#it was a recording of the bird's own performance.... there was no one left to sing to... and the recording was made to be archived

[rainprose]

can you hear me? i cannot hear you.... and every song i thought i knew; i've been deafened to... and there's no one left to sing to

breaks. my. heart.

It's like taking this little poem 👇 and saying: actually, there won't be any singing. there is no one left to sing to; there is no more song

In the dark times / Will there also be singing? / Yes, there will also be singing. / About the dark times. - Bertolt Brecht

[mueritos]

i hope we continue to see more protests within the US military. i see a lot of leftists and folks who are anti-military who have such an open disdain for the people who are in the military, yet neglect to considering the conditions this country makes to produce ideology, poverty, and the illusion of choice to make all kinds of people choose to enlist in the military. You ever see those videos of ROTC kids recording each other asking why they joined the military and everyone's like, "healthcare", "it helped me go to college", "I was bored" or "free ptsd lol". I hate to remind everyone but folks who are in the military are people, too, and they are the same victims and perpetrators of violence as the rest of you, we have all been shallowly conditioned to view each other as enemies just because one person is wearing army greens and the other is not.

some of the biggest anti-war advocates are those who engaged in war. Veterans who genuinely believed they were protecting the US against "terrorism" come back with blood on their hands, and they choose to realize that it was US imperialism that forced them to carry out violence, instead of doubling down and shielding themselves from the fact that they too are capable of atrocities... This is a class of people who are intentionally conditioned to be as poor and as ideologically aligned to US imperialism so that the military has a never-ending pool to send their youth to destroy other country's youth. The only people I have ever heard say "do not join the military" are those who ARE military.

This is in no way to ever excuse or explain away any of the atrocious war crimes and violence this industry and its people have committed against others. What I am saying is that we absolutely cannot cast aside the individuals who have been victimized within US imperialism, even if they are wearing army greens. I was speaking with my Palestinian classmate last week and another classmate--a member of the US air force-- walked up to me and struck up a conversation. My military classmate showed me her new bird, bid both of us goodbye, and left. My Palestinian classmate asked me if I was close with her, and I said we talked quite often, and she said, "I never met a person who's in the military. I still hate the military, but I never knew that they did, too. I didn't realize that they were also victims."

If my Palestinian classmate--one who is actively watching her own community die--can understand that it is not individuals who are the problem but it is in fact systems, US imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism...why can't we all? And she has EVERY reason to hate any individual military member. A lot of online activism just creates more barriers. if your optics look bad, complicated, or contradictory, you are cast aside. Everyone has got the be the perfect activist, you can never make a mistake or share a half-baked thought, you should always believe every word from a marginalized persons mouth (because being marginalized doesn't mean you're not entrenched in white supremacy too!) and you should never question what you see...Do you know what you sound like? The very imperialists who are convincing poor whites to vote against themselves. Perfectionism is white supremacy. Black & white thinking is white supremacy.

I'd rather have a military member who genuinely believed in the US imperialism machine but was disillusioned after being deployed as my comrade than some leftist who cherishes the performance of "being a good person". I don't want "good people" in our movements. I want humans who care. I want humans who make mistakes and who learn from them. I want humans who accept the messiness of a person. I want humans who hold others accountable and allow themselves to take responsibility for their actions. I want people who change for themselves and others.

fight systems, not individual people. we can change each other, but if we're too preoccupied looking like the World's Perfect Activists, we will only consume each other alive. Connect to your fellow humans, forever and always.

[tea-space]

THE HUNGER GAMES THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES MOVIE SPOILERS

So I watched the TBOSAS movie today & I have thoughts. It is good as its own thing I think they did a great job to put the most important things into this one movie. Since they couldn't squeeze everything in the movie it took some liberties to cut off & change moments around a bit.

I think the changes they made to how the 10th hunger games play out was a great change. And I loved that they kept the violence.

The movie didn't show any of Coriolanus inner monologues which is a shame it's my favorite part of the book but having the audience come out and interpret how Coryo feels themselves isn't so bad either since Tom Blyth's portrayal as Coriolanus snow was magnificent.

The movie focused more on Coriolanus relationship with the prominent characters & sadly cut a lot of interactions with his other classmates. Especially Clemensia we don't hear or see her again after she gets the snake bite or even if she's still alive.

The chemistry between Tom Blyth & Rachel Zelger was amazing it really shines through to their character's relationship. Regarding the snowbaird relationship they added a new moment that wasn't in the book replacing a scene in the book. We got only one kiss from them in the movie contrary to the many kisses in the book.

The last part in the forest cabin between Coriolanus & Lucy Gray felt really tense like they were about to kill each other right there & then I loved it. Tom Blyth's performance really shined through this part, the hurt & betrayal he felt after he got bit made him look scary.

The fate of Lucy Gray was left as ambiguous as it was in the book. But we clearly get to see Coriolanus shoot her down but nothing more other than the birds singing the hanging tree which paranoid him. I wished they addressed the part where they erased the records of the 10th hunger games but it wasn't mentioned.

The ending showing Coriolanus full transformation to a villain was chilling I can really feel he carried a different vibe then what he was like in the beginning of the movie.

Overall a great film to show the beginning of the hunger games & how it developed to what we know it as down the line. A villain origin story showcasing how Coriolanus experiences shape him & how he rose to power. Like Coriolanus said snow lands on top.

[taz-ma-raz-skylar]

Interview written by Myki Trieu.

" I was able to land on my feet without pain after a year" - One Piece actor trained so hard he was left with scars.

The stunts for Netflix's One Piece series require a lot of training and strength. Actor Taz Skylar even suffered a leg injury for this.

There are tons of epic fights to be seen in the One Piece anime and of course the cool action scenes couldn't be missing from the live-action adaptation. To bring his character Sanji to life, actor Taz Skylar endured a lot.

He decided to perform all of his stunts himself. Skylar trained so hard for this that not only did he get scars, but according to his own statements, he could barely land on his legs without pain for a whole year.

This is what Skylar's daily routine looked like for the first season.

In an interview with Esquire Middle East, the actor spoke more about his intensive stunt training and his ambitions for the second season. Since there were no solid clues or templates for Sanji's live-action implementation, Skylar and the crew simply tested wildly.

His daily preparation for the first season included four hours of physical training and cooking the corresponding dish that was important for the day in the series. According to Skylar's statement, the cooking could take another four hours because he had to repeat it again and again for the recordings.

After training, he went to the sauna and then stretched his muscles. Because of these routines, his physical condition improved very quickly. Nevertheless, the strain of the stunts was so high that he received scars on the inside of his leg. It took a whole year before he could land on both feet without pain after a stunt.

It was personally important to Skylar to be able to perform his own stunts. That's why he taped his legs with special sports tape in order to be able to push his physical limits a little further. He even hid this from the employees out of fear that the stunts would otherwise be banned.

In season 2, Skylar wants to take things down a notch.

For the second season, Skylar wants to take things a little easier now, as he has already laid the foundation through his hard training. He no longer wants to train so much every day, but instead only wants to work on himself for a maximum of four hours and concentrate more on the choreography.

One of his goals for the next season is the well-known “Party Table Kick”. The actor has to turn in a handstand and spread his legs wide in order to be able to perform an all-round kick. The kick is similar to Chun Li's "Spinning Bird Kick" from the Street Fighter video game series, only from a handstand instead of completely hands-free.

[joesalw]

Just went through the r/SwiftlyNeutral and saw a post about her firing her manager back in 2005 and him suing her and her parents in 2008. Holy hell. The audacity of this woman to make herself seem like she came from this humble background when in reality her daddy bought her a record deal AND HIRED BRITNEY SPEARS' MANAGER. There's a court doc attached to the post.

So basically they hired Dan Dymtrow who shopped her to major labels and invited execs to see her perform at the Blue Bird Cafe. He hired consultants to help her improve her skills, educated her and her family about marketing, branding, imaging to 'help develop a satisfactory press kit to present to music industry executives and for press/media coverage'. Got her A&F deal, scheduled meetings in New York and Nashville with major record companies. "Due in significant part to her young age, not one major record label would even meet with Artist before Mr. Dymtrow agreed to represent her".

In 2004 he had a "press-package" sent to Scott Borchetta (who was the Executive Vice-President for Universal Music Group at the time) and invited him to see her perform at the Blue Bird Cafe and sent her demo to him. After that Borchetta left UMG and started his own label. He told Dymtrow that he wanted to sign Taylor. Dymtrow "worked closely with Borchetta to ensure that Artist would get the most favorable record contract terms". In July 2005 Scott Swift told Dymtrow that he was terminating his contract and a few weeks after Taylor signed with Big Machine (they fired him to avoid paying him I'm assuming). Before he was fired, he was pursuing Creative Artists Agency "CAA" to represent Swift. In June 2005 they offered to sign Taylor as their client and the contract was signed after her manager was fired (his contract was officially terminated in August 2005).

In about May 2005 Scott Swift began to systematically and wrongfully discredit Dymtrow's efforts and interfere with management, created a division between his daughter and her manager. Prior to firing him, her father requested and obtained Dymtrow's goals and plans for his daughter's career and contacts he was relying on. In July he demanded Dymtrow to draft NINE different business plans to chart her career for the next five years. The following day he asked him about WHO OWNED ARTIST'S MASTER RECORDINGS(!!!). That was before the deal was even signed.

The story she's selling is completely re-written. They hired a top industry manager with lots of contacts in the industry, nosed out his plans and a list people that can help, fired him without paying. They knew about her possibly not having the ownership of her masters even before the contract was signed. The lawyer that represented her when she was 13-years-old is currently the Global Head of Artists at YouTube Music. Just scums.

After his contract was terminated, Andrea and Taylor had a dinner with him where Taylor told him that she didn't want to fire him and her father made her choose between him or the manager *ew*. Her father also threatened to cut-off any financial support related to her career if she didn't fire the guy *again,ew* which Andrea confirmed.

Someone mentioned that the skeletons in her closet will fall out on their own and I think that's true. Her own fans (former fans?) will be her downfall. I mean, I found this in a supposed Swiftie Reddit sub. If this kind of stuff gets more traction she *may be* screwed.

.

[seeingivy]

method acting asks + extra headcanons!!! (don't read if you haven't read the final chapter yet!!)

MAYA AND MARCO HEADCANONS I SHALL DELIVER

marco and maya are twins and born on new year's day 💌

in the first met gala chapter, when y/n performs seven with marco, she calls marco her sunshine boy - which is actually what eren and y/n call baby marco too!!!!

maya is a little bit more shy and sensitive and eren calls her star girl, which he says is perfect because he then calls baby marco, maya, and y/n his little universe bc they're the sun, the moon, and the stars 🥹 (he's literally a sap)

eren is SUCHHHH a girl dad like he literally practices braiding hair on y/n before the baby comes just so he can be a pro at it (and gets really annoyed when her hair grows super slow)

teddy LOVESSSS marco and maya sm like those are literally his pseudo-baby siblings and he loves them just as much as lily

they let their kids decide if they want to do acting/singing - and they both end up doing it! marco ends up being an actor and maya ends up being a singer (kinda like their parents hehe)

levi CRIES over the names AND when he holds them the first time.

maya has a crush on connie the way teddy had a crush on y/n. eren HATES it btw.

jeankasa's second kid is born around the same time as them and when they get a little older, jean tells eren to keep his "cooties infested son" away from his second daughter

(jeankasa kids are all girls btw like I don't make the rules)

@elliesbabygirl

THIS IS ONE OF THE SWEETEST, MOST CRAZY, MOST PERFECT ASKS I'VE EVER RECEIVED IN MY LIFE!!!! i'm so flattered that you said all of these sweet words, and truly being chronically online has somehow brought this insane piece of work to all of us, and honestly it makes me all the happier for it!!!!

like not to be a miss fan account girl, but I love celebrities I think they're so silly, I think celebrity drama is insane, and I am very cLEARLY obsessed with olivia rodrigo that this just kind of came out of that.

I wish there was a triple threat award I could give YOU for all the love you've given ME. while some of your asks did get eaten by how annoying tumblr is, the ones I did receive were always so like...well thought out and fully expressive about each little detail that i'd put into like....my 13k damn chapters...like it takes time and dedication to show love to writers - which mind you, most people don't and really makes it all the more special that you do!

I literally just do this for free, in my own time when I get a chance out of how busy I tend to be outside of this. i'm a walking stressball at most times bc I have like two jobs, a bunch of volunteering and EC's outside of that and getting sweet comments like this makes this feel all the more worth it and like im reaching peopel AGH

I love you so much!

not to be a disappointer but:

she doesn't! she actually doesn't win any more awards from the institute for her albums, but wins TONS of other smaller award shows and breaks records all the time

she gets information about it after birds of a feather doesn't win anything or even get nominated, and while she's initially irritated, she just decides that she's not going to submit to have them bc nominated anymore if they're not going to get nominated since she's blacklisted anyways

eren writes a very threatening letter ofc

^^historia gets KIND OF annoyed about her not submitting anymoer, bc like I said, she's kind of meant to be a foil to y/n in the sense that she's y/n if y/n was still obsessed and cared about this stuff too much - and she thinks y/n is kind of being pretentious by not nominating herself

she actually doesn't care after some point bc she literally breaks records all the time and knows that it's just some type of thing that they're holding against her

(eren + marco + maya always tell her that she's a triple threat in their hearts)

I literally had to put this in two screenshots bc @najaemism left me a literal ESSAY OF SWEET STUFF ABOUT THIS FIC and it kind of makes my heart hurt.

first of all, to my name twin - I LOVE YOU SOOOOOO SO MUCH WTF. first and foresmost, so glad that you've joined the dark side by watching aot bc lord it is literally one of the most painful shows i've watched and (clearly) I haven't stopped thinking about it since I finished it. i'm so flatted that some silly little words I wrote convinced you to watch four whole damn seasons of the show 😭 LIKE thats actually insane to me

THE TWEETS (while they're so time consuming to make) LITERALLYYYY ARE ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THIS FIC like I love to make the dumbest jokes on there for my fellow chronically online siblings bc its literally so fucking funny to me. connie truly meeting his soulmate on stan twitter - bc of course he would - and the most insane anime villian oikawa making an appearance, bc duh, of course he would

(he was never a big fan of y/ns music but his girlfriend was so he decided to give it a try and now he's obsessed with her.)

(side note ymir and sofia are literally taylor lautner and taylor lautner. like girl taylor being a fan of twilight and taylor swift when she was younger just to date the guy from twilight when she's older and be besties w y/n??? that's LITERALLY SOFIA bc sofia loved aot when she was a kid, and was in one of the old chapters - I think new year's day - and then grew up to literally date someone from aot like that's mrs. taylor lautner of method acting)

they literally rot my brain and take up like 50% of my cortex bc I think about them all the time to the point where it's ACTUALLLYYY unhealthy like

I'm so glad you're here!!! i've got some fun things planned hehe <3

correct.

like I shit myself too I can't believe i've been writing this shit since july. like this is the definition of out of hand this was literally supposed to be a request for someone and 280k words later we're all here feeling all types of ways about it

AND AGH!!!! not the roommates fans like why are you guys kind of the ogs THANK YOU SM FOR BEING HERE!!

fun fact: eren and y/ns cat in the last chapter of method acting has the same name as the cat from roommates! <3

y/n does in fact get her new ring with an emerald in it. eren is annoyed he didn't think of it earlier bc its actually perfect

eren, in general, gets really into jewelry after he custom designed the saturn necklace for her during the second met gala so he always gets her really unique pieces

they do have the kids! I gave marco and maya headcanons at the top of the post <3

I love you @tangerine-neonlight <3

@feelya THANK YOU SO MUCH - BOTH FOR YOUR SWEET WORDS AND YOUR CURIOSITY <3 i'm so glad you enjoyed the silly little words I wrote about literally the best boy ever eren jaeger I love you sooooo soo much <3

[one-piece-one-shots]

Sabo X CisFem Reader - Song fic

"How could you do this to me Marco?" You whined clutching the entertainment schedule.

"Do what to you yoi?" The blond asked calmly not looking up from his phone.

"This!" You waved the crumpled paper, "You have me performing tonight."

"So?" Another calm response.

"It's Tuesday... I don't do Tuesdays."

"Is it the Sabo thing yoi?" He asked finally glancing up to watch you flush wildly.

"N-no. Shut up." You dropped the schedule.

"Look, Kid's band canceled because they got a better gig. And honestly, you're much better than them yoi." He stood, "Sabo would have heard you sooner or later anyway. Now get out of my office."

You dramatically dropped your arms at your sides and turned to make your exit.

The stage was one of the few sacred places you had to escape your anxiety and self-loathing. You could bare your soul in the lyrics of a song. Most of the time you couldn't see passed the bright lights pointed at you so it didn't matter if people stared. Being the center of attention up there was better than being invisible off stage with everyone else.

Since puberty, your weight yo-yoed, which resulted in teasing and lots of left-handed compliments. Not to mention someone always being concerned for your health. You were always one of the guys because you were 'so funny' and had such a great personality. They always wondered why they couldn't find a girl like you.

When you got up to sing you shocked everyone. Such a smooth sultry alto tone emitting from a portly girl. It was as if people believed only thin people could have a flashy talent. You always felt like you were sticking it to them somehow, proving they were wrong.

Straight out of high school you fronted a band only to be kicked out because the boys felt no one would come to a show where a girl like you was leading. Since then you taught yourself to play guitar and frequented open mics all over The East Blue until Thatch and Marco found you.

The brothers owned a pub called The Blue Bird that featured live local performances, and the performers were also the staff. You had a weekly waiting and entertainment schedule. You'd made a deal with Marco to not put you on stage Tuesday nights when his younger brother Sabo worked. You harbored a ridiculous crush for the younger blond and refused to sing in front of him. Your stage nights happened to be his nights off.

"F/N?" Sabo called making his way across the room.

"What's up?" you shook your head and flushed making eye contact with his hazel gaze.

"Everything ok? I saw you're playing tonight!" he nudged your shoulder as he came to stand next to you, "Nervous?"

"Me? Never." you smirked hoping he couldn't see through your false bravado, "You should be nervous. I'm gonna show you boys how it's done."

"Oh, well then, I'm glad Ace and I don't play tonight. It would suck to be shown up." he played along, "I'm glad I get to see you play for the first time."

"Yeah," you rubbed your nape, "I guess you haven't been here my nights."

Little did you know, Sabo had been to every one of your performances. He, Ace, Thatch, Marco and the youngest Luffy are all brothers, adopted by Edward Newgate. The open mic night when the two eldest discovered you had been recorded and played for all of the brothers to make the decision to offer you a job. From that very moment he knew he needed to get closer to you and offered to do all of your training.

He was so calm and polite, unlike the other Newgate boys. You also had great banter, he just seemed to get you. If you made an off-putting joke or downed yourself in any way he was always there to stop you and somehow spin them into positive traits.

He tried countless times to get you to play with he and Ace or to even get you to practice with them, but you always refused. So, he snuck into the crowd whenever you sang just to get his fix.

Marco was the only person aware of your nerves and insecurities where Sabo was concerned, he was also the only one who knew Sabo's addiction to you. He moved Kid's band's gig just to see what might happen.

You forced your gaze down trying to swallow and remedy the dryness in your mouth. Knots twisted their way through your stomach just thinking about your performance time approaching.

"F/N~" Ace sang squeezing his way between you and his brother, "Are you nervous? I hear someone you're crushing on is here."

You dropped the ketchup bottle you were already struggling to fill, "W-hat? Who said that?"

"Marco told me." the raven laughed wiping up your mess.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about." you scoffed.

"That reaction says otherwise." Ace continued to tease.

"Go away." you swatted at him.

"Ok ok - geez!" he whined backing out of your reach.

Sabo had stood quietly gauging your reaction, his stomach dropping with the shade of red staining your cheeks. Of course, you had someone you liked he just wanted so badly for it to be him.

"I didn't know you had a crush on someone." the blond commented feeling a little bitter.

"It's hopeless." you should sighed.

"What makes it hopeless?"

You glanced up at him briefly, "I mean, nobody wants this."

"F/N, any guy would seriously be lucky to have you." he soothed, "You're intelligent, incredibly talented and - "

"Have a charming personality, but I'm a buddy, one of the guys, a sister." you interrupted.

Sabo frowned, "Ah..no I - "

"F/N!" Marco called rounding the corner from the main room, "Time to get your guitar yoi."

The younger blond let out a frustrated growl.

"Sorry Sabo." you gave a diminutive smile running your hand down his arm before following Marco to the door.

"Break a leg!" he called after you.

After changing and touching up your makeup you stood in the wings of the stage waiting to be announced. This was the worst. You didn't want him to see you sing because of how vulnerable it felt to have all of your feelings laid out around you. Seeing him made you nervous in a normal setting, having to play knowing that beautiful man was somewhere in the room was damn near crippling.

"We have a special set tonight...she's one of our favorites, please give it up for F/N." Thatch introduced you and exited the opposite side of the stage as you took a deep breath and approached the microphone.

Plucking your Epiphone from its stand, you slung it across your torso and leaned toward the mic, "Thank you all for coming," You cleared your throat, "it'll be a short set tonight because I didn't know I was performing. Tables 18 and 24, I'll have your drinks out when I'm done." the small crowd chuckled as you winked and strummed the teal semi-hallow.

"I don't want to talk about it to you

I'm not an open book that you can rifle through

The cold hard truth that you'll see right to

I'm just a basket case without you

He's not a magic man or a perfect fit

But had a steady hand and I got used to it

And a glass cage heart and invited me in

And now I'm just a basket case without him."

This was a song Sabo hadn't heard before. He stopped wiping down the bar and found himself drifting through the crowd.

"You're begging for the truth

So I'm saying it to you"

You searched the front of the crowd nervously through the stage lights, unexpectedly feeling your nerves melt as you met his hazel gaze.

"I've been saving your place

And what good does it do?

Now I'm just a basket case

Now I'm just a basket case

I don't say much and it'll stay that way

You got a steel train touch and I'm just a track you lay

So I'll stay right here underneath you

I'm just a basket case that's what we do."

You felt a surge of confidence watching a wide smile play upon his lips.

"Won't somebody come on in and tug at my seams?

Oh, send your armies in of robbers and thieves

To steal the state I'm in, I don't want it anymore

You're begging for the truth

So I'm saying it to you

I've been saving your place

And what good does it do?

Now I'm just a basket case"

Fading into the end of the song you realized you hadn't broken eye contact with Sabo. Flushing madly, you tugged at your blouse and averted your gaze back to the cheering crowd.

You played longer than you'd planned with encouragement from Marco and the crowd, which grew the longer you were on stage. An hour later you finally thanked everyone for coming and glanced down to see the empty space Sabo had left. A small frown tugged at your lips while you reminded yourself that he was actually supposed to be working the entire time.

Thatch crossed the stage handing you a hand towel and a bottle of water on his way to announce Luffy's band. Toweling the sweat from your brow and neck you took a seat on the steps backstage getting high fives from The Straw Hats as they passed instruments in hand.

"Uh hey." Sabo voiced sheepishly, approaching as boisterous noises erupted from the stage behind you.

"Hey." You nearly had to shout.

"Can - uh - we talk in a quieter place?" the blond asked offering you a hand.

Heat invaded your face," S-sure."

Your mind completely blanked while Sabo guided you to the breakroom shutting the door behind you. He seemed tense and nervous, making you feel like you might've done something wrong. Maybe you made too much eye contact and he felt like you were singing to him? Were you? Probably, thinking back on it.

Damnit. You knew it was a bad idea to perform while he was there.

"I uh - I know you have someone you like," He started, eyes darting around the room while you tried to distract yourself by putting your guitar away.

"Ah, no what Ace was saying earlier," you murmured, "you can ignore it."

"Good." He breathed sounding relieved.

Good?

"What?"

Sabo's face, neck, and ears began turning shades of red and pink as he kept his eyes fixed on your fidgeting hands.

"The thing is...I've seen you sing before. Actually, every time." He rubbed his nape, "Marco showed us all the video from when he found you and..." he trailed off losing his words while your heart began to race.

"Sabo?" you whispered after a few seconds causing his eyes to snap up to your beautiful heart shaped face.

"You know all that stuff you say about yourself - it isn't true. Y-you're amazing F/N." he moved forward closing in the space between you, "It isn't just your voice or your face or that you're smarter and funnier than all of us."

You stared up at him, caught in the unbelievable surge of emotions flooding your senses. The world around you fell away as he gently tapped his forehead on yours.

"It's you." you blurted, "Th-the crush... I mean."

"Good." He chuckled placing a chaste kiss on your nose, "I really like you. All of you."

Song - Basket Case - Sara Bareilles

[problematicturtle]

About Claudia:

Yes, she has killed. She, like all vampires, is a killer. That she kept trophies of her kills and recorded their last words just means, in the context of the vampire universe, that she is a little bit extra. It does not mean that she is not capable of love, or of being victimized. And that her fear of Lestat in episode 5 is unjustified, that she is faking it. Faking it to whom, exactly. The dairy is a personal account, meant for herself only. She saw what she saw and felt what she felt, it was not a performance for an audience. Whether what she saw was the “truth” or not, is about perception and memory, not about an attempt to deceive others (what others? The book is hers, I doubt she wanted Daniel to read it years later as an account to exonerate her and vilify Lestat).

As for her manipulation, I see little evidence of that in the five episodes that we have seen. Claudia, caught in perpetual teenaged hood; where emotions are all you have and everything is all-consuming, lost someone she loved by her own hand and flipped out. Killed dozens and then, when caught, left. Found the world a horrible, terrible place.

Bear in mind, this is because she is, outwardly, a tiny Black girl, who is easy prey for just about everyone. That she can defend herself quite well doesn’t mean she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Like Louis, she can’t escape how people perceive her. She is not allowed the freedom to navigate through the world like Lestat. That she has a ready excuse to the boy that harassed her means she must be used to this kind of treatment.

So then, after going through a traumatic experience, she goes home and asks Lestat for forgiveness; in typical Lestat fashion, he tells her he’s not interested in forgiveness. So she switches gears and asks Louis to come away with her, only to have Lestat attack her, leading to the fight. Bear in mind, this is close after she was assaulted by another vampire; of course she’s afraid, of course she’s terrified. Like Lestat said, she is a mistake who is built like a bird. We look at Lestat’s pain and suffering, at how he’s afraid of being alone, as reasonings behind what he did to Louis; Louis’ neglect, we say, is the reason why he snapped. And yet there’s no offering of the same kind of internal motivation to Claudia beyond “she’s manipulative and not to be trusted, and also a serial killer.”

You can be a serial killer and be a victim as well. You can be afraid, and vulnerable, and be unable to defend yourself against a much stronger party. You can be afforded empathy, and understanding for your situation, the way we afford empathy and understanding to so very many characters who do so very many terrible things. The way we talk about how much we understand Lestat’s motivations, or talk about how he “snapped” after being ignored for seven years. The way we relate to him, and wish he wouldn’t, and can see the man behind the monstrous acts. I want us to see the girl behind the monstrous acts. And acknowledge that in this instance, at this moment, she did nothing wrong.

I’m exhausted and this is exhausting; the character deserves to be humanized, is all I’m gonna say. She’s not a child anymore, but adult women also deserve their humanity. I don’t even say this as a big Claudia fan, I am not particularly invested in her one way or another. But it’s disappointing. The show has been very careful in how it portrays these characters, and deliberately so, and yet.

[buttherainbowhadabeard]

The Beauty of Barbenheimer

A combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge in streaming platform content has made life very difficult for cinemas in recent times. Why venture out, find a parking spot, queue for snacks and sit with strangers in the dark when you can watch whatever you like from the comfort of home, right?

But convenience can come at a cost. Our at-home screens and digital devices have been dominated by superheroes, seasons and remakes of late, and fatigue is starting to set in. Franchises have ballooned so much that even die-hard fans are finding it hard to keep engaged, let alone keep up. This bombardment of unimaginative content has left many lovers of cinema bored.

Enter the Barbenheimer phenomenon.

Dubbed Barbenheimer due to the dual release date (July 20th here in Australia) of Warner Bros. and Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ and Universal Pictures and Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’, these films have been smashing it at the box office, persuading people to return to their local cinemas in droves.

Sure, a saturation of ads, interviews, trailers and exclusive clips have had something to do with their success so far, but it’s mostly been fuelled by a desire for fresh stories and a contagious case of FOMO.

The notion that both movies are best experienced in the cinema surfaced organically with the hype, and a healthy dose of cross-promotion from the creatives of both sides has been yet another driver for record ticket sales.

Nolan is known for his large-scale epics of practical effects, big sights and even bigger sounds, so it was only natural that ‘Oppenheimer’ was going to be promoted as a must-see on the big screen.

Veteran Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy (who plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb”) is mesmerising is his first, proper leading role in Hollywood, and is backed by an all-star ensemble cast that includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh. And Ludwig Goransaon’s suspenseful score acts like a character of its own.

Although most of us knew a bit about The Manhattan Project, the Trinity test and the subsequent (and horrific) bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, very few of us knew about the man behind the story.

‘Oppenheimer’ is an explosive, 3-hour look at his early life, his work and relationships, his obsession with quantum physics and his eventual role as the face of the Atomic Age. It’s about the biggest, global gamble to date (the bomb was either going to exacerbate all wars, end all wars or end the world), and it plays out in typical Nolan fashion with staggering IMAX camera visuals, going from the dusty desert vistas of Los Alamos, to the black and white colour gradings of claustrophobic courtrooms.

Gerwig on the other hand, is best known for acting in mumblecore movies and directing arthouse style, female-led films like ‘Little Women’ and ‘Lady Bird’.

‘Barbie’ is her first turn at a blockbuster, with an ensemble cast that is yes, mostly women, but has some stellar supporting male actors in the mix. With a picture-perfect Margot Robbie at the helm, ‘Barbie’ follows the titular Mattel doll’s journey from Barbieland into the real world, where she is confronted with an existence that is wildly different to her own.

Hilarity (and some heartfelt moments) ensue, with Ryan Gosling stealing every scene he’s in as her peroxide blonde, lovesick sidekick Ken, plus some fun supporting performances from the likes of America Ferrera, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Will Ferrell, Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Gerwig’s plastic fantastic, feminist world gives off serious summer vacay vibes, all technicolor blue skies, hot pink dreamhouses, glittery dancefloors and sunny beaches - with a super catchy soundtrack to boot!

With one movie about a bomb and the other about a bombshell, on the surface, it looked like they were going to appeal to two very different types of moviegoers. But we couldn’t have been more wrong, and hallelujah for that!

People have turned Barbenheimer into an event, getting big groups together, dressing up and booking back-to-back screenings. There’s even merch and memes, but more importantly, there’s hope. Hope that Hollywood still has more to offer than CGI, stunts and sequels.

In their first three days in the theatre, Barbenheimer generated a whopping $244.5 million dollars combined. If that’s not the definition of going off with a bang, I don’t know what is…

‘Oppenheimer’ 4/5 stars. ‘Barbie’ 4.5/5 stars.

[dollarbin]

Sandy Saturday's #9:

Late November

The weirder the better when it comes to Bob Dylan and Neil Young's lyrics. There is no logic to the ghost of electricity howling in the bones of Johanna's face, just as there's no clear meaning to Mother Goose, on the skids, looking for someone to scream at.

But the surreal images summoned up by such lyrics, together with their phrasing and the musical textures that swirl around them, never get stale; they never get old; instead they glow in our waking and sleeping dreams alike and rumble deep in the marrow of our fears. I'd love to stand with Johanna or Mother Goose for a moment; then I'd flee.

Sandy Denny was an unappreciated and unrecognized lyrical peer to both Dylan and Young. Just take a listen to Late November, the opening track from her first solo record, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. The birds, they are clouds; the temples, they're filled with the strangest of creatures; and the pilot flies solo on the mercury sea.

Denny stacks image after image into this bustling fever dream. We've got a sunken boat, tall brown people and a wooded, serpent laden ravine. 50+ years ago Joyce Carol Oats famously used Dylan's own image stacked It's All Over Now, Baby Blue as the basis for her celebrated short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? I call upon her to follow that tale up with another story, this one based on the images within Late November.

Denny recorded the song with her third band, Fotheringay, for a sophomore record which never materialized. Rather, she ditched that far too boyfriend heavy band, and brought Richard Thompson in to clean up the track and help her assemble Grassman. You can hear him here, layering on alternatively frantic and stately licks without ever getting in Denny's way.

The emergent track is fantastic, but I don't know that it's perfect. The denser and richer the lyric, the less is needed from the instrumentation. Says I.

And so it's always a pleasure to experience Late November by Sandy alone. Here she is in one of the very, very few available videos of her performing.

This is from 1971. 54 years ago. Denny was just 24 years old. But yet she had just 7 years left, many of them lost to misguided males, booze and post-natal depression. Just think of all the dreams, all the visions, poetry and beauty we were not able to behold.

The methods of madness, the pathos and the sadness God help you all, the insane and wise. The black and the white, the darkness of the night I see only smoke from the chimneys arise...

Good grief. Everyone: count your blessings. And have a great Sandy Saturday.

[kayrockerqog]

i have been enabled and it'll be good prep for ygo OC week sooo

yes, yes i do /lovingly

Musa Vogel (GX OC) Headcanons!🍃🎻

She is constantly listening to music. Like, yeah, it's 2006, and technology isn't super crazy, but BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES WERE A MID-2000s INVENTION; she continually has an earbud in her left ear. Usually, she's listening to orchestral music and walks around with her own soundtrack, but depending on her mood, she'll switch genres.

She doesn't laugh. Like, she's physically incapable of laughing. It's mainly because of something in her nervous system but also for lore reasons; she just never has had a reason to laugh or really feel humour. She's plenty capable of smiling and comprehending jokes, so when she does find something funny, she usually smirks and rolls her eyes. It's an infrequent occurrence (and it makes Kenzan's day when he succeeds).

She's deathly afraid of and allergic to cats (again, lore) and is very much scared of Pharaoh. The gang has been trying to get them to get along, but it has not been working.

Musa speaks in a monotone, almost robotically formal voice typically. Still, while performing a song or duelling, her voice projects like a theatre actor, and she sounds like a completely different person.

The only reason she's friends with Judai and co. is because she caught Kenzan's attention by doing what she does best: correcting the teacher /hj

TL:DR -- Cronos was trying to teach a music class, he is entirely unqualified to teach music, Musa kept correcting all the stuff he wrote on the blackboard, he got into a fit and went "well if you're so smart, why don't you teach these kids?", she got up and went to the front, pulled a conductor's staff from her pocket, had the class play one line, stopped them, and corrected several small details about how certain people played before managing to have them play the first line successfully. Cronos was dumbfounded.

Kenzan keeps trying to talk to her for a week after that, she ignores him because social interaction who, eventually he and the boys catch her playing her violin by the cliffside, she catches them watching, challenges Kenzan to a duel so they leave her alone, she wins, but she figures "well, you ruined my practice time, so I suppose I could spend my time with you instead for your trouble."

She's been stuck with them since /lh

It takes her a while to become comfortable with people (and their antics) because of how isolated she was as a child. Between her family's interference and her packed schedule, she didn't have time for friends, and no one was ever, well, genuinely nice to her.

So, naturally, when the pure-of-heart emotional dino boy comes and compliments her music and makes her feel welcome, she's gonna get attached-

She has a habit of drumming her fingers on surfaces when she's trying to focus, and also basically plays air piano as a stim.

She likes to collect antique jewelry and porcelain statuettes of birds and fairies, and has a small music box she keeps her collection of rings inside.

She loves birds. Like really loves birds. They are her favourite animal without question, and she is very much a bird charmer. One time, Kenzan caught her playing and having successfully gathered a small crowd of birds around her-- the others didn't believe him.

She has cold hands and frequently moves them to keep them warm.

She has a perfect attendance record (nerd).

She also had a perfect winning streak for her first year and a half at the academy...then the arc happened. I'll elaborate some other time.

While she used a Melodious-based deck (because music fairies epic) primarily, she has a few vanilla monsters in her deck, SPECIFICALLY INCLUDING:

THE ONE WITH HER NAME IN IT LMAOOOO she's so silly

Despite her hardened exterior, she is a supportive and caring person: her approach to being friendly is linked to her love languages [acts of service and words of affirmation], and she'll try to give practical answers first.

She likes to play music in precarious situations, like by the cliffs, high in the mountains or on a rock in the ocean. Why? The rush, the adrenaline, it's the closest feeling to feeling something she'd known until becoming friends with the gang.

Which, FYI, it is a very mixed bag:

She's closest to Kenzan, obviously; they're stupid close (and in love, but shhh)

But, her other closest friends are Misawa, Fubuki (shockingly) and O'Brien when he comes around

She gets along well with Judai and Sho, to the point where Sho actually kind of sees her as a mentor figure, too

She and Asuka have a...somewhat strained relationship after the Society of Light arc

Ryo and Edo are people she considers rivals and frustrating in their unique ways

Jim and Johan are both fine; they're her friends too, especially since they can talk about her passions with her

She's surprisingly protective of Rei, and Rei admires her quite a bit

She would've killed Amon if she had the chance.

And Manjoume...how do I put this...

They came from stupidly similar backgrounds and started out super tense because of it, but once her entire arc got settled, they developed some sort of socially awkward solidarity.

He was the first to confront her about Kenzan and told her to stop being so obvious about it and get it over with.

She merely blinked at him.

Oh! Most importantly, she and Cronos are surprisingly close, too. To the point, she actively acknowledges him as a mentor, and he's actively involved in checking her well-being post-arc stuff.

Her favourite food is plain rice, but precisely because there's a lot of room for customization. She believes in liking the base version of foods best since they're the canvas for trying new flavours and recipes. It's the same case with things like ice cream and pizza and such.

As per a special request funded by her parents' staff, her room in the Ra dorms is entirely soundproof.

She wears a robe to bed and while relaxing (rare but less so when she starts being more social); it's pastel green with fake feather trimming.

She also LOVES the colour green. Like most of her school supplies and accessories are some soft shade of green.

This turned out so much longer than i planned, whoops-

also i'm super ill about her dw about it :) <3333

[andr0medafallen]

Green Tea Lemonade

A/N: Republishing my old fics

Pairing: Michael Perry x reader

Warnings: Playful existentialism, hipster coffee shops, fluff, judgmental baristas, overenthusiastic pretty boy Michael Perry, Michael Perry's fat ass, light swearing

Description: Hipster Coffee shops are fun, in their own way. Still, you wouldn’t mind if a handsome music teacher came and saved you from the exposed brick and judgemental baristas.

Word Count: 1.4k

You sat in the small, hipster-ish cafe as you waited for your drink. You figured that that was the sort vibe that the exposed brick and edison light bulbs nodded to. You had ordered the barista’s suggestion when you arrived, a green iced tea lemonade because ‘if you’re gonna get an upside down caramel macchiato, at that point just get a latte, dude.’ So when you asked for suggestions because clearly you didn’t know the ins and outs of overly pretentious coffee, you had quickly agreed to the barista's first suggestion.

You were a little hesitant to be going out so soon after moving to Pittsburgh, but you figure that that’s how you make friends, right? So when you saw the flyer for the open mic night at this cafe, you figured, why not? The boxes of your belongings could wait; it was a sunny Friday afternoon and you didn’t even start your new job until Monday.

You had scribbled your name onto the list of acts at the front of the room, and had even made time to find your guitar amongst the piles of your packed belongings before you left for this thing. It felt good to be out of the house, being independent in that spontaneous ‘I do whatever I want’ kind of way, but a part of you still felt like a bit of an outsider in a new city. Which, even rationally, you were.

You sat at the table which you had claimed for yourself. Strangely, the oak table was covered in graffiti. Cartoon flowers and existentialism covered the cluttered surface of the table, but it seemed encouraged by the owners of the establishment; A cup of multicolored sharpies was sitting tantalizingly at the table. You read some of the different messages which surrounded the cool condensation of your drink. ‘I am a cage, in search of a bird. 888-447-5594.’ Kafka. Interesting choice for table graffiti. You wondered how desperate you would have to be to start using a cafe table as your own personal tinder. On a scale of ‘Mary Wollstonecraft is my favorite philosopher’ to ‘that guy in college who put sticky notes on every door in my four story apartment building with his number on them’, you would probably put it at a solid seven.

You choked a bit on your tea (lemonade) when your name was announced on the speaker system at the front of the room. Not a gross amount, just a perfectly reasonable, ‘Mary Wollstonecraft is my favorite philosopher’ amount. Probably. Was in not she who said, ‘Those who are bold enough to perform in front of a very small crowd in a cafe…must learn to brave the possibility of choking on green tea lemonade’? Still, you got your sputtering under control in record time and made your way to the front of the room, guitar in hand.

You sat on the stool at the front of the room, forgoing an introduction in what you hoped was a blasé, couldn’t give two shits type of way. In reality, it was more of a, ‘God, why did I come here again? I should not have watched Pitch Perfect on the plane’ type of way. Not that you ever thought you were better than any one or cooler than anyone or any sort of embodiment of Anna Kendrick’s performance as Beca, but you were really tired. Honestly, you didn’t even feel like you had any moral superiority over Beca from Pitch Perfect. Hell, she would probably love this venue.

You finger-picked out the first few notes of your song before finding your way into a steady strum pattern and beginning to sing the lyrics and melody. You had listened to and learned to play lots of different songs at open mic night and karaoke bars, but this one was your favorite. You’d been told that it was sad and depressing and all of those lovely adjectives in the past, but it made you feel seen. And you figured that if this was the sort of venue where people quoted Kafka in an attempt to get bitches then mildly depressing music was perfectly acceptable.

It wasn’t until you had strummed out your last note that you really gauged your pseudo-audiences reaction. For the most part it was about the same as for anyone else, which was the preferred reaction in your book. Tame applause before returning to conversations. Except for this one curly-haired son-of-a-bitch who, for reasons unknown was freaking the fuck out. We’re talking those loud finger-in-mouth whistles that Dads do at little league baseball games, rapid-fire clapping, all of the above. Which, really, was flattering, sure, but who the fuck did he think you were, Taylor Swift?

You gave the man a hesitant placating smile before packing up your Martin and returning to your seat. It was an effort to avoid unnecessary eye-contact with anyone, but a worthy cause, in your opinion. That is, until Mr. Curl-of-Hair Fat-of-Ass made his way to your table. You looked up at him over your plastic cup of cheap tea, probably fake lemons, and artificial sweetener.

“I liked your song a lot,” He told you, stupid little smirk on his face, which was somehow safely on the genuine side of the line.

You chuckled. “Yeah, clearly,” you teased. You didn’t really know why, but you nodded towards the chair across from you, giving him an opening to take a seat. That’s what this was about though, right? Making friends. Your #1 fan accepted your offer, turning the chair around and sitting on it backwards, arms resting on the backrest.

“Seriously, you’re super good! I was going to play something, but how am I supposed to follow that up?” He exclaimed, running a hand through his curls. You laughed, shaking your head. He reached out his hand to shake yours. “I’m Michael, by the way.”

Taking his hand, you offered your own name.

“I do appreciate it, the compliment,” you admitted to him. “I’m kind of the new kid in town.” You chuckled a bit, blushing at your own childish phrasing. “So I guess even ridiculously boisterous applause and enthusiasm is appreciated.”

“Can I buy you a coffee?” He asked, a bold departure from the original source material. His cheeky grin when his eyes met your still mostly full drink told you everything and nothing about his personality. Somehow he kept managing to do what you would have considered the most cocky shit on any other man without seeming one bit an arrogant asshole.

“Honestly,” you looked into those warm brown eyes, leaning forward so that your gazes were level right above the wooden table and its sharpied Kafka quote, “I don’t want to be here right now.” You whispered it to him like it was a guarded secret. Like some part of it affected the fate of the world.

He matched your gaze, pausing for a moment as if considering or analyzing you. As if making sure that it was the place, and that he wasn’t making you uncomfortable in any way. “I think we can remedy that.”

You gasped, pressing a hand against your chest as if scandalized. “I don’t know what you’re implying but–”

Michael laughed, interrupting you with, “You are crazy, you know that?” You only smiled at him. Of course you were the crazy one. Shaking his head, he suggested, “Here’s a proposal, we leave, I show you the city that you clearly don’t understand the awesomeness levels of, and I finish that tea that you don’t look like you wanted.” He got out of his seat and came around to your side of the table, offering you his hand should you agree to his plan. “It’s a win-win situation.”

You took his hand, rising to his level. “Fine. But the tea is mine.” You doinked the plastic cup against his surprisingly solid arm in a joking cheers and downed the rest of the…What would be the prestigious way to put it? Citrusy blend of organic green tea, highlighted with an ethically sourced lemonade, and made more palatable with a house-made simple syrup.

He laughed at you, leading you out of the building, hands still connected, guitar scars on your hand meeting the guitar scars on his. “Deal.”

You could faintly hear the barista say “Thank God,” as you left, and knew that it was definitely directed at the fact that the two of you were no longer in her lovely establishment.

[sweetbuckybarnes]

You're On Your Own, Kid

Pairings: Daisy Jones + Billy Dunne

Summary: Daisy’s song You’re on Your Own, Kid reflects on her time in the 70s. She gets to perform it at their reunion concert in 2000.

Masterlist | Albums | Midnights Album

From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes, I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this. I hosted parties and starved my body. Like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss.

Daisy Jones & the Six. Their first concert in over 20 years. And it was all thanks to Billy Dunne’s daughter, Julia. When her documentary was released, the entire world went crazy – demanding a reunion album.

Well, they did promise Camila a song.

Daisy was standing backstage as her mic pack was sorted on her back, as her daughter looked at the available makeup palettes in front of her.

“Please don’t dig your fingers into those, little bird,” Daisy gently reached over and stopped her little girl from digging her fingers into the glitter eyeshadow palette.

Daisy’s little girl didn’t say anything in reply, she just tilts her head up to see her mother. And giggles, jumping up and down in her seat.

Once her mic pack was secured, the attendant left her alone – Daisy shouted a ‘thank you’ as she was left alone with her little girl.

“Do you want to go find Auntie Karen?” Daisy asked. Her little girl loved the keyboardist. She always demanded to speak to Karen on the phone after her ballet lesson. It started accidentally when Karen called Daisy to see how her first lesson went and then it spiralled from there.

Her little bird nodded happily, jumped out of the chair and ran off. “Auntie Karen! Auntie Karen!” Falling from her mouth repeatedly, her eyes bouncing from person to person who walked past.

But eventually, Karen was found, and she was now occupied, asking if she could show Karen the new song she learnt. It was Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles, but the way she was talking about it – it was like she was the only person who knew about the song.

Daisy sat before the table and started fiddling with her hair and makeup.

And then she felt a presence over her shoulder, without looking up in the mirror, she knew exactly who it was.

“Get that camera out of my face,” she jokes, looking over her shoulder. And there was not so little Julia Dunne, with her camera recording everything that was going on backstage.

“Hi, Daisy!” She smiled. Even to this day, Julia still adores Daisy. She had every album, every single, any form of merchandise she could get her hands on. As well as Daisy’s first novel.

Daisy rolled her eyes but squished Julia’s cheeks the way she did when Julia was a child.

“Are you ready?” Billy asked as he walked over. He pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter’s head, and then to Daisy’s temple. “Dais?”

Daisy let out a soft sigh and leaned back into Billy. The two lead singers of Daisy Jones & the Six looked at each other in the mirror. It had been over 20 years since they last saw each other, and that final concert broke the band. When Daisy told Billy to go after his wife.

“Let’s do this.”

“What song are we doing next, Daisy?” Billy asked from his microphone.

Daisy looked over at Billy then at Graham and then back to Billy. “I don’t know… You didn’t tell me.”

The lead guitarist started playing the opening chords to You’re on Your Own Kid, from Daisy’s most recent solo album. She looked over her shoulder to Warren sitting behind his drum set nodding his head at her.

“Summer went away. Still, the yearning stays, I play it cool with the best of them. I wait patiently, he’s gonna notice me. It’s okay, we’re the best of friends. Anyway,” Daisy began, remembering the first boy she ever had a crush on. The one that never felt the same.

“I hear it in your voice, you’re smoking with your boys. I touch my phone as if it’s your face, I didn’t choose this town. I dream of getting out, there’s just one who could make me stay, all my days,” for a split second Daisy thought of her parents – especially her mother who had always turned her nose down at the life Daisy chose for herself.

Billy looks over at Daisy, she never told anyone about her childhood or anything much before she joined them. If anything, Karen may know the most, but not by much.

“From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes, I waited ages to see you there. I search the party for better bodies, just to learn that you never cared,” Daisy sang, looking around at the packed stadium who were singing along. “You’re on your own, kid. You always have been.”

Karen looked up from her keyboard, and over at Daisy – things she had mentioned in passing over the years.

“I see the great escape, so long Daisy May,” Daisy waves her fingers. “I picked the petals; he loves me not. Something different bloomed, writing in my room. I play my songs in the parking lot, I’ll run away.”

“From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes, I called a taxi to take me there. I search the party of better bodies, just to learn that my dreams aren’t rare,” Daisy repeats her chorus, putting her heart into it. “You’re on your own, kid. You always have been.”

Daisy waited as the bridge built, staring up at the sky. Thinking of her daughter’s father, the only man (other than Billy) she completely loved. Her fiancée. Her dead fiancée. She shook her head a little to stop the tears that had been growing, to stop them from rolling down her cheeks. “From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes, I gave my blood, sweat and tears for this. I hosted parties and starved my body. Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss.”

Billy looked over at Daisy, remembering her overdose, as she lay in his arms half-dead. How skinny she got whilst they wrote Aurora. “The jokes weren’t funny, I took the money, my friends from home don’t know what to say. I looked around in a blood-soaked gown, and I saw something they can’t take away.”

“’Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned, everything you lose is a step you take. So, make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid,” Daisy looked out at the crowd, fans who had stuck with her from the beginning, throughout her time in rehab and when she hid away from the public eye for 3 years to raise her daughter. “You’re on your own, kid. Yeah, you can face this. You’re on your own, kid. You always have been.”

[evanwritesgames]

Species of Starjourn: Theramoa

A flightless avian species that come from Theram, a moon orbiting Oa, a barren superplanet. Oa once hosted complex life of its own but it experienced an extinction event when an asteroid collided with it thousands of years ago. The Theramoa believe that Oa was their original homeworld and fleeing to Theram is what saved their species from a similar extinction event and name themselves in honor of it alongside their homeworld. This escape is considered to have been so desperate that it left their ancestors with no recourse but to start over in “primitive” conditions, the truth of their civilization as well as their technological advancement lost to time.

Theram is a heavily forested world roughly analogous to temperate rainforests and jungles on Earth. Some of the oldest trees on Theram are so tall their roots feed off geothermal energy while their hardy, expansive canopies soak up solar energy from low orbit. It is in these trees that the Theramoa civilization emerged, with each one large enough to sustain a large number and range of flora and fauna.

Unlike Lecron, a similarly forested world dominated by large trees, Theram’s biodiversity was much vaster to begin with (the Lecronians destroyed theirs) and does not favor the development of megafauna so much as a huge variety of smaller fauna more analogous to the range found on Earth since humans evolved.

The Theramoa evolved from a flightless species, thought to orginate on Oa, but males have larger and thicker feathers on their forearms which can be extended, allowing them to glide as part of their mating performance, an important ritual. Males outnumber females by a significant margin but in spite of this, violence has never been a part of Theramoa reproduction. Females can lay clutches of eggs and recover quite quickly, allowing them to choose multiple mates in each cycle. Besides the ability to carry young, male and female Theramoa are visibly indistinguishable to non-Theramoa except for the large arm feathers (which females can have surgically added anyway, should they choose to). Their voices are the one easy way to tell for non-Theramoa, with female voices higher and more “musical” due to their mating behavior, which is to attract mates using song and provide, essentially, the background music for the male "mating dance".

Theramoa families are effectively polygamous clans where the husbands work together for the promotion of their family’s well-being. Indeed, Theramoa males often “team up” for especially elaborate mating dances and support each others’ candidacy for pairing with the same female. Mating cycles are extremely festive occasions for the Theramoa, who are about as sex positive as any known species and extremely open about it. Taboos about romance, coupling, sex, and numbers of partners seem hilariously quaint to them though their history has incidences of variation in the broad details of their approach.

Theramoa are soft theocrats who believe that their ancestors’ spirits live on among them and must be honored for their great sacrifices, including the original Great Ancestors who fled Oa. There is some evidence, including artifacts and records, that support various ideas about Oa civilization, but there are also competing theories about what these ancestors were really like. Theramoa cultures tend to have their biggest distinctions in what is believed about the ancestors and what specific codes of behavior should be emphasized, but all agree that the spirits have their role in Theramoa affairs and must be recognized. This means their politics are heavily influenced by their religious beliefs and religious officials often wield significant power and prestige.

Theramoa scientists believe the similarities between their species and Terran birds or dinosaurs are of note. Other reptilian and avian species occasionally come up on other worlds and are of similar interest, but none as close as those found on Earth. The Theramoa occasionally dispatch clerics, researchers, and scholars to investigate theories of parallel evolution or the possibility that the Great Ancestors of Oa may have visited or even colonized Earth, among other worlds, in the distant past. If so, they may have had a spacefaring empire far vaster than their own solar system. Many Theramoa believe it is their destiny, and the wish of their ancestor spirits, that they re-establish a spacefaring civilization. Some use this “imperial past” theory as an excuse for militant or expansionist ideologies that occasionally take root and influence broader Theramoa policy.

The Theramoa were one of the earliest members of ALTO and were instrumental in establishing relations with the Lecronians and the Mayentians, two civilizations with whom they share some commonalities.

Fun Fact: these folks are a combination of Starbound's Avians and Howard the Duck.

[newmusickarl]

5-9’s Album of the Month Podcast – Episode 6 Out Now!

The June review episode of the 5-9 Album of the Month Podcast is now available - and it might just be my favourite episode yet!

As ever I take a seat alongside 5-9 Editor Andrew Belt and Check This Out’s Kiley Larsen to review five high profile album releases from the past month in music, and ultimately name one as our Album of the Month at the end of the discussion.

For this episode, the five albums discussed are:

PARANOIA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE by Christine & The Queens

Off Planet by Django Django

Chaos For The Fly by Grian Chatten (Poll winner, thanks for voting!)

The Art of Pleasure by Janelle Monáe

Guy by Jayda G

If you want to listen to the June episode or any previous episodes simply click the link below, but also be sure to follow 5-9 Blog on Instagram and Twitter for more news and polls relating to the podcast, along with other great content like film reviews, sports articles and more.

Listen to the June 2023 episode here

Learn more about the Album of the Month podcast in my interview with Left Lion here

Album & EP Recommendations

My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross by ANOHNI and the Johnsons

Once upon a time, I refused to listen to ANOHNI and the Johnsons’ music.

You see when this unknown album to me titled I Am A Bird Now beat one of my favourite albums of all time in Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm to the 2005 Mercury Music Prize, I couldn’t quite believe it. As a 15-year-old kid at the time, I think I gave half a listen to ANOHNI’s record and then squawked endlessly at the injustice of the decision. Years later though when I had finally matured (my music taste along with it), I listened to I Am A Bird Now properly and saw the beauty that the Mercury judges had seen in that record years earlier.

Fast forward to 2016, I was even more blown away by ANOHNI’s solo debut, Hopelessness, with its cutting political commentary and dazzling experimental synth-pop melodies. In a stacked year for new music (my favourite ever in fact), it would finish 11th in my Top Albums of 2016 list, but in any other year it could’ve easily been a Top 5 contender. So now, 7 years on from that record and 13 years after the last ANOHNI and the Johnsons album, she has finally got the band back together for some new music – and I’m pleased to say it’s every bit as outstanding as those two previous efforts.

Whilst thematically My Back Was a Bridge… picks up partly where Hopelessness left off - looking in despair at humanity and the current state of the world but with personal tales scattered in there too - sonically it couldn’t be more different. This time around the electro-pop of that album has been replaced, with this collection of songs instead beautifully backdropped by bluesy guitars and sweeping orchestral strings. ANOHNI’s own inimitable vocals then remain the ever-present constant, her voice frequently making the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Not a moment is wasted across the album’s concise 40-minute runtime either, with sublime opener It Must Change, the gospel-like refrains of Can’t, the soaring rock riffs of Scapegoat and Rest, as well as the mesmerising balladry of There Wasn’t Enough just some of the many highlights here.

Without question this is one of the finest records of the year so far, with ANOHNI once again hitting heights few other artists can reach. Incredible songwriting, stunning vocal performances and some beautifully cinematic instrumentation - this one is quite special indeed.

Listen here

Angels & Queens by Gabriels

It’s crazy to think that just a couple of weeks ago, myself and a lot of other people weren’t even aware of this Compton-based soul trio. That all changed though when Elton John invited frontman Jacob Lusk to join him for a performance of Are You Ready For Love during his instantly iconic Glastonbury headline set. In that one moment, Elton quickly put the band on everyone’s radar if they weren’t already – a testament to his greatness by being such a champion for new music and artists. Now striking whilst the iron’s hot, Gabriels have delivered their debut album which has quickly become one of the most critically acclaimed records of the year. Does it live up to the praise it’s received so far? Very much so.

With seven of the songs initially released as a shorter project in September last year, listeners early to the party would’ve already gotten insight into Gabriels’ richly textured soul through moments like the orchestral R&B of the title track, the operatic, Succession-theme-esque Taboo and haunting closing track, Mama. However now the full scope of the project has been revealed it is sure to be even more breathtaking to both new and existing fans alike, with goosebump-inducing ballad We Will Remember and the mind-blowing, gospel-soul trio of Love and Hate in a Different Time, Glory and Great Wind some of the standout moments.

Similarly to the ANOHNI and the Johnsons project, this is another colossal work from the past week that is sure to leave you floored. Instantly timeless, expertly crafted and exquisitely-produced, this is another staggering collection of songs that is sure to feature highly on multiple year-end lists come December – at this stage, my own included.

Listen here

The Greater Wings by Julie Byrne

Whilst I always enjoy reading everyone’s “Albums of the Year so far” lists over the summer and using them as a guide to check out some records I might have otherwise missed, there is a reason I don’t do my own and this past week is a prime example. As soon as June finished, three records have come out of nowhere to easily rank amongst the year’s very best. Joining Gabriels and ANOHNI is American singer-songwriter Julie Byrne, whose third album is a devastatingly beautiful meditation on heartache and grief. Summing it up perfectly here’s what friend of the blog Kiley Larsen, who recommended the album to me, has to say:

“Byrne is one of those singer-songwriter talents whose transcendental voice is more than worth the price of admission, and she wisely continues to focus almost exclusively on a minimalist presentation of her vocal beauty. Her past work found her mostly accompanied by fingerpicked acoustic guitar, but The Greater Wings excels at painting the vocal focus while adding celestial synths and well-placed strings. These haunting textures are most apparent on “Summer Glass,” which links the two phases of The Greater Wings, but every song is must-hear. The album rightfully carries a heavy air, but Byrne wonderfully mixes gratitude alongside grief - one has to be in the right mood for The Greater Wings, and many oncoming autumns listens should only solidify Julie Byrne’s latest as a still blossoming career high and one of the year’s best.”

Read Kiley’s full blog here

Listen to The Greater Wings here

I Don’t Know by bdrmm

Another super strong effort that’s been in heavy rotation the past few weeks, British shoegaze outfit and cult favourites bdrmm recently released their brilliantly hypnotic sophomore album - I Don’t Know. The evolution from their debut is immediately apparent, as the raw rock soundscapes carry over from that album but feature noticeably more refined production and are now occasionally filled with some more electronic elements too.

Boasting this more expansive sound, it makes for a spellbinding experience that surpasses even that of their debut, with dreamy opener Alps, the spiralling guitars of We Fall Apart and the blissfully epic, aptly-titled The Final Movement all worth tuning in to hear for yourself.

Listen here

Música del Corazón by Justin Nuñez

Now if country rock music with some welcome Latin-American flair is your thing, then look no further than this sensational debut from New Mexico-based singer-songwriter, Justin Nuñez.

Packing plenty of charm and simply beaming with those warm, timeless Southern state sounds, this is one record you’ll find yourself returning to again and again. From The Black Keys’ style stomp of Forget Our Misery to the Brazil-inspired love song Open Road and heartbreaking acoustic lament of Momma, it’s a strong introduction to Nuñez’s music that boasts plenty of potential for the future.

Listen here

Pink Tape by Lil Uzi Vert

And finally on the albums front this week, whilst it may have been a drab year for hip hop so far, I’m pleased to say that Lil Uzi Vert has delivered one of the more fascinating and experimental hip hop records of 2023 thus far – albeit not for everyone. At 90 minutes and 23 songs + bonus tracks long, it’s definitely a patchy listen but there’s enough intriguing moments here to dip in and discover.

The crossover tracks in particular are some of the highlights as Lil Uzi Vert enlists metal heavyweights Babymetal and Bring Me The Horizon for two blockbuster collaborations, whilst CS sees the rapper deliver his own cover of System of A Down’s Chop Suey no less. Whilst this will be sacrilege to some no doubt, I’m sure some will enjoy this chaotic take – even as parody.

However, the most surprising and most fun highlight is Nakamura, which sees Lil Uzi sample WWE wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura’s awesome entrance theme, transforming it into a huge summer anthem. Weird, wild, wonderful.

Listen here

Also worth checking out: Time Will Wait For No One by Local Natives, Dead Club City by Nothing But Thieves, In The End It Always Does by Japanese House, Slugs of Love by Little Dragon, 3 of Us EP by FLO

Tracks of the Week

Troubled Waters by The Streets

The big comeback this week was that of legendary British MC Mike Skinner, who announced The Streets are finally back and would be releasing a new visual album this October titled The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light. Whilst they did release a mixtape back in 2020, this will excitedly mark The Streets’ first new album since 2011’s Computer and Blues.

This first taster track shows plenty of promise for the new record too, with a captivating electronic beat backdropping Skinner as he turns his attention to society’s accountability and hedonism, with cutting lines like “Outside of the nightclub, I don’t know what to do – inside of the nightclub, it’s too dark to care.” A very welcome return and I already can’t wait to hear more.

Listen here

The Trench Coat Museum by Yard Act

Well, who was expecting this?! A band that built their following and earned themselves a Mercury Prize nomination from crafting short sharp slices of post punk the like of those found on their acclaimed debut The Overload, the Leeds band have taken a sharp left turn with this incredible new single.

At eight minutes long it’s nothing short of epic, channelling their peers in the Working Men’s Club by delivering a single filled with big rock riffs and a psychedelic vortex of synths. I love it and recommend that its best experienced alongside the zany and surreal music video that you can watch below.

Watch the music video here

Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR was one of the surprise highlights for me in 2021, a brilliant and concise pop record with a welcome splash of punk energy. Now readying her highly anticipated sophomore effort titled GUTS, vampire is the anthemic first single. With some similarities to her blockbuster hit driver’s licence, it suggests that Olivia will continue her rapid trajectory into superstardom.

Listen here

Hippodrome by Jamie T

Released a couple of weeks back to coincide with his triumphant headline show in London’s Finsbury Park, this is a typically fantastic new single from Jamie T. An instant gem that features all his signature hallmarks, I can see this one being a live favourite for years to come.

Listen here

Time To Run by Tycho

Whilst the summer weather may have disappeared from the UK as quickly as it arrived (sad face), the sun-soaked electronic singles are still arriving and this one from Tycho might be one of the best of the year so far. A cool neon-soaked groove propelled by a big funky bassline, if you’re in the UK it’ll help you pretend the rains and clouds don’t exist – at least for a little while!

Listen here

Now U Do by DJ Seinfeld & Confidence Man

Also serving up one of the songs of the summer, whilst Confidence Man’s recent collaboration with Daniel Avery was a blast this one with DJ Seinfeld is somehow even better. With an absorbing, string-tinged groove and some throwback vocal manipulation, this one will have you joyously dancing around your front room like it’s the early 2000s.

Listen here

Where Are Your Kids Tonight? By CMAT featuring John Grant

Irish singer-songwriter CMAT may have only released her highly acclaimed debut last year, but she has wasted little time delivering the follow-up. Crazymad, For Me is due for release this October and if this latest collaboration with John Grant is anything to go by, it is sure to be another cracker.

Listen here

Pendulum by Spanish Love Songs

Having got into the American rockers off the back of their 2020 album Brave Faces Everyone, Spanish Love Songs’ No Joy is already one of my most highly anticipated records for this coming August. My expectations for their record are only escalating with each new excellent single too, as Pendulum marks the album’s spiritual title track through its anthemic, emo-tinged chorus of “I know what they say when I walk in the light, there’s no joy in my life, there’s no joy when I’m right.”

Listen here

If I Could Turn Back Time by Deaf Havana

And finally this week, I always like to include a fun cover if I can and this is a surprisingly sublime one as rock duo Deaf Havana deliver this amazing cover of Cher’s classic single. Putting their own unique spin on the track with some soaring strings and atmospheric electronics, if it wasn’t such an iconic song, you’d easily mistake it for one of their own.

Listen here

Also worth checking out: Overdrive by Post Malone, The Skin and the Glove by Drab Majesty, A Little Bit Further by Tourist, On Purpose (For My Future Daughter) by Bellah Mae

REMINDER: If you use Apple Music, you can also keep up-to-date with all my favourite 2023 tracks through my Best of 2023 playlist. Constantly updated throughout the year with songs I enjoy, it is then finalised into a Top 100 Songs of the Year in December.

Add the playlist to your library here

[manwalksintobar]

Call It Music  // Philip Levine

Some days I catch a rhythm, almost a song   in my own breath. I'm alone here   in Brooklyn Heights, late morning, the sky   above the St. George Hotel clear, clear   for New York, that is. The radio playing   "Bird Flight," Parker in his California   tragic voice fifty years ago, his faltering   "Lover Man" just before he crashed into chaos.   I would guess that outside the recording studio   in Burbank the sun was high above the jacarandas,   it was late March, the worst of yesterday's rain   had come and gone, the sky washed blue. Bird   could have seen for miles if he'd looked, but what   he saw was so foreign he clenched his eyes,   shook his head, and barked like a dog—just once—   and then Howard McGhee took his arm and assured him   he'd be OK. I know this because Howard told me   years later that he thought Bird could   lie down in the hotel room they shared, sleep   for an hour or more, and waken as himself.   The perfect sunlight angles into my little room   above Willow Street. I listen to my breath   come and go and try to catch its curious taste,   part milk, part iron, part blood, as it passes   from me into the world. This is not me,   this is automatic, this entering and exiting,   my body's essential occupation without which   I am a thing. The whole process has a name,   a word I don't know, an elegant word not   in English or Yiddish or Spanish, a word   that means nothing to me. Howard truly believed   what he said that day when he steered   Parker into a cab and drove the silent miles   beside him while the bright world   unfurled around them: filling stations, stands   of fruits and vegetables, a kiosk selling trinkets   from Mexico and the Philippines. It was all   so actual and Western, it was a new creation   coming into being, like the music of Charlie Parker   someone later called "glad," though that day   I would have said silent, "the silent music   of Charlie Parker." Howard said nothing.   He paid the driver and helped Bird up two flights   to their room, got his boots off, and went out   to let him sleep as the afternoon entered   the history of darkness. I'm not judging   Howard, he did better than I could have   now or then. Then I was 19, working   on the loading docks at Railway Express,   coming day by day into the damaged body   of a man while I sang into the filthy air   the Yiddish drinking songs my Zadie taught me   before his breath failed. Now Howard is gone,   eleven long years gone, the sweet voice silenced.   "The subtle bridge between Eldridge and Navarro,"   they later wrote, all that rising passion   a footnote to others. I remember in '85   walking the halls of Cass Tech, the high school   where he taught after his performing days,   when suddenly he took my left hand in his   two hands to tell me it all worked out   for the best. Maybe he'd gotten religion,   maybe he knew how little time was left,   maybe that day he was just worn down   by my questions about Parker. To him Bird   was truly Charlie Parker, a man, a silent note   going out forever on the breath of genius   which now I hear soaring above my own breath   as this bright morning fades into afternoon.   Music, I'll call it music. It's what we need   as the sun staggers behind the low gray clouds   blowing relentlessly in from that nameless ocean,   the calm and endless one I've still to cross.