#and whatever the hell em and mikes dynamic is called

[midnightdemonhunter]

I say, Then it’s not love anymore.

Michael says, It was love up to then though.

[thewitchoftheweed]

I saw your post about songs you used to characterize different characters and damn do the songs fit each of them so well (Shera and Mesar's song is so heartbreaking). Would you like to take a moment to talk about how some songs inspired or shaped different characters?

What a fun question, absolutely!

Since this AU has been going for a minute and covers a pretty large breadth of time, I associate certain songs with certain “eras” of different characters.

One of the first songs I latched onto for Hamal was Beauty of Annihilation by Elena Siegman. It struck me as someone who was both a bit unhinged and had a genuine appreciation for destruction and death. In a similar vein, IM NOT SORRY by Royal & the Serpent inspired their mental break during the Bishops’ celebration feast.

“Armor” by Iniko became my theme for Hamal about halfway through writing their origin story, largely because of these lines:

“Sky is falling, they are calling / Now the blind will see / Ground beneath us is shaking / Sheep are finally waking / Send your soldiers, send your army / Send ‘em ten by ten / Fear will never destroy me / Fear will never destroy me”

Alongside the lines “I am not son or daughter / No label, no name” which fits with the mindset Hamal adopts as the Lamb; only the people they love most are permitted to know who they truly are beyond the mantle of The Lamb.

Funnily enough, a song that helped inspire Shera and Mesar also inspired the Bishops’ nomadic lifestyle as youngsters: Prayer of The Refugee by Rise Against. I always liked the idea of the Bishops being mirrored in the Lamb’s family; once children fighting for survival, now oppressors forcing other children to do the same.

For Narinder, he’s had a few “eras” during his life. The dutiful, loving brother: Me and Mine by The Brothers Bright. The unstoppable bearer of the Red Crown: Lacrimosa by Samuel Kim. The imprisoned, maddened god: Perfect by Miracle of Sound, Karliene. And Narinder reborn: Once and Never More by Shadow Academy.

Some songs that inspired the Bishop family dynamics:

ThIngs We Lost in the Fire by Bastille. Shamura reflecting on their childhood and the loss of Narinder. The line “We were born with nothing and we sure as hell have nothing now” directly inspired the Envy chapter of Sins of the Bishops.

What Could Have Been by Sting, Ray Chen. Specifically, the dynamic between Narinder and Shamura.

Go to War by NOTHING MORE. This song fits for the whole family breakdown, but for whatever reason the anger behind it specifically reminds me of Narinder and Heket.

Brother by Madds Buckley. Narinder and Kallamar/Leshy feels.

my tears ricochet by Taylor Swift. Another Shamura and Narinder song— as Narinder said, they spent a millennia haunting each other. There are a lot of lines that I feel fit them well. I think the one that hits the hardest for me is “You had to kill me but it killed you just the same.”

What Have You Done by Within Temptation. The perfect song for breaking apart a once loving family.

And because I’ve got my playlist open and I’m on a roll, have some foreshadowing for the next few plot points in the Red Star AU:

Heavy is the Crown by Mike Shinonda, Emily Armstrong

Pompeii MMXXIII by Bastille, Hans Zimmer

Your World Will Fail by Les Friction

Hope this is interesting! I think about this AU way too much, clearly lol.

[goldeneyedgirl]

Happy December + 12 Days of Christmas

Hello everyone! Another unscheduled absence. I hope everyone is having a peaceful holiday season. In honour of Christmas - and I still hope to get one more chapter of Shadow to Light posted before 2020 - I presented ‘12 Days of Fic-Mas’: 12 extracts from current WIPs, abandon pieces, random ideas etc. Because, guys, I have SO much unposted fic, it’s ridiculous.

One will be posted every single day until Christmas. All of them will be about Alice, or Alice and Jasper. If you like it, let me know - whilst Shadow to Light, and Memento Vivere are top priorities, I like to know which projects to continue and which to shelve. These fics are unbeta-ed, and as-is. I haven’t decided whether I’ll publish this compilation on AO3 or FF.Net yet. And if another wants to join me in Fic-Mas, please do! I’ll do a round of post of my fics, and any other contributions after Christmas (tag it TwilightFicMas2019, and probably @goldeneyedgirl so I don’t miss it!)

So, Happy Christmas, and welcome to 12 Days of Fic-Mas ;) 

Day 1. Folie A Deux

(In which Jasper is human, and Alice is not; I do love this trope and found a total lack of fics with this specific dynamic.) 

He sees her out of the corner of his eye and when he turns, he can only stare.

She is exquisite, like a china doll, with alabaster skin and ruby lips, soft black hair brushing her cheeks in soft waves. She wears loose black pants and an oversized white t-shirt. She doesn't smile, just collects her books and shuts her locker.

“Don’t get your hopes up.” He blinks, turning to see Mike and Peter appearing at his side. “That’s Alice Cullen,” Mike continued. “She doesn’t date. Hell, she doesn’t talk to anyone. None of the Cullens do.”

“Why?” Jasper asked. Alice had sidled up to the red-haired boy. The boy quirked a smile at her, but neither of them said a word as they turned and walked down the hallway.

“Too good for us,” Mike said, an edge in his voice.

“Don’t be a dick,” Peter interrupted. “Alice, Edward and Emmett are all foster kids, they live with Dr and Mrs Cullen. Rosalie is Mrs Cullen’s niece. And Mike’s just sore Alice and Rosalie shot him down. It was kind of hilarious, actually.”

“She’s dating the dude she lives with. Her brother practically. It’s weird,” Mike grumbled.

Jasper’s eyebrows rose.

“Rosalie and Emmett are a thing,” Peter said, scowling at Mike. “And Edward’s dating a girl called Bella, she’s in my history class. Leave ‘em alone.” He turned back to Jasper. “Alice isn’t dating anyone we know of, but you won’t get within a foot of her without Edward appearing.”

Jasper looked back at Alice Cullen, slipping away with her red-headed brother. “Whatever.”

--

Something about the Cullens fascinates him. Especially Alice Cullen.

Even within her family, she stood out. The entire family are gorgeous, yes. Rosalie Hale belonged on a runway, in expensive designer clothing and towering heels. Her brothers, too, are the kind even Ava looks twice at. But the smallest girl, she lacks something. As if she is only half there. She wears neat clothing, but with a sense of carelessness, as if she isn’t really paying attention. She is insubstantial, yet magnetic.

She is quiet in class, sitting in the middle of the class. She doesn’t ever look like she’s paying attention, but never misses a question from sharp-eyed teachers, and her notes are perfect. She doesn’t talk to anyone, and the only person who approaches her is Edward – her lab partner in Chemistry turned out to be Bella, Edward’s girlfriend, and she seemed ill at ease with her beau’s sister.

At lunch, she sits at the end of the table, a soda open at her elbow, and a sketchbook open, her pencil floating over the page. Occasionally, she will lift the soda to her lips, but she doesn’t engage with her siblings, with Bella.

Jasper wonders what she’s thinking. He is entranced by her red lipstick, her enormous golden eyes, the way she moves – like a dancer. By her soft voice, her articulate responses to questions.

He sits with Peter and Mike, and are later joined by Peter’s girlfriend, Charlotte, as well as Ava, Jessica and Angela. Ava is still in a foul mood over having to add a few Junior classes to be able to graduate but seems to like Jessica and Angela.

“You’ve gotta stop staring, man, or Emmett Cullen is going to bury you in a shallow grave,” Peter said, snagging fries from Charlotte’s plate.

“Shut up,” Jasper said, flicking a piece of lettuce at him.

“Staring at who?” Ava said suddenly, whipping around to look around at the Cullen table.

“Alice Cullen,” Peter said with a grin. “The small one.”

“Is she a freshman?” Ava said, a twinkle of mischief in her eye.

“Just a very tiny Junior,” Jessica giggled.

“She’s in the foster system, Jess. We don’t know how bad her life was before the Cullens took her in,” Angela said, frowning. “She’s quiet, but nice. I have Art with her.”

“Baby brother has a crush,” Ava crowed, grinning. “She’s pretty, Jazzy.”

“Jazzy?” Peter jumped on that.

“I hate you,” Jasper said conversationally to Ava, before turning back to this lunch and trying not to think about the golden-eyed girl.

--

“Jasper Whitlock?”

He shuts his locker to see the giant Cullen – Emmett – standing there, looking fairly affable.

“Yeah?”

“Emmett Cullen. I’m here to tell you,” Emmett began, speaking very precisely, like the choice of his words was important, “that you should probably leave my sister alone. That it’s a really bad idea to pursue Alice.”

Jasper frowned, repeating the words in his head. “So, are you telling me you don’t want me to go near your sister?”

“No, I’m just here to tell you that you need to stay away from her,” Emmett said, looking frustrated.

“So… this is someone else’s advice,” Jasper leant against his locker.

“It is a general consensus that it would be a bad idea,” Emmett continued.

“Consensus? Okay, so I’m guessing your brother sent you,” Jasper said, irritated. “Was Alice polled on her opinion in this ‘consensus’? Because that’s pretty much the only person who gets an opinion.”

Emmett grinned. “I told them you were a good one. Good luck, man.”