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tadpolesonalgae · 8 months

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Can’t Bring Myself To Hate You - Part 7

A/N: Right, this might get a little confusing, but you know how we (English speakers) kind of went from Latin, to old English, to Now English? I’m substituting those for the Old Language, ‘Middle Language’ (the transitional phase—completely made up), and whatever the common tongue is for Prythian? Yeah, sorry about that!

Warnings: none…? I don’t think…?

Word Count: 5,587

-Part 6- -🌌��- -Part 8-

You stare at the page, heart in your throat.

Stare at the page, and reach for a pen.

Who is this?

Ink stains the white paper, and stupidity heats your features. He probably left it as a taunt. It’s not like he’s going to respond. You groan, setting the pen down, covering your face with your hands. Mother above. Definitely not your smartest moment. Reach to flip the paper over—not wanting to be reminded of your naïveté.

More ink has appeared, just below your scribbled question.

You may hide your intelligence around your family, but that won’t work with me. Smarten up.

The words burn your features. Scowl at the paper.

Forgive me for not anticipating the paper to talk back, Eris.

It vanishes the second you’ve written the sentence, leaving you blinking at the empty space on your desk. Winnowing isn’t possible within the House of Wind—you’ve heard both Rhysand and Feyre say it before. Yet note passing seems completely acceptable, for some reason. You suppose no harm can derive from simple exchanges.

You’ve been surrounded by magic for nearly two years. It’s shameful to still be taken aback by its multi-faceted ways.

A reluctant smile gilds your mouth. That’s Eris alright. Readjust your hold on the pen.

And it’s embarrassing to rely on stupidly long words in attempt to prove your intellect. Just say it’s versatile.

The parchment disappears, then returns. Nothing’s been added.

Amusement brightens your mouth, raising the writing instrument, poising it to attack. The words dance on your tongue, weapons to provocation: You have a bad attitude to being spoken back to. But you shake your head, instead choosing compromise for your next reply.

Did you want something? I doubt you simply dropped in to say hi. Unless this is your way of making sure I got the book?

Perhaps it was my way of seeing where you fall in this alliance.

Brow draws together. He obviously means the alliance between the Night Court and him, but where do you fit into it all? How does this show your placement? What does he even mean, where you fall? Take a deep breath, release it. It will do you no good to fall for his own provocation.

I hope you were satisfying enlightened, then, you write back.

Quite.

Stare at the neatly scripted response. He’s leaving the conversation for you to direct. First thoughts go to where he acquired the book, but somehow you feel that’s not the direction he wants you to take this in. So, sighing, you stumble straight into the trap he’s laid out.

Why haven’t you told anyone?

Paper vanishes again. Takes a minute to reappear.

It’s pretty blackmailing material. Why waste it in common conversation?

Lips purse together as you read his reply. Manipulative indeed.

Whatever you think you’ll be able to extort from me, I can guarantee you’ll end up disappointed.

Not the family favourite?

Blink at the speed of the response. Like quicksilver. Vague amusement warms your chest—how clear the mockery is. Disconcertingly comforting to know he doesn’t change. The same in every form. Precious constancy. Lower the pen to parchment.

I suppose you would know all about that, wouldn’t you?

And I suppose you’ll hide beneath the guise of observation, now?

It certainly isn’t warfare. I’d think you’d be practiced at spotting pretty, bladed words.

Again, the parchment vanishes, leaving you in the silence of your own room. Feet tap anxiously upon the clear wood, leg vibrating as you wait on him. Realisation smacks you upside your jaw—you refuse to sit here wasting precious seconds for whatever nihilistic response he carves out for you. Instead, you turn to the anthology, flicking to the index, peering at titles. Searching for one that will catch your eye.

I’m flattered—you’ve sharpened your tongue since we last sparred.

Roll your eyes. Lips quirking at the inherent Eris-ness of the response.

Wooden swords will only serve me for so long. Why not experiment with steel in a controlled environment?

The parchment vanishes, and takes its time to reappear. Time you spend scanning titles, pondering their contents. Maybe you should ask why he gave it to you in the first place. Certainly not out of the kindness of his heart.

Paper reappears.

You think merely because there are entire courts between us that makes you safe?

Peer at his reply—try studying it. Does he want you to be wary of him? It seems unlikely, somehow. He wouldn’t be able to get anything from you if you’re afraid of him. He should be encouraging you to feel at ease speaking with him if he wants something.

Do you make a habit of being as unpleasant as possible to every person you encounter, or am I just lucky?

A smile warms your mouth as the paper vanishes, fantasising how irritated he might become. From your words! Exhilarating!

Eyes land on a title that piques your interest: Movement of Light. Brow narrows with interest, flipping to the registered page number eagerly. Upon the parchment, beside the tightly knitted words, lays a neat diagram. It appears to be of a rectangle with two small holes punctured through its thin mass. Interesting…

Do you make a habit of keeping secrets from your family?

Lips purse. Cutting to the core, again. Manipulative as he may be, he’s certainly skilled at finding the right bruises to target. You wonder if it’s a skill he’d been taught through books or word of mouth, or if, perhaps, it was a nastier kind of education. Shake your head free of thoughts, pulling away from the book.

Having no secrets at all is stupidly idilic. Are there any other misconceptions you would like me to clear up?

You’re surprisingly cynical for your age.

Strange how having one’s mortality ripped away will do that to a woman.

Even you can hear the bitterness bleeding through. But the words have been written, and the paper has disappeared, so there’s no use trying to take them back. Even if you’re mentally cursing yourself for allowing that kind of opening. Surprised at how easy it is to be caught up in conversation with him. Or sparring, as he so eloquently puts it.

Wonderful immortality not treating you well?

Again, with the taunting. Amusement and something else prickles beneath your fingertips. Irked.

I’ll admit, it’s not quite as spectacular as I might’ve thought once upon a time.

That seems measured enough.

I thought humans were raised to hate us.

Observe the words—how they sit on the parchment. The contrast between your short scribbles and his elegant font.

Might a deer not wish for a wolf’s strength?

Parchment again vanishes. Once you’ve counted to three, you turn your attention back to the book, scanning the passage of writing. Brows narrow at the leap in language—words you’re unfamiliar with. A photon? Maybe it would be better to start from the beginning. Where’s a damn glossary when you need one?

Paper reappears—you take a moment to pull away from the volume.

Have you always been in pursuit of grandeur?

Brow narrows at the question.

I’d say I’ve always been rather passionate about not starving. So I suppose I did once think having three hot meals a day would be utter luxury.

I would have rather rotted away than be forced to live amongst vermin.

A surprised laugh flutters from your chest, amusement sparking within you again.

You’re much too stubborn for such a miserable end, Eris; too bitter to resign yourself to such a fate, either.

Parchment vanishes. One. Two. Three. Return to the volume, start at the beginning. Where your eyes were intended to land. Sighing, you scan the title: The Foundations of our World—Stuff. Brow narrows, lips quirking upward at the vagueness of it. Stuff. Such a lack of precise articulation, yet here it is, in an anthology of noteworthy discoveries. Somehow, this piece had been selected as important; important enough to be the base for the entire book. Strange…

Eye roll across the tightly stacked letters, mind pulsing as words soak into your brain, thumping dully as blood rushes through your ears. Take everything at it’s basest nature, reduce it down to the fundamentals, and what sort of building blocks are you left with? What makes up the world as we see it?

‘Take the prefix a- from the middle language, and combine it with the Old Language verb to cut, creating the name for the indivisible: atom. The smallest bits of matter that can exist independently.’

Intrigue returns with crushing force, making it near impossible to tear your eyes from the volume when the parchment reappears. How long has he been writing? Maybe he was preoccupied.

And yet I understand it was the youngest of you who took up her weapons and headed out into the wild. For how adamantly you protested against my lack of action regarding something I could easily correct, you seem to appear quite the hypocrite. Why didn’t you go out into those woods?

Blink away the memories of frost. Of sweat-stained clothes, and matted, knotted hair.

Getting a little personal with the questions, don’t you think?

Writing to me at all is much more personal than you should ever be getting—I’m sure your friends would agree. Yet there you are, pen in hand, thinking up your next counterattack.

The reply comes with surprising swiftness, allowing you only a brief glimpse of the following passage. Just as you’re beginning to grasp the core of what the essay is talking on.

You write with the confidence sight, you reply, eager to return. Yet he seems to have put his own distractions aside, as the response follows promptly.

Magic is a wonderful thing.

Blood ices in your veins, limbs stiffening, tongue turning leaden.

You’re lying. The House is fortified with wards; practically impregnable.

Yet here we are, corresponding. Does your High Lord know what you get up to behind closed doors?

Heart spikes in your chest, fingers trembling just a little as you lower pen to paper.

You clearly want something; you’re not going to get it if you spook me away, so quit the games.

Very well, but I’ll admit I indulged in the thought of your discomfort.

Release a heavy sigh—he doesn’t somehow have a window into your room, able to watch every move you make. Surely that would be too far, even for his manipulative ways. Skin prickles at how easily he slid beneath it—fingertips brighten.

You share that delightful, sharp-written humour with your youngest brother, you know that?

The parchment vanishes, then reappears in a matter of seconds. You laugh to yourself.

Touchy subject, Eris?

The second you dot the question mark, the door swings open; you yelp, jumping in your chair, shoving the parchment away. Vanishes again a blink later, slightly crumpled from the violent rejection.

“I knocked…” Feyre supplies, features tightening with concern. “Did you not… Oh.” She blinks, peering at the door frame; the threshold. “I suppose it must have been set up to block out exterior noise, too.” Sighs. “I’ll get that fixed at some point. Seems a waste to have a sound barrier up if you’re unable to hear what’s going on outside.”

Swallow heavily, trying to look normal. Like you weren’t knowingly communicating with the heir to the Autumn Court throne. Blue-grey settles upon you, fingers fidgeting in your lap, shifting in your seat to get comfortable. Everything feels unsettled. Her brows arrow, “you’re… What were you doing?”

“Nothing.” You reply, quickly. Far too quickly to be normal.

Lips quirk. “Writing to Bas?” She teases.

Heavy sigh whooshes from your chest, deflating a little. “How do you know about him? I haven’t even mentioned him to ‘Lain,” you say lightly. Something flashes through her eyes, too quickly for you to decipher. “Az mentioned you had someone after you,” she laughs, stepping into the room, door closing behind her. “I had no idea it was so serious,” she smiles, the happiness so inappropriate with the context you have.

Shake your head in denial, “he’s just a friend. There’s nothing else going on.” She gives you a look to say she doesn’t believe you. “I’m serious,” you insist. “There’s nothing romantic going on.” That part’s true, at least.

Feyre laughs again, then shifts on her feet. A strange quest seems to overtake her. “You know things are different here,” she begins softly, “to how we lived as humans.”

Heat flushes your features, making you groan. “Oh my gods, Fey. I am not having this conversation with you.”

“I’m just saying, if you want to get out there…see the world…maybe a few males, too… That’s fine. That’s stuff we can do, now. Well, you can do.” She amends the last part. After all, she’s the youngest, and already has a mate, a husband, and a child. An entire family. The epitome of womanhood.

Shake your head adamantly, “please, stop.” You grimace. Her lips quirk, mischief in here blue-grey eyes. She’s so lively…spirited. Bubbly? But calm, too. When did she become so adult? She seems to have aged in the blink of an eye.

(Why didn’t you go out into those woods?)

She shifts again, peers around the room—it’s a superficial move. She’s buying time, building up to something. “Your floor’s clear,” she notes, nodding to the clear wooden boards. Nod in response, trying not to wring your fingers. You were doing nothing wrong. He had spoken first. Nothing to be guilty about; no one got hurt. It’s fine.

“About our last interaction…” she begins, quietly. Spine stiffens, heart spikes. “I wasn’t trying to find something wrong with you; I’m sorry it came out that way.”

Exhale softly, shoulders lose their tension. Smile easily, waving her off. “Oh, don’t worry about it,” you laugh. “I understand. I’m sorry for lashing out at you, it was unfair on my part to act that way.” Her eyes narrow on you. Keep up the smile. “Is this your way of saying you just don’t want to talk about it?” She asks, softly. Blue-grey shimmers with sincerity.

Lips begin to ache with the stretch. “What are you talking about? We’ve made peace, there’s no need to exacerbate this.”

“Do you not want to talk about it?” She reiterates, keeping calm and quiet.

“What is it?” You laugh, turning to face the desk, eyes flitting to the volume. Scan the page; absorb nothing. “What you said last time. About being a burden.”

Body stiffens, breath catches.

“Fey, I’m getting tired,” you excuse, voice steady.

“You’re tired a lot,” she replies, quietly. Still watching. “Maybe Madja should take a look at you.” Sigh. Lean back in your chair. Tilt your face back, peering at the ceiling. “I’ve had a long life,” you murmur up to the white wallpaper, “I’m allowed to be tired.”

“You’re barely twenty-two.”

“And a lot has happened. I’m allowed to be tired.” You repeat, not looking at her.

Silence stretches between you. Gentle, but taut.

“How about you?” You ask, shifting the conversation over. Turning to peer at her. Your younger sister. Feyre blinks, then nods her head. “Good. Wonderful.” Watch her silently. Mark the lowness of her lids. “Nyx still waking you up?”

Nods again, smiling faintly, traveling somewhere distant. Somewhere foreign to you. “Eight days a week,” she laughs quietly. “Rhys and I are taking turns looking after him during the nights. Despite his work-load.” Sighs, pushes hair from her cheek, tucks it over a pointed ear. “He’s been great. Supportive, attentive, perfect. I keep trying to get him to let me handle Nyx, but he’s insisting it’s a joint effort. Wants to be there in a way his father…” she trails off, eyes misting.

Nod your head slowly. “And I suppose you want to be there in a way our mother…?”

“Yeah,” she replies thickly. “I guess that’s part of it.” The quiet turns viscous, coagulating into something almost translucent.

“I read some things…” you begin gently, “about the turbulence of motherhood.”

Her features lift into a smile, “oh, don’t worry about me. Rhys and I are working through it. It’s difficult, but everyone’s there when the strain starts to set in.” You blink away subtle surprise. “Mor’s always up for taking him off our hands for a day or two. It’s the same with Cass and Nesta,” she laughs fondly. “Amren…well, she’s Amren. And Elain’s great at making little treats here and there. Smiley faces out of his breakfast and things like that—he loves it.”

You nod slowly. Blink. “That’s great.” Again the silence creeps in.

Then she’s shifting on her feet, and. You just know—

“What kind of person is Bas?” She inquiries, not at all subtly. Nosey.

“He’s my friend, and nothing else.” He’s much more than a friend, but there’s no way to explain that without an entire Court’s worth of misunderstandings and uncomfortable questions. Still, she nods, but remains in your room. “And he… His intentions?”

“Feyre,” you scold, incredulously.

Your younger sister doesn’t flinch. Keeps her gaze straight. “Okay. Okay,” she sighs, holding up her hands in defence. “I’m wary of him.”

“Please, you can trust me he’s harmless. To me, at least. I’m sure if someone swung at him he’d be the type to swing back, but that’s besides the point.” You leave out the part that you’re fairly certain he would be the one to also somehow provoke a fight. He can be pretty provocative when he wants to. Not always in a bad way…

(…a hot, male body that’s pressing you into the wall.)

“I just want you to be careful,” she says quietly, eyes misting, going somewhere far away. “Males…people can be unkind. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Amarantha, Tamlin… You nod your head, “I understand. But Bas…I can trust him. So please don’t doubt him; please don’t doubt me either, in this decision.”

Feyre nods again. Silence stretches, then she straightens. Pats the doorframe. “Well, I’ll have this fixed as soon as possible. It’ll need to be disabled, than I can remake it—so you’ll be able to hear people coming. It’d be awful if you got yourself hurt from being startled by one of us.” She gives you a sweet smile, then disappears out into the hall, door clicking shut behind her.

Unsure if it’s her silent feet or the sound barrier that prevents you from hearing her disappearing footfalls.

————

Skin is itching, fingers burning. Heart spiking.

Burning, burning, burning. Hands on fire.

Vision blurs, floor spinning. She’s on the ceiling.

Crash into a wall, bone crunching. Stumble to the kitchen.

Water. Where’s water. Burning skin. Charring fingertips.

Liquid drips down cheeks, splashing onto knuckles.

Scraped raw, searing pain. Bone splintering, nails peeling.

Cool water fills the sink, drown her hands.

Sweet strangulation, dulcet deprivation.

Lovely oblivion.

————

Breath eases in and out, soothing your lungs. In and out. Slow and steady. In. And out.

Chest deflates, keeping your body straight but relaxed—imagine sinking into the mattress. Cheeks puff up with the exhale, calm and quiet. Sit silently. Allow the world to fade. Tension seeps from your shoulders, muscles relaxing the way you’ve practiced. Now to make sure you don’t drop off instead.

Empty out thoughts, settle into the silence. Float away on a breeze. Imagine hands being set aglow. No. They are aglow.

Eyes remain shut, tight. Picture the radiant green seeping onto your skin, setting it alight.

Fingers twitch, bones itch. Teeth grind. Nails heat.

Eyes open in time to catch the glow as it fades, sinking back into your skin. A flicker of Starfall, then nothing. Sigh heavily, back slumping, shoulders sloping. It’s something; most importantly, it’s progress. Day three of fourteen. Slow movements, slower response. Gently stoking the flames.

Remove the light from your world, lids closing, return to the darkness. Seeking solace. Breath eases in and out, soothing your lungs. In and out. Slow and steady. In. And out. In. And out. Fingertips warm, but eyes remain closed. Don’t acknowledge it. Can’t look or feel for it. Allow it to grow in the back of your mind, allow into latch into your blood; flourish. Swirling and billowing, gaining momentum until it can move on its own, until it can function without nurture.

Keep your back turned to the power, allow it to remain unseen. Pull it upward; hear as it cracks and fizzles in your head. Rapidly dividing…splitting at high-speed…multiplying until it boils and bubbles. One cleaves another in two…into three…nine…

(…Twenty-seven, eighty-one, two-hundred forty-three…)

(…two-thousand one-hundred eighty-seven, six-thousand five-hundred sixty-one, nineteen-thousand six-hundred eighty-three…)

(One-million seven-hundred-seventy-one-thousand one-hundred forty-seven.)

Heat burns your fingertips, flashing pain blaring so rapidly, sparking like lightening across your palms, splintering phalanges…down into the carpal bones, nearing your wrists.

Vision blasts into view, pupils contract to tiny dots, shrinking away from the pale green light that’s blazing from your hands, barreling up your forearms, crackling past elbows, bolting up, up, up… Muscles seize, contracting against the hot itch scrambling your flesh, twisting at sinew. The blinding light dims, eyes peeking open as it dulls to a quiet luminosity, tinting your skin. Feels like poison ivy…the nettles by your old estate.

Swallow, staring at the radiance. Almost mesmerising enough to block out the burn. Throat itches, tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth. Deep breaths. Ease in. And out. Deep and easy. Calm and quiet. Collected.

Slowly, warily, you rise from your bed, door swinging open on the house’s command. Silently pad down the hallway, arms and torso concealed well by your dress, cardigan hiding the faint incandescence of your wrists. Hands—no way to hide them. Ignore it for now, you need a drink. Deep and easy. In. And out. Calm. Quiet and collected.

A glass waits for you on the table, walk steadily forward, fingers tremble as they clutch the cup. Water vibrates inside, tiny ripples fluttering across the surface. Effervescent bubbles shimmer at the base. Grow larger, swelling into compact air, fizzing up. Simmering in your hands. Tension coils your shoulders, brow dampening. Liquid heats up, boiling into a volatile mess. Bubbles pop at the surface, scalding water splashing onto your knuckles.

Scream as glass shatters, burning your bare feet as the liquid sprays.

Heart spikes, glowing brighter, inching up your arms, over your shoulders. Crawling across your collar bones. Muscles knot, tangling over themselves as they seize in terror. Power coils closer, snaking toward your throat, slowly…slowly…

“What—”

Hazel pierces into you, flicking over your hands, marking the shards of glass. He appeared in a flurry of darkness, shadows pulling back once he’s materialised in the doorway. Eyes already scanning for the source of distress. Fix on the slow spread of toxic green as it tip-toes higher. Hits a barrier. It’s a small hesitation—but it’s enough. Magic flickers, recoiling from your clavicle, enough hesitation to be quashed. Like a weight sinking down, an avalanche of rock crushing vermin, bones crunching beneath the pressure. Incandescence shoved away, dripping down your arms, cut back to your fingertips.

Sweet relief washes over you, waves of coolness cresting from your forehead to your toes. Lovely reprieve. Exhale heavily, spine nearly collapsing beneath the strain, leaving a slight glimmer to your fingertips, nails curved and warped from heat. Stagger back as he silently moves toward you. Scarred hands reach out, wanting to touch; wanting to steady.

“Are you—”

“Don’t,” you bark, snapping your arms closer to your body. Feel their unnatural heat as it singes the fabric of your dress. His nostrils flare, scenting the charred material, shadows flicker.

Call breath into your lungs, soothing. Deep and easy. In and out. Calm and quiet. In. And out. Calm and collected. A familiar scent has hairs raising at the back of your neck, eyes flicking up to lock with hazel. Closer than before. Despite the heat.

“What was that?” He asks, the deep roughness of his voice curling across your breastbone, soothing the heated skin like a balm. Swallow heavily, keeping your hands tight to your torso. Turn away; move to the sink. The tap turns on independently, cool water sizzling as it washes over trembling hands. Cold metal mollifies your skin, a comfy weight around your neck. The tiny barrier your magic had hit. Tripped up on.

Azriel doesn’t make a sound, but you can feel him nearby, standing at your side. Watching silently as the water fizzles and hisses, the last of the glow dimming from your fingertips. How close he’d come to touching the blisteringly hot skin. Slowly, the cold begins to souse into your digits, running smoothly over your hands, no longer bubbling or evaporating on impact.

The house has already cleared away the shards of glass; dried the pool of scalding water by the time you’ve dried your hands. Flaky, and ashen. The smooth, creamy texture seemingly been ravished by the heat. Yet all you felt was a slight itch to begin with. You don’t make any attempts to conceal how quickly you want to escape the room, but you’re kept where you are. Waiting…waiting for him to change his mind about keeping your secret. After what he’s just seen…

Feet are pinned to the boards, muscles unwilling to obey your mind as you explore them to turn and leave. Arms feel leaden, stiff and immovable. Wait for the compromise to be retracted. Hands tremble, teeth faintly bite onto your tongue. Wait for the condemnation. For being so foolish; stubborn.

“Are you hurt?” Words thud dully against your ears, keeping your hands as out of sight as possible, hidden beneath the sleeves of your cardigan. Nod dutifully. “I’m okay,” you murmur. Lips are numb, mind buzzing faintly. Floorboards spin ever so slightly, blurring in and out of focus. Deep breaths. In and out. Slow and steady. In. And out. Calm and collected. In. And. Out.

Boots appear at the top of your sight, just a little way from your own. Far enough not to be intimate. He holds out a scarred hand, palm facing upward. Almost expectant.

Blink away the dizziness. Flesh tingling…wriggling beneath your skin. Nails itching.

Wait silently to see what he’ll do.

Continues holding out his hand, waiting patiently to see if you’ll offer up your own. Remain rooted to the spot, numbness crawling beneath your sleeves. Mind buzzing with confusion at the outstretched palm.

Slowly, he begins reaching for your wrist, as if to inspect the results of the experiment. Analyse the consequence. Examine.

It topples you into motion.

Turn on your feet; quietly scamper off down the corridor. Behind the safety on your door.

With the wooden barrier in place, plus the sound block on your room, you can truly feel forgotten for a while. Like time’s stopped.

————

The shower had your blood moving again, temperature cooling to a regular heat. Mind working again, mentally cataloguing every thought you had, every twinge of unusualness that could have been the signposting you should have noticed to prevent that rapid surge of…burning.

Peer down at your hands, almost absently. Aside from the slight roughness to your skin; the chapped dryness to your knuckles, there’s nothing to show for the bone deep itch that had manifested within your flesh. Just the texture becoming sandpapery. Flaky.

A dark blue towel is draped over your shoulders like a shawl, preventing the damp ends of your hair from saturating the changed dress.

(What was that?)

It stopped almost out of nowhere. One moment, steadily spreading throughout your body, the next, it seemed to stumble. Like hitting a bump of some kind. Something that disturbed its momentum. Peer down at the necklace that’s sitting comfortably around your throat, resting just above your collar bones. In the dip of their joining point.

The small, glass pendant hanging from the bronze chain sits innocently on your person. Fingers brush over the map in wonder, curiously feeling. Cool metal contains the accessory, lead encapsulated within a gleaming polish. Even the underside has a pretty finish. Lead, bronze, and glass. Maybe some ink, but that’s all it is. No secrets carved to its base, no hidden compartment. Just a simple ornament, yet something about it disagreed with you. Thank the Mother.

Fingers play with the charm as you take a seat at your desk, reopening the volume. Rusty red leather creaks as you turn to your page, more than willing to submerge yourself in learning. The candles flicker as you ease out a breath, taking in the familiar scent of parchment and something pleasantly spiced. Maybe it’s an Autumn Court scent.

Crumpled paper lands on your desk, settling comfortably between the two large pages of the anthology.

It may surprise you to learn I have better things to do than spend all my hours writing to you.

Stare at the neat, elegant script. Debate the merits of responding willingly. Returning to this strange sparring match would be acknowledging your interest. There’d be no way to talk your way back to innocence. Putting pen to paper will mean…

And yet here you are, Vanserra, writing back to me.

Oh, you hope that irritates him. Hope he sends back something vicious. Something to make you spark awake again. To light up the numbness that’s turning your world monotone.

Would you like to tell me where these wrinkles came from?

Lips tug at the edges, but remain set in a dull line. Lower your pen to the roughed-up parchment. Fingers dry and somewhat cracked in the low light.

Nonsense, Eris. You don’t look a day over thirty.

Picture the way his sharp caramel eyes blaze with ire at the brazenness. Maybe his palms also heat when he’s in a mood. It’s a little comforting to remember power probably didn’t come naturally to him. Maybe. You’re making assumptions, though.

And you don’t dress a day over fifty. Considering Rhys’ wealth is at your fingertips, you have the fashion sense of someone who’s still destitute.

Mouth parts as you read the response. Brows flicking up your forehead. Harsh…

A smile quirks the corners of your lips.

I’ll have you know I dress for comfort. You’re the one who cares so much about prettification. Maybe I could visit your personal beauty parlour sometime, Eris?

Parchment vanishes, allowing you time to peer down at the diagram before you: a small rectangular table. There are various squares left blank, while others are filled in with one or two letters. The boxes that do contain letters attached are numbered, correlating with asterisks further down the page, displaying a full title.

Who would ever accompany you? It’s bad etiquette to visit a tonsorium on one’s own.

The smile fades after a few moments. Who would go with you if you wanted to visit somewhere? Elain? Feyre? …Mor? Shake your head, pushing away the dismal thoughts he’s brought to your attention. Divert elsewhere.

It’s worst to not entertain your guests. What a miserable (and sour) host you would be. I think I’m actually quite glad to not be visiting anytime soon.

Try to return to the anthology; find yourself awaiting his reply. Leg tapping against the floorboards. Minutes pass while you attempt to absorb more of the text, but nothing’s sticking. Like there’s a fog passing through your brain, stopping you from taking in the wonder of the world. More minutes tick by—the sky a solid dark blue the other side of your window. A few other candles gleam alight, and you murmur your thanks to the House. Flame flickers in response. Oddly comforting.

Eyelids start to feel heavy, weighing into your vision.

You don’t realise you nodded off until you wake from your nap. The desk is still void of a reply; you wearily peer around your room, attempting to orient yourself. Knuckles itch to be scratched, still rough to the touch. Gaze settles on your door. Perhaps it’s a little scary that you wouldn’t know if something was lurking directly the other side. Wouldn’t be able to hear any heavy breathing, or the scrape of steel. Deep breath, because there’s nothing there.

Stand to draw the curtains, but hairs stand on end. Remain still for a few seconds, centring on the feeling. Is it fear? Is it loneliness? Brow knits in concentration, absently drawing the curtains, turning back to face the entrance to your room.

(The only exit.)

Sigh in frustration. It’s not good to give into your…however you’re feeling. It will only encourage your mind to exacerbate whatever problem its fabricated. Still, you find yourself opening the door, peering down the well-lit corridor. Nothing there, no strange feeling, no lurking presences. Just your mind finding something to react to, creating a madness to subject you to. Deep breaths. The House of Wind is secure. Safe, and secure. You’re safe here. Nothing bad will happen; you won’t get hurt.

Deep breaths, heart lowering its pace.

Move to bring the door to; notice something on the ground, beside the frame.

Crouch down to pick up the small tin. Bring it inside, door swinging shut as you hold it up to the light.

Peer at the neat label. Pop open the lid; look inside.

It’s a small pot of hand cream.

General Taglist: @myheartfollower @tcris2020 @mali22 @amygdtjhddzvb @sfhsgrad-blog @needylilgal022

Az Taglist: @azrielshadows1nger @jurdanpotter @positivewitch

CBMTHY Taglist: @impossibelle @naturakaashi @sakurafrost3-blog @ficienjoyedrbspot @azriels-shadowsinger @marina468 @misstea12 @going-through-shit @fussel9913 @minakay @i-am-infinite @wannabewolf @thegirlintheshadows101 @kennedy-brooke @esposadomd @horneybeach1 @jeannineee @harrystylesfan2686 @tothestarsandwhateverend @abysshaven @starlight-hope @stupidwingboy @nastynesta @luvmoo @furiousbooklover @kuraikei @kemillyfreitas @chasing-autumns-chill @marvelpotter @starswholistenanddreamsanswered @imma-too-many-fandoms

#CBMTHY #CBMTHY Part 7 #Azriel #Azriel x reader #Eris #Eris Vanserra #Azriel shadowsinger #Shadowsinger #Azriel angst #Azriel x reader angst #multi-part fic #Can’t Bring Myself To Hate You

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cupidlovesastro · 7 months

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𝟷𝟶 𝚏𝚞𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚢

1. sign ≠ house- the reason this is, is because they both have their own characteristics and also represent different meanings. the signs represent more of a personality and the houses represent aspects of your life. they correspond but they aren’t the same thing. this is because when you think about it, aries has qualities such as leadership and impulsivity, but the 1st house doesn’t represent those things. therefore they’re not the same thing. when you see post that say aries/ 1st house, it’s usually because they try to add aspects of both placements

2. there’s multiple kinds of astrology- most people that live in america follow western astrology, but there’s vedic astrology which is said to be the most accurate, chinese astrology, medical astrology, and more. they are all different but also similar and some ways

3. there’s multiple charts in astrology- this is one of my favorite parts about astrology but it can also get confusing lol. there’s your natal chart, which everyone knows about, but then there’s persona charts, transit charts, progressive charts, draconic charts and more. then synastry and composite charts which takes 2 people’s birth information to create

4. asteroids- you don’t have to only learn about planets, you can learn about asteroids too. asteroids usually fall between 2 planets, which somewhat helps form a personality for them. not all of them though, some of them are in the outskirts of our solar system and some have meanings that don’t necessarily relate to the planet it’s closest to

5. there’s thousands of asteroids- there’s so many asteroids out there, that have been discovered with in depth meanings, some that have been discovered with no clear meaning, and obviously some that still aren’t discovered. that’s why there’s so many different elements to your chart, and so many different things can dictate your personality in a natal chart

6. greek mythology and astrology- greek mythology and astrology have a lot of points where they correlate. especially with asteroids, if you read into greek mythology, you will start to understand why certain asteroids and placements mean the things they do

7. cusp- if you believe in degrees in astrology, then you don’t believe in cusp. cusp basically means when you were born “between” 2 signs. so people born on may 20th or 21st could say they’re a taurus/gemini cusp, but that’s not true if you believe in degrees. degrees can go from 0 to 29

8. no such thing as a bad placement- no placement is bad, some are just harder to deal with than others and that’s okay. it doesn’t mean parts of you or bad or that your cursed for the rest of your life. everyone has rough edges, you just have to smooth them out if that makes sense lol

9. astrology and tarot- some major arcana cards actually represent the zodiac signs. not all of them but about half of them do. like gemini is the lovers, aquarius is the star, libra is judgement, and so on

10. empty houses- technically no house is empty because like i mentioned earlier, there’s thousands of asteroids out there, and all of them fall in a house. but as for your natal chart, having an empty house doesn’t mean anything negative, it just means that’s an aspect of yourself you don’t really need to focus on or pay attention to, or nothing is really going to happen in those areas of life. if you have an empty 4th house it can mean that nothing significant or out of the ordinary or specific is going to happen to your family or children. i hope that made sense 💀

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lilyginnyblackv2 · 1 year

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Buddy Daddies - Episode 7 - Thought Post - Extra Stuff! - SPOILERS!

A few small tid-bit stuff that I liked or thought interesting in the episode.

1. Rakuzon:

They combined Rakuten (a Japanese-based Amazon like site) with Amazon, lol. That got a good chuckle out of me!

2. I want pizza!

One of the ladies Kazuki is with says, “I want pizza!”

Kazuki responds with, “Aw, that’s for poor people!” And he tells her to order sushi. Then there is a transition to Miri sneezing. This works as both a way to show Miri having a cold (a great call back to Episode 1′s opening scene, where Rei didn’t take her having sniffles seriously) and as a way to show the whole “sneeze when someone is talking about you” superstition in Japan. Kazuki is out here basically call Rei and Miri “poor people,” despite the irony of Rei being actually rich and Kazuki not. Which also fits back into one of his character personality traits of trying hard to be showy and trying to appear rich.

3. Open Umbrella Indoors

Speaking of superstitions, Japan doesn’t have one for opening umbrellas indoors equating to bad luck. You don’t realize how culturally ingrained stuff like this really is until you live in a culture that is very different in ways like this. Like, when I lived in Japan, I eventually got used to not saying anything when people sneezed, but I could never bring myself to open an umbrella up when inside a building. That was just like, “Nope, can’t chance it regardless.” lol

4. “And an order of fries.”

Rei just straight up doing the opposite of what Kazuki would do when ordering the pizza (Miri, “Papa Kazuki says we need veggies!” Rei: “And an order of fries.”).

5. “We’ve been abandoned.”

Also, Rei, you don’t just tell little kids that you’ve been abandoned! T0T This is another one of those moments where Rei kinda treats Miri like an equal, instead of the child in his care, when he really really shouldn’t. Goodness!

6. Kazuki’s Eyes:

This is something I noticed all the way back in Episode 1 too. But I’m glad they’ve been consistent with this detail. In the flashbacks, Kazuki’s eyes are drawn a bit bigger, so he looks younger and also more innocently naïve.

7. Umbrella and Bike Riding:

Rei asks Miri where he umbrella is. She tells him it is broken. It should be noted that riding a bike while using an umbrella is technically against the law. But everyone does it anyway, lol.

8. Rei in Different Outfits:

We got to see Rei wearing a bunch of different shirts and pants in this week’s episode. As well as wearing Kazuki’s apron! *-*

9. Miri Manipulating Her Cuteness:

Kazuki and Rei are really going to have to watch out for this tactic!

#Buddy Daddies #Rei Suwa #Miri Unasaka #Kazuki Kurusu #BD spoilers #Buddy Daddies spoilers #long post #image heavy post #thought post #meta post

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jrow · 1 month

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May Prompts (8)

Day 7 here. Day 9 here.

Hobby

Reading the faces in a crowd has long been a hobby that centres him.

Strangers who will never know he was there.

There is no risk of derision and pity as long as he doesn’t say any of his deductions out loud. But it’s too tempting when he’s reading family, colleagues, acquaintances. In those cases, he never can seem to keep his mouth shut. His naive excitement at figuring something out overpowers his good sense. Every time.

So, from the time he was a young child, he’s learned he is safest when reading the masses at a distance. No risk of ruining everything. Sure, he never finds out if his deductions are right, but that’s not the point.

For a time, this hobby was the only way to centre himself that didn’t involve illicit substances. He remembers spending hours sitting in town squares during the time after The Fall just reading the faces of everyone that walked by. It was essential for his survival.

Now, things are different. John centres him. Rosie too. Even when the former is angry and the latter a menace. They have become as essential as the air that he breathes.

He supposes this is what love feels like.

But, he still heads to Trafalgar Square sometimes, just to watch the crowd. Identify the tourists, the locals, the petty criminals, and the honest people. He still rides the tube a few extra stops because he’s immersed in reading the masses around him. It is still soothing.

It is not soothing today.

Thirty minute ago be received a call—not text—from Mycroft while walking towards Putney Bridge station, having just dropped off Rosie. His brother wasted no time (thank god) in explaining that John was unharmed, but a man had been caught sneaking into his room. A man wanted by police on a whole range of charges. A man who was carrying enough morphine to kill several people.

A man who somehow slipped away (the incompetence).

It was lucky that they caught him at all. John’s nurse (perhaps the only competent person involved) clocked him as suspicious and kept a close eye, eventually spotting the vials. But if she hadn’t been working at the desk when the man came in ….

Sherlock should have been there. Should have been faster with Rosie. Dropped her off early.

But he didn’t, so now he is walking quickly through the tube station outside the hospital deducing everything he can about the people around him. But it’s not soothing because he needs answers and these people aren’t providing them.

He can’t fathom why anyone would attack John. He should know, though. It’s his job. What is he missing?

He needs to understand, needs to fix this. Needs to prove he’s worth keeping around.

Needs to know John is safe.

Apologies for any errors today, friends. This entry was written and posted entirely on transit on mobile.

Thank you all for the kind words! I assure you I have no idea what's going to happen before reading the prompt each day. I am having fun making it up as I go :).

#johnlock #bbc sherlock #may prompts 2024 #wip

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satninroses · 1 year

Note

Reader accidentally flashes elvis her bare pussy (not just a flash but she doesn’t even realize she is just sitting there completely exposed to him). elvis debated whether to tell her because he didn’t want to make it awkward (and he secretly is enjoying the view and complete cluelessness of y/n just basically spread out) but then he thinks in case she realizes it would be way weirder if elvis just hadn’t have told her.

Over Exposed

(A/N): Hi! Busy week this has been 🙃. I know I haven’t been super active and I apologize! Between transitioning from part-time to full-time and home life, there hasn’t been much me-time lately. I promise I am working on requests!! I love you all very much and I appreciate you all sticking with me and my inconsistent schedule.

Note: This one probably isn’t good. Long story short, I wrote two versions to this story and didn’t really like either of them. It’s a little messy but please understand that I am just having an off week. Things should get better with this next request. (hopefully)

Summary: You accidently flash Elvis and it causes a stir.

Pairing: Elvis Presley x Fem! Reader

Word Count: 2,245

Warnings: Swearing, Flashing, Mentions of Smut (But not really any smut), Implied Male Masturbation, It’s a little rough.

You traveled around with Elvis and the Memphis Mafia as a personal assistant. You could do paper work, you could pick up Elvis’ jumpsuits from the dry cleaner, you could even make food whenever they didn’t want to go out. You were basically their Jack-of-all trades.

You enjoyed your job a lot. Not only was the pay good, but you got a lot of perks like being in the presence of Elvis Presley himself. He was never rude to you, he always treated you with respect and kindness. There were days where he would be on edge from stress and dealing with fans, or nosy press, or himself, but he would still treat you with kindness.

Today was no exception. The Colonel called you and him into a meeting the night before a big press conference. He had requested that you were both up bright and early, which wasn’t your favorite but, you could handle it. You went to bed sometimes around 7 P.M. that way you could wake up with enough time to shower, do your hair and makeup, and paint your nails. In retrospect, you didn’t think that your clock would malfunction and go off at 8:30 and not 7.

‘I want to see you both in the lobby at 8. I do not want to be late, understood?’ You nodded enthusiastically and wrote it down in your notepad. ‘(Y/N), I want you down here a little earlier. We need to go over the plan once more before my boys big day.’

You thought it was cut and dry. Go to bed early, do your morning routine, go down to the lobby. Apparently not.

“God damnit!” You shouted angrily. You threw the blankets overboard and hopped out of bed. You stripped away your night dress and hopped in the shower. (I know showers take a minute but you will never understand how concentrated on cleaning yourself you are when you don’t have a 5 minute time limit.) You washed away all of the dirt from your body from the previous day and brushed your teeth.

You washed and conditioned your hair, washed yourself, and hopped out. You grabbed the nearest towel to yourself, not knowing that it had probably already been used, and scraped any and all moisture off your figure. You threw the door to the bathroom open and began to rush around your room for some clothes.

At the bottom of the basket in the corner of the hotel room, you pulled out a white button up blouse with large flow-y sleeves, a black pencil skirt, a pair of silk-lines pantyhose, and some black heels.

You ran back to the bathroom to apply some quick moisturizer and makeup. You rubbed some kind of face cream all over, applied some subtle eyeliner, some red lipstick and a little bit of mascara. You grabbed your purse off the bedside table and practically teleported downstairs.

In the lobby, things weren’t much better. Colonel was pacing and muttering angrily to himself. Elvis and Jerry sat on a couch and went over the game plan. Some of the other Mafia members were at the hotel shop grabbing some snacks for the ride.

“Where is that woman! I told her she needed to be the first one downstairs and she’s the LAST!” Colonel had finally snapped, drawing attention from the other hotel guests. “Damnit, give her a break! Everyone has an off day. It’ll be fine.” Elvis had replied defensively. “I’m sure she’ll be down in just a second.”

Right he was! You stumbled in the hallway, clothing a little uneven, hair wet, and a stressed out look on your face. “I’m so sorry Mr. Presley! I-I didn’t keep track of time I’m so sorry!”

Elvis chuckled and stood. “Darlin’, It’s ok. Happens to the best of us.” Colonel had overheard the conversation.

“Things like this do not happen to people like her. She should have known better.” He finally turns to acknowledge you. “Do better. Your job is on the line.”

Elvis’ amused expression turned to one of disdain. “You don’t make the rules here. Anyways, Billy said the limo’s here. Let go.”

You nodded and followed after him at a brisk pace as to not anger anyone else today. Once you, Elvis, Colonel, and the rest of the mafia had made it outside, a valet driver stepped out and opened the door for all of you. Elvis placed a hand on the small of your back. “Ladies first.” You smile sweetly at him and nod your head.

You throw your purse in one of the seats and and begin to step in. The roof of the door was a little bit shorter to your - or anyone else’s- liking. You bent down in front of Elvis to get it not realizing the show you were putting on for him.

Elvis eyed your bare cunt as you bent down to get in. His eyes are glued to the way your pretty snatch looks so moist and soft.

He practically waged a war in his mind to get himself to look away. He can’t be hard before one of the biggest conferences in his career.

One by one, him and the rest of the mafia get in and take their seats. Jerry sits to the right of you leaned against the door while Elvis sits to the left of you with his thick legs spread. The rest of the mafia fills in some empty spots.

“(Y/N). Can you add something to my agenda?” He speaks lowly. You nod and retrieve the notepad and pen from your purse. “Yes Mr. Presley! What would you like added?”

“We’re gonna go out to to eat after this conference. I want some BBQ. What do we say fellas? Do we want BBQ for dinner tonight?” Some of the mafia utter a few ‘Hell yeah’s!’ You nod and add it to lined paper before turning to look at him again. “Any thing else Mr. Presley?”

“Yeah.”

“What would that be?”

“Stop calling me Mr. Presley. You can call me Elvis.”

You turn to him and blush. “Sorry…” You looked away bashfully. “S’alright doll.” He replies softly. You smile at his words and turn to look at him again.

After about 10 minutes of quiet ambience and small talk between the guys, you had finally arrived at the convention center. Elvis pushed his sunglasses up his nose and nodded at everyone in the car. Colonel was the first to exit. He stood by the car door and let Elvis out. The screams of fans, flashes of cameras, loud voices asking his questions filled everyone’s senses. You followed out after Elvis and everyone in line behind you got out in an orderly fashion. Colonel shut the door and followed the group.

“Mr. Presley! When will your newest single be out?”

“Soon.”

“Mr. Presley, is it true that you were spotted outside the international hotel with a woman? Who was that woman? What relationship does she have to you?”

‘Gosh, I could never be a celebrity. People are just so nosy’ You thought to yourself. Awaiting Elvis’ answer, the interviewer tried to block his path. The colonel caught wind of this and pushed his way up to where you and Elvis were. “We have places to be. That was his personal assistant (Y/N). Move along now.” For once in your life, you could thank the colonel for such a heroic act.

Once you guys pushed through the crowd, Elvis leaned down to you. “(Y/N). Put something on my agenda please.”

“Sure! What would you like to add Mr. Pre- Elvis.” You corrected yourself before he had the chance too. He chuckled at you and clapped a hand on your shoulder. “Good girl. Anyways, I need you to figure out who that guy was back there. Send Jerry or Billy to him and have them tell him to never do that again.”

You nodded. “Yes Elvis, right away.” On the notepad, you wrote ‘Find scary guy. Have Jerry give him the what-for.’

Once you guys had made it to the resting rooms in the convention hall, everyone sat down to relax. Going from the car to a room shouldn’t have taken as long as it did or be as stressful as it was however, if you’re traveling with Elvis, that’s sure to be a huge factor.

Once you set your stuff down, you made your way over to the rest of the mafia. “jMr. Schilling? May I have a word with you?” Jerry’s head shot up at your quiet request and he nods his head.

“What’s up (Y/N)?”

“Mr. Presley has requested that we find out who the gentleman was that got in the way earlier. He would like you to have a word.”

Jerry nods his head. “You got it. We’ll give you guys some time to get ready. We’ll be back soon. Come on guys! We’re going out”

Jerry and the rest of the mafia exit the room leaving you and Elvis. Colonel had made his way out to talk to the organizers of the event a few minutes before.

Finally. It was quiet. You could relax for the first time since this morning. You sat down on one of the lounging chairs and crossed your legs. Elvis would be back from the restroom in a second so it’s better to be ready to cover the plan once more before the conference. The door to the bathroom opens and out walks Elvis.

He sauntered to the other couch before collapsing with a groan. “Wish we were back at home. It’s a little too cold out here.” He commented. You giggle and clasp your hands together. “This feels just like when I was younger. It feels good to get out of the Tennessee heat.”

“Hey, watch it!” He pointed a accusingly at you. You let out a little laugh and a quick apology. You felt less tense around Elvis. You felt like you could loosen up a bit. You stood from your spot on the chair and looked at him. “Do you want anything from the minibar?”

He nodded his head. “I’ll come with. Might find something I like.” He stood as well and you both walked i got the second room of the suit to the fridge. You opened it and immediately felt a sense of relief. You could detox with a little drink.

“Doll, could you get me the Pepsi-Cola from the bottom shelf?” You nodded and bent down.

Elvis had forgot about the incident from earlier, when you were in the same position. Your skirt lifted a little bit to reveal your pretty ass and pussy. He gulped harshly. He could feel his pants tighten at the sight.

“E, I don’t think this is Pepsi! It’s some other one. Do you want me to look for something different?”

Not wanted the moment to end, he denied your offer. “No, I swear it was back there, look more in the back.”

He could slap himself for the way he had been acting but he really couldn’t help it. He’s always wanted to fuck his cute little assistant and now she’s in a position where it could happen. Bending down to reach the bottom of the fridge mean that more of your body was exposed to his eyes. He wasn’t expecting you to bend down further just… keep bending down. The skirt rose higher to completely uncover your ass and cunt. He caught a better glance at it this time around than

He found your obliviousness almost laughable. Could you not feel.. the air or the coolness hitting your ass? Now, as a decent human being, it would be instinct to tell you and let you know that he wasn’t mad. However, a small part (which was slowly turning into the majority) of him enjoyed the view. He wanted nothing more than to keep you there and fuck you before the conference.

In the midst of his daydreams and fantasies, you stood up and handed him a cold bottle of Pepsi- Cola. “You were right. There were some in the back. Sorry about that!” You spoke sheepishly. You took in his appearance. You noticed the look in his eye that screamed animalistic.

“Elvis? Are you ok?”

Your soft voice broke him from his trance. His eyes gazed down at yours and they widened. “Yeah! Sorry darlin’. Something caught my eye is all.” He spoke quickly. You nodded your head and smiled. “That’s ok! However, the guys will be back soon. We should go over your responses, alright?”

This would be fine if he wasn’t painfully hard. He looked down quickly and turned so his back was to you. “Yeah that’s fine. I gotta use the can again. I’ll be fast.”

You nodded again. “I’ll be on the lounge chairs waiting for you!” You said enthusiastically.

He slipped into the bathroom and locked the door. He put his hand on the counter and the other on his forehead. How was he gonna get this all out before everyone got back? Why does he feel both guilty and not about this? Whatever the reason for his feelings were could wait. He needed deal with his erection first.

He sat on the side of the tub and pulled himself out from his black slacks. He signed in pleasure before rubbing his hand over the tip.

“God damn her. She’s gonna be the death of me.”

(taglist: @mt12209 @myradiaz @presleyenterprise @18lkpeters @austinsmutler @ccab )

#satninroses #elvis presley #reader insert #x reader #50s elvis #60s elvis #70s elvis #elvis 2022 #elvis presley x reader #elvis x reader #elvis x reader smut #elvis presley x reader smut #x reader smut #reader insert smut #elvis smut

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resisteverything · 4 months

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A list of useless/extraneous Hazbin characters and how they could have been fixed.

1. Vox. He confronts Alastor and Alastor wins, but this victory doesn’t change anything so this was nothing, and all it did was get sir pentius to join the hotel except pentius doesn’t change the plot either. He could have been an obstacle to the hotel with his control over the media, and once Alastor took care of him the hotel would start getting costumers and one of them would be pentius, who is Vox’s double agent. Then his prescience matters.

2. Pentius is nice but he didn’t do anything. He was just sort of around and then almost did something but died first. They could have made his sacrifice mean something, paying off the fact that he had that machine, like maybe he crashes it into Adam, getting himself blown up but wounding Adam in the process. And his spying for Vox could make something happen, like if there’s an angel head he could report it to Vox and he could do

3. Velvette reveals the head and almost gets Camilla to confess it was her, but then she doesn’t and this scene comes to nothing aside from transitioning to revealing information that could have been revealed any other way. She could have started her own hell army and instigated the war, or joined Charlie in the final fight. That would fit with her motivations. She could maybe hack into the phones in heaven and present the extermination which would make more sense than Adam doing it for no reason, and would plunge heaven into conflict if everyone knew. Or her role could have gone to a character like Alastor, or Vaggie, or angel, or Cherri, like I said.

4. Husk. He’s just there for some reason until episode four where he resolves the conflict between Charlie and Angel instead of having her learn anything, like he doesn’t do anything. Nifty being comic relief who kills Adam for a joke, that’s fine. But Husk doesn’t even do that much but has a major role that was stolen from the protagonist. He could have been cut entirely. That’s what I think. Cut him, he’s boring and I don’t want to see where his bit is going. It would also remove the part where Angel is sexually harassing him.

5. Mimzy. She shows up, has a useless subplot, reveals information we already learned in the pilot, and left. We didn’t need to know anything we learned from her and we did not need the loan shark scene, it just makes Charlie’s character weirder. Mimzy could have actually decided to stay at the hotel, giving it more than one person staying at it.

6. Cherri bomb. She is in Angels subplot in episode six and in the pilot but doesn’t affect the plot in either of those. She supported Angel in the addict video, she could have replaced Husk. That would maybe transition into her checking into the hotel, once again making the hotel actually have people in it like a hotel should. She also could have replaced Velvette in instigating war, especially since she has a sympathetic reason to given how Angel being in hell means he’s entrapped by the porn industry and can’t escape.

7. Camilla. She mentors Vaggie in a way that doesn’t matter later because she didn’t have any established fighting struggles that needed resolution, and reveals information we could have inferred any other way. She set the plot in motion by accident then left again, like her role could have been replaced with a stray falling object vaggie has to find, or by Adam deciding to be a petty dick and double up the murder for no reason. Vaggie could have been the one to kill the Angel and then they’d know what did it and wouldn’t need Camilla at all, and it would matter for real. Or Adam could have, once again, decided to double up on extermination for no reason.

8. Rosie. She brings out an army of sinners as though there aren’t plenty of powerful characters who would already want a war somewhere else, like that useless fucking board of overlords that could have been part of Charlie’s army, and gives Charlie relationship advice that leads her to make a choice that she could have also made for herself by maybe talking to Vaggie, thinking about it herself, or venting to her already plot important dad who should probably know about the impending doom coming for his people.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism

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lovebugs-and-snakecharmers · 4 months

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LBSC Sprint Challenge February 2024

The LBSC Sprint Challenge is now open for writers and artists!

We did things a little differently this month and asked our discord members for Valentine's related prompts, so you get a few extra prompts this month! If you're not feeling the Valentine's vibe, the Wildcard option is always available.

The prompts are:

1. Flower Delivery boy Luka getting an address wrong. Which means the girl who answered the door might just be available. 2. Tom decides to drop some hints to Luka that Marinette is single and Valentine’s Day is coming up. And everyone knows that the best way to a man’s brain is through pastries decorated with not so subtle hints. 3. Florist!Mari- the heat in her shop has gone out, and it's Soo cold. Luka makes a delivery of something that has to be refrigerated. 4. Sabine, seeing Luka and Mari dancing around each other (and maybe seeing Tom fail to get the two together) decides to take matters into her own hands and what better excuse to have Luka around than needing an extra pair of hands at the bakery with the valentines rush coming up? 5. The people of Paris are shocked to discover Ladybug doesn’t like Valentine’s Day. People have plenty of theories, but Luka’s pretty sure he knows the reason why. 6. There's ALWAYS an akuma on Valentine's Day. 7. Conversation Hearts 8. Marinette makes an apron with a conversation heart pattern. Luka takes the 'kiss me' heart very seriously. 9. After all the roses from Chat Noir, Marinette's a little...indifferent to the traditional Valentine's flower. Luka has to get inventive. 10. Kwamis give dating advice with… mixed results 11. Marinette loves soulmate stories and believes in true love. Lately, she's feeling down and starts to give up on the whole idea. Luka tries to put together or act out a Soulmate story/AU in real life to help her feel better/special. 12. Luka trying to work up the nerve to smooch Marinette. Attempts to ask by giving her the "KISS ME" conversation heart. Marinette, distracted by something else: "Ewwwwwww." 13. Luka and Marinette are both doing valentines deliveries and get trapped/stuck in an elevator together 14. Wildcard - pick any previous challenge prompt, or play LBSC Smooch Roulette to generate a prompt!

You have until Wednesday, February 28 to complete your 3 15-minute sprints/45 minute art sprint and post the results. Once you’ve completed the sprints, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions and make it feel complete, and whatever work you feel appropriate to get your art to a state you consider ‘finished’).

Please note you may sprint in the language of your choice, and you can either translate the final fic before posting, post it in the original language, or both as you choose. You can join us on the LBSC discord or sprint on your own! Just be sure to tag @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers in your final post so we will see it and reblog it. The rest of the rules can be found here under the cut.

Rules!

We’ll post a beginning and end date to the challenge, and a prompt.

Writers, If you choose to participate in the event, write for that prompt in up to three 15 minute sprints. No writing outside the sprints until you have completed all three! After the 3 sprints are complete, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions, etc). You can also choose to break that 45 minutes up differently if you find a different split works better for you. After those 24 hours, post what you’ve got. Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on AO3 or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

Feel free to sprint in whatever language is most comfortable to you! You can post it in your own language or translate it before posting, or both!

Artists, you have 45 minutes to sketch and 24 hours to do any cleanup or coloring you’d like to complete. You can split your 45 minutes up however you like, or not at all. There’s no requirements on your finished piece, just aim for whatever goal seems challenging but achievable to you. Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on Instagram or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

If you’re wavering as to whether or not you think you can accomplish anything in 45 minutes, we really encourage you to give the challenge a try. You may be surprised what you can do! Feel free to join us in the discord linked above so we can encourage and cheer you on.

Obviously, this has to run a bit on the honor system and we won’t be tracking your times, but please do your best to honor the spirit of the challenge! If your sprint fic becomes an Entire Thing (these things happen sometimes) and you want to continue it, feel free! However, please still post whatever you’ve got after your 3 sprints with the tag. No fair busting out a fully polished fic or art without showing us what it looked like at the challenge stage!

We want to keep this a positive space and event! This does NOT mean that you can’t write or draw anything critical of a character or episode, but it isn’t the space for character bashing or hate either. Please keep the characters in character and save the more speculative work for another time. NSFW sprint works are permitted but must be tagged appropriately (please use “NSFW LBSC sprint challenge” for easy filtering on the blog) and with appropriate warnings. (More FAQ about the process here)

This is a Lukanette blog and a Lukanette event, so while Lukanette does not need to be the main ship, it needs to at least be included or referenced and considered endgame (in other words, they don’t have to be together by the end of your work, but the intent is that they’re headed in that direction). The decision about what qualifies for reblog rests solely with the LBSC moderators. If a piece hasn’t been reblogged within a couple of days, either the mods felt the piece didn’t meet the criteria or it was simply missed; you are welcome to reach out in the asks to inquire which. There are plenty of other spaces out there for other ships and OT3s, and people are welcome to use the challenge rules and prompts to write for their own ships! They just won’t be reblogged to the LBSC blog, and we ask that you please not use the event tag (a modified form is fine - “InsertAlternateShipName sprint challenge” instead of “LBSC sprint challenge,” for example).

Happy sprinting!

#lbsc sprint challenge #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #pro lukamari #lukanette event

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thecreaturecodex · 1 year

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General Abdalla Aulorian

[Unlike the other characters I’ve been posting for Monster Girl Summer, this one is Mine. Abdalla Aulorian is my character in a long form, freeform Pathfinder game run by @strawberry-crocodile. Her main NPC, who I have an enemies-to-lovers relationship with, will be posted in a couple of days. This is Abdalla immediately before the campaign started.]

Abdalla Aulorian CR 7 LE Outsider (native) This woman has pale mauve skin, shoulder length black hair with red streaks, and ridged horns growing from her brow. Her left leg is differently shaped from her right, with an elongated ankle and a horse-like hoof.

Life is cruel to Abdalla Aulorian, and she has learned how to be cruel in return. Born as the sixth child in a particularly ambitious branch of the Aulorian family, her mother made a deal with the contract devil Jebelat to have her turned into a tiefling. She was treated as a whipping boy and basically a servant by her parents and most of her siblings, and she lashed out violently. To teach her some discipline and make her useful, she was shipped off to the Sisters of Eiseth. On the plus side, the Sisters did accept her as a trans woman, and helped her transition. On the other hand, they did so with humiliating rituals and beat what little independence she had out of her thoroughly. At the end of her training, Abdalla signed her soul over to Eiseth and bears her unholy symbol as a brand on her breast. If my soul was to be owned by hell, she rationalized, I might as well choose who my master will be.

From the nunnery, Abdalla went into the Chelish military as an officer. Although a few of her fellow cadets thought that as a tiefling she should be kept to non-commissioned status, those that complained too loudly had a nasty habit of turning up dead. Her assistance in crushing a halfling slave revolt near Laekastel won her a title, Demibaroness, and she was successful enough in the war against the Glorious Reclamation to claw her way up to the rank of general. She has some regrets, and plenty of nightmares, but is proud of her ability to survive in as hostile a system as she has. She hasn’t spoken to her parents in years—they fled their manor in Corentyn to a summer estate in Vyre, just in time for Ravounel to declare independence. Whether her family are keeping their heads down, fought back against the Silver Ravens and were captured or killed, or just used this opportunity to cut Abdalla out of her life… she doesn’t know and doesn’t particularly care. Now that she is a general, Abdalla regularly volunteers to lead troops into enemy territory, hoping either to win a plot of land to retire to or to be put out of her misery in combat.

General Abdalla Aulorian has survived as long as she has by being able to control her own emotions. She lies habitually, presenting herself as a loyal workhorse for the military and dutiful supplicant to Eiseth. In truth, she deeply resents Eiseth, Cheliax, her family, and herself for her very existence. Abdalla’s rage and self-loathing has been channeled into infernal power. She uses her few spells to augment her own physical abilities and for a modicum of protection. Abdalla never had much patience for ranged weapons, and relies on her soldiers to provide artillery support. Although she is fleet of foot, Abdalla’s gait is awkward due to her mismatched legs, and she finds both running and riding to be difficult.

Abdalla Aulorian CR 7 XP 3,200 LE Medium outsider (native) Tiefling bloodrager 8 Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +11, scent Defense AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor) hp 64 (8d10+16) Fort +7, Ref +2, Will +3; +4 vs. enchantment, fear, poison DR 1/-; Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 10 Defensive Abilities blood sanctuary, diabolical arrogance, improved uncanny dodge, infernal resistance Offense Speed 30 ft. (40 ft. unarmored) Melee +1 halberd +12/+7 (1d10+5/x3) Ranged javelin +7 (1d6+3) Special Attacks bloodrage (19 rounds/day, +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 Will, -2 AC) Spells CL 5th, concentration +7 2nd (2/day)—bear’s strength, bull’s endurance, mirror image 1st (2/day)—expeditious retreat, magic missile, phantom blood, protection from good, shield Statistics Str 16, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 12 Base Atk +8; CMB +11; CMD 21 Feats Blind-fight (B), Eschew Materials (B), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Bluff), Skilled Rager (Bluff) Skills Bluff +13, Climb +5, Handle Animal +6, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Perception +11, Perform (dance) +2, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +15, Survival +12; Racial Modifiers +2 Bluff, +2 Stealth Languages Common, Halfling, Infernal SQ blood casting, bloodline (infernal), fast movement, fiendish sorcery, variant tiefling Gear +1 halberd, +1 breastplate, cloak of elvenkind, silversheen (x2), feather token bird (x2), potion of cure moderate wounds, scroll of spider climb, 3 javelins, dress uniform worth 30 gp, jasper earrings worth 50 gp, 40 sp Special Abilities Variant Tiefling Abdalla has the scent special ability instead of darkness as a spell-like ability.

#abdalla aulorian #tiefling #monster girl summer #npc #pathfinder 1e #cheliax

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nayatarot777 · 1 year

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how is the full moon in sagittarius ♐️🌕 manifesting for you? • june 3rd/4th 2023 • 🃏 pac {patreon preview}

• pile one •

cards: 9 of cups, 2 of cups, 8 of pentacles

there’s a completion happening in relation to a partnership that you have. but this completion isn’t resulting in the ending of it. it’s actually culminating as a wish fulfilment. you and your person (whoever this person is - doesn’t have to be romantic. could definitely be a business partnership too) have been mastering some type of craft together. you’ve both been working so hard to culminate something for the both of yourselves, and it’s happening around this full moon. this 8 of pentacles could also be about a huge amount of self-development and self-work on the both of yourselves. i’m hearing that you’ve managed to both put your ego and your pride aside and come together to really perfect whatever this practical project is. for others of you, you guys could’ve been separated from this person in order to go on a break where you both focus on yourselves. and i’m seeing that you’ve both done just that and are now able to come together again for an extremely emotionally fulfilling connection. with this 9 of cups, things are really going to seem “perfect” because of all of the hard work that you’ve done individually on yourselves. there’s so much more understanding and compassion that you have towards yourselves and each other - and this can now be a much more reciprocal and balanced partnership.

if this preview resonated with you and you’d like to read the rest (+3 paragraphs), you can find the rest of this reading here

• pile two •

cards: the lovers, ace of pentacles, queen of swords

i’m seeing that for a lot of you, you’re receiving communication about being given a work opportunity by whoever this queen of swords is. she has decided to grant you the opportunity to work for her and whatever business she’s running. and i’m seeing a lot of air energy (gemini in particular) so this could be a job in some type of communications. this queen of swords could also be someone who is giving you the option to decide between two different things in order to plant some type of seeds for stability. again, this could be a job, a living space, perhaps something to do with your health too. whatever this decision is about, it’s going to transition you into A LOT of harmony and peace. things will be entirely balanced and stable for you. especially if this is a financial new beginning. but i’m definitely seeing some new beginning in your practical life coming to fruition based on a decision that you make, or a decision that this queen of swords makes. this queen of swords is someone who’s extremely talkative, clear, and concise. she’ll make it clear that she wants you to have whatever this ace of pentacles is.

if this preview resonated with you and you’d like to read the rest (+3 paragraphs), you can find the rest of this reading here

• pile three •

cards: king of wands, 7 of cups, 10 of pentacles

this full moon, you’re stepping into a leadership role of some sort. this could be a manager position at work, or an entrepreneur position for your own business. either way, i’m seeing you with a lot of ideas to choose to implement into a business, and whichever one you choose to focus on is creating some unexpected major abundance. some of you in particular could even be coming up to the point in your business where you’re looking to employ people to implement your ideas based on your vision of what you would like to develop. and with the 10 of pentacles here, i’m seeing you developing a very stable workspace that’s full of people who are loyal to what you’re building. for a small number of you, this 10 of pentacles could even indicate that, since you’re becoming the visionary boss of something, you’ll be able to retire (or at least feel like it) and spend a lot more time enjoying the fruits of your labour with your family at home.

if this preview resonated with you and you’d like to read the rest (+3 paragraphs), you can find the rest of this reading here

#psychic readings #tarot reading #pick a card #pac #pick a photo #tarot #divination #pick a picture #pac reading

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thesinglesjukebox · 9 days

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NEWJEANS - "HOW SWEET"

Breaking up: it's like sugar sometimes...

[6.69]

youtube

Rachel Saywitz: NewJeans has found a comfortable home in the production of DJ and electro-trot producer 250, whose musical style has become so singular that I'd start putting him up there with some of the other K-pop producing greats like Brave Brothers, the late Shinsadong Tiger, or Sweetune. His method continues to work well on "How Sweet": adding a little shimmering twist to American club genres (Miami bass in this case), seamless transitions from section to section, and the light vocal touch of every girl's vocals. But, as with the greats, I sense a slight loss of luster with the constant repetition. How many underground genres is 250 going to fish out of the Western world's murky waters to can up and ship out with a shiny new label? The catches are going to dry up eventually. [7]

Kayla Beardslee: NewJeans’ early singles smashed, bringing them ridiculous and unprecedented success for a first-year K-pop rookie group, because they delivered masterfully crafted pop songs in deceptively simple packaging. "Hype Boy" plows through enough memorable hooks for an entire album in a minute and a half, yet sounds so breezy and youthfully optimistic that the music doesn’t feel like work at all. Beneath the soft swells and whispers of "Ditto" is an instrumental that has a beautifully subtle touch with intimacy and a topline that stays in constant motion even as it tantalizingly holds itself back. In comparison, “How Sweet” is more of an underachieving graduate of the Tortured Poets school of songwriting. In each section of the song, they pick one melody with a limited dynamic range, hammer it into the ground, then tick the box and move on. For a Coca-Cola ad, it’s pretty flat. [5]

Mark Sinker: Chirpy song about how breaking up with u is great and also v easy bcz u suck and I never liked u! Happily the real-world backdrop (MASSIVE INDUSTRY DRAMA pitting label against manager) cannot possibly ground this as a metaphor. The delivery turns the tale of the change from oops non-allegory into smilingly blank-faced stonewall. [7]

Iain Mew: They stretch simplicity as a virtue further than ever, relying almost entirely on immaculate floaty vibes. The almost is crucial, though; the "...now that I'm without you" kicker adds just enough bitterness to keep this from feeling completely blank. [8]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: "How Sweet" is one of the most powerful kiss-offs we've had in years because it treats the end of a relationship as something so effortless, so natural, "like biting an apple." Even when lines are acerbic ("toxic lover, you're no better"), they are delivered with the exact amount of lift needed to signal both disgust and nonchalance. NewJeans do not care about this ex anymore, and they wield their restraint with grace; this is living well as the best revenge, and the song is potent because it feels like mist on a hot summer day. Producer 250 has always known how to excavate the potential of a minimalist pop song, and he's found an especially strong avenue here with the skeleton of an Atlanta bass track. The regional style (and specifically the Ghost Town DJ's track "My Boo") has had a large impact on K-pop since "Body Party" got big, but 250 makes it a more congenial affair: the hi-hats are low in the mix, the handclaps have more pop than the kick, and it all feels muted so the bubbly synth melodies and percussion—the latter approximating the "Triggerman" sample used in bounce classics—can flutter about. "How Sweet" is the most everyday that NewJeans has sounded, and it's all the more biting for it. [7]

Ian Mathers: It's devastating enough to get a "I'm doing better without you" message delivered with such nonchalant cool, but to make it a bop too? Really drives the implied "I probably didn't care that much in the first place" home, ouch. [8]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: A very NewJeansian take on the break up-come down song; it's a harder feeling to make sound giddy, but they pull it off here. The fragments jutting out from the sing-talk ("like biting an apple"; "no drama, it's good karma"; "little demon in my storyline" most of all) are thrilling and deranged, the kind of phrases that become involuntary mantras and mutterings when you make your way out of something all-consuming and are faced with the shock of the new. Most of the writing about NewJeans centers on their musical trappings, but the Miami bass riffs here are more perfunctory than their prior dalliances with drum-n-bass and Jersey club. That's not to say that it's a bad song — that bassline itself, rubbery and grooving, is gorgeous — but that it shares less with the perfect grooves that "OMG" and "Ditto" than first appears. [9]

Oliver Maier: Unusual for NewJeans both in that it is kind of a retread (think "OMG" 2: Not As Good) and that the performances are really quite listless. The thing about girl groups from anywhere in the world is that their songs tend to implode the moment it sounds like they aren't having fun. [5]

Jonathan Bradley: There's not the great shock of the new provided by genre experiments like "Super Shy" or "Ditto," but the R&B-lite of "How Sweet" gets some extra mileage from burbling percussion runs and photon-light electro textures. Switching between English and Korean lines in the hook is smart songwriting as well as smart globalization; it adds variation to a melody that threatens to run out of ideas after a mere three-and-a-half minutes. [6]

Michael Hong: Initially put off by how weary the vocals sound -- NewJeans have always been low-key, but they've never sounded so spent. But it starts making sense when you consider that NewJeans are just as much about the experience of sharing these milestones as they are living them. Backed by a laser show of synths, "How Sweet" is about convincing yourself that you're okay after a heartbreak and proving it to your friends. This exhaustion makes the sharper moments more effective: the wistfulness of "it's like biting an apple" longs harder, and the snarky "I'll see you out" that closes the track is a truly satisfying line read. With every chorus, the bitter tartness lessens and the the sweetness pops brighter. [7]

Alfred Soto: The relaxed sensuality is what I wanted from this week's Tinashe track. The melodies are sticky and sweet. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: The drum programming is a bouncy, yet flimsy kick snare pattern full of glittery lasers and clinking closed hi-hats. At first, it overwhelms you, with the rising hit arriving every four bars and doubling during the post chorus, but once you pay attention to the looping, ghostly synth melody, you feel toward a handhold in the wind. [6]

Isabel Cole: I get so excited by the aliens-attacking space-laser sounds at the beginning, and then it all mellows out to make room for an uninspiring vocal line delivered uninspiringly. Things perk up a little in the chorus (I remain a sucker for handclaps!), but unfortunately the actual melody continues to be the worst part of the song, to the extent that I think I'd prefer an instrumental version. [5]

Katherine St. Asaph: The melody on the verses sounds like something off PinkPantheress's Heaven Knows, which is some real influencer-becomes-influenced ouroboros shit. But "How Sweet" settles into a chorus that's undeniably itself, frenetic but small: kind of like "Let the Music Play" recreated by one of those miniscule Helmacron ships from Animorphs in tiny zaps and little plinks. And I do mean "settles": there's less fizz in the pop than there could have been, and NewJeans' vocals range from effortless to affectless, unbothered to unengaging. [6]

TA Inskeep: I'm absolutely here for NewJeans giving us a little bit of ecstasy. If this kicks off a revival of second-wave freestyle, I'll be very happy. (Someone call Sabrina Carpenter to the white courtesy phone, stat!) [8]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: “How Sweet” is the most subdued and pedestrian newjeans have sounded. The beeps and blorps and percussion taste sweet, but the vocals are bitter and dull. But when the production has so many dynamic flourishes, and the meta-narrative around the group is so interesting, the score floor is high. [6]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#newjeans #music #k-pop #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

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nyaboshi · 1 month

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If you get this, answer w three random facts about yourself and send it to the last seven blogs in your notifs! Anon or not, doesn’t matter !

Got this from @exhaustedwriterartist and @plumsodapop , so I will be providing 9 facts.

1) I've been stung by a jellyfish before. Not fun

2) I have a stuffed duck that I got as a gift when I was 6 months old. He's my comfort item and I can't sleep well unless I have him with me. The amount of times I've woken up solely because he fell off my bed. 😭

3) I wanted to be an actor before I got into the art field. I was a hardcore theatre kid for years and was all set to go to college for acting. However, after transitioning from mere high school productions to participating in my local community theatre, I realized that professional stage acting was definitely not for me. I started dedicating myself to art not long after.

4) My comfort show is The Office, and I have seen every episode at least ten times (some seasons I've seen more than 20 times). I can quote certain scenes from memory, recognize at least half of the episodes from a single frame, and picture the video in my head just from hearing the audio and vice versa. I am normal, I swear.

5) I have one singular playlist that I throw every song I like into. When I hit shuffle, I can switch from worship music to rap, to 2000s pop, to hardcore techno at the drop of a hat.

6) I listen to Caramelldansen, the Pokedance song, and Gangnam Style unironically. All three are in the aforementioned playlist.

7) I have a black cat who is my baby boy, and a golden retriever/labrador mix who is one of the sweetest dogs I know. She's a spoiled brat sometimes, though.

8) My favorite foods are ramen (like from a ramen shop, not instant) and hibachi chicken with shrimp sauce, but my comfort foods are thin crust pepperoni pizza and uncooked instant ramen noodles. Yes, I have looked it up and they are safe to eat without boiling. Even if they weren't, I would take the risk just as I would with cookie dough.

9) I have a summer birthday. 🤙

#answering asks #fun fact #nyaboshi

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elminx · 6 months

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Energy Update: December 2023

December is a “1” Universal Month [12 (December) + 7 (2023) = 19 = 1+9 = 10 = 1+ 0 =1] in a “7” Universal Year. Things have come full circle and we are back at the beginning all over again. “1” months always represents a beginning of some kind but this one will be bookmarked by “9” months on BOTH sides of it because 2024 is an “8” Universal Year which will make January a “9” Universal Month [1 (January) + 8 (2024) = 9]. This coincides well with December’s dubious honor as holding our fourth and final Mercury retrograde of the year which will transition Mercury, Jupiter, and Neptune out of retrogrades, effectively ending our retrograde season on 1/1/24. We are almost there. But, not yet.

The Set Up

We begin the month of December with the Sun and Mars in Sagittarius, Mercury and Pluto in Capricorn, Venus in Libra, retrograde Jupiter and retrograde Uranus in Taurus, and Saturn and retrograde Neptune in Pisces. Over the course of the month, the Sun will enter Capricorn, Venus will enter Scorpio and then Sagittarius, and Mercury will cross back and forth over the Sagittarius/Capricorn border three times. Additionally, three of our planets will station (change directions) – Mercury will station retrograde, Neptune will station direct, and Jupiter will station direct. We are exiting a sixth-month-long retrograde cycle, as of 1/2/24, only one single planet will remain in retrograde motion (Uranus).

The Nitty Gritty

December is a month that traditionally begins with a lot of warmth and joy (Sagittarius/Jupiter) but can often end in more solemnity than people like to admit to (Capricorn/Saturn). Where Sags sometimes seem to fly in the face of consequence, Capricorn stews in it. I say this because this switch-off between these two signs this year may be especially contentious for many and, for the most Mercurial of us, it will happen more than thrice. Mercury alone is going to make this journey three times (twice in December) but the Sun, Venus, and Mars are all soon to follow. That’s…a lot. If things are getting a bit serious and NOT festive this month, know that you are right one time.

Not only does Mercury enter Capricorn on 12/1 (an augury of the month ahead as a whole), but our planet of communication, technology, and travel immediately comes into a heavy sextile with Mr. Consequences himself, Saturn. Saturn doesn’t sit easily in the sign of Pisces because well, Pisces (and the 12th house it rules) is ephemeral and sometimes not even conscious. If you’re not living consciously and in this world, you’re not going to do well with Train of Consequences because you might not even notice that you’ve wandered onto the tracks. That’s going to be a theme of the month, for sure. Keep in mind that Mercury is already in its pre-retrograde phase here, this is pass #1 of this aspect which repeats again on 12/21 while Mercury is retrograde and again on 1/18/24 when direct. Is there a lesson you’ve been intentionally (you might say “not intentionally” but we’re being real here) avoiding? You might want to look at it sooner rather than later this month.

That first weekend in December is looking kind of rough. Not only do we have Mercury sextile to Saturn (remember here that even though sextile is a “supportive” aspect Saturn is rough no matter how you spin it), but we also have Venus in Libra squaring off with Pluto in Capricorn. That’s some pretty intense breakup weather if you catch my drift. Not if you are in a good relationship, mind. Breakup weather isn’t meant to scare you. But we all know – WE KNOW – that couple. The one that exists for red flags and long nights. That seems to manage to exist as a couple based entirely on what, we all assume, must be the best makeup sex ever. Venus in Libra will stay together no matter what, Libras is just codependent like that. On the other hand, Pluto in Capricorn is on the tail end of its 26-year tirade to end contractional obligations that just don’t work. (sidenote: not that I’m endorsing it, but this a good weekend to work magic to “help” along the desolvation of relationships that shouldn’t continue)

On Monday 12/4, Venus enters Scorpio and makes an immediate trine with Saturn which only accentuates this sense that we need to be in the right place, with the right people, or else. I’m a bit of a relationship anarchist so take what I am about to say with that in mind but: this is not the time to commit yourself to something that isn’t right for you or something that you don’t believe in. That’s a message for somebody. Venus in Scorpio can be quite the vindictive bitch (affectionate), so let people down as nicely as possible. Keep in mind that there’s about a 1/5 chance that Venus is in Scorpio during Sagittarius season (she is always within 2 signs of the Sun) and I promise you, this is the worst combination for the holiday crazies. We are all going to have to pack our patience and our very best regulation skills to get through this month as smoothly as possible.

Neptune stations direct on 12/6 but it’s likely we won’t notice it as much more than a bit of added muddle to the madness. Neptune is pretty effusive in the best of times and in its native sign of Pisces its energy is just mist. You may notice that time passes slowly during the mid-week as most planetary stations tend to create some time distortion.

On Thursday 12/7, our Sun makes a trine to Chiron in Aries. This is undoubtedly a pain point in our month which makes some sense given the holiday season and our aforementioned breakup weather. It is what it is. It might be hard to separate yourself from your triggers during this time – especially familial triggers. For those called to work with Chironian energy, this is a powerful moment to stand tall and own your own pain. (You know who you are)

On Friday, 12/8, Mercury makes its first trine of three with retrograde Jupiter in Taurus. You can expect some big ideas or plans during this time, but not a lot of follow-through. Mercury will trine Jupiter for a second time during their retrograde cycle on 12/18 and a third time in direct motion on 1/19. It’s worth noting here that Jupiter rules this weekend as Venus in Scorpio opposed Jupiter the next day. Things could go very well or very poorly during this time. A lot will have to do with how you are showing up and how stuck you and your others are in your own shit. There’s no great day to do abundance or money work this month, but Saturday will be the best one we’ll see until Mercury and Jupiter have left their post-retrograde shadows come January.

By Monday 12/11, things will be getting a bit dicey. Mercury will retrograde on Wednesday which means that it has already slowed to a near standstill in our skies as it prepares to switch directions. This tends to make all realms ruled by Mercury especially murky and untenable – watch out for all communication throughout this week. There will be misunderstandings. Catch them early if you can. We will also be experiencing a Mercury-Venus sextile on Monday and a new moon at 20° Sagittarius. This new moon is going to be closely trine to both the North Node and Chiron in Aries, so tensions will be high and pain may feel quite close to the surface.

This new moon has some very interesting numerology. Firstly, it’s on 12/12 which we should all recognize as 3/3 energy – three is a powerful number for creation and manifestations of all times. Additionally, this particular moon carries the energy of “9” of every Sagittarius new moon [Sun in Sagittarius (9) + Moon in Sagittarius (9) = 18 = 1+8 =9] and “1” [9 (Sag moon) + 1 (December 20230 = 10 = 1]. Nine is the number of endings and 1 is the number of beginnings which reflects the overall energy of our month wherein we go from 9 (November) to (1) December and back to (9) January again. This new moon will likely be a turning point in the month, either a major pivot or a significant Ahah moment. Using the numbers 1, 3, and 9 in any new moon spellwork that you do can help amplify your magic during this time.

On the next day, the Sun will trine the North Node and Mercury will officially enter its retrograde at 08° Capricorn. I have already written about this particular retrograde cycle here which you can reference for specifics. The gist is that Mercury will remain in retrograde until it reaches 22° Sagittarius on 1/1/24 which will be a major power day. Until then, we will need to sit tight and try to ride with the tides that come to us.

By Friday, Mars in Sagittarius will be trine to Chiron in Aries and the Sun will be squaring off with Neptune in Pisces so we enter a weekend that may be painful and confusing. There’s a lot going on here and not everybody will be on the same page. I’d stake a lot on the fact that someone involved in all of this is lying. Or at least intentionally obscuring the truth. Try to step away from your ego as you can. Be the bigger person. Or don’t. I can’t tell you what to do.

On Monday 12/18, retrograde Mercury meets up with retrograde Jupiter for their second trine. This is the lying times. It has Boy Who Cried Wolf energy. Whatever the story is right now, it’s still heavily obscured so don’t make rash decisions that you’ll regret later.

By the end of the week, we are back deep into the consequences and Saturnian energy. On Thursday, the Sun enters Capricorn and winter begins, retrograde Mercury meets up in a sextile with Saturn for the second time, and Venus opposed retrograde Uranus in Taurus. Not only do actions have consequences, but they may have dangerous consequences during this time. The Sun and Mercury enter full conjunction (cazimi) on Friday which means that all reasoning has been blocked out by the light of the ego. It’s not going to be pretty. We’re in the big holiday weekend, too.

I’d say stay home if you can this weekend, but I know it’s not an option for most people. It’s going to be a tough time to be around family. Retrograde Mercury enters Sagittarius on Saturday which means that everybody is going to be a know-it-all. Mars will be directly trine to the North Node so the words said are going to pack a punch. And the Sun in Capricorn is now directly sextile with Saturn, so the consequences are consequencing. Pack your very best self-care and ninja boundaries if you can. Maybe try to remember that most people are fighting with themselves and not with you.

By 12/25, Venus in Scorpio will be trine with Neptune in Pisces so we all might be a bit weepy over the things that were said and done in the days before. The full moon is on the horizon, too – peaking on Tuesday evening (EST) at 04° Cancer. We have a bunch of planets sitting between 24°-05° along that that are all tangled up in a nasty knot. The Sun is still conjunct to retrograde Mercury and Mars (their conjunction is exact the next day) and sextile to Saturn while the moon is closely conjunct with retrograde Jupiter. Both Mercury and Mars are bringing in Neptune in Pisces energy through a mutable square.

Nobody really knows what’s going on right now, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t up in their egos about it. Give everybody a break during this time, most especially yourself. Pick that fight on a different day – maybe even in another life where you are both cats.

The numerology of this Cancer full moon brings with it the energy of “5” [10 (Capricorn Sun) + 4 (Cancer Moon) = 14 = 1+4 = 5] that is found within all Cancer full moon and the energy of “6” [5 (Cancer full moon) + 1 (December 2023) =6] that is specific to THIS full moon. So what I am saying is that there IS a chance. 5 is a bit of a conflict number, but 6 plays an important role as the number that follows it – 6 can FIX the problems of number 5. This is the best auspicious thing about the entire month, we should all attempt to use it. You can bring the number six into your life by using six in any way that feels good to you during the 48 hours surrounding the peak of the full moon. (From around 7:30pm (EST) on 11/24 to 7:30pm on 11/27) This makes this time the cosmic right time to right a wrong, bring your big kid apology pants to this party. But also maybe remember to not take credit for things other people did.

We’re in the homestretch to our new year and Jupiter and Mercury both stationing direct, but the hits keep coming in. On Wednesday 12/27, retrograde Mercury and Mars meet up for a fiery conjunction (that could be good but watch your mouth – are you telling the truth or spinning a yarn?) while also squaring off with Neptune in Pisces. Remember that Mercury is really close to stationing direct and that means the mouse trap is close at hand. Is the immediate reward worth those consequences? Only you can answer that question. The Sun in Capricorn is trine to retrograde Jupiter in Taurus, so luck could swing either way.

On Friday 12/29, Venus in Scorpio sextiles Pluto for a hot minute (echoing that breakup energy from earlier in the month but with a lighter touch…dare I say it could be makeup energy but I hope not given who I think might break up) before entering into Sagittarius. Venus in Sag is a firecracker but she’ll be heavily tempered by the intensity of the Capricorn/Saturn energy we’re experiencing. Can you keep your dreams alive in the face of opposition? How do you hold space for the fire and inspiration in your life?

Finally, on New Year’s Eve, Jupiter stations direct at 05° Taurus which is an amazingly auspicious transit to ring in the new year with a bit of luck that all of us will certainly need. That may lead to excessive partying, so just beware. And finally, on 1/1/24, Mercury stations direct as well.

I find it absurd that we begin our calendar on an odd day in the middle of Capricorn season, but here we are. 1/1 is not just the first day of the month but also the first day of a year! This is a way to superpower the 1 energy of starting new projects (the magic behind New Year’s resolutions). This is very in alignment with Mercury and Jupiter stationing direct at virtually the same time. I personally will not be out partying because I want to be at my best to take advantage of this energy to start our new year.

As mentioned above, 2024 is an “8” year, the number of the Ouroboros. What has gone around will come around again because life never ends. That said, January is a “9” month, and hence, an ending. Contradictions are and I am really looking forward to this one.

The Details

12/1 – Mercury enters Capricorn 12/2 – Mercury in Capricorn sextile Saturn in Pisces (1) 12/3 – Venus in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn 12/4 – Venus enters Scorpio 12/5 – Venus in Scorpio trine Saturn in Pisces 12/6 – Neptune stations direct 24° Pisces 12/7 – Sun in Sagittarius trine Chiron in Aries 12/8 – Mercury in Capricorn trine retrograde Jupiter in Taurus (1) 12/9 – Venus in Scorpio opposed retrograde Jupiter in Taurus 12/11 – Mercury in Capricorn sextile Venus in Scorpio 12/12 – New moon 20° Sagittarius 12/13 – Mercury retrogrades 08° Capricorn, Sun in Sagittarius trine the North Node in Aries and sextile the South Node in Libra 12/15 – Mars in Sagittarius trine Chiron in Aries 12/16 – Sun in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces 12/18 – retrograde Mercury in Capricorn sextile retrograde Jupiter in Taurus (2) 12/21 – Sun enters Capricorn (Happy Winter!), retrograde Mercury in Capricorn sextile Saturn in Pisces (2), Venus in Scorpio opposed retrograde Uranus in Taurus 12/22 – Sun conjunct Mercury (Mercury cazimi) 00° Capricorn 12/23 – retrograde Mercury enters Sagittarius (29°), Mars in Sagittarius trine North Node in Aries and sextile South Node in Libra 12/24 – Sun in Capricorn sextile Saturn in Pisces 12/25 – Venus in Scorpio trine Neptune in Pisces 12/26 – Full moon 04° Cancer 12/27 – Sun in Capricorn trine retrograde Jupiter in Taurus. retrograde Mercury in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces (2) 12/29 – Venus in Scorpio sextile Pluto in Capricorn, Venus enters Sagittarius 12/31 – Jupiter stations direct 05° Taurus 1/1/24 – Mercury stations direct 22° Sagittarius

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#astrology #words #mine #transits #energy update #December 2023 #the photo is wrong and I don't even care #because good enough is good enough

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a-silent-symphony · 1 year

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We got Nightwish's Tuomas Holopainen to rank every single album by the band from worst to best

We asked Nightwish founder Tuomas Holopainen to rank the band's albums from worst to best - and some of his choices surprised us

From fantastical realms to elaborate filmic sagas and love-letters to Darwinism, the Nightwish discography is rich in intrigue – and low on dullmoments. As its central creator, Tuomas Holopainen is inextricably bound to the sounds, feelings and memories that saturate each of these nine albums.

His life is in this music. But if it came to it, in a castaway situation, which albums would he most (and least) want to be stuck with? It’s a tough call. “They are my children,” he pleads, “how would they feel if they saw the ranking? Wishmaster would be so sad!” Still, he did manage to settle on an order, and here it is...

9. Wishmaster (Spinefarm, 2000)

“It went to No.1 in Finland, but to me Wishmaster is one of those albums that was kind of ‘in-between’. It doesn’t stand out to me on a personal level. There was nothing revolutionary about it after [1998’s] Oceanborn.

It was made in a really good spirit – everybody in the band was happy after the success of Oceanborn – so this was just a natural continuation of that. But it didn’t really introduce anything spectacularly new for me personally. I think that’s my problem with it. If Ihad to pick a favourite song, I think I’d pick Dead Boy’s Poem; lyrically, it’s very much in the essence of Nightwish.”

8. Angels Fall First (Spinefarm, 1997)

“Our debut sounds so innocent because it was done as a demo. It was never supposed to be released, but we sent it to the record label and they said, ‘Let’s put this out!’ It still has my parents’ home address on the booklet.

“When I founded Nightwish in July 1996, I just wanted to do moody acoustic music. Since me and Emppu [Vuorinen, guitars] had a strong metal background, it was a natural transition to do something heavier, but that original acoustic band idea can be heard strongly. We couldn’t find anybody to sing, so I kind of dug a hole and fell into it myself.

"We played Elvenpath years later on the Decades tour, and I can’t understand how Floor was able to keep a straight face singing those lyrics – to her credit, she did! I just remember the kid that I was back then, writing those songs, and I kind of miss that kid, because it was all about Donald Duck and fantasy books and snowmen and things fantastical.

"Nymphomaniac Fantasia? Not my proudest moment. But it was done because there was a young kid who had some, I don’t know… issues, ha ha ha! Love-life gone wrong or something. It was a different time.”

7. Century Child (Spinefarm, 2002)

“After Wishmaster, I seriously considered quitting the band, especially thanks to the departure of the [original] bass player [Sami Vänskä] and my slight burnout. Then I went on a hiking trip in Lapland with Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica, and he talked me over that.

"We needed a new bass player, and we needed management because until then it was me and Jukka [Nevalainen] the drummer taking care of the business side. So we got management, and we got Marko [Hietala, bassist/ singer until 2021], who was already a big name in Finnish metal – we were all big fans.

"There was a lot of bad stuff happening in the band as well – that’s reflected on the album. Slaying The Dreamer was a way to get rid of all that frustration. Artistically I found film music, Hans Zimmer above all, and that really can be heard on Century Child. But the album didn’t take us much on the next level. Artistically it did, but not commercially.”

6. Dark Passion Play (Nuclear Blast, 2007)

“It was a really easy album to write because all the emotions were there so strongly, after what happened with Tarja [Turunen, original vocalist who was dismissed from the band in 2005], and everything in my personal life. I was about to lose my mental health, and then doing the songs for this album saved it.

"I’m a very private person, but I write about some really personal things, and these people – Anette [Olzon], for this record – are singing it out for the whole world to hear. Ineeded to do a song like The Poet And The Pendulum, where I killed myself in the lyrics; I had to do it for my mental health, and it ended up being a wonderful piece of music.”

5. Imaginaerum (Nuclear Blast, 2011)

“Again, this was a pretty easy album to write – we all had a good time with it. When it comes to songwriting, I’m a morning person. I’ll wake up about six when I’m at home, then a litre of coffee and I’m off. Usually I’m done by two or three o’clock. I write songs upstairs in my little home studio – just a keyboard and a lakeside view. In the studio with the band, the other members and the engineers are more night owls. Also in the tour bus it’s always me up first, making coffee downstairs.

“It was clear from the start that this would end up being a film. We thought, ‘What haven’t we done yet? Let’s do a music video for every song on the album, and then somehow combine them to become this really weird film.’ It’s a very optimistic album. It just puts a big smile on your face.”

4. Once (Nuclear Blast, 2004)

“One of the best times that this band has ever had was 2003- 2004, making the Once album, and the first part of the tour after that. In late 2003 we flew to London to record the orchestras. I rang the studio doorbell and Rick Wakeman opened the door. I think I said, ‘Errr… [makes incoherent starstruck noise] Thanks!’

"We went to the studio, started playing Ghost Love Score and my face melted. Like, ‘I’m next to Wembley, listening to the orchestra playing a song that I wrote, this is really life at its best.’

"Something happened with that album – all the stars were aligned. I remember looking at the album charts and seeing ‘Nightwish, Michael Jackson, Anastasia’ and going ‘Really?!’ I don’t think any of us were quite prepared. You get sucked into this massive world of big tours and worship from the fans, then the money starts to flow in, and it’s easy to lose your perspective. Impulse purchases? I did a round the-world trip on my own, it was wonderful. But money has very little meaning to me."

3. Oceanborn (Spinefarm, 1998)

“Our ambition went through the roof after Angels Fall First, because we all realised that this is actually really fun. I was studying biology, Tarja was studying singing, I think in Germany, Jukka was studying to be a computer engineer, Emppu was working in a carpet factory.

"Music was just a hobby. And then we realised, ‘There’s something going on here, so let’s put all the focus in Nightwish for maybe a few years, and see what happens.’ It was eight hours every day in the rehearsal room, playing the songs and just really feeling it. It was the watershed album for us, it took us to the next level.

"All the guys, we had just gotten out of the army so we all had short hair, we had no idea about the metal scene at all. We were complete countryside hickeys who just happened to like metal music, and we were given this chance to show what we could do with a three-album deal. It shouldn’t have worked on paper, but somehow it did.”

2. Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Nuclear Blast, 2015)

“If Floor hadn’t come along, I think that would have been the end of the band. We got over an ugly divorce once [with Tarja], then again with Anette, then Floor comes along and everything shines bright again. She learned the setlist in 48 hours – when I called her, she was at her sister’s wedding. Even from the first show the fans embraced her. So we took a lot of that good feeling for Endless Forms Most Beautiful [named after a line from Charles Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species].

"We went to Röskö campsite in Finland to record. It’s a four-hectare area by a lake in the middle of nowhere, belonging to the Boy Scouts. We stayed for three months. Every morning we’d rehearse for a few hours, have lunch, go back, rehearse and then spend the evening with each other by a campfire, barbecuing, playing acoustic guitar, singing, going to the sauna and talking about the songs all the time. The Greatest Show On Earth, that’s the Nightwish desert island song. I’m sure we’ll play that at the end of the setlist until forever.

"We recorded Richard Dawkins’ part in Oxford. He’s quite the character. I’m a huge fan, so I was really starstruck. He did his parts beautifully, it was over in about 30 minutes and then he gave us a ride back to central Oxford in his Tesla. And halfway back he asks us, ‘So are you musicians or something?’ Ha ha! So his head’s somewhere… all the time! But he’s a wonderful guy.”

1. Human. :II: Nature. (Nuclear Blast, 2020)

“I immediately knew after Endless Forms Most Beautiful that ‘OK, we have to do more songs about this.’ And so the idea of Human. :II: Nature. was first to have songs about humankind, and then you play the other CD and relax and go into nature. My memories of making the album are of happy times, no conflicts. We returned to Röskö to make it.

"When the pandemic hit, it was like, ‘Should we postpone the release?’ But it was all printed and the advertisements had gone out to the papers. So the record label said, ‘Let’s go with it. Maybe people will have more time to concentrate on it…’

"Noise was a big single, but there’s also something about Shoemaker [named after famed geologist/astronomer Eugene Shoemaker]. It’s on the artsy side, but not in a pretentious way.

"Realising what evolution is… it’s about realising our mortality, at least for me. And it’s made all the difference. When I kind of realised that this is very likely the only life we’re gonna have – it’s only after that that I started hugging my dad. I never hugged my dad before that. I’ve just felt much more liberated and in the light ever since.”

#Nightwish #Tuomas Holopainen #2023 interviews

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