of hip hop with her unique tone and style. After silently crafting away for almost two years, British born Chinese artist Jules returns with her new project IDENTITY: WHO AM I before the end of 2021. For fans of Little Simz and Kae Tempest, the new EP is a concoction of alternative hip-hop beats and pure storytelling, with every track displaying more of Jules’ conscious lyricism and exploration of spoken word. This is Jules like you’ve never seen before but also what she does best; blending various sounds together with a message. Jules says of ‘Who Am I: "It's my personal favourite from the EP because it depicts my own experiences with imposter syndrome. Writing the lyrics at the time felt very cathartic because it helped me release all the self doubt and thoughts that were clashing over each other in my mind." Listen below.

Charlie Tyler

Charlie Tyler is a twenty-year-old English singer-songwriter. Raised in a tiny Cornish village, her childhood passion was mainly sports until she went to an Ellie Goulding concert as a sixteen-year-old, an experience that triggered thoughts of being a musician. After first learning the ukulele and singing at local country fairs, Charlie taught herself guitar and soon the piano. Writing songs became a passion despite her lack of formal training, and she started performing live as soon as she could find someone to let her play. Inspired by classic artists like Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks, Alanis Morrisette, and Carole King, Charlie aims to produce modern pop music influenced by those magical performers. After meeting songwriter, producer and creator, Russell James Williams in April 2021, the two became a writing partnership that instantly blossomed Charlie’s sound, providing the perfect platform for her beautiful, haunting vocal style. Her first EP, 'With All That Lonely Held Inside', was released in early October, quickly followed by her second, 'Surrender The Ghosts', in December 2021. Already armed with a rich catalogue of dynamic, heartfelt songs, Charlie will begin recording her debut album in January 2022.  Charlie says of the title track: “'Surrender The Ghosts’ is very much a song that represents the massive change that I have gone through over the last 6 months and it is a song that myself and my writing partner Russell James Williams wrote about shaking off the past and not allowing doubts or other people’s put down’s stop you from chasing your dreams. “Don’t tell me that you can’t, surrender the ghosts" is really a note to myself to let go of the past and move on from what is haunting you.'” Listen below.

Nina Blóm

Nina Blóm is the musical project of Lara Giardina, an Italian musician living in Barcelona, born in early 2021. Nina Blóm was born with the aim of giving vent to the more creative, pop and party-loving side of Lara, lover of celebrations, music and fun. In the Nina Blóm project, Lara, as well singer of the more introspective and obscure alt-rock group The Death Of Robert, chooses fresh, playful and disco-dance sounds, drawing inspiration from artists belonging to various music currents such as pop 80s, French Pop and Italo-disco. Her first single, sung in Italian, is called ‘Parlami Ancora’, and is a melancholic, dance-pop ballad. ‘Parlami Ancora’ is a song characterized by a dance dop sound, a ballad with a melancholy background but characterized by typically 80's synths. The artist tells about a disappointment in love, a toxic love in which she found herself trapped, subordinated and totally dependent, where the other person speaks of promises and illusions to her, which have never been concretely realized. Listen below.