#and in a whole new city to get me out of this weird funk

[bookshelfdreams]

(sorry I'm still thinking about 20 y/o children's fantasy book Tintenherz & sequels by Cornelia Funke, please move along)

the mo/staubfinger dynamic is so insane like

you have this guy who is dropped into a wholly unfamiliar environment, literally transported into another dimension and there's only 3 people who even know this happened to him, only 3 in the entire world; and out of these 3, 2 came from the same place as him, sure, but those 2 are also his worst enemies who he has a very violent history with

and then there's mo. the whole situation kinda is his fault, true (at least in staubfinger's mind it is and who could blame him) but he's also the only person on earth who at least sort of knows what happened to him and who probably won't brutalize him

plus they both lost the loves of their respective lives to another world at the same time but that's cool that's just the cherry on top at this point

like are you telling me they didn't form an extremely intense emotional bond forged of lots of conflicting things, of grief and anger and hate and longing. with the only other person in the world who knows what happened, who they do not have to lie to, who they can maybe find the facsimile of comfort with, even though it's painful and weird and probably kinda unhealthy (but then again, the whole situation is fucked)

and! mo clearly also knows that proximity to staubfinger is dangerous, tries to get him out of his life, leaves the city with his young daughter in the middle of the night just to get away from him

(as it will turn out, justifiably, because staubfinger is so homesick and heartbroken, he will sell mo out to the aforementioned enemy eventually)

and that's all before the story even starts!

and then

AND THEN

(yes it gets more intense than that)

staubfinger does eventually make it back home and mo follows soon after because their lives are linked now, the narrative will not let them be apart for too long and it almost kills him but he lives, is reborn as a part of this new world

but you know who does die?

staubfinger.

and mo literally calls him back from the dead, goes into the underworld to rescue him, makes a deal for his life (both their lives) with Death herself, calls him by his name and drags him back into the light

which forges a literal soul bond between them that makes them know each others thoughts, feel each others feelings

and we're supposed to be normal about that

[leiawritesstories]

Ok so this really weird but I was listening to Uptown funk and I imagined Aelin, Dorian, Lys, Cassian, Mor and Fenrys just dancing wildly to it at a party while everyone else was watching so uh... that?

why do i love this so much? thank you thank you thank you

word count: 1,387

warnings: language, alcohol, general chaos

enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Velaris University Illyrians were one hell of a party crowd. 

Every time the Illyrians played the University of Orynth Staghorns, the two teams and the students who came to Orynth for the game always, without fail, ended up at one or more parties together, laughing and drinking and just generally having a whole lot of fun. The Illyrians brought cases of their city’s finest cheap beer, stuff that somehow was completely different from Orynth’s finest cheap beer and yet completely the same, the slightly sour taste lingering long enough that people tended to wash it away with a few sips (or gulps) of whatever jungle juice was available. 

And everyone, Illyrian or Staghorn, knew that Lorcan Salvaterre made the best jungle juice. 

Aelin had absolutely no idea what the hell Lorcan put into his concoction, just that even a single cup of the stuff had her giggly and giddy. And extra handsy. Which Rowan never seemed to mind, gripe though he would about the hangover she’d undoubtedly have. Never stopped him from taking the best care of her when she very much was hungover, though. 

“Cass!” she squealed excitedly, the buzz of the three Jello shots she, Lys, Dorian, and Fenrys had already taken zipping through her veins. “You’re late!” 

“Am I?” Cassian Ilnair smirked, wrapping her into a big hug. He’d always been affectionate, it had only gotten worse as he grew up, smothering Aelin in big man hugs and ruffling her hair like she was a child. She smacked him. “Yes, Cass, you’re late. And three Jello shots behind.” 

“Shit,” he laughed. “Catch me the hell up, then.” 

“Gladly,” Fenrys grinned, pushing three Jello shots at him. 

Cass downed the shots in rapid succession, wiping off his mouth on the back of his hand and slinging one arm around Aelin. “Where’s Lorcan’s punch?” 

“Christ,” she snorted. “You trying to get blacked out tonight?” 

“He doesn’t have to try,” Nesta Archeron cut in, appearing on Cass’s other side and rolling her eyes at Aelin. “And he knows he’ll be sleeping wherever he collapses if and when he passes out.” She dropped a little kiss on her boyfriend’s cheek. “Right, Cass?” 

“Wicked woman,” he grumbled, squeezing her waist nonetheless. “All right, sweetheart, I’ll stay awake.” 

“Sure,” Nesta laughed, peeling off to grab herself a drink. 

“Jungle juice!” crowed a triumphant voice from a few yards away. 

Cassian barreled towards the voice, whooping. “Morrigan, you are a savior,” he declared, taking a healthy gulp of Lorcan’s concoction. 

“Yeah, the savior of the not-yet-hammered,” Aelin snorted, accepting a red Solo cup from the other blonde. “Thank god you’re here, Mor, these idiots are starting to get boring.” 

Mor tapped her cup against Aelin’s. “How much d’you think it’ll take them to start karaoke?” she asked, winking broadly. 

“Hardly anything,” Aelin cackled. “The second Fen hears a song he likes, he’ll be up there grabbing the mic, not giving a shit that he can’t sing.” 

A new song came over the speakers just then, the pounding bass thrumming through the whole house. Lys squealed, dragging Fen and Cassian towards the dancefloor. 

“C’mon, bitches!” she yelled. 

Aelin drained her drink, tossed her empty cup, and followed, Dorian and Mor close beside her, already yell-singing along at the top of their lungs. 

Rowan, meanwhile, sipped from his beer and shook his head as he watched his girlfriend almost trip as she wove through the dancing crowd, definitely tipsy though she’d never admit it. 

Fenrys grabbed Aelin as soon as she’d made her way to her friends, shouting the lyrics with great tone-deaf gusto, his eyes already glazed. 

“Fuck, Fen, how many drinks have you had?” she yelled over the thumping bass, laughing at him. 

“Don’t fuckin’ know!” he yelled back, grinning broadly. “Does it matter?” 

She could only howl with half-drunk laughter, sharing an eye roll with Lys and Cass, both of whom had definitely been giving Fen more alcohol. 

The thumping electronic music switched to the familiar, pounding intro to “Uptown Funk,” and Lys’s squeal echoed in Aelin’s ears. 

“Fuck yeah!” she shrieked, clapping along. “I love this song!” 

“Me too!” Mor squealed, yanking Cass with one hand and Lys with the other, dragging them all into some sort of circle as they all danced to the beat, screaming the lyrics. 

Dorian produced a flask from gods knew where, passing it around as he slurred his way through the song, the words becoming incoherent as the flask returned to him. He hiccupped, his movements becoming wilder. “UPTOWN FUNK IT UP!” he howled, his hips gyrating. 

“UPTOWN FUNK IT UP!!” the others bellowed back, their voices joining everyone else’s on the dancefloor as all the tipsy, half-drunk, and drunk students in the place screamed along to the Bruno Mars song, alcohol and high spirits overflowing in the space. 

Aelin was hardly aware of how she was moving, just that she was enjoying the fucking hell out of this party, dancing with her friends and drinking shitty Jello shots and Lorcan’s punch, singing along to that damn song like it was the best thing she’d ever heard. Her hands waved wildly in the air as she shouted the lyrics, jumping and swaying and generally having a hell of a time. 

Rowan finished his beer, fondly shaking his head at Aelin’s wild dancing, at the way her head tipped back in laughter as she and the others danced wildly, drunkenly, singing and yelling and laughing at Dorian and Fen’s increasingly sexual drunken dancing. 

“Just get a fucking room,” Lorcan grumbled, draining his cup. 

Rowan snorted. “You know they won’t.” 

“Fuckin’ idiots,” Lorcan scoffed. “They both know nobody gives a shit if they go upstairs.” 

“They’re just too stupid to act on it,” Nesta added knowingly. 

“So get them drunker,” Lorcan smirked. “That should do the trick.” 

“Nah, they should do the trick,” Nesta snickered. 

Rowan coughed, laughing despite himself at the terrible joke. “That was awful, Archeron.” 

“And funny, ‘cause you’re tipsy,” she grinned triumphantly. “C’mon, Whitethorn, a little laughing won’t hurt you.” 

“Shut up,” he grumbled. 

“Checkmate, Whitethorn,” Nesta crooned. “Now if you two hulking statues will excuse me, my hammered boyfriend is about to fall the fuck over and I’m gonna yell at him.” 

A moment later, she was at Cassian’s side, yelling something into his ear over the blaring music. Aelin couldn’t catch what she said, but it made Cassian, who’d indeed been about to collapse, stand up and wrap an arm around Nesta, slurring something into her ear. Probably profane, judging from the way her ears flared red. 

“Don’let Fen pash out again!” Cass hollered as Nesta all but dragged him away, stumbling over his own feet. 

“Too late for that!” Aelin giggled, still dancing the night away with her friends. 

Who were gradually starting to disappear, either to get more drinks or to slip towards the stairs, as she saw Mor do, hand in hand with...Lys? With someone else following them?

Well, Lys would certainly have a few things to share when she got home. 

Aelin danced along with Fen and Dorian for another couple of songs, their dancing getting more and more wild, turning into stumbling and swaying and yelling along to the songs. She knew Rowan was watching her from the side, his ever-alert gaze tracking the way she moved. 

Hence why she put extra sway into her hips. 

It only took the overbearing buzzard a minute or two to slide his strong arms around her waist, molding his hips against hers. One of her arms reached back, sliding behind his head, her fingers tangling in his hair. 

“Took you long enough,” she slurred, rotating her hips in a slow circle against his, feeling the way he...reacted press into her ass. 

“I like to draw it out,” he purred into her ear, the hand on her waist possessive, burning through the thin fabric of her top. 

“Fuck,” she mumbled, eyes fluttering shut as she let him guide her movements, grinding her against him. 

He chuckled, low and smoky, into her hair. “Ready to get out of here, baby?” Punctuating his words with a brazen squeeze of her breast. 

“Yes,” she panted, arousal rushing to her core. “Gods, yes.” And gods yes would she be enjoying the afterparty she and Rowan were no doubt going to have. 

~~~

@charlizeed

@cretaceous-therapod

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@loudphantomdragon

@flora-shadowshine

@nerdperson524

@claralady

@fireheartwhitethorn4ever

@julialovebooks

@nesgoddessofdeath

@morganofthewildfire

@rowanaelinn

@wesupremeginger

@story-scribbler

@nicolivesinbooks

@mackenzieclutt

@stardelia

@maeclin

@gracie-rosee

@shanias-world

@mybloodrunsblue

@swankii-art-teacher

@wordsafterhours

@cookiemonsterwholovesbooks

@violet-mermaid7

@holdthefrickup

@skeletons-and-wildflowers

@goddess-aelin

@rowaelinismyotp

@dealfea

@irondork

@themoonthestarsthesuriel

@live-the-fangirl-life

@the-key-to-me-myself-and-i

@chronicchthonic14

@whispers-in-the-darkest-heart

@khildreth

@sweet-but-stormy

@hanging-from-a-cliff

@jorjy-jo

@rowaelinrambling

@thegreyj

@silentquartz

[gamebunny-advance]

The NSR Civilian AU

A little while back, I made an idea of the NSR Civilians AU. So I decide to update it a bit. So here's some new and improved things about it! I'm going by Character-Role. So here we go!

Mia-Mayday

Leader of the Indie Rock Duo, Bunk Bed Junction.

Is a bit more brave but still jumpy.

Plays the Guitar.

Joey-Zuke

I originally thought that Gigi would take Zuke's role. But this is more suitable.

Plays the Drums.

DJ Zam-DJ SS

Charter of the Nimbasa District (Yes I named it after Nimbasa City)

Genre is Future Funk/Speedcore

Kayane-Sayu

Charter of the Yarakashi District (Named after the term of obsesive fans.)

Controlled by 4 kids. Those being Yiruk (taking Remi's role.), Chef Sunshine (taking Tila's role.), Dash (taking Dodo's role.), and Zed (taking Sofa's role.)

Genre is J-Pop/Synth

Daphne-Yinu

Charter of the Deepsea District (Named after the Vocaloid Song, Shinkai City Underground).

A teenage Flautist.

Has a very overprotective brother.

Genre is Classical/Plunderphonics

Robot-1010

Charters of the Edge Cut District.

Manager is Captain T.

Despite having the most simple designs. They have a large fanbase.

Celine-Eve

Charter of the Melayu Baju District (Named after the Baju Melayu fashion of Malaysia.)

Calls herself Venus.

Used to date Gigi.

Barbara-Tatiana

CEO of NSR.

Gigi-DK West

This role suits him much better than Zuke.

-----------------------------------------

Ah, it's so much nicer having all of this in one big post~ But, tbh I don't remember the original submissions that well, but I do like what's here for the most part!

I dunno if you're asking for feedback or just wanted me to see the updated list, but I'll give my thoughts all the same because when have I ever done differently?

Putting a readmore 'cause it's a long response to an already long post, and might not be what you're looking for anyway.

I like a lot of the district name references! I almost forgot that Shinkai City Underground was a song I liked XP.

I can't really speak for any of the cultural references being appropriate or not, but I want to at least mention that I think it's a little odd to use such a "negative" term for Kayane's district. Even if it works ironically, contextually, it's a little weird for anyone to want to name a place, "Excessively Rude Fans" ya know? If there was more wordplay involved, then I could get behind it, but as it is, that one is particularly immersion breaking if you know/look up the meaning of that word.

Other than those couple of nitpicks, I am interested in hearing a little more about the depths of the swaps though, like how personalities and motivations have changed due to the swap.

For example, you've said that Kayane is still controlled by "kids" even though 3 out of 4 of the swaps are with adults, so I'm curious if you've aged them all down or if the whole dynamic has changed.

Joey and Gigi not being related would change a LOT about that conflict, since Zuke and DK West's story is *about* their relationship as siblings. Siblings quarreling and friends/rivals quarreling are just two different things. It's not necessarily better or worse, it's just different, and I'm curious to learn how it's different.

Ya don't have a Kliff swap on either side. I know that Kliff himself is *technically* a citizen too, but I actually find it kind of weird that he didn't take one of the artist roles since he's a very prominent citizen, but I'm obviously biased XP.

But regardless of my biases, his role in the story is pivotal: he's the true antagonist of the entire story. Even if Kliff doesn't take one of the main swaps, someone HAS to swap with him if you wanna retell the entire NSR story, otherwise the entire final act is going to be totally different. And different is fine, but it seems like every other original conflict is mostly intact, so I'm wondering who you're gonna put in conflict with Barbara, if anybody. Since most of the artist positions have already been swapped (unless ya wanna swap him and Mystery Man, which could be interesting), he'd have to be another citizen swap. There are more citizens than there are artists, so this was bound to happen, I suppose.

In short, I probably said this last time, but I like some of the ideas you've got, but I just don't have enough to sink my teeth into to have any real opinions on it. Aside from my nitpicks, there just isn't enough for me to say that it's good or bad. You've got me curious, but I'm not invested just yet. I do hope that this AU will develop into something more substantial, so I can have some actual feelings about it besides, "Is there more?"

[stevenbasic]

The Tale of Queen Angie, p3

*BEEEP* Throughout the whole drive that Monday morning, AJ felt like he was in a heavy fog. He had zoned out at a red light, and the car horn from behind him jerked him back to reality. Jeez… he thought to himself, no sleep, no coffee yet, I’m a zombie. He waved, apologetically into the rear view of his pickup, and took off again down the road.

But it wasn’t just that. He didn’t just need his coffee. Though in a daze, a depressed funk, AJ’s thoughts were nonetheless racing as he pulled into the parking lot. Why had Angie insisted they take separate cars? She said it was “to maintain appearances”, whatever that meant. But, he couldn’t help but frown. It would have been so nice to come to work together. It was both of their first days, after all - strangely at the same place. Or, at least, at the same location. It would have been nice to be with her, even if only for the fifteen minute ride. They could have talked...

Taking this new job, basically as an entry level schlub for Collective Construction (“Building the New World - Together!”) was a major ego blow. They were the same company - totally female owned and operated, from what he’s heard, though they obviously used guys for the grunt work  - that had snatched up the contract for the stadium job, and got the bid on a bunch of other projects he’d kinda counted on getting around the city. At first he had taken it personally, but it seemed like the same thing had happened to a bunch of other construction companies - so maybe he shouldn’t feel so bad. They seemed so well-funded and well-connected, and as upsetting as losing business was, they were basically impossible to compete against. Eventually, when his work dried up and he had to close up shop, dissolving the company he’d started himself, built from nothing, Collective purchased his equipment and hired him and a few of his guys. Though he needed the work, it was nonetheless humiliating and emasculating. It was hard not to feel...absorbed.

So, the first place they were putting him was on a demo team. Apparently there was a big remodel happening in the office building where Angie had scored her new gig, working in the accounting office of some sort of medical practice. It kinda sorta seemed like a weird move for her; her career, in contrast to his, had been on fire as she’d been managing a few branches of the bank she was with. But, whatever. She’s a smart girl, she seems to know what she’s doing, sees the potential for growth here, I guess.

As he pulled in where the other guys were parkedi, nto a spot far from the building, AJ took a look around. Though some teams were here already - he saw a chick in a hard hat pointing people around - his shift wasn’t set to start for another fifteen minutes. Damned if I’m giving them any free work, he thought, and sat back in his truck to think. Maybe Ang and I can grab lunch together? Being around Angie always made him feel better, even if she had been a bit distant lately. The part of his brain that tried to put a positive spin on things was saying that her distance was just the result of her new position and the stress of starting a new job. Maybe she was just distracted, or nervous…although her outfit and demeanor this morning portrayed nothing but confidence. Just the memory of her pulling on that short dress with the lemons on it, having him take pictures, had his hand drifting between his legs as he sat there in the truck. The other part of his brain, a much louder part these days, began calling attention to all the recent moments in their relationship that made him feel small, weak, and desperate. Their relationship had certainly taken a turn over this last months. It had been...he couldn’t even remember...since they had last had real sex, months since she last offered her mouth. Weeks since her last handjob, and that was through his pants in the changing room at Harold’s Department store when she was trying on new work clothes; he still shuddered at the embarrassment of having to walk around the Galleria with the stain on his pants. No, come to think of it, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had seen her naked, despite spending all his time at her place...with her...at her beck and call. No. More and more their time spent together was acts of pitiful and pious worship on his part. She’d been really playing up this domme thing recently, and he was embarrassed to admit just how easily he’d found himself getting more and more “sub”. Because, despite her distance, she seemed determined to keep his balls drained. Hours and sometimes whole weekend days were spent worshiping at the Altar of Angie, with her wearing something skimpy (or even just her work attire, he thought)…belittling him... as he jerked off to the swell of her big, white tits over and over again. He thought back to this morning, feeling an overwhelming mixture of arousal and shame.

“Go ahead” She had suggested, proudly putting herself together for her first day of work, “Grab that lotion and get started. You can watch me get ready for my new job as you stroke.” She’d smiled to herself, he remembered, as she watched thru the mirror and he wordlessly reached over for a couple pumps of lotion. She had barely looked at him or acknowledged him after that; she just continued putting on her makeup. He was pulled out of his thoughts - and pulled his hand away from between his legs - by two women, giggling to one another, walking past his truck towards the office. Holy shit, he thought, the ass on that Indian chick is ridiculous. And the figure on her friend is nothing to sneeze at, either. Even though they were both in, like, medical scrubs, their outfits and just the way they walked seemed designed to flaunt rather than conceal. Man, Angie is going to fit right in here, he thought, thinking wistfully back on how her hips looked this morning. Glancing at his phone, he realized he had been sitting in his truck for almost 10 minutes. He sighed to himself and had just turned off the engine to head over for his assignment when he saw- hooolllllly jeez whooo is that?!? Is that Angie’s friend Melissa!??

He’d known Angie had heard about this place, this job opportunity through one of her groups of friends, the girls she never really let him meet. Melissa was some sort of manager here, a job - by Angie’s accounts - for which she really wasn’t qualified but had scored nonetheless. Again he’d never met this Melissa but had seen her in some IG post along the way...the tits grabbed his notice. When he had asked about her, though, Angie seemed to bristle, so he’d let it go.

But good god look at her! AJ thought, as his right hand found his crotch again, leering through his windshield as he watched Melissa hook up with the pair in scrubs and start giggling along with them, headed to the front door. So tall, she totally dwarfed them, dressed sharply for a day at work. She must be six and a half feet in those heels, he figured, as he absentmindedly started rubbing himself again, marveling at a figure that he’d only seen in...well...he’d never seen a body like that.

In moments the three were gone, though, having entered the glass doors that led into the front atrium. He sighed again, and closed his eyes. He was going to have to steel himself for a tough day, physically and emotionally. He hadn’t worked for someone else, taken someone else’s orders (well, except for Angie’s, of course…) in years. This was going to be hard, but he had to suck it up. With one final exhale, AJ opened his eyes, put on his hardhat, and went to work....

===================================

Thanks to Friend of the Basic AgeoftheGiantess for his help on this one!

Extra content, newer posts at my Patreon

[idabbleincrazy]

ooooo headcanons. So i have a ofc who is the sister of angel and it got me to thinking. How would Spike react to reader being in love with him (her being angel's sister)

Ok, so this totally would depend on when Reader fell in love with him...

During The Whirlwind years:

He would let you down gently, his dead heart still being fiercely loyal to Dru. 

That’s not to say he would take sex off the table (hello, vampire). 

He would also probably ask you to keep your feelings hidden from both Angelus and Dru, not wanting them to get upset or jealous...Angelus is your Sire after all (yes, this is weird, even to them, but Darla wouldn’t do it, and Angelus simply refused to leave you behind) and sister or not, he sees you as his, more so even than he sees Drusilla as his. 

Spike knows it wouldn’t end well for either of you if your Sires questioned where your love lies. 

After The Curse: 

Spike warms up to you slowly. 

He’s all about family, and he’s just lost one member, so he takes upon himself to protect the rest of you the best he can. Granted, Dru needs a bit more help than either you or Darla, what with her fits and daydreaming. 

You help him when you can, bringing back an extra child or two to keep Dru fed if she’s not up to hunting on her own. 

Spike notices your kindness, and begins spending more time with you on hunts, the two of you sometimes turning it into a friendly competition of who can get the best kill. 

He might lash out every now and then as he becomes torn for his blooming feelings for you and his loyalty to Dru, but if he’s been too harsh, you can always expect an extravagant present the next night when he returns home from feeding. 

Even after a mild tiff, you’ll receive a pretty bouquet of flowers or a small package of your favorite human food. 

He’s very pleased (and simultaneously conflicted) when you decide to stay with him and Dru even after Darla goes back to the Master.

During the Sunnydale years:

This would be the most advantageous time for you to fall in love with him. 

You’ve always been a close friend and confidant, so when he and Dru start having relationship problems, he comes to you for comfort. 

Usually when he’s deep in his cups and waxing poetic. 

But the comfort isn’t one-sided. 

When you try to reach out to Angel (he’s still your brother, and your Sire, soul or no soul, dammit), and are spurned for your efforts, Spike is there to dry away your tears and distract you with a hunt.  

The further he and Dru drift apart, the closer the two of you become, soon, he starts seeking out your company more than hers. 

After a particularly brutal argument between them, the two of you go off on a hunt and during the frenzied bloodlust, a heated kiss is shared before he comes to his senses. 

He apologizes profusely and runs off to Dru.

When Angel loses his soul, the two of you grow closer than ever.

Still spurned by your brother, this time for Dru and his grand plan, Spike confides in you of his ability to walk and you join in on his plot to stop Angel from raising Acathla.

His feelings for you grow stronger, his loyalty to Dru lessening every day. He’s still torn, but more out of duty than actual love this time.

When Dru leaves him in Brazil, he has his epiphany while talking with Angel and his Slayer. 

He realizes why Drusilla was always yammering on about him betraying her, about her no longer owning his heart. It was about you, all along.

He returns to you, begging you to forgive him.

It takes some time, but when you finally give him a chance, he goes the full nine, even pays Willy to set up the bar all romantic and pretty, with candlelight and fancy tablecloths, just to give you some semblance of a real date. 

After the date, and a fresh kill or two, those Victorian ways of his come back out. He walks you to the door of your crypt, raises your hand to his lips for a chaste kiss and bids you goodnight.

When you tug him inside with you, he actually asks if you’re sure. He had naturally assumed you would need more time, had fully planned on taking it slow.

By the time the sun rises, he laughs at himself for waiting so long to open his eyes to what his heart had been trying to tell him.

The Wolfram & Hart era:

Once he learns from Angel how strongly you reacted to the news of his death and why, Spike seeks you out whenever he’s not breathing down Fred’s neck about making him corporeal again.

He does his best to make you smile, taunting Angel all the more when you’re around. 

After the Pavayne Incident, you’re the only one who can bring him out of his funk, your presence soothing away the remaining fear of Hell. 

Once he learns to focus, the first thing he touches is your cheek, his thumb brushing away the stray tear that clings to your eyelashes.

When he’s finally solid again, he wastes no time in wrapping you in his embrace, his forehead pressing to yours as he breathes you in. 

He drags you away from the law firm as soon as the sun sets, in the Viper of course, and the two of you enjoy all that the city has to offer, soul-permitting, that is. 

He promises to help you continue to be a better vampire, knowing how hard it can be to be good without a soul. His faith in you brings a smile to your face and strengthens your resolve.

With you at his side, he no longer works as a viable pawn for Lindsay’s plot, so instead of ending up with his own apartment, he takes up residence at W&H, his mid-level suite just one door down the hall from yours.

He needles Angel to no end about the two of you, so much so that you have to rein him in nearly once a week before he gets himself dusted.

He holds you close and lets you cry the whole night through after the loss of Fred, stroking your hair and whispering gentle words of comfort till you fall asleep. 

When it comes time to go after the Senior Partners, he reluctantly accepts you being involved in the fight.

Rest assured though, once the Battle for L.A. begins in the alley, he barely lets you out of his sight, throwing himself in front of you whenever more than two or three demons are ganging up on you.

He even works with you seamlessly to take down a troll, tossing you up into the air to deliver the death blow.

Fred, Gunn, and Wesley may be gone, but at least he still has you. Even if Angel comes as part of the package. 

It takes a little wheedling, but you manage to convince him to let Illyria tag along with your little family as you go about keeping up the good fight.

Thanks for this, and I hope you like it. It really gave me a lot to think about. 

[vitalityofficial]

Vitality LORE ACT 1 - The Girl: Prologue

VITALITY LORE // A1 - The Girl

Summary: We are introduced to a young girl whose life is about to change forever. After suffering a devastating loss, a mysterious man will eventually come into her life and begin his dark path of vengeance. The girl is only the beginning.

Warnings: Death, Cursing, Mentions of Blood, Bullying, Depression, PTSD, Anxiety

Wordcount: 1,778

School had been out for an hour now and all her friends had gone home. Why hadn't her parents come yet? They never took this long! And why haven't they called? She took her phone out, dialing her father's number and it rang and rang before going to voicemail.

"Dad! I'm still waiting. Are you okay? I'll wait for fifteen more minutes and if you aren't here, I'll walk home! I'll take the special kimchi route, okay? I love you!"

The 'special kimchi route' is a series of alleyways littered with various family-owned shops - one of those shops owned by an older woman who had the best kimchi dishes around and one her family ate at often.

The girl frowns after the fifteen minutes are up and finally hops off the swing, grabbing her book bag and sighing. "Traffic must be bad today," she reasoned, leaving the gated school property and making the long trek home. She still found it odd that neither had contacted her, but her mother's cellphone was being repaired and her father was old and sometimes didn't pick up service well. They lived far up in the hills - the rather "poor" part of Seoul, tucked far away with the main city in the distance - and any nearby payphones were broken and left to rot.

As she walks and walks, she can't help but to hum a happy tune, feeling perky despite everything. Her birthday was in 5 days and her parents had promised to take her to Busan for a whole week! Her best friend had moved there last year and the two didn't get to keep in contact so it was the perfect way to celebrate a special day.

"You! Child!" A gruff voice spoke from a darkened corner and she yelps when a frail hand grabs her arm, spinning her around. "Grandma! You scared me!" She laughs, hugging the older unrelated woman. She was a well-known resident to all in the small neighborhood and the girl's family was very familiar with her.

“It’s so awful, child! Truly terrible!” The elderly woman murmurs, her eyes wide and pupils as big as saucers. The girl frowns and a look of concern comes over her face - word around was that Grandma was not well and often spouted eccentric things but the other residents often did their best to take care of her as there were no known relatives around. “Are you okay, Grandma? Shall I help you home? It’s getting chilly out.” The girl softly grabs her hand, guiding her in the direction of the woman's house.

“I am so sorry, my sweet girl. You are to endure so much pain and it is not fair for you were destined for so much good.” The old lady rambles as they walk but the girl brushes it off, use to it. When they reach the final hill - which happens to split off into a fork - the girls home on the right and a cliff just across the weather-beaten road and the woman’s on the left - they are overwhelmed by the flashing lights of multiple police cars and an ambulance.

“What’s going on?” The girl panics as she takes everything in, immediately dropping the old lady’s hand as she rushes towards the commotion. She had never seen so many people gathered around this area and to her horror - right in front of her house!

"Was there an accident? What happened?" She pleads with an officer, who immediately stops her from crossing the tape barrier. "It's not safe, young lady. Please stay back!" The female cop grasps the girls shoulders, pushing her back. It wasn't soon enough though as the girl peaks around her, seeing a trail of blood that went over the cliff edge - something truly abnormal and mortifying.

“That’s my home! Where's are my Mother and Father?” She was panicking now - something clearly wasn’t right. Her parents were never late picking her up from school or activities and to come home to this...mess...The girl knew now that something terrible had happened and there was no hiding it from her. “Mama? Papa?” She screams desperately, tears instantly flooding down her cheeks.

The officer gave her a solemn look before turning to her superior, the two whispering among themselves for a couple of minutes. When they returned, the woman put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and guided her away from the commotion, sitting on a bench with her - a bench the girl often sat on with her Father when they ate breakfast and waited for the school van to pick her up each morning.

The officer didn’t waste much time breaking the news. “My dear, I am afraid your Mom and Dad had an accident and are no longer with us in this world.” Though her voice was gentle, it was clear that breaking such awful news to a child wasn’t something she did often, or even wanted to do.

The girl sputtered, unable to form any words. She looked around for the Grandmother but the woman was nowhere in sight now. “Mama...Papa?” She cries out weakly - the thought of never seeing them or speaking to them ever again filling her with an overwhelming sense of despair, leaving her gasping for air.

Everything went black then.

7 Years Later - (2016)

“Yah! Chaewon! Are you even listening? Hey! Watch out!” A firm hand grabs the girl's arm and yanks her backward just as a delivery scooter races past, beeping madly. “Are you spacing out again? What is with you?” Areum looked at her friend worriedly, the rapper of the triangle kimbap she was holding in her opposite hand crinkling loudly.

“Huh? What did I miss?” Chaewon snaps out of her funk, a tentative smile on her face. Areum groans in response, rolling her eyes as she takes a bite of her snack. “I said,” she begins with her mouth full of food, “I was thinking of asking Kangdae out. Isn’t he handsome, yeah? He’s not like the other boys in our class.”

“He’s a bit dumb, isn’t he?” Chaewon mutters. Sure, he was cute and had muscles but he wasn’t exactly known to be bright and was at the bottom of their class in terms of grades unlike Areum, who was in the top five.

Areum groans and smacks her friend on the arm. “Don’t be so rude, Unnie! He’s not stupid, okay? He just doesn’t really like studying but he’s a good person! He wants to get into music and he’s really good at it too! You should listen to one of his tracks he’s produced!” She goes to pull out her phone, biting her lip as she scrolls through some files.

“Maybe another time, yeah?” Chaewon waves dismissively at the cellular device her friend holds out to her. “I have to get home.”

“Let me walk you!” Areum offers, linking her arm through Chaewons. She was understandably concerned about her friend - who had been experiencing sporadic blackouts for a couple months now - and wanted to make sure she got home safely. “I mean, you did just nearly get shit on by a scooter while having one of your...moments.”

Chaewon shook her head, “No! I’m fine! Plus you know how my parents are.” Areum pouts, grumbling. “They have to be the lamest parents on earth if they won’t let their daughter bring a friend home. We’ve been besties since forever and I’ve never even met them! Ugh...”

"Yeah. They’re...strict and really embarrassing, to be honest. You’re not missing out on much.” Chaewon huffs, checking her phone for the time. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” She forces a smile at her friend, pulling her school blazer around her tighter as suddenly a chilly breeze whipped through the air. The two said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

As Chaewon walked, she couldn’t help but feel guilty for being so distant lately. Areum had been a true friend to her ever since her move to Gwangmyeong. She was the first student to welcome her. The first to defend her against the snotty students who picked on Chaewon for being sullen, quiet and “weird”. Prior to the...incident, she had no real issues with bullies and was rather well-liked by her peers.  She had since become the opposite version of former herself - the girl her parents adored was gone and she had no proper concept on how to defend herself or react to the other student's harsh words and actions.

So why was she so rude at times? Why did she lie to someone she considered her best friend? Chaewon had come to the conclusion that it was a defense mechanism of sorts. The only way she could deal with everything was by lying about her life outside of school. It made it easier to pretend - the façade she had created was an escape, albeit still very bleak, much like the truth.

The sounds of the city center grew more distant as she reached the iron gates of her “home”. Her slender hand gripped the cool iron and pushed it open slowly, the squealing of the metal sending a shiver down her spine. Laughter could be heard flittering from the playground behind the old stone building that housed 13 other kids just like her:

Orphans.

The Seojun house for orphans wasn’t too terrible - the food was edible on most days and the rats and roaches were few and far between as of late. The couple who ran it weren’t the kindest and had clearly become burnt out after running the institution for the past 20 years. If they hadn’t been getting a good sum of government money to run it, they most definitely would have abandoned the ominous place long ago. What made the place tolerable were some of the staff, like Mr. Kim.

“Welcome home, Miss Lee!” Mr. Kim - the designated maintenance and security man --  greets Chaewon with a cheery smile as she approached the front door. He even stops raking to open it for her, bowing and motioning with a hand for her to enter as if she were royalty.

“Ah! yes! Home sweet home! Thank you, Mr. Lee.” She manages to muster a smile, bowing as she walks through the familiar doors and sighing loudly. Her smile falters as she is out of the caretakers sight and the familiar sense of dread slowly overcomes her once again.

[smalltragedy]

* natalia dyer, nonbinary + she/they | you know philomena carmichael, right? they’re twenty, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, a day? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to the leanover by life without buildings like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole wind whipping around your hair, the gentleness of decomposition, a naked blur dancing around the flames of an everlasting fire thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is april 20th, so they’re a taurus, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( james, 22, est, they/them )

hi thank u all fr being so patient w me as i rapidly switch out muses n figure out wht the fuck im doing atm <3 also sry fr my rare presence work hs been kicking my ass like lets jst say i deserve 2 b smbdy’s housewife (misogny wins this time sry) so i nvr hv to work in my life <3 DFSLKSDHKGLFSHLKAGHLKAHLKSG this is a joke 2 clarify. anyways. this is philly she’s old bt she’s one of my very favorites ever. this intro is also old sry its nt in my usual. style. LKDFKHGLKGF

CANCER, TRAUMA, DEPERSONALIZATION / DEREALIZATION, DEATH, GRAPHIC MENTION OF DECAY, INSECTS MENTION TW.

mini playlist.

the girl who stole my tamagotchi ;; hot sugar / i dropped out ;; and the kids / pork soda ;; glass animals / wonderfully bizarre ;; bendigo fletcher / (dream) ;; salvia palth / alien blues ;; yundabar / dust in your pocket ;; glass animals / warm honey ;; willow / bela lugosi’s dead ;; bauhaus / gecgecgec ;; 100 gecs / blinding ;; florence and the machine / nantes ;; beirut / cherry-coloured funk ;; cocteau twins / not allowed ;; tv girl / oblivion ;; grimes / space song ;; beach house / dog food ;; 100 gecs / the leanover life ;; life without buildings.

statistics.

full name: philomena brontë carmichael

nickname(s): philly, phil, mena, etc.

birthday: april 20th, 2000. 

zodiac: taurus sun, scorpio moon, aries ascending.

mbti & temperament: infp & improvisor / phlegmatic. 

label: the halycon.

sexuality: demisexual.

pinterest.

biography.

a middle child belonging to christopher and imogen carmichael - two stanford professors. christopher specialized in british literature whilst imogen specialized in the classics. hence the name.

the order of siblings goes as such: lysander, elektra, juno, philomena, and twins orion & valora. the deal was that everybody had a greek (or in juno’s case, roman) first name and a middle name inspired by a piece of british literature circa 1800s and under. a family of nerds, if you will.

so, clearly - right off the bat, their parents are … eccentric. they’re both in love with their respected topic, and with each other, and with their kids. the carmichael family is a happy family.

they each have their own quirks and whatnot - though philly’s always been particularly dreamy - even as a child, she’d spend hours watching clouds or caterpillars or the leaves blow in the wind rather than play with other kids. she wasn’t a shy kid - she just had her own interests.

hardship doesn’t hit the family until philomena is five and starts having splitting headaches. they’re slow at first - but as soon as she’s seeing spots and unable to walk in a straight line, doctor appointments are made.

cancer tw // it doesn’t take long for them to discover the tumor, though the official diagnosis of malignant ependymoma comes a month later.

it’s grade ii but slow-moving, small enough to not be as much of a threat as worried, but big enough where removal is necessary. philomena earns a scar and brings it in for show-and-tell. for two months afterwards, philly’s at radiotherapy monday through friday.

they’re lucky - philomena’s considered cancer-free by the next year. she’s babied at first - handled delicately, as if she could break if touched - but with five other children … it doesn’t last for too long. end of cancer tw //

and life continues as normal.

her personality doesn’t shift much over the next few years - she’s awfully independent for a kid, and awfully quiet - when she speaks it’s about faeries and bigfoot, about how the sky is so blue and if you listen quietly, you can hear the leaves whisper their secrets to each other. this is not odd.

she’s close to all her siblings, but she idolizes her older sister - elektra. elektra’s six years older and dyes her hair whatever colors she wants. elektra bought a knife off a seedy guy downtown. elektra threw away all of her heels and renounced god. elektra is god. her music is loud but it’s not heavy - it’s florence and the machine.

they’re opposites - elektra’s boisterous and feels loudly, philomena’s softer and feels…less. when elektra sneaks out, philomena keeps watch. they are a duo.

philomena is smart - but she’s fifteen and hates school. hates sitting inside all day. hates the same routine - day after day - it’s all the same. her parents’ routine is the same, philly feels contained and she wants to live.

elektra’s twenty-one and just bought a brand new spanking (used but not falling apart) 19-something volkswagen … van - using her entire savings account. she says she’s tired of routine, she’s leaving the next day.

naturally, philomena stows away in the back and isn’t discovered until they’re two states away and she’s got to pee. elektra nearly crashes the van in shock.

it’s an argument - philomena vs. elektra, then them vs. their parents, then their parents vs. the school, the state - it’s an ordeal. philomena switches to an online program in the end.

it hurts christopher and imogen - lysander’s not having any of their nonsense, juno’s betrayed and alone - the twins are twins. in the end, it’s alright. the carmichael family is a happy family.

philomena and elektra take their time - it’s not a road trip, it’s their new life, permanently on the road. they stop and explore often - they do odd jobs in whatever town they settle in. they dine-n-dash, they shoplift. they survive in their own way.

during particularly desperate times, they two resorted to identity theft & credit fraud - getting away with it only by ditching the cards once they’ve made it out of state.

she drops out of high school officially when she’s seventeen - they have to drive all the way back to california to deal with the wrath of their parents and to deal with paperwork, but it’s done. philomena doesn’t know what path she wants in life - but it’s not that.

depersonalization / derealization tw // it’s during this time that the episodes occur - philomena’s outside her body, philomena’s wrapped in cotton, her memories are not her own. she’s looking in the mirror and she doesn’t recognize herself. they take shelter in a city for six months, long enough for her brand spankin’ new therapist to figure out what’s wrong with her. she’s diagnosed with depersonalization / derealization disorder - they think it’s stress. philomena doesn’t get stressed. they think it’s trauma. she laughs - she never laughs. depersonalization / derealization end of tw //

death, decay. maggots tw // there is trauma though, deep-rooted but somewhere inside - you just have to look for it.

you. just. have. to. look. for. it. look for it. look for it. look for it look for it look -

you were ten and she was thirteen, an off-trail hike in familiar woods in a familiar town, safe and familiar. it was your idea, to stray from the carved out paths, down creeks and up hills and round, and round again. you’re the one who spotted the scarf first, sticking up from the dirt and dancing in the wind like the beginning of reincarnation. it was not reincarnation, it was discovery. it was ruin. with curiosity drawn, you skidded down - with compliance, followed juno, followed your sister - clumsy in her steps and tumbling down quicker than you. you saw the corpse, but juno felt it. decaying flesh and maggot. end of death, decay, maggots tw //

and she left juno, just like that - just five years later, when juno had finally gone to the end of her wits. philly up and left. abandoned her.

philomena and elektra leave the city after that therapy session. they do not return. she’s always been good at hiding her secrets.

after ending up with warrants from their arrest in florida (after running from the law in texas), philly and elektra have wound up at irving <3 partially hiding from the law and partially bcos their trusty van’s broken down and they haven’t got the money to fix her up yet. 

personality & facts.

she’s quiet but she’s confident - her voice sounds like rustling leaves, if leaves smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

often underestimated - philly’s petite and looks like she’d fall over if a plastic bag blew too close to her. she’s independent - for the most part. elektra is the only person philly takes orders from.

has always been considered odd - weird, strange. still talks about the trees as if they’re listening, as if they’re old friends. she’s vague and doesn’t elaborate on the things she says.

believes in pretty much any superstition you throw her way. luck is very important to her. if you ask her if the earth is flat, she’ll say probably. believes strongly in bigfoot and the lochness monster. has personally seen aliens, and loves ghosts almost more than herself.

she can be amusing - whether you ‘get’ her or not, her outlook is often bright - she talks about the negatives the same way she talks about the positives. can be seen as naive or gullible, but she’s plenty smart. even if half of her education has come directly from google.

philly doesn’t laugh. a smile, yes - often, in fact - not always reaching her ears, or bearing teeth - but these are not indicators of her happiness. philly is consistently content. she thinks many things are funny - she still will not laugh.

her voice is often monotonous - she doesn’t sound dreary, she sounds far-away. her voice carries. her emotions are often unknown to others.

is apathetic in most situations. she’s hard to bother - she’s incredibly patient and enjoys the company of most - tolerates them at the very least. it’s hard for her to express her emotions, because she feels them so little that it’s very nearly not worth it. her affection is not verbal - it’s small touches and gestures of kindness, love in her own way.

is a fan of knock-knock jokes and bad puns. she won’t crack a smile while telling you them, nor does she expect you to laugh. she just enjoys them.

she owns a motorola razr covered in puffy stickers - hasn’t ever had a smartphone. she’s a fan of emoticons. her favorite is :o)

has a lot of bruises and scratches and scars - she’s often getting herself into pickles. there are always, at the very minimum, three bandaids on each hand.

she has insomnia, so she’s awake often. is often seen wandering town - even when she shouldn’t be, even when it might be dangerous. her intuition is delayed. when she does sleep - her dreams are vivid and fantastical.

keeps a box of memories - sentimental bits and pieces she’s picked up over the last few years. there are a lot of buttons and postcards, but any teeny tiny object will do.

her style changes every week - most, if not all, of her clothes are thrifted. one week she’s baby spice and the next she’s lydia deetz. she combines pieces from different styles often - she looks like a barbie clothed by a child. she feels most comfortable like this.

will either patch-up the clothes that get too worn or reuse them in some way. sometimes donates the clothes she gets tired off - isn’t minimalistic, but she’s learned to keep only a small amount of possessions.

the only consistency is her lucky ribbon - it’s pastel yellow and silky and as thin as a shoelace. she ties it onto her outfit of the day, everyday. if she loses it, she’s lost. elektra has a matching ribbon.

has no problem with minor theft - she only takes bare minimum, puts herself and elektra first and that’s how it’s always been.

currently living in florence, their van, with her sister elektra <3 currently residing in lilac ridge.

they used to live in motels on the occasion, the cheapest room, and more often than not they’d both go home with strangers for a comfier bed and a hotter shower.

it was a common occurrence - she didn’t sleep with them - but somehow, she weaseled her way into their homes anyway. has come out mostly unscathed, on most occasions. this has been a practice ever since they’ve been on the road.

really, truly - has not slept with anybody, had her first kiss at thirteen with a frog. this doesn’t bother her. (smirks at leo)

will consume anything you put in front of her - isn’t picky.

listens to whatever they’ve picked up along the way but she likes instrumentals the best. her second favorite genre is 1990′s and 2000′s top hits. they’re nostalgic for her. third favorites? florence, of course. fleetwood mac. the bird and the bee.

loves storms - will go out in the rain and will risk her life for it.

owns a pair of roller-skates and is often skating rather than walking. unless she’s on grass - then she’s walking barefoot.

has many hobbies, and gets bored of them often. her favorite hobby is welding. she’s not certified.

also, juggling.

also, accordion.

the kind of girl who’ll do any job you give her. odd jobs are her favorite jobs. babysitting is her least favorite - but she does it anyway. has lost children before. have they ever been found? not by philly.

dyes her hair blonde often and cuts her own hair - bangs included - finds it cathartic, likes the itchiness of bleach.

everything she does is often in pursuit of feeling free, alive, and meaningful.

( like her frequent visits to the woods, late at night when the moon is high and full. it’s freeing to dance around a fire, stark naked in the cold. builds immunity )

comes and goes wherever she pleases, nothing & nobody can stop her (besides elektra).

has a certain knack for getting animals to like her. has too many ‘pet’ rats that reside with her, alongside a baby raccoon & a few crow pals. has a new animal companion everyday, but she doesn’t contain them or force them to stay.

wanted plots.

speaking through my third eye ... ;; philly is new in town n shes very strange. constantly lives in a state in which she does not exist (at least on the same plane). this is her harassing the locals. this is her slipping thru their fingertips as they attempt 2 understand her. they get close smtms bt philly jst. whisks herself away.

hollows of our eyelids ... ;; perhaps there is smbdy jst as strange as philly. i’m out here calling fr all the weirdos. lets be friends. lets hv philly n co go on adventures n discover horrible sites n uncover ancient secrets tht lie deep below irving. mayb nt tht. bt im jst saying. this is fr the dreamers. da weirdos. the jugheads. LHKDSHFSADLKGFHLSKADG fr those who also feel as if they r not real.

bills n aches n blues... ;; ya this is my call fr all negative plots. bills (catching philly be a thief and a fraud), aches (mayb heartache? unrecruited feelings or w/e theyre called?), n blues (ooooh so sad... so sad ... angst ...) obviously i am a genius. i wldnt say tht philly is here 2 make enemies bc philly doesnt care much abt ppl bt perhaps tht cld b an issue. tht she doesnt care much abt others. mayb ur muse is jst like. cn u pls care. n philly is like. i am incapable. sry. sucks.

n also ,, ;; like. anything i’ll. take anything. philly is weird lets come up w surreal plots tht verge on the edge of like. nt being correct fr this verse. suddenly theres vampires? or so they think ... smirks. anyways. shes been 2 jail n been in the circus (shoutout 2 kirby) n dances naked in the woods n hoards animals n treasures. we hv a lot to work with here obv. 

[hotpotrandomfics]

Fifth Year Summer AU: A Tropical Journey to my Boyfriend

Summary: Merula and some her companions have been invited to visit Jason in the Dominican Republic. However, the Great Snyde must face her greatest task yet. Jason’s mother.

Word Count: 5,600

The school year had come to a close, and all the students of Hogwarts had all headed home. Merula had made friends with Jason friends one at a time. They had bonded with each other in the last few months of school and had become friends themselves. Merula actually had planned to hang out with Penny during some of the summertime they were off. Mainly because the two had a plan.

"So do you think he'll be surprised, Penny?" Merula asked as she looked through her suitcase, making sure she had everything necessary packed. "It's not weird if we show up, right?"

"No, why would it?" Penny said as she checked her hair in her mirror.

"We have only been together for a few months. So I'm still nervous about him and me being so close. I mean we are talking traveling to the other side of the planet here!" Merula looked at her as she flopped down on the ground groaning. "I mean, this would be the first time I would meet his mother! What if she doesn't like me or she thinks I'm not pretty enough for him. Penny, you know Jason is a knockout, and his little fan club went mad when I took their idol!"

Merula kept going on and on about how nervous she was about this secret trip she and the rest of the curse breakers had planned. The whole reason being is Jason's parents had divorced, and his parents had agreed to shared custody despite their constant bickering that he should stay with one or the other. But Jason made it clear to his parents he'd rather be on his own if his parents couldn't compromise. If not with each other at least for his sake.

"Merula, I'm sure it'll be fine. Remember, you're the girl who bagged the best guy at Hogwarts!" Penny patted Merula shoulder, giving her a thumbs up. "Trust me, plus once Jason gets a load of you in all these cute outfits, there is no way his mum is gonna argue against this. Or is the self-proclaimed best witch of Hogwarts too scared of her future mother-in-law?"

"I'm not scared!" Merula snapped out of her little funk. "W-who would be scared of that? I'm not!"

"Merula, your shaking like a leaf. Everything will play out, and we'll have a good time. His mum knows we are coming with a few more. Rowan, Ben, and Barnaby are coming with us too- oh look at the time!" Penny shouted as she looked at her watch slightly panic. "If we don't hurry, we'll miss the port key!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the girls finished their packing and made their way to the port key location. The girls were taken by Penny's parents to the local train station and had traveled to an old train station frequented by wizards. The two met with their friends at the coastline where a man stood with an old fisherman outfit and staff. He pulled a pocket watch from his pocket as the five of them made their way to him.

"Payment and passports?" the old man asked as the teens stood in front of him.

Each of them pulled a few Galleons and their passports, paying him as he inspected their passports. After a few moments, the old man smiled as he was satisfied with the amount of coin he weighed in his hand.

"Alright, go ahead and grab the pot," the man directed them.

The friends laid their hands on the pot, waiting as the old man counted down. They all shook with anticipation waiting for their little "flight" to take place.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One...

As the old man uttered the last number, the kids were sucked into a cyclone, pulling them into the shoe as they screamed, not of fear. But out of pure excitement, they never traveled by port key, so their expectations weren't let down. After a few moments of screaming the group of friends landed on the sandy ground. They groaned as they stood up, dusting themselves and looking around themselves: Sun, palm trees, mountains in the distance, and the buzzing of the local town behind them.

"Wow, this place is beautiful," Merula said as she gazed at their new surroundings. "So exactly how are we going to Jason's place from here?"

Just then, a pearl white limousine rolled up next to the group with a tanned elderly man dressed in an elegant suit and gloves.

"Senor Rowan. Senor Ben. Senor Barnaby. Senora Penny and Senora Merula. Welcome to the Dominican Republic,"  he bowed with one hand across his chest, "I am Manuel, your guide and the head butler for the De Leone family. Dominar Jason's mother's side of the family. If you, please follow me." Manuel drew his wand, lifting their suitcases, and guided them into the trunk of the limousine.

"Well, that's how," Rowan said as he and the rest of them entered the rear of the limousine.

Inside of it, the interior was tanned coffee leather with a minibar toward the front section, with a raised roof with shelves of different forms of alcohol and coffee beans. Five goblets of water flew into the passenger's hands. It was impressive to see the progress of magic and the combination of muggle technologies. The car began to move as the friends watch the city pass by and they made twists and turns till they reached a narrow alley wall, plowing through a building as the group of teens screamed but then the car phased through the wall.

They were now in the wizard city of Pueblo Leona, a port town famous for one of the best Quidditch teams in South America, resorts, cliff diving, and the hometown of the De Leone family. As they drove through the town, they stopped at a large golden gate with two lion statues that stood fifteen feet tall. The statue's head followed the car as the gates opened, and the limousine pulled in front of the manor before them. It stood three stories tall, designed in the form of a Mediterranean with white marble columns with blue and gold accents to the edges at the bases of the walls. The roof was made of wood and polished to the point it reflected the light of the sun.

Manuel stepped out, holding the door of the car as the teens stepped out and looked at the mansion in awe.

"Jason said his family was wealthy..." Rowan said as he stared at the building in awe.

"No, kidding. How does anyone find their way around a place like that?" Penny chimed in.

"I hope we don't get lost," Ben muttered as they followed Manuel into the demesne.

The ceilings were raised high with polished wooden beams mounted with golden chandeliers and a central staircase with an azure carpet draping the stairs. The walls were decorated in paintings of the sea, port towns, and ships. As Manuel was explaining the layout, the head of the house came down the stairs. A woman who'd worn a blue sundress, with golden bracelets on either wrist and a necklace made of gold. Her skin was bronze with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She was around the same as Merula, Jason's mother, Thalia De Leone.

"Hello, welcome," Thaila said with a gentle smile, "I hope the drive wasn't too rocky. Let me see if I get this right, Penny?"

"Yes, ma'am! It's a pleasure," Penny smiled brightly.

"Ben?"

"H-hello ma'am," Ben stuttered as he stared at the woman. "I am Ben C-Copper..."

"You're right Penny, and he does seem nervous. You needn't be worried mi nino." Thaila laughed as she continued. "Barnaby?"

"That's me!" Barnaby laughed.

"Energetic, quite nice. You are Rowan?"

"A pleasure ma'am, your son is-"

"You're his best friend, I know. Thank you for watching him." She nodded then turned her gazed to Merula.  Studying the girl carefully invading her personal space. "And you..."

"Hello, Miss De Leone. I'm M-Merula Snyde," she muttered. What was with her, she thought. Usually, adults didn't intimidate her, but this one did oddly. Her bubbly demeanor and the analyzing look she had in her eyes were similar to eyes she knew too well.

"Merula Snyde. Hmm, you bullied my baby boy, and yet," Thaila's expression turned severe.

"I um..."

"But," she grinned and pulled her into a tight hug. "You made my boy smile!"

"Miss De Leone! You're crushing me!" Merula coughed as she was mumbling confused.

"Oh sorry! And dear, call me Thaila. Or mom." Thaila let Merula go as she rubbed the back of her head like Jason. Yep, they were related. "Ah, Jason should be out on the veranda in the back. Warning though, he doesn't know you're here. So you gotta be sneaky."

The group nodded in unison as they followed Thaila through the home. They gazed at the artwork and architecture in amazement. The detail was so subtle and precise that it would sin to touch even the walls. As they approached the double doors leading to the back they saw the young man they had all been looking forward to seeing.

Jason was sitting at a table sipping away some coffee while reading a book with his free hand. He wore his necklace Merula had gotten him for Christmas while a black v-neck, ripped jeans, and his hiking boots. How he wore that in hot weather was anyone's guess. He seemed too invested in noticing the door opening. But something did catch his attention, a particular scent that sent him over the edge — the aroma of fresh mountain air with the hints of lavender and nail polish.

"Jason, I have a surprise for you-" Thaila began speaking but was through off when her son jumped over the table and tackling Merula. "Jason Piscius Aurelius De Leone! Do not jump over the tables!"

"Ah! Jason!" Merula squealed as Jason lifted her and spun her around almost slinging her into their friends who had to dodge out of the way. "P-put me down, you knucklehead!" She laughed as her boyfriend pulled her into a hug but started to blush when she realized everyone was staring.

"Oh, sorry!" Jason placed her down while looking at his friends and giving them all hugs with the same amount of happiness. "What are you all doing here?"

"Well, we came to see you. Isn't it obvious?" Rowan laughed as he tapped his friend in the chest.

"I orchestrated the whole thing with your mum. I hope that's okay." Penny laughed as she hugged Jason sided.

"Really now? Gracias ma," Jason turned to his mother, smiling at him.

"Of course. I must say though," she looked at Merula and nodded in approval. "You got a good taste in women. She reminds me a little bit of me when I was younger."

"Haywood!" Merula cheeks started turning red as she wrapped her arms around Jason's arm. "How long are you gonna hold on to my boyfriend, hmmm?"

"Oh! Sorry, Merula!" Penny let go laughing as let Jason go. "She is similar to me in that regard," Thaila laughed. "I was a bit possessive of my men."

Merula blushed at the comment Thaila. She doesn't like others touching her stuff; especially touching Jason. She buried her face into his chest and sighed, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Oh Meri," Jason leaned down and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

As the group of friends was each shown to their rooms, they all had lunch out on the veranda. They chatted all about how the summer had been for the first few weeks. Penny and her family had gone to a muggle theme park in celebration of Beatrice being freed from the curse of the portraits. Barnaby had gone to Germany visiting many magical creature sanctuaries. Rowan visited his relatives in India while reading a small library worth of books. They shared many other stories until Jason suggested he showed them around the city. Everyone agreed to it with much enthusiasm.

Manuel had the limo drop of the teens in a market area. Manuel instructed them he'd come to get them before dinner for the evening was prepared. The group then followed behind Jason as he showed them the town. The streets were littered with people working stalls, kids playing, and many tourists enjoying the city's bright and vibrant life.

"Wow," Penny looked around at a stall of bright dresses and swimsuits. "These are so pretty! Merula, look at this!"

Merula walked over and looked at the wares intrigued by the patterns. Some of the models and symbols she saw looked as though a child drew them.

"Jason, what are those characters?" Merula looked at him bewildered.

"Huh?" he walked over and looked at them. "Those are Taino symbols. They were the natives of the Caribbean. They were relatively peaceful. That symbol is the "sun" or "sol." It looks a little odd, doesn't it?"

"It does but has a unique charm to it." Merula smiled at him. "So what else can be done around here?"

"Well, we can go to the beach? Surfing? Cliff diving?" Jason held his chin as he ran through his thoughts.

"Beach? That sounds nice!" Rowan chimed in as took off a mask he had bought from a kiosk. "Jason, do you have a spot in mind?"

"Wait, we left our swimsuits in our luggage," Barnaby said as he had been stuffing his face with ham croquetas. "I mean I got no problem swimming in my underwear-"

"Barnaby, no." Merula shuddered at that suggestion. "The beach does sound good, but we don't have our suits as Barnaby said."

"I think I can help with that. Follow me," Jason said as he took Merula hand as their friends followed Jason into a nearby shop. "Tio Rodrigo, donde estas?"

"Aquí mi sobrino, ¿qué necesitas?" said an older man walking out to the front of the store dressed in slacks and a button shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His skin was slightly tanner than Jason's but had a similar glow to him. "Oh my! What beautiful girls you brought here? Who are they?"

"Tio, this is my girlfriend Merula and my friends, Rowan, Penny, and Barnaby," Jason said as he explained they're from school and came to visit it (with it being planned by his mother) and that they needed swimsuits for the beach.

"Well, that is how my cousin is. But yes, I think I got a few things for you. Gimme a hand sobrino," he said as he walked into the back with Jason following.

A few minutes later, as everyone went through the store's wares, Jason and his uncle walked out with a few different swimsuits for everyone to try. They were each given individual bags so they could be their stuff separated. As they all decided and put their clothes over the suits, Jason tried to pay his uncle only for him to deny him as it was a free service since his friends came all this way to see him. Jason thanked him and left with his friends to the beach.

The beach was a sight to behold as the crystal clear water glistens with the gentle warm breeze of the sea. The gang made their spots and tossed off their clothes revealing for the first time their swimsuits.

"Jason, your abs," Barnaby commented as he poked at them, "how are they this sculpted?"

"It is interesting," Rowan commented as he did the same thing as Barnaby. "How often do you exercise or rather where do you find the time to do such things?"

"My parents tell me I must keep my appearance up and all. So can you stop- oh, Merlin." Jason stopped as he eyed Merula, who was looking at him nervously as his heart raced. He walked over to her as she looked away messing with her hair.

"W-well? Does it look weird?" Merula glanced at him.

"Meri, the only words I can use to describe you is beautiful, but even that doesn't describe how amazing you look." Jason smiled as he lifted her chin. "How I was blessed with such a beauty I got no clue."

"Oh, s-shut up!" Merula hid her face into her hands, trying not to peek at him. "But I do look beautiful?"

"You always do, mi amor," Jason blushed as he took in her appearance as a whole. Her swimsuit suited her well, he thought to himself.

A two-piece bikini in with an emerald shade and silver specks that acted like stars; the sight could make any man fall in love. Lucky she has already had the one person heart she needed.

"Um, guys?" Penny called to the adorably innocent couple. "Are we going into the water or not?

"Uh, y-yeah! Let's get going!" the two lovers said in unison, pausing briefly to laugh at their synchronization. They really were a match.

With that, the friends ran to the water and begun the joys of their vacation. Barnaby, in his excitement, picked Jason up and bodyslammed him into the water with a loud splash. Barnaby then picked up Rowan holding him over his head with screaming Rowan begging for mercy only for Jason and Ben to tackle their large statured friend. Merula and Penny laughed as the boys were acting well like boys. It was a pleasant sight to see their friends all having fun. While the two girls were laughing the boys snuck up and lifted them only for them to protest as the boys got ready for tossing them.

"One! Two! Three!!!" The four boys said in unison as they tossed Penny and Merula having loud shrieks pierce the air.

"Let's do it again! This fun!" Barnaby bellowed as he clapped his hands on Ben and Rowan's shoulders. "That was brilliant!"

"I dunno Barnaby, I don't want anyone getting hurt," Jason said only to feel something grab his ankle. "Huh? WOOOAH!" Jason yelped as he was pulled under the surface.

"Ha!" Merula said as she broke the surface. "Wait, that wasn't Barnaby."

"No, it wasn't Snyde," Rowan answered giggling.

Merula screamed as her boyfriend wrapped his arms around her and dragging her under. It was a surprise, to say the least as she wormed her way out of his grasp. As she stood up coughing, she looked around trying to find her giant dork.

"Are you alright, Meri?" Jason looked at her with an apologetic look. He hoped he didn't let his excitement get the best of him.

"Oh I'm fine, but you are a dead meat!" Merula lunged at Jason, climbing over to his back and putting him in a headlock while wrapping her legs around his waist. "You are in trouble you little twit!"

"Ah! Meri-" Jason yelped as he tried to keep his balance in the rocking waves of the shores. He tripped as a massive wave, swallowed him and Merula. The two rolled around in the waves until Jason was able to get his footing back. "For Merlin's sake, what were you thinking?" he coughed as Merula held onto his back.

"You were the one who tossed me in, so it's your fault," Merula said as she coughed up some water, "or do I need us to go under again?"

"You win. I submit to Merula Snyde, the most powerful witch on the beach." Jason laughed as Merula climbed off his back, and the two hugged each other with Merula flicking his nose. "Ouch!" What did I do?"

"Nothing, just need you always to remember even if I'm shorter than you I can still reach you somehow." Merula grinned as she wrapped her hands around the nape of his neck.

As the afternoon progressed, the friends walked around the city some more as Jason talked about some of the significant landmarks. One was the quidditch field at the center of the town, The Emerald Lion Dome, name mainly due to the emerald-shaded dome on the structure carved of white marble. It stood twenty-three kilometers wide and was to be the grounds for the next quidditch world cup as the sun started to set the group head back to Jason's home.

"God, I got sand all over!" Ben whined as he tried to shake off the sand that was slowly stuck on his body.

"I know, right?" Barnaby said as he blew his nose out. "It was so much fun, though. Did you see that sea serpent?"

"Sea serpent?!" Ben gulped at Barnaby's excitement of seeing a sea serpent.

"Oh? Yeah, don't go playing with the serpent." Jason said as he walked his friends back to their rooms. "It tends to eat those not paying attention. Don't worry Ben, and no one has been eaten in a couple of days."

"Wonderful." Ben opened the door to his room, scared.

"Dinner is gonna be in an hour or so. Get cleaned up and prepare for a feast!" Jason smiled as he made his way to his room.

"Oh, boy, I'm starved!" Barnaby groaned as his stomach growled.

Jason chuckled at his friend's honesty as he entered his room and making his way to his personal bathroom. He looked through his closet and thought about his options. Since his friends were here and how his mother was, he needs to consider something fun and functional.

On the other end of the manor, Merula had finished cleaning herself up and looked through her outfits. Penny had helped her pick out. She debated between a sundress Penny said looked good on her and a skirt with a blouse. What would be the best to impress Jason's mom and Jason himself?

"Awe, you all look amazing!" Thaila said at the first three to show. Ben, Barnaby, and Rowan had been told to dress for a party. Thalia had been planning this little piece while the teens were up and about exploring the city.

"Thank ma'am!" Barnaby smiled, puffing up his chest. He wore a green button-up, black trousers with his signature rings, and new dress shoes.

"I wish I asked Andre more on dressing advice." Ben looked at his own outfit. His attire consisted of a red polo with a golden bird on upper left pectoral, off-white slacks, and cleaned tennis shoes with what seemed to have a checkmark? Maybe from a muggle company.

"I agree we all look well, Ben. Stop worrying for a bit. We're here for fun." Rowan placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Rowan had an olive sweater, with beige dress pants and black dress shoes.

As the festivities began, relatives and friends from the De Leones flooded the manor. Many had brought dishes from their homes and thus began the largest welcome party some of the young wizards had ever seen.

Merula had just stepped out of her room when she heard the sounds of festivities. She gazed out to a window adjacent to her door, seeing the people enjoying themselves. "Quite rowdy," she thought to herself as she started making her way down the hallway to the main stairs. Merula heart had been racing ever since she left her room. So far, the day has been good, but she hoped it stayed as she hoped. Merula was at the top of the stairs before she noticed someone across the adjacent section of the stairs.

Jason had finished getting cleaned up before he walked out to the stairs in an excited mood. He hadn't expected to see his friends till school or at least till he had done part of his summer in Italy with his father. But he couldn't think of that for the time. Right now was a time for celebration as his friends were here; and one that was a special one at that. He took a deep breath as he descended the stairs to meet Merula in the middle.

"You look amazing-" the couple said in unison.

"You go first!" Jason spoke with his nerves evergrowing.

"N-no, you go first!" Merula responded.

"No, I insist the most powerful witch goes first."

"So thoughtful of the gentleman," Merula smiled as she took a good look at Jason.

He wore blue chinos with an off-white button-up with his sleeves rolled up. Jason wore his necklace Merula had gotten him for Christmas, charcoal dress shoes, and an onyx-colored watch. His hair combed, and the scent of his cologne sent Merula heart ablaze.

"You look quite dashing if I must say," Merula blushed as her eyes dart to Jason and shot to the left, repeatedly.

"Not as beautiful as you though. You look amazing Merula," Jason caressed her cheek while giving an earnest smile.

"It doesn't look odd? I mean this isn't my cup of tea. Haywood suggested this and other outfits." Merula had decided to go with a sundress with a jade green tint, with her necklace from this past Christmas, and sandals.

"Merula," Jason took her chin and gently kissed her. "No matter what you wear or how you think you look, I'll always believe your beautiful."

"You're such a sweet talker, you know?" Merula stood on her toes and kissed him back. "Let's get going. I want to see what all the noise about."

Jason laughed as he took her hand and led her outside. The two walked arm in arm as the party seemed to be going well. Ben talking with some of Jason's uncles while playing dominos and as far as Jason tell his friend needed some work on it or they'd bleed him dry. To the left, Barnaby was helping himself with the food while two girls were trying to get his attention. They were most likely daughters of his mom's friends probably.

Jason had gone around introducing Merula to his many, many, relatives. Some young cousin. Aunts and uncles. All of them welcomed Merula as one of their own and comment on how she's so beautiful like Jason described. Clearly, someone can't help but brag about the best witch of Hogwarts. Over at a table, Rowan was sitting with Penny and Thalia. He and Merula decided to head over and sit down next to them.

"Ah! Mi hijo y mi futura nuera. You two look amazing!" Thaila smiled at the two love birds.

"Mama! ¡No digas eso!" Jason faced turned red.

"Aye. Sorry hijo, I just can't help myself at times. Merula, your dress looks lovely. It compliments you very well."

"Thank you, ma'am," Merula smiled, feeling happy by her dress selection.

"Now then, I want to know something if you don't mind me asking." Thaila leaned forward with her head in her hands.

"About what ma'am?" Merula asked.

"How much do you love my son? What is it that makes you love?" Thaila grinned like a schoolgirl finding out the latest gossip.

"Mom!" Jason shouted, embarrassed at his mother's questioning of his girlfriend.

"It's alright, Jason." Merula squeezed his hand. She cleared her throat and tried to muster as much courage as she could. "Well, Jason and I never got along in the beginning. I didn't think that someone like him could even consider loving me."

"Because of your lineage?" Thaila raised an eyebrow.

"Y-yes," Merula sighed, "but the fact he treated like an average person. Correcting me whenever I was in the wrong and trying to get me to see my actions will determine my fate. That I am the one to make my choice if I want to be like my parents." She glanced at Jason with a smile.

"And my dear?" Thaila looked at Merula curiously.

"Jason risked death for me too many times that I could even count. He saved my life and me from myself. From the monster, I thought I was," Merula looked at Thaila. "That's why I love him."

Thaila had her eyes clothes as she was in a deep thought considering Merula words before smiling at her. This girl has given her son happiness, and he has done the same for her. Now Thaila was thinking about planning their wedding in secret but knew Jason would find out and possibly flip his lid if she got ahead of herself.

"You are how he describes you truly. I can see why he loves you. You better not go breaking this heart mi nino, am I clear?" Thaila looked at Jason with a severe glance. "Am I clear?"

"I think I rather face another dragon than risk a broken-hearted Merula. I could at least die, knowing I didn't hurt her."

"Hey! I thought we agreed! No, dying!" Merula grabbed his ear, pinching it till his ear turned red.

"Ouch! Meri! Please, that hurts! Aaaaaaaaah!" Jason yelped as Merula tormented him as she did when he got all "tempt fate" and see what would happen.

"I think a dead you would be heartbreaking!" Merula pulled him close, releasing his ear and kissing it.

"Awww, Merula being friendly!" Rowan teased.

"Khanna, I swear I will end you!"

"Noted." Rowan held his hands up, surrendering to the threat. "But, I got to admit it's nice seeing how you act with him."

"Rowan, buddy?" Jason called as rubbed his ear.

"Yes, Jason?"

"Shush, please. I don't want any dead bodies on my home because I'm sure I'll have to bury them," Jason looked at his friend smirking.

"Well, that's enough of the talk. Come along children. It's a party after all!" Penny said as she took Rowan's arm and decided to hit the dance floor.

"I'll leave you to allow, but don't get too crazy now," Thaila smiled and winked at Merula and Jason, making her way to a group of adults.

"Um, sorry my mom put you on the spot." Jason hung his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. "My mom is eccentric and is-" he tried to continue but was cut off by a finger to the lips.

"Jason, you don't need to make excuses." Merula smiled. "I understand she is just concerned. Any parent would wonder who the person that has their child's heart is. Mine does because I brag about you in my letters."

"Meri," Jason smiled and pulled her into a hug, "I love you so much."

"And I love you," Merula pecked his cheek. "Why don't we go join the fun?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

The couple made their way to the dance floor and danced to their heart's content. Merula had gotten better at the dances Jason had shown her these past few months since they started dating. Some of Jason's relatives comment on how she moved well. He knew how to pick 'em. The two of them danced till they couldn't anymore. Sweat dripping down their faces with shallow breaths being taken.

"You hungry?" Merula panted as she held Jason's hand. "I'm starving," Jason said as they made their way to the food table.

"Good grief, this all smells delicious and looks the part.

"Presentation is always keen with food," Jason laughed as he handed her plate and got one for himself.

The two filled their plates and walked to the low standing section of a wall by the view of the city and sat down to eat. As they ate, the two had talked about how the quidditch world cup was coming soon. Though they had different teams, they agreed that somehow they'd go to see it someday. Maybe someday soon. Who can say?

For now, Merula just wanted to enjoy the time she has with Jason. This has probably been one of the most fun days she has had all summer. Her nerves about meeting Jason's family were put aside as she had his mother's approval. It was funny how Thaila is more than willing to welcome her as her future daughter-in-law. If Jason was okay with it, that is. But that was a thought she could think for another day.

"Hey," Jason wiped his face with a napkin, "there's something I want to show you."

"What is it you got to surprise me this time?" Merula looked at him curiously. "You better not try to propose to me," she teased.

"No! Well not now," Jason muttered nervously. "Come on, follow me." Jason offered his hand to Merula with a smile as she took it.

The two left the party and headed down the hill where the mansion was located. Merula wondered where Jason was taking her at such a late time in the evening. As the two made their way down a couple of blocks, they reached a beach closed off.

"Another beach?" Merula smirked. "Again?"

"Look closely," Jason pointed out to the gentle waves.

"If you say so- what the?!" Merula gazed at the water, shocked as it began to glow in a soft color.

"Impressed? Those are supposed to be bioluminescence from how muggles believe it is, but no one truly knows."

"It's beautiful," Merula said as she tried to comprehend the beauty of the lights.

"I don't understand it much myself, but I thought of it like stars swallowed by the seas. I wanted to show it to you because it is one of the most beautiful things I've seen," Jason gazed drifted to his love.

Merula didn't notice until Jason hugged her from behind. He was warm, and the scent of his sweat mixed with his cologne was all too familiar. Jason was, is, this best person Merula had ever know despite how he doubted himself and never tried to be someone he's not. An honest and caring person.

"So what's holds the spot as number one?"

"You."

[themostexpensiveboningknife]

2020

Failed party, money in drawer, communicate, move house, move boxes, drive in van, walk to shops, buy noodles, think it’s the end, see whole bus of soldiers in Beijing, new area, walk in darkness, think about leaving, leave, think its temporary, in taxi, post stupid photos, check and check again phone, think people with goggles on my plane are over reacting, take off my mask to eat, keep taking off to loosen, arrive back in London. Tube. Cold. Pub. Party at WeWork. Exhibition at Dulwich Gallery. Farringdon. Drugs and drinks. Brockley, South east London. DJ. Ethiopian food. Morley’s Peckham. Walking on the River. Photographer friend’s house. Canal cycle. National Gallery. Car crash, Dalston. Omar Souleyman. Corsica Studios. Meet girl, back to my friends, back to hers, sex. Morning up to mum’s best friends birthday, Covent Garden restaurant. In a van, Sunday roast. Chisenhale Gallery. arebyte Gallery. Getting worse in China, seems nice and easy and calm in England. Camberwell beers and more. Second-hand book shops, Charing Cross Road. Courtauld. Leafed through a book about a man who lived his entire 86.5 years in East London. Still talking to the same girl back in China. Both believe I’ll be back soon. Chicken wings. West London, meal. South London pub. DJing somewhere inside. Kent, see grandma. Rave, Bermondsey. Friends from Israel and Germany arrive. More drinks, more drugs. Mixing friends. Gay bar in Bethnal Green for old friend’s birthday. Acid, confused and hilarious. Tate Britain. Serpentine. Cranes on the bridge. Liverpool Street film screening. Feels shallow, but good. Begin regular E Pellici sojourns. Primrose Hill with Dad. Beer festival with Keaton and co. Peckham, school friend’s house, bad vibe. More drinks, more drugs. Working on first music compilation with Slowcook and Fafa. Begin watching all of the Studio Ghibli movies. Watching Breaking Bad. At some point have huge argument with my brother, it went like this: He came home from work and I was sitting watching Breaking Bad, he asks, “Have you been like that all day?” I either took it in the wrong way or picked up on a sly dig. It was probably me, but at this point I was pretty self-conscious and worried about going back to China and whether or not I would have a job back there. Was getting surprisingly pissed off with my brother mentioning his work, felt like an affront to me. Weird. He goes crazy (he has a short fuse), punching a wall, ready to fight me. My mum is pretty upset. A few days later I go into his room and try to patch things up. Turns into a deeper chat. He feels like I haven’t been a good brother to him, he gives the example of not looking out for him on his first days of school. I say I’m sorry, it’s because I’m a bit scared and insecure. In retrospect I regret a little laying so much weakness on the table, seems his interactions/ways of acting around me have changed a bit. Still not sure how I feel about it all. Considered getting a gold tooth with Matthew. Play with cats, enjoying them more and more. Rave in Dalston, good music from Asia and beyond. Looking at magazines. Not doing much work at all. Being out and about instead. Go to Norfolk. It’s beautiful, but get way too drunk on first night, sick everywhere, wake up naked in sick. Massive fucking shitshow. Majority of people there have no choice but to act weirdly around me now, which is understandable. Still some nice aspects. One girl there surely hates me a lot. Tate Modern. Art stuff by self is good. Corsica Studios, semi-art, semi-music event. Mr. Bao for first time of many. Radio in Tottenham. Take drugs. Pubs. Drive to Asda with brother to stock up on food. It’s March and the reality of the pandemic is hitting. More canal cycling. First and only group chat on Zoom. BH Funk. Probably have taken cocaine and messaged one of three or four girls numerous times by now. If there’s one, in the cold light of day, horrible and disgusting thing I’ve done too much this year it’s this. Incessant messaging of poor girls that I know will react (although increasingly they don’t, I manage to alienate even close friends in this way). Southbank and The Mall with Nick. Reading about Wuhan. List of good texts. Continuing to do some writing. Making WeChat posts for guī WeChat, including mix series and miniessays. Greenwich park with Matthew. Grime quiz online. Delivering food regularly for my mum’s school. Hackney Marshes with Luan. Epping Forest with Mum and Dad. By this point probably have woken up feeling sorry for myself in Ludo’s flat, after untold amounts of alcohol and cocaine. Online rave. Beijing artists only mix. Go to Switzerland, pass through Italy on the way. Its breath taking, the mountains, the expanse of scenery, not used to it. Climbing up mountains with no one around. Rolo and Patrick and Rita smoke too much weed. I really, really, really still hate smoking it. Feel a bit annoyed how long we spend sitting around while they smoke, but this is way outbalanced by the uniqueness of where we are and the beauty all around. Producing more and more, actually getting somewhere. Cooking more and more food. Reading more and more, like: Black and British, The Corrections, Real Fast Food, Bass, Mids, Tops, Zadie Smith, Olivia Lang, Graham Greene, JG Ballard, Monica Ali, Mo Yan, Jenny Zhang, John le Carre, Naked Lunch, Nabokov, Bukowski, Zora Neale Hurston, Wiley, Bitcoin, Murakami, Judith E. Butler, The Painter of Modern Life, Maupassant, Chekov, Video Art, Gravity’s Rainbow (couldn’t finish), Anaïs Nin, The Net Delusion (couldn’t finish), The Establishment and how they got away with it (couldn’t finish), Roddy Doyle, The Secret of Scent, General Intellects, Women In Love, The Intelligent Investor, Lyndon Johnson. Victoria Park more often than I can remember. To Chrissy’s house. Mile End Park. Very regularly sitting on the river in Wapping. Bring the chessboard and play Ludo sometimes, people smile and look at you differently when you’re playing chess and drinking beers versus just sitting and drinking beer. I May Destroy You. Industry. The beautiful wide expanse of Hackney Marshes. My incessant quest to reach 1000 followers in Instagram. More cycling, and I hate to say it but it really was: Here there and everywhere. Margate with my Dad to see my grandma in hospital and saw the Turner Prize exhibition. Light blue like scrubs, the sky and sun felt eternal. Swimming in dirty water. Make a DJ mix of old 2000s Road Rap. Eat cheese in Peckham. Cycle along the canal north, keep going and going through Tottenham, past Enfield keep going, it’s mad how quickly it becomes quiet fields on all sides, arrive to some kind of lake, swim and then back to the centre of town. Outside a Hawksmoor church in Shadwell ate chicken with Karim and Ludo. DJing. From my bedroom window saw a big crane in the middle of the night sitting on the canal. Begin developing the second DCCY compilation this time with BULLY magazine. Go to a house in an old school in Camberwell. Discover new secret riverside spots in East London. Finally give up my apartment in Beijing. Mile End park. Cycle further and further East to a pedestrian bridge I didn’t know existed. Get onto the beach and into the Thames water. Interview Akito. Begin writing more, after few months of wiling away the summertime. My friend Emmy gets married in Rwanda, I give him some money as a wedding gift which he tells me he used to buy his wife’s dress. Protests in HK always on TV. Get more into finances, crypto and trading, and just saving in general. Had sex with an old friend. Now meeting a girl I first knew years ago in Beijing. More secret river spots. Keaton has his baby, Noah. More times on Hackney Marshes. Barbican conservatory. Watching more films, try to watch all the films of some directors including: Jia Zhangke, Bong Joon-ho, Edward Yang, Wong Kar-wai, Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Decide to watch all of the infamous lauded series, go through Breaking Bad, The Wire and The Sopranos. Go to the seaside for a few days, camping also. Henry Wu album launch in a car park in Bermondsey. Go to visit Keaton’s baby for the first time. Good photography exhibition at Photographer’s Gallery. Go to Wallace Collection again. August. Go to Berlin. Swimming in Berlin lakes until I get an ear infection. It makes me drowsy and lethargic, but still seems to spend all my time cycling around the city. On one night cycle for hours to a rave on the outskirts of the city. Like a lot the abandoned airport in Berlin. Oh yeah, vaping. Found a dead bumble bee. Speak with Nevin about projects. Write a piece about the future of the art world for a magazine being started by Nevin’s friend in Canada. Go to Lithuania. Walk around Vilnius, get too drunk by myself. Get to the Curonian Spit and Nida, beaches and new friends. For the Nightlife Residency project. For a short while life is like on a desert island of new food, new people, new locations, quiet and new meaning. Go to the Russian border on the beach. Cycle to the road boarder and get stopped by the police. Go nude on the beach for the first time. Sauna, sand dunes and forests. DJ out for the first time in ages, this time with Nono. To Kaunus and try nice and stodgy Georgian food for the first time. Hackney Wick back for party. Meet a ginger girl online and go on a date. Wallace Collection again. Free beer and pizza. White Cube. National Gallery, Titian. On BBC Radio London with my Dad. Riverside beers. Saw a lost swan near my front door. Meet Keaton near his work, one of many times. Making more and more music, getting better. Decide I need more organisation and clarity, put everything I’ve done on a blog. More or less long since given up on my job at M Woods. But don’t really begin looking for anything new because it’s still sunny. At some point I start getting benefits money. Go to see La Haine in the cinema. Someone blocks me on WeChat because of me. Some pub somewhere. Sunday walks and breakfast with my parents. Go to an exhibition in Woolworth Road with Muzi. Realise how nice it is to run to Victoria Park along the canal. Vicky Park in general. Dinners at friends’ houses. Museum of London. Walking with Michael in some countryside near London, surprising how quickly things turn green. Break onto a pier in Wapping with Jack. Battersea Park. Tate, Bruce Nauman. Old Street Weatherspoon’s with Keaton, drugs. Central London cemetery. Chinese in Camberwell. Chinese in Aldgate. Italian in Camberwell. More and more exercise, running, weights and yoga with my brother. Sadie Coles. Nick, Central London. Gucci Mane. Hampstead Heath more because Ludo and his flatmates are nearby. Ludo’s now house more for days and nights of you guessed it. Borough Market more, with Emma. Alexandra Palace walk and famous sandwiches after. Tate Britian new lights. More time at Muzi’s. Signing up for cycle courier. LYL Radio show. Shave head. Take acid and it hurts my stomach. Camden Arts Centre with Muzi. Christmas party with friends. Birthday. Cake with Muzi, presents and Indian takeaway from family, walk in Vicky Park with Ludo and Karim plus battered sausage and chips. Christmas at home nice and warming meal. Evening to Ludo’s place with more friends. Boxing day with Matthew, pints and then more at his house in Peckham all night long. Next day is tough! Giant turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey curry. Buy first NFTs. New Year’s Eve stay in at Muzi’s, one drink and a cake.

[quantumlasange]

A more refined and accurate version of my top 50 Albums of all time in no real order. This time I’m gonna go into some more detail for my choices.  So if you wanna read that it’ll be after the line break.

1. Graceland - Paul Simon. This is the only album I have on CD, Cassette and Vinyl. It’s honestly a perfect album. I don’t really like ‘That Was Your Mother’ on it’s own but when hearing it as part of the album it’s great.

2. Abbey Road - The Beatles. My favorite Beatles album and I love how the B-side is knows as The Abbey Road Medley. It also has Ringo’s only Drum Solo in the entire Beatles catalog and we all know Ringo is the best Beatle. I have it on Vinyl.

3. In Step - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Stevie Ray Vaughan is by far my favorite guitarist of all time. Every track on this album kicks ass and he put his heart and soul into every note he played. I have it on Vinyl.

4. Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits. Over all a great little rock album. I find a lot of the songs to be comforting in their own way,  like “So Far Away” and “Brothers In Arms” are very comforting to me. I have it on Vinyl.

5. Winelight - Grover Washington Jr. By God this album is fucking Sexy, like holy shit. This is a more recent listen but I was missing out just listening to “Just the Two of Us” (Featuring Vocals by Bill Withers).

6. Watching You Watching Me - Bill Withers. Nelson George said that this album was I quote "full of little pleasures" and he’s damned right. There is not a single song on this album I don’t like, by far my favorite R&B album of all time. I have it on Vinyl.

7. Future Development - Del the Funky Homosapien. My favorite Hip Hop/Rap album ever. Del’s flows and rhymes are on point throughout the whole album.

8. Spontaneous Inventions - Bobby McFerrin. A live album that you wouldn’t think was live since there’s little to no crowd noise. A great Vocal Jazz album showcasing how Bobby McFerrin can use his voice as an instrument all it’s own. I have it on Vinyl.

9. Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic. This is kinda cheating since it’s a Box Set of every album Weird Al made and an extra album with unreleased stuff. But I can’t choose just one Weird Al album so this will have to do.

10. The Wall - Pink Floyd. This whole Album really resonates with me and helped me understand my depression after I dropped out of college. It really has a place in my life. I have it on Vinyl.

11. Kilimanjaro - The Rippingtons. A fantastic Smooth Jazz / Jazz Fusion album. I really like Jazz Fusion and this is a great example of it.  I have it on Vinyl.

12. Dreamland - Black Box. An Italo house/Eurodance album that’s my favorite in the whole house genre. Some great dance tracks on this. I have it on Vinyl.

13. Tourist in Paradise - The Rippingtons. This album came out right after Kilimanjaro and is another great example of Smooth Jazz Fusion. I have it on Vinyl.

14. Teddy Pendergrass - Teddy Pendergrass. His debut solo album and a fantastic piece of R&B. It also has the  greatest break-up song ever “I Don’t Love You Anymore”. I have it on Vinyl.

15. S.O.S - The S.O.S Band. Their first album, a disco album that came out in 1980 after disco died in the USA. Was really big in Nighclubs and is a good album aside from "S.O.S. (Reprise)" which just sucks.  I have it on Vinyl.

16. Purple Rain - Prince. This album is great. The guitar solo on “Purple Rain” is so good it could bring peace to the world.  I have it on Vinyl.

17.  Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione. A fantastic Smooth Jazz / Easy Listning. album "Hide and Seek (Ready or Not Here I Come)", “Feels So Good” and "The XIth Commandment" are just outstanding. I have it on Vinyl.

18. Elementary - Wah Wah Watson. Melvin M. Ragin’s only solo album. This is pure Jazz Funk at it’s best. I’ve used this album cover as an Icon online for years, I love it. I have it on Vinyl.

19. Rumours - Feetwood Mac. There’s only one track on this album that I don’t like and it’s "Oh Daddy”. I feel like that song just brings the whole album down emotionally. Other wise this albums pretty damn good. I have it on Vinyl.

20. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030. Del the Funky Homosapien, producer Dan the Automator, and DJ Kid Koala made a fantastic Hip-Hop/Rap opera Concept album. The story of a city in the dystopian year of 3030. 

21. Kisses on The Bottom - Paul McCartney. I caught this at like 2am on PBS' Great Performances one night in like 2013 maybe 2014 and fell in love with it. It’s mainly songs Paul McCartney grew up listening to and he wrote 2 songs in that style and it’s great.

22. Listen to the Scatman - “Scatman” John Larkin. Did you know that Scatman John was a legit Jazz Piano player? This album is just full of fantastic jazz and one kinda out of place dance song.

23. Loop Daddy II -  Marc Rebillet. Sure this is more of an EP but I put a whole Box Set on the list so shut up. Every song is a pure sexy dance groove. I love it.

24. Places and Spaces - Donald Byrd. This is 100% Pure Trumpet Jazz-Funk. This album fucking slaps hardcore. The way Donald Byrd plays the trumpet and flugelhorn is magical.

25. Whenever You Need Somebody - Rick Astley. Not only does this album have the Meme hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" it has a very heartfelt version of "When I Fall in Love". Every song is a mad banger. I have it on Vinyl.

26. Mint Jams - Casiopea. Casiopea makes some great Japanese Jazz Funk Fusion and this is by far their best album. I love me some Jazz Funk Fusion and some of the best stuff came out of Japan in the 80′s.

27. Hi-Five Soup - The Aquabats.  A great New Wave album that kids will enjoy. The Aquabats got more child friendly since they got a kids TV show but this album does have my boy Strong Bad on it. I have it on CD

28. Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2 - The Aquabats. An earlier Aquabats album since it’s a bunch of unreleased stuff and B-sides. “Pizza Day” speaks to my soul. I have it on CD

29. The Dance - Dave Koz. One of the first Smooth Jazz albums I ever listened to, it really helped me get into Smooth Jazz which lead me to my love of the Smooth Jazz and Jazz-Fusion. I have it on CD

30. The Corner Grocery Store - Raffi. This is an album form my childhood. I still have my VHS bootleg of Raffi on Broadway from when I was a kid. This album has my favorite song sung by Raffi, “Anansi”. 

31. Led Zeppelin 2 - Led Zeppelin. My favorite Zepplin album. “Moby Dick” is my favorite song off the album even if it’s just a big ass drum solo.  I have it on Vinyl.

32. Darkside of The Moon -  Pink Floyd. This is what I consider to be Pink Floyd’s most Jazz-Rock-Fusion oriented album. The whole albums flows together into a great soundscape. I have is on Vinyl.

33. Random Access Memories - Daft Punk. I find this to be a concept album about how Daft Punk is a pair of Robots. Part of it seems like that with the album title being a close reference to Random Access Memory aka RAM and the song title "Motherboard". A lot of the lyrics in the album make me think it has some kind of concept but that’s just me. I have this on CD

34. Thriller 25 Super Deluxe Edition - Michael Jackson.  This was the first CD I remember buying with my own money I got it at FYE. I only really listened to the songs that originally came on Thriller and not the new 2008 versions of the songs.

35. Can’t Get Enough - Barry White. This album is sexy as fuck, god be damned if you listen to this and not get turned on even slightly.

36. Larry Carlton Plays the Sound of Philadelphia. This is a great full of classic Philadelphia R&B as preformed by legendary session guitarist Larry Carton. He plays all the songs in a very Jazz like style that I just love.

37. Pure Pure - Moe Shop. A fantastic little Dance/Electronic EP. I like to call it a Future Funk EP but it’s in that vain of Vaporwave and Future Funk which are both good genres.

38. The Soundtrack to Mulan. Mulan is my favorite Disney animated movie so of course the soundtrack is on my list. I have this on cassette and it’s one of the two tapes I always listen to on long walks.

39. Every Breath You Take: The Singles - The Police. This is my other go-to cassette to listen to on long walks. This is basically the greatest hits of The Police but it’s fantastic.

40. Head Hunters - Herbie Hancock. I told you I liked Jazz-Funk Fusion right? This is perfect example of the genre made by the fantastic Jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock.

41. Marcos Valle - Marcos Valle (1983) Marcos Valle released a self titled album in 1970 according to Wikipedia, but I’m talking about the one from 1983. A great Brazilian Disco/Dance Bossa Nova  Samba mix album with some great dance-able tunes.

42. Homestar Runner Original Soundtrack Volume 1 (Songs, Background Music, Jingles, and Worse).

43. Homestar Runner Original Soundtrack Volume 2 (Songs, Background Music, Jingles, and Worse) .

44. Homestar Runner Original Soundtrack Volume 3 (Songs, Background Music, Jingles, and Worse) . If I could have all 3 volumes in the "HSR OST Full-On!" playlist from they would all be one entry leaving me a bit more room to play with. Plus the fact that Volume 4, a Limozeen album, a Sloshy album and a Videlectrix album are all planed for release it would help to just bundle all the Homestar Runner music together.

45. Strong Bad Sings (and Other Type Hits). This is the more “Legit”  Homestar Runner Music. I love Homestar Runner and was even featured in the 2018 Fan Costumes video so technically in a way I’m part of the Homestar Runner Cannon.

46. Fallout: New Vegas OST. My favorite Fallout game and I’d be amiss if I didn’t add the soundtrack to my list. One of my favorite games of all time even if I rarely play it.

47. Dinosaur Dracula’s Halloween & Christmas Jukebox. This is another one of those kinda cheating options since it’s two mix-tape type things. If I want to get in the Halloween or Christmas Spirit I can turn one of these Jukebox’s on and not have to worry about searching for mood music. With 100+ songs on each Jukebox I’m guaranteed good music.

48. 3 Hours of Relaxing Super Nintendo Music 1 & 2 - SNES Drunk. This is the music I turn on if I need some chill background noise or need something to fall asleep to. With a total of 6 hours of relaxing music I’m sure to fall asleep or just relax.

49. Xerf's Jazz/Fusion Mixes. So far there are 5 volumes of Japanese Jazz Fusion and like I said I like Jazz Fusion, espicaly Japanese Jazz Fusion.

50. Xerf's Jpop/AOR Mixes. There are thechinly 8 Volumes but volume 3 is just not there probbably due to copywrite. These mixes are more City Pop and older Japanese Pop, Adult-oriented rock, Funk that kinda stuff.

[queensdivas]

Wildest Notes Chap 2

Ya know what I love about this movie? The fact that it goes day by day instead of trying to cram it in one singular day. So this makes writing this fic so much easier and way more fun to write! 

Was this my best chapter? Probably not. Is it cute? YES! 

Will I start chapter 3? Not yet cause I have to catch up on Thistle and For Gods Sake. So y’all be patient with Gardner. Trust me I would love nothing more than to write out this entire fic in one day. But freakin Eugene and Samuel need their moments as well. 

So if ya liked to be tagged please let me know. And I’ll see you guys in the next chapter of whatever gets updated next! 

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter 

Masterlist

What’s the best thing about Jazz? Besides it becoming very sexualized due to the fact that the Saxophone and Clarinet for some reason turn people on. I think the best thing about jazz is that it can cover so many different genres. Want some latin jazz funk? Here’s some jazz funky latin. I think this is my brain trying to calm down as my first performance with making money. 

Standing in front of the club as I was debating on whether to make a run for it or just too bite the bullet. Ahhhhh crap. I always get these jitters before a performance like this and even at just private concerts in school I was a train wreck. 

“Hey. You Cora?” Someone yelled as I held my binder tighter.

“Umm yes. And you?” He flicked his cigarette and approached me with his instrument. 

“Theo Rivers. You’ve come to join our merry troop?” He opened the door and motioned for me to go in first. 

“Yes I have.”  He closed the door behind me as it was a small dark hallway. We reached onto the club floor as there were a bunch of people on the wide stage warming up, and talking amongst themselves. 

The room was much bigger than I imagined as it sparkled with a large chandelier that dangled down from above. You could see the doors to and from the kitchen as they were painted black. The bar was long and filled with so many different types of alcohol I wasn’t sure what was from where. The hardwood floors were this lovely dark red that made the black tables look to grande. 

“Just play it cool little thang.” Ew. Thang? Really? I stopped in the middle of the dance floor as Lucas approached the stage in front of everyone. 

“Alright everyone calm down I know that we’re all excited for the new pianist whenever she gets here. Trust me you guys are going to love her!” That would be Mr. Lucas Puzo. I found him in a local music shop as I was trying to find some sort of cheap good piano. (Which is harder than it sounds.) 

“Would that be her Lucas?” Someone pointed out as I was standing in the middle of the dance floor. 

“Ah yes. Ladies and Gents this is our new pianist Cora Lister!” He popped down from the stage and walked over to me. I gave them a small wave as he placed his hands on my shoulder to usher me over to the stage. 

“Hello.” I said softly as everyone was smiling and waving. 

“Now we open in twenty minutes so get yourself warmed up missy! Alright make sure you guys give her the lineup so she’s not improvising too much. Ima go to the jon so give me five minutes.” He walked away as I stood in front of everyone as they stared back. 

Not saying a word I dashed over to the piano to get comfortable on my bench. The drummer got up from his set to stand on the end of the piano as he slid over a piece of paper. I grabbed it to look at the two sets we were doing tonight. A good mixture of swing, ballads, latin, and funk? Hm. Love it. 

“Felix by the way.” He smiled as I nodded. So we’re starting off with Give me a simple life? A Little cliche but it’s a good warm up song. 

“You don’t talk much do you?” He asked as I placed the sheet on my stand. 

“Sorry just trying to get ready.” I told him as he shook his head. 

“Leave her be Felix. He’s more wild than a dog in heat when it comes to new members of our troop. Kobi the bassest.” He stood on my left as I waved at him. 

“Then Kobi tries to be all smooth and act like he’s innocent. Y’all are not as smooth as you think. Krista I’m the best trombone there is.” She sat down next to me as I placed my binder on the piano stand. 

“And then she acts like the superhero for women when in reality she is also trying to get into your pants. As you can see Cora you’ve attracted the dogs of the band on complete accident. For the record she’s fourth chair as I am first. Chandler by the way.” He sat on the other side as I was completely confused on what was happening. So four people are trying to get in my pants and the only few words I said were hello and sorry just trying to get ready. How the flippin’ heck does that happen? 

“I should get a squirt bottle to back off against Cora! Bad bad bad!” Lucas yelled as everyone laughed to sit back in their seats. Thank Goodness. I’m not quite sure what the heck just happened but that felt like my first ever college frat party I attended. Like a penis magnet, then I left two minutes later to go home and binge watch SVU. 

“Cora please tune everyone before they go mad.” Lucas ordered as cracked my knuckles real quick. I played B flat and everyone began tuning. Quickly running up and down a few scales as some random man came running out of the kitchen. 

“We’re about to open! Go ahead!” He yelled as Lucas shrugged and began clearing his throat. Wait he’s singing? Would’ve loved to get a chance to practice with him so I know exactly how this band rolls!

“For your sake. Just follow me and you’ll be just fine.” Kobi told me as I nodded. I just do what I usually do when playing. TRYING NOT TO PANIC!

“One..two..a one two three four!” Immediately on a roll! 

My left ear listening to the bass as my other one was focusing on the tempo Felix was giving off. A little faster than normal versions of the song but I kind of enjoy it. Definitely features a lot of me but as long as I stay calm and keep my focus on the tempo I’ll be just fine. 

People began coming into the club, sitting around the small tables and waiters already serving them. I’m assuming this is a regulars club most likely. Because how many people do you know regularly enjoy listening to jazz? 

I noticed my piano solo was coming already as I cracked my neck and thought of a good improv pattern for myself that would match nicely with the song. Maybe something a little spicy but not too spicy. 

My fingers bounced up and down the piano as my attention went towards Lucas who was nodding at my improv solo. I’d known he was impressed with me when I played at graduation. 

Another glimpse into the crowd as everyone was talking amongst themselves or watching us up they're playing. Ya know I was expecting a lot less people but the turnout was pretty great for my first night. 

Is it weird that I’m a little shocked that Gardner didn’t show up? I mean I knew he was tightly rounded but thought getting him out of his house would do him some good. But that’s what happens when I try to be nice in my life. Everyone ends up shutting the door in my face but somehow I still stand..ah ya don’t need to hear me. 

The song finished as the crowd began softly cheering as Lucas bowed to everyone. He fixed his tie as he clapped his hands. He began kissing up to the crowd as I flipped the page to the next song in the set. Which should be You Belong to Me. Not the Taylor Swift version obviously. I believe it’s the Jo Stafford version. Luckily it’s not a big piano song so I’ll be nice and cozy back here this time. 

“PST Cora!” He was trying to be quiet but that obviously wasn’t working. 

“What Kobi?” I asked as he leaned over to the piano and tried to say something to me. But I barely could hear out of choice. I think I’m just going to bust through the sets here and then go home. 

A waitress approached me as she held up some sort of blue drink up to me as I shook my head. Me? Getting drunk on the piano? Never in my life! She shrugged as Lucas began counting us off again softly. 

Definitely business till I can get used to this sort of environment. 

~~~

“YOU BETTER GET BACK! HONKY CAT! LIVING IN THE CITY AIN’T WHERE IT’S AT! IT’S LIKE TRYING FIND GOLD IN A SILVER MINE! IT’S LIKE TRYING TO DRINK WHISKEY FROM A BOTTLE OF WINE!” I danced around my kitchen as I placed the last plate from lunch away. Angus was sitting in the entrance between the kitchen and living room. 

“Well I read some books OW! And I read some magazines! C’mere Angus!” I told him as he trotted over and jumped up into my arms. 

“About those high-class ladies down in New Orleans.” He was annoyed as I was moving him back and forth. He should be used to it by now at this point. 

“AND ALL THE FOLKS BACK HOME..WELL...SAID I WAS A FOOL!” Angus plopped down to sulk himself back into the living room and laid down on the floor with the sun shining through the window on him. 

“THEY SAID OH BELIEVE IN THE LORD IS THE GOLDEN RULE!” I danced my way over to the record play to turn it down a little due to the fact my neighbors probably don’t want to hear me screaming Honky Cat lyrics. I mean I can sing but when Elton comes on it’s like a party. 

It was just low enough I heard that creak of a front gate open as the tip toed over to the front door and was ready to pounce and scare him. No that’s too mean. Maybe another time when he’s not carrying a package of mine. He quickly knocked on the screen door as I opened my front door and he was off. 

“Hiya Gardner.” It was like a car break on how fast he stopped. I looked down to see how huge this box was and saw it was from Eureka. Mom? 

“Mind giving me a hand?” I asked him as he turned around and looked down at the ground. 

“Sure.” He came up the porch as I tossed the mail into the music room as we bent down to pick up the box. 

Well..a slip and a fall. That big bulky box landed straight on my left foot. If you think stubbing that little toe of yours was bad. This was a whole lot worse.

“Son of a biscuit!” I tried laughing it up as Gardner had his hands over his mouth. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” He panicked as I smiled at him. One of those painful smiles that’s trying to cover up that I’m screaming in pain internally. 

“It’s fine. Just let’s get this in here!” I said through my teeth as we tried lifting it again and carrying it inside. We walked into the living room for Angus to move quickly out of the way. 

“Now please don’t crush my foot again.” I told him as we slowly lowered the box onto the rug. I sat down on the couch to then look at my left foot making sure it wasn’t broken. Luckily we’re all good. 

“Is your foot okay?” He chirped as I nodded. 

“Yeah it’ll be fine. You often drop boxes on people's feet?” I tried to lighten the conversation but I could tell he was not interested. Might as well see what’s in the box.

“Give me another hand into the kitchen.” I got back up from the couch as he looked at the door. 

“I really don’t have time.” I placed my hands on my hips with one eyebrow raised at him. We reached down again and carried it into the kitchen and placed it on the counter. He took a step back and grabbed a small knife to open the box. 

“Well if that’s everything Cora.” I placed the knife down and tossed an apple to him. He barely caught it as I reached into the box. 

“You look a little famished. An apple always helps.” I pulled out a rolled up bubble wrap to see it was Mrs. Seymours old collection of her Elvis Presley China!  

“Oh my gosh!” I laughed as The King was painted on the plate. 

“Ya know I love people’s obsession with the weirdest things in the world. Mrs. Seymour loved Elvis Presley China.” I pulled out the second dinner plate that had him in his big red glittery suit. 

“Why Elvis?” Gardner asked as I handed him the plate. 

“She loves Elvis. Oh my god it’s like her passion before opening a home for all of us and locking it down.” I reached in to pull out the all white suit Elvis but it was cracked in half. 

“Well. You broke Elvis Gard. Now you gotta fix him.” I told him as a wave of panic rolled on his face. 

“Ya know..I...I..can’t. Uh..I really really..” I think the glue is in the junk drawer. I opened the drawer to see super duper glue. Perfect! He placed down the apple he didn’t even take a bite out of and stand in front of the broken plate. 

“Now just be gentle with the King.” I began squeezing the glue along the crack as he kept trying to check his watch. If he doesn’t stop checking his watch I’m gonna throw it in the backyard! 

“Alright now just hold it still.” I told him as we pushed the plate back together for the glue to start sticking. 

“Now I’m going out to lunch if you could just stand here till I get back.” His eyes widened as I looked at him dead seriously. 

“Wait what lunch!?” I lost it as he sunk back into himself. 

“I’m..I’m sorry. I..I generally don’t hang out with civilians this much.” Civilians? Do I look like I’m in the army? Do I need to salute him or something? 

“Just messin’ with your Gard. You need to lighten up a little bit sir. Us civilians aren’t all horrid people.” I told him as he looked down at the plate as I gently took it from his hands. He put his white hat on his head as he began becoming uptight again. 

“I’m sorry if I broke your foot.” He blurted out as I looked down at it. I imagine I'll be getting some sort of bruise. Not really a problem due to the fact I use my right foot for the petals anyhow. 

Angus came strolling into the kitchen as he sat down in front of Gard waiting for him to scratch the top of his head. He looked down at him as Angus was beginning to whimper at Gard. 

“If you’re going to bail on me without saying goodbye. At Least say goodbye to Angus.” Angus licked his lips as Gard quickly scratched the top of his head. 

“Goodbye Cora. This was interesting again.” Turning around like a bat out of hell as Angus and I watched him leave the kitchen through the living room and shutting the front door. 

Why do I find him so adorable?

Taglist

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[starrybluez]

I was tagged by 2 lovely mutuals @music-on-canvas and @duranarchy-in-the-uk to put together a list of the 10 songs I'm most obsessed with. Thank you both! 💜😊

This was tough for me to narrow down from my collection of music which songs I loved the most. Tried to just pick one per artist to make it a little easier. Almost all of these are rockers - the more easy-going mellow tunes are at the end.

1. New Religion – Duran Duran

I keep changing my mind on favorite Duran songs. Most of the early ones have become my babies so it's difficult to pick a favorite! 😅 I went with New Religion this time because that BASS. JT definitely wins my heart on this one. The live versions they did in the 80's are particularly great to watch. It's really a treat to hear Andy singing along with Simon. Love Andy. 💖

2. Get It On – The Power Station / T.Rex

Both versions sound great to me but if I had to choose, I really enjoy the power (no pun intended) of the Power Station one. Nice to hear Andy shredding on guitar and Robert Palmer's take on the vocal.

3. Gotta Get A Grip On You – Robert Palmer

And speaking of Robert Palmer, I can't get enough of this song of his. Incredible and versatile singer. I do recommend listening to the whole album “Some People Can Do What They Like” if you want to funk out a bit. My dad bought the album and I guess he's still a big fan since he recently quoted the chorus from "Addicted To Love".

4. White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane

One of the many songs on this list I will sing along to. Yeah, most likely this is acid fuelled – or something to that effect, but what colorful lyrics it inspires! “Go ask Alice. When she's ten feet tallll!” Not that I'm encouraging everyone to take recreational drugs – I’ve never taken any and I can be weird and silly enough without them! 😅

5. I Want To Take You Higher – Sly & The Family Stone / Ike & Tina Turner

Only recently did I hear the Duran remake of this song. Love Simon's vocals but everything else on it was giving me a headache. Maybe if I heard it through the proper speakers instead of a tinny cellphone or computer, I could at least hear the bass. Still prefer the earlier soul singer versions. I don't think anything can beat those. Both Tina and Sly are so good, I don't even have the words. They render me speechless! On a side note, I did watch the Prince's Trust video from ’86 with Tina and a handful of my other favorite singers and she just outsang all those guys.

6. So Glad To See You Here – Paul McCartney & Wings

He's mostly known for his ballads, but this rocker is a favorite of mine. There's a whole slew of well-known guest musicians jamming on this. But really it's fun for me to just hear Paulie wailing his face off back in the day. Again, I highly recommend the album it's from. Very unpopular opinion, but I regard Back To The Egg as his best album, along with Flaming Pie.

7. Mystery Achievement – Pretenders

Another album from my family's music collection that I grew up listening to. And it's another one I would listen to in its entirety. The rhythm section along with Chrissie Hynde's amazing voice really drives the song at the beginning and then the guitars join in to carry it along to the end.

8. Suffragette City – David Bowie

Another one I have to sing along to everytime. The lyrics are too much fun not to. And it's Bowie, which should say enough right there. Hard for me to get through the whole song though without cracking up at the line “this mellow thighed chick just put my spine out of place”. Yes. I'm also really mature. 🙄

9. Turn My Back On You – Sade

This group does not get talked about enough. Again the bassline is what's most memorable for me. The singer is effortlessly cool. And if you've seen the music video, she rocks a suit as well as any of the guys in the band.

10. Many Too Many – Genesis

Now we get to the really mellow stuff towards the end. This piano ballad is often in my head. The beginning notes particularly stand out. The whole thing is very dreamlike. I'm actually more of a fan of their 70's songs than their popular 80's hits.

Bonus: 11. You Go To My Head - Frank Sinatra / Ella Fitzgerald

And I added this classic tune as a bonus, because I didn't think the list would be complete without one great jazz standard. I picked both singers’ versions – they are two of my favorites from the 40's and 50's era. I find myself getting lost in those dreamy vocals.

I could add some more bonuses, but then this list would be way too long. I tag anyone else who wants to participate!

[misssophiachase]

Meet the Mikaelsons - Chapter 6: Lights. Camera. Action.

On AO3 and FF

Playa Palmilla, San Jose del Cabo

Wednesday - 10:09am

“I just don’t understand why I’m bitching and moaning about this? It’s not really my style, I think this script was meant for Kol.” The cast and crew were spread out around the pristine swimming pool, the bright sunlight adding to the picturesque view.  

“Oi,” Kol growled. “I don’t bitch and moan.” The whole set, not to mention the few extras, were suddenly silent. Kol’s reputation obviously preceded him, even in Mexico.

"Okay, cut! You are here to crash your ex-girlfriend’s wedding, Klaus,” Jenna offered, breaking the silence. “We need to understand your rationale, you can’t just turn up at her wedding for no reason.”

“Well, things on this show have happened for a lot less,” he muttered, standing up from his sun lounger. “Can we take a break? It’s bloody hot out here and I need a drink.”  

Once he stepped into the cool relief of his private villa, Klaus immediately felt bad. Usually it was Rebekah throwing a tantrum on set. Given he was co-producer didn’t help matters. To his credit, Klaus had been relatively professional since taking on the role but today he’d let himself slip back into old habits.

After grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, Klaus flopped onto the couch. His eyes had briefly flickered over to her before leaving set, not that he let them rest there long.

He didn’t know how long it had been happening, but Klaus was aware his attention was regularly captured by her. Yes, she was beautiful and intelligent and gave him a hard time (which was his favourite) but Caroline Forbes had become like a drug to him.

He needed to be near her.

A lot.

Klaus didn’t usually need anyone; he’d managed quite well up until this point given his interesting family upbringing but, when it came to Caroline, he couldn’t control his own feelings or somewhat weird and slightly stalkerish behaviour.  

Yes, he’d crashed her flight and insisted she stay with him, but he had a very good reason. One he’d yet to tell her about. Although, Klaus was starting to wonder if that very good reason came about because of needing to be near her and not the other way around which scared the hell out of him.

“I’m surprised you’re not lying on the floor, kicking and screaming,” she interrupted his thoughts. He didn’t respond immediately, annoyed that she thought so little of him. “That was a reference to your tantrum before, if you hadn’t already guessed.”

“And they thought sending you in here to coax me out was a great idea, Forbes?”

“It was supposed to be a motivational kick in the ass,” she offered, sitting next to him, grabbing the bottle of water from his hand and taking a swig. Her relative ease and comfort around him was surprising although not unwelcome. 

Her arm grazed his, no doubt by accident, and Klaus could feel himself faltering slightly. His nostrils filled with the smell of coconut and Klaus could detect the faint aroma of strawberries from the shampoo he’d noticed in their shared bathroom.  

She was wearing a pair of denim shorts that day and Klaus had lost track of how many times he imagined peeling them off her slowly and exploring what was underneath. 

He shook his head determined to get rid of such thoughts, Klaus was supposed to be annoyed with her after all.

His supposed tantrum before wasn’t due to the script (although it was ridiculous) but because of the previous evening.

Yes, he’d insisted she go to dinner with his family but what he wasn’t expecting was for Caroline to invite best friend number one, best friend number two and the Love Doctor. 

He didn't begrudge her company but Klaus was enjoying having her undivided attention and, yes, he knew it was incredibly childish. 

Many people were jealous because he was born into extreme wealth and privilege but with that came absentee parents and, even with five siblings, loneliness. Klaus always felt like the odd one out although he could never really explain why. Call him crazy, but when he felt like someone was actually hearing and seeing the real him, he didn’t want to let go. 

"Are you still not talking to me?"

"I never said that."

"No, you just ignored me during and after dinner. Actually, you pretty much ignored everyone," she noted. "I was tempted to encourage Henrik to start a food fight just to get you out of this funk but apparently he was on his best behaviour for my friends."

"It's not a funk," he muttered. "Although, you could have told me you'd invited them to dinner."

"I told your mom beforehand and, as we both know, she was extremely pleased to see Enzo. In fact, you should be thanking me."

"For what exactly?" The last thing Klaus wanted to do was thank her for bringing the perfect humanitarian doctor who could do no wrong. Who was Klaus kidding? He was jealous of the idiot and his close connection with Caroline and didn’t want to witness it first hand .  

"Occupying your mother from her cilantro obsession and annoying the hell out of Rebekah for whatever reason, amongst other things." Klaus had to admit she had a point there. He also knew he was acting like a child, especially since he'd forced her into dinner in the first place. "Also, don't forget Bonnie managed to minimise Kol's bad etiquette because he was so busy trying to impress her and Katherine monopolised Elijah so he didn't feel the need to lecture anyone."

"So, what you're trying to say, in a convoluted way, is that your surprise guests actually saved the Mikaelson family dinner from ruin?"

"Well, it certainly helped," she boasted. "And you so deserved it." Klaus attempted to interrupt before she continued. "Do I need to remind you of all the intrusive and presumptuous things you've done the past two days?"  

Well, she did have a point.

"No need to tell me I'm right," she said. "Your silence is confirmation enough. Now princess, can we please go back to set? Every minute we sit here is money that we don't have to waste. And if you want to do that stubborn brooding act and not talk about your feelings I'll have a word to Jenna."

"What silent, brooding act?"

"That thing where you'd rather stab out your eyes than show any emotion, it's okay our female viewers love the strong, silent type."

"I just don't like talking about my feelings, especially to millions of people," he shared, she gave him a look which clearly said he was in the wrong business if that was the case. "I'm here for my family," Klaus answered, thinking that was at least sort of true.

"Well, they should be very thankful for that," she murmured, her gaze downcast. "I'm not sure I could ever do something like this for anyone."

"I don't buy that at all, Forbes," he winked at her and took back his water bottle, taking a sip. "Now, let's go back where I will put on the performance of my life. Do they award Emmys for best performance in a reality television series?"

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," she drawled, following him out the door. "Wow, this girl must have really done a number on you."

"What makes you say that?"

"The brooding, the tantrum, the sudden change of heart. What exactly did Hayley Marshall do to you, Mikaelson?" She asked, her curiosity evident.

"Who said Hayley Marshall did anything to me?"

"Well, it's why we're here, right?" She stopped in her tracks, turning slightly, her left eyebrow cocked. "Right?"

"I never said that, well not exactly..."

"Oh my god," she hissed. "If you're not here to crash her wedding, why the hell did we spend all this money bringing the entire crew to Mexico? Without that particular plot line you realise we have nothing."

"Just breathe, love," he murmured, placing his hands on her shoulders and staring deeply into her eyes. She even looked beautiful stressed. "I didn't say I wouldn't crash a wedding, I just have other reasons for the trip besides that." 

Before she could ask any more questions or berate him for being annoyingly aloof, Klaus pulled her towards set thinking he was going to have to explain himself soon.

Just not yet.  

4:37pm

"That water feels so good," Klaus grinned, running back onto the beach thinking maybe Mexico was just what he needed. Elijah was sitting upright on his towel, mid yoga pose. For someone so uptight and serious he had some interesting ways to pass the time.  

"Must you drip water on me like some wayward canine, Niklaus?" He growled, opening one brown eye followed by the other. "I was attempting to relax."

"You are on a beach in Mexico, big brother, how much more relaxed do you need to get?" He asked, lying on his towel and taking in the view of the blue ocean. Elijah uncrossed his legs and gave his brother a frustrated look.

"It's all of this reality television, I need to cleanse my body and soul afterward."

"You make it sound so dirty, Elijah," he teased.

"That's because it is," he shot back.

"Then why do you do it?" Klaus asked genuinely curious about Elijah's motives.

Klaus knew that his older, and more responsible, brother had carved out a successful career as a stockbroker in New York City and didn't need reality television stardom or the associated trappings. He'd always been a loner from a young age and this kind of attention seemed like something Elijah would shy away from rather than embrace it.

"Mother called and you know how difficult she can be when she doesn't get her way," he said. "Add Rebekah and Kol to that equation and you know the rest. Anyway, surely you’re familiar with it all given she managed to lure you back from Europe." Klaus nodded thinking it was partly true.

 Yes, he'd felt the same family pressure but there was something else driving him. Something that no one knew about, even Elijah.

"It's that whining she does," Klaus joked. "She doesn’t stop and it sounds just like a cat with a fur ball stuck down its throat."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," a familiar brunette interrupted their conversation. Dressed in a fitted, red bikini with her hair loose, Caroline's best friend Katherine oozed confidence. His brother meanwhile seemed to be struggling to find his words. "You both finished filming for the day?"

"Yeah, about a half hour ago," Klaus said. "Thought we'd take a swim and wash some of that contrived reality television away."

"Some caring relative you are, Pierce." Klaus knew that voice all too well and he wasn't really in the mood for it. At least Caroline wasn't around, she'd gone back to the villa to take a rest before dinner. "I could have drowned out there."

"Enough with the dramatics, Lorenzo," she huffed. "Look who I ran into."

"If it isn't Mexico's latest celebrities," he whistled. "How did you escape all your adoring fans from earlier? I thought you were going to lose a lot more than the shirts off your backs."

"This isn't our first rodeo," Elijah offered knowingly, finally finding his voice in Katherine's presence. Klaus knew that Elijah was extremely shy when it came to women and decided his big brother needed and deserved a little push.

"Actually, Elijah was just saying how much he wanted to take a walk down the beach but I'm exhausted from that Oscar worthy performance I did by the pool. Maybe you might like to accompany him Katherine?" Out of the corner of his eye, Klaus could see Elijah sending him a death stare.

"Really, you don't have to.."

"No, I'd like to take a walk," she smiled. They walked off into the distance, Klaus secretly pleased with his efforts. But knowing Elijah and his stubborn ass he'd ruin whatever chance he had with Katherine Pierce. Caroline had said something about not leaving her alone with Elijah but surely that was a joke, well he hoped so.

"You're a matchmaker too?" He sat down beside Klaus, obviously not waiting for an invitation that would never come.

"Just bored I suppose."

"You don't like me much, do you?" He asked before continuing. "It's okay, I'm used to it. You know being BFFs with Caroline isn't easy...

“BFFs?”

“Best Friends Forever,” he responded and Klaus immediately felt like he’d been transported back to grade school. “Most of her potential suitors and boyfriends feel threatened because, well look at me, but.."

"What boyfriends?" He asked, probably against his better judgment.

"You do like her! I must admit I had my suspicions but that streak of jealousy gave you away," he laughed. "Not that I'm surprised, Caroline is amazing, albeit a little bossy."

"Do you always talk this much?"

"Says the guy who's deflecting," he snorted. "Look, it's okay, everyone falls for Caroline. She's beautiful and intelligent and.." Klaus gave him an unimpressed glance by way of response, "and I don't like her like that. I mean she's like a really annoying sister that you should never try to wake in the morning because it's not pretty let me tell you."

"You really do like the sound of your own voice."

"Fine, you don't want to admit it to me, I get it, we barely know each other but if you hurt her I will kill you," he promised. "Care Bear likes to act tough but she's actually more vulnerable than you think." 

Klaus was immediately curious about what that meant and who he'd have to kill for hurting her but didn't want to give away more than he already had to Enzo.

"Aren't you supposed to be a doctor? I thought killing people would be against your code or something?"

"I'm pretty certain killing people isn't okay for anyone, Niklaus," he teased.

"You did not just call me that!"

"You do realise that you have the same haughty tone as your sister," he commented. "Is she always frosty with people she barely knows or am I just lucky? I'm surprised I'm still alive to tell the tale given the looks she was shooting my way at the dinner table last night."

"It's difficult to tell with Rebekah," he explained. "There's a lot going on in that head of hers and if I had to try and explain it we might be here all day. Why exactly do you want to know anyway?"

"Just so I can avoid her wrath for the rest of the trip," he answered.

"Well, good luck with that, Lorenzo," he smiled, returning the favour. 

He consulted his watch thinking it was probably time he had that chat with Caroline. He just hoped she would understand why he brought her down here.

[robotnikfucker]

10 Questions Tag Game

I’ve been tagged by @jimbotniks​

Rules: Answer the 10 questions, ask a different 10 questions, and tag 10 people

(Small warning, I have ADHD and just took my meds so this is a little ramble-y and disjointed. I apologize, there is no way to fix this, my brain is just like that oops. For courtesy, I’ve put all the long stuff under the cut so you only have to read my monologue if you want to.)

1. What is your favorite genre of music? Why?

Probably indie-rock and indie punk. I like indie-rock largely because my favorite shows in my formative years were Chuck, Bones and a couple other “golden era” crime dramas that all featured a lot of indie-rock music in the background. Indie punk appeals to me because it’s just a good catharsis while also being pretty damn dance-able. Kiwi Jr and AJJ are both really good bands if you need to just let it all out while jamming to some bops.

2. What’s an art project you’ve made that you’re proud of?

I draw angels frequently, often depicting them as humanoid but still terrifying. This was an art theme that I’ve had going since before I was religious and I find that “angelic” imagery can sometimes leak into my other art so a lot of my favorite art is drawings of wings, gore, monsters and all kinds of Gothic themes. Right now, I have a watercolor of Virginia Madsen that I’m just in love with. I was always enchanted by her hypnotized stare in Candyman and I did my best to capture that. I even went out with my girlfriend to buy a gold gel pen so her tears would glitter. From theme to technical prowess, it’s my favorite painting right now and possibly my magnum opus. My previous best was a gore heavy, similarly angel themed, digital painting of Roger Wilco from the Space Quest games (weird special interests, I know.) I could go on about drawings I love for hours, so I’ll cut myself off here with the small post script that this is just my visual art and I also have poetry and prose that I feel similarly about.

3. Do you have a favorite album/podcast to put on in the background while you work or study?

It all really depends on my mood. My girlfriend shared a really relaxing Sovietwave playlist with me recently that I’ve been enjoying. I also listen to a lot of AJJ and Saint Motel, I don’t really think I could really pin down a specific album for either of them. The Candyman soundtrack works really well for study especially for my Gothic and Mystery class. I have a playlist titled Fuck Funk that’s specifically for writing fanfiction since I could never find a good playlist for writing smut when I needed it but I also use that playlist to work out since it’s mostly just a healthy mix of songs that I can jam to. I’ve never liked podcasts for study/work since I can’t really write and listen at the same time but I did make a podcast once for a professor that was a radio-play style parody of Scooby-Doo. I did all of the editing and I still listen back over it and pat myself on the back for turning 2 hours of raw improv into something that got us like a 98. A lot of my own music taste peaks through.

4. If you could become the protagonist/antagonist of any media franchise, which one would you pick and why?

Realistically, Animal Crossing because that’s the safest bet least likely to lead to my death. If we’re gonna get wild... probably BJ Blazkowicz from Wolfenstein so I could kick some N*zi ass or Conan Edogawa/Jimmy Kudo from Case Closed/Detective Conan so I could enjoy that sweet mid 90′s aesthetic.

5. Can you play any instruments? which ones?

I can, actually, I’ve played cello since I was 8 (I’m 18 now) although I’m a little rusty. I played piano and drums for a while and while I’m pretty useless when it comes to piano these days, I still maintain a pretty firm grip on my sense of time and rhythm thanks to the years I spent playing percussion. I played bari sax in middle and high school. I marched it for 3 years until I had a back injury but I was in jazz band all 4 years of high school so I was still playing. I was also in choir for a very long time and even spent my junior and senior years in an acapella Madrigal choir (I still have my costumes from both years) and even though it hasn’t been a whole year since I graduated, I still miss singing. I certainly don’t miss high school but I do miss that choir.

6. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

Not sure if this counts but I’ve been an achievement hunter/completionist since I played Ocarina of Time so I guess I “collect” video game achievements. I also collect lost things when I find them. I have an abandoned library card, two different gym membership cards, and a whole bunch of business cards. I have a small collection of lighters but that’s less about the joy of collecting and more about how often I burn incense. Aside from the usual stuffed animal collection that most people have from childhood, I don’t collect anything else.

7. How many songs are there in your music library?

This is kinda difficult for me to answer. I use Spotify and I don’t always download my music since I have unlimited data, but it currently says that I have 1070 “liked” songs which is likely a little conservative since I had to switch accounts last year and lost some of my music in the process. (This just got me thinkin, back in the iTunes era when songs were 99cents a pop I would have had to pay more than a thousand dollars for that kind of collection.)

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, and at any time in history, where and when would you choose?

So, by any time in history do you mean only the past or the future too? If future is an acceptable answer, I’m gonna say Star Trek. Like if Star Trek ever becomes vaguely reality, I’m going there. Even if the details are wrong, a career as a science officer on a space ship in a universe that isn’t constantly at war and is instead working towards peace and the pursuit of higher knowledge is perfect. If we’re only talking about the past, with no allowances for possible futures, then I think I’d want to live in the 80s in a metropolitan city like New York, Chicago, or Tokyo. Perhaps its misplaced nostalgia, but working as a secretary sounds nice. In the 80s you could still outright buy an apartment instead of renting it and it was actually semi-affordable (at least for the privileged) which as someone facing adulthood in the current economy, sounds like a dream come true. I guess I just want the simplicity and security of economy back then. Lookin for that yuppie life!

9. Have you ever performed live in front of an audience?

I have, several times. Although I’ve never been a headliner or anything I’ve played and sang at school concerts (even had a few solos) and my jazz band once performed for a dance hall full of people. I’ve never been paid unless you count getting a free CD but I’ve performed in front of quite a few live audiences.

Anyway, Jimbotnik didn’t write a tenth question so I guess I get an out. I’m sorry for my rambling answers, that’s just life. I’m gonna tag @jasminerobotnik @zoekrystall @rohotnik since y’all are my Sonic blog mutuals (like my header implies, I keep my main and this side blog separate for privacy’s sake) I’m also tagging @actsoflove @manicrobotnik @dusicielkusiciel @hamil-trash24 @lee-bunny @legally-immortal and @wutevrz

If you’re confused as to why I tagged you, I don’t have many mutuals so I picked followers who I’d seen some interaction from. You don’t have to play if you don’t want to and I’ll delete your tag if you’d prefer. As usual with these games, it’s also open to anyone who wants to get one of these started among their group so if you’re reading this post and wish you’d been tagged, that’s you.

My questions:

Do you wear glasses/contacts? If you wear glasses do you like how they look on you?

Do you have a playlist of music that’s just for when you’re sad? What are your favorite songs from it?

Is there a skill you consider yourself particularly good at?

If you’re the kind of person who uses a reusable water bottle, do you decorate it? If not, what is your favorite drink day to day?

Do you drink diet soda or can you not tolerate the taste?

Do you write fanfiction? What fandoms and genres? Do you share your fic with people you know in real life?

What’s your favorite scent? Do you often buy scented products like incense or candles?

Do you like scary movies? If so, what’s your favorite? If you don’t, what is your favorite genre of films?

What’s your go to movie snack when you’re watching in a theater? What about when you’re watching a movie at home?

What’s your favorite “medium” for art (sculpture, dance, music, painting, drawing, poetry etc.) and which one do you feel most adept at?

[johannesviii]

Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2017

Not a very good year for hit songs. Still better than the next one, though.

And a very satisfying #1 that launched an entire infodump about a specific band. I’m not even sorry.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will be stuff in French. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

2017 might not sound super distant, but it’s already distant enough to analyse what started to happen to me that year with some clarity. This is when I started to lose some of my energy and motivation. A lot, in fact. Everything suddenly felt exhausting and this whole “what’s even the point of anything” mentality started to fall on my shoulders. And you know what, at first, while making these recaps, I had no idea what started it all. Was it that super rare infection I caught in early 2018 and almost made me lose a part of a finger? Was it both my grandfathers dying in mid 2018? Was it the general state of the world? But no, I did some digging and noticed this general exhaustion actually started right during summer 2017 and I was like what the f█ck happened in summer 2017? That summer was fine?

And then it clicked. I know exactly what kickstarted my spiral into about 18 months of depression, and it’s got nothing to do with health or family. It’s something that shouldn’t have affected my life in any way, and that I kinda tried to ignore at the time, and some of you might even find me overdramatic or cringy for letting it affect my life. But yeah, as I’ve realised while making these lists, Linkin Park was actually a super important part of my life, so it makes perfect sense: what started it all was Chester Bennington killing himself. Clearly, someone who had contributed so much to convince me that life was worth living and who suddenly decided it wasn’t worth it, that had a huge impact on me, whether I wanted it or not.

Aaaand now I’m crying again. Great.

Anyway. Uh. Important albums that year! Yeah so uh. Depeche Mode made Spirit and it wasn’t good, and so I kinda lost faith they would ever make a great album again, but I did realise one of my teenage dreams and saw them in concert in the Stade de France in July 2017 (it was huge. Going home after that felt like waking up from some sort of hypnotic trance. They even played Walking In My Shoes, one of my absolute favorite songs from them, along with a video featuring a trans person going to work and I started to bawl my eyes out in the middle of the f█cking crowd). Nine Inch Nails also made Add Violence and continued to be super good, and Indochine made 13, and while it wasn’t nearly as good as Black City Parade, it was also better than La République des Météors, so I was pretty happy about that. EDIT: Forgot about Under Your Spell by The Birthday Massacre, which blew my goddamn mind, but still not as much as the next album I'm gonna talk about.

But the defining album of the year, to me, was Mike Oldfield making a sequel to my favorite album from him, with Return to Ommadawn. Of course it’s not as good as Ommadawn. But still. If Ommadawn felt like discovering a new strange country full of weird folklore and forests and mysterious buildings, Return to Ommadawn feels like going back there half a century later and seeing things in ruins and wounded people, but still trying to seek beauty and joy in a partly destroyed landscape. It makes perfect sense considering the circumstances that surround the making of this thing, and it was the only way to make a good sequel to such a legendary album.

Unelligible songs that piss me off... uh, actually there’s only Cut to the Feeling by Carly Rae Jepsen. Why wasn’t it a huge hit. Come to think of it, why hasn’t any Carly Rae song been a huge hit since Good Times. This feels unfair.

Time for some honorable mentions, then.

Feels and also Slide (Calvin Harris and a lot of other people) - Got nothing to say about either of these songs, but they’re both pretty good.

Katchi (Ofenbach) - Nice little earworm.

No Roots (Alice Merton) - Super surprised this was a hit. Good.

OK (Robin Schulz ft James Blunt) - That’s a James Blunt song in the year of our lord 2017 and it sounds actually good??

What About Us (Pink) - Really caught my attention and made me wonder if I should listen to Pink again after a long streak of mediocre Pink songs.

Congratulations (Post Malone) - I find the song mostly boring but the guest verse ending with “uh, Malone... I gotta play on my phone...” is the stuff of legends and that got a chuckle out of me every time I heard it.

Glorious (Macklemore) - I’m glad this was a hit here but at the same time it’s not my favorite song from him. The music video is adorable, though.

Fly (Odyssey) - Nothing to say about that one.

XO Tour Life (Lil Uzi Vert) - The fact that I was regularly humming this is either a sign of quality or yet another sign I was depressed as shit.

Devil in Me (Purple Disco Machine) - What a great artist name.

Symphony (Clean Bandit) - Nothing to say here either, just good sound all around.

Attention (Charlie Puth) - 2017: The Year Charlie Puth Made A Great Song.

All Stars (Martin Solveig & Alma) - The last cut. It was on the list at some point. I really like it a lot, though.

And now, the list. The stuff I genuinely love starts at #6 and things that are still on my mp3 player to this day start at #4.

10 - Chained to the Rhythm (Katy Perry)

US: #73 / FR: #10

I just love the concept of a Katy Perry song about how Katy Perry songs are happy nonsense distracting you from actual issues. What can I say, I’m a sucker for meta stuff.

9 - Water Under The Bridge (Adele)

US: #88 / FR: Not on the list

An Adele song projecting actual positive energy!? That automatically goes on the list.

8 - Praying (Kesha)

US: #67 / FR: Not on the list

You know I mostly dislike slow emotional songs regardless of how good they actually are. I will, however, make an exception for this one even though I very rarely listen to it considering how emotionally taxing it is. That’s definitely a fantastic song, though.

7 - Viens On S’aime (Slimane)

US: Not on the list / FR: #53

“Listen, we love each other, f█ck it, f█ck their words and their decorum, listen, we love each other, f█ck it, f█ck their ideas and what they’re saying”. Well said, dude, well said.

6 - There’s Nothing Holding Me Back (Shawn Mendes)

US: #23 / FR: #91

That’s a very good song for running and that is becoming increasingly rarer, so I’ll take what I can get.

5 - Paris (The Chainsmokers)

US: #42 / FR: Not on the list (that’s irony for you)

Unlike Closer this is an unrelatable song about rich young people that can afford to live in Paris just “to get away from [their] parents” but honestly that’s the only negative thing I have to say against it. It sounds fantastic.

4 - Castle On The Hill (Ed Sheeran)

US: #40 / FR: #50

We’ve now entered the realm of songs that are still on my mp3 player to this day. This is the only Ed Sheeran song I’ve ever liked, and I love it. It sounds like a lost U2 song. Maybe from a strange dimension where U2 became more fragile and emotional instead of more pretentious.

I have no idea why this guy keeps making such boring stuff when he’s got that kind of song in him. I have no clue.

3 - Something Just Like This (Coldplay & The Chainsmokers)

US: #5 / FR: #19

Hey so Coldplay is still on my lists, apparently. It’s a bit too slow, some lyrics about superheros don’t make much sense, and the drop isn’t super good, but my god, that guitar near the end makes everything worth it. Just amazing colors and textures all around.

It’s not even my favorite song on that EP! I think Miracles (Someone Special) is even better, but eh, this one is a close second.

2 - 24k Magic (Bruno Mars)

US: #16 / FR: Not on the list (#13 in 2016 but I put it on the 2017 list instead)

Am I the only one to like this more than Uptown Funk? It’s so much fun to sing along to it. And unlike Uptown Funk, it’s making me feel nostalgic for an era I actually (vaguely) knew, the super colorful and ridiculous early 90s. My s.o loves it too and when it comes up on the radio or on our playlists you can bet we’re both going PUT YOUR. PINKY. RINGS UP. TO THE. MOOOOOOOON like two idiots.

This is the song I could have put on the previous list but elected to put on this list instead since it was elligible for both years, by the way! Since 2017 was less good than 2016, I thought it would be more interesting to save such a great song for later.

It would have topped the list too, if it wasn’t for something I didn’t expect to be elligible before reading the French year-end list.

Strap yourselves in, because I had no real opportunity to talk about this band at length in the posts made for the years when it was the most relevant in my life, so this is going to be quite long.

1 - La Vie Est Belle (Indochine)

US: Not on the list / FR: #44

As you already know if you remember some of my previous lists, Indochine is a band I started to love right in the middle of the absolute worst years of my life. These guys had been around since the 80s as a super successful new wave band, then became very unpopular and went underground for about twelve years in the entire 90s, then one of them died, then every member except the singer basically rotated, and then they suddenly re-emerged in 2002-2003 with Paradize, a monster of an album, full of energy, sinister themes and weird provocative songs, and an entire generation of angsty teenagers (me included as you can guess) embraced it wholeheartedly.

And all of a sudden Indochine was the favorite French mainstream band of local young punk/goths! So many kids with the Indochine logo in highschool. Nowadays the band is mocked and well-loved in equal doses by just about everyone, but I suspect it’s just because we’ve all grown up.

Placebo, Linkin Park and Indochine were the bands that ruled my entire world in 2003/2004. My mother hated all three of them, because of course she did, but especially Indochine, because according to her it was partly their fault if I was gender non-conforming. See, she used to say, they had put all kinds of bad ideas in my head and now I was all messed up.

...Holy shit, that’s a lot of blame to put on a ridiculous new wave band who’s first hit song from 1983 is just a long nonsensical list of shitty old Bob Morane pulp novels.

But here’s the problem. Even if Indochine kept having hit song after hit song, those were never the best songs on their albums. Here I am, 31, making these top ten lists since last December, and becoming more and more frustrated to see none of my favorite modern Indochine songs are elligible. My favorite Paradize singles were Mao Boy, Popstitute and especially Marilyn (god, this song rocked my entire year alongside Placebo’s The Bitter End. 2003 was such a fantastic year for dark energetic hit songs)? Too bad, the biggest hits were J’ai demandé à la lune and Le Grand Secret. Alice & June had four fantastic singles? Too bad, none of them is elligible! Same thing for the entirety of Black City Parade. Oh, but that song I hate from La Republique des Météors is elligible, I guess!

So we’re in summer 2017, and my life is completely different now, and Indochine releases La Vie Est Belle (I’m linking the album version and not the music video because it has some violent themes in it). I’m in my car doing some errands and the local radio goes “hey new song from Indochine” and I’m like “oh shit, gotta hear this” and then two minutes later “oh wow, that is super good. Won’t be a hit though”.

And yet, it was a hit! It became huge, even! And at that point I was already loving that song even though I thought it was just a super good but tragic love song about a significant other dying too young.

And then, about a month later, the wordplay of the first line finally hit me with the force of a semitruck. It’s not a love song. It’s a song about the singer’s dead twin. Who died in 1999.

It’s such a devastating, beautiful song, and yet it’s full of energy. I. adore. it. It’s exactly the kind of song you need to continue to fight and to live and to help other people in this day and age. “Life is beautiful and cruel, it looks like us sometimes” indeed. And it’s one of the best on the album, too!

So yes, 15 years after I first fell in love with this band and after they helped me during super dark times, finally, I can put one of their songs at the top of one of these lists, hands down, no debate whatsoever.

That probably sounds ridiculous but it’s genuinely making me feel extremely emotional.

Next up: I thought music sucked that year because I was depressed but I relistened to it and no it wasn’t just me

[thedollarcrate]

50 Best Albums (That I Own on Vinyl) of the Decade

It’s hard to comprehend how much transpires over the course of a decade or wrap your head around how long (or short) of time that really is.

But what better way to try than to make a list!

Now, I know “Best of” lists like this one are inherently subjective – and probably say more about their maker’s preferences than actually reflecting the best music released in a particular time period. And, I’ll be the first to admit that the list below is incredibly limited, and that I need to widen my exposure to more artists and genres.

But hey, this is all in fun.

So feel free to debate, pick apart or share your own favorite albums from the past decade. But before you dive in, just a few quick points for context:

-I only ranked albums I actually own on vinyl released between 2010 and 2019, which limited my choices to about 170 records.

-I only ranked new music released this past decade, so no reissues or older material released for the first time (sorry Prince’s Piano & A Microphone and Originals).

-I first started buying vinyl around ’09-’10 and started off purchasing mostly new releases before my habits shifted and I started looking for older records. This shows in the list below – nearly a quarter of the albums below were released in 2010 and almost 70% from the first half of the decade.

And we’re off…

50. Centipede Hz, Animal Collective (2012)

Let’s be honest, it was impossible for Animal Collective to top a universally acclaimed and era-defining album – and it was unfair to expect them to. But maybe the continuous onslaught of bizarre and eclectic music found on Centipede Hz was just what we needed after all.

49. Singles, Future Islands (2014)

So much more than Sam Herring’s pelvis busting dance moves and “Seasons (Waiting On You),” every track on Singlesbursts with life and heart pumping  energy. To quote Letterman: I’ll take all of that you got.

48. Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph, Frog Eyes (2010)

I don’t think I’ll ever understand Carey Mercer’s lyrics, but I’m certain I’ll never tire of getting lost in his hidden words and knotty melodies.

47. Leaving Atlanta, Gentleman Jesse (2012)

Thirty seven minutes of Pure Power Pop Perfection (note the capital “Ps”).

46. Burst Apart, The Antlers (2011)

If there’s another album with a song titled “Putting the Dog to Sleep” that is as haunting and beautiful as this one, I don’t want to know about it.

45. Carrion Crawler/The Dream, Thee Oh Sees (2011)

With John Dwyer churning out record after record in the ‘10s, it should come as no surprise that at least one landed on this list (and they’re all great). Garage rock. Surf rock. Post-punk rock. Psych rock. Noise rock. Rock rock. I don’t care what you call it, Thee Oh Sees put the pedal to the metal on Carrion Crawler/The Dream, taking you for a wild ride that never lets up.

44. 1989, Taylor Swift (2014)

Irresistibly catchy, everyone needs to satisfy their pop sweet tooth every now and then. 1989 is so sugary, it might just give you a cavity or two.

43. City Music, Kevin Morby (2017)

The city. The countryside. A beach. Aboard a train. At the pearly gates. It doesn’t matter where you listen to City Music because Kevin Morby’s jams will immediately transport you to your own laid back, happy place.

42. Remind Me Tomorrow, Sharon Van Etten (2019)

You’ll regret it if you keep waiting to listen this powerhouse – and powerful – synth-soaked record.

41. You Want It Darker, Leonard Cohen (2016)

It doesn’t get much darker, bleaker or sparse than this, but I wouldn’t want it any other way from the masterful Leonard Cohen.

40. American Dream, LCD Soundsystem (2017)

Retirement never sounded so good.

39. Capacity, Big Thief (2017)

Quietly captivating, mesmerizing and elegant, Big Thief knock you out without you even realizing it.

38. St. Vincent, St. Vincent (2014)

Annie Clark’s shapeshifting album won’t only shred your face off, it somehow makes you feel smarter, too.

37. Before Today, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (2010)

So, so weird and so, so good.

36. Expo 86, Wolf Parade (2010)

Like #50, Wolf Parade might always live in the shadow and expectations of a towering classic, yet somehow Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner still continually craft eccentric and bombastic rock albums. Expo 86 is no exception, and it is an underrated classic in its own right.

35. Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves (2018)

Like a sunset or sunrise, Golden Hour radiates beauty and warmth with each of its glowing tracks.

34. Yuck, Yuck (2011)

Despite their name and its hideous album cover, there’s nothing gross about Yuck’s infectious indie rock.

33. Play It Strange, The Fresh & Onlys (2010)

I once saw The Fresh & Onlys play at a tiny club in D.C. It might’ve been the loudest show I’ve ever been to – my ears rang for days. This record is just as rollicking, hazy and good as that show was loud.

32. Natalie Prass, Natalie Prass (2015)

There’s a reason “Welcome to 1979” is stamped in tiny letters on this vinyl’s inner ring – it’s silky smooth, filled with impeccable soft ballads and finely tuned jams – and just a tinge of funk.

31. I Am Easy To Find, The National (2019)

Few bands matched the consistent output of quality albums in the ‘10s as The National. They had one heck of a run, and I Am Easy To Find was a fascinating way to end it – a 21st rock album that felt more complex and expansive than anything they’d done before.

30. Melodrama, Lorde (2018)

Everything a pop record should be and then some – bold, breathtaking and exuberant.

29. Just Enough Hip To Be Woman, Broncho (2014)

If you can’t tell from its playful title, this pop rock album wants nothing more than to have fun – and it succeeds on every level.

28. Avi Buffalo, Avi Buffalo (2010)

Sometimes all you want is a light, sunny and meandering album to wash over you and get lost in, and this one will do the trick every time.

27. Hippies, Harlem (2010)

Imagine a band practicing inside a garage inside a garage inside another garage and you’ve got Harlem. This is garage rock to the max – and at its rambunctious best.

26. Puberty 2, Mitski (2016)

It’s hard to describe Puberty 2. Sure, it might sound like simple dreamy indie rock, but it ebbs and flows in unexpected ways that leaves you guessing where it’s heading next.

25. mbv, My Bloody Valentine (2013)

Picking up right where they left off – even if it was more than a decade later – My Bloody Valentine reminded everyone why they are the masters of reverb soaked shoegaze.

24. A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead (2016)

Even after all these years and albums, Radiohead still found a way to reinvent themselves and push the boundaries of rock music – and our expectations of them. With gorgeous arrangements and slow-burning, tension filled tracks, AMSP proves that even Radiohead can still take risks – and proves rock bands can make quiet, intimate songs sound epic. Oh yeah, and it has “True Love Waits.”

23. Art Angels, Grimes (2015)

Grimes gave us the future of pop music before most could even envision it. This laid the groundwork for all the challenging and intricate – and danceable – pop music that would follow. And it still sounds ahead of its time.

22. Meet Me At The Muster Station, PS I Love You (2010)

The first sounds out of Paul Saulnier’s mouth on Meet Me At The Munster Station aren’t words at all but two short, ecstatic yelps. And this same boundless energy and passion bleeds through on every fuzzy, raucous second of every track. Did I mention there’s a song called “Butterflies & Boners”?

21. More Than Any Other Day, Ought (2014)

You really ought to listen to Ought if you aren’t already. Tim Darcy and co. sound a bit uneasy, paranoid and self-aware, but they make the most minute challenges sound so exhilarating and life-altering – even the struggle deciding between two percent and whole milk at the grocery store.

20. Lemonade, Beyoncé (2017)

All hail Queen Bey.

19. Twin-Hand Movement, Lower Dens (2010)

This album sounds like 2 am on a dark, rainy Saturday night – in the best way imaginable.

18. Tomboy, Panda Bear (2011)

You can always count on Panda Bear to make hypnotic, loopy electronic music sound so breezy and effortless.

17. Modern Vampires Of The City, Vampire Weekend (2013)

I don’t know why, but I want to dislike Vampire Weekend so much. But that’s impossible when their music is so damn good and every note sounds so neat and perfect.

16. Past Life Martyred Saints, EMA (2011)

Just do yourself and listen to this album please.

15. The Archandroid, Janelle Monáe (2010)

Blending too many genres to count, this is what I imagine music sounds like in space.

14. Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan Stevens (2015)

I’ll let you know how I feel about this one after I stop crying.

13. The Suburbs, Arcade Fire (2010)

It’s everything you either love or hate about Arcade Fire. Grand, sincere and sweeping rock that swings for the fences with every guitar chord, drumbeat and horn blast. I love it.

12. Silence Yourself, Savages (2013)

Savages grab you by the throat and never let go – this is one intense album.

11. Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes (2011)

This might be the epitome of ‘10s indie rock – and for good reason. Introspective, sensitive and searching for some greater meaning, Robin Pecknold holds nothing back and lays it all out on Helplessness Blues.

10. Kaputt, Destroyer (2011)

Dan Bejar is an enigma and seemingly reluctant rock star. I saw him perform an acoustic set where he spent a majority of the time playing with his back towards the audience (although in fairness, it was at a free outdoor show on a college campus with people mostly chatting obnoxiously over him), and yet it’s as if his creativity requires him to constantly release new albums and show them off. Kaputt is as equally strange and mysterious – and just as creative – as its maker.

9. Black Star, David Bowie (2016)

Take away the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding this album’s release and it would still be in the top tier of David Bowie’s extensive catalogue. Experimenting until the very end, Bowie morphed into something entirely new one last time. Part jazz, part rock and part I’m not sure what you would call it, the results were once again out of this world. He couldn’t give it all away, but we’re sure thankful for what he could.

8. Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011)

Shedding the cabin in the woods vibe, Justin Vernon took a giant leap forward with Bon Iver and made ‘80s soft rock popular.

7. Celebration Rock, Japandroids (2012)

Perhaps the most aptly named album on this list, no other album exudes the joy of making music and rocking out with your buddy than this one. It’s hard to believe all that noise and energy comes from just two people.

6. Burn Your Fire For No Witness, Angel Olsen (2014)

Angel Olsen’s hypnotic and seductive vocals, lyrics and guitar suck you in immediately, mesmerizing you from the first gentle strums to the peaks and valleys of “Lights Out” and “Stars” all the way to the closer’s pulsing drumbeats and majestic piano.

5. Black Messiah, D'Angelo And The Vanguard (2015)

Oozing with cool, sexy and confident R&B funk, D’Angelo returned after 14 years with an instant soul masterpiece.

4. The Monitor, Titus Andronicus (2010)

It says a lot when a band can a.) make an hour plus punk rock record b.) loosely base it on the Civil War c.) quote Abraham Lincoln d.) close it out with a 14 minute track inspired by a famous naval battle and e.) still make you want to listen to it over and over and over again.

3. Lost In The Dream, The War On Drugs (2014)

The rare album that can feel vast and ambitious and yet deeply private and personal all at once. You really will get lost in these soaring songs.

2. Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter (2010)

At times perfectly melodic and structured and at others feeling on the brink of falling apart, Halcyon Digest is a paradox – sounding peaceful, bright and idyllic while also peering over the edge into something darker. This is a remarkable record from a remarkable band. If not for the abrupt end to the darkly beautiful closer “He Would Have Laughed,” Halcyon Digest sounds like it could go on forever.

1. Let England Shake, PJ Harvey (2011)

A stunning, thought-provoking, and moving – not to mention endlessly listenable – transcendent piece of art about life and the Great War. PJ Harvey doesn’t hold back on the brutality and absurdity of armed conflict, and the album’s devastating closing track – “The Colour of the Earth” – will linger in your mind long after the record stops spinning. As powerful today as it was eight years ago, this album will remain timely and important for years – and decades – to come.