#I could listen to lazuli non stop forever

[batgirlsay]

Expert in a Rocky Field

When the @ans-arcade gift exchange sent me your name, I immediately thought about making you a Lata playlist! Started digging through my old grad school playlists for some academic vibes, then I filled in the blanks with other songs about rocks. It ended up having more songs about the sadness and peril of academia, which I’m sure Lata knows about… I hope you like it, @meefy!

Expert in a Rocky Field

Expert in a Dying Field- The Beths Sisyphus- Andrew Bird Iridium Dream- Louie Zong Lazuli- Beach House Calcite Prism- Louie Zong Oblivion- David Bazan Postdoc Blues- John K. Samson May Their Brilliance Ever Linger- Louie Zong

Summary lyrics are posted after the cut:

Expert in a Dying Field- The Beths

Hours of phrases I've memorized Thousands of lines on the page All of my notes in a desolate pile I haven't touched in an age

How does it feel? To be an expert in a dying field And how do you know? It's over when you can't let go

You can't let go, you can't stop, can't rewind Love is learned over time 'Til you're an expert in a dying field

Sisyphus- Andrew Bird

Sisyphus peered into the mist A stone's throw from the precipice, paused Did he jump or did he fall as he gazed into the maw of the morning mist? Did he raise both fists and say, “To hell with this,” and just let the rock roll?

Let it roll, let it crash down low There's a house down there but I lost it long ago

It's got nothing to do with fate And everything to do with you

Lazuli- Beach House

In the blue Of this life Where it ends In the night Is nothing like lapis lazuli Let it go back to me

Like no other You can't be replaced

Oblivion- David Bazan

Hello again, Oblivion Can you find the frequency While the specters hover whispering

Hello again, Oblivion But it's no good to complain Of fatigue and existential pain

Hold on to what you've got Though it may not be a lot Cause now is not the time for second thoughts

You believe in it Now it's time to follow through You believe in it What does that say about you?

Postdoc Blues- John K. Samson

So your presentation went terrible All wrong dongles, sweat stains and stares

Don’t despair you’ll get it right tomorrow night

I believe in you and your PowerPoints I know why you can’t stay away

So take that laminate out of your wallet and read it And recommit yourself to the healing of the world And to the welfare of all creatures upon it Pursue of practice that will strengthen your heart

[fanimesenseiwrites]

Things the MC would bring back to their demon bois from the mortal realm:

Lucifer:

MC goes to second hand stores and vintage shops always on the look out for vinyl records that they think Lucifer would like.

Most of the time they try and bring back stuff he'd actually like, such as Tchaikovsky or Vivaldi

Once, they brought back Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and Lucifer wouldn't stop kissing them (once they were in the privacy of his room of course)

Sometimes the MC will bring back more modern music just because it makes them think of him

"I dunno, I just listen to Hozier and think of you"

Lucifer doesn't like all the modern music they bring back but he appreciates the sentiment just the same

Then there's the gag gifts...

Any kind of music that has a reference to the devil or Satan or hell is fair game

These gifts usually elicit an eye roll from the eldest brother but he keeps them all the same

This is why Lucifer owns a copy of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"

So when MC brings back a copy of Giuseppe Tartini's Violin Sonata in G minor, they're a little surprised at Lucifer's delighted reaction

"You know, I was the one who visited Tartini in his dreams."

MC's mind = blown.

"Also, this copy is cursed. I know you know how much I enjoy cursed vinyls."

"I- wait... What?!"

MC is very upset that they had a cursed vinyl in their possession this whole time

Mammon:

This boy loves stuff, and he loves MC, so he's gonna love any gift really

But MC knows he loves treasure and jewels and as much as they'd love to just bring him back nice watches and jewelery...

MONEY IS A THING, AND MC IS NOT MADE OF IT.

So MC settles for semi-precious stones instead

They always find fun and beautiful stones at museums and those metaphysical stores and they always pick out one that reminds them of Mammon

They're really nervous when they give him his first gift

"Hey, I got this for you and I know it's not fancy or expensive but I saw it and thought of you and I just wanted you to have it."

Mammon will love them until they die. He is really just so touched that MC thought of him. He'll try and play it cool though

He totally fails. MC won't tell him that though

MC brings him Lapis Lazuli and tells him it reminded them of his eyes and Mammon is now a puddle of lovesick goo on the floor

Mammon puts more shelves in his room dedicated to all the gifts MC gives him

One time MC brings him back some fool's gold in a teeny little jar on a chain, so that he can wear it

"Fool's gold? Why cuz I'm a fool?" Mammon asks with a roll of his eyes.

"What? No, cuz I'm a fool for you."

Mammon only love MC until they die? WRONG.

He's gonna love them forever now

He was gonna do that anyways

Leviathan:

C'mon, this boy is easy. Anime/manga stuff and TSL. Need I say more?

At first he'll be suspicious of MC wanting to give him gifts, but once they've convinced him that they're doing it out of the kindness of their heart he's really touched

The first thing the MC brings him is a pen with a little Ruri-Chan on the end of it

"I know it's not much, but I just happened to see it and I knew you'd like it"

Like it??????

HE LOVES IT! HE'S OVER THE GODDAMM MOON.

He's never seen anything like this in the Devildom and he doesn't think about the small stuff usually because he's too busy trying to get the big collectors edition items. So he actually really loves this.

MC continues to bring him cute small stuff like buttons and keychains and Levi loves them all.

His favorite item(s) that MC brought him is a pair of Lord of Shadows and Henry BFF enamel pins

He definitely tackle hugged MC when he got them

He gives the Lord of Shadows pin back to MC so they can each have one and show off their BFF status with them

Satan:

MC loves going to second-hand bookstores to shop for Satan.

Satan also appreciates new books, but there's something special about how his face lights up when he finds something old or rare. Anything with a little bit of history to it.

Of course, finding rare books for not a lot of money is a rare event in itself

So a safe bet is to bring Satan non-fiction, the boy loves to learn

But he really loves it when MC puts thought into finding fiction books that he would like

"I just really feel like you'd like Dean Koontz so I brought you one of my favorites by him."

Satan loves those gifts the most because he can talk to MC about the books afterwards

Satan's absolute favourite gift is a leather bound copy of Arabian Nights though

"I was thinking we could read this one together"

"Like you read it to me and pretend to be Scheherazade?" Satan suggests.

MC is flustered at the connotation of the suggestion but agrees anyways

The time they spend together reading that story will forever be one of Satan's favorite memories

Asmodeus:

He's a little harder to shop for than the MC had originally imagined

They tried bringing him make-up and skin care, which Asmo always graciously accepted, but he never seemed super excited about the gifts

But what else is to be expected from the guy who already uses only the best products?

MC suddenly gets an idea when they send Asmo a selfie of them at the park

- OMG! You're so cute! And the background is pretty too!-

MC starts dressing up and going to nice and beautiful places just with the intention of taking pictures

Botanical Gardens, museums, downtown skylines, anything that would make for a good picture

MC goes full on aesthetic art hoe just for Asmo

Only the best pictures get sent to Asmo

Asmo is LIVING for the looks their MC is serving up

- You are absolutely STUNNING! I'm in awe at these AMAZING pictures-

MC makes a scrapbook of the best pictures to give to Asmo the next time they see him

Asmo loves it and keeps it on display in his room always

Also, Asmo definitely makes MC their personal photographer after seeing the wonderful shots they took

Beelzebub:

Obviously, the boy loves food. He's always down to try new snacks from the mortal realm.

But MC wonders if there's something better that they could bring him

One day MC is at GNC for supplements for themself when they notice the workout supplements and get an idea

They grab some fun flavored protein powder and some BCAAs and a really nice shaker bottle just for Beel

Beel is actually really excited to get these gifts!

The Devildom doesn't have fun flavors of protein powder and the shaker bottle is such a great idea!

MC always brings new flavors of protein back for Beel, doing their best to find the weirdest flavors for him to try

Beel's favorite is definitely Birthday Cake.

MC starts bringing him new stuff to try too, protein bars, recovery supplements, collagen, and superfoods shakes

Beel tries everything and tells MC what their favorites are

"I love the BCAAs, I just wish the Devildom had them..." *sad Beel noises*

MC may or may not talk to Diavolo about researching BCAAs and getting them produced and sold in the Devildom

The supplements MC brings actually help Beel with his workouts and to control his hunger (a little)

Beel actually gets hotter??? Who knew that was possible???

MC definitely takes advantage of Beel's new 8-pack 😏😏😏

Belphegor:

What do you get the boy who only wants to sleep?

MC has gotten him stuffed animals and blankets and even a couple of nice pillows, but nothing seems to excite him

... but maybe that's just his personality??

It's not until MC accidentally leaves a sweater in the Devildom, that they figure it out

- You left your sweater down here- Belphie texts MC.

- Oh no, I'll just get when I come to visit y'all again-

- That's fine. I like having something that smells like you-

And the light bulb went off in MC's head.

Every time MC goes to visit they leave a shirt or sweater behind for Belphie, so that he can have something that smells like them.

Belphie loves how MC smells, its like a sweet dream all the time. It helps him sleep better when they're gone.

Belphie starts to complain when MC is gone longer than the item they left smells like them

(Which is every time)

So MC will start leaving Belphie more than one item, packing them in airtight bags so he can use them one after another until they return

Belphie can and will fight anyone who tries to take MC's clothing

"Mammon, you have two seconds to put that sweater back or I will kill you."

And Lucifer probably won't stop him

Diavolo:

He's honestly the easiest to please.

He's so fascinated with any thing that humans do that he'll enjoy any gift from the human world.

MC's first gift to him is a rubber duck.

"The duck is wearing a crown so it made me think of you and I just thought it was cute."

"I love it! What's its purpose?"

"Uh... to float around in the bathtub with you and look cute?"

"Isn't that what you're for?"

Diavolo loves the rubber duck so much it gets his own silk pillow to rest on when it's not taking a bath with Diavolo.

MC brings him cute pens, and keychains sometimes bottles of wine if the bottle is cute.

"The bottle is shaped like a cat! Isn't that delightful?!"

MC's proudest moment was when they found a full and intact tea set at the thrift store

Diavolo immediately fell in love with it.

He insists on only using that set when having tea with MC

But his favorite gift will always be the rubber duck.

Barbatos:

He'll insist that he doesn't need any gifts but that won't stop the MC.

MC is with him in the kitchen in the Demon Lord's Palace when they get an idea.

KITCHEN TOYS.

Barbatos works so hard, he deserves some things to make his life easier and liven up the bland kitchen

MC's first gift is a vegetable spiralizer.

"You use it to turn zucchini and squash and the like into noodles so that you can do fun stuff with vegetables!"

Barbatos accepts it graciously, but he'll probably never use it.

MC brings him spices from the mortal realm and Barbatos actually really loves those.

When MC brings him a food processor, he offers to cook for them right then and there

Despite all the weird gadgets MC ends up bringing him, and there are plenty out there, Barbatos's favorite is a ladle that looks like a stegosaurus.

It's far more whimsical than anything he would've ever picked out, and he'll never use it, but only because he's afraid of ruining it, not because he doesn't love it.

At some point, Barbatos does ask MC to stop bringing him kitchen gadgets

"Why? Do you not like them?" MC asks with a pout.

"I appreciate all of them, but I have everything I need when you're in the kitchen with me."

If MC wasn't already in love with him they are now

Smooth bastard just doesn't want anymore shit in his kitchen

[milk-and-violets]

What’s your favorite tohs song ?

Oh, the fatal question! I could not tell you, but I can say my top from each album, and why a few oddballs may have been my favorites at certain times.

Eponymous Album: I think I underrate this album so much, and honestly going back and thinking about these songs has me longing to go listen to the live versions again. Honestly, out of all the albums, this one was the hardest for me to pick my favorite, and it kinda ties between "Lay Me Down," and "Cold is the Night," and the only reason "Trees" isn't also vying with them is because I just want there to be more of it.

The fact that "Second Child, Restless Child" echoes concepts in "Lay Me Down" hits me every single time and I love it so much for that reason alone. It speaks to my experience as a curious, energetic child stuck in church when I was little, and the feeling of being driven away from a place because you deeply believe the word isn't how people around you say it is?? Slaps. (I may or may not be having full song analysis thoughts about that now, h e l p)

As for "Cold is the Night," see: take away this apathy / and bury it before it buries me. Need I say more? The lyrics in that one are also just. Hauntingly evocative. They feel like a lullaby sung by a knowing older self to a younger one. Or vice versa? Just thinking about "bitter is the thought of all that time / spent searching for something I'll never find" and *reminiscing on loss of faith noises*

Through the Deep, Dark Valley (TTDDV): I love so many of the songs in this album, obviously. Mostly the first 3 and the last 4. However, I can say that (partially due to my love of niche live performances) my true fave is the combo set of "The Truth Is a Cave" running into "Valley (Reprise)." Nothing like it. Sublime. Heart-threatening. Makes you wanna jump off of something like a big box speaker and throw a tambourine straight at someone's head.

Dear Wormwood: This album deserves the hype it gets, really and truly. If I want to go really nostalgic, I can listen to it all through and have the full experience of human emotion. However, the two songs from it that Really captured my heart are "This Will End" and "Thus Always to Tyrants."

"This Will End" is just.... I don't cry a lot. Almost never. But I would happy cry if I got to see that song played live. I know it. "Thus Always to Tyrants" is the song that makes me channel Maggie's Pickathon energy and dance barefoot on any available surface.

Notos: (my beloved) "Constellations" was the song that Got Me Into The Oh Hellos. I owe that song my life. That at "On the Mountain Tall." I was having a relapse into LOTR phase and I think I listened to those two songs almost exclusively for at least a week. They were my favorite songs for a solid month.

Eurus: Eurus, from Eurus. The OG. The song that got me Really into the Oh Hellos. That made me stop and go: oh Word? Passerine gets a shoutout for being my blog title and also for the METAPHOR??? Like Maggie and Tyler did Not mince words and I love them forever for that. They really said we're gonna roast prosperity gospel & harmful theology and we will take no prisoners.

Boreas: Like the above, Boreas, from Boreas. But only for the period of time before the rest of the album came out. This song gets a shoutout for being my Most Listened To Song from 2020 even though it came out like halfway through the year. I listened to that song non-stop for like three days, and then burned myself out enough that I couldn't listen to it again for about a month and half. The other song I really love from that album is "Cold," which I went feral enough over that I wrote my first lyrics analysis post about it! (Lapis Lazuli slaps too, but everyone knows that)

Zephyrus: Ahhh my white whale of an album. My favorite color. The season of my soul's aesthetic. This album was so different. So spicy and delightful. I pulled a Boreas-Boreas with "Soap", and now I find it too sweet to listen to often. I think of it quite fondly though. My favorite song from this album is, without a doubt, Rio Grande. It feels like an adventure song, which I adore so much. I think my first 5 listens gave me at least a year of my life back. I have (1) draft on tumblr and it's my 6 paragraph unfinished analysis of that song.