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danses-with-dogmeat · 3 years

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What Instruments would the Companions play?

Fallout 4 --

Cait: Uilleann Pipes (or Elbow Bagpipes)

- Okay, it's not just because it’s an Irish instrument (I mean, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it), but also it's the way the unique pipes are played. The player is seated with the instrument strapped to their waist and dominant hand, using their opposite elbow to control the flow of air in the bag (rather than blowing into it like with normal bagpipes). It's a complicated instrument that requires an immense amount of physical control and discipline to play, which meshes well with Cait's physicality and athleticism. She's had the instrument as long as she can remember, finding it lying around in her childhood home. She managed to grab it before her parents sold her, and though it does sometimes remind her of them, all of the hours she spent learning to play it practically forces her to hold onto the instrument. She is wildly adept at playing it, and will sometimes do so in front of Sole, as long as they keep quiet about this ability of hers.

Curie: Violin

- A delicate instrument that requires dexterity and control, Curie would love the challenges that playing the violin would present. She found the string instrument in the depths of the vault before she became a synth, but held onto it thinking one day she would find someone who could make it sound beautiful. When she made the change to her synth body, she was incredibly excited to finally be able to play it, and though it took a while, she managed to become quite skilled. As a medical professional, she already has incredible coordination, so not only does the violin provide a creative outlet for Curie, but also it allows her to practice her control, since she still is getting used to just having the two hands, and all of her fingers. Once well-practiced, she loves to play softly to recovering patients in her ward.

Danse: Baritone

- When he first found the large horn, he didn’t really know what to think of it, he certainly didn’t consider playing it. However, once Sole explained it to him and told him how the instrument is played, he decided to pick it up one day when he was alone. He might have a hard time at first, since learning to play a new instrument can be especially frustrating for someone as hard on themselves as Danse is, but once he gets the hang of it, he's a big fan of the rich, loud sound it creates. He still rarely plays in front of anyone else (Sole and Haylen being the only exceptions), but he likes to practice in the little amount of downtime that he does have. Plus he enjoys caring for it by constantly cleaning and polishing the different pieces of the larger brass instrument.

Deacon: Kazoo

- It started out as a joke, he found a little metal kazoo, discovered the manner in which to play it, and decided to have a field day with Carrington back at HQ. Later though, after practicing a number of the most obnoxious songs he could find, he found he was quite good at it and quickly he grew fond of the plucky little instrument. Now he carries it around with him almost everywhere, telling everyone that he plays it ironically, but deep down he knows that he truly enjoys it.

Hancock: Saxophone

- Hancock has quite the reputation of being good with his lips and hands, and his adept ability to play the saxophone would only support this. He's had a lot of time to perfect his playing and will sometimes go up on stage with Magnolia to the delight of nearly everyone in Goodneighbor. He loves the instrument's smooth, jazzy sound and always revels in showing off his skills with a good solo.

MacCready: Harmonica

- An easy instrument to carry with you on the road, MacCready picked it up in his travels and messed with it whenever he knew the sound wouldn't endanger him. After a couple years, he became quite skilled with the wind instrument and would play it both for Lucy and Duncan as often as he could. He always keeps it with him, almost as a crutch at this point, even if he can't find the right place to play it, just having it with him reminds him of his travels with his son and his late wife.

Nick: Piano

- Always the classic gentleman type, it's no surprise that the old detective knows how to manipulate piano keys in such a way that he seems to transport you back in time to a dark and hazy pre-war bar. The old Nick is where the original skill came from, but the synth's fingers are much more nimble than the human Nick's were. He enjoys playing whenever he can find a piano; however, be warned, if it isn't tuned, you can bet your ass he'll do his best to rectify that, which could take a couple hours at best, and a few days at worst.

Piper: Tambourine

- The percussion instrument was a gift from her father, so she's held onto it since she was young and always takes extra care in looking after her tambourine (she considers it the most important item she owns, after her printing press of course.) Besides the fact it was a gift from a loved one, she likes the instrument because of its simplicity and the way she can easily come up with and control her own rhythm. She fondly remembers many an evening prattling away at the tambourine while her and Nat danced the night away in a rare moment of true childish fun. Sometimes Nat will pick up the instrument while Piper is busy at the typewriter and try to create a beat to her sister's typing.

Preston: Banjo

- Does this one need an explanation? Preston just gives me mad banjo vibes. Imagine the joy he feels sitting around a campfire, striking up a tune that everyone knows, encouraging all the people around him to join in on the song. He tells himself that he does it for the benefit of those around him, to distract them from their troubles and the cruelty of the wasteland, but the truth is, he does it just as much to distract himself. It makes him happy to see others happy around him, and if the banjo provides a way to do that, then Preston will do his best to stay practiced in as many feel-good songs as he can.

X6-88: Upright/Double Bass

- This instrument is an absolute beast, coming in at about 6 feet tall and weighing about 45 lbs, but X6 would welcome the challenge of playing such an instrument; his own height and the large size of his hands providing a distinct advantage in learning how to play the bass properly. Not being of the faint of heart, X6 practices until his playing ability is nearly flawless, reveling in the deep, rich sound that emanates from his intimidating instrument. He prefers to read music and follow chord structure rather than improvise when he is playing, and he works to try and perfect every technique that he can, ranging from using a bow (arco), to striking with his fingers (pizzicato), to slapping the strings against the fingerboard.

Fallout 3 --

Butch: Clarinet

- The poor 14 year-old was horrified when he was handed the old reed instrument when inducted into the vault 101 school band. But as Butch grew older, and his playing abilities increased, he realized he could make some pretty cool sounds with this thing. Jazz was always one of his favourite genres of music, and the clarinet allowed him to play along to many of his favourite songs. He doesn't bring the instrument with him while traveling, but he will play it when at home and sometimes will be bold enough to play for audiences at bars.

Charon: Bass Guitar

- He had never touched a bass before coming across one while traveling with Lone, but as soon as he picked it up, he found he had an affinity for it. Charon was patient with himself as he learned how to play, his scarred fingers both a blessing and a curse. Though it was sometimes difficult to get the chords right, he didn't have to worry about bloody fingers from long hours practicing plucking the rough strings. He comes up with a few bass lines on his own, then tries replicating songs that he hears. Charon actually really enjoys the creative outlet, and it's the perfect activity to focus on when Lone is gone.

Clover: Flute

- Clover treasures her flute, as the instrument was a gift from Eulogy that only reinforces the idea that she's his favourite. After all, he never gave Crimson a flute, or any other instrument for that matter. She finds it difficult at first, as she works to master her finger position and airflow, and occasionally she gets frustrated to the point of being completely unable to play; but once she gets the basics down, Clover uses the little woodwind instrument as a way to distract herself from her jealousy and tends to play it as aggressively as one can play a flute when Eulogy insists on spending time alone with Crimson. Otherwise, she will sometimes play it with Eulogy as her only audience member, but her favourite is when she can sit on her own and play the flute for herself, it makes her happy and it let's her see how far she's come since she was first gifted the instrument. When she begins traveling with Lone, she holds onto the flute and continues to play it for her own benefit, and of course, she wouldn’t be opposed to playing for Lone, if they were to ask...

Cross: Trumpet

- She discovered the small brass instrument in her travels to pre-war military locations, and was interested in the history of the horn in regards to the old U.S. military. When she first picked it up, she wasn't a huge fan of the brash noise that comes from it, but as she grew more adept at playing it, she found she liked the sound. Cross takes inspiration from the bugle music that was played before the war, and replicates it for the members of the brotherhood of steel.

Fawkes: Bongos

- He's been a fan of percussion ever since he was locked in isolation in the vault. Throughout his time there, he would often find different surfaces to drum his hands on to pass the time. Lone began noticing this little habit of his, and when they surprised him with a pair of bongo drums, Fawkes was elated. He plays them as often as he can, but usually waits until they are at home, after all, he couldn't risk losing or damaging them out in the wastes. But it's his favorite way to relax and unwind after Lone and him return from the hostile wasteland to the security of their home. He did once bring them to Underworld to play for the residents there, but he was anxious about harming the instrument the whole way there and the whole way home.

Jericho: Maracas

- Jericho wouldn't have the patience to sit down and learn a complex musical instrument, so maracas are a good fit for him. He found a single one when he and Lone were traveling and didn't think much of it, but thought it was interesting enough to hold onto. Once Lone explained what they believed it was, Jericho began to experiment with the instrument when he was alone (he couldn't risk Lone seeing him acting like such an idiot, with this glorified baby rattle.) But once he discovered another one, he decided he liked the sound of them together. Even though the maracas are all mismatched, he keeps any that he can find and tries them all paired with one another. He still tries to keep it on the down low, but every once in a while he'll know that Lone is listening in, he'll utter some rude comment, but continue playing as though Lone weren't there.

Fallout New Vegas --

Arcade: Ukulele

- Arcade doesn't know how it happened, how he found the little guitar-like instrument, honestly, it was left in his tent at the fort, and he doesn't know where it came from. For the longest time, he just left it where it sat near his bed, unsure what to do with it, but after a couple weeks passed, he felt like he had to do something with it. So he started to pluck at the nylon strings, and he couldn't keep from uttering a small yelp of surprise at the sweet sound of the instrument. He doesn't play often, and he still needs to practice, but when he's alone, Arcade loves to strum the strings and come up with little tunes that end up getting way too stuck in his head.

Boone: Cajón

- The little, wooden, box-shaped drum is a practical instrument that isn't complicated to play and is easy to transport, making it a nice fit for the 1st recon sniper. Boone has had restless hands for as long as he can remember, and the problem has only gotten worse since the incident at bitter springs, so originally, when he found the cajón and brought it back to his room at the NCR barracks, he would tap at the different sides just as a little habit. However, when he discovered the way each side differed in pitch, he found he could manipulate the tapping of his hands in such a way to create some interesting beats. He brought it with him when he left the NCR and keeps it at his place in Novac to play with whenever he's there. Now it's not only an entertaining pastime, but it's ended up being very therapeutic for him.

Cass: Acoustic Guitar

- As a caravaner, you tend to pick up some of the habits of other caravan members that you meet in your travels. Originally, Cass found the guitar and made the decision to sell it, but that was before the guard of another caravan sat himself down by the fire one night, grabbing the instrument from beside Cass's pack, and began to play. When he first picked up the guitar, Cass was ready to deck him for touching one of her wares, but after hearing him play it, she couldn't help but ask him to teach her. She tends to bring the instrument with her when she can, but usually she'll keep it in a safe place so she can practice in her down time.

Raul: Flamenco/Spanish Guitar

- Raul's nimble fingers are good for more than just making repairs, despite their ghoulified appearance, they still possess the muscle memory of when he learned to play the Flamenco guitar before the bombs fell. His family down in Mexico really appreciated the importance of music, and Raul still believes that it helped him get through some of the toughest times after the bombs fell. He makes it a priority to find guitar strings for when his end up breaking, and he tries to keep his original guitar in pristine condition. He doesn't play too often, but when he does, Six can hardly believe the skill in which he plucks the strings of the pre-war instrument.

Veronica: Drums

- Every time Veronica was sent out on recon, she would keep her eyes peeled for another drum or symbol to add to the developing set she had hidden away at Helios One. It started with a simple snare, then a symbol she had found, and when she discovered a bass drum, she hid it outside the building before she was assigned guard duty, and she snuck the large drum down to her set. She loves the outlet that playing the drums provides, and though she sometimes worries someone will hear her, the risk is worth the thrill of going all out when she takes a seat in front of her drum set. After the events at Helios One that eventually led to her leaving the brotherhood facility, she makes plans to one day return to retrieve the instrument she left hidden away.

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adrienscroissantx · 4 years

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Music au

We know of the people who can play musical instruments. Luka plays guitar, ivan plays the drums, juleka plays bass, rose can sing, adrien can play the piano, etc. BUT WHAT IF. STAY WITH ME. WHAT IF. THERE WAS MORE.

Alya can ACTUALLY play the flute, she’s been in orchestra for 2/3s of her life. Nino’s been learning violin since he was 7 years old. Alix, shortest girl in class? Plays the fucking cello and is not afraid to hit a bitch with it.

Kagami can play the drums like a beast (little side plot about how her mother sent her to like... piano lessons or something as a kid but she went to the wrong teacher on purpose bc piano was boring and now she can do epic drum solos and Ms Tsurugi just has to come to terms with it. Even funnier bc shes blind, Kagami would play recordings of piano in her room for her mom to hear and then she’d set up her electronic drum kit and play it w headphones on. Big Sneaky.)

Max plays the trumpet and Mylene plays the saxophone. Sabrina plays the tuba or the trombone or smthn. (look, max/mylene/sabrina being brass buddies ok) Meanwhile the biggest jock in school, Kim Le Chien, is an opera singer.

Lila you may ask? Plays the oboe, aka one of the instruments that requires you to make faces like this:

(either that or maybe she’s like into ballet, also an interesting turn)

Bonus if they all go to one of those gifted kid schools with a killer arts program where everyone has to have like major talent to be there. Chloe got in because her dad is a generous donor to the school, doesn’t really have any talent w anything and plays it up all mean because she’s insecure.

And Marinette, you might ask? She doesn’t have a single damn musical bone in her body. She’s surrounded by musical skill, but she cant play anything. She’s there because she’s an extremely talented designer, and normally the school wouldn’t consider it, but she has references and recommendations tied to the Gabriel brand of all places, so she’s a special case. The only other person like her who she can relate to is Nathaniel, he got in because he’s really great at painting (classically trained n all that) so he looks good in exhibitions for the school n stuff. Basically, everyone is super fucking fancy and Classically trained at Everything they do and it makes Marinette feel insecure and left out.

And maybe at the end of the year the class has to put on a performance for the end of school (maybe for grades or they win a thing or whatever) and everyones like “ok we’ll do an orchestra piece or smthn” but everyones personalities clash together and nobody can agree on anything, they cant find a spot for marinette or chloe or Nath and its all going downhill. Lila likes it because she gets a spot in the limelight, but it ultimately falls apart and she doesnt like that. Until its one of those “well lets celebrate the individuality of the class instead of being boring as shit!”

Kagami gets to do her epic drum solos that make your heart beat go 50000 bpm (and makes her mom proud of her in the process), Kitty Section in particular makes an appearance, whacko costumes and all (made and designed by marinette might i add) and they sing a rock/metal piece. Alix and Nino get to express they’re love for hip hop with their stringed instruments. Kim gets to play the opera role he’s always wanted to in some kind of epic mash up, the brass kids get to play a cool part maybe w jazz or something vibey (w set design made by Nath and Mari probably). And then Alya comes up with this light show/flute thing (AHEM reminscent of rena rouges mirage power, also all the visuals are put together and made by Nathaniel to show how he likes modern versions of art too, not just classic painting). Marinette designs all the costumes, and Chloe does what she does best. Bossing people around.

She becomes the director of the whole show (she has some personal motivation, like wanting to make her parents proud or proving something to someone who said she couldn’t do anything). Lila is jealous and insecure and tries to sabotage the whole thing and make her classic orchestral piece (or do her ballet thing where she gets to be the star) the only good thing in the show. But CHLOE manages to save the day with her quick thinking skills, great improvisation, and fearlessness in the face of pressure and fixes everything! (See she works really hard... like a worker bee.... woah haha)

And then they win and its all great!! and Lila realizes she needs therapy!!! And she says sorry in the end and not everyone forgives her but its a start and then theyre on to their second year of Being A Gifted Kid school! MAYBE some romance subplot and tension, idk.

The basic thing is the school is very obsessed with being a pretentious twat environment, even if the learners aren’t all interested in classic stuff (some are, like lila, but like. Nino’s into hiphop and Nathaniel wants to make comic books, not landscapes). Marinette is in an awkward position because they’re trying to put her in a Classical Box but,,,, its fashion design. The point is that it develops with the times. And shes the one who inspires everyone to do what they’re interested in rather than what the school expects them to do. And when the teachers pick up on this, they dont like it, and lila (who has some beef w marinette bc shes jealous n low self esteem or smthn) thinks that if she gets marinette in trouble for it she cld be expelled!! And she can be the star again!! And its like!! Classic private school drama!!! Ill shut up now!!!

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stonesparrow · 3 years

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You seem like the right person to go to for some thoughtful meta analysis

Here's something that has bothered me for ages - the lack of cultural info for Ishigami Village (and the Petrification Kingdom but that's a whole post on its own)

I can accept that they haven't made their own writing system. Ok, fine, cool. But they have art cause the one kid is a really good artist! Where is the art??? And music? Humans love making noise, so even if they hadn't heard someone of Lillian's caliber before they should've at least heard music before (the lithophone would've been such a fun one to incorporate - like "haha they have a stone instrument in the stone world! Aren't we clever?"). It showed them hitting a drum to signify the beginning of the grand bout, but it would've been so cool to hear the music they had developed and to see if any of the influences of the 21st century remained.

Also what's with the ropes they wear? (other than perhaps being a clever indicator to show who is from the 21st century and who is from Ishigami village) And why didn't Senku get a rope when he became their leader? They could've made it so cool and significant!

I just feel like all we know about their culture is that they're all named after rocks, minerals, and metals (which is very cool! But I want More)

What are your thoughts?

Hummm cultural development for Ishigami Village?

I feel like music is definitely important in the village - I believe there’s a quote from one of the novels where Byakuya tells Lillian that he’s prioritizing oral traditions instead of written language so that they can preserve modern Japanese or something (which I personally think is a little sketchier than simply handwaving the whole “language didn’t change for 3,700 years” thing. Language can undergo a huge shift in a few centuries, let alone a few millenia. I wouldn’t be able to speak Elizabethan English very well at least)

The Hundred Stories is as close as you can get to a sort of sacred “text” in the village, and in Soyuz’ flashback on Treasure Island it’s revealed that Soyuz’ mother was selected as the Head’s wife for her incredible memory, so that Soyuz could learn the Hundred Stories. Besides the role of the priestess/prince??? to learn the stories and preserve them for the next Stories holder, Ruri was known to tell the Stories to the villagers as well, since they know the story of Momotarou and Speaker the Bee.

We know a good number of the Stories were about survival, and some are apparently long enough that they take hours to recite in their entirety. A few were hints for Senku, but then what does that leave for the rest? Byakuya wanted to preserve the knowledge of Japan, so would they perhaps be other kinds of fairy tales? Songs, folklore, history...mathematics? There’s apparently a filler tale called “G1 Grand Prix,” and one about comedy. There might even be stories about things that the old world had phrased in really simple ways like... electricity being “captured lightning” or “houses that touched the sky.”

I’d hazard a guess that music could easily be integrated into the telling of the Hundred Stories - some of them might even be told in song or with a rhythmic cadence. Ishigami Village hadn’t progressed to forging metal until Senku showed up, so they’d be slightly limited for instruments. Basic string and percussion instruments would be easy though, and perhaps things like wooden flutes.

Aww now I’m imagining that one of the Hundred Stories was like, advice to children to stay close to home and it was to the tune of a lullaby that Byakuya would hum to a baby Senku to calm him down.

I’m a little at a loss for a logical reason why everyone would be named after rocks and minerals. Setting aside the obvious pun with “Stone God Village,” names in all cultures are often derived from occupations or symbolic of characteristics or natural beauty. Plus the fact that the villagers have no tradition of family names or actually using many of the minerals complicates it somewhat (and the 6 person gene pool which is conveniently handwaved). Perhaps some people long ago were really into the stones and minerals story in the Hundred Stories and started naming their kids after them, since many minerals are described as beautiful or strong and tough.

The ropes...hmm. Many of the villagers wear them around the neck, or if not that then around the waist, plus some in the hair. Plus Kohaku apparently has a hairtie that’s separate from her hair rope, which means they’re accessories rather than anything practical. There’s not a real difference in the way ropes are worn according to gender or age either. Sagara getting a rope collar to symbolize being a part of the village might hint that it does mean something to them though? Perhaps when a new child is old enough that it won’t be a choking hazard they’re given their rope to symbolize being officially recognized as a citizen? As for Senku I guess Boichi just didn’t feel like adding more to his design, but I could see him tying one around his waist if he had one.

As far as clothing goes there’s also the stone shoes and blue/green colors in clothing, though Magma has a black outfit and Ruri’s is purple. It seems like it’d be pretty labor intensive to find plants and create all those richly colored dyes though. (also handwaved, but they gotta come from somewhere and I don’t know what would be available in southern Japan 3700 years in the future). It seems weird to me that Kaseki was sort of an outcast for enjoying craftsmanship as a kid - after all, crafting is one of the most valuable skills in a society and there had to have been craftsmen before him.

Evidently there’s no fabric since Yuzuriha had to explain what a loom was. Still, you could do a lot of artistic things with leatherwork. And agreed, I believe painting is a thing, perhaps there’s illustrations to go with the 100 Stories?

We do know that the villagers have a strong tie with water and fishing, and use single outrigger boats for fishing. It would make sense then that the ocean would have particular significance to them - perhaps they might even personify it or treat it as something to be respected. Fish is the main food, but culinary traditions could also rise from the forageables around the village, nuts and berries and the like.

They have a holiday called Stone Day on Senku’s birthday (aww Byakuya), though we don’t know how that’s celebrated. Though it does mean that the modern Gregorian calendar was preserved, so there has to be some kind of timekeeping being done, perhaps with a sundial structure like Stonehenge? Or some sort of drawn calendar with symbols even. They also have a tradition of watching the sunrise on the first day of a new year.

#dcst #dcst spoilers #dr stone #dr. stone #long post #ishigami village #oof this is a long one folks #ask

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appassaddle · 3 years

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In worldbuilding, one of the best touchstones you can give people is in arts. Music is especially great because it’s one of the longest lasting sense-memories people have, so giving that to your fictional characters makes them that much more real and relatable. ATLA, as a great fantasy world, makes great use of this (how many times have you sung a song from the show? be honest.) so this is a list of possible musical influences that could be part of the various nations outside of the music we’re given in-show. The musical possibilities with bending and having benders has just... so much cool potentital, because look at what we’ve got without even having powers!

Check it:

Earth kingdom – lithophones

The Earth Kingdom would have absolutely sick lithophones (instruments made from resonating stone).

Lithophones are also some of the oldest dated musical instruments, going back to prehistoric times, and can be found in locations/cultures around the globe (singing/ringing/sonic/resonant rocks of different types are everywhere) in both natural and man-made settings. (Musical caves/stalactite organs vs carved or shaped settings)

Some examples:

Bianqing: (also known as qing, biên khánh in Vietnam, and pyeongyeong in Korea) A stone gong originating from China, played in a set (or singular) hung on racks, with a characteristic angular shape. (Not to be confused with bianzhong, which are metal bells, often played together with bianqing.)

[example] [example] [example]

Ðàn đá: a stone mallet instrument from the western/central highlands of Viet Nam. They are a historic instrument and got a revival in the 1950s, so they are fairly common in the modern era as well.

[example] [example]

If you’re interested in checking out the work of Viet musicologists, check out their website: https://www.vienamnhac.vn/home-page

For a look into how stone based instruments can be made, check out this report from a small town in Japan that specializes in a specific type of musical stone (sanukite): https://www.kensanpin.org/en/report/no47/

Some examples of instruments made from sanukite: [example] [example]

(I can also totally see towns in the EK having stones specific to their region and their local musical tone.)

Post metalbending revolution they would probably partner up with…

The Fire Nation likely has a strong lean towards metallophones. In Western music the most well known of these would be vibraphones, glockenspiels, and bells. (In the ATLA soundtrack, a notable metallic sound is Azula’s signature sting.) But for the FN, more likely influences could be along the lines of:

Gamelan: this is a genre/type of ensemble from Indonesia, the main three styles being Javanese, Balinese, and Sudanese. (Styles depend on island of origin and cultural purposes.) It has a rich history and cultural importance that cannot be done justice in a few lines her, but it’s absolutely amazing music. Gamelan is used for religious/spiritual purposes, dance, puppeteering/storytelling, theater, general concerts, community gathers, and more. Ensembles range in size and instrumentation, but the main timbre is in the various metallophones (barred, gongs, cymbals, etc.), as well as drums, strings, woodwinds, and singers. [example] [example] [example]

[If you’re interested in learning more, the Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamelan actually has whole video modules via youtube to learn about the various styles of gamelan and multiple sources both print and online to access!]

Steelpan/steel drums: Originating from Trinidad and Tobago, these instruments have a very universal popularity for their bright tone and accessibility. There are many variations on steelpan such as the hang drum, handpan, steel tongue drum, and others. [example] [example] [example]

For the polar Water Tribes, I’d imagine they’d have a much stronger oral/vocal tradition than instrumental, with the exception being portable/durable instruments like hands drums, bone flutes, etc. (So this section is a little less instrument based and more appropriate vibes.)

Vocal/oral tradition: It’s hard to find a culture that doesn’t have some form of oral or sung tradition, but with the cultural influences behind the Water Tribes, I’d guess that a strong tradition would be in throat singing. Throat singing is found in multiple indigenous cultures around the world with various styles of overtone singing (producing more than one tone at once). Some examples are:

Inuit - [one] [two]

Tuvan (Mongolian) - [one] [two] [obligatory plug for The Hu bc they are some of the coolest people on the planet]

Tibetan - [one] [two]

Italian - [one] [two]

Ainu - [one] [two]

Tan Dun, Water Music: Tan Dun is a composer who has done film scores and currently focuses on what he calls “organic music” where the main focus is using naturally occurring materials/sounds. [performance]

Water drumming: One of the coolest ensemble performances, just straight up using water as an instrument. These examples are from Vanuatu and the Baka people of Cameroon. [one] [two] [three] [four] [five]

Sea Organ: Located in Zader, Croatia, this experimental instrument is played by the tides and waves. [video]

Hand drums/frame drums: these styles of drums can be found around the world, throw a dart at a map and there’s probably a style of hand drum from there. They are among the simplest style of drum to make, needing a round frame and hide to stretch over it. Here are just a few examples: [one] [two] [three] [four] [five] [six]

Air Nomads probably had a hug musical tradition between the temples, skybison herding, and traveling. Both singing and wind instruments were probably very popular (we see Aang being able to play multiple instruments). Simple flutes make good travel instruments and being able to share news and information via song when stopping at towns would be a valued skill (in communities before reading was a common skill, it would usually fall to either dedicated criers or bards to pass along information in an understandable and memorable way).

Singing/chants: Learning songs from around the nations would be fun for those who travel, it’s easy to imagine an informal song competition for the most variety or strangest or most locations or dirtiest ones learned during their travels. But given the strong influence of Tibetan Buddhism on the Air Nomads, some traditional Tibetan vocal music examples (a couple of other examples are under the Water Tribe section as well)- [one] [two] [three] [four] [five]

(Tibetan musical notation is also regarded as some of the most beautiful in the world, I’d strongly recommend taking a look.)

Sheng- This is a free-reed mouth organ from China and it has an incredibly long history. Traditional shengs are handheld with few keys, more modern versions vary in size, number of pipes, and keys. It’s a pretty delightful instrument imo. [one] [two] [three]

Panflute: There a lots of different kinds of panflutes found around the world, the most famous being the Greek and Peruvian styles. Some different kinds include paixiao (China), wot (Laos, northern Thailand), nai (Romania, Moldova), siku (Andean), and kuvytsi (Slavic). Variations include the cut of pipes to produce the sound, arrangement of the pipes, and materials used.[siku] [paixiao] [wot 1] [wot 2]

It would also be very cool to have carvings into the mountains that could be played by airbending oh man.

All of these are, of course, just barely dipping a toe into the vast amounts of beautiful musical cultures out there, but hopefully it helps inform and build on what is there. If something tickles your fancy, please feel free to go digging and find more about it! (If you aren’t sure where to start, I’m happy to help, just drop me a line and I can at least point you in the right direction. I make no claim to be any kind of expert here, but I can get you to them!)

#atla #atla meta #worldbuilding #musical meta #headcanons #recovered the post from yesterday recovered lol

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dustedmagazine · 4 years

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Dust Volume 7, Number 2

Bitchin’ Bajas

The whole country is snowed in and Texas is starting to look a lot like the Terrordome, and we can see how people might not be laser focused on music right now, especially if they’re cold or sick or out of food. But music continues to pour in, in great quantities and beguiling diversity, and a fair amount of it is very, very good. So, while we encourage you to take care of your brothers and sisters first (by donating to organizations like Austin Mutual Aid, Community Care — Mutual Aid Houston, Feed the People Dallas or the Austin Disaster Relief Network), we also present another collection of short, mostly positive reviews of new-ish records that have caught our attention. Writers this time around include Ray Garraty, Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Justin Cober-Lake, Eric McDowell, Bryon Hayes, Jonathan Shaw, Tim Clarke and Mason Jones.

Babyface Ray — Unfuckwitable (Wavy Gang)

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On his new 7 song EP Unfuckwitable, thanks to his technical skills, Babyface Ray grinds through a great variety of trendy topics under a great variety of beats: from “not rap” rap to “bad bitch” rap to “we got it off the mud” rap. It’s all very professionally done, as you expect from a professional rapper, despite Ray’s claims that he’s not one. But midway through it, behind the misty fog of bouncy production and some lines catching the ear, you can clearly see at least two problems, with the EP and Babyface Ray. First, he doesn’t have anything to say (unlike some hip hop artists who ran out of things to say, he never had any in the first place). Second, he either doesn’t rhyme or goes for a lazy rhyming. The standout here is “Like Daisy Lane”, a catchy little song, with absolutely no substance behind it.

Ray Garraty

Bananagun — The True Story of Bananagun (Full Time Hobby)

The True Story of Bananagun by Bananagun

Ooh look, it’s tropicalia from Australia! The five-piece Bananagun hails geographically from Melbourne, but metaphysically from 1960s Sao Paulo or swinging London. Their first album swaggers like a long-haired hipster in wide-flared hip huggers, fingers snapping, funk bass slapping, keyboards and flutes gamboling in hot melodic pursuit. Multiple band members got their start in similarly 1960s-aligned Frowning Clouds, so the psych garage freakbeat elements are, perhaps, to be expected. But Bananagun runs hotter, wilder and considerably less Anglo. “People Talk Too Much” rattles the foundations with scorching funk percussion, big flares of brass and a vintage Afro-beat call and response chorus. “Mushroom Bomb” likewise heats up psychedelic apocalyptica with seething syncopations of bass and drums. Most of these tracks are a bit overstuffed, with a pawn shop’s worth of instruments enlisted in happy, dippy, everyone-get-in-the-jam exuberance, but am I going to complain about too much joy? I am not. Bring on the Bananagun.

Jennifer Kelly

Andrew Barker / Jon Irabagon — Anemone (Radical Documents)

Anemone by Andrew Barker + Jon Irabagon Duo

Some names tell you exactly where you stand, and others raise questions. Take the name of this record, for example; did drummer Andrew Barker (Gold Sparkle Band, Little Huey Orchestra) and tenor saxophonist Jon Irabagon (Mostly Other People Do The Killing, I Don’t Hear Nothin’ But The Blues) have the aquatic or land-lubber variety in mind? To get specific, is this record a buttercup, or a bottom-dwelling, plant-lookalike life form that waits for other aquatic species to come close enough for it to lance them, paralyze them with venom and chow down on their still-living bodies?

“Learnings,” the first of the album’s four tracks, is true to its name, being a distillation of instrumental tones and free jazz attacks that might remind you of moments from various Coltrane and Pharoah records. It feels familiar, but invigorating. The title tune comes next, and it’s a slower, more laconic performance, attractive enough to be either the sea or land variety. Then comes “Book of Knots,” which suspends an intricate percussive construction over slow-bubbling pops and barks. The record closes with “Branded Contempt,” a juxtaposition of pathos-rich blowing and restless brushwork. One can listen most of the way through this record without guessing whether it owes allegiance to Poseidon or Persephone, but the coarse intensity of Irabagon’s playing in the last minutes is the tell; this record packs a sting.

Bill Meyer

BBsitters Club — BBsitters Club & Party (Hausu Mountain)

BBsitters Club & Party by BBsitters Club

Label Hausu Mountain specializes in weird experimental electronics. Its release of a rare rock record might raise a few eyebrows. BBsitters Club, with the label's founders making up half the quartet, pulls off a tricky feat in becoming an arch rock band. BBsitters Club & Party has enough old-fashioned blues and psych-based rock to suggest a group taking itself seriously. Naming the opening track “Crazy Horse” immediately calls attention to its meta status, even if the track sounds more like Pink Floyd than Neil Young's collaborators (and there's a touch of hair metal in there, too). No group with songs called “Joel,” “Joel Reprise,” and “Joel Reprise Reprise” can take itself too seriously, and that kind of playfulness runs throughout the disc. At the same time, BBsitters Club does take its musicianship seriously. They avoid conventional forms, working in complicated structures full of surprising twists. The group can get a little proggy, but then twist it toward an Allman Brothers-style jam. If it starts to settle into the Woodstock era (see the clear nods to Hendrix and Cream), it jumps to the 1980s with an unlikely easiness. The band goes wherever they feel like rocking, with everyone invited to the party.

Justin Cober-Lake

Bitchin Bajas — live ateliers claus (les albums claus)

Bitchin Bajas - live ateliers claus by Bitchin Bajas

If we can all agree the pandemic has dealt musicians some dizzying blows, that’s hardly to say they had it easy before. Squeezed between tech platforms and spurned by a hostile federal government (speaking for the US, anyway), even on tour they had to contend with iffy financials, physical neglect and — because why not say it louder for those in the back? — literal theft. So Cooper Crain, Rob Frye and Dan Quinlivan found themselves over 4,000 miles from home in May 2018, playing Brussels’s les ateliers claus on borrowed equipment after having their gear stolen (twice) on a European tour in support of Bajas Fresh. “Um, we’re, ah, Bitchin Bajas, from Chicago ... Illinois,” one of the trio says over the set’s first tentative tones. “And thanks ... for coming. This is gonna be great, I think. Or, we’ll see.”

Perhaps it’s not a question of either/or but both/and, the cosmic “we’ll see” of COVID-19 only amplifying how truly great it is to receive this music in the unimaginable future of three years later. As ever with the Bitchin Bajas, there is pleasure in the subtleties, whether that’s an excited concert-goer whooping as “Jammu” picks up momentum or the way each turn of the musical kaleidoscope seems to bring out new hues. That the recording doesn’t represent any dramatic departure from what we hear on the studio album or during other sets on other tours is part of its appeal and part of its power as a balm. We don’t need any more startling revelations right now. In this sense, the whole live ateliers claus series is a reminder that this venue and these artists — from Michael Chapman (vol. 1) up through Will Guthrie (vol. 12) — are still here today. If we can help repay what’s been stolen from them, they’ll be here tomorrow, too.

Eric McDowell

Loren Connors & Oren Ambarchi — Leone (Family Vineyard)

Leone by Loren Connors & Oren Ambarchi

This is the first time that Loren Connors and Oren Ambarchi have collaborated, despite the myriad ties that bind the two guitarists across the global exploratory music scene. Leone offers a trio of pieces arranged like overlapping globs of paint on a painter’s palette: the two artists each perform solo with a collaborative piece in between. “Lorn” is a side-long Connors piece with the guitarist in an experimental mood, hammering the reverb-drenched strings to create a glorious cacophony. Ambarchi’s “Nor” recasts the guitar first as a church organ and then as a subaquatic communications device. When the two pair up for “Ronnel,” it is a symbiotic meeting. Connors picks out notes around which Ambarchi weaves contrails of tone. It is a mesmerizing piece, and, we hope, just the first of many joint efforts from these two.

Bryon Hayes

Buck Curran — WFMU 'The Frow Show' Live Session (Feat. Jodi Pedrali) (Obsolete Recordings)

Buck Curran: WFMU 'The Frow Show' Live Session (Feat. Jodi Pedrali) by Obsolete Recordings

When we last caught up with Buck Curran, he was hunkered down at then ground zero for the COVID epidemic, socially isolating in Bergamo, Italy while recording the lovely acoustic-guitar-and-voice album, No Love Is Sorrow. Half a year later, still deep in the grip of a worldwide pandemic, he made this record, a duet with Italian keyboard player Jodi Pederali, revisiting one song from the previous album and adding three others. The tracks with Pederali fuse Curran’s electric blues with the bright, meditative melodies of Pederali’s piano. The two players interact and overlap in intoxicating dialogue. “Deep in the Lovin’ Arms of My Babe,” reprises the finger-picked folk of Curran’s earlier album, adding a glittering sprinkle of piano to its mournful, wistful melody. The set was recorded for Jess Jarnow’s show on WFMU and released on Bandcamp, and while not as long or as weighty as No Love Is Sorrow, it’s well worth hearing.

Jennifer Kelly

Jürg Frey — l’air, l’instant - deux pianos (Elsewhere)

l'air, l'instant - deux pianos by Jürg Frey

When you put two pianos together, there must surely be a temptation to see how much sound you can get out of them. Swiss composer Jürg Frey does the opposite on the two compositions that make up this CD. Each is so sparse that an inattentive listener might think they are hearing one patient pianist, when in fact they are hearing a pair of deeply skilled interpreters. The task assigned to Reinier van Houdt and Dante Boon is to place their notes in such precise relation to each other that they can influence each other’s pitches without interfering with them. Each musician is, as the title “toucher l’air (deux pianos)” (2019) suggests, inducing a slight disturbance in the atmosphere, lightly pressing transitory shapes into the silence that absorbs each note. “Entre les deux l’instant” (2017/2018) allows the two pianists to decide how closely they will match paces as they trade the roles of melodist and accentuator. Immune to gauche temptation, Frey seems drawn instead to see how much attention and how little sound it takes to accentuate the beauty of silence.

Bill Meyer

Chris Garneau — The Kind (The Orchard)

THE KIND by Chris Garneau

Chris Garneau’s lush, stunning art-pop swoops and whirls and flutters in wild arcs of drama. In this fifth album, the New York City songwriter works in a restrained palette of guitar, piano, electronics and drums, but colors way outside the box with his vibrant, emotional-laden voice, which flies up into a falsetto register with an ease not heard since Jeff Buckley passed. “I know you loved me truly, but we don’t love one way, do we?” he croons on the gorgeous “Telephone,” lofting up into whistle range without losing the purity or the trueness of his tone. Cuts like the title song and “Now On” are prayerfully simple, just framing piano chords and Garneau’s highly charged delivery. But others like “Not the Child” are more intricately constructed with a lattice of picked strings, an antic syncopated beat and staccato vocal counterpoints that dance around the main line. The Kind’s songs are deeply personal and rooted in Garneau’s experiences as gay man, but they’ll resonate with anyone who’s ever loved or longed or regretted.

Jennifer Kelly

Gaunt Emperor — Femur (Self-released)

Femur by Gaunt Emperor

Some would-be emperors may no longer have clothes (looking at you, Trump), but Gaunt Emperor is unabashed about wearing its influences on its sleeve. Femur is the first LP by this California project, and Sunn 0))) and the first few records released by Earth are large presences, looming hugely just behind the sounds Gaunt Emperor generates. If you’re familiar with those other bands, you get the essential idea: deep (really deep) notes and long (really long) sustain from loud (really loud) guitars, and not much else. That said, Gaunt Emperor has an aesthetic vision that seems to be attempting to survey its own territory. While compositions like “Slow Submersion” and “The Birth of Obsidian” work from the playbook established by O’Malley and Anderson, the textures of Gaunt Emperor’s guitar tone have their own sort-of-subtle qualities. They’re pretty good. “Conception,” the second track on Femur, expresses a similar inclination towards melody that Earth began to demonstrate on The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull (2008), but Gaunt Emperor retains an unrestrained relation to volume; you can feel the heat inexorably building in the overdriven amplifier stack. In any case, this is suitable music for pondering massive, ongoing phenomena, like the calving of icebergs off Antarctica’s coast or the steady disappearance of the Amazonian rainforest — not that Femur will make you feel any better about that stuff.

Jonathan Shaw

Luka Kuplowsky — Stardust (Mama Bird)

Stardust by Luka Kuplowsky

Soft jazzy reveries coalesce around this Toronto songwriter’s offhand, semi-spoken melodies. Little accents of acoustic bass, slide guitar, hushed harmonies dart in and out of focus, but the songs themselves come up on you obliquely, filtering in from the vents in evocatively scented clouds. Rhythms sway in undulant, bossa nova syncopations, while chords slide into resolution from slightly off center. A half-remembered jazz flute lick lick lofts through the window. At the center of it all is Luka himself, posing, but not insisting on koan-like observations. “Perfection is a noose,” he confides amid the muted wreck and roll of massed jazz sounds in “City by the Window,” but he seems unbothered by it. Perfection is an accident, and if you look at it too hard, it disappears.

Jennifer Kelly

José Lencastre / Hernâni Faustino / Vasco Furtado — Vento (Phonogram Unit)

Vento by José Lencastre / Hernâni Faustino / Vasco Furtado

Vento is the Portuguese word for wind, and the name conveys that combination of purposeful and chance operations that converged to make this record happen. The trio of alto saxophonist José Lencastre, double bassist Hernâni Faustino and drummer Vasco Furtado didn’t book a studio with the intent to record; they just wanted a place to play for a couple hours. But the engineers had just obtained some microphones and wanted to try out their new toys. Likewise, this improvisational trio did not bring an tunes to the session, but they play with a purposefulness born of shared aesthetic values. Whether are sailing a brisk clip, as on the title track, or gradually unwinding the music at low volume and velocity, as on “Ruínas,” they operate as a real time compositional cooperative, developing their music in linear fashion. While they share a direction, they also value contrast. For example, Lencastre’s breathy tone during the latter tune’s early moments balances Faustino’s pointed twang. Since remorseless microoganisms and anti-cultural politicians are each doing their best to keep live music down, records like this serve a necessary function in reminding us of the life force that motivates improvised music.

Bill Meyer

Lilys — A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns (Frontier)

A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns by Lilys

Kurt Heasley’s Lilys made some of the most ebullient and inventive guitar music of the 1990s. The best Lilys songs sound as though they’re flying apart and being put back together as they hurtle along, killer hooks tossed aside as quickly as they start to drag you in. Though they’re perhaps best known for their Kinks-indebted breakthrough Better Can’t Make Your Life Better, this was actually a sharp turn away from the dense shoegazey atmospherics of their first couple of records. Thus far, Frontier Records has reissued their first two albums, In the Presence of Nothing and Eccsame the Photon Band, both of which are superb. The A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns EP was originally released in 1994, a transitional period when Heasley was still exploring the textural joys of distorted guitars while starting to throw down pop hooks with aplomb. Opener “Ginger” hits similar pleasure centers as Weezer’s debut, released the same year, while on “Dandy,” Heasley’s vocal sounds uncannily like Stephen Malkmus. The previously unreleased “G. Cobalt Franklin” foregrounds searing guitar tones and bulbous bass, the bulk of the melodic layers sounding like they’re bleeding through from the next room, peppered with swirling flange and voice recordings. The second half of this expanded edition comprises songs originally demoed for Eccsame the Photon Band, and later released in 2000 on a split EP with Aspera Ad Astra. They’re decent enough, though feel like they’re missing the spark of the best Lilys creations. So, while this amounts to a far-from-essential Lilys release, it’s fascinating to hear Heasley in transition, working out how to reconcile his love for melody with his immersion in guitar noise.

Tim Clarke

Fred Lonberg-Holm — Lisbon Solo (Notice)

Lisbon Solo by Fred Lonberg-Holm

As befits a guy who has also recorded a “solo” record in the company of a Florida swamp full of frogs, Fred Lonberg-Holm picks his recording locations strategically, and location has a lot to do with how this album turned out. It was done at an old and well-appointed studio in Lisbon, Portugal, where he could be sure that the microphones would catch every creak, groan and polyphonic wail he might draw out of his main instrument. But he also knew, from prior visits, that he would have access to some seriously over-the-hill pianos. While most of the album is devoted to savagely bowed attacks, the odd digressions into detuned, radiant chimes deliver just enough respite to keep you off balance and on the edge of your seat.

Bill Meyer

Dan Melchior — Odes (Cudighi Records)

'Odes' by Dan Melchior

Dan Melchior is likely a recognizable name to Dusted readers; he has made quite a string of releases over the years. This cassette/digital release, recorded in 2016, is a subdued affair, nine songs for the most part following the same blueprint: a track of strummed or lightly picked acoustic guitar with a fuzzy electric lead layered on top. The foundational guitar tracks establish a calm, repetitive cycle, giving some of these songs an almost raga-like feel, in some cases through a hazy reverb: "Tybee" feels like you're sitting in the next room listening to him play through a closed door.

Calling the overdubs "guitar leads" implies the wrong feel. While played through fuzz or distortion, the mood is a woozy one, more opiated than energetic, but in a drifting, pleasant way. There's an over-arching melancholy throughout these songs, one person alone playing to satisfy a need. Knowing Melchior was facing the recent loss of his wife Letha certainly colors it, but even a listener ignorant of that back-story would feel the emotional resonance.

These nine ramshackle, loose instrumental pieces are personal, incomplete, and like having someone entrust you with private stories in song form.

Mason Jones

Mint Field — Sentimiento Mundial (Felte)

Sentimiento Mundial by Mint Field

Mint Field, from Mexico City, filters the feedback and noise of shoegaze guitars through a pensive screen, finding an aura of nostalgia in between and among blinding walls of scree. Estrella del Sol Sánchez contributes two of the band’s signature sounds, the dreamy, delicate vocals and the swirling masses of altered guitar. She is supported by Sebastian Neyra on bass and Callum Brown on drums. The volume level varies song to song, but it’s all mesmerizing and good. “Delicadeza” breezes in on the tenderest sort of sigh, the softest, most lyrical strummed accompaniment, but “Contingencia” digs in and pounds, drums cranking, bass thudding and guitars winging out in wild arabesques of distorted sound. The easiest comparison might be the similarly hauntingly voiced Lush, but there’s something special here in the soft, keening soprano calm at the center of even the most agitated cuts.

Jennifer Kelly

Roy Montgomery — Island of Lost Souls (Grapefruit)

Roy Montgomery 40th Anniversary 2021 LP Series by Roy Montgomery

In 2021, guitarist Roy Montgomery celebrates 40 years of music-making with the release of four new LPs, beginning with Island of Lost Souls. Though 2018’s fantastic Suffuse included vocals from artists such as Haley Fohr (Circuit Des Yeux), Julianna Barwick and Liz Harris (Grouper), Island of Lost Souls is entirely instrumental, comprising four pieces, each dedicated to a late artist (actor Sam Shepard, and musicians Adrian Borland, Peter Principle and Florian Fricke). Though wordless, Montgomery’s guitar speaks volumes, flickering and flowing with the liquid grace of a player intimately familiar with both his fretboard and the effects pedals at his feet, sending waves of tone cascading with delay and reverb. Plus, on the side-long, climactic “The Electric Children of Hildegard von Bingen,” Montgomery pitch-shifts his guitar so it really ascends to the heavens, where it takes up residence for 22 minutes. Fans of Windy & Carl, Flying Saucer Attack and The Durutti Column, take note.

Tim Clarke

Jon Mueller — Family Secret (American Dreams)

Family Secret by Jon Mueller

A family secret is usually a multigenerational skeleton in the closet that is either sorrowful or sinister. For percussionist and Volcano Choir member Jon Mueller, it is the former: a series of familial rifts that became the unlikely muse for this collection of reverberating drones. Mueller employs instruments that produce multiple resonant tones, such as singing bowls and gongs, to create rich pools of complex sound. Metallic hues brighten subterranean rumblings while enigmatic dapples of condensed steam coalesce into liquid shapes. The drummer conjures ghastly creatures through extending the vocabulary of his drum kit. Cymbal scrapes become banshee wails and scoured skins emanate uncanny whispers. With Family Secret, Mueller manifests his personal demons as phantom signals. He transmogrifies emotional strife into physical actions which then become ethereal. Ironically, the resulting sounds are actually soothing. Pain has never sounded so sweet.

Bryon Hayes

Primitive Motion — Descendants of Air (Kindling)

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Primitive Motion is the Brisbane-based duo of Sandra Selig and Leighton Craig, and Descendants of Air is their seventh album, previously only available as a CD given away at live shows. You can immediately imagine what the album sounds like based on the artist name and album title alone: rustic yet cosmic, full of space and open to spontaneity. Recorded on the banks of the Enoggera Reservoir, these eight meandering pieces prominently feature the sounds of wind and leaves, plus the calls of raucous Australian birds, while Selig and Craig insinuate suggestions of melodies and chords on nylon-string guitar, woodwinds, and battery-powered keyboards, and gently massage the air with percussive patters. Though part of the appeal of the recording is its deliberate vagueness, the most affecting piece, and the shortest, is “True Orbit,” where a strident theme built around melodica, keyboard and voice seems to emerge fully formed from the aether.

Tim Clarke

Socioclast — S/T (Carbonized Records)

Socioclast by Socioclast

In heavy music’s current moment of endless genre-hopping and hybridization, it’s nice to hear a record that understands exactly what it wants to be. Socioclast is a grindcore record. Like Assück’s grindcore’s records. A lot like Assück’s grindcore records. You get all the high-velocity chugging crunch and guttural grunting — vocals so deep in the gullet that it’s pretty hard to pick up any lyrics. The song titles, however, suggest the ideological dispositions you might expect: “Surveillance, Normalization, Examination,” “Specter Signal,” “Psychodrone,” “Propaganda Algorithm.” There can be a fine line between paying tribute and being derivative, but Socioclast creates an homage rather than an outright imitation. This is 21st-century music. It sounds a lot clearer and slicker than anything Assück or the early Slap A Ham bands committed to vinyl. Like Slap A Ham, Socioclast is a California-based musical phenomenon, featuring dudes who have played in bands like Deadpressure and Mortuous; Colin Tarvin’s death-metal grooves are especially prominent on some of the record’s best tracks, including “Eden’s Tongue” and “Omega.” But this is assertively a grindcore record. Given that version of traditionalism (and yes, events have come to such a pass that grindcore has a tradition), it turns out that Socioclast isn’t all that socioclastic. So goes the strangeness of semantics. But the music is good.

Jonathan Shaw

Space Quartet — Under the Sun (Noise Precision Library)

Under the Sun by Space Quartet

Space is a persistent and multi-faceted theme in the music of the Portuguese electronic musician, Rafael Toral. And while his name is not appended to the Space Quartet’s, make no mistake, this is his band, playing his music. But it is a music derived from ideas that can’t be realized without the right people. So, while Toral has delved repeatedly into the sounds that people imagine they might make and that they actually find in outer space, and he has explored empty and variously filled spaces as starting points for his music, the point of the Space Quartet is to find the right people, and give them enough space to realize a new kind of jazz. Under the Sun is the combo’s second recording, made with a substantially different line-up than the iteration that recorded the self-titled debut for Clean Feed Records. Toral has sacrificed the all-electronic front line and switched drummers, but in doing so he may have found the right crew to take him where he needs to go. Across the album’s two 21-minute-long tracks, there are usually several ongoing dialogues taking place between the players, which manifest intriguing degrees of mutual challenge and support. But the way that Toral’s elongated feedback lines and Nuno Torres’ stuttering alto saxophone phrases flow around Hugo Antunes’ stark, elastic double bass figures and percussionist Nuno Morão’s lightly deployed, carefully modulated streams of textures and beats that extends a lineage anchored in the language that Cecil Taylor’s trio first released into the air at the Café Montmartre back in 1962.

Bill Meyer

Stinkhole — Mold Encrusted Egg (Mangel Records)

MOLD ENCRUSTED EGG by STINKHOLE

The name sort of says it all, but to clarify anyways: Stinkhole languishes in a slimy musical ditch, bottoming out somewhere between the No Wave skronk of Mars and the transgressive caterwauling of Suckdog. As was the case with both of those acts, the dissonance and the gross-out antics can obscure some interesting ideas. Clawing your way through the dense layers of yuck (or, depending on how you’re wired, enjoying it) is integral to the challenge posed by the experience. All the gagging vocalizations, primitivist drumming and semi-tuned bass whomps on Mold Encrusted Egg occupy prominent positions on the surface of songs like “Orange Juice.” But listen to Mold Encrusted Egg a little more closely: there are some rabid grooves, feral guitar breaks and a lot of impenetrably weird environments of sampled sounds, tape manipulations and unidentifiable scree. Is it fun? Does it sound good? Fuck no. The band’s name is Stinkhole. They write songs with titles like “Slippin’ on Slug Slime” and “Emancipated by Hair.” They roll with the whacko punk and noise bands that have congregated around the Berlin-based Flennen digital music zine and its accompanying label. Dig the stink. Rock has rarely been so richly rotten.

Jonathan Shaw

Styrofoam Winos — S-T (Sophomore Lounge)

STYROFOAM WINOS "S/T" by Styrofoam Winos

Stryofoam Winos brings together three old friends to swap songs in Nashville. You might recognize Lou Turner from her solo album, Songs for John Venn, a sly and subversion of the songwriter’s wholesome alt-country charm. Joe Kenkel is a kindred spirit, a folk rock singer with respect but not reverence for the certitudes of Southern life. Says Nashville Scene of his solo Dream Creator, “Kenkel, a sophisticated folk-rock songwriter, documents Music City’s idiosyncrasies on his debut LP, with acutely observant lyrics.” And Trevor Nikrant completes this anonymous all-star line-up; his 2017 debut caught the ear of Aquarium Drunkard’s J. Steel who called it “Oddball baroque psychedelia broadcasted from a basement on the east side.” The three kicked things off with a lo-fi and charming debut, Winos at Home, in 2017, but this self-titled LP takes things up a notch with songs that balance craft with eccentricity. “Stuck in a Museum” jangles and rambles in an antic, neurotically intelligent way, as the narrator finds himself entrapped amid the exhibits, staring fixedly at a teapot from the Tang Dynasty. “Roy G. Biv” turns contemplative—and twangy—as Turner sings plaintively about rainbows and colors, the way things change and how hard it can be to keep up. “Maybe More” glints with mandolin, but remains pared back, as a down-trodden singer (one of the guys, not sure which) sings about a life stuck in neutral, same book, same coat, same jokes, but beautiful. The disc has the feel of a warm, casual gathering, with friends jumping in on harmonies or picking up the bass. The songs are sharp and lovely without a lot of fuss.

Jennifer Kelly

8 notes · View notes

machi-kun · 4 years

Text

offerings

In the North, Antonio learns, the rules are as follows: Vikings offer gifts to the powerful Gods, and the less powerful offer gifts to the Vikings.

Antonio is now one such gift.

This is a fill for the 2020 Stony Bingo, Round 2. Square O-1: furs

Read it on AO3 | Viking AU, Arranged Marriage, Implied Sexual Content | Rated M

****

The wedding is a rambunctious thing.

There is drinking and dancing to no end. The Clan is boisterous and loud, in a way the Court was never allowed to be, back home – even in weddings. They are lively in a way the Court never is, never has been, not since Antonio could remember. Their music thumps directly into his chest, drums and flutes played with vigor and strength, and it should be disturbing, maybe even scary, but it’s… not.

He’s not scared. Of this land, of their music, or their strange traditions.

He’s also not scared, despite his initial concerns, of his husband.

The Captain, the only name Antonio knows him for, is a frankly impressive man. He is tall where Antonio already is considered somewhat small, his hair is the color of sand and his eyes are a startling blue. A rare color in the South, but far more common here, from what Antonio can see in his husband’s company. His stature is imposing, but not as much as his width, shoulders so large that the fur laid on them does nothing to disguise how broad they are, just as his hands are big, from that Antonio could see, when they first met – when the Captain guarded his weapon of choice, a shield, such an unexpected thing –, and from what he could feel, when during the ceremony, they held hands so the Clan’s priestess could wrap a rope around them, effectively tying them together in the eyes of their Gods.

Perhaps he shouldn’t stare; But he’s a long way from home, and this is home now, so the Court customs do not matter – Antonio has always been daring, and he will do as he pleases, even if it’s scandalous.

He is married to a Viking now.

Scandal is the last thing he is worried about.

Both Antonio and his husband are masterfully decorated in intricate ways, which now Antonio has come to learn are the typical appearance of a wedding in this Clan. His hair is not long enough to braid, not like his husband’s, much less such a magnificent design – so he has been decorated with amazingly delicate items, gold strings and flowers and pretty shells, a crown of sorts, to match the opulence his husband seems to carry on his person by pure nature. His clothes, kindly provided by the Clan he now must call his own, are not at all like the garments he would wear if he were marrying closer to home – as he should have been. Not at all. There is no velvet or beads, no corsets or flowers, or waistcoats and lace and all sorts of delicate things. No. The North is rough. It’s demanding and strong, like his husband, sharp and deadly, but Antonio feels no cold.

The warmth of the rich wine offered to him has settled so deep into his bones he feels like he could be protected from the blizzards and snow forever, the heat of the pyre pleasant from where they sit, and his husband—

His husband’s mere presence more than enough to make Antonio feel much warmer than he should.

The festivities do not stop when the Captain offers him his hand, and no one halts their drinking or dancing when the man beside them, the man Antonio assumes is the Captain’s right hand, yells to the crowd to announce their leave. The Clan cheers back, raising their cups and stomping loudly on the soil, rattling metal and leather, thunderous joy shaking Antonio to his core. The song becomes louder and their singing is no different from a war cry, but it inspires no dread – only the most vivid delight. Antonio did not think they would be so jubilant at the prospect of a foreigner marrying one of their most valuable fighters, but something in this union seems to please them. Is this what all their weddings look like? No wonder the people in the South thought them savages; Imagine, expressing genuine emotion and happiness in the Court? As if.

Dare he say it – this is fun. It puts a smile on his face, no matter how small, because he’s just not used to smiling wide anymore, it seems. Perhaps his new people can teach him how.

Maybe they can teach him to be loud, to be joyous, to be a fighter.

If the South will give him away, Antonio will embrace the North, if the North will have him.

And from the grip of the Captain’s hand on his as he is lead to his tent, it seems like it will.

Once inside, the Captain lays him down on his bed; Opulent, luscious furs, warm and silken, strewn on the cold floor, surrounded by the gifts and offerings presented to them as wishes of good fortune in their union. Gold and jewels, weapons and fruit, and rare items Antonio has only ever dreamed of seeing in his lifetime – He is placed among them, flanked by treasures, and at last he is where he was intended, with the Captain’s spoils, the most valuable gift his Kingdom could offer.

Perhaps he should feel slighted. At first, he did.

But where the North is cold, the furs and his husband’s skin are warm.

He has been gentle, he has been kind. They do not understand each other, not yet – they don’t speak each other’s languages, but the Captain’s voice is always low and unthreatening, and Antonio finds himself oddly transfixed when he talks. He did not scream, and he did not growl, as rumors he had heard so often in the South said; This man is no beast. Not in the sense he had been made to believe, at least.

He is strong, that is true. Strong and tall, and powerful, and uses a defensive item to attack, a contradiction that only serves to confuse and fascinate Antonio to no end. Full of contradictions, his husband. The patience and caution, too, when the Captain undresses, his cape and coverings falling from his absurdly large shoulders to join the furs beneath them with no care, no concern if they will end up soiled in any way in their wedding night. His movements are slow, as if Antonio is a particularly spooked deer, who might run at the sight of the barest threat.

A fair assumption, if unexpected.

And completely unnecessary.

His husband is big, but he is not threatening – he is… a source of protection. He is intimidating, but in an oddly transfixing way, as powerful men often are. Antonio’s fingers twist on the pelt beneath him, the thick, soft hairs pleasant and satisfying to grasp, the perfect brace as his breath escapes in a fleeting gasp at the rush of want that crashes in his body suddenly, by the sight of the Captain kneeling before him on the furs, coming closer, but he is not deterred – he removes his furs too, adding them to the pile where they lay, as eager to get undressed as his husband. Perhaps he shouldn’t. It’s desperate, unbecoming, even.

But he is curious, and he is warm, and he’s free, and he is, it seems, desired.

The Captain raises his eyes, that shine with the color of the ocean, and he growls the word Antonio has come to learn means, in his language, a name he would have never expected to receive for himself.

Beloved.

Antonio’s cheeks burn with heat, and he opens his knees and spreads his legs, sliding his feet apart and taking shameful enjoyment in the feel of the furs between his toes, the warmth in his body, and the sheer desire that blooms in his husband’s face. It’s so deeply entrancing. The Captain, stalking forward like a lion, crawls over Antonio in a graceful move, and places himself between Antonio’s thighs, a place that now belongs to him, and him alone.

The touch of his lips tastes like mead. It’s soft, and hot, and a little demanding, and Antonio knows that this, this, is his husband at his core.

His Captain.

Tony wishes he knew his name. He’ll have to learn. He wants to. He wants to learn how it’ll taste in his mouth much like the Captain is licking into his mouth to learn his taste, he wants to know how it’ll sound in his voice, with his accent, if it’ll be as endearing to his husband as his low sighs are to his own ears. Antonio wishes for more warmth too, more skin – and this wish he can be granted, and so, he pulls on his husband’s robes, his too tough leather and metals, demanding to touch what’s beneath.

His husband lets out a noise that sounds suspiciously like a laugh, and he says something Antonio cannot understand.

Antonio wants. He wants, and wants, and he did not imagine he would want it this much.

There is no time to think, only to feel. Feel, as his husband removes own his garments and brings Antonio’s hands to his chest, firm and sculpted like the most expensive marble, so tempting under the ethereal candlelight. It is customary, Antonio has heard, that the wedding night should be witnessed by at least five other people in the Clan, but they are alone, and he is grateful for it – he is shocked by how pleased he is at the idea that this body, this man now belongs to him too, and no one else can have him.

Blessed be the Gods, Antonio thinks, despite never before having praised a deity, too trapped in the questions of men to give much care to the demands of spirits, For this gift.

This offering, he remembers, as the Captain’s lips descend upon his’ once more, and he opens his mouth, inviting him in without a second thought. Freely given.

In exchange for my devotion, he moans, into his husband’s mouth, as his own clothes are pushed away, and skin presses against skin, and suddenly, that is not enough.

I accept it, as he wraps his arms around his husband’s shoulders, and his legs around his waist, and lets himself be washed away by sensation, by the craving—

Willing, he gasps, wet and panting, when he’s turned around and pressed into the softness of the furs beneath, rubbing against them in sensual, quivering contentment when his husband leans over him and pulls his hips up, towards his own—

And ready, as his eyes roll back in pleasure, as he’s breached.

To serve your temple for the rest of my days.

Antonio does not know the last part of this hymn. He did not have time to learn.

All he knows is worship tastes good on his tongue.

#stevetony #stony #superhusbands #steve rogers #tony stark #stony bingo #stony bingo 2020 #machi writes

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johaerys-writes · 4 years

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Fandom: The Song of Achilles

Summary: During his two month long sea voyage from Phthia to Skyros, Patroclus makes an unexpected friendship.

Chapter 2: Dreamer of At The Water’s Edge is up! Where the ship makes a stop at the port of Skopelos on its way to Skyros, and Patroclus explores the island with Xanthos.

Read here or on AO3 | Read Chapter 1

Time passed slowly, out at sea.

The days went by, calm and uneventful. The ship glided slowly on the waves like a large, dense cloud along an untroubled sky. The winds often picked up in the evenings, making it bob and dance, but for the most part the journey was quiet. Too quiet. We stopped at various ports along the way; crates were unloaded, others were brought up. A day or two at the harbour for the captain to get the best prices he could for his wares, then we would set sail again.

There was not much to do during those long hours on board. The endless blue that stretched all around me swiftly became monotonous, with only the occasional rock island to break up the sameness of the view. I hadn’t brought much with me to occupy myself. When I’d left Phthia behind, I had only brought the bare essentials: gold, some dried fruit and nuts in a small linen pouch, a few changes of clothes. My mother’s lyre.

I could be playing the lyre, I supposed, but my stomach would twist in knots at the mere thought of it. The lyre was Achilles’, as much as it was mine. Touching its gilded arms and running my fingers over the fine strings without him close to listen made me feel empty, and the sounds seemed dull and hollow.

It had always looked far more natural on him, the melodies that poured forth from its strings sweet enough to rival the music of the gods themselves. It was often said that instruments hold a part of their owner’s soul; a piece of their hearts, their minds left behind in the act of playing. It could have been just a foolish fancy on my part, a childish notion, but it gave me a strange sort of comfort to think that, when Achilles had the lyre with him, a small part of me was there to accompany him. The thought of him being anywhere without it stirred a sadness in me so bottomless, I thought I would drown in it.

The nights were always worse, when darkness and quiet descended upon the world, and when my sorrow rose within me like high tide. Those moments, when the walls of my tiny cabin seemed to be closing in on me, and the air around me grew thick like water, I would leave my self-imposed confinement and go out on deck. I often sought Xanthos’ company, then. He usually took the night’s watch, and we would sit together at the ship’s prow with our legs dangling off the side, watching the stars and sipping spiced wine from his wineskin, talking about this and that until dawn found us.

I learned a lot about him, during those slow and quiet nights. I learned that he was good with a bow and a shepherd’s sling, but that he’d never touched a spear in his life. That he had a scar on his right calf from when he had fallen off the boughs of an olive tree when he was a child, and another one on his forehead, close to his hairline, that he got on his very first voyage when he accidentally hit his head on a lowered mast. That his favourite dish was fried red mullet fish, with lemon and garlic, and that prawns made him break out in hives.

“Quite unfortunate, to be allergic to seafood when one is a seaman,” I’d joked when he told me, and he’d laughed.

“Life is full of clever ironies such as this, isn’t it?” His cheeks had been a touch flushed from the drink, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “It’s what makes it so interesting.”

It was that same night that I learned that he could play the flute, and always had one on him. When I’d ask him to play he had insisted that he didn’t have much talent for it, but I relished the sweet notes that drifted from it all the same. The silvery music had briefly reminded me of all those quiet afternoons I’d spent in the olive grove in Pelion, practicing the flute while Achilles lay beside me, eyes closed, his arm curled under his head. He’d looked so peaceful then, so serene, as if nothing could disturb that quiet moment, as if nothing existed in the world except us two.

A sharp pang of bitterness had risen within me at the memories, yet it had swiftly dissolved when Xanthos had finished his tune. The brightness of his smile when I’d told him I’d enjoyed it had been enough to take my mind off my own miseries, if only for a moment.

I had been on the ship for more than a month when we stopped at the port of Skopelos. A small island, its high verdant hills looking as if they were jutting straight out of the water. The hustle and bustle of its small port was a welcome change to the ceaseless, monotonous whispers of the waves, the sea wind and the seagull’s cries.

Crates were loaded and unloaded, deals with the local merchants made, as usual. We were only going to stay there until dawn, the captain told everyone. A skeleton crew would remain on the ship, while the rest were free to do as they wished. When Xanthos asked me whether I wanted to go for a walk about the town, I eagerly accepted, jumping at the chance to finally set foot on solid ground again.

Truth was, I enjoyed Xanthos’ company. He was talkative but not loud, cheerful without being obnoxious; there was a lightness to the way he spoke and moved. He had a strange way of knowing when to talk and when to keep silent, and, when I retreated into the inner workings of my mind for too long, he seemed to know how to pull me up to the surface with a story or a jest.

Now, however, as he led me through the crowded docks, his enthusiasm for being on one of his favourite islands —as he’d brightly informed me— was too large to be contained. Several eyes strayed in our direction when he stopped to loudly greet this or that person that passed us by, but he seemed not to notice. Xanthos had a commanding presence without realising it, the kind that came without effort or artifice; he stood at least a head taller than everyone around us, and his merry voice with its lilting accent rose through the din and noise of the crowd. I was surprised by how little I was bothered by the attention the two of us attracted, as we walked towards the market square.

The agora, the island’s marketplace, was not large: just a handful of merchant stalls and shops beyond the docks, gathered around the thick trunk of an ancient oak tree. At Xanthos’ insistence, I tried teganitai, a local dessert made of fried dough, honey and spices. It was warm and fragrant when the vendor handed it to me, fresh and steaming from the flat clay pan over the brazier. It was delicious, melting on my tongue, and different from similar desserts I’d tried in Phthia and Opus, even though the ingredients were the same.

“It’s the trees,” Xanthos told me. At my curious look, he laughed. “The bees here feed on the pine and oak trees of the island. The honey is different than the one you’re used to; that’s why the teganitai taste different, as well.”

He was handsome when he laughed, I realised. I watched the sun catch in the honey gold highlights in his hair, the shadows that pooled in the contours of his tanned face, his eyes that sparkled and crinkled at the corners. I smiled, savouring the sweetness that lingered on my tongue as I followed him.

Flickering light caught my eye. I turned, curious, and followed it, and soon I found myself before a jewellery stall. It was a rather small one, with but a few pieces of jewellery on it, situated right in front of a smithy. A young woman was sitting behind it, her black hair gathered in a braid and pinned at the nape of her neck. The pins that held her dress in place at her shoulders were made of burnished silver, worked in the shape of feathers. She smiled when she saw us approaching.

The scent of warmed up metal and wood smoke filled my nostrils, and the rhythmic blows of the hammer mingled with the noise and chatter coming from the market. The jewellery, set in neat rows upon the stall, caught the light of the afternoon sun, its golden rays reflecting on the intricately carved patterns. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, the metals twisted in shapes new and unexpected, with small colourful stones glittering amidst the folds. I heard Xanthos’ footsteps stopping beside me, his arm brushing my own as he leaned forward to examine the wares.

“Look at this one,” he said, pointing at one of the rings. It was bronze, worked flat on top, with a delicate carving of a dove. Simple, yet well made. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“Try it on.” I blinked at him, and he grinned. “Go on, just try it. It won’t bite.”

I let out a soft chuckle as I put it on my finger. It slipped easily, like it was always meant to be there. I held it close to my eyes, inspecting the carving.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“I do,” I nodded with a smile as I studied the engraving, noticing the details on the dove’s feathers, its slender neck, its eyes. “It’s fascinating, isn’t it, that so much detail can be preserved in something so small?”

Xanthos made no reply. He reached for his belt instead, pulling out his small bag of coins. My eyes widened with surprise when I saw him drawing out a couple coins to hand over to the merchant.

“No!” I stopped him, reaching out to catch his wrist. He blinked at me, stopping short. “You— you don’t have to,” I said hastily, hoping that my cheeks didn’t look as hot as they felt. “Really. I was just admiring it, that is all.”

“It suits you," Xanthos shrugged. "I think you should have it.” He didn’t try to pry his wrist out of my grip, peering straight into my eyes instead.

“Yes, but…” My words trailed away when our gazes met. I wasn’t used to him looking at me so intently, for so long. His eyes were deep set, almond shaped, framed by dark eyelashes. They were not green and vibrant like Achilles’, but warm and honey brown like ripe, fertile earth. Still, the clarity in them was startlingly similar. I could feel his pulse right underneath my fingertips, and it was steady and sure, like the beat of the blacksmith’s hammer. I swallowed, feeling a little out of breath, and reluctantly let go of his hand.

“You shouldn’t buy it for me,” I mumbled awkwardly. I knew that his sailor’s wages were more than modest, and the idea of him using part of them for me, especially for something as frivolous, left me feeling numb.

As if he could read my thoughts, Xanthos gave me a small, reassuring smile. “What if I buy something for myself as well? Then we can both have something beautiful.”

“Are… are you sure?”

“I am. It’s been a while since I bought anything like this. I think the timing’s right.” He nodded at the stall, perusing the rest of the items. “Why don’t you help me pick?”

A few minutes later, a beautifully made bronze bracelet was resting around Xanthos’ wrist. Its two ends were shaped like dolphin heads, with tiny aquamarine stones for their eyes. All sailors loved dolphins; they were always a good portent, a sign that land wasn’t too far away.

“To make sure you’re always close to a safe shore,” I told him as I watched the young woman fasten it around his wrist. Xanthos’ smile mirrored my own when we walked away from the stall. A small shiver ran through me when I felt his palm on the small of my back, gently guiding me forward.

“I often come here when we're on the island,” he informed me when we reached a small, secluded beach. He seemed to know his way about the place well, and I didn’t question him when he led me through the thicket of pine trees that lay beyond the town. The beach was like an upturned horseshoe, with short and stubby trees jutting out of the rock, low enough that it seemed as though their roots plunged straight into the emerald waters. The white, flat pebbles glinted like polished marble when the waves lapped over them at the water’s edge.

The autumn breeze that was blowing was chill, but I didn’t feel cold. The bright autumn sun was enough to warm me, and my tunic kept most of the chill away. I sat on a wide and flat rock and watched as the stones that Xanthos threw skimmed the glass-like surface of the sea. There was a quiet serenity to that place, as if time glided by much more slowly there than the rest of the world. Like I had suddenly found myself in a small bubble of calmness, and I could finally breathe again. I could not remember the last time I had felt this calm, almost content. I had not felt like this since...

Since before Achilles had been taken away.

It didn’t take long for my thoughts to drift to him, as they always did. I wondered what he was doing right then, if he was thinking of me, if he missed me. I wondered if he was unhappy, as unhappy as I was without him. The thought of his bright eyes cast downward, of his gentle heart gripped by despair, was enough to make whatever calm and happiness I had felt taste sour in mouth.

A wave of guilt washed over me, that I was there and enjoying myself while he was alone. I could take the loneliness, the pain of his absence, if barely, but Achilles… he was different. He had never known heartache in his life, and I did not wish him to. I would take all of the pain unto myself, if I could, if that meant that his brilliance never faded, that the spark in his eyes never lost its warmth.

I had lost track of the times I had wished that I could simply transport myself to wherever he was, instead of having to wait for days, weeks, months to get to him. I would have cursed the ship and its agonisingly slow course, if I wasn’t afraid that the gods would hear me and punish me further for my insolence.

“Do you run, Patroclus?”

Xanthos’ voice stirred me out of my grim thoughts. He had walked away from the shore and was now standing over me. The sun hung bright over his head, bathing his wavy locks in its deep golden glow, bringing out the richness of their colour.

I nodded slowly and pushed to my feet. He laughed as he raced ahead of me, the bright sound of it carrying across the quiet beach.

We raced where the waves broke, over and over, our feet kicking back clumps of wet sand. I had expected to lose every race, as I always did when I raced with Achilles. I lost the first time, but the second time I won, reaching the tall rocks at the far end of the beach only a breath before Xanthos did. After this, he won, then I won again. My heart pummelled my chest, my blood pumping wildly with the thrill of those small victories.

I grinned, delighted, and hopped atop one of the tall rocks when I reached them first for the third time.

“Behold the victor!” I declared, placing my fists on my hips as I looked down upon him.

Xanthos’ cheeks were bright with a ruddy flush, his bronzed brow gleaming with sweat. “So I am,” he said, his full lips curling in a grin wide enough to match my own. I could detect no disappointment in his gaze, no anger for having lost to someone such as me. Only satisfaction for having competed at all, and an odd sort of pride. “You raced well.”

“Thank you. You did too.” He extended his hand to me to help me down, and I took it. The skin of his palm was rough with callouses from the salt and the hard work, but the skin was warm to the touch. He gave my hand a small squeeze before he let it go, and I was surprised to detect the wave of warmth that surged through me at the gentleness of his touch. We were still close, and I could smell the light musk of his skin. There was no artistry to it, only sweat and salt and earth. Simple and direct, and so very human.

A long moment passed between us when no one talked. He took a step back and threaded his fingers through his hair, pushing the damp locks away from his brow. “So uh…” he started, shifting on his feet. “Hungry?”

The goat cheese pies we’d bought from the market were still warm when we took them out of their cloth wrappings, melting on my tongue. The sun was steadily drifting towards the west, and a chill wind had risen from the North. Xanthos had gathered some dry driftwood, and I had helped him start a small fire to keep us warm. I watched him over the dancing flames now, as he pushed bite after bite of the pie into his mouth.

“I had missed this place,” he sighed into the fast approaching dusk after he’d finished his meal, leaning back on his elbows.

“It’s beautiful here,” I agreed. “Very calm.”

“It is. It reminds me of home. There’s a small beach there, that’s just like this one. I used to go there and fish with a harpoon when I was little. I could stay there all day, until the stars shone in the sky. My sister would often come with me, even though my mother always scolded us both for staying away from the house for so long, and sent us to bed with empty bellies. Then my grandmother would sneak into our room and give us warm bread and cheese to eat.” He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “That woman would defy the gods themselves, if it meant keeping us fed.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his fond reminiscing. It must be wonderful, I thought, for one to remember their place of birth so fondly, to have been raised with a family that loved them. Most of my memories of Opus were bitter, even the good ones tainted by my father’s quiet disapproval that always followed me like a shadow, and of the crime I had committed. That, most of all.

“How long has it been since you’ve been to Apollonia?” I asked him, eager to escape my own thoughts. It was easier to do while listening to Xanthos’ smooth and rhythmic voice.

“Years.” He squinted into the horizon as he thought, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “This year, it will be five winters since I left. I’ve travelled all over the Aegean. I’ve been to Lesbos and Icaria and Samothrace. To Athens as well, once. The captain’s planning a trip to Troy soon. The spices there are the strongest and most aromatic. Cassia and coriander sell well in Greek markets.” He idly brushed the short stubble on his cheek. “He has asked me to come with.”

“You should go,” I told him gently. I could see the way his eyes sparkled when he spoke of all the places he had visited, and the ones he had yet to visit. The lure of the unknown was strong in him, as it was in all sailors. “I think it would be the chance of a lifetime.”

The cool evening breeze combed through his hair, the ends of it brushing over his brow. “I think you’re right. There are places I’ve only ever heard of and never thought I would have the opportunity to see. I would like to see more of the world and its wonders.”

“That is a noble pursuit.”

“You think? There’s good money in it, too,” he grinned. “So perhaps it isn’t as noble. A rather ordinary pursuit, I would say.” He laughed softly, then let his head fall back, staring at the sky. The stars were just starting to twinkle into the coming night. “I want to travel to the ends of the world, and earn as much gold as I can. Then one day, I’d like to settle. To have a place to call my own. Start a family, perhaps. Who knows.” His gaze slid to me. “What are your dreams for the future?”

I opened my mouth, then promptly let it fall closed. It startled me, how little I had ever thought of it. It had never even crossed my mind, I realised, to plan this far ahead into the future. Ever since I’d met Achilles, ever since I had become his therapon, the only thing I had wanted was to be close to him, wherever he happened to be. His destiny lay in the glory of war. His fame would eventually sprout like a sapling from the tattered and bloody ground of a battlefield. I had always known this. Our fates were intertwined, inexorably tangled; I would follow him anywhere, to the end of the world if I had to.

But after this… after the wars and the battles, after the prophecy had been fulfilled, after he had finally become the greatest warrior this world had ever seen, what would happen to him then? Where would we find ourselves, after all was done?

I chewed slowly on the last remains of my pie, to give myself some time to think. “I… do not know,” I finally said. “I’ve never given it much thought.”

“There must be something you want. Everyone does.” Xanthos waited patiently for me to continue, the flames dancing and catching in the amber flakes amidst the brown of his eyes.

Everyone wanted something, that was true. I knew no one that had no dreams, no hopes for the future. Part of me had always wondered if any of it was worth the trouble. While we humans made plans, the gods watched and laughed. Dreams were no more than castles in the sand, standing only for a short while before the tide washed them away. The gods were cruel, I knew, and the Fates were crueler still, waiting for the moment when our joy was ripest to snatch it away.

Yet, what were humans if not hopeful? What were they, if not dreamers?

I took a breath, deep enough to give me strength to voice what I had never dared before. “I think… I should like that, too,” I said quietly. “Same as you. A quiet place to settle, a place of my own. Up in the mountains somewhere, perhaps. Something small, with a garden out front to grow vegetables and fruits, herbs. Large windows to let in the sun and the breeze, space enough to hang my herbs to dry, a worktable to grind them into powders and pastes. A hound or two, perhaps,” I added with a smile, and Xanthos laughed gently. “I’ve always loved them.”

Warmth swelled in me, a wave that rose to my throat, when I pictured Achilles in that small home. He would sit by the window, amidst the pots of dried rosemary and fennel, the sun glossing his aureate locks, his slender fingers plucking the strings of his lyre. My mother’s lyre. The skin on his face might show the first signs of age, some lines around his eyes or mouth perhaps, but his hair would be as lustrous and golden as it was now. He would lift his gaze to mine when I’d walk in with my basket overfull with flowers and herbs, and his lips would curl in his cat’s smile. We would cook our meals together, and go swimming in the river together, then sit in the sun to dry, our fingers intertwined. Time would pass in a slow, steady stream, and we would grow old. Together.

“Yes,” I murmured softly to myself, a fond smile tugging the corners of my lips upwards. “I should like that very much.”

Xanthos stayed silent for a long moment, the crackling of the fire and the lapping of the waves against the shore the only sounds between us. With a soft exhale, he straightened, regarding me carefully over the dancing flames. His features, when he spoke, were as serious and solemn as I had ever seen them.

“I hope,” he said, “with all my heart, that the gods grant you your wish, Patroclus.”

#the song of achilles #tsoa #patrochilles #patroclus #tsoa fanfiction #at the water's edge #johaerys writes

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luxexhomines · 5 years

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If the NDRV3 Characters each played an instrument...

Shuichi: The flute. The quiet kids play this. It’s beautiful and the tone can be thin or almost as full as a clarinet. Can’t you just see him playing this? Or maybe the recorder, that would also do nicely. They both can seem rather understated, but they make such beautiful sounds and colors.

Kaede: The piano would be a copout answer, so... the clarinet. Or percussion. The clarinet has a pretty full tone, but it’s not as brassy as the oboe. She could also pick up other percussive instruments, as the piano is pretty percussive (I mean, you literally strike notes. You have the freedom and liberty of a musician, but sometimes there’s only so much you can do before it’s not musical anymore). I can see her playing the drums or maybe the xylophone.

Kokichi: The trumpet. That was pretty easy. He would definitely play the loudest and most obnoxious instrument to annoy everyone within the vicinity. The poor second violas always get their ears blown out by the trumpets. Plus, the trumpet is easy to move around with and you could play while walking around, which gives him a greater attack range. Wait, what were we talking about again?

Kaito: The trombone. Just look at his long limbs. Nuff said.

Maki: The violin. Classic instrument. Most popular and one of the most competitive sections of the orchestra. There’s always too many auditioning. It’s gorgeous, yes, and versatile- but there’s a lot of great instruments out there. She probably picked it up for an assassin job. I think she’d be terrible at it, though. She’s probably also tone-deaf, which is a terrible trait for someone who plays the violin or other instruments you play with a bow. It’s not so much a problem if you play the piano.

Himiko: The viola. It’s an unpopular instrument in comparison to the violin, but it’s mellow and rich. It always gets the “isn’t that just a slightly bigger violin?” Well, yes and no. It’s a different instrument for a reason. Does it look just a little bigger? Yes. I think Himiko would play the viola because all instruments with a bow are still fitted to the player’s size so the fact that “it’s bigger than a violin” isn’t a concern. Her viola could be smaller than Maki’s violin, honestly. It’s often forgotten about, but it produces a great tone and quality. Himiko probably picked it, thinking it was a violin at first.

Tenko: The marimba. I definitely think Tenko would play a percussive instrument. The marimba is a physically intense instrument to play when the sequence of notes is fast and/or they’re spread far apart; you have to move around a lot in order to reach all of the keys and do it in the right rhythm. It’s almost like a dance, watching the player perform. You always have to be poised for the next notes. It would quite suit Tenko, who does martial arts, which requires a certain rhythm and intensity of its own.

Angie: The sitar. I know nothing about this instrument. But I can see Angie playing an instrument with strings, the sitar or maybe like a guitar, something that’s strummed. The look of the sitar matches her aesthetic, and you can also have sitar metal, which is perfect for Angie. She’d probably have sitar rave sessions.

Gonta: The gong. He has too much strength to really be able to master some of the other instruments, especially ones that could be warped from his grip. He’s a gentle giant who controls his strength quite well, but I think if he’s focused on something else, he may forget. The gong is like...well, you have one job. Maybe you need to do it two more times in the piece? You better not mess it up, though, is all I’m saying.

Rantaro: The cello. He’s a suave guy, and the cello is a suave instrument. It’s very cool, in my opinion. Never met someone who didn’t like listening to the cello. Even if you never listen to classical music, it was probably in the background of your pop music or whatever weeby anime or game OST you listen to. The cello produces very rich and light tones. It’s like the king of the bowed instruments, in my opinion. It’s the instrument closest in range to the human voice. Its image really matches Rantaro.

Miu: The voice. I can’t imagine Miu having the patience to sit down and really learn an instrument and practice. She’d probably complain about how it’s a waste of time, anyhow. But her voice is part of her, so it could be pretty easy for her to dabble in it now and then and get interested in what she is capable of. The gorgeous girl genius, am I right?

Ryoma: The triangle. The bass. I think he’d like to mellow out and play something simple. He’s a sports guy with an appreciation for music, but some of it goes over his head. Otherwise, I imagine him playing the bass. It would be one of the tiniest basses ever, but for some reason, I imagine him loving jazz and plucking those strings. The bass is the biggest and you actually have to stand most of the time when you play it.

Kiibo: The triangle. I crossed out the previous part because...eh. Ryoma can handle it. Not so sure about Kiibo. He’s as weak as an elderly person, so he can’t do anything with too much physical exertion. The triangle is perfect for him. Something not too stimulating, and he can count beats and chime in at just the right time. He’d probably tell other people they were a quarter beat too early if someone else did it.

Korekiyo: The piano. Bitch, please. Look at those long fingers. They were made to play the piano. That’s all.

Kirumi: The piano and the violin. She’s the Ultimate Maid, so she probably plays all of them alright. But the piano and violin are appropriate instruments to perform in a formal setting and the piano is the perfect accompaniment to idle chatter. You can never go wrong with that if you’re playing something refined and classy for your guest before you have dinner with them.

Tsumugi: The clarinet. I know, I know, the same instrument I chose for Kaede. But I failed to mention something, which is that the clarinet is the instrument people choose in middle school when they can’t make a sound on any other instrument because their lungs are too weak. Thus, you get a lot of average people playing the clarinet. Tsumugi is rather average. Otherwise, I like to think she’d play a saxophone, maybe an alto saxophone. I see her playing jazz.

Don’t attack me because I actually don’t know as much about instruments I don’t play ie. any instrument except piano and the voice thanks very much

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radramblog · 4 years

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Linkin Park Retrospective, Part 1.

Sup I’m still a Linkin Park fan in 2021 and if you judge me for it then yeah that’s probably fair

Linkin Park is one of those bands where the eternal debate rages about when exactly they stopped being good. As someone who got into them late, in 2009ish, when the days of Nu-Metal were long-dead and most people had dropped off the LP train, I tend to put this a fair bit later than most people, but unfortunately, they did eventually get bad. Join me on this series, then, where I’m going to go through their 7 albums individually and discuss the merits of each in turn.

Hybrid Theory

The original, and to some, the best. I’ll never truly be able to understand what it was like when this album dropped and changed a genre completely, seeing as I was about a year and a half old when it happened. Listening through it now, I can kinda see why, as I think it still holds up even 20 odd years later. From the beginning it’s clear why Linkin Park exploded the way they did, as they had a few factors that made them stand out from the crowd of Nu-Metal- a few bands I’ve seen mistakenly (imo) labelled as a part of the genre, such as System of a Down, do compare, but nothing I can think of that is actually in there really does.

The first is a bit basic and probably biased, but the songs on Hybrid Theory are just better written than most others in the genre. Both lyrically and sonically- the hooks are great, the guitarwork is solid, and the percussion is punchy, especially on songs like Points of Authority and By Myself. I think this ties in with the second point- the DJ work by Joe Hahn does a lot of work to carry some of this early work, with the record-scratching never being noticeable but never overbearing, save of course for the track Cure for the Itch, which is pretty much just Hahn showing off for 2 and a half minutes.

I am, of course, beating around the bush a little, seeing as I’m leaving the most salient point to last. What Linkin Park really had that no one else did is the combination of the two vocalists- the call and response of Mike’s rapping and Chester’s singing/yelling is the magic formula that makes these songs work. It’s to the point where tunes where the formula is broken, such as Runaway, where Chester handles both lyrics and chorus, leaving Mike to the backing vocals, feel notable for that alone, although the trend they would set would eventually dominate some of the band’s later work.

If I had to rank it, though, I’d probably put Hybrid Theory lower than most people would relative to the band’s later work. Most of that is bias towards said later work, but there’s a little more there, and it’s not all Linkin Park’s fault. To me, Runaway sounds like what someone who’s not a fan of the band assumes all their music sounds like, being the dullest variation on the themes of the album, and a bridge that just feels like a waste of time. And I genuinely have a hard time listening to Crawling these days, considering how the track was memed into oblivion back in the day- In the End is similar, but gets a better rap seeing as its just a better song. (In the End is actually kind of genius, in my opinion, and that piano line and all the little distortions to Mike’s verses are burned into my brain.) I kind of wish some of the B-sides/Rough cuts from that era were on the album instead- while My December is pretty wank, High Voltage and Step Up absolutely deserve premiere status.

Meteora

Meteora is not my favourite Linkin Park album, and again, we’ll get to that, but I might be tempted to argue it’s the best one. It takes everything that made Hybrid Theory good and refines it, producing a stock that does what the first album did better and doing experimentation that would later be characteristic of the band. The raw emotion from Hybrid Theory’s lyrics still remains, but the variation in instrumentation lets it be explored a little better than that album manages to.

Track-by-track on Meteora is probably an actual worthwhile endeavour, unlike with Hybrid Theory. While HT is a great album, there’s only so much you can say about With You into Points of Authority into Crawling into Runaway into…. You get the point. Meteora doesn’t spend as long on the same theme- while the first few tracks (excluding the Foreword) superficially resemble that, the tracks feel more different, from Somewhere I Belong’s softer verses that really struck a chord with a younger more awkward Raderph to the downright sinister opening to Lying from You. I actively adore the chorus to Hit the Floor, over the top screaming and all. With all that said, I think it takes until Faint for the album to really hit its stride.

Faint comes in out of nowhere with that bizarre strings/electronic line that carries through the verses and sounds like nothing I’ve heard before or since. The rest of the song is largely just a very solid example of everything else the band has been doing up until that point, but the verses, between the aforementioned line and Mike pretty clearly giving his all on this one, are just excellent. After Faint comes Figure.09, and while it certainly has an interesting name it doesn’t get to stand out seeing as its surrounded by Faint and the best song on the album.

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Breaking the Habit was my favourite song for a long time, and it genuinely still might be. A more electronic song on the album, cutting back on the intensity of the instrumentation and letting Chester’s vocals shine through- but he’s not doing any screaming until the bridge, with the more tragic and self-loathing vocals making a song that apparently was real enough for him that he actually broke down at live shows about it. Even when we get to the bridge, the screaming is more pared down than the rest of the album, clearer, more representative of the clarity and self-acceptance of the end of the song. I could go on, but I probably won’t have time, so I’ll leave Breaking the Habit there, but I recommend watching the music video because that is some anime shit right there.

Much like Figure.09, From the Inside suffers from its placement, but I think the build of the song is worth a mention. After it, though, comes Nobody’s Listening, with some of the grittiest instrumentation the album has in its chorus, but given an airy vibe by the flute (?) running through it and the verses. The verses are actually probably my favourite of Mike’s on the record, complemented excellently by the more sparse instrumentation- he’s doing a lot on his own there, supported by only a basic drum machine line, that flute going off, and Hahn fucking around with some effects and shit (wait was that a cowbell). It sounds almost dirty, grimy, and I love it for it.

Beyond that we have again, a track sandwiched between two great songs, but in this case Session doesn’t suffer as much, being an instrumental interlude, followed by the album’s closer, Numb. Numb is, according to Spotify, Linkin Park’s second most popular song, behind In the End but followed by Numb/Encore from the Jay-Z collab album (its better than it sounds), and it’s a well-earned title. I think it’s probably better than any of the singles on Hybrid Theory, In the End included, and while it is a fair bit Mike-Light (in bottleshops near you now), I think it serves as the perfect closer to this album and this era of the band.Numb was the last song that would sound like this, as the band moved onto bigger (ehhh..?) and better (haha no) things with the third album, Minutes to Midnight.

Next time whenever I continue this series: Minutes to Midnight and maybe A Thousand Suns, but I kinda want to spend more time on the latter, so we’ll see.

#ramble #music #linkin park #nu-metal #nostalgia

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aleniksimmer · 5 years

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And now, an unrequired analysis of Marinette’s costumes in kwami buster (to help me with my TS4 sets, so not completely miraculous related).

Multimouse

Inactive miraculous for Marinette is this old looking chinese necklace.

Active is something similar to what I made (but still need to make it legit, so probably starting from scratch)

She seems to have a little of heels, so I need to make her proper shoes.

The weapon/tail I maid probably needs to be redone from scratch because the position is different (I think it’s easier if I restart).

I need to remake the edges of the mask since they aren’t smooth.

The sole has some sort of mouse paw, it seems black for multimouse.

Better view of the sole.

Eyes are Marinette’s ones and the specular pattern is like ladybug.

Multimouse+Fox

Inactive fox miraculous is pastel coral pink with rosegold chain, the shape seems the same as Alya’s.

The flute floats on the back as I supposed with Rena Rouge.

The pink details become orange. There’s a white section on the front and back similar to RR iirc.

Even if the tail in the world seems metallic (don’t mind the mask decor, there are tons of artifacts in the masks, I guess due to the size of her model in this episode).

The sole is gray but with the same design as Multimouse. I guess it’s like this for LB and Cat fusions too.

Multimouse+Ladybug / Multimouse+Black Cat

For Ladybug, the pink details become red and there are spots on the mask and grey area (same placement as LB iirc). For Cat, the pink parts become blacker than the usual black ones, except for the mask? (it’s going to be a mess to make this work in TS4). The ring has become some sort of giant belt but let’s ignore this (because Mullo’s power didn’t affect it).

The yoyo has it’s own string.

The baton is placed where Chat is (on the lower back).

In general, her hair with buns have some baby hair on the back.

#faq #important #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #multimouse #Kwami buster #ml spoilers #ml spoiler #mlb spoilers #mlb spoiler

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florenstry · 4 years

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Wild Birds Fly (Bastion)

Word Count: 4.5k+ Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, (minor) canon-typical violence Crossposted on: (n/a)

Just a little background fic about my Bastion OC Lanius, with some world building about the Wilds because that area and its fauna has always interested me when I played the game! I haven’t written something this long in a while, but I enjoyed it.

- - - - -

A wild bird’s gotta have a few nests to keep. For Lanius, Caelondia was a first, but after the Calamity he knew everything that had been built was gone. The Tazal Terminals could count as a second, but could you really call it a home if you’ve never been to the place?

Maybe in spirit it could be considered. The Wilds was where he was now, and as much as it was the “home” it just seemed to tolerate his presence, treating him just like any other fauna living off of it. So what was home for a lost bird? Well, a long day of work always had him coming back to an old distillery just between Caelondia and the Wilds; it was abandoned enough for him to call it his own, but intact enough for him to use. It was better than being out in the open under a tent that could be attacked at any given moment.

Lanius sat with a bottle of Werewhiskey in his hand. It was close to midnight, and a yawn escaped him. Thistle, his Fledgling with a purple crest, flew into the room where he sat tending to a small fire. In her beak was part of a Lunkhead’s stony eggshell, and she dropped it beside him as if to give a “gift”. Thistle was one to collect shiny objects and stones, which ended up being kept for her to play with when she was bored.

“Thanks,” he chuckled, petting her head as she relaxed by his side. They heard a Pecker’s call from afar.

Another Fledging arrived—it’s Thorn, Thistle’s brother but with an orange crest. He had a dead Stinkeye in his talons, and he dropped it in front of them. The Stinkeye writhed for a moment, before the Pecker pierced through it with its beak for final measure. Lanius felt somewhat sorry for the green eye; Thistle liked to hunt for food and always seemed to be hungry, and that little guy just so happened to be caught by the bird.

Thistle waddled over to her brother for the both of them to eat. Lanius watched as the birds pecked away at their food for the night. He was planning to eat some fruit before bed, but decided that he’s lost his appetite at the sight of his birds going at their own dinner. He took a long swig from the bottle, sighing as he finished the remainder of it. The alcohol kicked in slowly, and his eyes wandered lazily to the two other bottles he had finished before Werewhiskey. He’ll make some more in the morning with what he collected from the day’s hunt.

As his mind wandered, memories of the Calamity came back to him. Lanius would never forget the day that the Old World crumbled around him. One moment Lanius was pouring himself a shot of cider for a long day ahead, and the next he’s sprinting out of the Misty Cenote Distillery for his parents. It wasn’t like anything he had seen in the Wilds, and he’s seen a lot of things given the dangers living in a place where you are the hunter… or the hunted. The vivid pictures of the world falling shifted to his parents, both of them smiling down at him. He smiled to himself, succumbing to the effect of his drunken stupor. The sounds of the Wilds faded around him, and the last thing Lanius saw was his Fledglings hopping over to his side to watch over as he drifted to sleep.

<<<

“Hey, Lan.”

The 13-year-old boy looked up just as he was about to stab a fish out of the water. He watched as his father Hirun, a Caelondian man in his late 40s, walked over to him with something in his hands. Lanius rushed over to him as Hirun knelt down, showing a small purple Pincushion. It was still growing, about a few weeks old based on the grey spikes that barely grew from within.

“You can tame a Pincushion, y’know?” Hirun said. Lanius looked up at him in confusion.

“Th’ only taming I can do is by killin’ it, Pa,” Lanius huffed, remembering the time that he fell into a grey Pincushion and had to have his mother take the small pins out of him for hours.

Hirun laughed, “You can tame anything from th’ Wilds if you get it to trust you.”

His father instructed him to put his palms out. Lanius held his breath as the Pincushion was put into his palm. He fully expected to be pricked, but instead was disoriented by the soft, pillow-like texture of the plant. Hirun laughed at his expression, watching as his son’s confused face turned to one of excitement as the boy poked at the baby Pincushion.

“Pincushions are just plant pillows without their spikes,” Hirun explained.

“Even th’ growing spikes are duller than a used-up pike.”

Lanius tested it, and it was true; the greyish spikes were dull, almost bendable, but decided against hurting the growing plant. Pulling one spike from a Pincushion caused it to bleed, as its internal makeup only allowed for the spikes to be released by their own pressure. Plus, a Pincushion’s blood was toxic, and Lanius didn’t want to deal with that at the moment.

“I knew a man who got Pincushions to shoot by command,” Hirun said, motioning for his son to follow him back to the campsite. Lanius placed the baby Pincushion on one hand while he carried his pike in the other, trailing behind Hirun as they walked back to their camp.

“How’d he do it? Lanius asked, still poking at the Pincushion. The spikes protruded slightly whenever it was poked, but not enough to be shot out.

“He grew his own,” Hirun laughed fondly.

“Th’ man was crazy, but no one could get past his barrier once all those little spikes had grown. It was as if Hense smiled down on that man to have th’ Pincushions under his command.”

“Do you think I can tame one?”

Hirun didn’t turn back, but Lanius could hear the smile in his father’s voice.

“You got a big heart, and an even bigger bite, son,” he said.

“I know you can tame th’ Wilds better than your mother and I have.”

Lanius beamed, looking back to the baby Pincushion on his hand as they continued walking back.

They had set up camp in a clearing a few meters away from a lake. As they got closer, the faint sound of strumming filled the air. Lanius’s mother Lusci, an Ura woman also in her late-30s, was playing her lute with her eyes fixed on the instrument. The fire that she sat by had a small metal cauldron hanging above it and a spicy fragrance wafed from it. Hirun walked over to the cauldron to give it a quick stir, a small sip, and a few spices from his pack. Lanius skipped over to his mother who gave him a smile but still continued to play a slow and graceful tune.

“A new friend, hm?” she asked. Lanius presented it to her, and with a giggle Lusci poked at it gently before telling him to put it down.

“If you press right in the middle, all the spikes will come out, but won’t fire. Think of it like a button for a trap.”

The boy did as she said. After putting the plant on the mat they sat on, he pressed the top of the Pincushion. The rounded thorns of the Pincushions protruded out like a trap. Lanius clapped in delight, eyes with excitement as the Pincushion’s spikes retracted after sensing no danger.

Hirun sat beside Lusci, giving her a quick peck on the lips. Lanius stuck his tongue out at them in playful disgust at their display of affection but gave into a family hug. When the son pulled himself away, he got a good look at both of his parents. Being frontliners of the war made them look older than they were, but both were still young and curious at heart. Lanius had the Caelondian complexion, but had his father’s platinum hair with streaks of black from his mother. This look didn’t help with fitting in. All the other children his age would spread rumors about him and his family, all of which fell into deaf ears because of his parents’ positions in the army. He didn’t see the need to fit in with the rest though—was more than happy with his family who, even as a Brusher and a Trapper, always made time to spend together.

“Lanius?”

He snapped out of his thoughts with a blink, and Lanius realized he was crying.

“Are you okay? Did something happen?” Lusci said worriedly. The boy wiped his tears, laughing weakly as he tackled his mother into a hug. His father patted Lanius’s back comfortingly.

“I’m sorry, Ma...” he choked out.

“…I’m just really happy.”

“And we’re happy too,” Hirun said, ruffling his hair. Lanius whined about his hair, to which his mother swatted her husband’s hand away to “protect” her son from his grubby hands.

They laughed in the end, the night filling with their voices as they passed their time with a hearty soup and cheerful music. Hirun played his guitar, Lusci played her flute, and Lanius played his panpipe; the mix of strings and winds collectively merged into the calls and sounds of the Wilds around them.

It was midnight by the time Lanius was tucked into bed by his mother as Hirun was outside putting out the fire. Lusci kissed her son’s forehead with a goodnight, but before she could leave he was called back.

“Ma… could ya tell me more about th’ Gods?”

Lusci paused for a moment before shaking her head with a smile. She sat cross legged beside her son, the only lightsource in the tent being an oil lamp on the corner of the tent.

“I’ll tell you about Olak, the God of Chance and Whim,” she started, resting her chin on her palm as Lanius listened.

“He was called ‘The Carefree Son’, kinda like you, don’cha think?”

“Maybe,” Lanius yawned.

“When he saw an opportunity, he took it without a second thought. If you were in a situation that needed a good outcome, he was the one to turn to. Only the ones with fearless, wild hearts were blessed with the luck of the young god. Wherever the wind blew, Olak followed with it.”

“Is that why th’ pinwheel is his symbol?”

“That’s what my father told me, but a couple of other folks may tell you otherwise.”

Lanius rubbed his eyes, feeling the drowsiness kick in, “I wanna follow th’ wind wherever it goes, Ma.”

By this time, Hirun quietly entered the tent. Before he could speak Lusci held a finger to her lips before pointing a thumb to their sleepy son. He smiled before going over to the side of the tent to fix their bedrolls.

“You wanna follow the wind?” Lanius’s mother said amusedly.

“How’re you gonna do that, son?”

“Dunno. I’ll just fly and let th’ wind take to wherever it thinks is best.”

“And what if it ain’t pretty?”

“Just ‘cause it ain’t pretty doesn’t mean we can’t get somethin’ outta it.”

There’s another big yawn, and Lanius snuggled into his bedroll.

“I’ll… I’ll make th’ most outta it. ”

Lusci watched as his son’s eyes closed, and she smiled to herself as he fell asleep.

“That’s my boy,” she giggled, getting up and walking to her bedroll to rest for the night as well.

>>>

The morning came harsher than expected. Lanius was awoken with the loud screeches of Peckers, and his instincts got him reaching for his weapons before he realized both Thorn and Thistle were gone from his side. The sun was barely peeking out of the horizon as he kicked himself off the floor and out of the distillery. From there, he saw his two Fledglings fighting off a figure with a… Cael Hammer?

Lanius doesn’t have time to take it in as Thorn was hit with the brunt force of the hammer. Panic coursed through his veins as he ran over to the bird in a dash. The attacker paused, not expecting another human in the Wilds as he watched Lanius crouch down and cradle the Fledgling protectively, carbine out and loaded.

He had the gun pointed with only a few feet of distance between the boy and the barrel. Lanius gave a shrill whistle, to which Thistle followed by whizzing over to sit on the man’s shoulder. The purple-crowned Fledgling cawed menacingly at the boy. With a standstill, Lanius had time to get a good look at the attacker.

It didn’t take a genius to see that the boy was a Caelondian. With white hair and tanned skin, the built figure, numerous scars, and worn-down armor was enough to tell Lanius that the kid could put up a serious fight. He had a firm grip on his hammer, and it looked like he wasn’t going to put it down anytime soon.

“I’ll drop my gun if ya put down th’ hammer,” Lanius suggested, lowering his carbine. There was hesitation, but the boy’s hammer was lowered from a readied attack. Lanius cussed in Ura, looking down at Thorn who was chirping weakly at the man.

“You pack quite a hit with that thing, huh,” Lanius muttered, carrying Thorn in his arms as Thistle chirped worriedly. The boy didn’t reply; he didn’t look like the talking type. He also looked worse for wear, with his clothes and bandages cut in several places as caused by his Fledglings. With a sigh, he gestured to the distillery.

“Come in. I’ll treat you to some tonics to get you patched up.”

Lanius didn’t wait for the stranger to answer. He headed straight for the bar and behind it, opening some of the shelves to reveal supplies and drinks. Thistle landed on the bar table as the stranger took a seat, and began to peck at the boy in anger for attacking her brother. Lanius silenced her with a quick whistle, and the Fledgling deflated in defeat.

“Here,” he said, passing over a shot of Bastion Bourbon and a full Health Tonic.

“I made ‘em myself,” he explained, putting Thorn down on the table. Thistle immediately hopped over to her brother, pressing her head against him in worry.

“They got more of a kick than what most distilleries have, and I assume you can taste th’ difference. You look like you take tonics on a daily basis.”

When Lanius collected a few medicines for his bird, he turned back to the stranger to see him examining the bottles with uncertainty. He couldn’t blame him honestly, maybe the boy thought he would get poisoned from them.

“C’mon now, I don’t spike my drinks with anythin’,” Lanius pouted, walking over to where he laid Thorn to work on the bird’s wounds. The stranger was still cautious, and Lanius chuckled to himself before pouring a shot of bourbon from the same bottle.

“Cheers.”

A moment passed, but the boy picked up his shot and clinked it against the man’s glass. They both downed it quickly. He isn’t one for drinks so early in the morning, but you couldn’t go wrong with Bastion Bourbon. The distiller watched as the boy popped open the tonic and drank half of it in one go. Lanius could figure out a person by the way they drank, and this one was clearly a fighter with nothing to lose.

“Th’ name’s Lanius,” he started as he began checking over Thorn’s wounds. Other than some missing feathers, nothing was broken.

“Yours?”

The stranger told him to call him Kid. It probably wasn’t his real name, but it would have to do.

“What brings you this side of the Wilds?”

He shrugged and gestured to Lanius as a way to deflect the question.

“I live here,” he stated as a matter-of-fact. Lanius paused as Thorn started to thrash in pain at the salve on an open wound. He heard a quiet sorry coming from the Kid, to which he waved his free hand to dismiss him.

“I don’t blame ya for attacking them, I would’ve done the same if they were wild Peckers,” Lanius said.

Once the salve was applied and wrapped over, Thorn pushed himself out of his prone position before jumping down to the floor. He chirped for his sister, and Thistle hopped down in suit as the both of them began to play with one another. Lanius glanced over to the Kid. He had an expression of curiosity.

“Purple one’s Thistle, the orange one is Thorn,” Lanius said, resting his chin on his palm as they watched the birds play.

“I rescued them just before an Anklegator could get to the abandoned nest. The mother left them there to die after seeing a big threat.”

The Kid grunted in affirmation.

Lanius took it as a sign of warming up.

“Sorry to be a bit forward with you, but are there other survivors?”

The Kid turned to him and nodded. Lanius thought he would be ecstatic about more people who were alive, but why did he just feel pain?

“How many people reached the Bastion?”

Four fingers. Lanius assumed the Kid was a part of that four.

“Are two of those survivors... a couple? About 50 years old by now, a Cael and an Ura?”

The answer was a no, and Lanius slouched unto the table. He knew it was too good to be true if his parents had reached the Bastion. On the day of the Calamity, they were gone without a trace. If they had to fight something or someone they wouldn’t go down without bloodshed, and if they turned into stone then he would’ve found their statues (or ashes) by now. Lanius held his hair in frustration at the thought, before something was pressed against his arm.

Lanius looked up to see the Kid pushing a City Crest to him. His eyes widened, and memories of his time in Caelondia flooded back to him. He picked up the cog carefully, examining it. It was a genuine Caelondian City Crest, and despite being worn down the Kid definitely held it in high regard.

“What’d you do to get this?” Lanius asked.

The Kid took a swig of the Health Tonic before answering it was earned from two shifts on the Rippling Walls.

Immediately, Lanius slammed his free hand on the bar (he was conscious enough to not slam on the crest). The impact wasn’t enough to topple anything, but it was enough to shock the Kid. Thistle and Thorn squawked in surprise, their feathers ruffled by the way their keeper raised his voice.

“So you’re th’ one who took two terms!” Lanius gasped. The Kid simply blinked at him.

“By Pyth—that’s insane! Why?”

The Kid’s eyes looked down to his glass. He doesn’t say anything, but it was clear it was a sore subject.

“I... I apologize,” he apologized quietly, feeling a familiar sting in his chest at the thought of it.

The Kid shrugged, not to brush it off completely but to assure Lanius.

He picked up his empty shot glass and gestured it towards the distiller. He commended Lanius’s craftsmanship in his spirits.

Lanius chuckled, “I was trained by th’ best.”

Wherever the “best” was anyway. Lanius didn’t know where Griffin, the old man who ran the distillery he worked in, ended up in. If he ended up in ashes, they were probably blown unto the oblivion caused by the Calamity. If he was alive, then chances were slim for a man of his age and physicality to reach the Bastion. Griffin would’ve probably been in his 60s if he was still kicking.

He stood up straight before going over to the shelves. The distiller opened a cabinet to reveal a selection of several spirits, and even some that the Kid didn’t recognize.

“Anything that catches your fancy?” he asked.

The Kid asked for the best. Lanius caught a small crack of a smile, and in his mind he wondered if they both of them would’ve gotten along back in the days before the Calamity. They seemed more similar then one would think.

“I make a great Stabsinthe. Only with th’ meanest Stabweeds around.”

He took a half-full bottle from the shelf and placed it on the table. Unlike the usual bottles that were given in most distilleries, the neck of the lid was colored pink that faded into green and then black. Lanius popped the bottle open and poured its contents into both of their glasses, showing a transparent lime liquid with a strong floral and citrus scent.

“Im’ma let you in on a secret,” Lanius said as he finished pouring. The Kid tilted his head at him.

“Most distillers just take th’ thorns, which is understandable, that's how everyone makes ‘em… but what they don’t know is that th’ rest of th’ plant brings it all together.”

Lanius took his glass and swirled it in his hand. The Kid followed.

“If you look real close, the drink’s got some pink sparkle within all that green. That’s thanks to Stabweed flowers--in the base of the lil’ thing contains some nectar, which most distilleries end up selling to flower shops and the like. Have at it, but be careful,”

Their glasses clinked.

“It’s sharp.”

They downed their drinks. Lanius finished with a content sigh, feeling the slight burn of alcohol and citrus fade into a sweet drink. He watched as the Kid took a moment to settle, and the only response he got from the silent stranger was a strong huff. Lanius laughed as he let the Kid spit some small thorns off to the side. The man does the same, turning away as he spat the thorns to the floor.

“Probably hadn’t had a drink that good before, huh?” Lanius chuckled.

Before the Kid could answer, he’s cut off by Thorn and Thistle who land on his shoulders. Both birds were curious about a newcomer who kept their keeper in a good mood. The Kid shuffled through a side pouch on his bet before taking out a couple of seeds. Both Fledglings immediately puffed their feathers as they jumped on the table, excitedly waiting for a snack. Lanius watched quietly as the stranger and his birds played around.

The Kid was younger than him definitely, possibly by a decade. His white hair probably didn’t do him any favors, just as Lanius’s blonde and black hair did. His eyes are strong and determined, but hold deep scars and sadness from the Calamity. Whatever made him take two shifts on the Rippling Walls, travel as far into the Wilds as he is now, and open up to a stranger like Lanius was beyond him. The Kid’s probably seen a lot more than Lanius, and that was saying a lot. At least his birds liked him; the instincts of an animal were better than a human, and if they didn’t see him as a threat anymore then that was a good sign.

Once the birds were satisfied, they wandered off to play again. Lanius went to pour another shot of Stabinsthe for the both of them, but stopped short of the Kid’s glass when he placed his hand over it. The distiller looked at him puzzled.

The Kid shook his head and asked if Lanius wanted to return to the Bastion with him.

“I never considered the Bastion to be true,” Lanius answered, capping the bottle.

“I assumed that it fell along with th’ rest of Caelondia.”

The Kid thought the same thing, but now it was airborne, with three other survivors with space to spare for more. Lanius thought the airborne part was a joke, but the Kid didn’t look like the type to joke around on matters such as this. He asked once more if Lanius wanted to join them.

“Not sure ‘bout that, Kid,” Lanius said honestly.

“I’ve been livin’ off the Wilds ever since the start of the Calamity. Call me crazy, but it’s a home.”

Lanius was questioned on whether or not he wanted to explore more than just the Wilds. The man considered it for a moment.

“I’ve always wanted to fly, I guess... past th’ winds of the Skyway.”

The Kid offered the chance at flight then. He didn’t need to stay if he didn’t want to, but his chances at surviving at the rate of the Calamity was slimmer if he stayed on falling ground. Lanius commended the Kid for being rather convincing, and the reply was a shrug.

Lanius sighed, walking over to the side of the bar to pick up some things.

“Thorn. Thistle.”

Both birds perked up at the call. They flew over the counter on either side of the Kid and waited patiently as Lanius placed two small satchels. The bags seemed to be modified so as to not deter their flight.

“We’re moving out again.”

They chirped affirmatively.

“But not to the Wilds.”

Thorn was silent, and Thistle chirped in protest. They immediately turned to the Kid, who raised both his hands in defense. Lanius chuckled to himself, lugging a pack over his shoulder with his pike and carbine with him. The Kid asked what he would do with all of his drinks, and Lanius glanced to the shelf.

“Might as well leave these here for any passin’ soul,” he said, checking inventory. There were about one of each drink, and a couple of tonics. It wasn’t a problem; Lanius always left the extra he made. Maybe the Kid had put them to good use when he traveled the Wilds.

“You better have a Distillery back at th’ Bastion, or I’m leavin’.”

The Kid nodded.

From there, they headed out. Lanius directed the Kid to the safest and fastest path to a Skyway, in which he thanked him for. As a Trigger he stayed behind the Kid with his hammer, with one bird flying just to their left and right. It was somewhat nostalgic, to go through the Wilds with someone—it reminded him of his days before the Calamity. Lanius looked back at the distillery he was leaving behind; the one home he had after everything went down, and he was now moving off to somewhere permanent.

Just as they reached the Skyway, the Kid pointed up. There, Lanius gaped at the looming shape of an airborne Bastion. From atop, he could see three figures waving down at them. They were too far to be recognizable, but their friendly gesture was enough to bring a smile.

Lanius watched as the Kid took off, carried off by the winds and up to the Bastion. His fledglings followed after without question. Lanius stood just a step away. The breeze blew over him, its whispers speaking to him. One side of it telling him to turn back to the Wilds, and the other beckoning a new wind.

The wild bird has had a few old nests in the past, but he figured it was about time to settle for something new. Lanius imagined that the God of Chance and Whim was smiling down at him at this very moment, and who was he to defy Olak’s blessing in the form of a chance?

He was always one to follow the winds, and with a smile he did.

#bastion (game)#supergiant games #the kid #bastion oc #writing #i wasn't gonna post this at first #but then i went: fuck it #cuz i already posted art of lanius anyway #i honestly wanna write ALL ABOUT THE WILDS #i have so many headcanons for everything in it #i also didn't expect the word count to reach 4k..... writing this was kinda fast ngl #oc: inks on tealeaf #writing: inks on tealeaf

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quicksilversquared · 5 years

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Supervillain Backstabber: Chapter 1

Lila Rossi had an understanding of sorts with Paris' head supervillain, Hawkmoth. He would give her powers to take down Ladybug; she would try to get the Miraculous for him. She assumed that their agreement would also grant her immunity from being targeted by any of his other akumas. When it turns out that that isn't the case...

Well, Lila never forgives a slight. And she WILL get her revenge.

This story was written before Oni-Chan aired so is kind of an alternate "what would happen if Lila got targeted by a supervillain" story.

links in the reblog

Lila perked up as she spotted an akuma fluttering down through the hallway, no doubt headed straight for some upset student in the school. It flapped and fluttered, forging forward in a straight line that set it apart from any normal butterfly, if the dark aura didn't already do that. This was a butterfly on a mission.

She wasn't going to let it get to its target. Whoever it had been destined for wouldn't appreciate the opportunity like she did.

Glancing around and finding the hallways empty, Lila practically jogged towards the akuma, pulling her necklace off as she did. Once she was close enough, she swung it out. It made contact and the akuma was sucked inside, just like it had been every time before.

It had been such a great discovery when she figured out that she didn't need to be upset to pull an akuma in. Hawkmoth had been using negative emotions because it was easy- people who were angry or upset wanted to be able to change their situation, wanted the power to be able to change their situation- but all she really needed was to want the butterfly. To want the power that came with it.

She wanted that power. She craved that power.

There was a reason that Lila Rossi was the most frequently akumatized person in Paris, after all, and it wasn't because she was emotional.

"Volpina. Will you-"

"Yes, Hawkmoth!" Lila exclaimed at once. "I accept!"

"Perhaps a different akuma form would be better this time...?"

Lila shook her head. No, she had tried having a different form before, and it hadn't gone well. She preferred the versatility of her original akuma form. "The same one. I have a plan this time."

"May I ask what the plan is?"

She couldn't keep the smirk off of her lips. It was a genius plan, one that she had spent nights and nights planning. "Just watch and see."

"Very well."

The familiar rush of power rushed over her, and Volpina grinned as the weight of her flute appeared in her hand. She tossed it into the air and caught it, head already dancing with visions of what she could do this time. As Lila, she had been brainstorming every night about how she could get Ladybug to trip up the next time she was akumatized. She had come up with some new ideas, and this time?

This time, she would win. Hawkmoth would get his dumb precious Miraculous, and she would get her revenge on Ladybug at last. That little self-righteous brat would find out what happened when she stuck her nose where it didn't belong.

None of the other famous people that she had lied about had ever felt the need to some call Lila out for it. It wasn't any of their business, it didn't affect them, and really, why should they care? Besides, Lila always got what she wanted, no matter how she had to get it- lies, bribes, a few well-placed crocodile tears, threats, blackmail. To have the subject of one of her lies come to disprove it within the first day of Lila arriving at a new school...

Well. She wouldn't stand for it. And no matter how many akumatizations it took, she would win.

Volpina: Master of Illusion and trickery and, hopefully, tactical planning.

Well. She shouldn't even say hopefully, really. Because this time, Volpina had a foolproof plan.

Front-on attacks never turned out well for her. When Ladybug and Chat Noir knew that she was out, they weren't even a small bit deterred by her illusions anymore. So she had to work behind the scenes, tugging the strings of her illusions to lead the superheroes straight into a trap.

The plan: invent an akuma, one who had powers of vanishing from sight and reappearing elsewhere. After leading the superheroes on a merry chase across Paris, Volpina would surround herself with an illusion to make herself look like Rena Rouge and join the superheroes, kindly offering an extra hand. Once Ladybug and Chat Noir had their guard down, she would strike.

Well. Maybe she would wait until she had them separated. No matter how fast she went, Volpina was pretty certain that the element of surprise wouldn't last for long enough to let her get both Ladybug's earrings and Chat Noir's ring. She would go for an earring first, she thought, and take Ladybug out, and then deal with Chat Noir.

Hopefully Hawkmoth was right about Ladybug needing both earrings to stay transformed.

So far, so good. Her plan was running along like clockwork, with her illusion-akuma flickering into existence for long enough for Ladybug and Chat Noir to find and chase it, then vanishing before either of them could catch it. Volpina herself hid herself behind an illusion, watching the chase.

The last time had cut it too close. If Chat Noir's baton had hit her akuma and it exploded in orange smoke, the game would be up.

Originally, Volpina had wanted to give her "akuma" more powers, causing a lot more destruction and panic. But more illusions gave more opportunities for something to disrupt them and give her away, so she had to content herself with a weak but annoying akuma, one that would take a huge chunk out of Ladybug and Chat Noir's day.

"They're getting frustrated, Volpina," Hawkmoth told her. "And they've retreated to plan. Whatever you're planning, now might be a good time to move ahead."

"Good." Volpina stood up, playing a short tune. Her disguise settled over her, and she made a face at it. She liked her outfit much better than Rena Rouge's, but sacrifices had to be made if she wanted to win. "Very good. I'm going in."

With that, she started off over the rooftops. There were some cheers from the civilians in the streets below as "Rena Rouge" passed overhead, and Lila forced herself to smile and wave.

They weren't the ones that she had to fool, but she had to play the part properly.

It didn't take long for her to find her targets: Ladybug and Chat Noir. They looked up in surprise as she landed, and though she wanted to scowl, Volpina beamed at them.

"Hey, you guys!" she chirped, doing her best to sound like Rena Rouge. She had spent ages practicing in her room, watching the same few news clips over and over until she had the voice down. "I saw the akuma on TV and it seemed like you guys might need a hand to wrap this fight up fast!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a look, something wordless passing between them too fast for Volpina to decipher. Then they turned back to her with twin smiles, nodding at her.

"That sounds good," Chat Noir agreed. "This akuma is really, really slippery. We've almost caught it a few times, only for it to phase away at the last minute."

"Well, with three of us, it should be easy to catch it," Volpina said cheerfully, barely able to hide her glee at how easy it had been to fool the famous superheroes of Paris. They were so dumb, honestly. She almost suggested that the group split up right away, but thought better of it at last minute. Volpina had learned during her first akumatization that Ladybug didn't appreciate other people trying to take charge of the group, so it was better to wait for Ladybug to suggest the obvious. "What's the plan?"

"Well, right now, we're waiting for the akuma to show itself again," Ladybug told her. "And we're using the akuma hashtag on Twitter to find it, so that we don't have to do all of the searching ourselves."

Volpina nodded, quickly checking in on her illusion-akuma. It was on the far side of Paris, and she let it expand back into full size. "That's smart."

"So we can catch up in the meantime," Ladybug said cheerfully, and Volpina's friendly expression nearly faltered for a moment. Uh-oh. This wasn't in her plan! But she recovered quickly. She could manage this. "How was your vacation in Martinique?"

...well. Okay. Ladybug was making this easy for her, practically feeding her a lead. So Volpina spun a story, as she did best.

"Oh, it was lovely!" Volpina gushed, beaming. "I spent some time on the beaches, of course. I couldn't go and miss that."

Ladybug nodded. "Of course! I wish I could go to the beach. Did you do any crimefighting there?"

Volpina tittered. "Oh, you know me! Just a little. I was on vacation, of course, but there were a few robberies nearby that I simply had to stop."

"We wouldn't expect anything less," Chat Noir chimed in. There was a beep from his baton and he hastily looked down at it. "Akuma spotted by the Louvre! C'mon, let's head over and get a better visual."

They all straightened, Ladybug moving to take the lead and Volpina falling in behind her. She could barely believe how smoothly this was going. The superheroes hadn't looked suspicious for a single second! It was taking every fiber of her willpower for her not to smirk in triumph.

And then everything changed in a heartbeat.

Dark metal flashed through the corner of her vision hardly a moment before Chat Noir's baton made contact with her shoulder, dissolving her illusion disguise in a puff of orange smoke and making her knees buckle under her. She yelped- she had been discovered? How had she been discovered?- and immediately spun to flee, but Ladybug's yo-yo had already pinned her arms down to her side. Snarling, Volpina tried to break free, but it was useless. Ladybug yanked the fake necklace off of Volpina's neck, grinding it to dust under her foot

"Idiot!" Hawkmoth scolded over the shattering connection. "Ladybug gives out the Miraculous to the temporary heroes each time! You should have asked me, I would have told you that!"

Volpina wanted to ask how Hawkmoth knew that, but their connection was gone and her powers were swept away in a whirl of those stupid sparkling ladybugs. Lila glanced up, and was met with the judging stares of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Next time. The next time for sure she would win.

Most people could not claim to have any sort of connection with a supervillain. Most people would probably not want a connection. But Lila found it useful. Hawkmoth wanted something, and she wanted something. She could help him with what he wanted, and he could help her.

After all, there was no other way that she could get the superpowers that would put her on Ladybug's level.

Of course, she couldn't get her way every time that she got akumatized. After her failed attempt to impersonate Rena Rouge, Volpina was sidelined for a bit, and Lila's next two transformations were both different akumas with different powers. Neither were any more successful than Volpina or Chameleon.

Still, Hawkmoth knew that she was there, and if he needed Volpina's powers again, she was more than willing to step up. They were allies.

And then an akuma appeared that was targeting her, and Lila was furious.

"Don't you know who I am?" she snapped, in case Hawkmoth somehow wasn't paying enough attention to notice that he had sent an akuma after his ally, thank-you-very-much, but the words didn't seem to make a single difference.

"Do I know who you are?" the akuma- who cared what their name was, it was stupid anyway- asked, a taunting tone to their voice. "Yes, Lila Rossi, I know who you are. And I know what you are- a dirty, thieving liar!"

"Ask Hawkmoth, then!" Lila shot back, hoping that there was no one in earshot. "Ask him what he thinks of you attacking me?"

The answer, evidently, was that Hawkmoth didn't care. He didn't care that he was endangering his most frequent and most willing akuma. He didn't care.

This. Meant. War.

Hawkmoth was going to find out the hard way that Lila Rossi did not get go of grudges. She never forgot a wrong. And she was going to do whatever she could to get back at him.

But she wasn't going to partner herself with Ladybug to do that. No, Ladybug was still going down, too. Lila was going to take both of their Miraculous, and then Chat Noir's, too, just because he was Ladybug's partner and defender.

It was going to be hard. But Lila could do it.

And she was going to start with that backstabber Hawkmoth.

Lila spent the remainder of the school year with one focus and one focus only: research. And not her normal research, figuring out what famous people would most impress the people around her. No, this was research about Hawkmoth.

It wasn't hard to find a list of all of the known akumatized villains- despite the fact that it was undoubtedly a fangirl gossip blog, the Ladyblog did at least have a easy-to-find complete list of all of the akumas (with the sole exception, it noted, of some of the new akumas on Heroes Day). With a little bit of work (aka visiting all of the links that the Ladyblog had for each of the akumas), Lila found approximate locations- or approximate presumed locations- of where all of the akumatizations had taken place, and she plotted it on the Paris map that she had pinned to one wall. They were fairly tightly clustered, actually, and made a vaguely circular shape, if she ignored the outliers.

So she had her area to stake out. Once school let out for the summer, she could dedicate her every waking hour to tracking down and destroying the supervillain traitor.

Day 1

It wasn't hard to get out of the house without questions. Lila had told her mom that she was spending a bunch of time with her friends at school, and she had told the other students that she would be spending much of the summer abroad, of course. Both parties had accepted it without question.

As soon as she was out of the apartment, Lila tied her hair up- there was no point in giving herself away with her distinctive hairstyle- and then she hid her hair and face under a hat and sunglasses before heading out onto the street, following a predetermined path (designed, of course, to avoid going past any of her classmates' homes or frequent haunts- not that they would be up at this time anyway, but it didn't hurt to be careful) to the building that Lila had picked out to be her starting point. Then she hauled herself up onto the fire escape and climbed.

And climbed, and climbed, and climbed. The benefit of such a tall building meant that she would have a fantastic vantage point.

By the time Lila reached the top and carefully scoped the place out for security cameras (there were two that she would have to avoid, but that would be easy enough), it was hot and Lila was sticky with sweat. She couldn't let it distract her, though- she wouldn't let it distract her- and so she took a hearty swig from one of the water bottles that she had packed before settling down with the pair of binoculars that her father had once bought her.

And then she started searching.

Narrowed eyes scanned the skyline, looking for any akumas, and irritated fingers refreshed her news feed every so often, hoping that she hadn't missed seeing an akuma on her very first day out. She hadn't, and so Lila returned her gaze to the city, searching, searching, searching, searching.

Sweat ran down her brow and her eyes stung from the sweat, the strain of looking through her binoculars for so long, and the glare of the sun on the city buildings. Still, Lila refused to give up.

Hawkmoth had wronged her, and she would get her revenge.

Lunch passed by in a miserable haze of warmed water and a hastily thrown-together sandwich, and then Lila returned to her post. Another two hours passed, and then- and then!- she got lucky. A dark flutter caught her eye, and Lila focused her attention on it. A corrupted butterfly was headed over the rooftops, making a beeline for whoever had caught Hawkmoth's attention this time. Lila tracked its path for a few seconds, then focused her attention on where it had come from.

So. Hawkmoth's lair was in that direction, unless he was smart enough to move from one place to another between attacks. Somehow, Lila doubted that that was the case. If he were that smart, he would have won already.

So she could move over to the building that she had first spotted the akuma by the next day. It wasn't as high as her current building, but any progress was good progress.

With the akuma spotted, Lila could relax. She moved down into the shade- to wait until she could go home. There would be too many people in the building for her to risk going down now.

Day One had been a success.

Day Two

Getting up onto this fire escape had been harder. It required a bit of creative stacking with the garbage bags in back of the building- and hadn't that been an unpleasant experience?- before Lila could haul herself up. Then she had had to watch her step the entire way up to make sure that she didn't step on any of the particularly rusted portions of the steps.

Lila had to hope that she would be successful at finding an akuma today, too. She really didn't want to have to do this again. This building was awful.

And then her only akuma sighting all day was when Ladybug's purified butterfly went fluttering overhead early in the day. Lila cursed and slumped against the rooftop.

Sure, she had expected that there might be a few days when an akuma went in a different direction, but did it have to happen already?

Lila was serving herself a big bowl of ice cream once she got off of this god-forsaken building.

Day Five

Trying to track down Hawkmoth's lair, Lila was finding, was easier said than done. It had taken three tries to get off of her second building, and she had only really been able to move about half a block.

And now it was threatening to rain. Ugh.

Lila had to admit that at least the cloud cover meant that it was easier to look through her binoculars for hours on end. The glare of the sun off of the Paris buildings was gone, and she could scan up and down the rows of buildings easily. But the ease-ability of scanning didn't make a single whit of difference when Hawkmoth wasn't sending any akuma out.

And then it started to rain. The first sprinkles had Lila scrambling for her umbrella- she was going to be up here all day, she couldn't afford to get wet- and then the skies opened.

She wouldn't be able to see any akuma in all of this mess. Lila huffed, hoping that maybe the rain would clear up and then Hawkmoth would send the akuma out. Then she could be one step closer, reaping the rewards for being out in all of this mess.

The screams that started up mid-rainstorm ended that hope pretty quickly.

"Ugh, another day wasted," Lila complained, glaring at the growing puddles around her. Who had designed this rooftop? They had done an awful job. Lila was willing to bet that the top floor had to deal with leaks all the time. "Again."

If she were a lesser person, Lila would have given up then and there. But no one double-crossed her without living to regret it, and supervillains would be no different.

Day 7

Another day, another failure. This time, Hawkmoth had gone the entire day without akumatizing anyone. It meant that Lila had spent the entire day waiting for nothing.

Still, the day hadn't been entirely wasted. Lila had spent the time planning.

Once she found out who Hawkmoth was, then she still had to take him down before her revenge would be properly complete. She wouldn't be able to do it without magic powers, that was for sure, but Lila refused to be akumatized again just to try. She could recognize that even attempting to go after Hawkmoth while akumatized would just result in him pulling his powers back- he could do that, she had seen it- and then she would be in trouble. No, she needed a Miraculous.

That didn't leave her with many options. She could try to take Ladybug or Chat Noir's Miraculous, but the only way that would be even remotely possible would be if she were akumatized, which...nope. She could try to figure out where Ladybug got the extra Miraculous from, but that would require way too much luck to be in the right place at the right time. Maybe she could try getting the Miraculous from one of the less experienced Miraculous holders but again...how?

That left her with one option. Steal the Miraculous from the one extra team member who was dumb enough to out herself to the whole of Paris. There would be very little room for error- if Ladybug and Chat Noir were in the area, they might be able to grab Lila before she could transform- but it was her best shot. Her only shot.

At least she should have plenty of time to pull that off.

Day 10

Lila was starting to wonder if Hawkmoth was purposefully sending akumas away from her. It seemed like she only spotted the akumas every few days, which meant that the rest of the time she spent baking away on too-hot tar rooftops with the bright sun beating down on her.

Of course, if she tried going around to another side of Hawkmoth's lair...well, there would be no guarantee that she was on the right track, would there? So she stayed where she was.

She would have tried to enlist some help- the Ladyblogger probably could have been roped into the stakeouts without much effort at all, and maybe some of her other classmates, too- but the more people she enlisted, the less control she would have over the information they learned once she found Hawkmoth's lair. The Ladyblogger would no doubt insist on running right to the superheroes with the information, and no doubt they would then get all the glory instead of Lila.

Besides, at this point, her classmates all thought that she was sunbathing on the beach off of the coast of Florida. She couldn't backtrack on that now even if she wanted to, not unless she wanted to deal with a whole boatload of questions.

The day dragged on, and still Lila never left the rooftop. With every passing hour, she mentally added another slew of punches to the beating that she would give Hawkmoth once she found his stupid, backstabbing self. The only thing that lifted her spirits was the spotting of another butterfly late in the afternoon.

No matter how little it was, at least she was making progress.

Day 20

Lila hadn't thought that it would take this long. She had thought that it would be a week of stakeouts- two, tops- and then she would have her target. Then she would have to steal a Miraculous and go in and get her vengeance.

She was getting closer. At least she could say that much. But it wasn't fast enough.

But Lila Rossi was no quitter. Hawkmoth had made her bake (or drown, or practically get blown off of the top of the building) for twenty days now, and he was going to pay.

It was unfortunate that no one would find out who was responsible for Hawkmoth's defeat, really. She would gladly bask in that glory. But it would require letting her classmates know that she actually had been in Paris for the summer, which- well, Lila had already decided that that was a no. Being publicly involved and becoming famous would mean that her entire life would be put under a lens, too, and... well, she preferred to not be too closely examined, because her stories wouldn't hold up. And probably worst of all for her image, going would mean that all of Paris would know that she had stolen a Miraculous. She wouldn't be able to take Ladybug down.

There were enough people who hero-worshiped Ladybug that that would pose a problem for her.

Of course, Lila mused as she scanned the horizon again, she could claim to be an inside source. Everyone would eat up the scoop she served. Now, how best to frame it...?

Then it hit her, a stroke of inspiration. Lila could say that the person who took the Bee was a keeper of the Miraculous, or at least had handed them out. They had noticed that Ladybug and Chat Noir were making no attempts at making any progress towards taking Hawkmoth down in order to serve their own purposes- getting famous as heroes- so she had to take things into her own hands. It had taken weeks- she would mention the suffering that she had had to do, unprotected by any Miraculous since Ladybug and Chat Noir had asked for all that she had- but she found Hawkmoth and defeated him, then reclaimed the other two Miraculous, but not without a fight. Ladybug and Chat Noir had seemed such promising candidates at the start, but alas, the fame went to their heads and they didn't want to give up the source of that fame.

Some might question it, but by then there would be no verifiable Ladybug or Chat Noir to dispute the claims. And the new Bee would come in to back up Lila's story, and it wouldn't be long before Ladybug and Chat Noir's legacy was thoroughly ground into the mud.

Lila was so gleeful about her idea that she forgot to be careful on her way back home at the end of the day. As she passed a block of apartment buildings, she heard her name being called out and she froze.

No. No, this couldn't be happening. She couldn't be discovered now!

Alya was jogging towards her, and Lila realized now where she was- outside of Alya's apartment building. Her classmate had apparently been with her family, heading out on some outing.

Lila should have been more careful. She knew that she had to avoid certain areas, and- oh, she didn't even have her sunglasses on! No wonder Alya had noticed her.

"I knew I recognized you!" Alya was saying gleefully. "I would give you a hug, but I'm all sweaty and gross. I thought you were out of the city for the summer!"

"I am," Lila said hastily as an idea came to mind. She deserved a short break, after all. "But my mom and I came back to Paris for a couple days before we head off to London to spend some time with the royal family. We had to wash everything and repack, of course, because the weather isn't quite the same and we wouldn't want to freeze with all of the rain in London."

"But you didn't say a thing about that!"

"Well, we didn't know for sure when we would be back, of course," Lila said, pasting on her sunniest smile. "And by the time I knew, well, I was sure that everybody would already have plans and I didn't want to disrupt anything for anyone- I didn't want to be an inconvenience-"

"Oh, Lila, you're far too thoughtful," Alya chided fondly. "It's no inconvenience for us to add one more person to our outings for a couple days! I'll text you our plans- how long are you going to be here for?"

Lila gave it a moment of thought. She deserved a break, sure, but she also had to get this whole Hawkmoth thing dealt with before the end of the summer, unless she wanted to risk claiming that she was traveling again. Which left her with... "Two more days, and then I'm off again."

"Oh, great! Our class- well, except for Chloe, because she's on vacation- is getting together tomorrow for a big picnic in the park. Everyone is going to be so excited to see you!"

"What should I bring?" Lila worried, pasting a concerned look on her face. "I mean, I don't exactly have a lot of time to prepare or anything-"

Alya cut her off again with a firm shake of her head. "Just bring yourself! And a plate and fork to eat off of. You'll be there, right?"

Lila thought about the rooftop she had spent the entire day on, and the way that it had been so hot that her entire shirt was soaked with sweat by the middle of the morning. She had eaten a stale sandwich with warm water.

"Yeah," she told Alya. "I'll be there."

Day 21

For once, Lila slept in. Once she got up, she divided her hair into her old hairstyle- and kept it that was as she left the apartment.

It felt nice. Still, she couldn't resist glancing up at the rooftops out of habit, looking for any akumas. There weren't any, of course- she wasn't particularly near Hawkmoth's lair right now- but it was habit by now. That, and looking for routes up to the rooftops on buildings.

Once she got to the park, Lila was greeted by several excited classmates. She flashed a smile at them and immediately dove into her prepared stories, telling them that she had spent time with several American celebrities at the beach. She had a captive audience, and Lila was thrilled. She was in her zone, absolutely thriving.

And then a voice cut off the end of Lila's story.

"That sounds fake."

"Super fake," a second voice chimed in, and Lila whipped around to face the dual naysayers. She blinked when she came face-to-face with a pair of identical- and identically doubtful- faces.

Aha. There was a reason why she had always hated little kids.

"It's all true!" Alya told the twins, and it took a second for Lila to realize that oh, drat, her sisters. "Lila's parents are diplomats and she gets to meet super famous people all the time! She's met Jagged Stone-"

"So? So did you. So did Mom."

"And Prince Ali-"

"So did Mom. She taught him how to cook!"

"And-"

The girls yawned in scary unison. "Who cares?"

"I'm so sorry about them," Alya said quickly as her sisters trotted off. "They're not old enough to understand."

Lila hoped that her smile wasn't too stiff. "Right, right, of course."

Alix and Kim arrived, clearly bickering over something, and Lila welcomed the interruption. It took the spotlight off of her for a moment, though it didn't stay off for long. People wanted to hear about what she had done and who she had met, of course, and then there were questions about where she would go next. Lila managed it all with a smile, though she was starting to feel a bit tired.

She had forgotten how much work it was to remember all of her stories and keep them straight. She had to be on the ball all the time, not slacking off for a single second. An hour in, she thought that she might be able to sit back and enjoy the day when another reminder of why she couldn't slip up at all caught her attention.

Adrien and Marinette, hanging back at the fringes of the group. Neither of them looked particularly impressed by her presence.

All at once, Lila remembered that oh, yes- her revenge list didn't just include supervillains and superheroes. Adrien and Marinette had both tried to point out her lies, with Marinette's attempts being much more direct than Adrien's. Once she got the Butterfly, she'd try to give herself Volpina's powers again to create illusions that would discredit them to the class and to all of Paris forever.

Was it too much? She didn't think so.

There was no need to disrupt her lies. No need to make her life harder. And everyone who did...

Well, they would pay.

Day 27

The relaxation from her days off didn't last long. After a couple more days baking up on rooftops in the sun, Lila had all but forgotten the taste of the fresh, cool watermelon and chilled lemonade that she had had at the picnic.

At this rate, she was going to end up with sunstroke. That was, if she didn't hurt herself getting up onto the rooftops first.

Lila groaned as an explosion sounded from the far side of the city. An akuma, no doubt. She hadn't spotted the corrupted butterfly at all, which meant that she wasn't close enough yet to the lair to be able to see it no matter what.

She would have hoped that she would be that close, at least, but no such luck. Not yet. But she wasn't giving up.

Spite was a strong, strong motivator.

As she waited, the sounds of fighting drifted through the city. Lila ignored it- at least until it got closer.

And closer, and closer.

Lila couldn't hold back the swear that fell from her lips when she spotted the superheroes chasing the akuma straight towards her. They were running across the rooftops, and on this particular apartment building...

Well, there was nowhere to hide. That left her with only one option.

In a panic, Lila gathered up all of her things and rushed for the fire escape. She didn't go down far- she didn't have time, and rushing would just make the fire escape clang loudly- but it was enough to get her out of the superheroes' field of vision. The fight tumbled overhead, and Lila breathed a sigh of relief once it was gone.

That was far too close. She had to be more careful. If Ladybug or Chat Noir spotted her, they would no doubt report her to the building manager like the nosy idiots that they were.

"Hey! You! What are you doing up there?"

...that was, if she didn't get caught herself.

Day 35

Thankfully, all of Paris was dumb. As it turned out, all Lila had to do was invent some made-up project that required her to stake out on rooftops for several days at a time, and she got permission and even help. Both were absolutely invaluable now that she was firmly in a residential area and getting up on top of the townhouses that made up the area was a lot harder than getting onto apartment and office buildings.

She was getting closer, she could just feel it. Even though it was slow, she was making progress. There was no backtracking or akumas coming from unexpected directions, which meant that she was close.

Hawkmoth was going to regret ever sending an akuma after her.

Lila surveyed the ground from her newest perch. It overlooked a small park, the Agreste mansion, and a few other smaller buildings. It was open enough that when a butterfly showed up, she would be able to see it coming from ages away. It would be her biggest leap yet.

Well, once a butterfly actually showed. She had been up on this rooftop for a day already and had gotten nothing. But Hawkmoth rarely went two days in a row without akumatizing anyone, so today she was sure to get something.

Late in the afternoon, she finally did. A flicker of movement caught Lila's eye, and she looked over in time to see a butterfly slowly working its way up into the air above the Agreste mansion. Once it had gained some height, it fluttered away.

And Lila's eyes narrowed. Unless she was very much mistaken, that butterfly had come out of the Agreste manor. And when she looked closer, she spotted it: a small opening in the dome on top of the house, something that definitely hadn't been there before.

This was interesting. The esteemed Agreste family had some skeletons in their closet, it seemed.

And Lila was going to uncover them all.

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #Supervillain Backstabber

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eliniei · 5 years

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Not As It Seems Part VIII - Emet-Selch/WoL

Summary: After calling it an early night, the Warrior of Light heads back to her room to relax but is unexpectedly transported to another world to escort Emet-Selch to a ball.

Word Count: 2089

Masterlist: here Ao3: here

Part I: here Part II: here Part III: here Part IV: here Part V: here Part VI: here Part VII: here

As always, if you have any requests you’d like to see show up in this series or any other Emet/WoL one-shot you’d like to see me write, please let me know!

----

When I got back to my room after calling in an early evening, I figured I still had quite a bit of time before Emet-Selch showed up, so I decided to take a moment and finally relax and revel in the quiet. I enjoyed his company, of course, but sometimes being alone was a need instead of a want.

And I must say, the hot water of my bath felt amazing on my aching muscles.

I had just stepped out of my bathtub, though, when the Ascian burst into the room with the force of a tidal wave. I nearly jumped out of my skin, his sudden entrance almost making me slip on the slick tile floor. I grabbed on to the side of the wooden tub to steady myself.

“What the hells-!”

He paused for a moment, realizing that I was not clothed, a puddle of water slowly forming under my feet. Immediately, he averted his eyes as I quickly reached for a towel to cover my body, my face growing hot. I was surprised he bothered.

“Have you finished, yet, hero? I feel like I have been waiting an eternity.”

Ah, there it was. The drama, the attitude.

“You could’ve knocked on the door, you know. You do know how to knock, don’t you?” I put my hands on my hips.

“Of course I know how to knock. I simply did not feel like it.”

“Yes, that seems to be a pattern, doesn’t it? You can look again, I’m covered.”

He turned back to me, visibly relieved. I raised an eyebrow and opened my mouth, but it was as if he had read the question on my lips.

“Think what you will, but I am still a gentleman.” He shrugged, then moved towards me. “We’re going out.”

“What? But-”

Before I could spit out my words, he lifted his hand and snapped. My towel was replaced with a long, glittering, purple gown that hugged my waist tightly, laced up in the back with a ribbon, my shoulders bare and sparkled with a shimmering dust. White, flimsy gloves made of silk slid over my arms, stopping above my elbows, and a pair of absolutely ridiculous heeled shoes on my feet. My dripping hair was instantly dry, swept up and pinned to my head.

I blinked, in total shock, frozen in place for a moment.

“Much better,” he said, his amber gaze looking me up and down.

“What-”

Another snap of his fingers and his usual robes changed, as well- a black suit with a purple vest that matched the color of the dress he’d just thrown me into. His jacket hugged his waist, snugly and the tails hung long behind him. My eyes widened even further, seeing him in these strange clothes. Loathe as I was to admit, they fit him extremely well. He smirked when he saw my face.

“Like what you see, my dear hero?” I stuttered a few words, unsure how to respond, before I regained control of my mind.

“Will you please tell me-”

He held up his finger, halting me again, then flattened his hand, palm up. A mask materialized, and he pushed it towards me.

“Put this on,” he ordered. When I didn’t react, he finally paused and watched me for a few moments as I stared at it. “Well?”

“Where are we going?” I asked, finally able to get a word in. I gently lifting the mask from his hand and examined it closer, resigning myself to his whims. “This is beautiful.”

“We’re going to a celebration,” he told me, ignoring my other remark. “I believe the inhabitants of this particular shard call it a Masquerade.”

“Shard?” I asked, looking up at him, quickly. He wrapped his arm around my waist and I heard the hum of his portal opening. “Wait-!” Before I could protest anymore, he shoved me through.

When I fell through the other side, tripping on the carpet, he gripped my arm to steady me. I could hear music and chatter in the room beyond where we landed, but at the present, we were alone in a hallway.

“Be a bit more careful, won’t you, hero?” He let go of my arm in favor of straightening his jacket, the snapped again. His own mask- his Ascian mask- appeared in his hand. He bent down close to me and I found myself pressed against the wall, his face close enough I could feel the warmth of his breath. When he spoke, his voice was low, intimate. “This Shard is without magic, so do try not to draw attention to yourself.” He lifted his mask to his face and nodded for me to do the same, then held his hand out to me.

“Without magic?” I asked, confused, and slid my gloved fingers into his. He gripped them gently, but firmly. “That’s-but-how do they do anything?” He stated leading me towards the main hall- where I assumed this masquerade was taking place.

“Just like you cook with your hands, so too do these people, although they make everything from scratch.”

The thought struck me as incredibly odd, but I suppose when you’d grown up in a world filled with all sorts of magic, it was hard to imagine life without it.

We stopped outside a tall double door, where two attendants waited at either side. They leaned forward and opened each side for us in unison.

The music filtered in- quick and bright, mostly comprised of some sort of string instrument. My eyes widened at the size of the room, the volume of people dancing about and the colors they were clad in. High above in the vaulted ceiling hung a large, crystal chandelier, sparkling, reflecting everything in the room. The breath left me.

“At a loss for words?” Emet-Selch inquired beside me. He tucked my hand into his arm and led me inside. As a waiter passed us, he dropped my arm and smoothly picked up two thin glasses. He held on out to me, but I looked at it, mildly suspicious.

“What is it?”

“Champagne. Alcohol.”

I pursed my lips, but lifted it from his hand. Once we had both taken a drink, he set his flute down on a nearby table and held his hand out to me again.

“Dance with me.” I bristled a little at his demand.

“I don’t-I don’t know how.” He huffed a laugh and forcibly reached for my hand.

“Hydaelyn’s great champion can’t dance. Unbelievable.” As he tugged me out on to the floor, amidst other couples, he snapped the fingers of his free hand. I felt a prickle in my skin, as if my limbs were threatening to fall asleep, but it was gone as soon as it had started.

“What did you just do?” I asked in a loud whisper. “You just warned me about using magic, you insufferable hypocrite.”

He positioned me in front of him and put one of my hands on the curve of his shoulder, then moved his down to my waist. The other he kept ahold of, holding them both out to the side.

“Lighten up, my dear hero. I just taught you how to dance. Let go for once in your miserably short existence and enjoy it.” With that, a new song started and so did we, the tingling of his magic tugging at me as we danced, showing me the steps.

Everything in me wanted to be stubborn. He’d forced me away from a night of calm relaxation- something I desperately needed.

But as I let him twirl me around the floor, feeling the skirt of my dress move about my body, flowing in the rhythm of our movement, I determined he was right. Maybe I didn’t need to relax. Maybe I just needed to live. So, I did as I was bid, leaning into him and letting his magic take control of me.

The Ascian tensed for a few moments, but I saw a hint of a smile on his lips.

We continued on, but when we were both out of breath, he led me outside on to an unoccupied balcony. I sat down on a wooden bench that sat against a delicate metal railing that overlooked a large landscape with a manicured lawn and well-curated flowers. I slid the mask off of my face and marveled at the beauty before me as Emet-Selch went to get us something to drink.

In that moment, it felt as if a rock dropped into my stomach. This was another shard. They had no magic, no defenses. They were clueless. And he...

“Just water, this time, I’m afraid,” he said when he’d returned, holding a glass of clear liquid to me. I set the mask in my lap and accepted it, letting the cold liquid slide down my throat and refreshing my body. He leaned against the rail next to my seat. I looked down at the mask, the smile I’d had for most of the night drooping.

“What is it now?” he sighed, annoyance tinging the edges of his voice.

“This world will be rejoined if your plan comes to fruition.”

“Yes,” he said, simply.

“How could you give up…” I lost my words, trying not to tear up. I’d spent many nights with him, in his arms and the weight of his actions-what he wanted to do- had been pressing in on me ever since, threatening to suffocate me. Some nights it was easier to hold back the sobs, the anger at how unfair everything had turned out to be. But on nights like this...

“It isn’t about giving up, hero,” he said, turning and leaning on the railing with his arms. “The beauty of our world, our true world, was nothing compared to this. It isn’t about giving up. It’s about making things better again. If something was broken, wouldn’t you fix it?”

I was silent as I looked up at him. He took a deep breath. I would have given anything, in that moment, to not think the thoughts pounding on my skull. He looked down at the mask that still sat in my lap.

“That mask,” he started. I gently picked it up again. “Back when the world was whole, it belonged to a very dear friend of mine.”

“Why did you give it to me?”

“That is the question, isn’t it?” He looked back out towards the lawn, the smile on his face sad. Before long, he pushed himself off the railing and motioned to me, his defensive demeanor changing. “Come.”

I hesitated for a moment, but set the mask down on the bench and stood up. He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me, only to set my backside down on to the cold metal, then wedged himself between my legs.

“Let us put this morose topic to rest for now.”

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind as I wrapped my arms loosely around him, telling myself that I’d absolutely be able to contain the light and things would be alright. He pressed his forehead against mine for a moment, then tilted his chin up so his mouth gently captured my pouting lips and breathed in my scent. I relaxed into him, desperately wanting to do nothing more.

Eventually, we went back to the dance floor.

When the party had started to die down, I sat in a chair at one of the many tables in the ballroom. I kicked off my shoes and slouched heavily against the back of the chair, the sparkling fabric of my gown crinkling as I did. I was exhausted- and once I’d been able to quell my thoughts, I’d done just as the Ascian had suggested and let loose.

He came over to me, kneeling next to my chair. “Are you ready to go?”

“No,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t want to go back.”

His eyes softened as he took me in. “I don’t, either.”

In one quick motion, he lifted me to his chest and disappeared. When we appeared again, we were on the roof. He set me down on the tiles, and sat beside me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I leaned into him, letting my head drop on to his collarbone, and looked up.

Thousands of stars were out.

He rested his chin on the top of my head.

“How about we just stay out here tonight?”

“Mm,” I hummed, eyes sweeping over the sky, taking everything in. “That sounds nice.”

#emet-selch #emetselch #emet selch #emet-selch x warrior of light #emet selch x warrior of light #Final Fantasy XIV #Final Fantasy 14 #final fantasy xiv shadowbringers #ffxiv #final fantasy 14 fanfiction #final fantasy xiv fanfiction #ffxiv fanfic #ffxiv fanfiction #ffxiv shadowbringers #shadowbringers #shadowbringers spoilers #5.0 spoilers

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putschki1969 · 5 years

Text

VOICE Tour Live Report Part 2

Hi everyone!

It’s been 84 years...Okay, here is part two of my report. The ACTUAL report so to speak. Just in time for the tour final. I am expecting some news articles to be posted soon. I hope we will get some nice pictures of the Tokyo live. Anyways, sorry to have kept you waiting. Things have been crazy in Japan. There was a lot of stuff that didn’t go according to plan and I never got the chance to write the rest of my report while I was in Japan. And now that I have been back, I have been pretty busy with work >_< Unfortunately, writing reports like this takes A LOT of time because I try to do it as detailed as possible, I wanna do Wakana’s live justice after all. Oh well, I should stop rambling and start with the actual report. Before I focus on the songs I would like to share a few general thoughts.

Seating/audience: As most of you probably know, I attended both the Tokyo as well as the Fukuoka concert of Wakana’s tour. I had amazing seats for both lives. In Tokyo I was seated in the second row and in Fukuoka I had a first-row seat. Both were located right at the center so Wakana was literally in front of me. BANZAI!! The Fukuoka stage wasn’t very high and there was only about 1 ½ metres between the stage and the first row so basically I could have reached out and touched Wakana (not that I would ever do that but you get what I mean XD). It’s the closest I have ever been to her during a concert. I was able to see every micro expression on her face, I looked into her eyes, I waved at her, it felt so good to be noticed. On a more or less related note I wanna add that I felt kinda bad for Wakana because for the Fukuoka live the hall was pretty empty, I think the audience only filled about half of it (if not less - for reference, the main hall has a capacity for about 1,000 people, I think we weren’t even 500 people in the audience). I hear it was the same for her other venues (except the Tokyo live which was quite well visited but even there the upper floor was empty). Lining up for the goods was also completely different. Merchandise sale started very late, about 1 ½ hours before the live and there were hardly any people lining up. It’s really sad to see Wakana getting so little support for her solo activities. I guess lots of YK and Kalafina fans aren’t really interested to follow her. Right now Wakana’s management is making the mistake of still thinking in Kalafina dimensions. Wakana as a solo artist simply can’t fill out halls like Kalafina. Maybe at some point in her career she will be able to but I feel she will have to do a lot of tie-ins to achieve that sort of popularity. Right now it would be smarter to go for slightly smaller (and more classical) venues I think...This way the halls would fill up quickly and it would probably reduce the ticket prices (which in turn would make more people willing to purchase them). I hope for the next tour they will consider making some changes. Wakana deserves to perform at sold out lives.

Band style: Speaking of “more classical” venues, I feel like Wakana would also benefit from a more “classical style/acoustic arrangement”. The band style is a bit overwhelming at times, there were a few songs that would have sounded SO MUCH better with a less band-heavy arrangement, at least in my opinion. In particular the drums and bass guitar felt a little overbearing during some parts of the performance (“Yakusoku no Yoake” and “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” immediately come to mind - the bass was bordering on obnoxious during “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” and the drums kinda almost ruined the mystical/translucent atmosphere of “Yakusoku no Yoake”). Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming the musicians, I think they all did well. The guitarist was particularly dedicated, he switched between e-guitar and acoustic guitar throughout the entire concert, even during songs. There was a staff member that constantly had to run back and forth, I felt kinda bad for him. At any rate, all the musicians were really into it and they were obviously having lots of fun. Unfortunately, most of Wakana’s songs simply aren’t suited to be played by a “standard” band.

Vocals: Wakana’s vocals were great during both concerts. As far as I can tell she hit all of her notes, to me she sounded particularly beautiful in Jidai, Boku no Kokoro no Tokei, Hikari Furu and Ai no Hana. At no point did she seem exhausted, I didn’t notice her getting out of breath and she barely even sweated. Due to the nature of most songs, she didn’t move a lot so she was able to focus fully on her singing. I did notice however that her voice got occasionally drowned by the band. Once in a while she would sing her lines really quietly, not sure why though. Maybe she lacked confidence or she forgot the lyrics. Perhaps she purposefully used a quiet voice and didn’t take into account that the background music and band would be so loud. That’s just a minor complaint though and didn’t really take away from the overall experience.

Production: The stage set up was very simple which I didn’t mind. The decoration consisted of these metal thingies hanging from the ceiling (as seen on the report pictures). The atmosphere was mostly created via the lighting. There was a screen in the back but it was barely used. To be honest, I only really noticed it during “Kaze ni Naritai”. I am sure it was used during other songs but for the life of me, I can’t remember. There was no choreography or anything. Wakana just did what she felt like doing. Some swaying here, some arm gesture there. A bit of walking across the stage during the more up-beat songs. The outfits were obviously chosen by Wakana herself. You could tell she felt very comfortable in them. She also opted for flat sandals. It’s details like that which made the lives feel very real and intimate.

MCs: Wakana was quite nervous during her MCs (especially at her Tokyo live which was filmed). At times she was a bit awkward and didn’t really know what to say. She even admitted to feel a little uncomfortable since this is the first time in her solo career to have so many cameras around. She definitely talked a lot more at the Tokyo live but I am not sure if all of that is gonna make it onto the DVD/BD (I hope so though!). During her Fukuoka live she was far more relaxed and towards the end you could tell that she didn’t mind the MCs at all. She was able to talk freely at that point. Either way, at both lives she managed to work her way through the MCs. The audience was very supportive and found her little awkwardness quite precious. I mean, how could you not find her cute?

Tokyo or Fukuoka? Overall, I thought the Fukuoka live was much better than the concert in Tokyo. Wakana was more relaxed and I guess she didn’t feel as pressured since there were no cameras. She cried at the end when she said her final goodbye. It was so sweet. Also, the acoustics were a lot better at the Fukuoka Convention Center, at least it sounded that way for me. The band wasn’t so loud and Wakana’s microphone was quite well-balanced which really cannot be said for the Tokyo live (but as I mentioned in my previous post, I think it will be easy to fix with a bit of studio magic, the video release should sound fine).

Okay, now let’s finally get to the songs...

01.約束の夜明け | Yakusoku no Yoake Wakana came on stage wearing the orange/salmon-coloured dress and flat white Roman-style sandals. The lights weren’t doing her arms any favours to be honest but aside from that she looked gorgeous. The colour of the dress really accentuated her skin tone. Her hair was made up in an elaborate ponytail with lots of braids. For this song there was some sort of see-through screen similar to the one used for Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yūgure no during Kalafina’s FOTW tour. The song started with a short intro/overture that sounded very epic. I think they should have added that part to the studio version (since that one starts rather abruptly). As mentioned in my quick overall review, everything was quite loud during this song (more so during the Tokyo live than the one in Fukuoka). I didn’t really like how the band sounded, to me it felt rather overwhelming. I think something different is needed for an almost ethereal song like that. Maybe some strings or a flute...Sometimes a little less is more. On top of that, Wakana’s singing was quite loud to compensate the sound of the instruments so that didn’t exactly make it better. Wakana did a little “oohhhh-ing” for the rather long instrumental section that starts around 2:40 minutes. It’s also noticeable in the studio version if you listen closely but it’s barely there. For the live version Wakana is doing some proper “ooohh-ing”, it sounded really nice. I expected to REALLY love this song since it’s among my album faves but unfortunately the loudness and arrangement made it very hard for me to fully appreciate the performance. It wasn’t bad or anything but I also wasn’t blown away. I guess you could say it was a little underwhelming...

02.流れ星 | Nagareboshi A straightforward performance. Sounded pretty much exactly like the studio version. For me this song is ranked pretty low as far as the album tracks are concerned. I had hoped Wakana’s live performance would make me appreciate the song more but I still feel the same way about it. I mean, I don’t dislike it or anything, I just don’t enjoy it as much as most of the other album tracks. It just doesn’t click with me if that makes sense. At the end of the performance we get a small highlight. Wakana went up to her little table and picked up a couple of instruments. First she used the tingsha to create some sort of “bling” sound. Then she took the big rainstick and slowly moved it upside down to create the sound of rain. Honestly, I can’t wait for you to see her face on the video release, I hope they caught her expressions on camera, she looked so happy playing those instruments. Like a little child that got to play with her favourite toy.

MC: I don’t have much memory of the MCs tbh (or rather, I don’t remember what was being said in which MC because there were SO MANY) but I think she talked about her album release here and how she wants people to listen to her as an individual, she wants people to focus on her as a human being, this tour is only about her and her voice (which is also why the tour title is “VOICE”). This is also where she talked about the weather I think. How she tends to be really unlucky and wherever she goes she brings rain with her. During her first few tour lives the weather was always really nice but unfortunately it rained a lot on the day of her Tokyo live. It did however stop raining towards the late afternoon. The weather wasn’t exactly nice but at least we managed to stay dry. It was super hot and sunny for Wakana’s Fukuoka live. Maybe she mentioned the cameras here too or it might have been in a later MC...? Anyways, she confirmed that we would get a home video release for this concert.

03.瑠璃色の空 | Ruriiro no Sora This is probably my least favourite song of the album, it’s just not my cup of tea. As a result, the performance didn’t really stand out to me and I don’t have much to say about it.. However, for those who like the song I think you will like the live performance because Wakana sounded really good. No complaints.

04.Hard Rain This is where the concert really picked up for me. It was the first up-beat song of the live and I generally enjoyed the performance. In the beginning when I first listened to the album I wasn’t sure whether or not I liked “Hard Rain”, both “Ruriiro no Sora” and “Hard Rain” have a similar vibe, they almost sound “jazz-y” to me and honestly, jazz is a genre I don’t enjoy at all. But unlike “Ruriiro no Sora” “Hard Rain” managed to win me over. The studio version is really nice but the live version is so much better. Wakana delivered a lovely performance, her stage presence was great. During the chorus she kept walking from one end of the stage to the other, flapping her multi-layered skirt. She came right to the edge of the stage so I felt really close to her.The “paya-paya” part at the end of the song was lip-synched to some extent. Or at least they had a very loud track playing in the background. The last few “paya-payas” she sang herself.

MC: I think in this MC Wakana talks about the privilege of working together with so many different and talented composers/songwriters. She feels honoured that all these beautiful songs were made for her. She learned a lot, she got to meet lots of amazing people, she got a lot more involved in the creative process. The next song was composed and written by Yūko Andō, Wakana is particularly smitten by this piece because it’s so powerful, it’s a showcase of female strength.

05.記憶の人 | Kioku no Hito In my opinion Wakana’s live performance far exceeded the studio version. Those who already love the studio version will fall in love even more with the song once they watch the live. At least that’s what happened to me. There was so much emotion in her voice. She sounded beautiful. THIS is the kind of singing style I enjoy most from Wakana, it’s this kind of song where she gets to shine. The previous songs lacked this particular charm (at least it felt that way to me). Don’t get me wrong, they were all solid performances but there are distinctive aspects of Wakana’s voice that I originally fell in love with and that aren’t really all that present in the above mentioned songs (because they are a different style to what Wakana usually sings). Does this make sense? The band thankfully held back here, the arrangement was very simple, no excessive use of drums, e-guitar or bass.

06.時の音 | Toki no Ne Just like with “Kioku no Hito” this song was much more impressive being performed live (as impressive as a slow ballad like that can get :P). While listening to the album I usually neglected this track because I didn’t really care for it all that much. However, Wakana’s nuanced performance really moved me. There was something in her voice that struck my heart, it’s hard to explain. Once again the band held back for which I was very grateful. An understated piece like this sounds best with a simple arrangement.

MC: I think this might have been the MC where she talked about the sky and taking lots of pictures. She loves watching the sky, the sun and the trees. How the position of the sun changes the entire scenery, how the strength of the wind puts everything in motion. She wants everyone to get a feel for the summer wind so for her cover corner she chose the song “Kaze ni Naritai” as intro. She thinks it’s a perfect song for the season.

07.風になりたい | Kaze ni Naritai ❇Cover (original by THE BOOM) Probably the most quirky and laid back performance of the night. A feel-good song if there ever was one. Everyone had a blast. Wakana was so hyper and she was dancing around like a little girl. She got the audience to clap along, it was a ton of fun. I didn’t expect to like this song so much because I wasn’t really impressed with the original when I listened to it on youtube but boy, Wakana truly worked her magic, I was mesmerised, it felt like we were all at the beach. Throughout the song she used a small rattle and let me tell you, she took the shaking seriously. Can’t wait for everyone to watch this performance on DVD/BD.Vocally this song wasn’t outstanding or anything, it was just about having fun.

MC: Next up she talks about how there are so many artists she admires and she decided early on that she wanted to sing some of their songs during her lives. Last year during her autumn tour she already sang a song by Spitz (they are among her favourite bands) so for this tour she KNEW that she wanted to sing another Spitz song. This time she chose Hotaru which is one of her all-time favourite songs.

08.ホタル | Hotaru ❇Cover (original by Spitz) Ever since Wakana had mentioned in an interview that she would love to sing this song together with the lead singer of Spitz one day, I have been in love with it. I watched the original on Youtube and was immediately smitten by Masamune Kusano’s voice. Wakana uses a very similar style to sing the song, it’s very intense and soulful. The arrangement is also pretty much the same. Just imagine the original being sung by Wakana and you will know what to expect.

MC: This MC was pretty long and quite different at the Tokyo and Fukuoka live, I fear I might mix up things a little. Here she talks a lot about loving Miyuki Nakajima. Last time she sang “Ito” and this time she is gonna sing “Jidai”, a song that has left a huge impression on her. She used to sing it as a young girl but back then she didn’t understand the meaning of the lyrics (find the English lyrics HERE). She just sang it because she liked the melody. As she became older, the lyrics gradually started to make sense and now it’s so much more powerful. Wakana says that as time goes by so many things happen, everything changes, steadily we learn to love new things, we say goodbye to old things. At the Tokyo live she tried to recite a part of the lyrics but for some reason she couldn’t remember the lines in the heat of the moment. She was standing there, flustered, trying to remember the lines. Not a single word came out of her mouth though. She looked at the ceiling looking for a hint but obviously there was none, the pianist even started playing a few tones so Wakana would remember but nope, it didn’t happen. Eventually Wakana gave up and just decided to sing the song. I hope they keep that part in the DVD/BD.

09.時代 | Jidai ❇Cover (orignal by Miyuki Nakajima) Absolutely breathtaking, I LOVE this song so much, I understand why Wakana is such a big fan of it. And really, Wakana sings it perfectly. This is the kind of song that was MADE for her. It was a very emotional performance for everyone because we all had to think of Kalafina parting ways and Wakana taking a new path.

10.水の証 | Mizu no Akashi I was so happy to hear her perform this live since it’s literally one of her oldest songs. I have never attended a YK live so last year during Wakana’s symphony concert, I got to listen to it for the first time. I was mesmerised back then and I was just as charmed this time around. I feel like Wakana is getting better and better at performing this song. She literally sounded like old-school Wakana. After the song had ended, Wakana took a small bow and walked off. Since the music was still playing there was no applause.

～ Mizu no Akashi inst ～ (dress change): The instrumental started out quite slow and quiet. Steadily it became more up-beat and epic, basically like one of YK’s typical instrumental pieces. I liked it quite a bit but I wasn’t blown away. Not sure if Satoshi Takebe arranged this or if the musicians improvised, either way, it was a nice little transition. They then played a little intro for Tsubasa that reminded me a lot of the beginning of “the battle is to the strong”. That was pretty epic. Wakana came on stage wearing her heavily patterned dress. I personally liked it a lot because the cut of this dress was much more flattering than the previous one. Plus, we got some Waka-collarbones and in my book that’s always a bonus.

11.翼 | Tsubasa I am really sad that Wakana doesn’t perform the song like she did on the music program Bokura no Ongaku (CLICK ME). That rendition had so much edge, she was literally growling some of her lines. Something we have never really seen from her before and certainly a welcome change. Ahhh, that was such a powerful performance. Alas, for this tour Wakana has decided to sing the song in a manner that’s quite similar to the studio version (comparable to the version we got from the Odaiba Venus Fort release event). Wakana does well, she sounds good, there’s no doubt that it is a great performance BUT there is a lack of “oomph” if you know what I mean. Her expressions and gestures also aren’t as passionate as they were in that music show. But hey, it’s fine. Perfectly enjoyable performance.

MC: There was a short MC where she talked about wanting to enjoy the following song together with the audience. Once again she invited us to clap along. a few people got up from their seats.

12.君だけのステージ | Kimi Dake no Stage WOW!! Wakana was glowing in this one, the song radiates so much happiness. She had a smile on her face the entire time. I can’t remember the melody of the song but the chorus is super uplifting and cheerful. I hope we will get a single release in the future. I can understand why it’s not on the album though, it’s too up-beat I think, it wouldn’t have fit the overall vibe XD

MC: This is when the band introduction happened...I wonder if this was also where she asked the audience members about where they came from. At one point she asked everyone from Tokyo to raise their hand, then everyone who came to the live from another part of the country. And finally she asked everyone from overseas to raise their hand. OF COURSE I was raising my hand as fast as I could. I am kinda sad that she didn’t ask the same question at the Fukuoka live T_T

13.むすんでひらく | Musunde Hiraku Solid performance, perfect continuation of “Kimi Dake no Stage”. If I am not mistaken I think she struggled a bit with some of her notes...probably because of the faster tempo...Almost everyone stood up for this song and did the typical Kalafina hand/arm gesture. Not sure what to think of that actually. It’s like no one was invested in the live until she started singing a Kalafina song. Wakana had tried really hard to engage the audience during Kaze ni Naritai and Kimi Dake no Stage but you could tell people were holding back (for whatever reason). With the first note of “Musunde Hiraku” everyone literally jumped out of their seat. Kinda disrespectful if you ask me...maybe that’s just me reading too much into it but it didn’t sit well with me...

MC (Satoshi Takebe joins Wakana on stage): This part and the following two songs were Tokyo-exclusive. Wakana asked everyone to take a seat again and introduced Satoshi Takebe. She talked a bit about him being the producer of her previous and current tour, about him being awfully busy (they didn’t even have time to rehearse together!). He then says a few nice things about Wakana and apologises for talking too much. Wakana tells him it’s totally fine, she has been talking all evening and is happy someone else is taking over. She was like, “please keep talking so I don’t have to talk!” XD Satoshi Takebe explains that they decided to perform two songs together, the first one being a song that Wakana has always wanted to sing at a concert, she has been singing it so often at karaoke. The second one being a song Satoshi Takebe has always wanted to try and play.

14. ハナミズキ | Hanamizuki ❇Cover (original by Yō Hitoto) Sorry, can’t say anything about this. I hadn’t known that song prior to this performance and tbh, it didn’t really stand out. I thought it was quite boring tbh…But maybe that’s just me being overly-critical and me not having read the lyrics. I am always having a hard time judging songs that I have only listened to once. I am not able to take in everything the first time. Plus, at that point I was fighting a battle with exhaustion. I had arrived in Japan that morning and didn’t get any sleep on the plane. I kinda wish she would have sung this in Fukuoka too because there I would have been able to appreciate it more. I have basically no memory of it so it’s hard for me to write a proper review. Wakana definitely sounded good but I don’t think it was a very challenging song...or maybe it was? Ughhh, sorry, I fail...

15. oblivious I have never been a big fan of “oblivious” to begin with and this new arrangement doesn’t really do anything to improve my opinion of it. Wakana performed a similar version during her symphony concert, it’s just a bit more up-beat now. They pretty much removed all the “oooohh-ing” parts so Wakana is only singing the verses and chorus. Just at the very end Wakana is doing a bit of “oooh-ing” but she chose to do it with a very thin and breathy voice. Not sure why because she could have definitely sung it with a fuller and more “operatic” voice. Personally I feel like without the operatic style “ooooh-ing” the song isn’t all that special. I guess you will all have to judge for yourself. Those who love “oblivious” might find something to like here too.

MC: Here she talks about time and clocks, pretty much the same thing she has been talking about in many of her interview. Time is the theme of quite a lot of her album tracks, she is generally very fascinated by time.

16.僕の心の時計 | Boku no Kokoro no Tokei A touching performance. One of my favourites actually, didn’t expect to like it so much. Her vocals were lovely here, especially towards the end. Can’t really say anything else about it.

17.時を越える夜に | Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni Unlike most people, I have loved this song from the get-go. I think it’s a beautiful ballad and I could listen to it all day. BUT the band really ruined this performance for me. Okay, maybe “ruined” isn’t the right word, there was still some enjoyment to be found, Wakana’s vocals were on point after all but it just wasn’t what I had hoped for. As I mentioned at the beginning of this report, the bass was super obnoxious during the chorus. It was totally out of place. I hope they can work some studio magic to make it sound better on DVD/BD. Or maybe it was just my personal perception and other people liked it...???

MC: Wakana says that this is the final song of her concert *fake news XD* and thanks everyone for coming.

18.金木犀 | Kinmokusei Ahhhh! A beautiful and solid performance, nothing more to say about it. I was already smitten with the studio version so Wakana didn’t really have to do anything to convince me to fall in love with the live version.

~EN ~ Wakana left the stage and people started doing the usual clapping for an encore. They didn’t do the typical “encore” chanting. The band returned and the pianist started to play with a sort of organ setting. It sounded very epic. Wakana comes on stage wearing her album cover dress. The sleeves were altered slightly, instead of long sleeves she now has the fabric flow freely around her arms. It’s a very good look on her, she literally looks like an angel. She has some accessories in her hair that look a lot like the ones she used for the 10th Anniversary Live.

19.ひかりふる | Hikari Furu I think this performance will be quite polarising. Some will love it, others will hate it. Personally, I really loved it because Wakana sounded great. Yes, Keiko and Hikaru are missed dearly and a couple of their essential lines (e.g. “hikari no naka”) were left out but nonetheless, Wakana did an amazing job (especially during the climax). As I mentioned before, the song starts with some sort of organ-style playing by the piano and Wakana’s angelic singing. As the song progresses the other instruments join in, the arrangement sounds quite dramatic. For some reason I was reminded of Queen’s music (probably because I had just watched the movie Bohemian Rhapsody on the plane). Wakana sings as many of Keiko’s and Hikaru’s lines as possible and she really does them justice. She doesn’t necessarily try to imitate their singing style, her “mabushii asa” for example sounds totally different than Keiko’s. Overall I am very happy that she decided to sing this song, it was definitely one of the highlights of this live. I guess everyone has to decide for themselves whether or not they like this new arrangement.

MC: Here Wakana talks about the final song of her album. During the Tokyo live she explains that this song is very special because it showcases the power of lyrics. The melody is cute and playful but that’s actually quite misleading because the topic of the song is profound and sad. She also mentions that the song was composed by Shusui and another Swedish composer who she had first met more than a decade ago when she was still in her teens.I think she might have only sad that at the Fukuoka live, not sure o.O

20.愛の花 | Ai no Hana Hands down my favourite song of the album and probably my favourite performance of those two nights. I don’t know what it is about this song but I am just so freaking in love with it. I guess it’s just like Wakana said in the MC, the juxtaposition of the sweet melody and the tragic lyrics makes “Ai no Hana” so precious. There are so many emotions combined in this song. Tragedy, sadness, joy and hope, they all come together to create a beautiful song. Wakana sounds like an angel, especially after the second chorus when she does her “ooohhh-ing”. The live version is SO MUCH better than the studio version. Her high notes are gorgeous. The end of the song is also improved quite a bit because it doesn’t end so abruptly after the final chorus. The chorus is repeated a second time (starting from “kōri mo tokasu ai no hana) which adds a lovely climax.

MC: Wakana thanks everyone and once again introduces the band members. One by one they start leaving the stage until only the pianist is left. Wakana says that she wants to sing one final song accompanied by just the piano. The song is written by Satoshi Takebe and it means a lot to her. The past year has been filled with lots of emotions, there has been sadness, pain and joy, she has made so many new experiences, she has worked really hard on writing all these lyrics. Every time she stands on stage she knows it’s all worth it. She was born to sing, she wants to keep on singing, she wants to deliver her songs to an audience. She has put all these feelings into the lyrics of the next song.

21.あとひとつ | Ato Hitotsu So simple and yet so beautiful. I think for most of you who are not really fans of slow ballads the song will be too boring. For me personally, it was love at first listen. The melody of the chorus is still stuck in my head. I wonder if we'll ever get a release for this song. I really hope so! It would go perfectly with “Kimi Dake no Stage” - topic wise I mean. And it would make a lovely B-side. This is just about Wakana declaring her love for singing and performing, about being herself, about treasuring the moment, about following her dreams. I don’t remember everything but the lyrics are so sweet, I honestly couldn’t help but cry.

Final greeting: Wakana walked from side to side saying a few parting words. In Fukuoka she started crying, it was so precious. First she only teared up a little but then she kept talking and the tears were just flowing down her face. She didn’t really say anything special, just the usual stuff (so happy to be back home, to be welcomed so warmy, etc). She can’t wait to be back, there will be many more tours (she made it sound like another tour was already in the making, there was no official announcement though).

#kalafina #wakana #report #live report #wakana live tour 2019 voice #tokyo #fukuoka #long text post

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doomedandstoned · 5 years

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Lexington’s FORREST Astound with Musical Wizardry in ‘Final Frontier’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

Art by Brittani Fuller

For the past few weeks, Doomed & Stoned has been treating you to the sounds of 'Final Frontier' (2019), the new EP from Kentucky's proggy instrumental post-sludge quartet FORREST, and today we get to hear the record in its entirety. It's a clever, even inventive, and electrifying spin that finds Forrest wrangling a rambunctious, sprawling sound like a veteran rodeo cowboy.

Here we have five exciting numbers that can certainly stand up as self-contained tracks, but for full impact you can't beat taking them as five consecutive shots (though you might end up just a bit tipsy by the end). There's the hot-to-trot opener, "Bubba"; the monstrous "To Lose a Whale"; the grave, but persistent doomer, "The Final Frontier (Dan II)," featuring some very tight drumming; the punchy, proggy crooner "The Intensity of Frenchness"; the folksy jig-turned-dirge, "Specialman," complete with some surprisingly warm vintage rock moments; and the vigorous album closer, "Vacation (...Don't Ever Come Back), which feels like a solemn car ride full of aching heads and reflection after a night of solid debauchery.

Congrats to Riley Logan (lead guitar), Charlie Overman (rhythm guitar, synths), Jared McIntyre, and Josh Summerville (drums) on this bold and distinct entry into the ever crowding swamp of sludgy doom! If you're anything like me, you'll find yourself binge listening this one on the daily. Final Frontier by Forrest releases on Wednesday, July 17th.

Give ear...

Final Frontier by Forrest

Peeking Under The Hood with Forrest

Photographs by Nathan Hampton

'Final Frontier' is an incredible effort, guys. What are some of your roots, musically and technically speaking?

For influences, I'd say Melvins, Deftones, Yob, and Mastodon.

I'm always interested to hear different band's experiences recording an album, especially when it sounds this damned good. Walk us into studio, if you would, and describe the whole she-bang for.

The EP’s got its fair share of progginess, but even the least doomy tracks on the record were recorded through old Sunn stuff and driven mainly by boutique fuzz pedals built by our friend Eric over at frost giant electronics -- he’s also in the band Switchblade Jesus. The production and engineering side of things was done by our good friend Will Chewning at Springhurst Recording studio. The environment was super chill, and this was the second time we’ve worked with him. We love it there. The artwork was done by Brittani Fuller.

I think it would be cool to give our readers some insight into the songs on the new record. Do you mind walking us through it?

Alright, Billy, so in regards to background on the tracks:

Bubba -- As far as thematic tie-ins, it's named after the character Bubba from the movie Forrest Gump. In fact, as you'll see, most of this EP's songs are either Forrest Gump themed or Star Trek: The Next Generation themed.

To Lose a Whale -- This song was originally going to be added to the end of the EP as a bonus track. However, once the song was finished we timed it's length and discovered it was roughly three-and-a-half minutes long, so we decided to add it as its own track. With this second song, while it does have a rather different sound than the rest of the EP, it still follows a similar formula to many Forrest songs, "Bubba" and "The Intensity of Frenchness" in particular -- the pattern being a heavy/catchy intro riff, a high, spacey post-lead thingy in the middle, and then a return to that heavy/catchy riff. The song was in part inspired by Gojira, hence the name, "To Lose a Whale." On the song "Flying Whales" by Gojira, their vocalist at one point screams, "I have to find the whales!" Riley and I were listening to it once and he goes: "It'd have to be pretty fuckin hard to lose a whale!" Beyond the Gojira reference, the sample in the beginning is from a scene in Star Trek: The Next Generation in which Data attempts to do stand-up comedy.

The Final Frontier (Dan II) -- Half the title is obviously a Star Trek reference. However, the second half is the song's original title, very simply "Dan II." There's a song off of our first EP entitled "Dan," named after Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump. In "Dan II" we took the bridge riff from the original "Dan" and turned it into one of the song's main riffs. The bridge section in the middle of the song, over which Riley takes a solo, was probably bit off the album which we all spent the most time obsessing over. That bridge section was inspired primarily by Yob. I can say with confidence, I think it's one of the sweetest doom riffs around.

The Intensity of Frenchness -- This is a reference to Captain Jean Luc-Picard, the captain of the Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The song opens with a sample from the show in which Picard delivers his famous one-liner: "Make it so." The intro riff is also inspired by a French progressive rock band called Totorro. This is the third song on the record after "Bubba" and "To Lose a Whale" that follows the formula of heavy/catchy intro to weird, spacey post-lead riff and then back to a heavy/catchy riff. In this song, and in Bubba's case, they return to the same riff as in the intro.

Specialman -- This one's named as such because Forrest Gump is a special man. Maybe that's insensitive or something, I don't know. Regardless, this one's inspiration is sort of all over the place. The only thing I can say for sure is that the bridge section with the jazzy chords was written in an attempt to weave a doo-wop chord progression into a metal song, and I'd say it was done successfully. The song reminds me of the Melvins, in many ways -- the last riff of the song, the tones, and the way things are played; you know, dynamics and all.

Vacation (...don't ever come back) -- After the recording was finished, Riley described it as John Baizley and Mike Scheidt merged into one big, pretty, doomy thing. Something along those lines. It was heavily inspired by the Baroness song "Grad," and while I can't say for certain, I'd say the flute popped into his head either from Zelda or from Jethro Tull. The song gets its title from another Forrest Gump reference, in which Forrest is talking about his Dad leaving his Mom and him as a boy, and his Mom describing it to him as a vacation. I think Forrest asks something like, "What's a vacation?" and she goes when you leave and never come back. Something along those lines.

What kind of instruments, amps, and gear did you use in the recording?

Just for context, our standard rigs are:

Charlie (rhythm guitar): Epiphone SG for C standard tuning, an Ibanez rg7421 for 7-string A standard tuning, Egnater Tweaker 40 amplifier head, Way huge electronics Green Rhino, Frost Giant Electronics Massif, a 300-watt 2x12 with an Eminence Tonker and an Eminence Legend 1218. I also turned on a nano chorus occasionally.

Riley (lead guitar): Gibson Les Paul Studio, occasionally a Fender Strat, both for C standard tuning, Ibanez rg7421 for 7-string A standard tuning, Jet City JCA20HV which is a head they made in part with the Soldano brand. He uses a Laney 2x12, also 300-watts with two Eminence Swamp Thangs in it. As far as pedals for him, he was using a Frost Giant Electronics Soma Fuzz, a Leviathan which is a custom one off pedal he had made by a guy here in Lexington, which is an octave fuzz and a JFet boost. He uses an ehx canyon for a ton of the ambient parts as well. Along with a delay and chorus here and there.

Jared (bass): Squier Jazz bass for C standard, Epiphone Thunderbird bass for A standard. We tracked Jared through a DI, and then reamped him through an old Sunn Sorado head. We also used that head all over the record for guitar overdubs. For some parts Jared would use an old 90s Black Russian Big Muff as well as an EHX POG. I believe we ran him through an ampeg speaker cab, but I can't remember specifically. If you'd really like to know I can find out.

Josh (drums): Josh switches up his rig constantly, but at the time of recording he was using a drum kit with evans drum heads, and a mix of meinl, and Zildjian cymbals. He used Vic Firth sticks as well I'm pretty sure.

With the standard rigs out of the way, for the individual songs some little extra pieces of gear are:

For the song Bubba, we used pretty much only our standard rigs on this song, not really many overdubs. However, the spacey post lead section in the middle, Riley used an MXR Blue Box, an octave fuzz, to really thicken up those leads and add an extra layer to everything.

While it's probably one of the songs that strays most from doom in the traditional sense, much of To Lose a Whale was recorded through that old Sunn Sorado head guitars and bass included, along with the standard rigs of course. Josh also used some bongos on this track.

Mostly standard rigs were used for the bones of The Final Frontier (Dan II), however, we did lots of overdubs with the old Sunn head through an Emperor 4x12 loaded with Ted Webers. For this song I'd say it's also important to note we used exclusively dirt sounds from the amps for crunchy stuff and our Frost Giant Electronics fuzzes for the big fuzzy bits, i.e. most of the song. (laughs) Nothing in between, though. For this one, I put a Korg Ms-20 mini synthesizer with a bit of analog tape echo added over top of the very beginning of the song to thicken it up even more. It was a patch I'd been working on for a while, and I was glad to get to use it. Riley used his canyon pedal lots on this track, as well.

Once we transition into the clean bit right before the super heavy middle section with the same melody, Riley's tone there is his Frost Giant Electronics Soma turned on with the volume on his guitar rolled off, I think it sounds particularly amazing right there. When that riff gets giant and fuzzy over top of the fuzziness there's a Hammond organ droning and following the melody of that riff. When it goes back into the crunchy riff that was taken from the original Dan, we used that old Black Russian Big Muff for guitar overdubs when the whole band kicks in.

We used standard rigs for both Specialman and The Intensity of Frenchness, plus a banjo overdub on the middle section of the latter.

For the final track, Vacation (...don't ever come back), Riley used his standard guitar rig and his Leviathan for pretty much all the dirt. I didn't play guitar on this track and instead just did some droning on the Korg MS-20 mini synthesizer, as well as a Roland Juno-6 synthesizer. There's also a flute.

The Great Forrest Giveaway!

Forrest has some Bandcamp download codes for y'all and I do mean they have dropped the motherlode! Get 'Final Frontier' (2019) por nada while you can (redeem here).

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